Indonesia is all set to host the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang from August 18 to September 2. While most of the top athletes from across the continent are looking forward to the event, some Indian stalwarts, who have carved a niche for themselves in their chosen discipline, will be watching the action from home due to different reasons.
The reasons may vary: many are out of favor, while some others will miss the continental spectacle due to personal or professional reasons.
This list consists of Indian stars who will be conspicuous by their absence at the Asian Games.
Mary Kom
Iconic boxer M C Mary Kom, a bronze medal winner at the 2012 London Olympics, will forego the upcoming Asian Games. A five-time World champion, the Manipur pugilist has clinched bronze in 2010 and gold in the last edition of the Asian Games respectively, and won a gold medal in her maiden Commonwealth Games appearance earlier this year.
The mother of three, 35-year-old Mary decided to give the 2018 Asian Games a miss in order to concentrate on the Women’s Boxing World Championship to be staged in New Delhi in November. Instead of Mary, who is also a sitting Rajya Sabha MP, fellow Manipur boxer Sarjubala Devi will represent the country in the women's 51 kg category.
Sania Mirza
Sania Mirza, the face of women's tennis in India, will skip the Asian Games as she and her cricketer husband Shoaib Malik are expecting their first child, due in October. Sania, who has won two gold, one silver and three bronze medals in Asiads since 2006, will be enjoying the Games sitting in the comfort of her home in Dubai.
The 31-year-old, who took to Twitter to make an official announcement regarding her pregnancy a couple of months back, has also said that she would be back to the tennis court for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Sunil Chhetri
The Asian Games dream of Indian football players including star striker and captain Sunil Chhetri were shattered after the Indian Olympic Association’s (IOA) decided to leave the men’s and women’s football teams out of the Asian Games contingent. The 33-year-old Chhetri became the third highest international goal scorer among active players behind Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo when he scored his 64th goal for the country against Kenya in the Intercontinental Cup final in Mumbai in June.
The IOA chose not to clear the soccer teams, deeming them ‘incompetent’ to win any medals. The decision raised a few eyebrows as the Indian contingent for the Asian Games comprises several disciplines in which the country stand no chances of winning a medal. This will be the first time since the 1994 Hiroshima edition that an Indian team is set to miss the football competition at the Asian Games.
Jitu Rai
Seasoned marksman Jitu Rai, who won gold and silver in the 2014 Asian Games and a gold medallist in the last two Commonwealth Games, failed to make the Indian squad for the continental event. The omission of the Nepal-born Indian armyman, who became the first Indian to win three medals in successive ISSF Shooting World Cup in 2014, citing indifferent form, came as a major surprise.
Jitu, who competes in the 10 metre air pistol and 50 metre pistol events, has won numerous international medals in these categories. He is also a recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Khel Ratna Award, the highest sporting honour in the country. Close on the heels of his omission from the Asian Games squad, the 31-year-old was dropped from the Target Olympic Podium Scheme as well.
Yuki Bhambri
When emerging tennis star and the country's top singles player Yuki Bhambri found himself in a Catch-22 situation after the US Open and the Asian Games schedules clashed with each other, he decided to choose the Grand Slam over the continental event.
His decision left the All India Tennis Association red-faced, and eventually he was dropped from the TOPS, kicking up a storm. The 26-year-old Yuki, ranked 93 in the world, picked up a bronze in both singles and doubles events at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.
Vikas Gowda
The absence of Vikas Gowda, one of the most decorated Indian athletes, having won a gold in discus throw in the 2013 and 2015 Asian Championships, will be a blow to Indian medal hopes in field events at the Asian Games.
The four-time Olympian retired in May after competing at the highest level for more than 15 years, during which he brought many laurels to the country including two Commonwealth Games and Asian Games medals each.
His personal best throw of 66.28 metres, achieved in 2012, is also the national record.
