Asian Games 2023: Lovlina Borgohain, Harmanpreet Singh Lead India In Opening Ceremony - Watch

Source: Twitter

Men's Hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh and ace boxer Lovlina Borgohain led the Indian contingent during the opening ceremony at the Asian Games 2023 in China's Hangzhou on Saturday (September 23). The 19th Asian Games has officially kicked off with the opening ceremony at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium. Flag-bearers at multi-sports events like the Asian Games are symbolic leaders who lead the country’s delegation during the opening ceremony parade, displaying the country’s flag.

Watcht the video here:

Indian squad for the Asian Games. 

- All the best for all the participants & make the whole country proud.pic.twitter.com/8lFI1uxOD9 — Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) September 23, 2023

The Indian sailing contingent delivered some solid performances on Saturday in the qualification rounds, keeping the country's hopes of progressing to knockout/medal races alive. 

In the women's skiff event, the pair of Harshita Tomar and Shital Verma finished the day at third position on third position out of six pairs. They earned a total of 21 race points in seven races. This includes a first-position finish in the seventh race with one race point. (India's Brightest Medal Hopes At Asian Games 2023: Top 10 Contenders To Watch - In Pics)

In the men's skiff event, the pair of KC Ganapathy and Varun Thakkar finished in fourth spot among eight pairs at the end of the day, with 31 race points in eight races. This included a top spot finish in the race seventh with one race point. 

Coming to the men's dinghy competition, Vishu Saravanan finished the day at the second spot with 26 race points in seven races. This includes top spot finishes in races one and three with one race point each and second spot finish in race six with two race points. 

In the girls' dinghy competition, India's Neha Thakur finished the day in third spot with 18 race points in six races, including third-place finishes with three race points each in the first three races and the sixth race. 

Finally, in the mixed multihull competition, the pair of Siddeshwar Indar Doiphode and Ramya Saravanan earned the third spot with 28 race points in eight races. This includes second-place finishes in second and eighth races with two race points each. The sailing events will conclude on September 27 with medal/knockout races. The Asian Games finally kickstart on Saturday officially.