Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
India finally found the kind of day it had been waiting for at the Asian Games. Four gold medals came in a rush on Wednesday, September 30, three of them from compound archery and the fourth from shooting, as India climbed back into the top 10 of the medal standings. It was a much-needed boost, a day after India’s track and field campaign came to an end.
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The haul took India’s tally to 60 medals, including 10 gold, 21 silver and 29 bronze, with three more bronze medals coming on Wednesday. The day’s gold rush was led by India’s compound archers, who swept all three team titles on offer at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square.
India at Asian Games, Sept 30 Highlights
The clean sweep was a statement of India’s strength in a discipline that will make its Olympic debut at Los Angeles 2028. The women’s team of Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Chikitha Taniparthi and Prithika Pradeep successfully defended its title, beating China 238-234. The score was also a world record, underlining just how emphatic India’s performance was.
FROM KARATE TO ARCHERY
Chikitha, 21, then returned to the range with Sahil Jadhav for the mixed team final. The Indian pair appeared in control for much of the contest against South Korea but were dragged into a shoot-off after the two teams finished 157-157. Chikitha and Sahil responded with a perfect 10-10 combination to win the shoot-off and secure gold. More importantly, their victory earned India its first Olympic quota place in compound archery for LA 2028, where the discipline will make its Games debut.
It was a remarkable debut for Chikitha, who had never competed at an Asian Games before Wednesday and walked away with two gold medals. The teenager from Telangana had initially pursued karate in school, even earning a black belt, before a bow gifted by her uncle during Dussehra caught her attention. Her father, who wanted his children to play sport, encouraged her to continue. On Wednesday, that decision paid off spectacularly. Chikitha also became one of the faces of a historic day for Indian archery.
The men’s compound team completed the sweep later in the morning. Kushal Dalal, Sahil Jadhav and Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru had to withstand a late Chinese challenge before edging their opponents 238-237. The narrow victory gave India all three compound team golds in a single day and reinforced the country’s dominance in the discipline.
NEERU SHOOTS SECOND GOLD
If the archers supplied the volume, Neeru Dhanda and Kynan Chenai supplied the drama. The Indian pair won the mixed team trap gold with an Asian and Games record score of 34 out of 40, beating Qatar by two hits. For Neeru, it was her second gold in as many days after she became the first Indian woman to win an individual Asian Games trap title on Tuesday. She had also been part of the women’s team that won silver.
The victory came despite Neeru carrying the effects of an exhausting day in the rain. She had spent nearly three hours shooting in cold, incessant rain during the individual event and was still feeling the stiffness when she returned to the range for mixed team qualification. She managed 63 hits out of 75, while Chenai produced an impressive 73 to take their combined score to 136 and squeeze into the final in fourth place.
There was little time to recover. Neeru used the two-hour break for a power nap, while physiotherapist Ashwani helped her recover and the coaches focused on her diet and preparation. In the final, she recovered from three misses in her opening five shots to hit 13 consecutive targets. Chenai missed only once, hitting his next 19 targets as the Indian pair pulled away from Qatar. Their 34 hits surpassed the previous Games record.
“I was tired, but I had to push myself, and I kept pushing,” Neeru said, as quoted by PTI. The weather had made things harder after her recent health scare, but she refused to let the conditions disrupt her rhythm. “I had to keep myself strong and focus on the process,” she added.
LOVLINA SCRIPTS BOXING HISTORY
There was another piece of history in boxing, where Lovlina Borgohain reached the women’s 75kg final with a gritty 3-2 split-decision victory over Kazakhstan’s Natalya Bogdanova, the reigning world champion at 70kg. The victory made Lovlina the first Indian woman boxer to reach two Asian Games finals. The Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist, who won silver at the 2023 Hangzhou Games, will now fight for gold.
For two of India’s boxing debutants, the day ended with bronze. Priya Ghanghas lost 1-4 to China’s former world champion Yang Chengyu in the women’s 60kg semifinal, while Kapil Pokhariya went down to Uzbekistan’s Turabek Khabibullaev in the men’s 90kg semifinal. Both had already secured podium finishes by reaching the last four.
SUNIL KUMAR DELIVERS WRESTING BRONZE
Wrestling also produced a medal through Sunil Kumar, who bounced back from his semifinal defeat to win bronze in the men’s 87kg Greco-Roman category. The result added another medal to India’s tally on the opening day of its wrestling campaign. Nisha Dahiya, meanwhile, was knocked out in the women’s 68kg freestyle round of 16 by North Korea’s Pak Sol Gum.
HOCKEY TEAM INTO FINAL
The women’s hockey team ensured another gold remains within reach. India beat South Korea 2-0 in the semifinal to reach the final, where they will face China. The defending champions remain in the hunt for another Asian Games title after a disciplined performance against the Koreans.
India also secured two more medals in squash without yet knowing their colour. The women’s team of Tanvi Khanna, Anahat Singh and Joshna Chinappa defeated Singapore 2-0 to reach the semifinals, while the men’s trio of Veer Chotrani, Abhay Singh and Velavan Senthilkumar beat Kuwait 2-0. Both teams are now assured of at least bronze.
In tennis, Sumit Nagal was the only Indian to reach the singles quarterfinals, beating Uzbekistan’s Sergey Fomin 6-3, 6-2. The day was otherwise disappointing for the Indian contingent, with Dhakshineshwar Suresh losing his singles match and both men’s doubles combinations exiting in the quarterfinals.
MEDAL WINNERS ON SEPTEMBER 30
Gold
- Chikitha Taniparthi, Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Prithika Pradeep — Compound archery, women’s team
- Kushal Dalal, Sahil Jadhav, Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru — Compound archery, men’s team
- Chikitha Taniparthi, Sahil Jadhav — Compound archery, mixed team
- Neeru Dhanda, Kynan Chenai — Shooting, mixed team trap
Bronze
- Priya Ghanghas — Boxing, women’s 60kg
- Kapil Pokhariya — Boxing, men’s 90kg
- Sunil Kumar — Wrestling, men’s Greco-Roman 87kg
Through to the next round / medal stage
- Lovlina Borgohain — Boxing, women’s 75kg: into the final after beating Natalya Bogdanova 3-2.
- India women’s hockey team — into the final after beating South Korea 2-0.
- India women’s squash team — into the semifinals, assured of at least bronze.
- India men’s squash team — into the semifinals, assured of at least bronze.
- Sumit Nagal — Tennis men’s singles: into the quarterfinals after beating Sergey Fomin 6-3, 6-2.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
