Live Blog | September 23 | India at Asian Games

Ayush Shetty has lost the opening game 19-21 against China’s Li Shifeng in the third match of the men’s team semifinal.

The two were locked at 14-14 earlier, trading points throughout the game, but a few unforced errors from Ayush towards the end allowed Shifeng to edge ahead.

Gyaneshwari Yadav has successfully completed her second snatch at 87kg, building on her opening 84kg lift.

The Indian has 90kg listed for her third attempt. A successful lift could strengthen her position heading into the clean and jerk.

Gyaneshwari Devi opened her women’s 53kg campaign with a successful 84kg lift.

She will now move up to 87kg for her second attempt. The weight remains below the opening attempts being targeted by the leading contenders.

India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have brought the men’s team semifinal against China back to level terms.

The Indian duo defeated Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang 21-11, 22-20, making it 1-1 in the tie.

Next up, Ayush Shetty takes on Li Shifeng in the third match.

India continued their unbeaten run in the women’s hockey competition, defeating Thailand 20-1 in their Pool B encounter to make it three wins from three.

Deepika was the standout performer, scoring an incredible nine goals, with every one of them coming from penalty corners.

India’s Arvind Singh, Kulwinder Singh, Navdeep Singh and Jakar Khan finished fourth in the heats of the men’s quadruple sculls.

The result was enough to book their place in Final A, keeping India in contention for a medal.

Lakshya Sen has gone down 0-2 to China’s Shi Yuqi in the opening match of India’s men’s team semifinal tie.

Shi Yuqi took the contest 21-16, 21-18, giving China an early lead in the tie.

Lakshya Sen 0-2 Shi Yuqi

Game 1: 16-21

Game 2: 18-21

India have completely dominated Thailand and take a 12-0 lead into the start of the third quarter.

With another 15 minutes plus the fourth quarter still to play, India could be heading towards a huge scoreline.

India will have two pairs in the mixed doubles quarterfinals at the Asian Games.

Harmeet Desai & Yashaswini Ghorpade advanced after edging past Maldives’ Mohamed Ismail and Fathimath Ali 3-2 in Round 2. They will next face China’s Lin Shidong & Kuai Man.

The other Indian pair, Manush Shah & Diya Chitale, will take on Hong Kong’s Wong Chun Ting & Doo Hoi Kem.

Mirabai Chanu has completed her Asian Games medal collection, securing silver in the women’s 49kg category and adding an Asian Games medal to her decorated career.

North Korea’s Ri Song Gum took gold after setting world records in the snatch, clean & jerk and total, claiming her third consecutive Asian Games title.

Mirabai’s silver is also India’s first Asian Games weightlifting medal since Karnam Malleswari’s bronze in 1998.

Raiza Dhillon continues to stay in medal contention in the women’s skeet final. She hit all four targets from the first station in the second 12-shot series and followed it up by shooting 10/12, enough to clear the latest elimination.

Raiza is currently fourth and will need to navigate another elimination to secure a medal.

Zang Kokhee and Zoya Piskun have been eliminated in fifth and sixth place, respectively.

India will have two medal contenders in the women’s skeet final, with Raiza Dhillon and Parinaaz Dhaliwal taking their places in the title decider.

The final begins with a 12-shot series before the elimination phase kicks in. Shooters will take their turns from a single fixed launch station, unlike indoor shooting events where athletes shoot simultaneously from separate lanes.

Skeet 101: Clay targets are released from two fixed houses positioned at different heights, with shooters required to hit the flying targets as they appear.

Ri Song Gum has completed her snatch campaign with 94kg, choosing not to attempt a third lift after making her attempts look effortless.

Mirabai Chanu finished the snatch with 87kg, while Wijayana sits between the two with 88kg.

Standings after Snatch:

1. Ri Song Gum — 94kg

2. Wijayana — 88kg

3. Mirabai Chanu — 87kg

The women’s 49kg final is underway, with Mirabai Chanu among the athletes taking the platform.

Based on the declared opening weights, Mirabai is set to begin the snatch at 83kg. That is below the starting attempts of Chinese Taipei’s Fang Wan-Ling and North Korea’s Ri Song Gum.

Gisho Nidhi Kumaresan advanced to the men’s sabre Round of 16 after defeating Laos’ Quentin Geoffroy 15-8 in the Round of 32.

He will next face Kazakhstan’s Artyom Sarkissyan in the Round of 16 at 10:30 AM.

India’s women’s kabaddi team continued their winning run with a 37-23 victory over Iran in Group A.

India controlled the contest for most of the match to secure back-to-back wins, having earlier defeated Bangladesh 42-21.

