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Gold, silver for Palak, Esha in record haul for shooters
India's shooting team continues to dominate at the Asian Games, winning multiple gold medals and setting a world record. The country's medal tally now stands at 33.
Shooting continued to be India’s most productive suit at this edition of the Asian Games as the country’s medal tally surged to 33 on the sixth competition day of the Games on Friday — fuelled by the young trio of Esha Singh, Palak Gulia, and Diya TS winning the gold in women’s 10m air pistol, followed by a gold by the men’s 50m 3 Positions team of Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Swapnil Kusale and Akhil Sheoran with a world record score.
But the crowning moment came in the individual women’s 10m rifle when teenagers Palak and Esha won gold and silver for a historic 1-2: the best any country can do in an individual event since only two players from a contingent are allowed to complete in the medal rounds.
The medal rush then continued in the afternoon, too, albeit not without drama. Swapnil Kusale slipped from gold medal position to fifth with an errant shot of 7.6, and eventually finished fourth, while Tomar crawled his way up to second from the back of the field.
The results meant India overhauled their 14-medal tally from shooting in the Doha Asian Games (2006) to reach 18 medals (six gold, seven silver, five bronze). With mixed team pistol events and trap competitions to go, the surge is likely to continue at the Fuyang Yinhu Sports Centre on the weekend.
“There was no pressure in competing against your compatriot. We are good friends otherwise too and we compete against each other in India a lot, so it wasn’t weird at all,” gold medallist Palak said on having to compete against Esha in the final of the women’s 10m rifle event.
“It was a great day for Indian shooting. To have two Indians in top three felt surreal. It shows our depth and strength,” said Esha.The third place went to Pakistan’s Talat Kishmala.
Palak, who is from Jhajjhar in Haryana, credited her meticulous preparation for the gold. “My processes begin two days before the final when I slow things down. We begin to move slowly, speak slowly, basically slow down to ensure the heart rate is optimum going into the final,” she said.
The men’s 3P final in the afternoon session was a treat as fortunes swung wildly for Kusale and Tomar. The 28-year-old from Maharashtra worked his way to the gold medal position but fired an inexplicable 7.6 on his 41st shot to slip to fifth. He then recovered with consecutive 10s, but the deficit proved too steep to bridge. He finished fourth even as his team mate, the 21-year-old Tomar, surged to the second spot.
Tomar is the most successful Indian athlete of the Games with two golds, a silver, and a bronze. Esha also has four medals: a gold, and three silvers.
Meanwhile, away from the shooting range, India’s boxing star Nikhat Zareen cruised into the semi-finals with a 53-second win over Jordan’s Hanan Nassar in the 50kg division quarter-finals. The win confirms a first Asian Games medal for the world champion and a spot at the Paris Olympics.
In tennis, the men’s doubles pair of Ramkumar Ramanathan and Saketh Myneni lost to the Chinese Taipei pair in straight sets 6-4, 6-4, finishing with silver.
In squash, the Indian men’s team set up a final against Pakistan after upstaging Malaysia in the semi-finals. The women’s team of Joshana Chinappa, Tanvi Khanna and Anahat Singh took bronze after losing to Hong Kong in the semis.
And India opened their athletics account with bronze in women’s shot put, with Kiran Baliyan recording 17.36m in her third attempt. There is bound to be more from India’s track & field hopefuls in the days to follow.
