Tag: Asian games

Asian Games Modi

Modi Interacts With India’s Asian Games Contingent

By LokMarg

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday interacted with India’s Asian Games contingent, which achieved a record medal tally, and said they had created history.

Prime Minister said women athletes have performed very well and it shows the capability of the country’s daughters.

“I am proud that our ‘Nari Shakti’ performed very well in the Asian Games. It tells about the capability of the daughters of India,” PM Modi said in his remarks.

He said there is an atmosphere of celebration across the country due to the performance of the Indian contingent.

” You have created history…I welcome all of you (athletes) on behalf of 140 crore Indians. Because of your hard work and achievements, there is an atmosphere of celebration across the country. We never had a dearth of talent in our country but due to several obstacles, our athletes weren’t able to convert their talent into medals,” he said at the event held at Major Dhyan Chand Stadium here.

India crossed the 100-medal mark for the first and won medals in several new disciplines.

India finished their Asian Games campaign at Hangzhou in China with a record haul of 107 medals – 28 gold, 38 silver and 41 bronze.

Shooting, athletics and archery contributed significantly to India’s tally. The cricket and kabaddi teams bagged two gold medals each while the men’s hockey team’s gold secured a spot at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Squash gave India five medals, including two gold.

India won three medals in badminton including a historic gold in men’s doubles. (ANI)

Read More: https://lokmarg.com/

Modi Asian Games

Modi Hails India’s Asian Games Contingent As Medal Tally Hits 100

By LokMarg

As India raced past its target of aggregating 100 medals in the ongoing Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday congratulated the Indian contingent on the “momentous achievement”.

Taking to his official handle on X, PM Modi congratulated and conveyed his best wishes to the Indian athletes for their stellar performances in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou.

With the Indian women clinching gold in the kabaddi final on Saturday, defeating Chinese Taipei, the country realised its quest for 100-plus medals in the multi-sport event.

PM Modi informed through his post that he will be hosting the Indian contingent in the Asian Games on October 10, adding that he will personally interact with athletes, who lit up the Hangzhou Games with dazzling individual and team performances to help the country reach the 100-medal mark in the 19th Asian Games.

“A momentous achievement for India at the Asian Games! The people of India are thrilled that we have reached a remarkable milestone of 100 medals. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to our phenomenal athletes whose efforts have led to this historic milestone for India. Every awe-inspiring performance has made history and filled our hearts with pride. I look forward to hosting our Asian Games contingent on the 10th and interacting with our athletes,” PM Modi posted on X.

The women’s kabaddi team took a 14-9 lead against Chinese Taipei in the gold medal match at the Asian Games 2023 and kept their noses in front in the contest to eventually claim the yellow metal.

The two teams had played out a 34-34 tie in their campaign opener. The Indian raiders scored bonus points in the first half while Chinese Taipei took the lead in the second, scoring 16 points. The Indians trailed in the second half at 12 points.

However, Indian raiders scored two bonus bonus points in the second half to turn the tide in their favour.

Largely on the weight of their stellar performance in the first half, the Indian women clinched a 26-25 win over Chinese Taipei, claiming India’s 25th gold and taking the country’s medal tally to exactly 100. (ANI)

Read More: https://lokmarg.com/

India Bangladesh

India Thrash Bangladesh By Nine Wickets

By LokMarg

A top-class bowling spell from spinner Sai Kishore and explosive knocks from skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad and Tilak Varma helped India secure a berth in the final of the cricket tournament at the ongoing Asian Games in Hangzhou, defeating Bangladesh by nine wickets on Friday.

India elected to field first after winning the toss. The Indian spinners wreaked havoc on the Bangladeshi batting lineup, taking down the top order easily. At the end of the powerplay, Bangladesh was at 21/3 in six overs.

Sai Kishore, Washington Sundar and Tilak Varma were at their destructive best, reducing Bangladesh to 40/4 in ten overs. Pavez Hossain Emon (23 in 32 balls) was the top contributor till that point.

Wickets kept falling for Bangladesh, but wicket-keeper batter Jaker Ali (24* in 29 balls) and Rakibul Hasan (14) helped Bangladesh reach 96 in their 20 overs at the loss of nine wickets.

Sai Kishore (3/12) was the pick of the bowlers for India. Washington (2/15) also bowled well. Tilak, Arshdeep Singh, Shahbaz Ahmed and Ravi Bishnoi got a wicket each.

In the chase of 97 runs, India lost opener Yashasvi Jaiswal for a four-ball duck after he had made a century in a previous match against Nepal. But after that skipper Gaikwad and Tilak Varma started to fire quick runs for India, powering them to 68/1 in six overs.

