Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
India’s Asian Games campaign began with two silver medals, a historic MMA medal, a cricket final and a couple of emphatic hockey victories. But the opening day in Aichi-Nagoya was about more than the medals India collected. It was about Elavenil Valarivan coming within 0.6 points of an Asian Games record, Suchika Tariyal becoming a medallist in a sport making its debut, and Shafali Verma producing a century that had never been seen at these Games.
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By the end of Sunday, India had won two medals and guaranteed at least two more, with Elavenil winning two silvers in the women’s 10m air rifle and Suchika assured of bronze after reaching the semi-finals of the women’s traditional 60kg MMA event. The women’s cricket team added another gold-medal opportunity by dismantling Bangladesh in the semi-final, while both hockey teams began their campaigns with huge wins.
There were disappointments, too. Quimcy Dsouza came agonisingly close to two teqball bronze medals, India’s men’s table tennis team suffered a setback, and there were no medals in wushu. But the opening day offered plenty of evidence that India’s campaign will stretch well beyond the shooting range.
ELAVENIL TURNS DISAPPOINTMENT INTO DOUBLE
Elavenil Valarivan won in the women’s 10m air rifle individual final, but the medal came after a performance that kept her in the gold-medal fight until the very last shot.
The Indian shot 252.4 to finish just 0.6 points behind Japan’s Hinata Taichi, who won gold with an Asian Games record 253.0. South Korea’s Olympic champion Ban Hyojin took bronze with 230.4. Elavenil had led for large stretches of the final and entered the decisive stages with the gold firmly within reach. Hinata, however, produced the stronger final shot to snatch the title.
The silver was Elavenil’s second of the day. Earlier, she had combined with Sonam Uttam Maskar and Vidarsa Kochalumkal Vinod to win the women’s 10m air rifle team silver. India’s 1898.0 put them second behind China’s 1904.2, with hosts Japan taking bronze on 1897.1.
Sonam had also reached the individual final after producing the highest qualification score among the Indian trio, but finished sixth. Vidarsa’s 630.4 in qualification helped India secure the team medal.
For Elavenil, it was a day of both achievement and what might have been. She had missed the Olympic final in Paris and arrived in Aichi-Nagoya with the weight of that disappointment behind her. On Sunday, she twice found herself in medal contention and twice walked away with silver.
HISTORIC MMA MEDAL ASSURED
Suchika Tariyal’s medal came from a very different journey.
The 36-year-old defeated Mongolia’s Altanchimeg Baigalmaa 2-0 in the women’s traditional 60kg quarter-final to assure India of a medal in MMA, which is making its Asian Games debut in Aichi-Nagoya. She will face Singapore’s Teo Hui Hoon in Monday’s semi-final. Both losing semi-finalists receive bronze medals, meaning Suchika has already secured a place on the podium.
“This medal means a lot to me as me and my coaches have worked very hard to reach here. My family has spent a lot of money for me and provided me with every possible support to help me become a good MMA player. So, this medal means more than my life,” Suchika told SAI Media.
Her route to this moment has been anything but straightforward. A native of Rohtak, Suchika began judo at 12 after an incident of harassment motivated her to learn the sport for self-defence. She went on to become an eight-time national judo champion and won gold at the 2019 Commonwealth Judo Championships and South Asian Games. She also represented India at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Her MMA journey began in 2017, but she took a seven-year break from the sport while continuing to compete in judo and jiu-jitsu. She eventually returned to MMA and was inducted into the Sports Ministry’s Target Asian Games Group earlier this year.
However, there was a forgettable moment on the opening day. The other MMA fighter in the Indian contingent, Varun Sanyal, was declared medically unfit after passing out in a sauna at the Asian Games. His withdrawal came after he had already endured more than 10 hours of accommodation-related chaos.
SHAFALI’S HISTORIC HUNDRED
If shooting supplied the medals and MMA supplied the history, Shafali Verma supplied the fireworks.
The opener smashed an unbeaten 100 off 49 balls as India hammered Bangladesh by 114 runs to reach the women’s cricket gold-medal match. Shafali became the first cricketer to score a century in Asian Games cricket, with her innings featuring three fours and nine sixes. India posted 195/4 before bowling Bangladesh out for 81 in 15.4 overs.
