It has been a historic turn for India in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, with the tally reaching 100 for the first time ever in the continental game. India has breached the historic 100-medal tally at the ongoing Asian Games in Hangzhou, with the women’s Kabaddi team clinching the gold, beating Taiwan 26-24.
Earlier on Saturday morning, Indian archers moved India closer to the dream target as they brought home two gold medals, a silver and bronze. Indian compound archer Jyothi Surekha Vennam grabbed a hat-trick of gold, while Aditi Swami bagged a bronze.
Soon after the women’s events, Indian archer Ojas Deotale won gold as Abhishek Verma settled for silver medal in men’s compound individual event at Asian Games. This is the country’s best performance at the Asian Games archery—in the Incheon edition in 2014, India had won three medals.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to X to congratulate the Indian contingent. “The people of India are thrilled that we have reached a remarkable milestone of 100 medals. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to our phenomenal athletes whose efforts have led to this historic milestone for India. Every awe-inspiring performance has made history and filled our hearts with pride,” he wrote.
On Friday, India’s medal tally reached 95 after the men’s hockey team reclaimed the gold and the sepaktakraw team added a historic bronze. India had won 70 medals in the last edition in Indonesia where the country’s athletes won 16 gold, 23 silver and 31 bronze medals to record their best-ever performance.
On the back of a splendid show by the shooters (22) and track and field athletes (29 medals), who contributed 51 medals, India had already surpassed its best-ever show on Wednesday.
The Indian contingent won many surprise medals, the biggest being a women’s table tennis team bronze by Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee, who humbled the mighty China in the semifinals.
Parul Chaudhary’s sensational dash in the last 30 metres of the women’s 5000m event will also be remembered for a long time as the Meerut runner snatched a gold by edging Japan’s Ririka Hironaka in a close finish.
Javelin thrower Kishore Kumar Jena’s astonishing 86.77m throw that gave him lead over superstar Neeraj Chopra for a brief period in the men’s javelin event was another unforgettable moment. Later Chopra won the gold, while Jena finished behind him to settle for a silver medal.
Canoers Arjun Singh and Sunil Singh Salam’s historic bronze in the men’s double 1000m along with Ram Baboo and Manju Rani’s third-place finish in the mixed 35km race walk were perfect examples that if athletes refuse to bow down to the hardships life throws, excelling in sports is possible.