Anantjeet Singh Naruka has booked his place in the men’s skeet final after finishing qualification with 119.

He is currently tied fourth, alongside four other shooters, meaning a shoot-off will determine the final ranking and positions heading into the medal round.

India’s Bhavtegh Singh Gill (116) and Mairaj Ahmed Khan (111) have been eliminated, finishing 12th and 29th respectively.

India’s women’s foil campaign ended in the Round of 32, with both Mina Devi Naorem and Joys Ashitha Stalinraj bowing out.

Mina faced a tough outing against South Korea’s Park Jihee, going down 3-15. Ashitha came agonisingly close against Kazakhstan’s Alyona Gnoyeva, fighting back to 14-14 before conceding the decisive final point.

India will have two shooters in the women’s skeet final, with Parinaaz Dhaliwal and Raiza Dhillon both making it through the shoot-off.

The medal round is scheduled for 11:00 AM IST.

Manu Bhaker’s women’s 10m air pistol campaign ends with a fifth-place finish after a total of 181.1 in the final.

She had briefly climbed to joint third after producing a crucial 10.8, but a combined 20.4 from her final two shots saw her eliminated.

A strong comeback from Manu, who finishes just outside the medal positions.

Manu Bhaker found herself in sixth place and level with Vietnam’s Nguyen Thuy Trang at 129.6 after the 13th shot, leaving no room for error.

She responded when it mattered most, firing a 10.8 to move 0.2 points clear of Nguyen and stay in the competition. Kazakhstan’s Popelova Valeriya was eliminated in seventh after a poor final shot.

Manu then slipped behind Nguyen again with a 10.0, trailing by just 0.1 point.

Manu Bhaker has slipped to joint fifth after a shaky opening to the next phase of the women’s 10m air pistol final.

She began with a 10.2, followed by a 9.9 and 8.9, which pushed her down the standings. After 10 shots, Manu and Shen Yiyao are level on 100.3.

Manu Bhaker has made a steady start to the final, sitting third after the opening five shots with a score of 50.8.

She opened with 9.9, responded with a 10.6, and then posted 9.5 on her third shot before completing the first series.

Jay Meena has created history for India in soft tennis, defeating the Philippines’ Sherwin Nuguit 4-3 in a thrilling men’s singles quarterfinal.

Jay prevailed 0-4, 4-2, 2-4, 4-2, 5-3, 2-4, 7-5 in a closely fought contest to book his place in the semifinals and secure India’s first-ever Asian Games medal in soft tennis.

He will face Japan’s Takuya Kurosaka in the semifinal later today.

Manush Shah and Diya Chitale made a quick start to their mixed doubles campaign, dispatching Sri Lanka’s Chanul Kulappuwawadu and Bimandee Swarna 3-0 in just 18 minutes.

India won 11-8, 12-10, 11-4 to move into the pre-quarterfinals, where they will meet Maldives’ Moosa Ahmed and Aishath Nazim at 10:15 AM.

India’s Mina Devi Naorem and Joys Ashitha Stalinraj have both progressed to the Round of 32 in the women’s foil individual event after finishing fifth in their respective six-fencer pools.

Mina will face South Korea’s Park Jihee, while Ashitha takes on Kazakhstan’s Alyona Gnoyeva. Both Round of 32 bouts are scheduled for around 9:30 AM today.

Parinaaz Dhaliwal, Raiza Dhillon and Maheshwari Chauhan secured India’s bronze medal in the women’s skeet team event with a combined score of 331.

China topped the standings with 347 to win gold, while Kazakhstan took silver with 336.

India’s Parvathy Geetha and Phairembam Soniya Devi have advanced to the women’s K2 500m semifinals after clocking 2:02.538 in Heat A.

The Indian pair finished fifth in the heat, 14.820 seconds behind the leaders, but progressed to the semifinal. The top three boats advanced directly to Final A.

India battled past the Philippines 2-1 (15-9, 10-15, 15-8) to take the second match of their Group B encounter.

The deciding set was a tense affair and even required an injury timeout for an Indian player. India now move into the third and final match, where a 3-0 overall win would keep their hopes of progressing alive.

Manu Bhaker closed out the women’s 10m air pistol qualification with 579, finishing strongly with 96, 96 and 98 in her final three series. Her score puts her in contention for the final.

Esha Singh also produced a strong finish, recording 97, 97 and 96 across her last three series to finish on 572. She ends the qualification in 16th place.

Suruchi Singh finished on 568 after a 93 in her final series, placing her 26th.

The Philippines have levelled the second match 15-10, forcing India into a deciding third set in their final Group B encounter. India need a 3-0 win in this match to keep their medal hopes alive, making the decider a crucial one.