She reached her fifty in just 26 balls before taking the attack apart. The second half of her innings was a succession of clean strikes, with Bangladesh unable to contain her once she began clearing the ropes regularly. Her 49-ball century equalled Harmanpreet Kaur’s record for the fastest T20I century by an Indian woman, set against New Zealand in 2018.
The nine sixes also equalled the women’s T20I record shared by West Indies stars Deandra Dottin and Hayley Matthews.
India @ Asian Games: Day 1 Highlights
Harmanpreet contributed 40 and Smriti Mandhana 37 off 19 as India posted a daunting total. Deepti Sharma then produced the bowling performance of the innings, taking 3/7 in 2.4 overs, while Nandani Sharma also claimed three wickets.
India will face Sri Lanka in Tuesday’s final, giving them the opportunity to defend the gold medal they won at the 2023 Asian Games.
Sri Lanka booked their place in the final by chasing down Pakistan’s 177/4 in the other semi-final. Chamari Athapaththu led the chase with an unbeaten 83, taking Sri Lanka to 178/2 in 17.5 overs. Pakistan and Bangladesh will therefore meet for the bronze medal.
GOAL RUSH IN HOCKEY
India’s women made one of the loudest statements of the day, crushing Uzbekistan 19-0 in their opening Pool B match.
Deepika Sehrawat was the star, scoring eight goals as India overwhelmed their opponents from the opening whistle. The result gave the women’s team an emphatic start to their campaign.
The men were equally ruthless. India beat Indonesia 13-1 in their Pool A opener, with Dilpreet Singh scoring four goals. Shilanand Lakra and Sukhjeet Singh added two each as India began their title defence with an overwhelming victory.
PV SINDHU STARS ON DAY 1
The women’s badminton team needed only three matches to get past Kazakhstan 3-0 in the Round of 16.
PV Sindhu opened with a 21-7, 21-9 win over Kamila Smagulova before Unnati Hooda beat Alissa Kuleshova 21-7, 21-10. Tanvi Sharma then completed the clean sweep with a 21-5, 21-10 victory over Diana Namenova.
None of the three singles matches lasted beyond 25 minutes, meaning India did not need either of its doubles pairs.
The reward is a much tougher quarter-final against Japan on September 22, with a place in the medal rounds at stake.
TABLE TENNIS: WOMEN STUN SINGAPORE
India’s women’s table tennis team began strongly, beating Indonesia 3-0 before producing a comeback 3-2 victory over Singapore.
The men also opened with a 3-0 win over Indonesia, but later suffered a setback against Iran. It was a reminder that while some of India’s biggest teams began the Games with emphatic victories, the margins will become considerably thinner as the competition progresses.
TEQBALL DOUBLE HEARTBREAK
There was no medal for India in teqball despite Quimcy Dsouza coming within touching distance twice.
She lost the women’s singles bronze-medal match to Japan’s Yuina Sakamoto in two games, both ending 11-12. Dsouza then returned alongside Mohamed Anas Beg for the mixed doubles bronze-medal match, where the Indian pair lost 0-2 to Vietnam.
India also ended the day without a medal in wushu. Suraj Singh Mayanglambam finished 11th in the men’s changquan final.
RESULTS IN A GLANCE ON DAY 1
Medals
- Elavenil Valarivan – Women’s 10m air rifle silver
- Elavenil Valarivan, Sonam Uttam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod – Women’s 10m air rifle team silver
Medals assured
- The women’s cricket team beat Bangladesh by 114 runs in the semifinal to qualify for the gold medal match.
- MMA: Suchika Tariyal reached women’s traditional 60kg semifinals of MMA, which is making its Asian Games debut. She defeated Mongolia’s Altanchimeg Baigalmaa 2-0 in the quarterfinals.
Heartbreaks
- Quimcy D’Souza – Lost bronze medal match in women’s singles teqball
- Quimcy D’Souza and Anas Baig – Lost bronze medal match in mixed doubles teqball
Commendable shows
- Swimming: Rishabh Das finished fifth in men’s 100m Backstroke and secured a sixth-place finish in the final.
Positive starts
- India women beat Kazakhstan 3-0 in women’s team badminton
- India men’s hockey team beat Indonesia 13-1 in group-stage match
- India women’s hockey team beat Uzbekistan 19-0 in group-stage match
- Table Tennis: India women’s team blanked Indonesia 3-0 before stunning Singapore 3-2.
- Table Tennis: India men’s team blanked Indonesia 3-0 before losing to Iran 0-3.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