India chased down the target of 97 in just 9.2 overs, with Gaikwad (40* in 26 balls with four boundaries and three sixes) and Varma (55* in 26 balls with two fours and six sixes) unbeaten.

“Unstoppable India! Our Men’s Cricket Team has emerged victorious against Bangladesh in the Semifinals, and enters the FINAL at the #AsianGames2022! #TeamIndia’s chase for glory continues, and we are rooting for the GOLD All eyes are on the ultimate showdown! #Cheer4India #JeetegaBharat #BharatAtAG22 #Hallabol@BCCI,” tweeted SAI Media.

India has stormed into the final and will either play Afghanistan or Pakistan in the gold medal match on October 7. (ANI)

Read More: https://lokmarg.com/

Neeraj Chopra

Neeraj Starts Men’s Javelin Throw Campaign Today

By LokMarg

India’s star javelin thrower, Olympic gold medalist and World Champion Neeraj Chopra will be starting his Asian Games campaign in the final of men’s javelin throw on Wednesday.

Neeraj will compete in the title clash in the javelin throw at 4:35 PM IST.

The athlete had won a gold medal in javelin back in the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta. With a throw of 88.06 m, he made a mark at continental level, giving signs of a fine future. Previously, he had also secured a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games 2018, with a throw of 86.47 m.

Now five years later, the then 20-year-old upstart has transformed into a living legend at 25 years of age. When it comes to accomplishments and trophies, Neeraj has very little to prove now as he has won it all.

In 2021, he captured an Olympic gold medal in Tokyo, with the best throw of 87.58 m. With this, he became the first-ever Indian to win an athletics gold. This victory made him a sensation in the country. Love and support from fans, cricketers, politicians, and Bollywood celebrities made his victory even grander. Suddenly, Neeraj was the talking point all over India, being featured on social media campaigns, advertisements, shows etc. People wondered what he would do next.

In the next few coming months, Neeraj showed that though he had attained the top prize in athletics, there was still plenty for him to prove and win.

2022 was an amazing year for Neeraj, though he missed out on Commonwealth Games 2022 due to an injury.

In June, he made a new national record and finished with a silver medal with a throw of 89.30 metres at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland, bettering his own previous national record of 88.07 meters which he had set in Patiala in March last year.

In June again, he gave another sterling performance as he clinched gold in the 2022 Kuortane Games in Finland. Neeraj threw 86.69 m to clinch the top prize in tricky and wet conditions.

He also held the male javelin national record thanks to a throw in the Stockholm Diamond League that measured 89.94 metres, with which he broke his own record. He clinched a silver medal at the prestigious Diamond League meet in Stockholm and broke his own previous record.

At the World Athletics Championships in July, Neeraj Chopra made history by becoming only the second Indian and the first male track and field athlete to take home a medal. He finished second and won the silver medal, realising his aim of winning a World medal with a throw of 88.13 metres. Anju Bobby George won a bronze medal for India in the long jump competition before Neeraj.

In September, Chopra made history by becoming the first-ever Indian to win the prestigious Diamond League trophy, a top-tier athletics competition, achieving the best throw of 88.44 m to clinch one of the biggest wins of his career.

With a gold medal in Asian Games, Olympics, CWG and World Athletics Championships and a Diamond League title, Chopra has won every top prize in the sport. He has set an unprecedented example with his consistency and hunger for gold.

Ahead of start of his campaign, Neeraj spoke about his consistency, “It is not about being consistent in throw, but also in training. Keep training well and work on your technique. This leads to improvement. Last year, I made two national records, it was nice. I made improvements. This year I felt good, but injuries proved to be a temporary obstacle. Feels good to be consistent.”

The only thing that is perhaps left to prove for Neeraj is whether he can touch the 90 m mark. Neeraj himself is looking forward to it, but is not in a hurry. His main focus still remains consistency.

“I am very close to it. I want to hit that throw myself. I believe in the process. Whenever it will happen, it will happen. I am not in a hurry. I am happy with my consistent performances, this is my main focus,” said Neeraj.

This time, his arch-rival Arshad Nadeem from Pakistan is ruled out due to injury. It means, the absence of India-Pakistan rivalry flavour from the continental meet.

The absence of Nadeem however means Neeraj Chopra is the favourite for Gold. (ANI)

Read More: https://lokmarg.com/

Parul

Parul Strikes Gold In Women’s 5000M

By LokMarg

Indian runner Parul Chaudhary on Tuesday etched her name in the history book by winning a gold medal in the Women’s 5000m at the Asian Games. 

Returning to the field after bagging a silver medal in the women’s 3000-metre steeplechase on Monday, Parul finished with a timing of 15:14.75 for the gold medal. She became the first Indian to win gold in the women’s 5000m event at the Asian Games. 

Parul displayed dedication and determination to emerge victorious. She was placed second with around 20m to go and gave it all to go past Japan’s Ririka Hironaka.

