Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
India added four more medals on the second full day of competition at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, taking its tally to six, but the hunt for gold continued.
Three of those medals came from the shooting range on Monday, September 21, where India once again showed its strength. Himanshu Dhillon, a former wrestler, won silver and Rudrankksh Patil took bronze in the men’s 10m air rifle individual event, after the pair had combined with Parth Mane to win silver in the team competition.
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There was also history in the cage. Suchika Tariyal became India’s first Asian Games medallist in mixed martial arts, but the 36-year-old’s bronze came with a painful twist. After her semifinal against Singapore’s Teo Hui Hoon ended in a draw, a weight-based tiebreak sent her opponent into the final by a margin of just 700 grams.
At the end of Day 2, India had four silver and two bronze medals and sat 12th in the medal table. The absence of a gold medal continued to keep India outside the upper reaches of the standings, with China leading the way with 23 gold medals.
SHOOTING DELIVERS 3 MORE
The shooting range once again proved to be India’s most productive arena.
The men’s 10m air rifle team of Dhillon, Patil and Mane had already secured silver, finishing with a combined score of 1890.1. China won gold with 1899.0, while South Korea took bronze with 1884.2.
There was more to come in the individual final.
China’s Sheng Lihao, the Olympic champion and defending Asian Games champion, produced another commanding performance to take gold. Dhillon finished second and Patil third, giving India two more medals in the event. Dhillon’s silver was particularly significant for the 20-year-old, who has rapidly moved from the junior circuit into the senior ranks.
Dhillon finished with 252.4 points, while Patil’s score of 230.9 was enough for bronze. Sheng’s winning score of 254.2 underlined the fine margins at the top of an event in which India had three finalists.
The three medals took India’s shooting haul at the Games to five, after the country had won two silver medals in the women’s 10m air rifle events on the opening day. Shooting therefore accounted for five of India’s six medals by the end of Day 2.
But there was still no gold to show for India’s strong start.
SUCHIKA’S 700-GRAM HEARTBREAK
If the shooting range offered India three medals, the MMA cage delivered the day’s most complicated emotion.
Suchika Tariyal had already made history by reaching the women’s traditional 60kg semifinal. With MMA making its Asian Games debut in Aichi-Nagoya, her semifinal appearance had guaranteed India its first medal in the sport.
What followed was one of the strangest finishes of the Games.
Tariyal’s bout against Singapore’s Teo Hui Hoon went through regulation and an additional one-minute period without producing a winner. The initial decision went against the Indian, but the Indian camp appealed. After three additional judges reviewed the bout, the result was changed to a draw.
That still did not take Tariyal into the final.
Under the Asian MMA rules, a draw in the relevant circumstances can be settled through a series of tiebreak criteria, including warnings, advice and, if those remain level, the fighters’ pre-competition weights. Teo was around 700 grams lighter at the morning weigh-in, and that proved decisive. She advanced to the gold-medal bout, while Tariyal received bronze.
Tariyal was visibly distraught after the decision and broke down in tears on the mat. She later said she believed she had done enough to win the contest and questioned the fairness of the result.
The disappointment should not obscure what she had achieved.
Tariyal, who has represented India in judo and kurash and is a 2024 world champion in Ju-Jitsu, became the country’s first Asian Games MMA medallist. At 36, she has added another major chapter to a combat-sports career that has crossed several disciplines.
WUSHU STARS IN HUNT FOR MEDALS
There could be more combat-sports success coming India’s way.
Roshibina Devi and Aryan both moved into the wushu quarter-finals, leaving themselves one victory away from assuring medals.
Roshibina, competing in the women’s 60kg Sanda event, defeated Bangladesh’s Most Khatun to reach the last eight. She already owns two Asian Games medals – silver at Hangzhou in 2022 and bronze at Jakarta in 2018 – and is now chasing a third successive podium finish.
Aryan, meanwhile, defeated Afghanistan’s Shahzada Safi 2-0 in the men’s 56kg category to reach his quarter-final. The youngster has a strong junior rsum, including two junior world titles and an Asian junior title, and now has a chance to add an Asian Games medal to that collection.
Both will return on Tuesday with a place in the semifinals, and therefore a guaranteed medal, at stake.
