Hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh, boxer Lovlina Borgohain to be India’s flag-bearers

Hangzhou: Hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh and ace boxer Lovlina Borgohain will lead the Indian contingent in the opening ceremony at the Asian Games 2023 here on Saturday.

The mega ceremony will be conducted at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium.

Harmanpreet is a distinguished drag flicker, and has won many laurels in the international arena. He was a member of India's Olympic bronze medal-winning team in Tokyo and was top goal-scorer for India at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He had netted six goals in the competition.

Harmanpreet also led India to a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last year.

Meanwhile, Lovlina is a reigning amateur world champion in her weight category. She is also an Asian champion and an Olympic bronze medallist.

Olympic and world champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra is also in the Indian contingent for the Asian Games but has already been a flag-bearer for India at the Asian Games during the 2018 Jakarta opening ceremony.

The Asian Games in Hangzhou will see a 655-member strong Indian contingent in action in over 40 disciplines. It is India’s largest contingent at the continental showpiece. A total of 56 venues will be used in and around Hangzhou with 481 gold medals on offer.

The closing ceremony for Asian Games 2023 will be held on October 8. (UNI)