Roshibina Devi Leads India’s Eventful Asian Games Day

Roshibina Devi scripted another milestone in Indian wushu, the skeet shooters salvaged a disappointing day at the ranges and the embattled rowing team signed off with a historic bronze as India experienced a mixed day at the Asian Games on Thursday.

India’s medal tally rose to 15, including just one gold medal, won by the women’s cricket team.

While the kabaddi teams continued their unbeaten runs and the men’s hockey side strengthened its semifinal prospects, shooting, boxing, gymnastics and fencing produced disappointing results.

Roshibina Devi Creates Wushu History

Roshibina Devi became India’s most successful wushu player in Asian Games history by securing her second consecutive silver medal and third successive podium finish at the continental event.

The Manipuri fighter lost to China’s Zhang Xiaoyu in the women’s 60kg final but added another medal to her collection after winning silver at the 2023 Hangzhou Games.

Her journey to the competition was far from straightforward.

Roshibina had lost the selection trials and was initially left out of the Indian squad. However, an injury to original selection Divyanshi Choudhary opened the door for her return.

Her inclusion sparked controversy after Divyanshi accused the federation of favouritism and alleged that she had been sidelined to accommodate Roshibina.

The Indian fighter, however, said she remained focused on her performance despite the negativity.

“It’s all right if somebody wants to be negative to me. In every situation you have to be strong and ignore the negative environment and just trust yourself and believe in yourself and bring your best energy,” she said.

Skeet Shooters Rescue India’s Shooting Campaign

India’s shooting campaign continued to struggle, with the men’s 10m air pistol team finishing fourth and none of the three Indian shooters qualifying for the individual final.

The disappointment followed a medal-less outing by the women’s air pistol team on Wednesday.

India avoided a completely barren day at the shooting range through the mixed team skeet event, where Parinaaz Dhaliwal and Anantjeet Singh Naruka secured bronze.

Both shooters had already won bronze medals in their respective women’s and men’s team events earlier in the competition.

Rowers Win Historic Men’s Double Sculls Bronze

Satnam Singh and Salman Khan provided a major boost to the Indian rowing team by winning bronze in the men’s double sculls.

The duo secured India’s first-ever Asian Games medal in the event despite having teamed up just five days before the competition.

The Indian pair clocked 6:13.25 at the Nagaragawa International Regatta Course, finishing third after slipping from second place in the final 500 metres.

China won gold, while Uzbekistan claimed silver.

Satnam expressed pride at the achievement despite the limited time the pair had spent training together.

“We only came together in the men’s double sculls five days ago. I feel proud that, after only five days together, we have managed to win an Asian Games medal in this event,” he said.

The bronze provided some relief for a rowing campaign overshadowed by controversy over last-minute changes to boat combinations.

India’s Kabaddi Teams Enter Semifinals

India’s men’s and women’s kabaddi teams continued their unbeaten runs, moving closer to defending their respective Asian Games titles.

The men defeated Chinese Taipei 37-21, while the women registered a commanding 50-25 victory over Japan.

Both teams advanced to the semifinals and assured themselves of at least bronze medals.

India will now look to extend its dominance in a sport it has traditionally controlled at the Asian Games.

Anahat Singh, Abhay Singh Lead Squash Charge

India enjoyed a productive day in squash, with Anahat Singh, Tanvi Khanna, Abhay Singh and Veer Chotrani advancing to the singles quarterfinals.

Anahat, the reigning junior world champion, began her women’s singles campaign with a 3-0 win over Singapore’s Wai Iynn Au Yeong. She won 11-4, 11-5, 11-7 in just 19 minutes.

Tanvi joined her in the last eight after defeating Wai Yhann Au Yeong 5-11, 11-4, 11-5, 13-11 in 39 minutes.

The results set up an all-Indian women’s singles quarterfinal between Anahat and Tanvi.

In the men’s singles, Abhay produced a commanding 3-0 victory over Sri Lanka’s Ravindu Laksiri, winning 11-5, 11-6, 11-0.

Veer survived a tougher challenge against Malaysia’s Sanjay Jeeva, eventually prevailing 11-9, 8-11, 11-6, 15-17, 11-6 in a contest lasting one hour and nine minutes.

Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar also advanced to the mixed doubles quarterfinals after defeating fellow Indians Suraj Chand and Shameena Riaz in straight games.

Unlike the previous edition, reaching the squash singles semifinals does not automatically guarantee a medal.

Dilpreet Singh Hat-Trick Powers India Hockey

Dilpreet Singh scored a hat-trick as the Indian men’s hockey team defeated South Korea 8-2 to strengthen its position at the top of Pool A.

The victory was India’s third consecutive win, following emphatic victories over Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

Dilpreet struck three field goals in the 10th, 26th and 32nd minutes, while Abhishek scored twice in the 15th and 38th minutes.

Shilanand Lakra, skipper Harmanpreet Singh and Rajinder Singh completed the scoring for India.

The result further strengthened India’s hopes of reaching the semifinals.

Boxing, Gymnastics And Fencing Disappointments

India endured a difficult day in boxing, with Parveen the only Indian to progress after receiving a walkover into the women’s 65kg quarterfinals.

Sakshi Chaudhary bowed out after losing 2-3 to Kazakhstan’s Alua Balkibekova in the women’s 51kg pre-quarterfinals.

Sumit was forced to withdraw midway through his men’s 70kg bout because of a knee injury.

In artistic gymnastics, Pranati Nayak finished sixth in the women’s vault final.

The 31-year-old scored 12.900 on each of her two vaults, finishing with an aggregate of 13.100 after a 0.20 bonus was added.

Pranati had recovered from a leg injury to compete at the Games.

India’s fencing campaign also ended without a medal after C A Bhavani Devi and Shreya Gupta were eliminated in the women’s individual sabre event.

Bhavani defeated Mongolia’s Oulen Tugsjargan 15-8 in the round of 32 but lost 5-15 to China’s Rao Xueyi in the round of 16.

The day reflected India’s uneven Asian Games campaign, with historic individual achievements and strong performances in team sports offset by disappointing results in several medal events.