Gujarat to send record 9 athletes to Asian Games in Japan

Asian Games symbol and mascot

Gandhinagar: From shooting and swimming to table tennis and athletics, nine sportspersons from Gujarat are set to compete at the Asian Games in Japan this year. This will be Gujarat’s largest contingent at the Asian Games. The 2026 Games will be held in Aichi-Nagoya from Sep 19 to Oct 4.Gujarat’s representation this time is three times that at the 2014 Asian Games, when three athletes from the state participated, the state govt said on Monday.

The nine athletes are shooter Elavenil Valarivan; table tennis players Harmeet Desai, Manav Thakkar, and Manush Shah; soft tennis player Aniket Patel; swimmer Aryan Nehra; tennis players Ankita Raina and Vaidehi Chaudhari; and sprinter Devyani Zala.Tennis player Zeel Desai has been selected as a reserve. The govt described her as a “high-value reserve player”.Deputy chief minister Harsh Sanghavi attributed the increased representation to “state initiatives such as the Khel Mahakumbh and Shaktidoot Yojana”. He said their impact was now becoming visible and that “Gujarat was steadily emerging as a sports powerhouse”.Sanghavi said that the state was focused on building a world-class sporting culture. “We are not only training athletes, but also creating an entire ecosystem that will help the country earn glory at the international level,” he said.The announcement comes as Gujarat prepares to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games. India has also made a formal bid to host the 2036 Olympic Games.

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