Two kabaddi finals against Iran ended in gold, a marathon record brought silver, and athletics, shooting and squash completed a seven-medal Saturday for India at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
India finished September 26 with 30 medals: four gold, 12 silver and 14 bronze. The seven medals won on the day comprised two gold, three silver and two bronze. Anahat Singh and Abhay Singh also reached the squash singles finals; their medals are assured but will enter the tally when those finals are decided.
- Gold: men’s and women’s kabaddi.
- Silver: Sawan Barwal, Tajinderpal Singh Toor and the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions team.
- Bronze: Prachi Choudhary and the Joshna Chinappa–Velavan Senthilkumar squash pair.
- Progress: Anahat and Abhay into squash finals; men’s hockey into semifinals.
India completes the kabaddi double
India 37–34 Iran
The women defended their Asian Games title in a close final. Iran kept the contest alive late into the second half, but India held on to claim the country’s third gold of this edition.
India 40–34 Iran
Trailing 18–17 at half-time, India turned the final around after the break. Sumit and the defence helped seize momentum as the men retained their title and added India’s fourth gold.
Barwal breaks the national marathon record
Sawan Barwal — 2:11:37
Barwal finished second and improved the Indian national record. His run ended a 44-year wait for an Indian men’s Asian Games marathon medal.
Three more podium finishes in athletics and shooting
Tajinderpal Singh Toor
Toor added silver to the gold medals he won at the previous two Asian Games. He remained on the podium for a third straight edition.
Tilottama Sen, Vidarsa Vinod and Ashi Chouksey
The Indian trio combined for 1,763 points in qualification to take team silver behind China. The team result is separate from the individual final.
Prachi Choudhary – 53.21 seconds
Prachi secured third place in the one-lap final, rounding out a three-medal day for Indian athletics alongside Barwal and Toor.
Squash bronze now; two gold matches next
Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar
The Indian pair lost their semifinal to Hong Kong China’s Tang Ming Hong and Lee Ka Yi 10–11, 11–2, 10–11 and finished with bronze.
India also gained two finalists in singles. Anahat Singh overturned a two-game deficit to beat Japan’s Satomi Watanabe 3–2 in the women’s semifinal. Abhay Singh defeated Pakistan’s Muhammad Ashab Irfan in the men’s semifinal. Each is guaranteed at least silver; neither result is included in the 30-medal count above.
Hockey reaches the last four
India beat hosts Japan 2–0 in men’s hockey Pool A, with Abhishek and Harmanpreet Singh scoring. The result confirmed India’s semifinal place. The men’s hockey semifinals are scheduled for October 1.
Badminton: quarterfinal progress and two exits
PV Sindhu beat Tomoka Miyazaki
Sindhu beat the Japanese player 21-9, 21-13 to reach the quarterfinals. She had earlier defeated Chinese Taipei’s Chiu Pin-chian.
Unnati Hooda beat Wong Ling Ching
Unnati won 21–14, 20–22, 21–19 against the Malaysian to reach the pre-quarterfinals; she later progressed to the quarterfinals.
Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand
The pair defeated Japan’s Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto 24–22, 21–18 to reach the quarterfinals.
Lakshya Sen lost to Loh Kean Yew
Singapore’s Loh won the second-round match 21–12, 15–21, 21–14.
Ayush Shetty lost to Chou Tien Chen
Ayush exited in the third round, losing 16–21, 21–19, 17–21 to the Chinese Taipei player.
Other final placements
Parul Chaudhary fourth; Pooja sixth
Parul clocked 4:09.46 and Pooja 4:16.78 in the final.
Vishal Thennarasu fifth
Vishal finished the final in 45.48 seconds.
What to watch on Sunday, September 27
Abhay Singh · Men’s squash final
India vs Malaysia’s Ng Eain Yow. Gold or silver will be awarded after the match.
Anahat Singh · Women’s squash final
India vs Malaysia’s Sivasangari Subramaniam. Gold or silver will be awarded after the match.
