Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Mansukh Mandaviya has arrived in Tokyo to lead the Indian delegation at the 20th Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Indian Ambassador to Japan Nagma Mallick welcomed the minister in Tokyo on Friday morning.
The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games are scheduled to officially begin on September 19. India will be looking to build on its strong performance at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023, where the country won a record number of medals.
India’s delegation includes several Olympic medallists and athletes who have already achieved success at international competitions. The team will compete across a wide range of sports during the continental event.
The Embassy of India in Japan shared details of Mandaviya’s arrival on social media. His visit is also expected to support stronger cooperation between India and Japan in areas such as sports, youth affairs and people-to-people relations.
Indian athletes are also scheduled to compete in several events around the opening of the Games. Among the notable fixtures is the women’s cricket quarter-final between India and Japan.
The match will be a historic occasion because it will be the first meeting between the two teams in women’s cricket. Japan, ranked 39th in women’s T20I cricket, is making its third appearance in Asian Games cricket.
India enters the competition with strong recent form. The Indian women’s team won its eighth Asia Cup title last week after defeating Sri Lanka in the final. India is also ranked third in the world in women’s T20I cricket.
The quarter-final against Japan will therefore provide India with an opportunity to begin its Asian Games campaign strongly. Japan, meanwhile, will be looking to make an impression against one of the world’s leading women’s cricket teams.
Apart from cricket, Indian athletes will also be involved in teqball and soft tennis events on Friday. These competitions will give Indian players an opportunity to begin their campaigns before the main Asian Games schedule gets underway.
With athletes from across Asia gathering in Aichi-Nagoya, India will be hoping for another successful edition of the continental Games. The presence of senior officials such as Mandaviya also highlights the importance India places on sports and its growing sporting ties with Japan.