Harpal Singh Bedi / Jakarta
The four Indian wushu players- Naorem Roshibini Devi, Santosh Kumar, Surya Bhanu Partap Singh and Narender Grewal- in the fray lost their semifinal bouts but managed to earn a bronze medal each in the 18th Asian Games here on Wednesday.
The defeats notwithstanding, the four bronze medals enabled the country to record its best-ever performance in the sport in Asian Games.
Before this edition, India had taken part in the 2006, 2010 and 2014 Asian Games and this four medal haul has been the best so far.
In 2014 Incheon, India had won two bronze, with Grewal clinching one in men’s Sanda 60kg. Thus for him , this evening’s bronze is his second medal in the Asian Games.
In the 2006 and 2010 Asian Games, India had won one (bronze) and two (one silver, one bronze) medals respectively hence these are unprecedented four medals in the Asian Games..
Roshibini Devi was the first to take the field in women’s Sanda 60kg semifinals and she lost to Cai Yingying of China 0-1.
Next up was Santosh Kumar in men’s Sanda 56kg category but he was no match to Truong Giang Bui of Vietnam as he lost 0-2 in the semifinal bout.
Any hopes of an Indian wushu player appearing in the finals tomorrow went up in smokes as Partap Singh (men’s Sanda 60kg) and Grewal (men’s Sanda 65kg) lost their semifinal bouts.
Partap Singh lost to Erfan Ahangarian 0-2 while Grewal was beaten by Akmal Rakhimov of Uzbekistan by the same margin.
Narender Grewal makes the nation proud at the #ASIANGAMES2018 with a 🥉in the Wushu 65 Kg Sanda event!
This is his second medal for India in #AsianGames. WELL DONE, champion! 🎉🇮🇳🌟🌟 #IndiaAtAsianGames pic.twitter.com/SOjulzwDPU
— Col Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) August 22, 2018
Well Done Santosh Kumar! Such a superb display of talent & grit by our #Wushu Champion who has bagged a 🥉in the 56kg Category at the #ASIANGAMES2018.
It gives me immense pride to see our athletes doing really well in sports that are new to the country! Go India Go ✌🏻🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/rlGdVoRPyv
— Col Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) August 22, 2018