NEW DELHI: Neeru Dhanda delivered India’s first-ever Asian Games gold in the women’s trap event despite heavy rain and chilly conditions, before the women’s 4x400m relay team added another gold in the evening to make Tuesday a fruitful Day 10 for India at the Aichi-Nagoya Games.The golden double helped India breach the 50-medal mark and climb back into the top 10 of the overall medal standings. India ended the day with 53 medals — six gold, 21 silver and 26 bronze — to sit 10th in the table.The two gold medals also ended India’s wait for a top podium finish after two days without a gold, following the double triumph in kabaddi on September 26.Asian Games Full Coverage | Medal Tally | Schedule
Neeru braves rain to make history
Dhanda produced one of the standout performances of the Games as she battled incessant rain and difficult visibility to win the women’s trap individual gold.The Indian shooter remained composed despite the conditions and finished with 28 hits in the final, setting an Asian Games record in the process.It was a landmark result for Indian shooting as Dhanda became the country’s first-ever women’s trap champion at the Asian Games. Her victory was also India’s first individual shooting gold of the ongoing edition.Dhanda’s success came on a day when the weather repeatedly tested athletes across disciplines, but she managed to maintain her concentration when it mattered most.India added another shooting medal on the day, with Dhanda, Aashima Ahlawat and Manisha Keer taking silver in the women’s trap team event.
India’s Manisha Keer, Ashima Ahlawat and Neeru Dhanda pose with the national flag. (PTI Photo)
Women’s relay delivers second gold
India’s second gold came in the evening through the women’s 4x400m relay team of Kiran, Prachi Choudhary, MR Poovamma and Vithya Ramraj.The quartet clocked 3:29.69 to finish on top and provide India with its first athletics gold of the Games.For Poovamma, the victory added another chapter to an impressive Asian Games career. The 36-year-old had also been part of India’s gold-medal winning 4x400m relay teams at the 2014 and 2018 editions.Vithya, meanwhile, capped a memorable Games campaign with another medal after earlier bettering PT Usha’s more than four-decade-old national record in the women’s 400m hurdles.The relay gold provided a much-needed high point for India’s athletics campaign, which has otherwise produced a mixed set of results in Aichi-Nagoya.
Gulveer completes medal treble
Nineteen-year-old high jumper Pooja Singh added a bronze after clearing 1.84m, while Gulveer Singh continued his remarkable run by winning bronze in the men’s 5000m.Gulveer had already won silver in the 10,000m and 1500m and thus completed a treble of track and field medals at these Games.His achievement put him in elite company. Gulveer became only the second Indian man to win three track and field medals at a single Asian Games after Lavy Pinto, who won gold in the 100m and 200m and silver in the 4x100m relay at the inaugural 1951 edition.India also secured bronze in the mixed 4x100m relay, with Gurindervir Singh, Sneha Sathyanarayana, Animesh Kujur and Harita Bhadra clocking a season-best 41.06 seconds.The men’s 4x400m relay quartet of Vishal TK, Dharamveer Choudhary, Jay Kumar and T Manu also finished with bronze in 3:01.61. India could not defend the gold won at the previous edition.The country, however, drew a blank in both the men’s and women’s 800m finals.The athletics medal haul remained well short of India’s six golds from the previous edition, but the women’s relay triumph ensured the campaign ended Day 10 on a high.
Bronze medalist Gulveer Singh of India. (AP Photo)
Boxing continues to deliver
India’s boxing campaign also received a major boost as Ankush Panghal reached the men’s 80kg final, ending an eight-year wait for an Indian male boxing finalist at the Asian Games.Ankush produced a stirring comeback to defeat reigning 75kg world champion Fazliddin Erkinboev of Uzbekistan 4-1 and book his place in the gold-medal bout.Parveen Hooda also advanced to the final of the women’s 65kg category after a commanding 5-0 victory over China’s Li Shu.Narender Berwal, meanwhile, signed off with a bronze after losing 0-5 to reigning super-heavyweight world champion Aibek Oralbay of Kazakhstan in the +90kg semifinal.The medal was Narender’s second Asian Games bronze after he also finished on the podium at Hangzhou in 2023.India’s boxers have now ensured six medals at these Games, surpassing their previous haul of four.
Volleyball team stages stunning comeback
The Indian men’s volleyball team also advanced to the quarterfinals after producing a remarkable comeback against Qatar.India recovered from two sets down to defeat Qatar 26-28, 25-27, 25-23, 25-20, 24-22 in a marathon Pool C encounter that lasted two hours and 47 minutes.The victory completed a perfect group-stage run for India, which had earlier defeated Vietnam 3-0 and Hong Kong China 3-0.All four quarterfinals will be played on Thursday.
Archers make progress
India also made progress in the recurve events, with Dhiraj Bommadevara, Neeraj Chauhan and Kumkum Mohod Anil advancing to the quarterfinals.Chauhan produced one of the biggest results of the day when he stunned South Korea’s Kim Je Deok, a three-time Olympic gold-medallist, 6-4 in the men’s individual 1/8 elimination round.Bommadevara also advanced after defeating Chinese Taipei’s Cheng Hsiang-Hui 6-2.In the women’s recurve event, Kumkum Mohod Anil defeated Bangladesh’s Saima Salah Uddin 6-0 to reach the last eight.
Squash, tennis add wins
The Indian women’s squash team completed a 3-0 win over Iran in its final group-stage match to advance to the quarterfinals.Tanvi Khanna was declared the winner after Iran’s Narges Soltani retired while trailing. Anahat Singh then defeated Fereshteh Eghtedari 3-0 before veteran Joshna Chinappa completed the clean sweep with a 3-0 win over Najmeh Boushehrizadeh.India will face Singapore in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.In tennis, Dhakshineswar Suresh and Sumit Nagal made winning starts to their men’s singles campaigns and secured places in the pre-quarterfinals.Dhakshineswar defeated Indonesia’s Gunawan Trismuwantara 7-5, 7-6(2), while Nagal overcame South Korea’s Seongchan Hong 6-4, 6-0 in a rain-interrupted contest.Cycling, however, provided disappointment, with India’s riders failing to advance from the preliminary stages in the men’s and women’s team sprint and women’s team pursuit events.
