INDIA’S patchy Asian Games campaign finally found the momentum it desperately needed with compound archers sweeping the gold medals in all the team events and the trap shooting combination of Neeru Dhanda and Kynan Chenai snaring the mixed gold to round off the country’s most successful day at the ongoing edition. A couple of bronze medals from the boxing ring through Priya (60kg) and Kapil (90kg) and one from the wrestling mat through Sunil Kumar (87kg) took the overall tally to 60 (10 gold, 21 silver and 29 bronze), improving India’s overall position. The day well and truly belonged to the compound archers, who defended their men’s, women’s and mixed team crowns. The women’s trio of Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Chikitha and Prithika Pradeep kicked off the gold rush that culminated with Kushal Dalal, Sahil Jadhav and Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru rallying to win the men’s team top honours. In between, Chikitha and Sahil claimed the mixed gold and with that also secured an Olympic quota place for the country. India thus became the first country to qualify for the 2028 Olympics in the compound mixed team event, which will mark the discipline’s debut in the Los Angeles Games. It was a title defence done in style with the women’s team producing a sensational performance to outclass the Chinese trio of Wunier, Yue Wang and Fangyao Wei 238-234. The Indian total was a world record-equalling score.

 

Chikitha and Sahil, who walked away with two gold medals, showed nerves of steel to prevail over Korea’s Jungyoon Park and Choi Eun Gyu in the thrilling mixed team final, winning 158- 157 after a shoot-off. Kushal, Sahil and Ganesh then bounced back to outwit the Chinese trio of Jiahao Liao, Jinyi Liu and Jingyu Shi in the finals 238-237. At the shooting range, Neeru and Kynan overcame a disastrous start to claim the gold with an Asian and Games record score of 34. Neeru thus became the ongoing Games’ most successful Indian athlete, having already clinched the historic individual trap gold and played a stellar role in the women’s team’s silver-winning performance. 20-year-old Priya, making her Asian Games debut, went down 1-4 to former World Champion Yang Chengyu of China in a bruising 60kg semi-final. Another Indian debutant, Kapil suffered a similar 1-4 defeat against reigning world champion Turabek Khabibullaev of Uzbekistan in the 90kg semi-final to settle for bronze. On the wrestling mat, Sunil Kumar became the first Indian Greco Roman wrestler to win two Asian Games medal after clinching a bronze in the men’s 87kg event. However, Nisha Dahiya (68kg) ended medalless. Sunil assured his podium place with a technical superiority win (9-0) over Philippines’ Roberts Callum Johnston. Sunil had won a bronze in the Hangzhou Games, ending India’s 13-year wait for a medal in the Greco Roman style.