A large Indian contingent of 644 athletes under the aegis of Indian Olympic Committee participated in the 19th Asian games, Hangzhou from 23.09.23 to 08.10.23.  The contingent was led by Shri Bhupinder Singh Bajwa, Chef De Mission. The Indian contingent participated in about 35 different categories of sports in Hangzhou, Huzhou,  Shaoxing, Ningbo and Wenzhou.

 

  The Consulate General of India in Shanghai organised a welcome reception for the Indian contingent to the 19th Asian Games and the accompanying technical officials at Sheraton Grand Hotel, Hangzhou on 24th September, 2023. Shri Pradeep Rawat, Ambassador of India in China and Smt Shruti Rawat, spouse of Ambassador graced the occasion.

 

  In his opening remarks during the welcome reception Consul General of India in Shanghai Dr. N. Nandakumar extended warm welcome to the largest ever Indian contingent to the Asian Games and assured the contingent all possible support during their stay in Hangzhou. He mentioned that the Consulate would make sure that the Indian contingent felt home in Hangzhou though they were far away from India.  Ambassador Shri Rawat in his keynote address referred to the importance attached by Government of India for encouraging sports in the country and wished that the Indian contingent would make the slogan ‘isbaar 100 paar’ a reality.  He wished team India a successful Asian Games. 

 

  Shri  Bhupinder Singh Bajwa, the Chef De Mission in his remarks thanked the Ambassador  and the Consulate and the Indian Community for their support to Team India. He also welcomed the members of Indian Diaspora to attend events in which team India would be participating and cheer them.

 

  Ambassador Shri Rawat, Smt Shruti Rawat, Consul General Dr. N. Nandakumar and Mrs. Sreedevi Nandakumar warmly welcomed the Indian players and the officials of the Indian contingent  with  flower bouquets on the dias.  This was followed by mesmerising Indian cultural performance. Ms. Jin Shanshan, a local Indian Bharatnatyam exponent and her daughter Ms Jessica performed Bharatnatyam for the song ‘Thandava Nrityakari’ signifying auspicious beginning. This was followed by a Odissi performance by Ms Regina Wu, a local Odissi exponent trained in India.  She performed  two items namely ‘Megha Pallavi’ and ‘Moksha’. Ms. Jin Shanshan and her daughter Jessica performed the concluding piece ‘Shankara Sri Giri’ signifying enthrallment. Shri Aditya Prabhudesai, Consul (PIC) hosted the programme as the master of the ceremony.

 

  The welcome ceremony was attended by a large number of Indian diaspora from Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Wenzhou etc.  Apart from the Indian community large number of Indian students pursuing their higher studies in China at Zhejiang University, Ningbo University, Wenzhou Medical University, Suzhou University, etc also enthusiastically participated in the welcome reception. Among the officials, apart from Chef De Mission, renowned former players of India namely Sh V. V. Somaya, Dy. Chef  De Mission, Sh Gagan Narang - Vice President of Indian Olympic Association (IOA), Smt Dola Banerjee – Vice President of IOA also participated in the welcome reception. Sh Kalyan Choudhury – Secretary General of IOA was also present. Sh Pushpendra Garg – Chief Executive Officer (CEO), TOPS  Scheme, represented Sports Authority of India (SAI).  Among the athletes, the Women’s Softball team, Sh Rohan Bopanna and coaches were in attendance.  

 

  The programme provided an opportunity to motivate Team India  right at the very beginning of the 19th Asian Games. Further it also provided an opportunity for the Indian Community to meet the Indian contingent to Asian Games, which they would cherish for a long time to come. 

 

Shanghai

19th October