Asian Games: Sleepless in Hangzhou, Satwik/Chirag adds golden chapter to India’s badminton history

HANGZHOU — While answering questions from the media after HS Prannoy had bagged a bronze medal in the men’s singles, India’s chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand said that his top doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty can go all the way to the final.

The Indian pair were yet to play the doubles semifinal against a strong Malaysian combination of Aaron Chia Teng Fong and Soh Wooi Yik, who were ranked fifth in the BWF Ranking while the Indians were placed ninth.

Also, Shetty and Rankireddy were not in the best of conditions going into the match — while Shetty has still not recovered from viral fever he caught on his way here, the duo had very indifferent form this season including a first-round exit in the China Open and a quarterfinal defeat at the World Championship preceding the Asian Games.

So, Gopichand’s prediction that “I think Chirag and Satwik could go all the way in men’s doubles” was met with scepticism.

But the ace men’s double pair made history on Saturday as it claimed the first gold medal for India in the Asian Games badminton competition, beating the Republic of Korea’s Choi Solgyu and Kim Wonho in straight games in the final, winning 21-18, 21-16 in a match that lasted three minutes short of an hour.

From 1962 to 2018, India had won only one silver and nine bronze medals in badminton at the Asian Games. In Hangzhou, they added a gold, silver and bronze medal each to the tally, making it the most successful Asian Games ever for India.

But when it all started two weeks back, not many had given much hope to the Indian men’s doubles. At best, they were considered as bronze medal contenders.

“When we came here for the Hangzhou Asian Games, we were not playing that well. We lost in the first round of the China Open (September 2023) and we didn’t play well in the World Championships (August 2023) either. We were at a low point.

“We had to do a lot better, so I think it can’t get any bigger than this. Winning the gold medal after winning silver in the team event was very important for us,” said Shetty, the 26-year-old from Mumbai.

Shetty said things came together for them after their loss to South Korea in the semifinals of the men’s team competition.

“We lost to another Korean pair (Kang Minhyuk and Seo Saungjae) in the semifinals and that’s when I thought things started coming together for us, especially in the second game. After that I told Mathias (Boe, doubles coach for the India national badminton team) that I have got back my rhythm,” said Shetty during a post-final press conference.

The next day, they defeated a top Chinese pair in the Men’s Team final and went on to win the gold medal.

“I am very happy. It has been very challenging for us, these last two weeks,” said Rankireddy, the 23-year-old from Andhra Pradesh.

“We decided to work very hard, we trained even on Sundays. The only aim was to come here and give our best. To play to the best of our abilities, as hard as we do in training and let God decide to do what he wants to do,” said SAtwik.

They both thanked their coaches and support staff for the effort they put into helping them win the gold medal.

Shetty said the turning point in the match was their comeback from 15-18 down in the first game.

“I think Satwik pulled us level from 18-15 (in the first game), playing some good shots. At 18-18, I got a little more confident. And when we took the first one, I knew were in the game,” he said.

Though the enormity of their triumph is yet to sink in, Rankireddy said that they just wanted to do their best in the match.

“Before the match, we did not think anything about this. We just wanted to have fun on the court. We did not sleep last night because of the excitement (over making the final). I was up till 5 a.m.,” said Rankireddy. Shetty too said he did not sleep the entire night and just kept tossing and turning in the bed till 9 am.

Maybe that seems to have worked as the two Indians made history for Indian badminton, capping a historic Asian Games in Hangzhou.

The men’s team made history by winning the silver medal, HS Prannoy won a bronze, the first medal in men’s singles at the Asian Games since Syed Modi in 1982. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty just provided the gold icing on the cake for Indian badminton.

Asian Games: India bag gold in men’s kabaddi, beat Iran in goof-up final

HANGZHOU — In a highly intense thriller amid referee’s goof-up, India clinched yet another gold at the Asian Games after defeating Iran 33-29 in the kabaddi men’s final, here on Saturday.

Indian team was trailing by three points (6-9), before the halfway stage of the first half, however, India, after going down 9-12 at one point, came back strong to finish 17-14 at the end of the first half against Iran.

With just over a minute remaining, and scores tied 28-28, in the match, Pawan Sehrawat from the Indian team was forced to go in for a do-or-die raid.

During his raid, Pawan went out of bounds without making contact with any Iranian defender.

In response, Amirhossein Bastami and three other Iranian defenders rushed towards Pawan in an attempt to push him out.

This led to a moment of confusion, as it was unclear whether Pawan had been successfully tackled or not.

Initially, Iran was awarded a point for their efforts to stop Pawan.

However, the Indian contingent, including players and officials, began arguing with the on-court umpire and the TV officials.

