Shooter Palak Gulia’s journey from reluctant young shooter to Asian Games gold winner
In a sport that demands stillness, Palak Gulia had to slow down before she could race ahead in the fast lane.
The shooter, only 17 and who started shooting seriously just a couple of years ago, led India to an unexpected gold-silver finish in an event where the Chinese were tipped to dominate.
She shared the podium on Friday with her roommate at the Athletes’ Village, Esha Singh, who returns home with a cool four-medal haul herself.
Together, Palak and Esha have feasted on the KFCs available freely at the Village and the make-your-own ramen bowls over the last week. But a couple of days before her 10m air pistol event, Palak slipped into competition mode. (READ MORE)
Read other stories from the Asian Games below
Mihir Vasavda at Asian Games: War room where India’s shooting heist was planned
Asian Games, badminton: India need to be wary of unheralded Koreans in men’s team semifinals
Asian Games: Contending with wind hazard and reduction in 120 shots to 60, help 3-Position shooters
Women's 55Kg Final: A quick update on this event. Bindyarani Devi finished 5th 83kg in Snatch and 113kg in C&J. Just as in Mirabai's event, the gold here too went to DPR Korea with a world record mark.
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Do we say that Craig Fulton will feel not good about conceding 2 goals again? Surely that would be too much nitpicking when they have just beaten Pakistan 10-2 in a remarkable attacking display. Pakistan are not the force they once were, that is obvious, but that scoreline is still rather extraordinary in what once used to be a storied rivalry.
Srikanth wins 12-21, 21-16, 21-14
Srikanth's serve, of all things, brings an aimless lob return falling outside the line from Cho. Srikanth added drama to what should've been a straightforward win. But he did cut down his errors and play some skilled winners to make the home stretch commanding. So India are in finals with their two singles and the inexplicable Srikanth+his mental demons, pulling the team into the gold faceoff against China. The Thomas Cup champions will meet the home team in China's backyard. (By Shivani Naik)
GOAL INDIA! Varun Kumar has made it 10-2 for India. Dominance like not seen in this rivalry by India. Quite remarkable this.
Srikanth leads
The accuracy on the net dribble giving it just enough height over the tape is so, so important. It's given Srikanth breathing space as Cho errs on the net, opening up the lead in the decider.
GOAL INDIA! Lalit Upadhyay gets in on the act as well. What a lovely move. Sukhjeet finds Jarmanpreet, who finds Lalit and the forward with good stick work to find the back of the net. 9-2 India.
GOAL INDIA! Shamsher Singh converts after controlling an aerial ball inside the circle. 8-2 India.
Srikanth leads 11-9 in decider
Attacking players like Srikanth detest their shuttle coming back and having to play long rallies. But Koreans can retrieve all day. There's no way Srikanth can escape the long rallies. He will have to slave it in every return before he can kill the shuttle. Or it dribbles and tumbles over
GOAL PAKISTAN! Amit Rohidas gets a card after a stick check and from the PC, Pakistan score through a smart deflection. It's 7-2 at the end of Q3
GOAL INDIA! Wait, what is Varun doing there in the box? The Indian defender is the furthest forward as he latches on to a pass from Sukhjeet to deflect home. India lead 7-1.
GOAL, PAKISTAN! A bagel turns into a breadstick. Pakistan do manage to get on the scoreboard. A PC converted through the legs of Pathak.
Srikanth levels with 12-21, 21-16
There is not an iota of reassurance in how Srikanth played the second, pushing this into the decider. He is making mistakes at the net and smashing wild. But somehow he's got enough sensational strokes to outnumber the rank bad ones
Here's how much daylight Nandini Agasara left between herself and the rest of the runners in her heat. She topped the time charts in the second heat of the 200m sprint by almost a full second!!
GOAL (S) INDIA! And goals for Harmanpreet Singh. First India win a stroke that the captain puts away. Next, a powerful drag flick through the legs of the Pakistan goalie. Absolute domination this by India. 6-0 up.
Srikanth 17-11 up in the second
The stomping net charge is a good sign of confidence. Srikanth steadies himself, gets his radar back and then Cho pounces on Srikanth errors and annoys the Indian with his net charge.
