Mutaz Essa Barshim (Qatar) competes in the Men's High Jump heats at the 2019 IAAF Athletics World Championships at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha on October 1, 2019. Photo by AFP
Barshim is the current Olympic and World Champion in high jump, and second highest jumper of all-time with a personal best of 2.43 meters.
The 19th Asian Games will take place in Hangzhou from September 23 to October 8.
Neeraj Chopra (India) in action during the final of men's javelin throw at the World Athletics Championship in the National Athletics Center, Budapest, Hungary, August 27, 2023, where he was crowned champion. Photo by Reuters
Chopra won his Asian Games title five years ago in Indonesia and an individual Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020 in 2021.
Ikee Rikako (Japan) reacts after competeing the 100-meter butterfly final during JAPAN SWIM 2021, the Japan Championship, at Tokyo Aquatics Center in Tokyo to qualify for the 400‐meter medley relay of Tokyo Olympics on April 4, 2021. Photo by The Yomiuri Shimbun/Handout via Reuters
Her Tokyo 2020 Olympics qualification came after she was diagnosed with leukemia in 2019.
At the last Asian Games in 2018, Ikee won six gold and two silver medals and the tournament's Female MVP Award.
Hinano Kusaki (Japan) performs during women's park final of Skateboard Japan Open at Kugenuma Kaihin Skate Park in Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture on April 10, 2022, where she won the event. Photo by The Yomiuri Shimbun via AFP
The 15-year-old, the 2022 Japanese national skateboarding champion, is the youngest athlete to make Olympics.com's athletes-to-watch list.
Asian Games will be Kusaki's national team debut.
Pandelela Rinong Pamg (Malaysia) shows her gold medal after the women's 10m platform final at the FINA Diving World Cup and test event for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, at the Tokyo Aquatics Center on May 5, 2021. Photo by AFP
Dubbed Malaysia's diving queen, Pandelela has had a difficult year. She performed poorly at July's World Championships in Japan due to illness and injury.
The Asian Games is seen as an opportunity for her to turn her season around.
Sun Yingsha (China) reacts during her match against Mima Ito of Japan at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics's table tennis event at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan, August 5, 2021. Photo by Reuters
Sun has won Olympic and Youth Olympic gold in singles and team; World and Asian Championships gold in singles, doubles, mixed doubles, and team; World Cup crowns in singles and team; and Asian Games gold in mixed doubles and team. She has not won a Asian Games singles title.
Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Thailand) in action during the men's singles final against Singapore's Loh Kean Yew in the badminton event at the SEA Games in Bac Giang Gymnasium, Bac Giang Province, Vietnam, May 22, 2022. The Thai player won gold from the event. Photo by Reuters
The 22-year-old won three straight world junior titles from 2017 through 2019.
He finished the BWF World Tour Finals 2021 as runner-up. He won his first World Tour title last year and two World Tour titles this year.
Zhang Boheng (China) competes during the rings of the artistic gymnastics men's all-around final at the National Artistic Gymnastics Championship in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, September 6, 2022. Photo by Xinhua via AFP
Olympics.com said Zhang, the 2021 world all-around champion and the reigning Olympic, World Championships and Asian Games parallel bars champion Zou Jingyuan are favorites at the upcoming tournament on their homeground.
Hwang Sun-woo (South Korea) competes in a semi-final of the men's 200m freestyle swimming event during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Tokyo on July 26, 2021. Photo by AFP
Pan won silver at the World Aquatics Championship in 2022 and bronze in 2023 in 200m freestyle swimming event.
In the 100m, Pan is the Asian record holder with 47.22 seconds.
