Glimpses of Indian athletes' events on Day 4. (PTI)Asian Games 2023 Highlights, Day 4: It has been raining medals today for India. Sift Kaur Samra claimed the second gold medal of the day for India after the women’s 25m pistol shooting team of Manu Bhaker, Rhythm Sangwan and Esha Singh. In the men’s skeet final, Anant Jeet Singh Naruka won the silver. India now have 22 medals at Hangzhou 2023, including five golds, seven silvers and 10 bronze medals.
Vinayakk Mohanarangan along side Amit Kamath will be on the blog today with our man on the ground in Hangzhou, Mihir Vasavda, sending us updates as well. You can read all of our top stories by clicking on this link.
Meanwhile, after a dominant win against the world championships silver medallist to open her campaign, Nikhat Zareen cruised into the quarterfinals after defeating the 2022 Asian Championships bronze medallist Chorong Bak of Korea. The women’s hockey team also started their campaign on a blistering note as they smashed Singapore 13-0.
Follow live updates from Asian Games day 4 below
India's Hriday Vipul Chheda, Anush Agarwalla, Divyakriti Singh and Sudipti Hajela pose for photographs after winning the gold medal in the equestrian dressage team event at the 19th Asian Games, in Hangzhou, China, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023. (PTI)
More shooting medals at stake, men’s hockey team face Japan, Sunil Chhetri’s team faces tough test, and more to watch out for on Day 5 of the Asian Games. Read about India's schedule HERE
In mixed doubles round 3 action, there is more heartbreak for Ankita Raina. Anikta and Yuki, top seeds, lose against 14th seeds from Philippines. But second seeds Rutuja and Bopanna are through to the quarterfinals. Here's a look at the scores
Actually, India should still be able to qualify for the semifinals. Correction that Qatar won't trouble India in this group. So this was essentially a battle for the top spot.
PHEW! A rather intense IND-PAK contest ends in defeat for India as Mahesh Mangaonkar goes down against Nasir Iqbal in four games. India lose the tie 1-2 and are now in a nervy position to qualify for semifinals. India have won three of their four matches, Pakistan have won all four. Likely to come down to India and Qatar for the second spot. India play Nepal tomorrow.
In what is turning out to be quite fiesty clash, Mahesh has taken the third game to keep the match and tie alive against Nasir Iqbal
Top seeded Indian pair of Yuki Bhambri and Ankita Raina have been shown the door at the Asian Games, after a 4-6, 6-4, 8-10 to Philippines pairing of Alex Eala and Francis Casey Alcantara.
As we wait for the day's events to conclude, here's a look at the medals that came India's way today.
Mahesh is in trouble now, trailing by two games to love in the third match
Men's team event Pool A match between India and Pakistan is underway. Abhay Singh lost the first match but Saurav Ghosal brings the side back level 1-1. Now Mahesh Mangaokar is in action and trails 0-1.
MEDAL ASSURED. In men's doubles, India's Ramkumar Ramanathan and Saketh Myneni defeat China's Yibing Wu and Zhang Zhizhen 6-1 7-6 to be assured a place on the podium. First tennis medal confirmed from these Games for India.
Women's 60Kg: INTO THE FINAL! Roshibina Devi Naorem is through to the final in her event and has upgraded on her bronze from 2018. The gold medal contest is on Thursday.
Nikhat takes that third round with ease after allowing Bak to come forward while not expending much energy of her own. Good strategy to keep in a long tournament. She takes the unanimous decision 5-0 over Bak Chorong and progresses to the quarterfinals.
Zareen should take her foot off the pedal and coast through this round. She's virtually assured of her spot in the quarterfinals.
Right this bout is almost over as Bak gets tagged multiple times and doesn't land anything in response towards the end of the second.
Once again, the Korean moves a lot and tries to make herself a tough target but Zareen finds a left cross when she enters an exchange and then lands the same punch when she gets out of the pocket. It's effective work from the Indian.
It's about as clinical as the South Korean can get. She's fighting a good fight even with the reach deficit. But Zareen is the World Champion for a reason. The judges score that first round 10-9 in Zareen's favour.
Nikhat Zareen landing more when both boxers fight in the pocket. When outside of it, the Indian's reach advantage stands out in landing cleaner shots.
Men's doubles pair of Ramkumar and Saketh have taken the first set against their Chinese opponents. This too is a quarterfinal, and a win guarantees a medal.
Nikhat Zareen's Round of 16 bout against South Korea's Bak Chorong to begin shortly
Heartbreak in chess as Indians miss out on medals in the individual events.
Here are the medallists in the men's event:
Gold: WEI Yi (China)
Silver: Nodirbek Abdusattarov (Uzbekistan)
Bronze: Javokhir Sindarov (Uzbekistan)
And here are the medallists from the women's individual event:
Gold: Zhu Jiner (China)
Silver: Umida Omonova (Uzbekistan)
Bronze: Hou Yifan (People's Republic of China)
So where did the Indians finish?