WOMEN’S HOCKEY TEAM ON SONG
India’s women’s hockey team continued its emphatic start to the Games, following up its 19-0 win over Uzbekistan with a 17-1 demolition of Indonesia.
The result took India’s goal tally to 36 in two matches. Deepika, Rutuja Dadaso Pisal and Navneet Kaur scored hat-tricks, while Deepika’s three goals took her tournament tally to 11 after only two matches.
India scored seven times from penalty corners and added 10 field goals against Indonesia. Deepika, who scored eight in the opening match, continued to look almost unstoppable in front of goal.
The women’s team now has two wins from two in Pool B and has made its medal ambitions clear without having to rely on a tight finish in either match.
KABADDI CHAMPS BEGIN WITH WINS
India’s men’s and women’s kabaddi teams also began their title defences with comfortable victories.
The men’s team defeated hosts Japan 49-24 in its opening Group A match, with India’s raiding unit putting the hosts under pressure from the outset. Ashu Malik, Arjun Deshwal, Devank Dalal and Ayan Lohchab were among those making an impact as the defending champions began their campaign with a convincing win.
The women’s team were similarly dominant, beating Bangladesh 42-21. India led 21-10 at half-time before maintaining control after the break. The comfortable margin also allowed the coaching staff to rotate players and give the squad valuable game time.
Both teams arrived in Aichi-Nagoya as defending champions, so the opening victories provided the kind of start expected from the reigning title-holders.
TABLE TENNIS TEAMS INTO KNOCKOUTS
India’s table tennis teams also enjoyed a productive day.
The women’s team blanked Pakistan 3-0 to seal a place in the quarter-finals. Sutirtha Mukherjee, 17-year-old Syndrela Das and Sreeja Akula won their respective singles matches without dropping a game. India had begun its campaign with a 3-2 victory over Singapore and remained unbeaten in the group stage.
The men’s team responded to its defeat against Iran with a 3-0 victory over Pakistan. Harmeet Desai, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Payas Jain all won in straight games, allowing India to complete the tie without dropping a single game. India finished behind Iran in Group F, but ensured they did enough to make it to the pre-quarterfinal round.
SHUTTLERS THRASH BANGLADESH
India’s men’s badminton team also moved into the knockout stage after a 3-0 victory over Bangladesh.
Lakshya Sen opened with a 21-4, 21-12 win over Ayman Ibn Jaman before Ayush Shetty beat Gourab Singha 21-4, 21-13. Kidambi Srikanth then completed the clean sweep with a straight-games victory over Al Amin Jumar.
India now face hosts Japan in the quarter-finals on Tuesday. That will be a significantly tougher test, with Japan having beaten India in the team event at the Badminton Asia Team Championships earlier this year.
SWIMMERS CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE
Swimming, meanwhile, provided little relief.
Srihari Nataraj reached the men’s 50m backstroke final but finished 10th in 25.52 seconds, slower than the 25.37 he had clocked in the heats. China’s Xu Jiayu won gold in a Games-record 24.04 seconds.
Nataraj’s fellow Indian Rishabh Das narrowly missed the final, finishing 11th overall in 25.41 seconds. Akash Mani and Geetesh Shah failed to progress from the 50m freestyle heats, while Danush Suresh missed the 100m backstroke final. India’s men’s 4x200m freestyle relay team of Sajan Prakash, Dhakshan Shashikumar, Vedaant Madhavan and Aneesh Sunil also failed to advance, finishing ninth among 13 teams.
India’s wait for another Asian Games swimming medal therefore continues.
INDIA AT ASIAN GAMES: KEY RESULTS ON DAY 2
Medals
- Himanshu Dhillon — Men’s 10m Air Rifle
- India — Men’s 10m Air Rifle Team (Himanshu Dhillon, Rudrankksh Patil, Parth Mane)
- Rudrankksh Patil — Men’s 10m Air Rifle
- Suchika Tariyal — Women’s Traditional MMA 60kg
Into the next round
- Roshibina Devi — Wushu, Women’s Sanda 60kg — Quarter-finals
- Aryan — Wushu, Men’s Sanda 56kg — Quarter-finals
- India men — Badminton Team — Quarter-finals
- India women — Table Tennis Team — Quarter-finals
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
