A lookback at India's performance in Asian Games 2014

India won a total of 57 medals and finished 8th in the medals tally.

Going into the 17th edition of the Asian Games held at Incheon South Korea in 2014, India had huge hopes having put forth their best performance in the 2010 edition. Although India could not surpass their medal tally of the Guangzhou edition, it was the start of many renaissance stories in Indian sports.

The Indian men's hockey team won the gold at the continental event after 16 years. India’s tennis sensation Sania Mirza clinched her second Asian Games gold in the mixed doubles event and it was the start of Mirza 2.0 as she won four Grand Slams in the next two years.

India continued their domination in their trademark sport as Kabaddi saw India take gold in both the men’s and women’s categories. Shooting (nine medals) and Wrestling (five medals) witnessed Indians taking up multiple podium positions in the Incheon event.

Overall, India finished 8th in the medal table with a tally of 57 including 11 gold, 10 silver, and 36 bronze. As India gears up for the Hangzhou Asian Games 2023, here is a throwback to the continental event that happened in South Korea nine years back earlier.

List of medalists in Asian Games 2014

Medal	Name	Sport	Event
Gold	Jitu Rai	Shooting	Men's 50 metre pistol
Gold	Rajat Chauhan, Sandeep Kumar, Abhishek Verma	Archery	Men's team compound
Gold	Saurav Ghosal, Mahesh Mangaonkar, Harinder Pal Sandhu, Kush Kumar	Squash	Men's team
Gold	Yogeshwar Dutt	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 65 kg
Gold	Sania Mirza, Saketh Myneni	Tennis	Mixed doubles
Gold	Mary Kom	Boxing	Women's 51 kg
Gold	Men's hockey team	Field hockey	Men
Gold	Priyanka Pawar, Tintu Luka, Mandeep Kaur, MR Poovamma	Athletics	Women's 4 × 400 metres relay
Gold	Women's kabaddi team	Kabaddi	Women
Gold	Men's kabaddi team	Kabaddi	Men
Silver	Saurav Ghosal	Squash	Men's singles
Silver	Pemba Tamang, Vijay Kumar, Gurpreet Singh	Shooting	Men's 25 metre center fire pistol team
Silver	Dipika Pallikal, Joshna Chinappa, Anaka Alankamony	Squash	Women's team
Silver	Abhishek Verma	Archery	Men's individual compound
Silver	Khushbir Kaur	Athletics	Women's 20 kilometres walk
Silver	Manju Bala	Athletics	Women's hammer throw
Silver	Sanam Singh, Saketh Myneni	Tennis	Men's doubles
Silver	Bajrang Kumar	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 61 kg
Silver	Vikas Gowda	Athletics	Men's discus throw
Silver	Tintu Luka	Athletics	Women's 800 metres
Bronze	Shweta Chaudhary	Shooting	Women's 10 metre air pistol
Bronze	Jitu Rai, Samaresh Jung, Prakash Nanjappa	Shooting	Men's 10 metre air pistol team
Bronze	Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, PC Thulasi, Pradnya Gadre, N Siki Reddy, Ashwini Ponnappa	Badminton	Women's team
Bronze	Rahi Sarnobat, Anisa Sayyed, Heena Sidhu	Shooting	Women's 25 metre pistol team
Bronze	Dipika Pallikal	Squash	Women's singles
Bronze	Abhinav Bindra, Ravi Kumar, Sanjeev Rajput	Shooting	Men's 10 metre air rifle team
Bronze	Abhinav Bindra	Shooting	Men's 10 metre air rifle
Bronze	Sanathoi Devi Yumnam	Wushu	Women's sanda 52 kg
Bronze	Narender Grewal	Wushu	Men's sanda 60 kg
Bronze	Dushyant Chauhan	Rowing	Men's lightweight single sculls
Bronze	Sawarn Singh	Rowing	Men's single sculls
Bronze	Kapil Sharma, Ranjit Singh, Bajrang Lal Takhar, Robin Panachithanathu Ulahannan, Sawan Kumar Kalkal, Mohammad Azad, Maninder Singh, Davinder Singh, Mohammed Ahmed	Rowing	Men's coxed eight
Bronze	Shagun Chowdhary, Shreyasi Singh, Varsha Varman	Shooting	Women's double trap team
Bronze	Sandeep Sejwal	Swimming	Men's 50 metre breaststroke
Bronze	Trisha Deb, Purvasha Shende, Jyothi Surekha Vennam	Archery	Women's team compound
Bronze	Chain Singh	Shooting	Men's 50 metre rifle three positions
Bronze	Trisha Deb	Archery	Women's individual compound
Bronze	Vinesh Phogat	Wrestling	Women's freestyle 48 kg
Bronze	Geetika Jakhar	Wrestling	Women's freestyle 63 kg
Bronze	Lalita Babar	Athletics	Women's 3000 metres steeplechase
Bronze	Yuki Bhambri	Tennis	Men's singles
Bronze	Yuki Bhambri, Divij Sharan	Tennis	Men's doubles
Bronze	Sania Mirza, Prarthana Thombare	Tennis	Women's doubles
Bronze	M. R. Poovamma	Athletics	Women's 400 metres
Bronze	Rajiv Arokia	Athletics	Men's 400 metres
Bronze	O. P. Jaisha	Athletics	Women's 1500 metres
Bronze	Narsingh Pancham Yadav	Wrestling	Men's freestyle 74 kg
Bronze	Naveen Kumar	Athletics	Men's 3000 metres steeplechase
Bronze	Laishram Sarita Devi	Boxing	Women's 60 kg
Bronze	Pooja Rani	Boxing	Women's 75 kg
Bronze	Varsha Gautham, Aishwarya Nedunchezhiyan	Sailing	Women's 29er
Bronze	Women's hockey team	Field hockey	Women
Bronze	Annu Rani	Athletics	Women's javelin throw
Bronze	Satish Kumar	Boxing	Men's +91 kg
Bronze	Vikas Krishan Yadav	Boxing	Men's 75 kg
Bronze	Inderjeet Singh	Athletics	Men's shot put

