Nagoya, Oct 4: India signed off from the Asian Games with a late surge of gold medals, finishing fourth in the overall standings with 21 gold, 27 silver and 37 bronze medals.
While the cricket and hockey teams successfully defended their titles, 17-year-old archer Kumkum Mohod and golfer Pranavi Urs emerged as the standout performers, creating history in their respective events.
India’s final tally of 85 medals fell short of the 106 medals won in the previous edition, but the country produced a strong finish, with 11 of its 21 gold medals coming in the final two days of competition.
The cricket team, led by Shreyas Iyer, defeated Pakistan by 19 runs in the men’s T20 final in Nisshin to retain the Asian Games title. The Indian men’s hockey team also defended its crown, defeating Malaysia 5-1 in the final in Kakamigahara.
Kumkum Creates History In Archery
Kumkum Mohod became the first Indian woman archer to win an individual recurve gold medal at the Asian Games.
The 17-year-old Maharashtra archer defeated South Korea’s Oh Yejin 6-5 in the final after overcoming strong opponents in the earlier rounds.
Kumkum had defeated reigning world champion Kang Chaeyoung in the quarterfinal before getting past China’s former world No. 1 and world championships silver medallist Jingyi Zhu in the semifinal.
She finished her debut Asian Games campaign with two gold and one silver medal, while also securing an individual quota place for India for the Olympic Games.
India’s archery contingent concluded its campaign with nine medals, including five golds, after strong performances across compound and recurve events.
Pranavi Wins Historic Golf Gold
Golfer Pranavi Urs also scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman to win an individual Asian Games golf gold medal.
The 23-year-old from Mysore held her nerve in the final round to finish one stroke ahead of the field. Despite a triple bogey on the third hole, she recovered with three birdies and carded an even-par 70.
Pranavi finished with a four-round total of 15-under 265.
Her performance also helped India secure the women’s team silver medal, alongside Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar. India finished 14-under 546, behind gold medallists China, who finished at 22-under 538.
Aman Sehrawat Wins Wrestling Gold
Olympic bronze medallist Aman Sehrawat also added a gold medal for India in the men’s 57kg category.
Aman defeated North Korea’s reigning world champion Chong Song Han 10-7 in the final, upgrading his Asian Games bronze from the previous edition to gold.
India finished the wrestling campaign with six medals — two gold, two silver and two bronze.
Wrestler Antim Panghal settled for silver after losing to Japan’s Moe Miyooka in the women’s 53kg final, while recurve archer Neeraj Chauhan won bronze in the men’s individual event.
India’s strong late finish ensured a memorable campaign in Nagoya, with the country ending the Games fourth in the medal standings.