In the men's event, Vidit Gujrathi was fifth while compatriot Arjun Erigaisi was sixth. (To be noted that Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh will be participating in the team event, but were not part of individual event).
In the women's event, Harika Dronavalli finsihed 4th, while Koneru Humpy was seventh.
In a short while, the men's team will take on Pakistan, to keep their unbeaten run going too. Saurav Ghosal and co have won all three of their matches so far.
The women's team have made it three wins out of three in their group stage encounters. After their win against Nepal earlier today, they get past Macao 3-0. Tanvi Khanna, Joshna Chinappa and Anahat Singh with 3-0 wins in that order. The big one left against Malaysia next, that will be on Thursday.
Relief for Sathiyan/Manika after their first-game reversal, and they take the round of 32 win against Suthasini/Napat of Thailand. This will be a bit of a mini win for Manika Batra, as she would be happy to get one over Suthasini after the team event heartbreak against the Thai and her teammates.
Oh dear!
In a mixed doubles table tennis match, the Indian pairing of Sathiyan G and Manika Batra have squandered a game point opportunity to lose the first set 10-12 against the Thai pairing of Suthasini and Napat.
Hriday Vipul Chheda and Anush Agarwalla are in medal contention after qualifying for the individual dressage final of equestrian.
David Beckham advances to men's sprint quarterfinaals. David edged out his Kazakhstan rivals Sergey Ponomaryov and Andrey Kazchugay in final repechage to confirm his last-eight place.
Ankita Raina was doing so well against her Japanese opponent, winning the first set 6-3. Then she inexplicably dropped the next two sets with identical 6-4 margins to see her campaign ending at the quarterfinal stage.
This will rankle! So close to a medal.
That’s how Mukesh Thakur described his feelings after his 17-year-old daughter Neha came away with a sailing silver in the girls’ dinghy ILCA 4 event at the Asian Games on Tuesday.
Neha competed singlehandedly in a 4.23m long, 65kg dinghy to finish fourth in the 11th race of the event on Tuesday, finishing second overall at the NBX Sailing Centre in Ningbo. (READ MORE)
But for now, most indicators have been encouraging. The tickets, despite being the highest-priced among all sports – were sold out within moments. A few nights ago, thousands landed at the Hangzhou International Airport to welcome the legendary ‘Faker’, the South Korean legend of the League of Legends. The reception he got was second only to the Chinese TT team when they arrived here but gaming heads aren’t merely big-name hunters. (READ MORE)
It also ended a 41-year-old wait for a gold medal in equestrian at the Asian Games for India.
The Indian Express traces the journey of each team member, all of whom have a different story to tell but one thing in common – leaping hurdles to ride to glory. (READ MORE)
Indain football players haven’t trained even once since landing in Hangzhou last Monday. The players haven’t had proper sleep for a week, some managing a full night’s rest only on Saturday. And there aren’t enough options on the bench – when Chhetri asked to be substituted in the first two games, coach Igor Stimac didn’t have enough players to turn to.
India’s all-time leading goal scorer’s first-half penalty in the 1-1 draw against Myanmar ensured that the hurriedly-assembled, ragtag bunch of players that reached Hangzhou less than 24 hours before their Asian Games opener had somehow managed to sneak into the Round of 16. (READ MORE)
There were less than a thousand spectators in the stands as Harmanpreet Kaur & Co. defeated Sri Lanka by 19 runs in a low-scoring thriller to clinch India’s first Asiad gold in cricket. Over the next seven days, the men’s team will aspire to do the same.
Coached by VVS Laxman and led by Ruturaj Gaikwad, the players who entertain tens of thousands in giant arenas around the world will be in action at a ground that’s smaller than most traditional cricket venues in front of sparse crowds. (READ MORE)
Away from all the attention, the quartet came here without any hopes but like artistic gymnastics, where athletes have to perform moves as per pre-determined difficulty levels, the riders and their horses displayed high levels of flexibility, athleticism and obedience to stun home-favourites China, heavyweights Japan and South Korea. (READ MORE)
? Sift Kaur Samra in 50m 3P (With WR)
? Manu, Esha, Rhythm (25m team)
? Sift, Ashi, Manini (50 3P team)
? Esha Singh (25m)
? Anant Jeet (Skeet)
? Angad, Anant, Gurjoat (Skeet team)
? Ashi (50m 3P)
India finished fifth in the League of Legends event of the ESports in the Asian Games. The unit captained by Akshaj Shenoy (Kai), and comprising Samarth Arvind Trivedi (CrankO), Mihir Ranjan (Lotus), Sanindhya Malik (Deadcorp), Aakash Shandilya (Infi), Aditya Selvaraj (Krow) suffered a hard-fought 0-2 defeat against Vietnam in the quarter finals. India's DOTA 2 team will begin their campaign against Kyrgyzstan and the Philippines in their opening group stage games on Friday.
