New Delhi, August 23 (TNA) The Sports Ministry approved a 492-strong Indian contingent of athletes for the Asian Games beginning next month in Japan, with athletics forming the biggest chunk with 73 names. The contingent comprises 265 male and 227 female athletes for the September 19 to October 4 mega-event in Aichi-Nagoya.
The athletics group features 35 men and 38 women and is headlined by two-time Olympic medal-winning javelin throw superstar Neeraj Chopra. The shooting squad is led by double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker.
The redoubtable Mirabai Chanu and Gyaneshwari Devi are the star names in the weightlifting team. The 20-member badminton team also comprises P V Sindhu, Ayush Shetty and Lakshya Sen.
The women's doubles pair of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly, along with Satwik Sairaj Renkireddy and Chirag Shetty, are also in the squad. The boxing group has 11 names, including the recent Commonwealth Games silver medallists Lovlina Borgohain, Narender Berwal and Jadumani Singh.
Full-strength kabaddi teams will be out to defend the two gold medals won in the previous edition of the Games.