Nagoya (Japan): India’s performance at the 20th Asian Games has not been particularly impressive so far. Eight days of competition have already gone by, with only eight days remaining, and by Saturday evening, the Indian contingent had managed to win just four gold medals. What makes this more striking is that India had finished fourth at the 19th Asian Games in 2022 with a record 106 medals — 28 gold, 38 silver and 40 bronze. On Saturday evening, however, India were languishing in 10th place in the medal standings.
The good news for India was that the kabaddi players delivered back-to-back gold medals and helped the country break into the top 10 of the medal table. By Saturday evening, India had won 30 medals — four gold, 12 silver and 14 bronze — and were placed 10th.
In the men’s shot put, Tejinderpal Singh Toor finished second after throwing the iron ball 20.64 metres to win the silver medal. Iran’s Mohammadreza Tayebi won gold after breaking Toor’s Asian record of 20.75 metres. Tayebi produced a throw of 20.81 metres on Friday. Toor had won gold medals at both of the previous two Asian Games.
India’s kabaddi players have once again dominated the Asian stage. After the women’s team won gold, the men’s team also clinched the top prize on Saturday. Both Indian kabaddi teams defeated Iran in thrilling finals. In the men’s final, India beat Iran 40-34 to retain the Asian Games title. It was India’s ninth gold medal in men’s kabaddi. Earlier on Saturday afternoon, the Indian women defeated Iran 37-34.
The men’s kabaddi final was fiercely contested. At one stage, both teams were locked at 20-20, but India gradually took control and kept extending the lead before sealing a 40-34 victory.
Before Iran won the title at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, India had dominated men’s kabaddi, winning seven consecutive gold medals. India regained the title at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games and have now successfully defended it. In 2018, India’s women had also lost the final to Iran, but this time they defeated Iran to claim a record fourth gold medal.
By Saturday evening, India had won a total of seven medals in the two kabaddi events and Toor’s silver medal among the latest medal-winning performances. Toor, who had recently recovered from injuries, could not get enough practice because of the humid conditions in Japan.
In the 42.195-kilometre marathon, Indian Army athlete Sawan Barwal won the silver medal after finishing second with a timing of 2 hours, 11 minutes and 37 seconds. His performance was a national record and a historic medal for India, as the country won a marathon medal at the Asian Games after 44 years — and this time it was silver. At the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi, Hosur Kukkappa had won bronze.
In squash, Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar lost their mixed doubles semifinal against the Hong Kong pair and had to settle for bronze. In the same sport, Anahat Singh and Abhay Singh reached their respective finals, ensuring at least two more silver medals for India.
In the women’s 400 metres, Prachi Chaudhary finished third in 53.21 seconds to win the bronze medal. In shooting, India’s Aashi Chouksey, Tilottama Sen and Vidarsa Vinod won the silver medal in the women’s 50m rifle 3P team event. India could still add more medals in athletics as well as hockey, badminton and boxing.
Shooting Produces Historic Gold with Asian Record
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India won its second shooting gold medal of the Asian Games on Friday when the pair of Kamaljeet Singh and Suruchi Inder Singh triumphed in the mixed team event. Even more significantly, India won the 10m air pistol mixed team gold for the first time in Asian Games history — and did so with a record-breaking score.
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Kamaljeet and Suruchi topped the 10m air pistol mixed team final with a highest-ever score of 484.6, setting an Asian record. The South Korean pair won silver with 478.00 points, while Iran took bronze with 415.08.
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India Enter Men’s Hockey Semifinals; Other Results
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In men’s hockey, India defeated Japan 2-0 on Saturday to enter the semifinals. Abhishek scored in the 15th minute, while captain Harmanpreet Singh converted in the 40th minute.
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In badminton, P. V. Sindhu defeated Chinese Taipei’s Chiu Pin-Chian 21-19, 21-14 in the second-round match. Lakshya Sen, however, suffered defeat, while Ayush Shetty and Unnati Hooda won their respective second-round singles matches.
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In table tennis, India’s Manush Shah and Yashaswini Ghorpade were beaten in their respective third-round singles matches.
ALSO READ: Kamaljeet-Suruchi Pair Win Historic Gold For India with Record-Breaking Score!
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