India’s Joga Purty finished ninth in the women’s speed qualification at the Asian Games, clocking 7.28 seconds to break her own national record and advance to the quarter-finals. The 19-year-old bettered her previous mark of 7.37 seconds, which she set earlier this year at the Asian Championships. The women’s speed quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final are scheduled for tomorrow.
Indian Archers and Shooters Advance in Nagoya
In archery, Kirti Sharma and Kumkum Mohod secured their progression to the pre-quarterfinals of the women’s recurve individual competition. Kirti defeated Vietnam’s Phuong Thao Hoang 7-3, while Kumkum secured a 6-0 victory over Olympian Urantungalag Bishindee of Mongolia. Both athletes will contest their pre-quarterfinal matches shortly.
On the shooting range, Shapath Bharadwaj qualified for the men’s trap final after finishing eighth in qualification with 117 points. Kynan Chenai scored 115 points and Ahvar Rizvi finished with 107 points, leaving both outside the final cut. Shapath won a nervy three-way shoot-off for the final two qualification spots, edging Qatar’s Mohammed Al-Rumaihi to secure his place in the medal round ahead of the 12 PM final.
In the team standings, India finished sixth in the men’s trap team qualification with 339 points. Kynan Chenai placed 16th individually, and Ahvar Rizvi finished 32nd.
Rain Washes Out Cricket Quarter-Finals as India Meets Sri Lanka
Persistent rain in Nagoya washed out all four men’s cricket quarter-finals, sending India through to face Sri Lanka in the semi-finals. Sri Lanka advanced at Nepal’s expense without a ball being bowled, progressing on the basis of their higher team ranking. Sri Lanka holds the ninth ranking, five places above 14th-placed Nepal. India had previously qualified for the semi-finals under identical weather disruptions.
Tournament sport director Jarrad Shearer addressed the schedule impact caused by the local weather over recent days, noting the frustration of turning a baseball field into a cricket venue for the Asian Games. “Cricket, like baseball, you can’t play it in the rain,” Shearer said. “A year of my life on this, and it rains.”
Ground crews face an intensive drying effort ahead of Thursday’s semi-finals, aided by an expected forecast of sunshine and 32 degrees Celsius. “Come tomorrow morning it will be all hands on deck to dry up the areas that aren’t under the covers,” Shearer said. Pakistan will meet Bangladesh in the second semi-final.
Squash Squad Seals Perfect Pool Campaign
India’s women’s squash team completed a flawless Pool C campaign with a 3-0 victory over Iran, following earlier pool wins against China and Japan. Tanvi Khanna and Anahat Singh won their respective singles matches to give India a 2-0 lead. Joshna Chinappa then secured the sweep by defeating Najmeh Boushehrizadeh 3-0 (11-1, 11-3, 11-9). The Indian team returns for quarter-final action tomorrow.
Track Cycling and Tennis Results
During the track cycling events, the Indian women’s team pursuit lineup consisting of Harshita Jakhar, Pooja Danole, Meenakshi Rohilla, and Swasti Singh recorded a time of 4:45.151, placing fifth and last in the qualification phase and securing a solo start against the clock in the opening round. In the men’s team sprint, Rojit Singh Yanglem, David Beckham Elkatohchoongo, and Ronaldo Singh Laitonjam clocked 44.895 seconds to finish last among seven starting teams. They will face China in the first round.
During the men’s singles second round on the tennis courts, Dhakshineswar Suresh secured the initial set 7-5 against Indonesia’s Gunawan Trismuwantara after successfully converting one out of two break opportunities. In women’s doubles, Ankita Raina and Rutuja Bhosale exited in the first round, ending India’s campaign in that draw.
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