Asian Games 2023: India’s medal tally after Day 7, 30th September

Five medals were presented to Indian athletes on 28th September.

On the seventh day of the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, the Indian contingent shone brightly as they displayed their prowess across several sports including Athletics, Shooting, Golf, Boxing, Canoe Sprint, Roller Skating, Volleyball, Equestrian, Tennis, Bridge, Table Tennis, Badminton, Squash, 3X3 Basketball, and Chess.

Day 7 turned out to be particularly fruitful for India in racquet-based events. The Indian contingent bagged two prestigious gold medals in Tennis - mixed doubles and Squash - men’s team event. The Indian men’s Badminton team, who had earlier ended the 37-year-old medal drought in the team event, advanced to the finals for the first time by beating Korea in a thrilling 3-2 and will face China in the gold-medal playoff.

Earlier, in the day, the women’s Table Tennis doubles pair of Sutirtha and Ayhika Mukherjee ensured India a medal for the first time in the history of women’s doubles in the sport at the Asian Games by reaching the semis. They accomplished the incredible feat by winning the quarter-final by defeating the reigning World champions and World no. 2 Chinese pair of Meng Chen/ Yidi Wang by 3-1.

Number of medals presented to Indian athletes on 30th September

On September 30, India grabbed a total of 5 medals, including two gold, two silver, and one bronze medal. The first medal of the day came in Shooting, which has been the top sport for India, in the 19th edition of the Asian Games. Sarabjot Singh and Divya Thadigol Subbaraju topped the mixed 10m air pistol qualifications, scoring 577. The duo, however, failed to capitalize on the early lead and fell just two points behind China who scored 16 to win gold in the final.

The nation earned its first gold medal in the form of Rohan Bopanna and Rutuja Bhosale’s triumph in the mixed doubles event. The Indian pair, seeded second, overcame the ninth-seeded duo from Chinese Taipei, Tsung-hao Huang and Liang En-shuo, with a score of 2-6, 6-3, 10-4. This marked Rutuja's debut medal at the Asian Games, while Bopanna secured another medal following his gold triumph in the Asian Games 2018.

The match that captured everyone's attention was the gold-medal contest between India and Pakistan in men's team squash. This nail-biting match saw India emerge victorious over their long-time rivals, Pakistan, with a scoreline of 2-1. While Mahesh Mangaonkar faced an initial setback, Saurav Ghosal balanced the equation. Finally, the outcome rested on Abhay Singh's shoulders who defeated Pakistan's Noor Zaman with a 3-2 win (11-7, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9, 12-10) to give the nation their second gold.

Concluding India's day on a positive note, long-distance runners Kartik Kumar and Gulveer Singh clinched silver and bronze medals in the men's 10,000m race to bolster the nation’s Athletics medal count. Kartik secured his silver with a timing of 28:15.38s, while Gulveer followed him closely with a time of 28:17.21s for the bronze.

Asian Games 2023: India’s medal tally after Day 7, 30th September

By the conclusion of the seventh day at the Asian Games 2023, India, with two fresh gold medals, has firmly held onto the fourth position in the overall medal standings, with a total of 38 medals, comprising 10 gold, 14 silver, and 14 bronze. On the other hand, China (216) has further fortified its leading position, amassing 114 gold, 68 silver, and 34 bronze medals.

Japan, with a total tally of 28 gold, is maintaining its edge over South Korea, which is just behind with 27 gold medals. Following closely in the ranking from fifth to tenth, in the same order, are Uzbekistan (10), Thailand (8), Chinese Taipei (7), Hong Kong (5), North Korea (5), and Iran (3).

What to expect from the Indian contingent on October 1, 2023?

As we move to October 1, 2023, all the focus will be on Indian sportspersons as they aim to bring laurels to the nation in sports like Athletics, Shooting, Badminton, Golf, and Boxing. On Sunday, Aditi Ashok, Nikhat Zareen, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, HS Prannoy, Tajinderpal Singh Toor, Murali Sreeshankar, Jeswin Aldrin, Avinash Sable, and Jyothi Yarraji will be a few Indian athletes to watch out for.

At the Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta, India achieved a remarkable 70 medals, including 16 gold, 23 silver, and 31 bronze. In the 19th edition of the Asian Games, the goal will be to touch at least the 100 medals mark at least across various disciplines at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou.