Day 1, Asian Games 2018: Bajrang Punia Wins India’s First Gold
Follow live updates from Day 1 of the 18th Asian Games.
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Asian Games Officially Underway
A glittering opening ceremony in Jakarta last night and it’s the start of the competition in the host cities of Jakarta and Palembang early this Sunday morning. Incase you missed the action from the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium last night, here’s a wrap of ceremony that kicked-off the 18th Asian Games.
Carrying the flag for India was javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, leading a contingent of 568 athletes.
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Shooters Get India's Games Underway
The Women’s Trap qualifications are the first event to see Indians in competition at this 2018 Asian Games. Shreyasi Singh and Seema Tomar both elected to give the opening ceremony last night a miss and will be kicking things off for India.
India Win Women's Kabaddi Opener
The day’s first win comes in kabaddi for India. Japan completely outclassed in Group A’s first fixture. India, the two time defending champions, were never really under any threat in the match as they closed out the 43-12 win.
The men's team, also one of the favourites, start their campaign against Bangladesh later in the day followed by a match against Sri Lanka in the evening.
Indian Team Qualify for Air Rifle Final
Apurvi Chandela and Ravi Kumar have qualified for the final of the 10m air rifle mixed team event, in the second spot.
The Indian pair shot a cumulative score of 835.3 with Korea creating a new Games record to finish in the top spot. They shot 836.7.
The final is scheduled for later today as well and will get underway at 12pm IST.
China Win Games' First Gold
Chinese wushu athlete Sun Peiyuan has won the first gold medal of the 18th Asian Games.
Sun, 28, scored 9.75 to win the men's changquan category of the Chinese martial art, denying hosts Indonesia the Games' opening title as he edged Edgar Xavier Marvelo into second place. Taipei’s Tsai Tsemin claimed the bronze.
There were two Indians competing in the category as well but Anjul Namdeo finished fifth and 19-year-old Suraj Singh Mayanglambam placed 10th with a score of 9.51.
Women's Basketball: Chinese Taipei Lead India at Half Time
The 18-17 lead in the first quarter has been extended by Chinese Taipei as they played a dominant 15 minutes before half-time as well. After 30 minutes of the match, Chinese Taipei lead India 33-28.
Swimming: Nataraj Wins Heat
Srihari Nataraj and Arvind Mani complete an Indian 1-2 in Heat 1 of the Men’s 100m Backstroke event. However, their timings are way off the lead and only Nataraj manages to book his spot in the final, qualifying in the last spot with a time of 55.86. Xiu Jiayu is the man to beat, with a top time of 53.60.
The final is at 4:55pm IST today.
Swimming: Sajan in 200m Butterfly Final
Another Indian in a swimming final but Sajan Prakash has qualified with a time that makes him a solid contender for a medal in the 200m butterfly final. 1:58.12 in Heat 3 and he’s the third fastest swimmer of the day, going into the final.
The final is at 6:27pm IST today
Shooting: No Indians in 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team Final
The Indian team comprising CWG star Manu Bhaker and Abhishek Verma have failed to qualify for the finals of the 10m air pistol mixed team event.
Bhaker was chosen for the team ahead of seasoned campaigner Heena Sidhu but could not manage to justify her selection as she shot a cumulative score of 378. Verma was only three points better and finished at 381. Their total score of 759 put them tied at fifth place with Kazakhstan but the Indians were edged out when the scores for the inners 10s were compared.
Rowing Men's Pair
Indian rowers Malkeet Singh and Gurinder Singh have qualified for Men's Pair Finals after finishing third in the heats.
Women's Basketball: India Lose
The Indian women's basketball team has suffered a 61-84 defeat to Chinese Taipei. This was India's second defeat in the group stage, having earlier lost to Kazakhstan 61–79.
India next play Unified Korea tomorrow and then take on hosts Indonesia on Aug 23.
Shooting: Mixed Team Final Underway
The final of the 10m air rifle mixed team event is now underway with Apurvi Chandela and Ravi Kumar starting in the second spot.
Shooters Win India's First Medal
The 10m Air Rifle mixed team of Apurvi Chandela and Ravi Kumar are the last team to be eliminated before the gold medal is decided. The pair qualified in the second spot but have eventually had to settle for bronze, getting eliminated on the cumulative score of 429.9.
The gold medal will be decided between the teams from Chinese Taipei and China.
Focus Shifts to Wrestling
After shooting, focus now moves to the wrestling arena where medals will be decided in the men’s events. Sandeep Tomar in competing in the 57 kg category, Sushil Kumar in the 74 kg category, Bajrang Punia 65 kg category, Pawan Kumar in 86 kg and Mausam Khatri in 97 kgs.
The qualifications and the medal rounds will all take place today itself.