Heartbreak for Sumit Nagal!!!! He loses his men's singles quarter-final to China’s Zhang. Sumit was leading after winning the first set 7-6, but then dropped the next two sets 6-1 and 6-2 against the top seed in the men's event. He was so close to assuring India, and himself, a medal.
While Ankita Raina leads 2-0 in the deciding third set against Japan's Haruka Kaji in a women's singles quarter-final, Sumit Nagal is down 2-5 in his men's singles quarters against China’s Zhang
Vidit Gujarathi and Bilguun Sumiya play out a draw, while Arjun Erigasi faces a bitter defeat against Nodirbek Abdusattorov in Round 8.
A good result for India as they beat Macau 21-12 in a group match.
Earlier today, India's Rohit Jadhav, who finished eighth in the daoshu final earlier in the day, once again stands at eighth spot in the men's gunshu final
Both Ankita Raina and Sumit Nagal have been taken to a deciding third set in their quarterfinals matches. Can they fight back and ensure a medal?
Watch: Nepal's Dipendra Airee slam a 50 in NINE BALLS!!!!
Shooting, Skeet Men Final: MEDAL ALERT! It's a silver for Anant Jeet Singh Naruka! What a superb men's skeet final. The Indian finishes with 58 out of 60, bettered only by the 60-year-old Kuwaiti veteran Al Rashidi, who shot 60 out of 60. Al Rashidi is mobbed by his coach and teammates. What a moment there.
The third round ended tamely for Sanjeet as Lazizbek coasted to a decision win over the Indian. That's two of India's men's boxers who are now out of the Asian Games in their first bout.
Lazizbek had a better idea of what range he needed to fight at and dictated the bout by maintaining that range. Sanjeet is knocked down a minute into the second round and gets a standing eight count.
It's not that Sanjeet isn't landing the occasional straight. It's that Lazizbek, a southpaw, is just that good a boxer. Helps if you're from Uzbekistan, a country that routinely produces technically sound boxers
And the judges scored the second in favour of Lazizbek as well.
Sanjeet started with a straight right to Lazizbek's face but immediately got a reply with a stinging left hook to his ear. Lazizbek slightly shaded the first round and masterfully evaded Sanjeet as the Indian missed a three-punch combination. When the first round ended and all five judges score it in favour of Lazizbek.
Shooting, Skeet Men Final: Anant Jeet finally misses and one leads to two. The gap is down to one between 2nd & 3rd. Al Rashidi still perfect on the scoreboard. Just a little bit of pressure on the Indian.
In the skeet men final, India's Anant Jeet Singh Naruka is assured of a medal, and is looking good for a top-two finish too. He remains perfect on the scoreboard along with Al Rashidi.
In League of Legends, India's League of Legends team has finished fifth in the Asian Games 2022. The team captained by Akshaj Shenoy (Kai), and comprising Samarth Arvind Trivedi (CrankO), Mihir Ranjan (Lotus), Sanindhya Malik (Deadcorp), Aakash Shandilya (Infi), Aditya Selvaraj (Krow) suffered a hard-fought 0-2 defeat against Vietnam in the quarter-finals and bowed out of the tournament.
Meanwhile, India's DOTA 2 team will begin their campaign against Kyrgyzstan and the Philippines in their opening group stage games on September 29.
Ashi Chouksey, who won bronze in the 50m rifle 3p event, speaks about losing out on a silver medal on the last shot.
"I'm very proud of myself and of my country that supported me a lot. This is all I wanted, now I've got it, so I'm very happy about it. The last shot was heartbreaking for me – I just missed the timing. At first when I took the rifle I didn't get the target, so I just took a break and that's where my timing got missed. The next time I took it, there was less time left. It was difficult to shoot on the time, that time, so I missed the shot. It usually happens on the first shot and the last shot, when your heart is beating fast. It's just a part and parcel of life and I'll learn from this for my next match."
India's Sanjeet up next Uzbekistan's Lazizbek Mullojonov in the 92kg category
The Kyrgyz boxer has now taken a step back and is just moving out of Thapa's way. This has been quite a disappointing showing from the experienced Indian who isn't able to knock his opponent out in the third and goes out of the Asian Games in the first round itself. While Arundhati's loss to the World Champion was understandable, this unexpected loss is a medal lost for the boxing contingent at the Asian Games.
Shooting, Skeet Men Final: Correction, only 2 athletes are on the perfect score. It's India's Anant Jeet and Al Rashidi of Kuwait.
Shooting, Skeet Men Final: This is turning into a really good final for Anant Jeet! He is on 24 out of 24. Three athletes on that score.
After the end of the second, all judges score in favour of the Kyrgyz boxer. Thapa needs a knockout. This was supposed to be an easy path to the silver but in his first hurdle, Thapa has found himself in considerable trouble.