Nagoya/Kakamigahara. India's campaign in the Asian Games was brilliant in many sports on Thursday. In hockey, the Indian men's team registered its third consecutive big win by defeating South Korea 8-2. In shooting, Anant Jeet Singh Naruka and Parinaaz Dhaliwal won bronze medals in mixed team skeet. Whereas in squash, Anahat Singh, Tanvi Khanna, Abhay Singh and Veer Chotrani made it to the quarter finals. Now the eyes are on individual events in badminton, where Lakshya Sen and PV Sindhu will face tough challenges.
India's stormy performance in hockey, defeated Korea 8-2
The Indian men's hockey team scored goals and defeated South Korea 8-2 in the Asian Games. For India, Abhishek and Dilpreet Singh scored two goals each, while Shilanand Lakra, Sukhjit Singh, captain Harmanpreet Singh and Rajinder Singh scored one goal each. India played aggressively from the beginning of the match.
Shilanand opened the account in the fourth minute, after which Sukhjeet and captain Harmanpreet also strengthened India's lead by scoring goals. Goals from Abhishek and Dilpreet further increased the pressure on Korea. Kim Jaeho and Kim Youngbok scored goals for Korea, but their team could not stand against the Indian attack. India has earlier defeated Indonesia 13-1 and Sri Lanka 16-1. Now India will face Japan on 26th September.
Anant Jeet-Parinaj pair won bronze in skeet
India also got a medal in shooting. Anant Jeet Singh Naruka and Parinaaz Dhaliwal won bronze medals in mixed team skeet. The Indian pair scored 44 in the final and finished third. Both of them continuously improved their performance in the six final series. His score started from 7, reached 14, 21, 29, 36 and finally 44. In the qualification, the Indian pair scored 138 and secured fourth place in the finals. With this medal, India's medal tally in shooting at the Asian Games has reached eight, which includes four silver and four bronze.
Anahat-Tanvi face to face in squash
The strong performance of Indian players continued on the squash court also. In women's singles, Anahat Singh and Tanvi Khanna won their respective matches and reached the quarter-finals. Now both the Indian players will face each other in the next round. Anahat defeated Singapore's Wai Iyin Au Yeong 3-0 in just 19 minutes. Tanvi also entered the last eight by defeating Singapore's Wai Yan Au Yeong 3-1.
In men's singles, Abhay Singh defeated Ravindu Laksiri of Sri Lanka 3-0. Now he will face host Ryounosuke of Japan in the quarter-finals. Veer Chotrani also defeated Sanjay Jeeva of Malaysia 3-2 in a tough match. Now he will face Pakistan's Irfan Muhammad. In mixed doubles, the pair of Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar entered the quarter-finals by defeating compatriots Suraj Chand and Shamina Riaz.
Difficult path ahead for Lakshya-Sindhu in badminton
Indian players in badminton now face the challenge of individual competitions. Lakshya Sen and PV Sindhu have got a tough draw, while the defending champion pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will be on a campaign to defend the title. The men's team won the bronze medal this time. India was defeated 3-1 by China in the semi-finals. The women's team was out of the medal race after losing to Japan in the quarter-finals.
Lakshya Sen will face former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in the second round. After winning this match, he may face a challenge from world number one player Jonathan Christie of Indonesia. Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu has also not got an easy path. In the second round, she will face seventh seed Tomoka Miyazaki of Japan. If she wins, she may face China's Chen Yufei in the next round.
Satwik-Chirag's eyes again on gold
Defending champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty are eyeing the gold medal this time too. The Indian pair will face Thailand's P. Sukpun and Pakkapon Teeratsakul in the first round. In women's doubles, the pair of Trisa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will also enter with hopes of a medal. They will face the challenge of Hong Kong's Lok Lok Lui and Hiu Yan Tsang in the first round.
Medal hopes remain intact for India
In the Asian Games, Indian players have strengthened their medal hopes with strong performances in hockey, shooting and squash. Now in the individual matches of badminton, eyes will also be on Lakshya, Sindhu and Satwik-Chirag.