Wrestling: Sushil Loses Opening Bout
No gold medal for Sushil Kumar this time round as the two-time Olympic medallist lost his opening bout to Adam Batirov of Bahrain.
Still in search for his first Asian Games gold medal, Sushil took a 2-0 lead in the bout but was docked a point soon after, after being cautioned for hitting his opponent on the head.
The 33-year-old Baitrov picked up the pace after the break and sped to a 5-2 lead. Sushil did snatch a point back but could not find a clincher, losing his opening bout 3-5.
The loss puts Sushil Kumar out of contention for a gold medal at these 18th Asian Games. However, he can fight for a bronze through repechage if Adam Batirov reaches the final.
Wrestling: Victory For Medal Favourite Bajrang
After Sushil’s defeat, Bajrang Punia is the other gold medal favourite among the male wrestlers for India but the young star did not have the most ideal of starts to his bout.
He was trailing 3-0 after the first two minutes but staged a strong fightback to claw his way back into the game. At the halfway mark, he was leading 6-3 and with a minute left in the game, the bout was ended.
Bajrang had a 13-3 lead and won the bout by technical superiority.
Badminton: Easy Win For Men's Team
A 3-0 win for India in the men’s badminton team event against Maldives and they are through to the quarter-finals where they play hosts Indonesia, who received a first-round bye.
Tennis: A Win in Mixed Doubles
Leanders Paes may be missing from the tennis team but there’s a win to kick-off India’s challenge in the event. Divij Sharan and Karman Kaur Thandi have beaten Philippines’ Alberto Jr Lim and Marian Jade Capadocia 6-4, 6-4 in 81 minutes to reach the Round of 16.
Wrestling: Loss For Sandeep Tomar
Another Indian wrestler out of the gold medal race. Sandeep Tomar has lost his 57 kg quarter-final to Reza Atrinagharchi of Iran. While both wrestlers were tied at 6-6 till the half-way point, Reza stamped his class on the final 3 minutes of play and clinched a 15-9 win.
Wrestling: Bajrang Punia in Semis
Bajrang Punia is now one win away from winning India’s first medal in wrestling at the 2018 Asian Games.
The silver medallist from the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, Bajrang was all class in the quarter-final bout as he raced to a 9-0 lead in the first 3 minutes itself. Just before the break, his opponent Abdulqosim Fayziev managed to win back two points and avoid an early end to the bout. 9-2 to Bajrang.
30 seconds after the break though, Bajrang opened up a wide enough lead to be declared the winner by ‘technical superiority’.
12-2 win to Olympic medallist Yogeshwar Dutt’s prodigy and he’s now in the semi-finals and just one win away from an assured medal.
Wrestling: No Medal For Sushil Kumar
It’s confirmed, there will be no medal for Sushil Kumar at these Asian Games. After losing his opening bout, Sushil’s only hope for a medal was if his victor, Adam Batirov, reached the final of the 74 kg category.
However, the Bahrain wrestler was beaten 2-8 by Japan’s Yuhi Fujinami in the quarter-finals, thus ending Sushil’s hopes of competing again in the repechage round.
Wrestling: Bajrang Enters Gold Medal Match
Bajrang Punia has marched into the finals of the 65 kg wrestling event. Olympic medallist Yogeshwar Dutt’s prodigy, Bajrang, won this final bout also by technical superiority, beating his opponent 10-0.
Two and a half minutes into the match and he raced to a 8-0 lead against his Mongolian opponent Batchuluun Batmagnai. There was a short time-out before the break with Batmagnai needing medical assistance for a gash above his eye.
Four minutes in and Bajrang caught a firm leg-hold of his opponent and did not relent till he had claimed the two points, taking his tally to 10 and once again bagging a victory by technical superiority.
Shooting: Manavjit Qualifies in Top Spot
Manavjit Singh Sandhu and Lakshya qualified at the first and fifth spots in the men's trap shooting event. Veteran Manavjit scored a total of 72 after three series produced 25, 23 and 24 to top the day's competition.
His compatriot, 19-year-old Lakshay scored 22, 25, 24 for a total of 71 out of a possible 75 to be fifth. Second on the list was Pakistan's Aamir Iqbal, who scored a 72 (24,25, 23), while Philippines' Hagen Alexander Topacio was third with 71 points.
Wrestling: Men's Team Status
Five freestyle male wrestlers were competing this Sunday at the Asian Games and here’s a look at how they have finishes:
- Bajrang Punia is in the final
- Sushil Kumar lost his first round bout and is out of competition
- Pawan Kumar is going to be competing for the bronze courtesy the repechage rule
- Sandeep Tomar and Mausam Khatri both lost their quarter-final bouts
Wrestling: Pawan Kumar in Bronze Medal Match
86 kg category wrestler Pawan Kumar has a shot at the podium after beating Indonesia’s Fahriansyah in the repechage round.
