Neeraj Chopra, star javelin thrower, was named as the flag-bearer of the Indian contingent for the Asian Games opening ceremony to be held on August 18 in Jakarta. Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Narinder Batra made the announcement during the send-off ceremony organised for the contingent. The Games will be held from August 18 to September 2 in the Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Palembang.
The 20-year-old Neeraj is the reigning Commonwealth Games champion and won a Gold in the Savo Games in Finland last month. He had won the gold medal in the Asian Athletic championships in 2017 with a throw of 85.23 meters. He had also bagged a gold in the 2016 IAAF World U-20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
India have participated in the Asian Games since the start of the event and therefore, this will be India's 18th appearance. India are participating in 34 sports out of the total 40. Five hundred and forty three athletes will be part of the Indian contingent in the twin cities of Jakarta and Palembang. India will not be participating in baseball, football, jet ski, modern pentathlon, rugby sevens and triathlon.
Indian athletes had won 57 medals, comprising 11 gold, 10 silver and 36 bronze medals in the previous edition at Incheon, South Korea.
