Asian Games 2018 : Equestrian riders to open Indian challenge on Day 9
Upbeat by two back to back silver medals on a historic Sunday, the equestrian contenders for India will open the challenge on Day 9 of the Jakarta and Palembang Asian Games 2018. The horseriders shall now participate in the jumping category of equestrian event.
They shall be followed by the squash players, who shall compete for ultimate glory in the team event. While the men's team would open their account against Indonesia and Singapore, the women's team would open their account against the team from Iran.
The squash players shall be followed up by the star shuttlers Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu, who will now aim to create another historical moment by setting up an all India final, as they meet their rivals Tai Tzu Ying and Akane Yamaguchi respectively in the semifinals. Though they've already made history by assuring themselves of a bronze medal, the duo would obviously wish to go a notch higher than that!
The shuttlers shall be followed up by the Indian women's hockey team, who will now play their last league match against Thailand. Having already made the cut for the semifinals, the team will now test their mettle against the Thai eves in order to deem themselves eligible for a historic gold after 36 years.
The women's team shall be followed up by the male Indian boxers, who shall aim to get an inch closer to the coveted podium. While light flyweight boxer Amit Kumar Panghal shall compete against Ekhmandakh Kharkhuu of Mongolia, light welterweight boxer Dheeraj Rangi shall compete against Nurlan Kobashev.
Bantamweight boxer and bronze medalist of Gold Coast CWG 2018 Hussamuddin Mohammad shall compete against Kharkhuugiin Enkh - Amar of Mongolia, while star boxer Vikas Krishan Yadav shall open his account against Tanveer Ahmad of Pakistan in the men's middleweight category [75 kg.]
The boxers shall be followed up by the Indian athletes, who shall aim to add further glory to the medal tally. Starting the challenge would be long jumpers Nayana James and Neena Varakkil, who shall compete in the Women's Long Jump!
They shall be followed by the star javelin thrower, Naib Subedar Neeraj Chopra, who along with Shivpal Singh, shall represent the Indian challenge in the Men's Javelin Throw. Neeraj, who is slowly but steadily rising as India's fitting reception to the stalwarts of track and field athletics, will look forward to winning India's first gold medal in this event.
The javelin throwers shall be followed by the hurdlers, who shall compete for India in the Men's 400 m. hurdles and Women's 400 m. Hurdles respectively. While Ayyasamy Dharun and Santosh Kumar Tamilarasan will gun for glory in the men's category, Jauna Murmu and Anu Raghavan shall do the same in the women's category.
The hurdlers shall be followed up by the high jumper Chetan Balasubramaniam, who shall represent India in the finals of the Men's High Jump. They shall be followed by steeplechase runners Sudha Singh and Chinta, who shall gun for glory in the Women's 3000 m. steeplechase, along with Shankar Lal Swami, who shall represent India in the Men's 3000 m. Steeplechase event.
The day shall come to a close when Jinson Johnson and Manjit Singh shall participate in the heats of Men's 800 m. event. Following is a summarized lineup [All timings as per IST]:-
- 6:30 a.m. onwards:- Equestrian [Qualifications - Men's Jumping [Individual and Team]]
- 8:30 a.m. onwards:- Squash [Team Preliminaries - INDIA vs. Indonesia, INDIA vs. Singapore [Men] and INDIA vs. Iran [Women]]
- 12:00 p.m. onwards:- Badminton [Semifinals - Women's Singles]
- 1:00 p.m. onwards:- Field Hockey [Women's Team Preliminaries - INDIA vs. Thailand]
- 3:30 p.m. onwards:- Boxing [Pre Quarter Finals - Men's Light Weight, Men's Bantamweight, Men's Light Welterweight and Men's Middleweight]
- 5:10 p.m. onwards:- Athletics [Finals - Women's Long Jump]
- 5:30 p.m. onwards:- Athletics [Finals - Men's Javelin Throw]
- 5:45 p.m. onwards:- Athletics [Finals - Men's 400 m. Hurdles and Women's 400 m. Hurdles]
- 6:30 p.m. onwards:- Athletics [Finals - Men's High Jump]
- 6:40 p.m. onwards:- Athletics [Finals - Men's 3000 m. Steeplechase and Women's 3000 m. Steeplechase]
- 7:10 p.m. onwards:- Athletics [Heats - Men's 800 m.]