India had a mixed but medal-filled day at the Asian Games on Thursday, winning silver medals in sailing and Greco-Roman wrestling while the defending champions in men’s cricket and hockey reached their respective finals.India’s medal tally rose to 65, including 10 gold, 23 silver and 32 bronze, keeping the country inside the top 10 of the standings.
Sailing gives India early silver
Kerala cousins Prince Kurisinkal Noble and Manu Francis gave India an early medal in the men’s skiff sailing event. The Indian pair finished second behind China and ahead of Hong Kong, China. They won one race and finished second in three of the nine races.It was India’s first sailing medal of the ongoing Asian Games.India also won a bronze in the women’s skiff event, with Harshita Tomar and Shital Verma finishing on the podium.
Silver in Greco-Roman wrestling
India added another silver later in the day when Nitesh Siwach finished second in the men’s 97kg Greco-Roman wrestling event.Siwach lost 0-4 to Japan’s Yuri Nakazato in the final. A silver medal in Greco-Roman wrestling is a rare achievement for India at the Asian Games.
Squash teams settle for bronze
Both India’s men’s and women’s squash teams ended their campaigns with bronze medals after losing their respective semifinals. The women’s team of Anahat Singh, Joshana Chinappa, Tanvi Khanna and Shameena Riaz lost 1-2 to Hong Kong.Anahat, who had already won silver in the singles event, had four match points but could not close out her opening match against world No. 25 Sin Yuk Chan. She lost 2-3 (11-9, 11-8, 6-11, 11-13, 10-12).Tanvi then kept India’s hopes alive with a 3-1 (4-11, 13-11, 11-9, 13-11) win over world No. 40 Ka Yi Lee. But veteran Joshana Chinappa lost in straight games to world No. 39 Ho Tze Lok, ending India’s hopes of reaching the final.The defending champion men’s team of Abhay Singh, Velavan Senthilkumar, Veer Chotrani and Suraj Chand also settled for bronze after a 1-2 loss to Malaysia.
Ganesh adds another archery bronze
Compound archer Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru added a bronze medal to India’s tally after winning his men’s individual bronze medal match. Ganesh, who was part of India’s gold-winning men’s team on Wednesday, defeated Vietnam’s Cong Duc Dang 149-144. The 20-year-old produced an excellent performance in the playoff, hitting the target with 14 of his 15 shots.Ganesh had lost 144-148 to South Korea’s Kim Jongho in the semifinal. He went down 29-30, 29-30, 29-28, 29-30, 28-30.
Cricket: India crush Sri Lanka
India’s men’s T20 team had little practice and game time before their semifinal against Sri Lanka. But none of that showed once the match began. Led by Shreyas Iyer, India posted 169/7 on a difficult pitch before bowling Sri Lanka out for just 45.Ishan Kishan played a key role with an unbeaten 80 off 46 balls, while pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and Axar Patel took two wickets each.India now face Pakistan in the gold medal match after Pakistan beat Bangladesh in the other semifinal.
Hockey: Abhishek saves India from Pakistan scare
Defending champions India survived a huge scare against Pakistan before Abhishek scored with just 45 seconds left to seal a dramatic 4-3 win in the men’s hockey semifinal.Captain Harmanpreet Singh scored from two penalty corners in the fifth and 13th minutes, while Sukhjeet Singh added a field goal in the 23rd minute. India looked in control at that stage, but Pakistan fought back strongly after the break.Abu Mahmood scored in the 30th minute, Hannan Shahid in the 45th and Waheed Rana in the 49th to bring Pakistan level.India struggled to regain control as Pakistan’s forwards put the defending champions under sustained pressure.With the match heading towards a shootout, Abhishek produced the decisive moment in the final minute. His effort took a deflection off Pakistan defender Sufiyan and beat goalkeeper Ali Raza.India will face the winner of the other semifinal between South Korea and Malaysia in the final.
Pranavi puts India in golf medal hunt
Pranavi Urs produced one of the best rounds of the day in women’s golf, shooting a seven-under 63 to move to second place. She is just two strokes behind leader Shannon Tan of Singapore.Pranavi began with back-to-back birdies and made four birdies in her first six holes. She then added three more birdies between the 13th and 16th holes. She completed the round without dropping a shot. Her performance also lifted India to the bronze-medal position in the women’s team event, with India at seven-under 273.Diksha Dagar is T-21st after rounds of 71 and 73, while Aditi Ashok is T-25th after scores of 71 and 74. The best two scores from each round count towards the team medal.
India assured of sepaktakraw medal
India secured at least a bronze medal in men’s quadrant sepaktakraw after reaching the semifinals. India beat Myanmar 2-1 to finish unbeaten and top Group A. India won 10-15, 15-13, 15-7 after earlier victories over Laos and Vietnam. They had beaten Vietnam 2-0 (15-12, 15-9) earlier in the day. The semifinals will be played on Friday.
Tennis campaign ends without a medal
India’s tennis team will return from the Asian Games without a medal for the first time since 1986.Sumit Nagal’s quarterfinal exit in men’s singles brought the Indian tennis campaign to an end. Nagal lost 4-6, 4-6 to China’s Yibing Wu in one hour and 38 minutes on Thursday.Indian judokas, cyclists and pistol shooter Anish Bhanwala also missed out on medals after making early exits from their respective events.
