From Chopra to Faker: competitors to watch at Asian Games

E-sports League of Legends South Korean national team player Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok (R) walks past supporters during a fan meeting event ahead of the upcoming Asian Games in Gwangmyeong on September 11, 2023. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)

Some of the finest competitors on the planet will be in action at the Asian Games from Saturday until October 8.

AFP Sports picks out eight athletes to watch in Hangzhou.

Mutaz Essa Barshim (high jump, QATAR)

Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim competes in the men’s high jump final during the Diamond League athletics meeting at Stadion Letzigrund stadium in Zurich on August 31, 2023. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

High jumper Barshim is the reigning Olympic champion — he famously shared gold with Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi at the Tokyo Games — and is chasing a third Asian Games gold.

The Doha-born 32-year-old has also won every medal at the World Championships, three of them gold. Also holds the Asian high-jump record.

Neeraj Chopra (javelin, INDIA)

India’s Neeraj Chopra competes in the men’s javelin throw final during the Diamond League athletics meeting at Stadion Letzigrund stadium in Zurich on August 31, 2023. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

The 25-year-old made history at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021 when his victory in javelin made him the first Indian in history to win an athletics gold.

He followed that up with gold at the recent World Championships in Budapest and so became the undisputed master of men’s javelin. Also the reigning Asian Games champion.

Faker (eSports, KOREA)

E-sports League of Legends South Korean national team player Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok (R) walks past supporters during a fan meeting event ahead of the upcoming Asian Games in Gwangmyeong on September 11, 2023. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)

Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok is a legendary figure in eSports and widely acknowledged to be the best League of Legends player of all time.

Added to the incentive to win Games gold for him and his South Korean teammates is the fact that doing so will also exempt them from having to do military service back home.

Rikako Ikee (swimming, JAPAN)

Japan’s Rikako Ikee reacts after competing in a semi-final heat of the women’s 50m butterfly swimming event during the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka on July 28, 2023. (Photo by Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP)

Ikee became the first swimmer to win six golds at a single Asian Games in Jakarta 2018, but months later revealed that she had leukemia.

Now 23, she overcame her illness to race for Japan’s relay team at her home Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and has also competed at world championships since her return.

Qin Haiyang (swimming, CHINA)

Gold medalist China’s Qin Haiyang poses during the medals ceremony for the men’s 200m breaststroke swimming event during the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka on July 28, 2023. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)

Qin announced himself as the new undisputed breaststroke king at the recent world championships, sweeping all three distances — 50m, 100m and 200m — and setting a new world record in the 200m.

The 24-year-old was competing in his first international event but he blew the competition away, setting new Asian records in each of his three races.

Zheng Qinwen (tennis, CHINA)

China’s Zheng Qinwen celebrates after victory against Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur during the US Open tennis tournament women’s singles round of 16 match at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, on September 4, 2023. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP)

Fresh from reaching the quarter-finals of the US Open, the 20-year-old Zheng is now strongly fancied for Asian Games gold to add to her fast-growing global reputation.

At 22nd in the world, Zheng is the highest-ranked women’s tennis player in Hangzhou and won her maiden WTA Tour title this year. Named WTA Newcomer of the Year in 2022.

Yin Ruoning (golf, CHN)

Ruoning Yin of China plays her shot from the fifth tee during the first round of the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G at Kenwood Country Club on September 07, 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Dylan Buell/Getty Images/AFP

The 20-year-old Yin earlier this month became only the second Chinese golfer in history, after Feng Shanshan, to reach number one in the world.

Yin will team up with trailblazer Feng in Hangzhou because the now-retired Feng, who topped the rankings from November 2017 to April 2018, is head coach of the Chinese team.

An Se-young (badminton, KOREA)

South Korea’s An Se-young poses after winning the women’s singles final match against Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi at the China Open Badminton tournament in Changzhou, in China’s eastern Jiangsu Province on September 10, 2023. (Photo by AFP) / China OUT

The 21-year-old has had a startling year, winning nine titles and rising to world number one for the first time. In August she became world champion.

The competition at the Asian Games will be fierce, however, with deposed former world number one Akane Yamaguchi of Japan and a clutch of Chinese players all challenging.