India at Asian Games 2023, Day 12: Gold in Archery, squash; Bronze for wrestler Antim Panghal; Eyes on T20 cricket

Hockey: Not a good luck for India. The Indian women’s hockey squad lost in the semi-final vs China. HS Prannoy and the men’s kabaddi team assured medals.

The India won total of 9 medals, medals – three gold, one silver and one bronze – on Thursday, extending the record tally to 86 at the Asian Games 2023 Hangzhou.

Archery: game day for India. The Indian compound archers took the limelight at Asian games. While the men’s team won their second Asian Games title, the women’s team clinched their first.

Moreover, Dipika Pallikal and Harinder Pal Sandhu etched themselves in Asian Games history at Hangzhou. winning the first-ever squash mixed doubles tournament. Saurav Ghosal, meanwhile, bagged for silver to become the first Indian player to win five consecutive squash singles medals.

On debut,Antim Panghal; won the bronze medal, adding to her World Wrestling Championship bronze last month. Pooja Gehlot, Mansi Ahlawat and Naveen, however, lost their wrestling bronze medal bouts.

In badminton’s HS Prannoy beat former world No. 2 Lee Zii Jia in the badminton quarter-finals, assuring his first Asian Games medal. He is only the second Indian men’s singles player, after Syed Modi, to secure an Asian Games podium. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also secured a medal in men’s doubles.

On the other hand PV Sandhu, Two-time Olympic medallist , however, lost to China’s He Bingjiao in the quarter-finals, ending her Asian Games 2023 campaign at Hangzhou.

The Indian men’s kabaddi team beat Chinese Taipei and Japan, confirming a medal and a semi-final spot.

India lost 0-4 against China in the women’s hockey semi-finals and failed to secure an Olympic quota in Hangzhou. The Indian chess teams stayed in a silver medal spot with two rounds to go.

Join Olympics.com’s live coverage of Indian athletes and players on Day 13 tomorrow at the Asian Games 2023!

Badminton: medal confermed,Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty make semis, medal confirmed

The Indian men’s doubles badminton pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty stormed into the semi-final, winning 21-7, 21-9 versus Singapore’s Nge Joo Jie and Prajogo Johann in 30 minutes. Satwik and Chirag’s power, accuracy and guile on the court made light work of the Singaporean pair in both games.

The Indian duo, ranked third in the world, is also assured a medal at the Asian Games 2023. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will take on world No. 5 pair Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia in the semi-final tomorrow at 2:30 PM IST.

Neeraj Chopra gold, Kishore Kumar Jena silver: Memorable men’s javelin throw final

Neeraj Chopra, the reigning Olympic and world champion, and Kishore Kumar Jena secured India’s first 1-2 men’s javelin throw finish in Asian Games history on Wednesday.

While the gold-favourite Neeraj Chopra faced early technical difficulties, Kishore Kumar Jena took a surprise early lead in the final. The 28-year-old Kishore Kumar Jena also broke his personal best record, twice, and met the entry standard for the Paris 2024 Olympics. 

Neeraj Chopra, however, bounced back with a season-best throw of 88.88m, his fourth-best overall, to defend his men’s javelin throw title at the Asian Games. 

Here’s Kishore Kumar Jena describing his silver medal-winning javelin throw experience at the Asian Games 2023.

Wrestling: Antim Panghal wins bronze medal

Indian grappler Antim Panghal beat Mongolia’s Bolortuya Bat-Ochir, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics bronze medallist, 3-1 in the women’s freestyle 53kg bronze medal match at the Asian Games 2023. The reigning U-20 world champion Antim Panghal, on her Asian Games debut, won India’s only wrestling medal of the day and the first in freestyle events at Hangzhou. 

The 19-year-old Indian grappler lost to eventual champion Akari Fujinami from Japan, who extended her unbeaten streak to 130 bouts, in the quarter-final at the 19th Asian Games earlier today. However, Antim made the bronze medal match via a bye in the repechage round.

Antim Panghal, meanwhile, won a World Wrestling Championships bronze medal in Serbia last month.

Uzbekistan’s Laylokhon Sobirova, the reigning Asian Championships silver medallist, sealed a victory by fall against Indian grappler Mansi Ahlawat in the women’s freestyle 57kg bronze medal bout.

Chess: Indian teams in silver medal contention

The Indian men’s and women’s chess teams are placed second in the standings after seven rounds, with two rounds to go, at the Asian Games 2023.