Oh god Srikanth. He smashes out to an open court. And then on his knees, scrambles back a shuttle in defense. Follows it with a service error. And goes to 15-9 with a delightful backhand to the corner. He induces extreme reactions - fury and amazement - with his whimsical play. Gopichand on the edge of his seat. (By Shivani Naik)
Women's hepathlon update: After shot put and 200m, Swapna Barman has slid down even further, in fact Nandini has gone past her with her mark in the 200m race.
India makes a return to the men's 10,000m podium at the Asian Games for the first time since 1998 thanks to Karthik Kumar's silver and Gulveer Singh's bronze.
While medals in the 10,000m event has dried up in recent time, India has a legacy of medals in the event.
Before Gulab Chand's bronze in 1998, there was Hari Chand who won gold at the Bangkok Games in 1978, . Shivnath Singh (silver in Tehran 1974), Tarlok Singh (gold in Jakarta 1962) and finally Gurbachan Singh (bronze in the first ever Asian Games held in 1951).
Badminton Ind vs Korea semifinal update
Srikanth falls back 12-21 to Cho. 6-2 up in second
Srikanth's defense is all but non existent, as he just isn't responding to Cho's smashes. The early lead for the Korean set the tone, but Srikanth has just not gotten his act together. A tonne of scramble defense will help, pleading to umpire on net touches won't. Srikanth has the attack to turn this around and it's what we suspect Gopichand told him.
On a side note, Cho has a net followup stride that mirrors Srikanth's own. Wonder how he feels being at the receiving end of that famous net kill. (By Shivani Naik)
GOAL INDIA! It's a 4-0 lead right at the stroke of half time. A bit of a bizarre goal that, wasn't given on field originally but video review shows no reason to cancel it. The goal is given to Sumit as of now.
Men's 71kg quarterfinal: It is not to be for Nishant Dev in Hangzhou. The Indian gets the third round from three judges but needed much more than that. End of his medal hopes as he goes down 0-5 against Okazawa.
Indian badminton's Worst nightmare unfolding unfolding as Kidambi Srikanth can't stem his errors and goes 14-6 down against Cho Geonyeop. Cho is playing steady, it's Srikanth that is nervy and dancing around the groove - everywhere but in the slot. (By Shivani Naik)
Men's 71kg quarterfinal: Nishant Dev lost the first round 9-10 across the board. The Indian gets the nod of one judge for the 2nd round. But needs a knockout effectively in the third.
GOAL INDIA! Harmanpreet Singh at the double. This time from the penalty corner as he gets the drag flick past the rushers with a clever late shift of the angle.
Men's 71kg quarterfinal: Nishant Dev on action against Japan's Okazawa.
GOAL INDIA! A penalty stroke to the men in blue and captain Harmanrpeet Singh makes no mistake.
SILVER AND BRONZE
Two medals in the men's 10,000m race for India!! It's Karthik Kumar with the silver thanks to a time of 28:15.38secs and Gulveer Singh with bronze with a timing of 28:17.21secs.
WOW!! Who saw that coming?!?!?!?
Kim-Na defeat Dhruv-Arjun 21-16, 21-11 as Korean doubles come good and keep their promise of keeping Korea in the reckoning.
It's down to Kidambi Srikanth who if he can leave behind all the baggage of pressure, should start as favourite to win against Cho Geonyeop. He had a terrible CWG team event final against Malaysia. But this is his chance to push India into finals. (By Shivani Naik)
GOAL INDIA! It is that combination of Abhishek and Mandeep that was saw in the previous match. Good release by Vivek from midfield, great shielding by Abhishek down the left byline and Mandeep with a simple finish.
Men's Pool A: When these two sides met in Chennai recently in the Asian Champions Trophy, it was Pakistan who had started well and the first quarter could have easily gone to Pakistan. But India dominated (actually controlled) thereafter.
Men's Pool A: Here's a look at the recent India-Pakistan results.
Hockey, Men's Pool A: Have you had enough India-Pakistan excitement for one day? It's time for India vs Pakistan on the hockey field. A once storied, emotional, fiesty rivalry. But a bit one-sided in recent times. Always a special occasion though.
