India secured its third gold today on Day 3 of the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, China. This brings the overall medal tally for the country to 14 medals- 3 gold, 4 silver and 7 bronze. In Equestrian Dressage Team event, the quartet of Hriday Chheda, Anush Agarwalla, Sudipti Hajela and Divyakriit Singh scored 209.205 points to win the gold against China in a tough competition today. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi congratulated the team for winning the gold medal in the team event after 41 years at the Asian Games.
Beginning the medal streak today was the women's dinghy event champion, Neha Thakur, grabbing the silver medal. The 17-year old sailor finished with a net score of 27, winning India's first sailing medal in this edition. The second medal in sailing, a bronze, was clinched by Eabad Ali. He worked hard for a net score of 52 in the RS:X Men’s sailing event. The Prime Minister hailed both Thakur and Ali’s splendid performance in the sailing events emphasizing that nothing is impossible for our young talents.
The Indian men's squash team proved their mettle once again, beating Qatar 3-0 in their second Pool A encounter at the Asian Games. India won 3-0 against Singapore earlier today. Mahesh Mangaonkar kicked off the tie with an 11-7, 11-4, 11-1 victory. Meanwhile, Saurav Ghosal and Abhay Singh won their matches in four games.
In Tennis, India's mixed doubles winning pair of Yuki Bhambri and Ankita Raina faced and defeated Pakistan's duo of Aqeel Khan and Sarah Ibrahim Khan to storm into the third round. Bhambri and Raina will next go up against Philippines in round 3. In Men's singles, Sumit Nagal advanced to the quarter final defeating Kazakhstan's Beibit Zhukayev, 7-6, 6-4 in the Round of 16.
In the men's 70kg quarter-final in wushu India's Suraj Yadav bravely tackled M Khalid Hotak of Afghanistan. However, he lost the match in the second round and lost the hope of a medal along with it. Falling short of expectations in Wushu, India's two-time world championship bronze medallist, Surya Bhanu Partap Singh, lost in the men's 60kg quarterfinal. He suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of South Korea’s Minsoo Kim.
In the first round of the Men’s 92kg and above boxing match, Indian boxer Narender Berwal knocked out Uzbekistan’s Mullojonov Lazizbek. Berwal will now face Iman Ramezanpourdelavar of Iran in the quarter-final on September 30.
Indian men’s Hockey Team led by Harmanpreet Singh continued charging ahead with their second consecutive victory at the Asian Games, defeating Singapore 16-1 in an elite Pool A match. Squash players Anahat Singh, Joshana Chiappa and Tanvi Khanna also won consecutive games in their opening pool matches today.
In Men’s Volleyball, India played against Pakistan today. We registered a humbling defeat in all the three sets, ensuring the team’s exit from the Asian Games. In another major disappointment to the country, swimmers Aryan Nehra and Kushagra Rawat finished seventh and eighth, respectively, in the men's 1500m freestyle fast heat. Although 15 minutes and 20 seconds was a personal best for Nehra, he couldn’t manage a medal in the end. While the Indian men's cycling team broke the national record by clocking in 44.609, they lost against the Republic of Korea in the team sprint heats. In Judo, Tulika Maan bowed out losing in the quarterfinal match today.
For the first time ever, seven e-sports have been included in the Asian Games 2023. India’s e-sports players Ayan Biswas and Mayank Prajapati faced losses in the preliminary rounds of Street Fighter V: Champion Edition, resulting in an end to their participation in the games today. However all hope is not lost, there are several more events lined up in the next couple of days with India’s brightest playing DOTA2, League of Legends and FIFAe.
