India are poised to celebrate a historic century of medals at the Asian Games after wrestlers bagged three medals, the sport of sepaktakraw added a historic bronze and the men’s hockey team reclaimed the gold to take the country’s tally to 95 here on Friday.
India are already assured of six more medals in different disciplines — kabaddi (2), archery (3), hockey (1), badminton (1) and cricket (1), and once the competition folds in these event, the country will cross the coveted 100-medal mark for the first time ever on Saturday.
At least four more wrestlers are in contention on the penultimate day of the competition and it won’t be a surprise if more medals are added to the tally.
India had won 70 medals in the last edition in Indonesia where the country’s athletes won 16 gold, 23 silver and 31 bronze medals to record their best-ever performance.
On the back of a splendid show by the shooters (22) and track and field athletes (29 medals), who contributed 51 medals, India had already surpassed its best-ever show on Wednesday.
The Indian contingent won many surprise medals, the biggest being a women’s table tennis team bronze by Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee, who humbled the mighty China in the semifinals.
Parul Chaudhary’s sensational dash in the last 30 metres of the women’s 5000m event will also be remembered for a long time as the Meerut runner snatched a gold by edging Japan’s Ririka Hironaka in a close finish.
Javelin thrower Kishore Kumar Jena’s astonishing 86.77m throw that gave him lead over superstar Neeraj Chopra for a brief period in the men’s javelin event was another unforgettable moment.
Later Chopra won the gold, while Jena finished behind him to settle for a silver medal.
Canoers Arjun Singh and Sunil Singh Salam’s historic bronze in the men’s double 1000m along with Ram Baboo and Manju Rani’s third place finish in the mixed 35km race walk were perfect examples that if athletes refuse to bow down to the hardships life throws, excelling in sports is possible.
India reclaimed the Asian Games hockey gold with 5-1 drubbing of Japan and qualified for Paris Olympics.
Skipper Harmanpreet Singh led admirably as the Indian men’s hockey team mauled defending champions Japan 5-1 to reclaim the Asian Games gold, their fourth in the continental showpiece, after nine years and qualify for next year’s Paris Olympics here on Friday.
The Indians, who had to be content with a bronze medal in the last edition in Jakarta, thus won their fourth Asian Games gold and first since the 2014 Incheon edition.
India’s other gold medals came in 1966 and 1998, both times in Bangkok.
South Korea won the bronze medal after eking out a close 2-1 win over hosts China.
Harmanpreet (32nd, 59th minutes) scored a brace through penalty corners, Amit Rohidas (36th) also sounded the board from a set-piece, while Manpreet Singh (25th) and Abhishek (48th) found the net from field efforts to register the famous victory for India. Seren Tanaka converted a penalty corner for Japan in the 51st minutes.
Harmanpreet, thus, finished the tournament as India’s top scorer with 13 goals, one ahead of striker Mandeep.
The Indians, who ended the tournament unbeaten, were by far the better side against Japan, whom they had defeated 4-2 in the pool stages.
The Indians mostly used the flanks to great effect to build their attacks and also used down-the-line long balls to perfection.
The Tokyo Olympics bronze medallists were quick to get off the blocks and made quite a few circle penetrations but failed to convert them into goals in the first quarter. India played high-press hockey and constantly put the Japanese defence under pressure.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded Indian men’s hockey team for winning the gold medal in the Asian Games, saying their unwavering commitment, passion and synergy have not only won the game but also the hearts of countless Indians.
“An exhilarating Gold Medal triumph by our Men’s Hockey Team at the Asian Games! Congratulations to the team for this outstanding performance. This team’s unwavering commitment, passion and synergy have not only won the game but also the hearts of countless Indians. This victory is a testament to their spirit. Best wishes for the endeavours ahead,” he posted on X.
In archery, Ankita Bhakat, daughter of a milk vendor, and Bhajan Kaur, who took to the sports after trying her hand in shot put, were right on target when India won their first medal, a bronze, in women’s recurve event after 13 years at the Asian Games on Friday.
Ankita and Bhajan, the youngest of the trio at 18, teamed up with Simranjeet Kaur to overcome some crunch moments to bring the bronze, the country’s first in Olympic recurve section since Guangzhou Games 2010, where they had won three medals.
“This medal will rank at the top. I’ve won many medals at the World Cup but to win at the Asian Games is different and definitely this will rank higher,” the senior most member of the team Ankita, who suffered a heartbreak in Jakarta Games 2018, told PTI.
The daughter of a milk vendor in Bidhan Park area near Baranagar, Kolkata, Ankita struggled for six years and could not afford to buy a recurve bow. “I shot with an Indian bow and won the Nationals too, but my family could not afford a recurve bow. So, my career never progressed beyond that,” Ankita, who hails from Sithi More, recollected her days at the Kolkata Archery Academy.
Meanwhile, the Indian men’s kabaddi team thrashed arch-rival Pakistan 61-14 on Friday to take their designated place in the final of the Asian Games here after the shock bronze-medal finish in the 2018 edition in Jakarta.
The India women, the two-time former champions, too stormed into their fourth successive games final with a commanding 61-17 win over Nepal.
Pakistan men were hardly a match for the nippy and technically superior Indian counterparts who took a massive 30-5 lead at the end of the first
session, securing two bonus points along with the 22 and six points they earned through “outs” and “all outs”
respectively.
Winners of seven consecutive gold medals at the continental showpiece, the Indian men’s team had suffered a shock semifinal loss to Iran at the Jakarta Games, making it the first time the big boys of the sport had failed to make it to the final since the sport was included in the games in 1990.
In cricket, title favourites India confirmed a medal in men’s cricket competition with a crushing nine-wicket win over Bangladesh to storm into the final of the Asian Games here on Friday.