Iran’s Hassan Yazdani, who beat Pawan in the quarters, reached the finals and thus paved the way for the Indian to fight for the bronze.
Against Fahriansyah, Pawan raced to a 11-0 lead and was thus awarded the victory by technical superiority.
Swimming: Teenager Srihari Finishes Seventh
17-year-old Khelo India champion Srihari Nataraj finished seventh in the finals of the Men's 100m Backstroke event with a timing of 56.19.
China’s Xi Jiayu created a Games Record with a time of 52.34 to win the gold.
Nataraj had clocked a personal best time of 55.86s in the qualifying Heats earlier today.
Rowing: Indians in 3 Finals
India's rowers Sayali Shelake and Pooja Rajendra, Om Prakash and Sawarn Singh and Malkeet Singh and Gurinder Singh qualified for the finals in different events.
Prakash and Sawarn topped Heat 2 in the men's double sculls event in 7:10.26 minutes, while Dattu Bhokanal was second in the heat 1 of the men's single sculls competition in 8:09.21 minutes to head into the repechage round.
In the women's doubles sculls, Sayali and Pooja finished sixth in Heat 1 with a timing of 8:50.48 minutes. They were sixth in the overall standings.
In the men's pair event, Malkeet and Gurinder finished third in Heat 1 with a timing of 7:37.20 minutes. The Indian pair was third in the overall standings.
No Retirement Plans for Sushil
Knocked out in the opening round, veteran Indian wrestler Sushil Kumar however has asserted that his career is far from over. The two-time Olympic medallist Indian suffered a 3-5 loss in the first qualification round bout against Bahrain's Adam Batirov in the men's 74 kg category.
However, he said he was determined to make a strong comeback.
Women's Hockey: India Lead Indonesia 6-0
It’s raining goals in India’s opening women’s hockey match. 24 minutes into the game and India hold an astonishing 6-0 advantage.
Swimming: No Podium For Sajan Prakash
He qualified for the final with the third-fastest time but Sajan Prakash has missed the podium in the final of the men’s 200m Butterfly final.
Finishing fifth, Prakash clocked a time of 1.57.75, a personal best and also an India record. He also managed to better the 1:58.12 time be clocked in the Heats.
Wrestling: Bajrang Wins Gold!
30 seconds into the bout and Bajrang Punia is stamping his class all over the final against Daichi Takatani and has raced to a 6-0 in the first 1 minute 20 seconds.
However, the Japanese wrestler is clawing his way into the game, winning four points to decrease Bajrang’s lead.
Starting Period 2, Daichi attacked Bajrang’s legs and kept a stronghold till he picked up two points for it but the Indian had a similar strategy and he maintained his two point lead at 8-6.
20 seconds left and Bajrang led 10-8 and managed to hang onto the lead to win India’s first gold of the 2018 Asian Games.
Wrestling: Bankable Bajrang Delivers Again
Bajrang Punia has won India’s first gold medal of the 2018 Asian Games, beating Daichi Takatani of Japan 11-8 in the men's 65 kg freestyle final.
A consistent performer, Bajrang won all his bouts leading into the final by ‘technical superiority’, meaning he had opened up a 10 point lead against his opponents and was thus declared the winner.
This is Bajrang's second medal at the Asian Games after he won the silver at the 2014 edition in Incheon.
Indian Women's Hockey Team Thrash Indonesia
What a start! The Indian women’s hockey team thrash hosts Indonesia 8-0 in their opening Pool B match.
Gurjit scored a hat-trick, finding the target in the 16th, 22nd and 57th minutes while Vandana Katariya (13th and 27th) struck twice. Udita (6th), Lalremsiami (24th) and Navneet Kaur (50th) were the other Indian scorers.
India had as many as 31 shots at the Indonesian goal while the hosts did not have any in the whole 60 minutes of four equal quarters.
No Medal for Pawan Kumar
Wrestler Pawan Kumar lost 8-1 to Mongolia's Uitumen Orgodol in the bronze medal match of the men’s 86kg freestyle category.
Pawan Kumar lost balance while executing a move against Orgodol. The Mongolian seized control from that moment and gained three points with a fine hold as Pawan beat a hasty retreat to the side lines.
The bout resumed with the Mongolian having a hold on Pawan's back and raced to an 8-1 victory.
- Wrestler Bajrang Punia has won India’s first gold medal of the 2018 Asian Games
- Sushil Kumar failed to win a medal after losing his opening bout 3-5 to Adam Batirov of Bahrain.
- India’s first medal of the day was won by shooters Apurvi Chandela and Ravi Kumar who bagged a bronze in the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team event.