Indian flag bearer Neeraj Chopra marches in during the opening ceremony
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has offered his best wishes to the Indian contingent for the 18th Asian Games, which started on Saturday in Jakarta, Indonesia.
"Best wishes to the Indian contingent for the @asiangames2018, which are being held in Indonesia. We are extremely proud of our athletes and I am sure they will give their best through the games," he tweeted.
The Asian Games will take place simultaneously in Indonesia's capital Jakarta, and Palembang, capital of the province of South Sumatra.
The opening ceremony began in Jakarta at 5:30 pm Indian time.
In all, close to 11,000 athletes from 45 countries will be in action at the Games, which will conclude on September 2
The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, will be a reality check for India's athletes after the Commonwealth Games high. India had equalled their best performance in terms of medals won in the 2014 Asiad with a total of 57, including 11 gold, and the contingent of 572 athletes this time would be hoping to better that.