In round 7 of the men’s chess team event, Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi won his game while Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, Gukesh Dommanraju and Vidit Gujarathi drew. India collected 2.5 points, compared to the 1.5 scored by their opponents Vietnam.

Meanwhile, India shared 2.0 points with Kazakhstan in the women’s team round 7. Harika Dronavalli won her game while Vaishali Ramesh Babu suffered a defeat. Koneru Humpy and Vanitka Agrawal drew their games.

Squash: Saurav Ghosal settles for silver

Ace Indian squash player Saurav Ghosal won his second Asian Games men’s singles silver medal at Hangzhou 2023. The 37-year-old Saurav Ghosal lost the final 3-1 against Malaysia’s Ng Eain Yow, who won his first Asian Games men’s singles title.

Saurav Ghosal, earlier, headlined the gold medal-winning Indian men’s team at the Asian Games 2023. His medal tally at the continental meet extended to 10 medals – three team gold, two singles silver, three singles bronze and two team bronze.

India, meanwhile, have won two gold, one silver and two bronze in squash at the 19th Asian Games.

Wrestling: Pooja Gehlot, Naveen miss out on bronze medal

Pooja Gehlot, a Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, was unable to replicate her achievement at the Asian Games 2023, losing 2-9 versus Uzbekistan’s Aktenge Keunimjaeva in the bronze medal match. Aktenge Keunimjaeva is also a three-time bronze medallist at the Asian Championships.

Indian grappler Naveen, meanwhile, lost 5-1 against the Republic of Korea’s Minseok Kim in the Greco-Roman 130kg bronze medal bout at the Asian Games 2023. Sunil Kumar, who won bronze on Wednesday, remains the only Indian Greco-Roman wrestler with a medal at Hangzhou.

Archery: Men’s compound team clinch gold medal

The Indian men’s compound team beat the Republic of Korea 235-230 in the final, reclaiming their title at the Asian Games 2023. India had also won the title in the 2014 edition. The Republic of Korea, however, had pipped the Indian team in the 2018 final.

The Indian trio of Ojas Pravin Deotale, Abhishek Verma and Prathamesh Jawkar shot 58, 58 and 59 at the first three ends while sealing the gold medal with a perfect 60 at the fourth end. Abhishek Verma, who was a part of the silver-medal winning team in 2018, upgraded to gold while Ojas Pravin Deotale and Prathamesh Jawkar clinched their first men’s compound team title at the Asian Games.

Earlier, the Indian women’s compound team had also won the gold medal. Jyothi Surekha Vennam, who won the mixed team compound gold with Ojas, will also feature in the women’s compound individual gold medal match. Meanwhile, while Ojas and Abhishek will face each other in the men’s compound individual final.

Asian Games Day 12; Highlights

Welcome to Olympics.com’s live coverage of Day 12 of the Asian Games 2023, held in Hangzhou, the People’s Republic of China!

The Indian women’s hockey team will take on hosts China in the semi-finals with a gold medal match spot at stake. India scored 33 goals while China netted 43 in the group stage, making for an exciting matchup.

Badminton at the Asian Games 2023 continues with the quarter-finals. PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty can assure medals at Hangzhou with a victory.

Ojas Pravin Deotale and Jyothi Surekha Vennam, who won the mixed team gold medal on Wednesday, will take aim in the men’s and women’s team compound archery events. 

Antim Panghal, the World Wrestling Championship bronze medallist, headlines India’s wrestling campaign at Hangzhou today. The two-time U-20 world champion will kick off in the women’s freestyle 53kg pre-quarterfinals against reigning Asian Championships silver medallist Jasmina Immaeva.

Squash veteran Saurav Ghosal will eye his first gold at the continental meet. The 37-year-old has won four singles medals at the Asian Games so far but a gold eluded him. Dipika Pallikal and Harinder Pal Sandhu, meanwhile, are set to play for the first squash mixed doubles crown in Asian Games history.

The Indian men’s kabaddi team will take the mat in their final two group matches, aiming to secure a semi-final spot. India will play the first three sessions of the bridge men’s team final against Hong Kong China.

Men’s marathoners Man Singh and Belliappa Appachangada Bopaiah will conclude India’s medal-laden athletics campaign at the 19th Asian Games.

Ju-jitsu begins with two medal events today. Canoe slalom, chess, roller skating, sepaktakraw, soft tennis and sport climbing will also feature Indian athletes today.