NEW DELHI: India’s continental dominance in women’s cricket remained unchallenged as the side delivered the country’s first gold medal of the ongoing Asian Games, while the men’s badminton team produced a stunning performance against Japan to assure itself of a podium finish on an eventful Tuesday in Aichi-Nagoya.Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. hammered Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the women’s cricket final to successfully defend their Asian Games title, taking India’s medal tally to seven and finally adding the much-awaited gold to the country’s haul.India also assured themselves medals in men’s badminton and wushu, while the men’s hockey side continued its goal-scoring spree with another emphatic victory, crushing Sri Lanka 16-1 in a Pool A encounter.There were contrasting fortunes in shooting and table tennis, while India’s boxers continued their unbeaten run and gymnast Pranati Nayak qualified for the vault final.
Women’s cricket deliver India’s first gold
India’s women’s cricket side produced another commanding performance to retain the Asian Games title.After opting to bat, India posted a mammoth 216/3, their highest-ever total in women’s cricket at the Asian Games. Smriti Mandhana led the charge with a 45-ball 79, while Richa Ghosh provided a late flourish with an unbeaten 49 off just 22 balls.Shafali Verma contributed 48 from 29 balls as India dominated the gold-medal clash from the outset. The bowlers then completed the job, dismissing Sri Lanka for just 69 to seal a 147-run victory.The triumph gave India their first gold of the Aichi-Nagoya Games and their second successive women’s cricket gold at the Asian Games.ALSO READ: Who is Roshibina Devi? Wushu star who faced selection drama before assuring herself third successive medal
Men’s badminton assure medal after stunning Japan win
The men’s badminton team, silver medallists at the previous edition, produced a memorable 3-0 victory over Japan to storm into the semifinals and assure themselves of at least a bronze medal.Lakshya Sen provided the breakthrough after recovering from a difficult start against world No. 7 Kodai Naraoka. The Indian shuttler lost the opening game and was trailing 14-19 in the decider before producing a remarkable comeback to win 11-21, 21-5, 21-19.Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty then defeated former world champions Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi 21-18, 24-22 to put India 2-0 ahead.Ayush Shetty completed the job with a composed 21-10, 21-19 victory over world No. 16 Koki Watanabe, sealing India’s place in the semifinals.The result also helped the men’s side make up for the disappointment of the women’s team’s quarterfinal exit earlier in the day.
Women’s badminton bow out
India’s women’s badminton team suffered a 1-3 defeat against Japan in the quarterfinals.Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu gave India a strong start before eventually losing 23-21, 18-21, 6-21 to world No. 3 Akane Yamaguchi.Unnati Hooda then went down 16-21, 18-21 against 2022 world junior champion Tomoka Miyazaki.Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand kept India alive with a 21-17, 21-16 win over Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto. However, Tanvi Sharma could not force a decider, losing 12-21, 10-21 to former world champion Nozomi Okuhara as Japan sealed the tie.
Roshibina assures another wushu medal
Roshibina Devi Naorem continued her remarkable Asian Games run by assuring herself of a third successive medal.The Manipuri wushu player defeated Macao, China’s Chu Man Sin in the women’s Sanda 60kg quarterfinal at the Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall. The victory took Roshibina into the semifinals and guaranteed her at least a bronze.Roshibina won bronze at the 2018 Jakarta Games and followed it with a silver at Hangzhou in 2023.Her latest medal comes after a selection controversy surrounding India’s squad, with Roshibina eventually replacing Divyanshi Choudhary after the federation cited an injury.
Hockey side continues goal fest
The men’s hockey side continued its dominant start to the competition with another massive victory, beating Sri Lanka 16-1 in its second Pool A match.Jugraj Singh scored four goals, while Abhishek Singh and Dilpreet Singh completed hat-tricks. Harmanpreet Singh also scored twice as India kept the pressure on throughout the contest.The defending champions had earlier opened their campaign with a 13-1 win over Indonesia. The two victories have given India a staggering +27 goal difference.
Boxers maintain unbeaten run
India’s boxers also enjoyed a productive day.Sakshi Chaudhary pulled off one of the day’s notable upsets by defeating Paris Olympic bronze medallist Aira Villegas in the women’s 51kg category to enter the pre-quarterfinals.Jadumani Singh also advanced to the last 16 in the men’s 55kg category, defeating Nepal’s Chandra Bahadur Thapa 5-0.
Pranati Nayak reaches vault final
Gymnast Pranati Nayak qualified for the women’s individual vault final after finishing seventh among 19 competitors in the qualification round.The three-time Asian Gymnastics Championships bronze medallist recorded a combined score of 12.916 to make the eight-gymnast final, scheduled for September 24.
Mixed fortunes in table tennis
India’s women’s table tennis team advanced to the quarterfinals after edging Thailand 3-2.The men’s side, however, suffered a 0-3 defeat against South Korea in the round of 16 and exited the competition. The loss followed their defeat to Iran in the group stage.
Shooting misses out on another medal
It was a rare disappointing day for India’s shooters.Elavenil Valarivan and Parth Mane finished fourth in the 10m air rifle mixed team final after qualifying second. The pair, who had already won medals in other events, could not reproduce their qualification-round form and were eliminated with a score of 376.3.There was some encouragement in skeet, however, as Anantjeet Singh Naruka moved into a four-way tie for the lead after four rounds of qualification. The 28-year-old shot 96 out of 100 on Tuesday and now has one more round of 25 targets remaining before the eight-shooter final.
More mixed results across disciplines
India’s campaign also produced mixed results elsewhere.In fencing, Chetan Bhatt lost his bronze-medal bout in the 84kg category. The swimmers endured another difficult outing, with the men’s 4x100m relay team finishing eighth and last in the final.Despite those setbacks, Tuesday proved to be another significant day for India at Aichi-Nagoya. The women’s cricket title delivered the country’s first gold, while medals were assured in men’s badminton and wushu. With the hockey side continuing to dominate and boxers making progress, India ended the day with momentum across several disciplines.
