Neeraj Chopra will headline India's athletics contingent as they hope to make merry at the Hangzhou Asian Games, picking medals and some valuable ranking points in their race to qualify for the Paris Olympics.
India finished with 20 medals in athletics [8 golds] in 2018, while their best-ever campaign was back in 1951 when they bagged 34 medals [with 10 golds]. This young brigade, led by Neeraj, is fully capable of re-writing that record at the 2023 Asian Games.
Let's start off with the obvious, gold medal contenders?
The spot of India's #1 medal contender at any major athletics event is reserved for Neeraj. The Olympic champion recently added the World Championships title to his name and also finished second in the Diamond League.
He has one main competitor in Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem, but Neeraj has what it takes [and more!] to defend his title.
Expecting to join him among the gold medallists are:
Avinash Sable [3,000m steeplechase]
Tajinder Pal Singh Toor [men's shot put]
Jyothi Yarraji [women's 100m hurdles]
Krishan Kumar [800m]
Shaili Singh [women's long jump]
Sreeshankar Murali [men's long jump]
The 4x400 men's, women's and mixed relay teams
Who are the other athletes to watch out for?
Keep an eye out for Ajay Kumar Saroj in the men's 1500m, Jeswin Aldrin in the men's long jump and Tejaswin Shanker in the decathlon.
Parul Chaudhary, who ran a brilliant personal best at the Worlds, will be in action in the 3000m steeplechase as well as the 5,000m.
Any fresh faces on the Indian roster?
There are quite a few youngsters who have made a mark over the last year.
Jyothi Yarraji, for example, has broken the national record in the 100m hurdles a staggering seven times! She's the second-fastest Asian hurdler and won gold at the Asian Athletics Championships.
Then there's javelin star Kishore Kumar Jena, who performed exceedingly well to finish fifth at the World Championships. He has a good chance of winning bronze at the Asian Games.
Not a very fresh face so to say, but Tejaswin Shankar has become a full-time decathlete now and will hope to shine in his first major decathlon competition.
Krishan Kumar in men's 800m has had a stellar year and goes into the Games ranked Asia's #2.
And of course, there's Shaili Singh, widely touted as Anju Bobby George's successor. The under-20 Worlds silver medallist has a personal best of 6.76m and recently won silver at the Asian Championships.
How about defending champions?
India has four: Neeraj, Tajinder, Jinson Johnson [1500m] and Swapna Barman [heptathlon].
Neeraj will continue to do what Neeraj does, while Tajinder is making a comeback from a groin injury. He's far ahead of the competition - his personal best [also his season best] of 21.77m is 0.6m better than his closest competitor.
Jinson is making a comeback after nearly three years too, and has been in good stead. He clocked 3:44.72 to win gold in 2018. He has run faster than that seven times this year, but will face a stiff challenge this time around.
Swapna braved tooth pain and a plastered face to win gold in Jakarta and now goes to China hoping to defend it. She's the national champion, and won silver at the Asian Championships but has decided that the Asian Games will be her last major international event. Here's to hoping her swansong ends on the highest step of the podium.
Any athletes who can win multiple medals?
Oh yes! There's a bunch of Indian athletes who will be competing in two events.
Sable leads the pack, with a three-day gap between the steeplechase [his preferred event] and the 5000m race, while Parul isn't as fortunate as her races are on successive days.
The athletes in the relay teams, such as Aishwarya Kailash Mishra, have the chance to win three medals [the maximum available among the Indian track and field athletes at the Games].
Avinash Sable [3000m steeplechase + 5000m]
Jyothi Yarraji [women's 100m hurdles + 200m]
Parul Chaudhary [3000m steeplechase + 5000m]
Gulveer Singh [men's 5000m + 10000m]
Harmilan Bains [women's 800m + 1500m]
Relay teams
When does athletics begin at the Asian Games?
Athletics begins from September 29 and will go on until October 5, ending with the men's and women's marathons.