Nilanjan
India has come a long way to cement a respectable spot in sports. In Asian Games 2023, Indian sportspersons continued with their medal streak, which helped the country achieve the 100-medal mark. India finished with 107 medals, which is an extraordinary feat for a country that has never been a much talked-about name in the world of sports.
Yesterday, India won gold in Kabaddi, the national sport of the country and also in cricket. A clean sweep in compound archery took the medal tally to 107 at Hangzhou 2023.
Indian kabbadi team handed a defeat to Chinese Taipei to claim gold. Indian contingent, amidst a few heady moments, headed to win three gold medals on the 14th day of the event, with Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy duo created history with their men’s doubles gold in badminton.
The men’s cricket team contributed to the country’s golden achievement with another gold medal in their event, with rain failed to distract iron determination of the 11 men. Men’s kabbadi team clinched victory after an hour-long interruption.
However, Deepak Punia conceded defeat to Iran’s Hassan Yazdanicharati in the final of the 86kg category.
First-Ever Badminton Gold at Asian Games
Chirag Shetty exhibited ‘Nadal-like’ resilience to overcome his illness and formed a solid partnership with Satwiksairaj Rankireddy to claim a historic gold in badminton.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy has given a new name to Chirag Shetty “Rafale Nadal”. Chirag is overjoyed and enjoys what his partner calls him. “He never gives up. I could see it this week.”
This is India’s first-ever Gold Medal at Asian Games in badminton, a sports largely dominated by and Koreans and Indonesians. The duo was joking about Chirag’s new name after 30 minutes of winning the gold. However, Chirga showed a tremendous temperament in the court even when he feared of collapsing any time if he stood. He defeated illness with a clear “do or die” attitude and the rest is history.
In the final, the Danish doubles coach of the Indian duo kept telling Chirag between almost every point, to move around the court.
“He was constantly asking me to keep moving and not stay still because I still am not physically 100 per cent,” Chirag says.
However, Chirag had enough energy still left in him to continue. His resilience carried him through. The Indian pair notched 21-18, 21-16 to break the South Korean partnership between Kin Won Ho and Choi Solgyu for a convincing win.
A moment of pride for India!
