Ishika Kumar, Pune
In a delightful demonstration, India upholds fourth position with 10 gold, 14 silver, and 14 bronze medals. With the canoeing team advancing to the finals of the men’s 1000m singles and women’s 500m kayak double events on Saturday. Meanwhile, India won silver in the 10m air pistol mixed team event as well.
On the final day of the Asian Games tennis events, India’s Rutuja Bhosale and Rohan Bopanna secured the mixed doubles gold. The Indian duo displayed resilience in the title clash, battling back from a set down to defeat Tsung-hao Huang and En-shuo Liang of Chinese Taipei with a score of 2-6, 6-3, 10-4.
Bopanna attributed their success to strategic side changes during returns, while Bhosale candidly admitted her initial nervousness.
This marked India’s second medal at the Asian Games, following the silver medal earned by Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan in men’s doubles. For Bopanna, it was his second gold at the Asian Games, while Bhosale celebrated her first podium finish. Their victory holds significant value considering the competition they faced, yet Indian players were expected to do well as the absence of top-100 players mostly from European nations could not be turned into an advantage.
The second set remained closely contested until the seventh game when Bhosale’s confident strokes and strategic serving created a turning point. Bopanna’s powerful serves and Bhosale’s aces were instrumental in guaranteeing the gold for India in the deciding tiebreaker.
At the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, India’s canoeing athletes excelled. Niraj Verma secured a spot in the men’s 1000m singles canoeing final with a strong performance, clocking a time of 4:31.626 minutes, and Binita Chanu and Geetha Parvathy advanced to the women’s 500m kayak double event final with 2:07.036 minutes clock time in the semi-final. India is well-represented, with 17 athletes participating in canoeing events, including both sprint and slalom competitions. The finals for these events took place on October 2.
Sarabjot Singh and Divya Thadigol secured a silver medal in the 10 meter air pistol mixed team event at the Asian Games 2023. They faced China’s Zhang Bowen and Jiang Ranxin in the gold medal match but fell short with a score of 14-16. India initially led 4-0, but China equalized at 7-7 by the seventh series. Sarabjot’s strong shots, scoring 10.8 and 10.5, propelled India ahead. However, China made a comeback, winning three rounds. The intense contest continued until the 14th series, ending at 14 points each. Ultimately, China won gold with a 21-20.4 score, while India settled for a well-earned silver, marking India’s 19th shooting and 34th overall medal at the Hangzhou Games in China.