Asian Games: India scripts history with their biggest-ever gold medal haul clinching 18 in the ongoing edition

India is yielding rich dividends from the ongoing edition of the Asian Games and they created history on Wednesday by claiming 18 golds in the ongoing edition.

Hangzhou (China): India is setting the ongoing edition of the Asian Games being held in the Chinese city of Hangzhou on fire with their much-improved performance from the last edition that was in Jakarta in 2018.

Wednesday was the most special day for the Indian contingent. The players made it a memorable day by taking the number of gold medals to 18 which is India's biggest in the history of the prestigious Games.

India was eighth in the medal tally of the previous edition of the Asian Games with a total of 70 medals. This time around, they have not only bettered themselves in terms of total medals but have taken the gold tally to a new high. Golden Boy and star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and India's 4x400 men's relay team played a crucial role in extending the count of gold medals as they excelled in their respective events during the ongoing Games.

So far for the Indian contingent, shooting has been the most fruitful event as the shooters have bagged seven golds. Athletics has been another event which has been superb for the Indian contingent with six medals coming so far. Apart from these disciplines, archery, cricket and equestrian also secured gold medals for the country during the ongoing Games. Overall, the country is nearing their target of 100 medals in total and the continuous gold rush by the athletes will be cherished forever.

India bagged its first medal in wrestling, a gold courtesy of Sunil Kumar and a plethora of medals are expected from this discipline too. Additionally, the Harmanpreet Singh-led Indian Hockey team is assured of a medal after it made the final.

India has so far won 18 Golds, 31 silvers and 32 bronze medals (total 81 medals) so far. Previously, India had won 15 gold medals in the 2018 edition of the Games and 15 Gold Medals in the 1951 Asian Games held in New Delhi, the country's capital. As far as the gold medals are concerned, India's worst show was in the 1990 Beijing Games in China, when the country bagged a lone gold medal.