Asian Games: Hockey gold, archery silver, Prannoy’s bronze India race to 95 medals, 100 beckons

Hangzhou: The Indian men’s hockey team reclaimed the gold in Asian Games after nine years as India bagged nine medals to inch closer to an unimaginable 100-medal for the first time in the history of the games.

On Friday, India bagged nine medals to move to 95 medals including 22 gold, 34 silver and 39 bronze medals to be firmly perched at the fourth spot.

On the penultimate day of competitions, Indiaclaimed one gold, two silver and bronze medals. The men’s recurve archery team redeemed itself after disappointing outings in individual events to claim a silver while the women’s team bounced back from a defeat to Korea to overcome Vietnam in windy and rainy conditions to win a bronze.

The second silver came in the card game of bridge in which the men’s team lost to Hong Kong China in the final.

Top shuttler H.S Prannoy ignored debilitating back pain to take the court but lost to China’s Li Shifeng in straight games to settle for bronze.

Women wrestlers Sonam Malik (65 kg) and Kiran (76 kg) won bronze medals as did male freestyle wrestler Aman (53kg). women’s regu (Speak takraw) won the bronze medal to complete Friday’s haul of nine medals, leaving the contingent on 95 medals and many more medals assured in Saturday with Indians featuring in a clutch of finals.

The men’s cricket team led by Ruturaj Gaikwad will take on Afghanistan in the final while Indian Kabaddi teams will also figure in both the finals, the men taking on Iran, their nemesis of 2018, while the women’s meet surprise package Chinese Taipei.

Abhishek Verma will take on compatriot Ojas Deotale in the Compound Men’s Individual archery final, assuring the country of both medals. Another will come from the Compound Women’s Individual final in which Jyothi Surekha Vennam will take on a Korean archer So Chae-won.

And to top it all, the Indian men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Ranjireddy and Chirag Shetty will take on the Korean pair of Choi Sol-gyu and Kim Wonho in the final. The Indian doubles pair sealed a historic maiden berth in the men’s doubles final after beating top Malaysian pair ofAaron Chia Teng Fong and Soh Woi Yik in straight games on Friday.

It surely going to rain medals for India as the country of 1.3 billion people is not only going to cross the magical 100-medal mark.

It will definitely be an occasion worth remembering for a country that had managed only one gold medal when China first hosted the Asian Games in 1990 in Beijing.

India surely is going to end the Hangzhou Asian Games with a bang.– Sir little confusion in this line

–IANS