In a first, a century of medals assured for India at Asian Games

NEW DELHI: India is on the brink of celebrating a historic milestone of 100 medals at the Asian Games in Hangzhou after wrestlers secured three medals, sepaktakraw made history with a bronze, and the men's hockey team reclaimed gold, bringing the country's tally to 95 on Friday.

India are already assured of seven medals across various disciplines: kabaddi (2), archery (3), badminton (1), and cricket (1). Once these events conclude, India is poised to cross the coveted 100-medal mark for the first time in its history on Saturday.

With at least four more wrestlers still in contention on the penultimate day of the competition, it wouldn't be surprising if additional medals are added to the tally.
In the previous edition in Indonesia, India amassed 70 medals, with athletes clinching 16 gold, 23 silver, and 31 bronze medals to achieve their best-ever performance.
Thanks to remarkable performances by shooters (22 medals) and track and field athletes (29 medals), who contributed a total of 51 medals, India had already surpassed its previous best on Wednesday.

The Indian contingent won many surprise medals, the biggest being a women's table tennis team bronze by Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee, who humbled the mighty China in the semifinals.
Parul Chaudhary's sensational dash in the last 30 metres of the women's 5000m event will also be remembered for a long time as the Meerut runner snatched a gold by edging Japan's Ririka Hironaka in a close finish.
Javelin thrower Kishore Kumar Jena's astonishing 86.77m throw that gave him lead over superstar Neeraj Chopra for a brief period in the men's javelin event was another unforgettable moment.

Later Chopra won the gold, while Jena finished behind him to settle for a silver medal.
Canoers Arjun Singh and Sunil Singh Salam's historic bronze in the men's double 1000m along with Ram Baboo and Manju Rani's third place finish in the mixed 35km race walk were perfect examples that if athletes refuse to bow down to the hardships life throws, excelling in sports is possible.
(With PTI Inputs)