On Day 5 of the Asian Games 2018, India managed to win three medals, but the kabaddi team suffered a huge setback as it had to settle for bronze. In tennis singles, Ankita Raina won Indias first medal for the day after losing 4-6, 7-6 to Chinas Zhang Shuai. Raina won the bronze medal. Fifteen-year-old shooter Shardul Vihan won silver in Mens Double Trap. In kabaddi, Indian Womens team defeated Chinese Taipei 27-14 in the semifinals, but the mens team failed to reach the final.
Teenage sensation Shardul Vihan wins silver
Fifteen-year-old Shardul Vihan added to Indias medal tally after winning a silver medal in the mens double trap shooting event on Thursday. Hailing from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, Vihan shot 73 to come second to 34-year-old Shin Hyunwoo from Korea, who overtook Vihan by a point.
The laurels from shooting continue to pour in. The talented Shardul Vihan wins the Silver in the Double Trap event. At the age of 15, Shardul has achieved historic successes and I am sure he will continue to excel in the coming years. Congratulations to him! #AsianGames2018 pic.twitter.com/5oGwQJzYKh
Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 23, 2018
In third place was Qatars Al Marri Hamad Ali with a score of 53. Vihan had qualified for the final after he topped the Mens Double Trap qualification round with a score of 141. However, his teammate, Ankur Mittal failed to qualify and finished in ninth spot with a score of 134.
With a score of 141, Vihan led the qualification field and maintained top form going into the final, staying in the top two positions throughout. Vihan is the third Indian teenage shooter to win a medal at the Asiad. Nineteen-year-old Lakshay Sheroan also won silver in the mens trap event, while 16-year old Saurabh Chaudhary bagged gold in the mens 10m air pistol event.
Spirited Ankita Raina bags bronze
India’s Ankita Raina won a bronze medal at the tennis womens singles. Despite not being fully fit, Raina put on a spirited display against her opponent who is ranked 150 places above her. After going down in the first set, Raina fought back and almost won the second set before going down 4-6, 6-7 in a long-drawn battle that lasted for two hours and 11 minutes. Raina gave her best in the first set where she was leading 4-3 at one point before Chinas Zhang Shuai won three successive games to win the set.
.@ankita_champ, India’s No.1 player in Womens Singles, bags a 🥉at the #ASIANGAMES2018. Her confidence & strength on the court was commendable. 👏👏✌🏻 #IndiaAtAsianGames @asiangames2018 pic.twitter.com/fJEk9ncaxA
Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) August 23, 2018
Raina, the current Indian No. 1, defeated Hong Kongs Eudice Wong Chong in straight sets 6-4, 6-1 in the quarterfinal to enter the semifinal. However, Chinas Zhang proved to be a formidable opponent for Raina. Although expectedly disappointed with the result, Raina said she would try and win in the missed doubles: I came here to win gold. Hopefully, I can do that in the mixed doubles (with Bopanna). It was a tough match and I could have won. She is obviously an experienced player but I thought I could beat her, Raina said, as reported by the Hindustan Times.
Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan assured of winning silver
The tennis duo of Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan have assured India of at least a silver medal after booking a place in the mens doubles final. After losing the first set 4-6, Bopanna and Sharan were compelled to try a new strategy and they switched sides, and wont the next two sets 6-3, 10-8.
We had to change the strategy. They were playing really well. They were taken aback when we switched sides. They did not see it coming. And all that experience of playing on the tour also helped. It was a close match and in the super tier-break it could have gone either way, Bopanna said, Hindustan Times reported.
P.V. Sindhu, Saina Nehwal advance
P.V. Sindhu had to fight hard to defeat Vietnams Vu Thi Trang, but Saina Nehwal breezed through Irans Soraya Aghhajiagha in just 26 minutes to advance to the second round of the womens singles at the Games. Nehwal advanced after a crushing 21-7, 21-9 win over Aghhajiagha. On the other hand, Sindhu had a difficult match on her hands in a tough opening round that lasted 58 minutes. In the next round, Sindhu will face Tunjung Gregoria Mariska, while Nehwal will take on Fitriani.
I did not take it easy but that was a very good match. It was anybodys game, each point was important. I was making too many errors. She was not leaving any shuttle. It was not allowing me to attack. There was drift here and there but we have to manage, Sindhu said, Hindustan Times reported.
Nehwal said she was prepared to face her opponent. She said, I had seen her past records. She has played some good match at series tournaments. She knows how to play against big players, as per the Hindustan Times report.
Mens Kabaddi team settles for bronze
The Indian mens Kabaddi team had to settle for bronze after losing their semi-final clash 27-18 against Iran. This is the first time India wont be winning a kabaddi gold at the Asiad since the sport was introduced. The Iranian defence restrained Indias raiders and never lost the lead after they took it in the second half.
Our men’s Kabaddi team secured a Bronze medal in #AsianGames2018 We gave our best, but were bested by a better side. Good game and a tough fight.#KheloIndia pic.twitter.com/kSaYV1ghcw
Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) August 23, 2018
India started the match well and were in the lead for most of the time in the first half, but Iran eventually managed to equalize. Iran had lesser players on the mat, but the defensive pair of Fazel Attrachali and Abozar Mighani inflicted several tackles on India. Iran then dominated over India in the second half and inflicted more super tackles. Although Ajay Thakur, Pardeep Narwal, and Rahul Chaudhari were introduced in the game, they were unable to escape the strong Iranian defence.
Elton Gomes is a staff writer at Qrius