The Indian Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, in a press release on Thursday, announced the addition of 22 new athletes to the Indian continent travelling for the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
The changes made to the Indian contingent also included replacements in the men’s football team. Interestingly, the experienced goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Sandesh Jhingan feature in list released by the Sports Ministry despite the All India Football Federation having excluded them in a revised 17-member squad announced on Wednesday.
The Sports Ministry’s list also included the addition of Mayank Chaphekar who will participate in Modern Pentathlon – fencing (one-touch épée), freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country running.
This means India will now participate in 39 different sports at the multi-sport event that begins on September 23.
Other inclusions are Janhvi Choudhary in swimming, Preeti in women’s 3000m steeplechase and Amlan Borgohain in men’s 200m.
The total number of Indian athletes travelling to Hangzhou has now risen to 655 with an additional 260 coaching and support staff accompanying them.