By Harpal Singh Bedi
India’s four decade long wait for Gold in Dressage Gold in the Asian Games ended on Tuesday as Hirday Chheda, Anush Agarwalla, Divyakriti Singh and Sudipti Hajela combined superbly to win the equestrian team dressage yellow medal in Hangzhou, China on Tuesday.
Before Tuesday’s dressage team gold, India had won three gold medals, three silver medals and six bronze medals in equestrian at the Asian Games all at ,. at Delhi 1982.
Competing at the Tonglu Equestrian Centre, all four Indians give an excellent display of riding which fetched them top podium place.
Anush Agarwalla, astride Etro, was the pick of the lot, scoring 71.088. Hriday Chheda, mounted on Chemxpro Emerald, followed with 69.941 while Divyakriti Singh and her horse Adrenalin Firfod were awarded 68.176. Sudipti Hajela, with horse Chinski, contributed 66.706.
The best three scores were added up for India’s team total, which came up to 209.205 (Anush Agarwalla – 71.088; Hriday Chheda – 69.941; Divyakriti Singh – 68.176).
The Chinese team of Huang Zhuoqin (68.176), Rao Jiayi (69.265) and Lan Chao (67.441) secured the dressage team silver with a combined score of 204.882. Hong Kong China’s Chan Samantha Grace (65.353), Ho Yuen Yan Annie (68.323) and Siu Jacqueline Wing Ying (71.176) took the bronze with a total score of 204.852.
As per the individual rankings, Anush Agarwalla and Hriday Chheda were the second and third-best scorers of the day behind Siu Jacqueline Wing Ying. All four Indian riders will be in action in the individual dressage event on Wednesday
This was India’s third gold medal at Hangzhou The women’s cricket team and men’s 10m air rifle team of Rudrankksh Patil, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and Divyansh Singh Panwar accounted for the other two.
At 1982 Delhi AsiadRaghubir Singh, who was crowned champion in individual eventi in that edition, also won a gold in team event alongside Ghulam Mohammed Khan, Bishal Singh and Milkha Singh. Rupinder Singh Brar won the gold medal in individual tent pegging, a category which featured at the continental games only in that edition.
The Indian men’s squash team proved their mettle once again, beating Qatar 3-0 in their second Pool A encounter at the Asian Games. India won 3-0 against Singapore earlier today. Mahesh Mangaonkar kicked off the tie with an 11-7, 11-4, 11-1 victory. Meanwhile, Saurav Ghosal and Abhay Singh won their matches in four games.
In Tennis, India’s mixed doubles winning pair of Yuki Bhambri and Ankita Raina faced and defeated Pakistan’s duo of Aqeel Khan and Sarah Ibrahim Khan to storm into the third round. Bhambri and Raina will next go up against Philippines in round 3. In Men’s singles, Sumit Nagal advanced to the quarter final defeating Kazakhstan’s Beibit Zhukayev, 7-6, 6-4 in the Round of 16.
In the men’s 70kg quarter-final in wushu India’s Suraj Yadav bravely tackled M Khalid Hotak of Afghanistan. However, he lost the match in the second round and lost the hope of a medal along with it. Falling short of expectations in Wushu, India’s two-time world championship bronze medallist, Surya Bhanu Partap Singh, lost in the men’s 60kg quarterfinal. He suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of South Korea’s Minsoo Kim.
In the first round of the Men’s 92kg and above boxing match, Indian boxer Narender Berwal knocked out Uzbekistan’s Mullojonov Lazizbek. Berwal will now face Iman Ramezanpourdelavar of Iran in the quarter-final on September 30.
Indian men’s Hockey Team led by Harmanpreet Singh continued charging ahead with their second consecutive victory at the Asian Games, defeating Singapore 16-1 in an elite Pool A match. Squash players Anahat Singh, Joshana Chiappa and Tanvi Khanna also won consecutive games in their opening pool matches today.
In Men’s Volleyball, India played against Pakistan today. We registered a humbling defeat in all the three sets, ensuring the team’s exit from the Asian Games. In another major disappointment to the country, swimmers Aryan Nehra and Kushagra Rawat finished seventh and eighth, respectively, in the men’s 1500m freestyle fast heat. Although 15 minutes and 20 seconds was a personal best for Nehra, he couldn’t manage a medal in the end. While the Indian men’s cycling team broke the national record by clocking in 44.609, they lost against the Republic of Korea in the team sprint heats. In Judo, Tulika Maan bowed out losing in the quarterfinal match today.
For the first time ever, seven e-sports have been included in the Asian Games 2023. India’s e-sports players Ayan Biswas and Mayank Prajapati faced losses in the preliminary rounds of Street Fighter V: Champion Edition, resulting in an end to their participation in the games today. However all hope is not lost, there are several more events lined up in the next couple of days with India’s brightest playing DOTA2, League of Legends and FIFAe.