Nagoya: The day ended on a silver lining for Team India at the Aich-Nagoya Asian Games.
The Mixed 4x400m Relay team bagged silver thanks to a brilliant anchor-leg effort from Vithya Ramraj.
The Indian quartet of Poovamma Raju, Vishal Thennarasu, Manu TS and Vithya Ramraj clocked 3:14.46 in the final to successfully defend the silver medal they won at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games.
Bahrain retained the gold medal with a Games record time of 3:12.87, as Vietnam finished third in 3:14.54.
India appeared to be heading for a bronze medal before Vithya produced a terrific burst in the final 50 metres to overtake the Vietnam runner and finish second, just 0.09 seconds faster.
It was India’s second medal of the night after Seema ended India’s 16-year wait for a medal in Women’s 10,000m at the Asian Games. Seema clocked 32:50.05 to ensure bronze.
The athletics medals helped push India’s medal tally to 17. However, the country has just a solitary gold in the kitty so far (Women’s Cricket), along with 7 silver and 9 bronze.
There are expectations of an increase in our golden tally on Friday, especially from athletics.
Ace sprinters Animesh Kujur and Gurindervir Singh both qualified for the Men’s 100m semifinals after securing third and second place, respectively, in their respective heats on Thursday.
Odisha’s Kujur clocked 10.36 seconds in a heat won by Thailand’s Puripol Boonson in 9.95 seconds. National record-holder Gurindervir recorded 10.38 seconds to finish second in Heat 4 behind Oman’s Malham Al Balushi (10.29).
The semifinals will be run in the evening, followed by the final at night.
Dilpreet hat-trick blows away Korea
In Men’s Hockey, in-form striker Dilpreet Singh fired a hat-trick as defending champions India thrashed Korea 8-2 to all but assure their place in the semifinals.
India are atop Pool A, having earlier thrashed Indonesia 13-1 and Sri Lanka 16-1. They will face hosts Japan in the final pool fixture on Saturday.
Dilpreet scored three field goals in the 10th, 26th and 32nd minute. Abhishek (15th, 38th) struck a brace, while Shilanand Lakra (4th), skipper Harmanpreet Singh (11th) and Rajinder Singh (60th) were the other scorers for India.
In Men’s Kabaddi, India overcame Chinese Taipei 37-21 to finish Group A toppers with an all-win record. They will face Thailand in the semifinals.
There was disappointment in the boxing ring as Sakshi Chaudhary was eliminated after a 2-3 loss to Kazakhstan’s Balkibekova in Women’s 51 kg category.
Parveen advanced to the quarterfinals after Tajikistan’s Malika Nozimova conceded a walkover, and will face Uzbekistan’s Navbakhor Khamidova for a place in the semifinals.