List of firsts by Indians

• The Men’s and Women’s Kabaddi team continued their golden streak as they won their 7th and 2nd Gold in the Asian Games. India has won Gold in every edition since the sport was introduced in the Asian Games.
• The 4x400 Women’s relay event saw India win Gold for the fourth consecutive time for a record time of 3:28.68
• Indian men’s hockey team clinched Gold at the 2014 Asian Games after beating Pakistan in a thrilling 4-2 shootout, their first since the 1998 Games.  
• Then five-time World Champion MC Mary Kom won her first Asian Games Gold after missing out in 2010.
• India won its first-ever gold in the squash event as Men’s Team beat the favorites Malaysia.

Top 3 sports

India’s best-yielding sports in the 2014 Incheon Games were Athletics, Kabaddi and Shooting.

Athletics

India’s best medal tally in the 2014 edition came from athletics; winning 13 medals including two gold, four silver, and seven bronze. The women's contingent of Seema Punia in Discuss Throw and the 4x400 relay team of Priyanka Pawar, Tintu Luka, Mandeep Kaur, and MR Poovamma clinched gold medals.

The women's power was on full display as they won three silvers in the track and field events. Tintu Luka (800 m), Khushbir Kaur (20 km Walk), and Manju Bala (Hammer Throw) were among the contributors. Vikas Gowda won the silver in the men’s discus throw event and he was the first Indian to finish inside the top 3 in a Diamond League meet.

Kabaddi

The Indian men’s kabaddi team showed what it takes to dominate the sport as they put forth a clinical performance to take the yellow metal for the record seventh straight time. Meanwhile, the women’s team defended their title successfully by beating Iran 31-21 in the final.

Shooting

In the 50 m Pistol event, Jitu Rai clinched gold with some precise shooting. 2008 Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra won bronze in the 10m Air Rifle individual and team event. Another shooter in the fray, Olympic medalist Vijay Kumar won silver in the 25m centre fire pistol team event.  

Top 5 Performers

Saketh Myneni

Coming into the tournament against the backdrop of strong Davis Cup performances, Saketh Myneni was high on confidence. It was evident in the way the youngster forged a brilliant partnership with the experienced Sania Mirza to take gold in the mixed doubles. He also won silver in the men’s doubles category partnering experienced Sanam Singh.

Saurav Ghosal

Saurav Ghosal was a medal prospect in squash having won bronze in the 2006 and 2010 editions. He became the first Indian to win a silver in the singles event. Moreover, the athlete bettered himself as he led India to their first-ever gold in the sport. In the final, he came back from a game down to beat the former World No. 7 Ong Beng Hee in an enthralling encounter.

MC Mary Kom

Not just Indian women’s boxing, Mary Kom was the face of world boxing having won multiple world championship titles. So, it was surprising her cabinet was lacking an Asian Games gold. South Korea was fortunate to witness the legend take center stage and win the gold gold medal.

'Magnificent Mary' lived up to the expectations in the finals, as she came from behind to beat Kazakhstan's Zhaina Shekerbekova. Although Zhaina took the initial advantage in the first two minutes, the Olympic bronze medalist showed her aggression in the next round to clinch the top spot.

Seema Punia

Seema Punia was one of the classic Indian athlete stories, as her urge to win for the country never stopped despite obstacles. Ban, injury, and opting out were the reasons for her absence in the Discus Throw event at the Asian Games earlier. But her determination was on full display in the 2014 Asian Games as she won the Gold with a throw of 61.03 m

Abhishek Verma

Having won gold in the Asian Archery Championships 2023, Abhishek Verma and his team were expected to repeat their performance in South Korea as well. They did it by winning the gold in the compound team archery event. It was the first time the event was introduced in the Asian Games and team India beat the favorites South Korea in a closely contested finals.

The then 25-year old, also won a silver medal in the compound individual event. Facing an Iranian Esmaeil Ebadi, Verma gave a tough fight but had to settle for a silver with a score line of 141-145.

Disappointments

India could not live up to the expectations after their impressive run in the previous edition of the Asian Games. The gold continued to be elusive for the Indian women’s hockey team, having been the inaugural champions in 1982.

Badminton was one of the most disappointing events, as India failed to win any medals in the singles and doubles events. The women’s team brought back some pride by winning the bronze in the team event.

Indian boxers had a forgettable Asian Games as their medal tally in the last competition in Guangzhou, where they earned nine medals, including two gold, three silver, and four bronze reduced to just one gold and four bronze medals.

Another concern across sports was the conversion rate of the athletes in the knock-outs. Out of the 57 medals India won, 36 were bronze.