The Asian Games 2023 will officially kick off on Saturday with a grand opening ceremony scheduled to take place.
The 19th edition of the continental showpiece, which will run till October 8 in Hangzhou and five co-host cities of Huzhou, Ningbo, Shaoxing, Jinhua and Wenzhou, was to be held in September 2022 but was postponed by a year after a surge of COVID-19 cases in China.
Forty-five nations and territories in Asia will compete for 481 gold medals from 40 sports and 61 disciplines, including Esports which is making its debut in the Asian Games. Competitions in football, volleyball, cricket, rowing, sailing and modern pentathlon began before the grand opening ceremony.
The Asian Games are expected to be declared opened by Chinese president Xi Jinping.
Led by Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra, India will seek to showcase its ascendency as a sporting power at the Asian Games 2023.
India will hope to surpass the 70 medals (16 gold, 23 silver and 31 bronze) won in 2018 in Indonesia with largest contingent of 655 athletes competing in 39 sports in Hangzhou.
Hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh and Olympic medallist boxer Lovlina Borgohain will be the flag-bearers of the Indian contingent during the opening ceremony of the Asian Games in Hangzhou on September 23.
Here's all you need to know about the Asian Games 2023 opening ceremony:
Asian Games 2023 Opening Ceremony: Date, Time And Venue
The opening ceremony of the Asian Games 2023 will be held on Saturday from 5:30 PM IST onwards at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium.
Also, known as the "big Lotus", the stadium is located in Binjiang district and is the main stadium for Asian Games Hangzhou 2022. Its shape is inspired by ancient silk texture and weaving system, its architectural form vividly reflects the surging waves of Qiantang River and its roof consists of 28 petal-shaped structures and 27 smaller ones.
Asian Games 2023 Opening Ceremony Live Telecast Details
The opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games will be telecast live on the Sony Sports Network in India.
Asian Games 2023 Opening Ceremony Live Streaming
SonyLiv will stream the Asian Games 2023 opening ceremony live on its app and website.
The world's grandest stage is set to be unveiled TODAY💥⏳
Get ready for the #AsianGames' opening ceremony to hit your screens from 5:30 PM onwards#SonySportsNetwork #Cheer4India #TeamIndia #IssBaarSauPaar #Hangzhou2022 pic.twitter.com/voMGLkz5CoSeptember 23, 2023 Indian men's hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh on Thursday said it is a 'moment of immense pride' for him to have been picked as the country's joint flag-bearer for the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games.
In the recent past, Dhanraj Pillay (1998, 2002), Jyoti Sunita Kullu (2006), Gagan Narang (2010), Sardar Singh (2014) and Neeraj Chopra (2018) were India's flag-bearers at the in the continental showpiece.
Advertisement"Being named as the joint flag-bearer alongside Lovlina Borgohain for the Asian Games is a moment of immense pride for me. It is an opportunity to represent my country on an even larger scale, and I am truly humbled by this honour. I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate our boxing star Lovlina for the same," Harmanpreet said in a Hockey India release.
China are fielding their second-largest contingent in their Asian Games history with 886 athletes, including 437 women, taking part in Hangzhou. It is 91 less than the 977 athletes China fielded at the 2010 Guangzhou Games.
China are not only fielding the most number of athletes in this edition of the Games but they are also set to continue their domination by bagging the top spot in the medal tally, which they have been doing at every edition since 1982 with several Olympic champions participating.
South Korea are sending their largest ever athletes' contingent of 867 with an aim to finish second in the medal tally.
India have not finished in the top-5 in medal tally standings since the 1986 edition in Seoul. The catchline is 'Iss baar, sau paar' (this time crossing 100 medals).
Though 100 medals may not be possible, India is expected to surpass the last edition's count with athletics once again set to contribute the lion's share. Last time, track and field athletes had won 20 medals and this time at least 25 podium finishes are expected.
(With PTI inputs)
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