India won six gold medals at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Friday, their best day of the Games. The women’s hockey team ended a 44-year wait, three boxers and a wrestler won finals, and the women’s recurve archers beat South Korea. India’s cricketers play Pakistan for gold on Saturday.
India women beat China to end 44-year wait for hockey gold
India beat defending champions China 1-0 in the women’s hockey final at Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium. Lalremsiami scored in the 10th minute. In the 23rd minute, goalkeeper Savita Punia made a one-handed save from a penalty stroke to keep India ahead. India’s only previous women’s hockey title came in New Delhi in 1982. The win also qualifies them directly for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Source: Business Standard
Lovlina wins 75kg gold on her 29th birthday
Lovlina Borgohain beat China’s Bao Ziyi 5-0 in the women’s 75kg final on the day she turned 29. Bao kept attacking, and Lovlina scored on the counter in all three rounds. The Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist won silver in Hangzhou. She is now only the second Indian woman to win Asian Games boxing gold. The first was MC Mary Kom in 2014.
Sources: ANI, Outlook
Parveen edges former world champion Chen in 65kg final
Parveen Hooda won women’s 65kg gold with a 3-2 split decision over Chinese Taipei’s Chen Nien-chin. Chen is a former world champion and won bronze at the Paris Olympics. Parveen won the first round on every card, lost the second and held on in a tight third. Her Hangzhou bronze was taken away over a doping violation. She is the third Indian woman to win Asian Games boxing gold.
Source: Business Standard
Ankush Panghal ends India’s eight-year wait in men’s boxing
Ankush Panghal beat South Korea’s Kim Min-seong 4-0 in the men’s 80kg final, India’s third boxing gold of the day. No Indian man had won Asian Games boxing gold since Amit Panghal in 2018. “The only thing on my mind was that I had to win the bout, no matter what,” Ankush said. He dedicated the medal to his parents, his coach and the Army’s 6 Grenadiers.
Source: ANI
Sujeet Kalkal comes back from 2-9 down to win wrestling gold
Sujeet Kalkal won the men’s 65kg freestyle title against Tajikistan’s Abdulmazhid Kudiev after trailing 2-9 with 1:40 left. He scored three quick takedowns and went ahead 10-9 with 11 seconds remaining. In the semi-final he beat Japan’s Kiyooka, the reigning Olympic champion, on criteria. India had not won an Asian Games wrestling gold since Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat in 2018.
Sources: ANI, Outlook
Women’s recurve archers beat South Korea for first team gold
Ankita Bhakat, Kirti Sharma and 17-year-old Kumkum Mohod beat South Korea 5-3 in the women’s recurve team final. India had never won this event at the Asian Games before. Kumkum also reached the recurve mixed team final with Dhiraj Bommadevara, the first time India have done so. The pair lost that final 5-3 to China and took silver.
Sources: The Week, Outlook
India meet Pakistan in Asian Games cricket final
India play Pakistan for the men’s cricket gold on Saturday at Korogi Athletic Park in Nisshin. It is the first time the two sides have met in an Asian Games final. In Thursday’s semi-final, Shreyas Iyer’s team beat Sri Lanka by 124 runs. Ishan Kishan made 80 not out off 46 balls, Ravi Bishnoi took three wickets, and Sri Lanka were all out for 45. If rain washes out the final, the two teams share the gold.
Sources: Al Jazeera, News24
Prasidh ruled out of third ODI, Kamboj called up
Fast bowler Prasidh Krishna will miss Saturday’s third ODI against West Indies in Chandigarh with a left hamstring injury he picked up in Guwahati. Anshul Kamboj replaces him. India already lead the series 2-0. In the second ODI on Wednesday they chased 406 after Shubman Gill made 223 not out off 133 balls and Rohit Sharma scored 101.
Sources: CricTracker, Outlook
Sundar released from T20I squad, Naman Dhir gets first call-up
The BCCI has released Washington Sundar from India’s T20I squad for the West Indies series. He will play in the Ranji Trophy, which starts on 11 October, to get ready for the Test series against New Zealand. Naman Dhir, already in the ODI squad, replaces him for his first T20I call-up. Shreyas Iyer leads the five-match series, which starts in Lucknow on 6 October.
Sources: Cricket Times, CricTracker
Sailing and sepaktakraw bring three more medals
India won three bronze medals in sailing and sepaktakraw on Friday. Nethra Kumanan took bronze in the women’s dinghy event. Harshita Tomar and Shital Verma won bronze in the women’s skiff. The men’s sepaktakraw quadrant team also finished with bronze.
Source: Outlook