After further review and perhaps another referral, the officials decided to award four points to India. It’s mentioned that the number of points could vary depending on the number of players who went out with Pawan.

The final decision seems to be based on both old and new rules. According to the old rule, India would get four (or possibly five) points, while the new rule would give one point to each team because one of the Iranian defenders (Bastami) went out of the line (self-out).

As per the new IKF (International Kabaddi Federation) rule, India was given three points and Iran received one point.

This decision led to protests from the Iranian team.

However, in the end, it was India, that won the final 33-29 after a thrilling finale that was interrupted for a long time.

Asian Games: Indian Men’s cricket team bags gold in rain Abandoned Match

HANGZHOU — Indian Men’s cricket team bagged a gold medal after rain abandoned the final match against Afghanistan at the Asian Games, here on Saturday.

Team India, by virtue of having a higher seeding, won the gold medal.

Earlier, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led Women’s team scripted history by winning the first cricket Gold in the Asian Games, and now Ruturaj Gaikawad’s side brought double glory to home.

In the grand final, Afghanistan batted first after Ruturaj Gaikwad decided to field first.

The start was not convincing for them as they lost three wickets early in the innings.

Zubaid Akbari was the first batter to get dismissed by Shivam Dube on 5. Then Arshdeep Singh dismissed Mohammad Shahzad on 4.

Noor Ali Zadran, the number three batter got run out on 1.

Afghanistan got to a better position when Shahidullah Kamal and Afsar Zazai took charge. Zazai was a bit slow but they made a partnership together. Ravi Bishnoi got the better of him at 15. Karim Janat, the next man in was also dismissed cheaply by Shahbaz Ahmed for 1.

When Afghans were 52 for 5, Shahidullah Kamal was joined by the experienced Gulabdin Naib. The duo started taking the spinners on and Shahidullah reached 49 hitting 3 boundaries and 2 sixes. Naib also batted well for his 27 off 24 balls hitting a couple of sixes and a solitary boundary.

For India, Ravi Bishnoi was the star bowler bowling at an economy of 3 per over and taking a wicket. Arshdeep Singh, Shivam Dube, and Shahbaz Ahmed shared three wickets between them.

Afghanistan was on 112 for 5 after the 18.2 overs when the rain interruption happened. The drizzle got heavier and it was impossible for the groundsmen to make the ground prepared for the match to resume.

The decision in the end went in India’s favour as they are a highly ranked team in the ICC Rankings as compared to Afghanistan.

India captain Ruturaj Gaikawad, after India won the gold medal by virtue of their higher ICC world ranking after their match with Afghanistan was abandoned due to rain didn’t seem pleased and stated, “It was pretty much disappointing. Obviously, we would have loved to have a full game and get a result through the full game, but it’s a thing we cannot control. The match officials came and told us around 5 p.m. I think we pretty much knew by then because the rain was getting heavier.”

“I think 140 or 150 is a pretty gettable target batting second because it’s a small ground and the kind of batting we have, we were pretty confident that even 150 would have been chased down.”

Gaikawad looked confident leading the Indian side on this big stage and wanted to continue it further with more enthusiasm, he said, “Being an India captain is always a lot of pressure because everyone expects the ultimate prize wherever you go, so I think it does come with a lot of expectations. At the same time, you have to make sure you focus on your team and not really think about the outcome of the game. (You need to) make sure you give as much freedom as possible to the players and back them to play their best cricket and fearless cricket.

“With this bunch of guys, they just made my job a little bit easier and for me. It’s more about the players than the captain. Whatever the captain decides, it’s up to the players to deliver, so I think everyone just delivered at the right stage.”

Afghanistan, meanwhile, has to settle for silver and, the opinion among many people here is that they were gifted the gold, and seeded into the quarterfinals. Victory on the basis of global ranking sounds as ludicrous as winning on boundary count.

Indian women’s hockey team beat Japan 2-1 to win Bronze medal at Asian Games

HANGZHOU — The Indian Women’s Hockey Team on Saturday registered a brilliant 2-1 win over Japan to clinch the Bronze medal at the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022. This is India’s fourth Bronze medal in Women’s Field Hockey at the Asian Games. Deepika (5’) and Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam (50’) scored a goal each for the Indian team, while for Japan, Captain Yuri Nagai (30’) netted the lone goal.

For their impressive performance and the podium finish, Hockey India announced a prize of R 3 Lakh to each player of the Indian Women’s Hockey Team and R 1.50 Lakh to each support staff.

The match started with Japan prioritizing ball possession, whereas India immediately went on the offensive. This aggressive approach paid off as they earned a penalty stroke, expertly converted by Deepika (5’) thus granting her team an early advantage. India also managed to secure three penalty corners within the first 15 minutes, but unfortunately, they couldn’t capitalize on them. As the first quarter concluded, India held a 1-0 lead.

