Asian Games-2023: Palak Gulia, Esha Singh Bag Gold, Silver; Women's Squash Team Claims Bronze

Hangzhou: In the Women's 10m Air Pistol event, the 17-year-old sensation Palak Gulia has emerged as the gold medalist, while 18-year-old Esha Singh adds another feather to her cap with a silver medal. 

In one of the most fantastic efforts seen by Indian shooters, the duo challenged each other for the top podium finish until 17-year-old Palak clinched the gold medal and Esha the silver to swell the country's tally in the sport to 17 -- six of them gold.

This is the first major individual medal for Palak in an international competition after she came on the shooting scene just last year. She shot 242.1 in the finals for an Asian Games record.
This is the first major individual medal for Palak in an international competition after she came on the shooting scene just last year. She shot 242.1 in the finals for an Asian Games record.

Esha, who had won the individual silver in 25m pistol on Wednesday and was part of the triumvirate that won the 10m air pistol team silver along with Palak and Divya TS earlier on Friday, settled for silver, scoring 239.7.

Women's squash team claims bronze

 

In the Women's Team Squash Semifinal, the Indian team faced a challenging match.

Tanvi Khanna started with the opening singles, but she was defeated 0-3 (6-11, 7-11, 3-11) by Chan Sin Yuk.

However, the experienced Joshana Chinappa mounted a comeback in the second tie, winning 3-2 (7-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-6, 11-8) against Ho Tze Lok.

In the crucial deciding singles match, the 15-year-old Anahat Singh went up against the 29-year-old Lee Ka Yi. Anahat Singh put up a strong fight but ultimately lost 0-3 (8-11, 7-11, 10-12), although she managed to save six match points.

With this result, Hong Kong emerged victorious with a 3-0 lead over India. 

The Indian women's team will return home with the bronze medal.

TT: Manika in quarters; Sharath-Sathiyan go down

In Table Tennis action at the Asian Games, Manika Batra has secured her spot in the quarterfinals with a 4-2 victory (11-7, 6-11, 12-10, 11-13, 12-10, 11-6) over Thailand's Suthasini Sawettabut in the round of 16. She will now face China's Yidi Wang in the quarterfinals scheduled for tomorrow.

On the other hand, the Indian duo of Sharath Kamal and G. Sathiyan faced a tough challenge in the round of 16. They were defeated 0-3 (5-11, 4-11, 7-11) by top-seeded Chinese pair Fan Zhendong and Wang Chuqin in the pre-quarterfinals.

Swimming: Sajan Prakash in final 

In the swimming events, Sajan Prakash has successfully advanced to the men's 200m butterfly final by finishing sixth overall in the heats with a time of 1:58.40s. The final is scheduled to take place today at 6:18 PM IST.

Anish Gowda, with a time of 2:05.21s, finished 13th in the same event.

In another event, Advait Page has secured a spot in the men's 200m backstroke final, registering a time of 2:03.01s to finish seventh overall in the heats. The final is set to take place today at 5:26 PM IST.

However, in the men's 400m freestyle, Aryan Nehra (3:58.18s) and Kushagra Rawat (4:01.24s) finished 11th and 17th overall in the heats, falling short of qualifying for the final.

The women's 4x100m medley relay team (4:23.46s) finished ninth in their heat and did not make it to the medal race.

Badminton: Indian women's team bows out

Thailand, despite missing their Top 10 player Ratchanok Intanon, secured a 3-0 victory over India in the quarterfinal tie. 

In a decisive match, Busanan Ongbamrungphan defeated Ashmita Chaliha with a score of 21-9, 21-16. 

The opening match saw Pornpawee Chochuwong defeating Sindhu, and India's doubles pairing of Gayatri-Treesa couldn't perform when it mattered the most.