Asian Games Hangzhou closes with glittering closing ceremony

HANGZHOU: The 19th edition of the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China concluded on Sunday with a glittering closing ceremony in which the star-studded Indian contingent participated as well. India crossed the 100-medal mark for the first time in their Asian Games history, making this one of the most memorable sporting events for the country in a long while and something that will immortalise all the athletes taking part in it.

"Closing ceremony of a successful and extremely memorable @19thAGofficial #WeAreTeamIndia | #IndiaAtAG22," tweeted the official X (Formerly Twitter) handle of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).

Closing ceremony of a successful and extremely memorable @19thAGofficial #WeAreTeamIndia | #IndiaAtAG22 pic.twitter.com/CL71p2GWoz

— Team India (@WeAreTeamIndia) October 8, 2023

The official account of Asian Games Hangzhou also shared some visuals from the ceremony. "The 19th Asian Games closing ceremony has just kicked off with the theme of "Enduring Memories of Hangzhou", the mesmerizing classic line from a Chinese poem about Hangzhou. #Hangzhou #AsianGames #HangzhouAsianGames #ClosingCeremony #AsianGamesClosingCeremony," tweeted the official X handle of the competition.

The 19th Asian Games closing ceremony has just kicked off with the theme of “Enduring Memories of Hangzhou”, the mesmerizing classic line from a Chinese poem about Hangzhou. #Hangzhou #AsianGames #HangzhouAsianGames #ClosingCeremony #AsianGamesClosingCeremony pic.twitter.com/RQoqf62lx7

— 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 Official (@19thAGofficial) October 8, 2023

"The flame of the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou is about to extinguish. The torchbearer who ignited the flame 16 days ago by crossing the Qiantang River and running into the stadium during the opening ceremony is back. He extinguishes the flame, reluctantly leaving the venue and the city. It was formed by billions of starlights and will once again transform into a sky full of stars, shining over Hangzhou and across Asia. #Hangzhou #AsianGames #HangzhouAsianGames #ClosingCeremony #AsianGamesClosingCeremony," tweeted the official X handle of the event.

India finished their Asian Games 2023 campaign with a record haul of 107 medals, 28 gold, 38 silver and 41 bronze. This surpassed India's previous record tally achieved at the last edition at Jakarta 2018, where a 570-strong Indian squad racked up 70 medals, 16 gold, 23 silver, and 31 bronze.

Shooting led the way for India at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou with an unprecedented haul of 22 medals, which included seven gold. Athletics, headlined by Neeraj Chopra's successful title defence in the javelin throw, came a close second with six gold along with 14 silver and nine bronze. Athletics gave the country a total of 29 medals.

The archery compound team, meanwhile, clean-swept the five gold medals in the category. Archery as a whole gave India a total of nine medals. The cricket and kabaddi teams also bagged two gold medals each while the men's hockey team's gold secured a spot at the Paris 2024 Olympics with a gold medal.

The women's hockey teams also got a bronze medal. Both men's and women's cricket teams led by Harmanpreet Kaur and Ruturaj Gaikwad got gold medals. Six medals came in wrestling, though none of it was gold and five were bronze. Indian boxers won a total of five medals, including four bronze and a silver.

Squash gave India a total of five medals, including two gold. India also won five medals in rowing, dominating the sport. India also bagged their first Asian Games badminton gold medal courtesy of the men's doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy. India won three medals in badminton. India won three medals in sailing as well.

Two medals also came in tennis, equestrian, chess and roller skating. In bridge, golf, wushu, canoeing, sepak takraw and table tennis, India won a medal each.