Another India athlete Ankita, who was in the top four initially, ran out of steam and did not finish among the top few athletes.

This is India’s 14th gold medal and 64th overall in the continental games. (ANI)

Read More: https://lokmarg.com/

Vithya asian games

Vithya Equals PT Usha’s Women’s 400M Hurdles Record

By LokMarg

Indian athlete Vithya Ramraj tied with PT Usha’s 39-year-old national record as she qualified for the final of women’s 400 m hurdles at the ongoing Asian Games in Hangzhou on Monday,

Other athletes like Jesse Sandesh, Mohammed Afsal Pulikkalakath, and Krishnan Kumar also made it to the medal round. 

In women’s 400 m hurdles, Vithya finished at the top of her heat one and number two overall with personal best timings of 55.42 seconds to be among the top five athletes to go to the final.

In the second heat, Kaveram Sinchal Ravi finished at fourth and bottom in heat two with timings of 58.62, unable to qualify for the medal round. She also finished tenth overall. 

In the men’s high jump, though Jesse Sandesh and Anil Sarvesh Kushare managed to reach final, none of them could hit a jump of 2.26 m, the automatic qualification mark. Jesse finished sixth in Group A with a jump of 2.10 m while Anil finished fourth in Group B with a jump of 2.10 m. Both athletes managed to earn tenth and eleventh positions to be among the top 12 athletes privileged to earn a medal round qualification. 

The men’s high jump final will start at 4:30 PM IST on Wednesday, October 4.

In the men’s 800 m final, Mohammed Afsal and Krishnan reached the finals. Afsal, who is a South Asian Games silver medallist, clocked 1:46.79 minutes to finish best in his heat and overall. The Asian level silver medalist in the sport, Krishnan finished eighth overall and second best in heat three with a time of 1:49.45 minutes. He was able to be among the top eight athletes to earn the final qualification. 

The men’s 800m final will take tomorrow at 5:55 PM IST.

In men’s 400 m hurdles, Santosh Kumar Tamilarasan secured a second-place finish in his heats and overall with timings of 49.28 seconds to reach the final, and Yashas Palaksha clocked 49.61 seconds to finish second in heat three, fourth overall to reach the medal round. 

India has 12 medals in athletics so far, with two gold, five silver and five bronze. 

India’s medal tally has now gone up to 55 medals, comprising 13 gold, 21 silver, and 21 bronze. The athletics events started on September 29 and will go on till October 5. (ANI)

Read More: https://lokmarg.com/

Squash Abhay

Squash Ace Abhay Speaks On Historic Team Gold In Asiad

By LokMarg

After clinching gold in the men’s team event at the ongoing Asian Games, rising squash player Abhay Singh on Saturday said he was at a loss for words to express his feelings. 

The Indian men’s squash team of Mahesh Mangaonkar, Saurav Ghosal and Abhay struck gold, beating arch-rivals Pakistan 2-1 in a high-intensity final on Saturday.

“I am at a loss for words. This is what we play for. This is what we make all our sacrifices for. I am 25 and live a life, which is very different from others my age,” Abhay told ANI after fetching the country its tenth gold in the ongoing Hangzhou Asian Games, on Saturday.

Mahesh said he was overcome with emotion as the Tricolour went up on the podium and the national anthem was played at the presentation ceremony.

“It goes without saying that we felt the pressure and weight of expectations back home going into the gold medal match. Our captain, Saurav, set the tone with a phenomenal performance. I would attribute the win to a great team effort. I was overcome with emotion as I rose to the podium and the national anthem was played. When you see the tricolour going up on the podium, it gives you a sense of fulfillment after all the hard work that you put in over the years,” Mahesh told ANI.

Captain Saurav shared how he kept the team together and focussed on the big final while bringing his best game to the fore.

“This medal is special as I had been working very hard to raise my own level while keeping the team together in a good mental space. It’s great that we won gold for the country,” Saurav told ANI.

In an exemplary display of grit and resilience, India dug deep to wrap up the tie and clinch gold in the best-of-three final against their arch-rivals.

In the first match, it was Pakistan’s Iqbal who opened strongly, racing to a 5-1 lead over Mahesh.

The Indian dropped the first three games against his Pakistan rival Iqbal, losing 8-11, 11-3, 11-2. After a competitive first game, in which Mangaonkar led 11-8 at one point, Nasir won the next two games rather easily to give Pakistan a 1-0 lead in the tie.

However, in the second match, veteran Saurav Ghosal turned the tide in India’s favour, upstaging Muhammad Asim Khan 11-5, 11-1, 11-3.

Bringing his supreme fitness and athleticism to the fore, Abhay dived to reach a couple of shots. However, Noor Zaman demonstrated his understanding of the angles, making the most of side walls. 

