By Prarthana Mitra
India’s contingent brought a glorious end to their Asiad campaign with a total of 69 medals and 15 golds and are likely to finish in the eighth spot in the medal’s tally. Amit Panghal bagged the last gold for India in Jakarta on Saturday, which finished with the men’s hockey team saving face in their bronze-level match against Pakistan.
India women’s squash team managed to clinch the silver medal after losing to Hong Kong 2-0 in the final. Hong Kong was the only team who had defeated Indian squash contingent of Joshna Chinappa, Tanvi Khanna, Sunayna Kuruvilla and Dipika Pallikal in this edition of the Asian Games.
The Indian men’s hockey team vanquished a determined Pakistan side, winning 2-1. Akashdeep Singh and Harmanpreet Singh scored India’s two goals but Pakistan managed to keep the pressure on with consistent attacks but the men in blue managed to turn things around after their road to a sure final was cut short in the unprecedented semi-final.
The best finish to the finale was dealt by 22-year-old Amit Panghal, who became the 8th ever Indian pugilist to win boxing gold in the history of Asian Games. Defeating Olympic champion Hasanboy Dusmatov (Uzbekistan) in the ring, Panghal shone throughout the 49kg men’s bout and won 3-2 by a split decision. He was the 14th gold medallist for the country on Saturday, taking the medal tally to its record-breaking haul.
At around the same time, the duo of 60-year-old Pranab Bardhan and 56-year-old Shibhnath Sarkar bagged anothed Asiad gold in the men’s bridge pair event, becoming the oldest gold Indian medallists at the Asiad.
The Asian Games this year has seen talented athletes and sportspersons delivering extraordinary performances in Jakarta. Swapna Barman who won the historic maiden heptathlon medal for India, was joined by athletes Hima Das, Dutee Chand, Manjit Singh, Arpinder Singh, MR Poovamma, Saritaben Gayakwad and Vismaya Koroth. Congratulations and felicitation are also in order for the likes of Manika Batra, Pinky Balhara, PV Sindhu, Rohan Bopana, Rahi Sarnobat and Neeraj Chopra among others. It has been an exceptionally satisfying year for India’s sportswomen. The country has also shown great promise in new disciplines, some of which saw participation for the first time.
With Olympics 2020 in sight, the Indian contingent returns home after the closing ceremony on Sunday, to prepare harder and tackle opponents like China, which led the Aisad table with 123 medals in total by the end of the day.
Prarthana Mitra is a staff writer at Qrius