Asian Games 2023: 3 talking points from Day 5
The fifth day of Asian Games 2023 is in the history books. India took their tally to 25 medals after winning three medals today. The shooters made the nation proud once again. India's men's team won the gold medal in the 10m air pistol event.
Arjun Cheema, Sarabjot Singh and Shiva Narwal brought their 'A' game to the table to help India add one more gold medal to their tally. India are fifth in the medal tally now, with six gold medals, eight silver medals and 11 bronze medals.
India's two other medals of the day came in wushu and equestrian. Naorem Roshibina Devi won a silver medal after losing in the final of women's 60kg sanda wushu event. Anush Agarwalla finished third in the equestrian individual dressage, with 73.030 points.
Elsewhere, India men's football team lost against Saudi Arabia in the Round of 16. India men's hockey team won 4-2 in a group stage match against Japan.
Rohan Bopanna and Rutuja Bhosale assured a medal for the nation in mixed doubles tennis, while paddlers Manika Batra, Sharath Kamal and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran won their matches in the table tennis Round of 32.
In this listicle, we will take a look at the three biggest talking points from day 5 of Asian Games 2023.
#1 India's shooters win gold medal in men's 10m air pistol team event of Asian Games 2023
India won its sixth gold medal in Asian Games 2023, thanks to Arjun Cheema, Sarabjot Singh and Shiva Narwal's splendid performance in men's 10m air pistol team event. The Indian trio scripted a spectacular comeback to pip China by one point and win the gold medal.
The combined score of Cheema, Singh and Narwal was 1734 points. China finished second with 1733, while Vietnam secured a bronze medal with a score of 1730. Singh and Narwal achieved a perfect 10 to secure the gold for India in the end.
#2 India missed out on a 7th gold medal in Asian Games 2023
Roshibina Devi competed in the Wushu final of the women's 60kg sanda category. Her opponent was local favorite Wu Xiaowei from China. A win could have helped India increase their gold medal tally, but Wu ended up defeating Devi by 2-0.
Nevertheless, it was a massive achievement for Devi, helping India win its first medal in wushu this year.
#3 Rohan Bopanna and Rutuja Bhosale qualify for semifinals in Asian Games 2023
Indian tennis veteran Rohan Bopanna and his partner Rutuja Bhosale earned a place in the semifinals of Asian Games 2023 mixed doubles tournament with a win over Kazakhstan's Zhibek Kulambayeva and Grigoriy Lomakin, defeating them 7-5, 6-3 in the quarterfinals.
In the previous round, Bopanna and Bhosale defeated the Japanese pair of Ayano Shimizu and Shinji Hazawa in straight sets. The Indian pair recorded another straight sets win to advance to the semifinals. They are two wins away from a gold medal in the event.
The third seed pair of Chan Hao-Ching and Yu-Hsiou Hsu from Chinese Taipei will battle Bopanna and Bhosale in the semifinals.