Kim-Na take the opener 21-16, with Dhruv-Arjun a little out of depth here. It's a scratch pair, but the Koreans have kept a steady surge of attack. (By Shivani Naik)
India's Muhammed Ajmal ends fifth in the men's 400m race with a time of 45.97secs.
Yousef Ahmed Masrahi claiming the gold for Saudi Arabia while Kentaro Sato won silver.
India 2-1 Korea
India's singles depth kicking in here, hitting Korea where it hurts. Sen wins easy 21-7, 21-9 against Lee Yun Gyu to put India 2-1 ahead.
Dhruv-Arjun next. Korea favourites there, but can be put under pressure. Or it will need Srikanth to step up. (By Shivani Naik)
For a while now, we had been speaking about how things have not quite gone to plan for Indian paddlers in Hangzhou. There were hopes after the 2018 campaign, when the team won two bronze medals, the first ever at this level for India. (Men's team & mixed doubles). In Hangzhou, things seemed close yet far. Manika Batra gave a fight to Wang Yidi. Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah came so close to stunning the world No 1 pair from Korea. In the end, in the Chinese cauldron, Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee stun the world No 2 pair of Chen Meng and Wang Yidi to assure India of yet another historic medal. A special day for Indian table tennis.
As you watch London Singh compete at the Hangzhou Asian Games, maybe you would be interested in hearing about the Indian Army’s mission to convert young gymnasts into international divers.
Under a unique programme, the Army Sports Institute in Pune is trying to scout children aged 8 and above at gymnastics clubs across the country in a bid to create a footprint in a sport where India has no history
It's that same program that found London Singh and Siddharth Pardeshi, who are competing at the Asian Games. (READ MORE)
23-year-old London Singh was the only diver earlier this year to compete for India at the World Aquatics Championship. Now he's just one of two Indians to compete at Hangzhou.
In case you're wondering why London Singh's parents named him so, earlier this year, we spoke to the diver to find out the story.
London is acutely conscious about what he’s going to be asked about the most. “I know my name is unique,” he smiles. “My father kept my name.”
A driver who is fond of travelling, London says his father Surchandra named four out of his five children after countries and cities. “We are four brothers and one sister. The eldest of us has a ‘normal’ name, Anil,” London says. “The second is named England; the third is Milan, after the Italian city, and the fourth, my sister, is named Maryland.”
London once asked his father, a driver, the story behind keeping these names. “He said it was his wish to travel to all these places. Ironically, his name is very normal.” (READ MORE)
Women's doubles QF: WOW. WOW. AYHIKA MUKHERJEE AND SUTIRTHA MUKHERJEE HAVE DONE IT! India will have a first ever women's doubles medal at the Asian Games in table tennis. They have stunned the world No 2 pair of Wang Yidi and Chen Meng in their own backyard.
Sen races to take opener 21-7 against Lee
A round the head straight smash cuts short yet another rally and win the opening set in quick time. He starts the second in similar fashion on the other flank. (By Shivani Naik)
Women's doubles QF: Applause rings around, Wang and Chen save three match points.
Women's doubles QF: Two match points on Sutirtha's serve, the 2nd one nearly there but an error. The arena is pouncing! The Chinese coach has a wry smile. Increbible stuff.
Women's doubles QF: Four match points for the Mukherjees!
At the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Aquatic Sports Arena, the country's two divers -- London Singh and Siddharth Pardeshi -- are competing in the Men's Synchronised 3m Springboard Final. It's just a six-pair field.
Women's doubles QF: The Indians take a timeout and get the next point to go up 9-5. Two points away.
Women's doubles QF: A 6-4 lead for Indians in the fourth game. Is this on? Is this really on?
Sen 11-7 ahead against Lee
The Sen cross and down the line attack ought to be enough here, Lee isn't moving very fluidly or reaching corners. (By Shivani Naik)
Women's 55Kg Final: It is worth noting that there are two North Koreans and China's Zhihui Hou still to even go for their first Snatch attempt here.
Women's doubles QF: Wang Yidi and Chen Meng take the third game 11-5, as the Indians made a couple of nervy errors, enough for the Chinese to pounce on. The Indians lead 2-1 still.
Women's 55Kg Final: Bindyarani Devi gets the green for her third Snatch attempt and goes into the C&J Section with 83kg.