2022 Asian Games Day 4: Medals galore for India in shooting and sailing; chess players and male pugilists disappoint

India finished day 4 with 22 medals - 5 gold, 7 silver and 10 bronze medals to occupy sixth spot on the medals tally.

(From left to right) Shiva Thapa, Vishnu Sarvanan and Sift Kaur Samra (via Tribuna India/ Bridge)

India had a field day at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou on Wednesday, as they won a total of 8 medals, including 2 golds. Besides this, India confirmed two more medals, one in wushu and one in tennis; however, the color of the medal will be decided by how far the Indians make it in their respective sport. Overall, India finished the day with 22 medals: 5 gold, 7 silver, and 10 bronze medals, and currently occupies the sixth spot in the medal tally.

Shooting again showed why it is always India’s best bet in multi-sport extravaganzas, as it alone gave India a whopping 7 out of the total 8 medals today. The women’s 25-meter pistol team, the women’s 50-meter rifle 3-position team, and the men’s skeet team clinched gold, silver, and bronze medals, respectively.

However, the biggest result of the day came from the individual event of the women’s 50m rifle in 3 positions, as Sift Kaur Samra obliterated the world record by more than 2.5 points to score a magnificent 469.6 and clinch the yellow metal. It was a double delight in the same event, as Ashi Chouksey faltered on her last shot to elude India of a 1-2 finish but had done enough to pocket the bronze medal with a score of 451.9.

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Esha Singh struggled throughout the final of the women’s 25-meter pistol but found her mojo when it mattered the most as she shot 34 out of a possible 50 to finish second. Manu Bhaker was not able to repeat the heroics of the qualification round and finished fifth in the 8-woman final.

Having said that, the result that caught everyone by surprise was Anant Jeet Singh Naruka’s silver medal-winning performance in the men’s skeet, where he had a dream run, shooting a mind-blowing 58 out of a possible 60. He was on course of capturing a historic gold for India, but in his way came the mighty Abdullah Alrashidi, who shot a perfect 60 and clinched the yellow metal, still going great guns at 60 years of age.

?? on Day 4 of #AsianGames2022 continues to shine brightly ?

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Besides shooting, Vishnu Saravanan proved why he is rated so highly in Indian sailing as he claimed the bronze medal in the men’s singles dinghies ILCA7 category. The lad from Vellore, Tamil Nadu, finished with a net score of 31 points, behind Singapore (19 net points) and South Korea (26 net points).

Moreover, Roshibina Devi Naorem moved into the finals of women’s 60kg category after a comprehensive 2-0 victory over her Vietnamese opponent in wushu and will look to do tomorrow what no other Indian has done previously; a gold in wushu in the Asian Games.

Also Read: Soonwoo Kwon issues an apology note for smashing his racket and refusing handshake after his second round exit from the Asian Games 2023

Indian chess players choke; something to cheer for in tennis

Outside of medal events, the Indian men’s 3×3 basketball team continued their impressive run as they dished out a dominating 21-12 win over Macau. The women’s team, however, suffered their second successive defeat and will finish at the bottom of their group.

Indian cyclist David Beckham gave India something to cheer for from the cycling velodrome after he progressed to the 1/4 finals of the men’s sprint, winning his repechage round. Srihari Natraj again impressed everyone by breaking the national record in the men’s 200-meter freestyle event. However, unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to make it to the final.

However, the biggest disappointment came in the form of individual events in chess. Much was expected from the chess contingent from India, as our players are performing exceptionally well on the world stage.

However, that was not to be the case in Hangzhou, as Vidit Gujrathi and Arjun Erigaisi finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in the men’s individual rapid. Meanwhile, 2006 Asian Games dual gold medalist Koneru Humpy and her compatriot Harika Dronawalli came seventh and fourth respectively in the women’s chess. Now all hopes rest on the team events, and let’s hope that the chess contingent leaves China with at least one medal.

The same story went for the male boxers. Shiva Thapa, a record 6-time Asian Championships medalist, lost in his round of 16 bouts rather comprehensively in a unanimous verdict in the 63.5kg category. Similarly, Sanjeet was no match for Uzbekistan’s Tokyo Olympics medalist, as he went down 0-5 in the 92kg category. Having said that, Nikhat Zareen continued her purple patch and progressed to the quarterfinals after a dominating win. She is just a win away from guaranteeing a medal as well as a berth for the Paris Olympics.

On the other hand, the tennis team would like to forget their outing in Hangzhou. Both Sumit Nagal and Ankita Raina lost their respective quarterfinals to get out of the medal reckoning. Ankita Raina and Yuki Bhambri, seeded first in mixed doubles, then made a shock exit, losing to the team from the Philippines in the round of 16.

To save the blushes, the duo of Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan have made it to the semifinals of the men’s doubles event and are assured of at least a bronze medal, as there will be no bronze medal match in tennis. The mixed pairing of Rohan Bopanna and Rutuja Bhosale is in contention after making it to the quarterfinals.

In other results of the day, Manush Shah and Manav Thakkar waved off the challenge put forth by the Thai men’s doubles team and won the match 3-2 to progress to the Round of 16 in table tennis. The mixed combination of Manika Batra and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, India’s best bet for a medal in table tennis, as well as the pairing of Harmeet Desai and Sreeja Akula also made it to the next round. The women’s 5×5 basketball team began on a positive note, defeating Indonesia 66-46. The Indian fencing team ended its campaign after a defeat in the quarterfinals of the women’s epee team event and will return from Hangzhou empty-handed.