Lovlina Borgohain, Harmanpreet Singh to be India's flag-bearers at 19th Asian Games

Indian women's hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh and boxer Lovlina Borgohain will be India's flag-bearers during the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games, currently being held in Hangzhou. The opening ceremony of the Asian Games 2023 is slated to be held in China on September 23. 

India is set to showcase its sporting prowess at this year's Asian Games, with an impressive contingent of 655 athletes competing across a remarkable array of 40 diverse sporting disciplines. The largest representation will be seen in the field of athletics, where India will be sending a formidable team of 68 athletes to compete at the highest level. 

During the previous edition held in Jakarta in 2018, India had assembled a contingent of 570 athletes who participated in 36 different sports. The forthcoming event, officially named the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022, was originally scheduled for the previous year but had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Spanning 15 days, this continental extravaganza, shifted from 2022 to 2023 due to the impact of COVID-19 in China, will encompass a remarkable 40 sports, featuring the best athletes from across Asia vying for top honors. Notably, this marks the third inclusion of cricket in the Asian Games lineup, with Indian teams making their debut appearance in this year's event.

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. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) took the decision on Wednesday to have joint flag-bearers for the continental showpiece. A total of 655 Indian athletes are competing in the Asian Games this time, which is the largest contingent ever.

"We arrived at the decision after much deliberation today," Indian contingent Chef de Mission Bhupender Singh Bajwa told PTI.

"This time we will have two flag-bearers leading the contingent at the Asian Games -- hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh and boxer Lovlina Borgohain," added Bajwa, who is also Wushu Association of India chief. Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra had done the honours at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games. Lovlina had won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics in the 69kg category. This year, she won gold in 75kg category at the World Women's Boxing Championship in New Delhi.

Harmanpreet is one of the best drag-flickers in the world and was part of the team that won the historic bronze at the Tokyo Games, breaking the more than four-decade-long Indian hockey team's medal drought in the Olympics. The Indian men's hockey team would be aiming for a gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games to secure automatic qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Bajwa will be assisted at the Asian Games by four deputy chefs de mission as the job entails a lot of responsibility. Bajwa is also the chairman of the Indian Olympic Association-constituted ad-hoc committee for wrestling