In the decider, however, Abhay worked the angles to his advantage to pick up two quick points and take the lead. 

The decider saw some fascinating exchanges before a costly unforced error from Zaman gave Abhay the win.

Zaman had two gold medal points but Abhay dug deep to win four points on the trot and secure the yellow metal for India in the men’s team event. (ANI)

Read More: https://lokmarg.com/

Asian Games Kartik

Asian Games: Kartik Wins Silver; Gulveer Bags Bronze In Men’s 10000M

By LokMarg

The final of the men’s 10000m was a double delight for India as Kartik Kumar bagged silver and Gulveer Singh clinched bronze in the Asian Games on Saturday. 

Kartik won silver with a timing of 28:15.38s while Gulveer clocked 28:17.21s to claim the bronze.

The duo delivered on the big stage and earned India medals in athletics on Saturday.

Both Indians got into medal contention in the final 100 metres after three of their competitors fell in quick succession after colliding with each other.

Bahrain’s Birhanu Yemataw Balew won the gold medal with a time of 28:13.62 seconds.

In other athletics action, Indian athlete Aishwarya Mishra clocked 53.50s in the women’s 400m final to finish fourth. The 26-year-old sprinter was 0.92s shy of a bronze medal in the final event.

Bahrain’s Oluwakemi Mujidat Adekoya and Salwa Eid Naser won gold and silver, respectively, while Malaysian sprinter Vallabouy Shereen Samson settled for bronze. 

In the men’s category, Muhammed Ajmal finished fifth by clocking 45.97s. (ANI)

Read More: https://lokmarg.com/

Mirabai Chanu

Mirabai Chanu finishes 4th in women’s 49 kg

By LokMarg

Olympic silver medalist weightlifter Mirabai Chanu could not get a podium finish in the women’s 49 kg as she finished fourth at the Asian Games in Hangzhou on Saturday. 

Chanu was not at her best in the match. She lifted the best of 83 kg in snatch while she failed to lift in her two next attempts of 86 kg. In clean and jerk, she lifted 108 in her first attempt but could not lift 117 kgs in her next two attempts. She lifted a combined weight of 191 kg.

North Korea’s Ri Song-gum got the gold medal. She lifted a best of 92 kg in the snatch category and saved her best for clean and jerk. In clean and jerk, she lifted a massive 124 kg, which is now a world record, Asian record and Asian Games record. Her combined lift of 216 kg is also a world record.

China’s Huihua Jiang got the silver medal. She picked 94 kg in the snatch category, followed by 119 kg in the clean and jerk category. Her combined lift came out to be 213 kg. 

The bronze was secured by Thailand’s Thanyathon Sukcharoean. She picked up 90 kg in the snatch category, followed by 109 kg in clean and jerk. Her combined lift came to 199 kg. 

Chanu fell nine kg short of a podium position. 

Bindyarani Devi will be in action in women’s 55 kg at 4:30 pm IST.  

The weightlifting events are being organised in Hangzhou from September 30 to October 7, with the athletes competing for 14 gold medals. (ANI)

Read More: https://lokmarg.com/

Asian Games

Asian Games: India Wins Gold In Tennis Mixed Doubles

By LokMarg

The Indian tennis duo Rohan Bopanna and Rutuja Bhosale bagged the gold medal in the tennis mixed doubles at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou on Saturday.  

The Rohan-Rutuja duo struggled in the initial set of the match and lost the first set against Chinese Taipei’s En-shuo Liang and Tsung-hao Huang by 6-2. The Indian pair made a stellar comeback and later dominated the game to beat their opponents in straight two sets by 3-6, and 4-10.

The final tennis match went on for almost over one hour but India made no mistake to clinch the gold medal.

In the semi-final match of the mixed doubles final event, 43-year-old Rohan Bopanna and Rutuja Bhosale defeated Chinese Taipei’s Yu-hsiou Hsu and Hao-Ching Chang to reach the final.

The Indian duo defeated Chinese Taipei by 6-1, 3-6, 10-4 and assured a medal for India at the Asian Games 2023 on Friday.

The Bopanna-Bhosale duo won the first set 6-1 against Chinese Taipei’s Yu-hsiou Hsu and Hao-ching Chang.

However, in the semi-final match, the Indian pair lost control in the second set but they prevailed in the tiebreaker 10-4 to storm into the final match assuring themselves a medal.

The tennis events started on September 24 and concluded on Saturday with Bopanna-Bhosale winning the gold in the mixed doubles final.

The Indian contingent stands at fourth place in the 19th Asian Games medals table with a total of 34 medals. Which includes nine gold, 13 silver, and 13 bronze medals. (ANI)

Read More: https://lokmarg.com/