‘India is proud of them’: PM Modi extends best wishes to Indian athletes at Asian Games 2026
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘India is proud of them’: PM Modi extends best wishes to Indian athletes at Asian Games 2026")
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Photograph: (AFP)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his best wishes to the Indian contingent as the Asian Games officially opened in Aichi-Nagoya on Saturday. India are represented by a 501-member contingent and will aim to improve on their record medal tally from the 2023 Hangzhou Games.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished the Indian contingent the best as the 2026 Asian Games officially began in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, on Saturday (Sep 19). He praised the athletes for their hard work, dedication and determination.
Taking to X, PM Modi wrote, “As the Asian Games commence in Aichi-Nagoya, my best wishes to the Indian contingent. Each athlete has worked incredibly hard and shown remarkable dedication and determination. India is proud of them. May they give their best, play well and shine!”
Kabaddi star Pawan Sehrawat and Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker led the Indian contingent during the opening ceremony at the Paloma Mizuho Stadium. The ceremony marked the official start of the 20th Asian Games.
India are represented by a 503-athlete contingent competing across 36 sports. Sehrawat was part of India’s gold-medal-winning men’s kabaddi team at the previous Asian Games and carried the Tricolour alongside Bhaker.
Bhaker, a double Olympic medallist, will compete in the women’s 10m air pistol, women’s 25m pistol and 10m air pistol mixed team events. She won two bronze medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics and became the first athlete from independent India to win two medals in a single edition of the Olympics.
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Ahead of the opening ceremony, Bhaker spoke about being selected as one of India’s flag-bearers and said that the moment brought back memories of her early days in shooting.
“Honestly, when I found out yesterday, I had all these flashback memories of my earlier days. And, you know, when I started, I never thought that this was where I could reach one day in my sport. So, it is definitely a very heartwarming feeling. I feel really proud, really honoured, and really, really happy to be chosen as the flag bearer for my country. I just want to say thank you to God and thank you to everyone for all the love and support,” she said.
India will look to improve on their performance from the 2022 Asian Games, where they won a record 107 medals, including 28 gold, 38 silver and 41 bronze.