In historic first, India touches 100-medal tally in Asian games
Mangalore Today News Network / NDTV
New Delhi, Oct 07, 2023: The Indian contingent truly lived up to the ’Is Baar Sau Paar’ target as the nation officially touched the 100-medal mark in the Hangzhou Asian Games on Saturday. India were already assured of a century in the medals tally on Friday which concluded with the country pocketing 95 medals. More medals in compound archery (3), kabaddi (2), badminton (1), and men’s cricket (1) were already assured. On Saturday, which is the final day for Indian athletes’ events in Hangzhou, India added four more medals in archery while the women’s kabaddi team’s win over Chinese Taipei in the final officially took India to the 100-medal mark.
This is the women’s kabaddi team’s third title triumph in the continental showpiece, doing one better than its runner-up finish in the last edition of the Games in Indonesia and fulfilling the country’s expectations of touching the historic three-figure mark for the first time. With the 100-medal mark up, India have 25 gold, 35 silver and 40 bronze medal to the nation’s name. A few more medals are alreadya ssured.
It was a very difficult outing for the Indian women as Chinese Taipei pushed them to the limit in the final, missing out on the top prize by just a solitary point.
The Indian team showed nerves of steel in the last two raids to seal the contest in its favour.
India had a five-point lead going into halftime, courtesy of a super raid from Pooja, who was one of the stars of the intense title showdown that also saw the team’s coach being cautioned with a green card.
India had won 70 medals in the last edition in Indonesia where the country’s athletes won 16 gold, 23 silver and 31 bronze medals to record their best-ever performance.
On the back of a splendid show by the shooters (22) and track and field athletes (29 medals), who contributed 51 medals, India had already surpassed its best-ever show on Wednesday.
The Indian contingent won many surprise medals, the biggest being a women’s table tennis team bronze by Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee, who humbled the mighty China in the semifinals.
Parul Chaudhary’s sensational dash in the last 30 metres of the women’s 5000m event will also be remembered for a long time as the Meerut runner snatched a gold by edging Japan’s Ririka Hironaka in a close finish.
Javelin thrower Kishore Kumar Jena’s astonishing 86.77m throw that gave him lead over superstar Neeraj Chopra for a brief period in the men’s javelin event was another unforgettable moment.
Later Chopra won the gold, while Jena finished behind him to settle for a silver medal.
Canoers Arjun Singh and Sunil Singh Salam’s historic bronze in the men’s double 1000m along with Ram Baboo and Manju Rani’s third place finish in the mixed 35km race walk were perfect examples that if athletes refuse to bow down to the hardships life throws, excelling in sports is possible.