Asian Games 2018: Shooting shines for India on Day 3 of AsiadÂ
After making a slow start on Day One and Two, expectations were once again high from the Indian contingent on Day Three.
India started the day brilliantly with two medals in Men's Shooting. Abhishek Verma and Saurabh Chaudhary were representing India in the 10m Air Pistol event. They both did extremely well to finish in the first and third positions, winning two medals in the same event.
Verma finished third and took home the Bronze. However, the big moment of the day came from 16-year-old Saurabh Chaudhary, who broke the Games Record to win the Gold medal.
There was also Indian representation in the two other shooting events of the day, 50m Rifle 3 Positions and Trap Mixed team. There was another medal in the 50m Rifle 3 Positions, with Sanjeev Rajput winning the Silver medal. There was disappointment in Trap Mixed team, however, as India finished sixth.
Taekwondo saw early promise on Day Three as Kashish Malik and Akshay Kumar won their Round of 16 bouts. However, both the martial artists were eliminated in the very next round.
Staying with Martial Arts, Indian Wushu contingent enjoyed a successful day. Roshibina Devi Naorem, Santosh Kumar, Bhanu Partap Surya Singh, and Narender Grewal made it to the semifinal of their respective Sanda events. Pardeep Kumar, however, lost his bout. There was also disappointment in the Men's Taijiquan, Gunshu, and Nanguan events.
India came close to winning a medal in Swimming on Day Three of the Asian Games. Virdhawal Khade created a new national record on his way to the final. However, the swimmer came fourth in the final and lost out on a medal by 0.01 seconds.
Repechage rounds made up the Day Three schedule of Rowing. Men's Single Sculls, Men's Lightweight Sculls, and Women's Pairs had their respective repechage rounds. Dattu Bhokanal qualified for the final in the Single Sculls, while the Indian team also qualified in Lightweight Four. However, Women's Pairs team of Dung Dung and Harpreet couldn't qualify for Final A.
The Women's team were the big winners in Kabaddi on Day Three. The beat both Sri-Lanka (38-12) and Indonesia (54-22) in their group matches. The Men's team recovered from their shock defeat to South Korea, by beating Thailand 49-30.
Yesterday in Hockey, the Indian Men's team beat Indonesia 17-0. Today, their Women compatriot went four better and beat Kazakhstan 21-0 (Yes. 21). The Indian Women's Handball team, however, couldn't match the achievement and were thrashed by North Korea, 49-19.
Fencing and Bridge were the lesser known sports in action on Day Three. In Fencing, Jas Seerat Singh and Jyothika Dutta played their preliminary matches. Jas Seerat won two and lost two, while Jyothika won three and lost one.
In Bridge, the Indian Supermixed team finished 10th in Qualification.
The Indian Women's Volleyball team was also in action on the third day. The lost their pool match against Vietnam in three straight sets.
Wrestling had a disappointing day, with three of the four wrestlers being eliminated early. Nevertheless, there was a silver lining as Divya Kakran won the Bronze medal in Women's 68 Kg Freestyle event.
Tennis brought a mixed bag of results for India. Ankita Raina and Karman Kaur Thandi both played their Round of 16 matches. While Raina won her match, Thandi lost hers.
In Men's Doubles, both the pairings of Bopanna/Sharan and Nagal/Ramanathan moved on to the next round. In Mixed Doubles, Bopanna was once again a part of the winning pairing, as he and Ankita Raina progressed to the next round. Thandi and Sharan, however, were eliminated.
In Artistic Gymnastics, the Indian Women's team finished seventh and qualified for the finals. In Recurve Archery, there were ranking rounds in which the Indian teams reached average scores.
Finally, Day Three brought a medal though an unexpected source. The Indian Sepak Takraw Men's team won the Bronze medal, creating history in the process.