Nagoya, Oct 5:
The 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya came to a close on Sunday, bringing more than two weeks of intense sporting competition across the continent to an end, with the Olympic Council of Asia formally handing over the hosting baton to Qatar, which is scheduled to stage the 2030 edition.
OCA president Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani formally declared the Games closed at the Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium. The closing ceremony, held under the theme ‘One Asia’, featured a celebration of Japanese culture through music, lights and traditional performances and lasted around 90 minutes. In his closing remarks, Al Thani said the Games had raised the bar for Asian sport and that the hopes generated by the event would continue to inspire the continent.
The ceremony also featured the traditional handover of the OCA flag to Qatar. Olympic and world champion high jumper Mutaz Barshim was part of the handover proceedings, with Qatar showcasing its preparations to host the next edition. Although Doha is scheduled to host the 2030 Asian Games, the OCA could consider shifting the event to 2031 so that it can serve as a continental qualification event ahead of the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
For India, the Games ended with a fourth-place finish, the same position achieved at Hangzhou. The Indian contingent collected 85 medals, comprising 21 gold, 27 silver and 37 bronze. However, the overall tally was below the 106 medals India won at Hangzhou, including 28 gold. The reduction of 21 medals means that the performance will inevitably invite closer scrutiny despite India retaining its place among Asia’s top four sporting nations.
A late surge helped India secure that position. The country won 11 gold medals in the final two days of competition, underlining the ability of its athletes to deliver strongly towards the end of a major multi-sport event. The campaign also produced several landmark performances across disciplines, giving Indian sport reasons for optimism despite the lower overall medal count.
Shooter Neeru Dhandha was among the biggest highlights of the Indian campaign. She carried the national flag at the closing ceremony after winning two gold medals and a silver during the Games. She created history by becoming the first Indian, man or woman, to win an Asian Games gold medal in the individual trap event. Her three-medal haul made her one of the standout performers of the Indian contingent.
India’s campaign also reflected a broader expansion of its sporting strength. While some established disciplines did not match their medal returns from Hangzhou, Indian athletes produced notable results in several events, demonstrating that the country’s medal base is gradually spreading across different sports. Shooting and athletics, however, emerged as areas requiring particular attention after returning with fewer medals than at the previous Asian Games.
China once again dominated the continental standings, finishing first for the 12th consecutive edition with a massive 341 medals, including 169 gold. Host Japan finished second with 269 medals, including 83 gold, while South Korea occupied third place with 150 medals, including 39 gold. The gap between India and the three leading nations remains substantial, underlining the scale of the challenge ahead.
The Aichi-Nagoya Games were also notable for their sporting diversity. A record 43 sports were included in the programme, with padel, mixed martial arts, teqball and surfing making their Asian Games debut. More than 350 records were broken during the competition, including over 50 world records, according to the OCA, reflecting the rapidly rising standards of Asian sport.
The closing ceremony initially saw the flag bearers enter the stadium before the contingents marched together in the athletes’ parade. Around 30 Indian athletes and officials participated in the ceremony, led by Dhandha. The event brought the curtain down on an edition that combined traditional Japanese cultural elements with a celebration of the growing sporting power of Asia.
For India, the Aichi-Nagoya campaign presents both achievement and unfinished business. Retaining fourth place and winning 21 gold medals are significant accomplishments, but the fall from 106 medals in Hangzhou to 85 makes it clear that consistency across disciplines remains a challenge. The performances in the final two days, particularly the 11 gold medals, showed the potential available within the Indian contingent.
The immediate task for Indian sport will be to identify why some disciplines fell behind their previous performances while consolidating the gains made elsewhere. Better grassroots development, sustained international exposure, scientific training, stronger coaching systems and greater depth will be crucial if India is to close the considerable gap with China, Japan and South Korea.
As the baton moves from Aichi-Nagoya to Doha, India can look back on an Asian Games campaign that produced historic individual achievements and retained its position among the continent’s leading sporting nations. But the next challenge is bigger: turning flashes of excellence into sustained performance and transforming a fourth-place finish into a serious challenge for the Asian sporting podium.