The second quarter witnessed Japan increasing the frequency of their attacks in order to find an equaliser, while India shifted their focus on keeping possession and counter-attacking to keep the pressure on Japan. While India’s strategy worked to some extent, it was Japan who somehow managed to bounce back in the game with their Captain Yuri Nagai (30’) scoring through the penalty corner in the very last second of the second quarter to put her team on level terms as the score was tied at 1-1 at the halftime break. 

During the second quarter, Japan intensified their offensive efforts in their quest for an equalizer. Meanwhile, India adjusted their approach by prioritizing ball retention and launching counterattacks to maintain pressure on Japan. India’s strategy showed some effectiveness, but it was Japan’s Captain, Yuri Nagai (30′) who managed to stage a comeback for her team by scoring a crucial goal from a penalty corner in the very last second of the second quarter as both teams headed into halftime break with the score tied at 1-1.

High on confidence after scoring the equaliser, Japan came out all guns blazing in the third quarter but the Indian team not only stood strong in defence to negate the attack but also kept checking Japan’s defence at regular intervals to put the pressure back on their opponents.

Fuelled by their confidence from equalizing, Japan unleashed a relentless offensive onslaught in the third quarter. However, the Indian team not only displayed formidable defensive prowess to thwart Japan’s attacks but also consistently tested Japan’s defense to put pressure back on their opponents. However, neither of the two teams was able to find the back of the net as the score remained tied at 1-1 at the end of the penultimate quarter.

Desperate to take lead in the game, India began the fourth quarter on an attacking note and also won an early penalty corner but Vice Captain Deep Grace Ekka’s shot was saved by Japan’s goalkeeper Eika Nakamura. However, the Indian team continued to keep the pressure on Japan by attacking relentlessly and it paid off when India came up with a superb variation after winning a penalty corner and Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam (50’) smartly placed the ball inside the goal after receiving a pass from Deep Grace Ekka to give India a 2-1 lead.

Despite taking the lead, the Indian team continued to play offensive, and that earned them consecutive penalty corners, but they were unable to capitalise on them. In the meantime, Japan began counter-attacking in search of an equaliser, but the Indian team stood strong in defence to deny their opponents any chance of bouncing back as they went on to win the match 2-1.

Congratulating the Indian team for their impressive win, Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey said, “On behalf of Hockey India, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to the Indian Women’s Hockey Team for their outstanding performance and winning the Bronze medal at the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022. Your dedication and hard work have made the nation proud, and this achievement is a testament to your unwavering commitment to the sport of hockey. Keep shining, and we look forward to more remarkable victories in the future.”

Hockey India secretary general Bhola Nath Singh added, “It gives me immense pleasure to congratulate the Indian Women’s Hockey Team for their remarkable achievement in securing the Bronze medal at the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022. Your resilience and teamwork have been exceptional, and your success is a source of inspiration for aspiring hockey players across the country. We are proud of your achievement and look forward to even greater accomplishments in the days ahead. Well done!”

Asian Games: Indian women’s kabaddi team reclaims gold, beats Chinese Taipei on one-point in final

HANGZHOU — The Indian women’s kabaddi team survived a scare before reclaiming the gold medal in the Asian Games after a gap of five years, beating Chinese Taipei by one point in the final at the Xiaoshan Guali Sports Centre, here on Saturday.

In the final, the Indian women’s team was run close by first-timers Chinese Taipei, who had stunned defending champions Iran in the semifinals, before emerging 26-25 winner at full time.

In the 2018 Games in Indonesia, India lost to Iran 24-27 in the final and had to settle for a silver medal. It was only the third time that women’s kabaddi was being played in the Asian Games and the defeat suffered by two-time defending champions India was a huge embarrassment for the country’s kabaddi officials.

What came as a humiliation for the Indian kabaddi establishment was the men’s team failing to get onto the podium in an indigenous sport from the country, after losing to Pakistan in the bronze medal match.

In Hangzhou on Saturday, the Indian women’s team at least restored some pride for the country by winning the gold medal.

But it was a close affair.

The Indians were leading 14-9 at the end of the first half after getting eight Chinese Taipei players out and bagging six bonus points. Chinese Taipei got six players out and claimed one bonus point as the Indians defended well.

But in the second half, the Indians got eight players out but managed only two bonus points while Chinese Taipei recorded 12 outs and just one bonus point.

Interestingly, Chinese Taipei claimed two points for getting their opponents all-our while the Indians did not have an all-out.

But in the end, what mattered was that the Indian team won the gold medal.

Also read: Asian Games: India reclaim men’s hockey gold with 5-1 win over Japan; secure Paris Olympics berth