Three of six qualification series are now complete, with both Manu Bhaker and Suruchi Singh shooting 97 in Series 3.

Manu has climbed back to fifth place, while Suruchi is 23rd. Esha Singh currently sits in 34th as the qualification reaches its halfway mark.

Manu Bhaker has bounced back strongly and is now fifth in the women’s 10m air pistol qualification after three series.

Suruchi Singh is also showing signs of a recovery, with a 97 in Series 3 taking her up to 24th. Esha Singh, currently 35th, still has her third series to complete.

South Korea’s Choo Gaeun currently sits at the top, with China’s Jiang Ranxin and Shen Yiyao occupying second and third respectively.

Aneesh Sunil clocked 1:51.20 to finish fourth in the men’s 200m freestyle heats, while Vedaant Madhavan was sixth in 1:52.01.

With more heats still to come, the final qualification picture is yet to be decided.

Jaswinder Singh and Nitin Kumar finished fourth and last in the men’s pair heats with a time of 6:36.90.

They were 16.01 seconds off the leading time, leaving them to compete in Final B, which does not offer a medal opportunity.

Megha Pradeep finished fifth in her women’s canoe single 200m heat, clocking 49.675 seconds.

She finished 2.733 seconds behind the heat winner, a result that takes her through to the semifinal, but not directly into Final A.

Manu Bhaker posted a 96 in her second series, keeping her qualification campaign alive but leaving plenty of ground to recover.

Suruchi Singh and Esha Singh have also been unable to make a significant move up the standings. Based on the current averages, Manu is 15th, Suruchi 36th and Esha 37th.

India still have rounds remaining, but the trio will need a substantial improvement to push themselves into contention.

Esha Singh ended her opening series with 94, leaving her with ground to make up as the qualification progresses.

Manu Bhaker, meanwhile, has begun to recover, dropping just one point in her first five shots of the second series.

At the top, Jiang Ranxin has moved into the lead after posting a 98, including a 49 so far in her latest series.

India’s quartet of Harshwardhan Shaktawat, Varinder Singh, L Naocha Singh Oinam and Arun Singh finished third in Heat 1 of the men’s K4 500m.

Their time of 1:29.447 was 5.594 seconds behind heat winners China, but the third-place finish was enough to secure India’s place in the final.

India’s women’s 10m air pistol trio have had an uneven opening to qualification.

Suruchi Singh has managed 94 in her first series, while Manu Bhaker and Esha Singh have also started with several 9s.

There is plenty of qualification still to come, but India will need to raise the level quickly as the competition intensifies.

The opening phase has not gone to plan for India. Malaysia’s Nurul Syasya Nadiah Binti Mohd Arifin, ranked 99th in the world and yet to win an ISSF World Cup medal, has surged to the top of the standings.

India’s trio are struggling to find their rhythm. Suruchi has already dropped six points in her opening series, while Manu Bhaker is five points down. Esha Singh is currently on 46 halfway through her first series.

There is plenty of qualification still to come, but India have work to do.

India’s women’s 10m air pistol shooters face a 59-athlete field featuring Olympians, former world champions and World Cup winners.

The qualification round includes several record holders. China’s Jiang Ranxin holds the qualification world record with 591, set in Cairo in 2022, while her 581 at Hangzhou 2023 remains the Asian Games record.

Kim Bomi holds the continental qualification record with 588, achieved in Daegu in 2022. Jiang also owns the Olympic qualification record of 587, set at Tokyo.

With such a strong field, India’s shooters face a significant challenge in the qualification round.

India’s shooting contingent begins a key qualification event in the women’s 10m air pistol, with Manu Bhaker, Esha Singh and Suruchi Singh in action.

With Manu and Esha bringing significant international experience and Suruchi representing the next generation, India will be looking to put multiple shooters into the final and mount a strong challenge in the team event.

India’s Satnam Singh and Khan Salman finished second in Heat 2 of the men’s double sculls with a time of 6:15.63.

They qualify for Final A, with China’s Yi Xudi and Nie Yide winning the heat in 6:13.36.

India’s Balraj Panwar finished third in Heat 2 of the men’s single sculls with a timing of 6:52.84.

He advances to Final A, with China’s Deng Zhiwei winning the heat in 6:45.22 and Hong Kong’s Chan Chi Fung finishing second in 6:52.53.

India face the Philippines in their men’s team regu Group B match.

After defeats to Japan and Malaysia over the past two days, India come into their final group fixture looking to finish on a positive note. With the results so far, a medal remains a difficult prospect.