New Delhi: After an eventful Saturday, the Indian contingent continued its winning spree at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games Sunday as well with Kynan Chenai, Zoravar Singh and Prithviraj Tondaiman winning gold in the men’s trap event in shooting and Aditi Ashok’s historic silver in golf.
The schedule for the day is as follows:
Schedule: Day 8⃣ of #AsianGames2022
Keep chanting #Cheer4India 🇮🇳 & watch out for your fav events & athletes! #HallaBol #JeetegaBharat #BharatAtAG22 pic.twitter.com/9uVB5uSwlm
— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) September 30, 2023
At the time of publishing this report, India’s medal count stood at 11 gold, 16 silver and 14 bronze. Shooters won the most medals — seven gold, eight silver, and five bronze across different events. Rowing also brought home two silver and three bronze medals, making it the second most successful sport for India.
On Saturday, India secured golds in both women’s cricket and equestrian even though expectations from the latter were low, the golden finish was nothing short of historic.
The day stood out for India more than any other preceding day of the games that began 23 September. It commenced with shooters Sarabjot Singh and Divya TS securing a silver medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team shooting competition. They faced off against China’s formidable duo of Ranxin Jiang and Zhang Bowen, the latter the reigning world champion in the men’s individual event.
The gold medal playoff saw a leading 7-3 scoreline at one point. Ultimately, a minuscule 4mm, and two points, made all the difference, securing the gold for the Chinese duo.
Lovlina Borgohain also moved into boxing semi-finals.
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Bopanna, the veteran
Teaming up with Rutuja Bhosale, 43-year-old Rohan Bopanna clinched the mixed doubles gold in tennis final. Overcame an initial set deficit to triumph over Liang En Shuo and Tsung-hao Huang from Chinese Taipei, the duo triumphed, with a final scoreline of 2-6, 6-3, 10-4.
It is worth noting that Bopanna, currently ranked world number 7 in doubles, participated in his first Asian Games over two decades ago, in 2002 at Busan.
It was only 17 September that Bopanna bid farewell to his remarkable 21-year journey in the Davis Cup, symbolically leaving his jersey on the court. Just a week before that, he wrapped up his campaign at the 2023 US Open, proudly clutching the men’s doubles runner-up trophy.
If he manages to stay within the top 10 next year, he secures an automatic berth for another Olympic appearance, say media reports.
Abhay Singh & his nerves of steel
In December 2021, Abhay Singh considered quitting squash after missing the Indian squad for key events. However, he was later picked for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. In a media interview, he said he stopped doubting his future in the game and continued in the sport, winning a tournament in France in May 2022.
This decision paid off at the Asian Games when Singh made a historic comeback, defeating Pakistan’s Noor Zaman 3-2 despite facing match point at 8-10. Early visuals showed Zaman celebrating but Singh had other plans as he overcame the lead, helping India win gold with the team, including Saurav Ghoshal, Mahesh Mangaonkar and Harinder Sandhu, making a remarkable comeback to secure India’s second-ever squash gold at the Asian Games.
Shuttlers enter finals, 1st in 49 years
The badminton team made history by securing a place in the Asian Games team event finals. In a thrilling semifinal, the men’s team outperformed South Korea, marking India’s first-ever entry into the finals at the Asiad since its debut in 1974, show media reports.
This achievement was powered by outstanding performances in the last four clashes. Badminton at the Asian Games is renowned for its difficulty due to formidable opponents such as China, Indonesia, and Japan. India’s last medal in the men’s team event was in 1986, with Prakash Padukone, U. Vimal Kumar, Uday Pawar, Leroy D’Sa, Ravi Kunte, Sanat Misra, and Syed Modi securing a bronze after losing 1-4 to China in the semifinals.
H.S. Prannoy, the bronze medallist at the World Championships, gave India an early lead in the semifinal against the Republic of Korea. Despite losing the first game, Prannoy, ranked 7th globally, rallied to win two closely contested games against Hyeokjin Jeon, who is ranked 47th in men’s singles.
Following Prannoy’s victory, India’s men’s doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, couldn’t maintain the lead, falling 21-13, 26-24 to Seo Seung Jae and Kang Min Hyuk, who are ranked fourth in the world. This brought the score level after the initial two matches. Lakshya Sen, the reigning Commonwealth Games champion, swiftly reclaimed the lead for India by defeating Yun Gyu Lee 21-9, 21-8 in just 44 minutes. However, the doubles pair of Arjun Madathil Ramachandran and Dhruv Kapila faced a 16-21, 11-21 defeat against Wonho Kim and NA Sungseunhg.
The fate of the tie ultimately rested on Kidambi Srikanth in a deciding singles match. Srikanth initially struggled against Geonyeop Cho but bounced back to force a third game, ultimately winning the tie 12-21, 21-16, 21-14. India advanced to the final, where they will face defending champions China, who defeated Japan 3-1 in the other semifinal, on Sunday.
Winning streak continues
The men’s hockey team is in outstanding form at the games, securing four consecutive wins. They started with a 16-0 victory against Uzbekistan, followed by a 16-1 win over Singapore. Facing 2018 Asian Games Gold medallist Japan, India had their toughest challenge yet, but they triumphed with a 4-2 win, maintaining their winning streak.
🇮🇳: 10
🇵🇰: 2
Our #MenInBlue🔵 brought the heat🔥 to field, delivering an electrifying victory against Pakistan!
The boys are going strong at #AsianGames2022! Many congratulations 🥳
Looking forward to many #HallaBol moments from you as we continue to #Cheer4India 🇮🇳… pic.twitter.com/lYJZLt9tHe
— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) September 30, 2023
On Saturday, in the fourth hockey match, the men’s team secured a resounding 10-2 victory against Pakistan. This win solidified India’s leading position in the Pool A hockey standings, boasting four consecutive victories. Japan and Pakistan follow closely in second and third place, each with nine points. Notably, this marked the 180th encounter between India and Pakistan in men’s hockey, with India having won 66 times compared to Pakistan’s 82 victories, show media reports. In their final group game, India is set to face Bangladesh Monday.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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