HANGZHOU, Asian Games (AFP) — Some of the finest competitors on the planet will be in action at the Asian Games from Saturday until 8 October.

AFP Sports picks out eight athletes to watch in Hangzhou.

Mutaz Essa Barshim (High Jump, QAT)

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, IND)

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, KOR)

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 team-mates is the fact that doing so will also exempt them from having to do military service back home.

Rikako Ikee (Swimming, JPN)

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

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.