India achieved a remarkable feat at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, on Saturday by clinching double gold in kabaddi. Both the men's and women's teams triumphed over Iran in their respective finals, with the men's team securing a 40-34 victory and the women's team winning 37-34. This victory marks the ninth gold for the Indian men's team in the history of the Games and the fourth for the women's team since the sport's introduction in 2010.
In other sporting events, P. V. Sindhu and Unnati Hooda advanced to the quarterfinals of the women's singles badminton competition. Sindhu delivered a commanding performance against Tomoka Miyazaki, winning 21-9, 21-13, while Hooda overcame world No. 6 Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia with scores of 21-19, 21-13. However, Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty were eliminated from the competition.
India's shooting team also made headlines as the trio of Tilottama Sen, Vidarsa Vinod, and Ashi Chouksey secured a silver medal in the women's 50m rifle 3 positions team event, amassing a total score of 1763. Tilottama Sen narrowly missed out on an individual medal, finishing fourth in the final.
In squash, Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar settled for bronze after a narrow defeat to Hong Kong's Tang Ming Hong and Lee Ka Yi in the mixed doubles semifinals. The Indian pair lost 2-1 in a closely contested match, with scores of 11-10, 2-11, 11-10.
On the athletics track, Prachi Choudhary secured a bronze medal in the women's 400m final, clocking 53.21 seconds. Bahrain's Salwa Naser took gold with a Games record of 49.20 seconds, while Iran's Zahra Zarei Manoujan claimed silver.
In men's shot put, Tajinderpal Singh Toor added a silver medal to his collection, throwing 20.64 meters. Iran's Mohammadreza Tayebise set a new Games record with a throw of 20.81 meters to win gold, while Saudi Arabia's Mohammed Tolu took bronze with a throw of 20.48 meters.
India's esports campaign saw mixed results. Debutant Paritosh exited the Puyo Puyo Champions event in the quarterfinals after a 0-5 loss to South Korea's Kang Dongshin. In the Pokemon UNITE event, the Indian team, comprising Adnan Mohammed Badshah, Rudra Narayan Nayak, Deepkumar Vipulbhai Patel, Sai Krishna Nalluri, Dipjyoti Laxman Nath, and Reuben Godfrey Fernandes, was eliminated after a 1-2 group stage loss to Hong Kong.
In equestrian events, Jai Sud and Hriday Vipul Chheda advanced to the individual dressage final. Sud, riding Goofy La Perle, and Chheda, aboard Dono Di Maggio, secured their spots with scores of 133.559 and 135.059, respectively. However, Shruti Vora and Gaurav Pundhir failed to qualify, with Vora's score dropping to 62% in the second qualifier.
India's men's hockey team continued their strong performance, advancing to the semifinals after a 2-0 victory over hosts Japan. Abhishek and skipper Harmanpreet Singh scored for India, maintaining their unbeaten run in the tournament. The team is set to face Bangladesh in their final pool match on September 28.
The kabaddi victories were particularly significant, as the Indian men's team had previously lost their dominance to Iran at the 2018 Jakarta Games. The women's team captain, Pushpa Rana, expressed confidence in her team's raiding capabilities, which ultimately led to their success. "Our raiders are outstanding, " Rana stated, emphasizing the pressure of maintaining India's gold-winning tradition in the sport.
