Asian Games 2014, Day 8: Most profitable day for India

India, on the eighth day of competition at the Incheon Asian Games, leapfrogged to the 11th position in medals tally with a rich haul of 11 medals - 2 Gold, 3 Silver and 6 Bronze.

In archery, India made history by winning the first ever gold medal in compound men's event by unseating the mighty South Korea - the reigning champions of the discipline in Asian Games. This was India's second gold medal at Incheon 2014.

Rajat Chauhan, Sandeep Kumar and Abhishek Verma took an early lead and maintained the tempo throughout and did not let the strong Korean team of Choi Yong-Hee, Min Li-Hong and Yang Young-Ho settle in the game. The favourites were beaten 227-224. Chauhan, 19, is the youngest member of the trio while Sandeep and Abhishek are 25. Earlier this month, Chauhan became the youngest Indian player to qualify for World Cup final. Abhishek is an Arjuna Awardee.

The trio of women archers - Trisha Deb, Purvasha Shende and Surekha Jyoth - won the women's compound archery bronze-medal match by beating the Iranian team of Sakineh Ghasempour, Maryam Ranjbarsari and Shabnam Sariak 224-217. Both teams shot 9 bull's eye in the tie. India managed to build an early lead and held onto it till the end to win the bronze.

In both these events, there was an unmistakable intent to make a fight of it and hang onto the lead till the end, which helped in the final stages.

Archer Abhishek was also among the medals in individual event, beating Malaysia'a Muhammed Jaki Bin Mahazan 143-135 in compound event to enter final. However, Abhishek lost in the final and settled for a silver.

Trisha also won bronze in women's compound individual event beating Chinese Taipei's Huang I Jou 138-134. Though Trisha was trailing her rival till the last arrow, she never gave up and that resulted in her bronze.

In squash, India won a historic gold medal by beating Malaysia 2-0 in the men's team final. Saurav Ghosal, the silver medallist from the singles event, helped his team win gold in a thrilling five-setter by beating Ong Beng Hee. Ghosal this time made sure India would not miss the coveted medal, winning 6-11, 11-7, 11-6, 12-14, 11-9 in a grueling encounter. Earlier in Match 1, Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu won 11-8, 11-6, 8-11, 11-4 to give the all important lead in the best-of-three gold medal match.

In Canoe Sprint, India made a good start. Gaurav Tomar qualified for the semi-finals of Canoe single (C1) 1000m for men. In Kayak Single (K1) 1000m for men, Albert also qualified for the semi-finals. In Canoe Sprint double (C2), Ajit Kumar Shah and Raju Rawat qualified for 1000m men.

In shooting, India's Chain Singh won a bronze in men's 50m Rifle 3 Position event. Singh finished with 441.7 points as against China's Yifei Cao who claimed gold with 455.5 points and Quinan Zhu who got silver with 455.2 points. Singh was the only Indian to qualify for the final.

In men's 50m Rifle 3-Position men's team final, the Indian team of Gagan Narang, Chain Singh and Sanjeev Rajput finished fourth. The trio, who narrowly missed a bronze, came behind Japan's 3481 with just one point. China won gold with 3502 points while South Korea bagged silver with 3484 points.

In tennis, India's Yuki Bhambri has entered the men's singles semifinals but Sanam Singh lost 6-7, 4-6 to Yen Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei to bow out in the quarters. Sania Mirza/Prarthana Thombre beat Thailand's Peangtarn Plipuech/Nicha Lertpitkasinchal 6-1, 7-6 in doubles quarterfinals to reach the semis. Sanam Singh/Saketh Sai have now entered the semi-finals in men's doubles. India's Divij Sharan/Yuki Bhambri beat Chinese Taipei's Yeu Tzuoo Wang/Hsin Han Lee 7-5, 7-6 in men's doubles quarter-finals. In mixed-doubles, Sania Mirza/Myneni beat Han/Kim of South Korea 6-3, 7-6 to enter the last-four stage.

The progress made in tennis has thus assured India of at least five medals in the discipline.

Like Sania, one wishes other players and associations too put country's interest ahead of their own, however justifiable they may be.

In wrestling, India's Vinesh Phogat beat Mongolian wrestler Narangerel Erdenesukh 10-0 in women's freestyle 48kg category to win a bronze. Vinesh is a gold medal winner from the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. In women's freestyle 63kg wrestling, Geetika Jakhar beat Vietnamese wrestler 5-0 to win a bronze medal.

Praveen Rana lost to Takafumi Kojima of Japan 3-2, in men's freestyle 70 kg pre-quarterfinals.

In boxing, Mary Kom beat Yeji Kim of Korea in women's 48-51 kg Round of 16. India's Laishram Sarita Devi won 3-0 against North Korea's Chungson Ri in women's Light (57-60) kg Round of 16. Rani beat Undram of Mongolia 3-0 in women's middle weight (69-75) kg to enter the quarter-finals. India's Gaurav Bidhuri beat Nepal's Prem Chadhary 3-0 in men's Fly 52 kg category.

In table tennis, India made an impressive start to their campaign in which they beat Kuwait 3-0 in men's team event. Soumyajit Ghosh beat Albahrani Husain 11-1, 11-5, 5-11, 11-6 and Achanta Sharath Kamal showed his class in quickly overcoming Albalhan Jaber 11-5, 12-10, 11-5 in straight sets. Amalraj Arputharaj Anthony made it 3-0 with an emphatic win over Allansari Basel again in straight sets, 11-5, 11-8, 11-2.

The women's team was not lagging either. India beat Nepal 3-0. India's Manika Batra beat Shrestha Nabita 11-8, 11-5, 11-2; Madhurika Suhas Patkar outclassed Kajol Rauniyar 11-5, 11-5, 11-1; and Ankita Das completed the rout by beating Elina Maharjan 11-6, 11-5, 11-2.

In a preliminary Round 2 match, India's match against Malaysia was no different. India blanked out Malaysia 3-0. Poulomi Ghatak beat Lee Wei Beh 11-9, 15-17, 11-8, 11-5; Manika beat Ying Ho 11-5, 11-8, 11-7; and Neha Aggarwal defeated Lee Rou You 11-6, 11-6, 11-4.

One noteworthy point here is the straight set matches did not go beyond 15 to 20 minutes, such overwhelming was India's dominance.

In a do-or-die clash in men's hockey, India beat China to enter the semi-finals. VR Raghunath converted a penalty corner for India to take the lead. The second goal was scored by Birendra Lakra.

In athletics, India's Rajiv Arokia qualified for the men's 400m final. Sharadha Narayana finished fifth in women's 100m Heat 3 and failed to qualify for the semi-finals. Chandrodaya Singh was out of contention in Hammer throw final despite his best throw of 66.98m. Mandeep Kaur and Poovamma Raju moved into the final of women's 400m event.

In women's Steeplechase final, India's Lalita Babar won a silver in dramatic circumstances, which landed in bronze in Sudha Singh's kitty. Lalita initially finished third and Singh fourth. But their positions were upgraded after the initial gold-medal winner from Bahrain, Ruth Jebet, was disqualified for cutting her lane.

India has now climbed to 11th place in the medals tally with 3 gold, 5 silver and 20 bronze. Hopefully, in the second week of the Games, India can substantially improve its tally through other disciplines such as tennis, boxing, kabaddi, athletics and hockey.