Asian Games 2023 Highlights, October 6: Men's Hockey Team wins Gold; India thrash Pakistan in Kabaddi SF, Women's Kabaddi, Men's Cricket teams qualify for final

Asian Games 2023 Highlights, October 6: A successful day for India as Day 13 helped add nine medals to the tally, including a Gold in Hockey. Follow Sportskeeda for Asian Games 2023 live Score updates on October 6.

And that's a wrap! It's been a rewarding day for India, with a lot to write home about for the Indian contingent! India is all set to officially breach the 100-medal mark in the tally tomorrow, and it promises to be a fitting end to what has been a glorious and historic campaign. Recurve Archery, which is not one of India's strengths, fetched two medals. The Men's Bridge team went down fighting in the final to finish with a Silver, while HS Prannoy lost his semifinal match and had to be content with a bronze medal. A few bronze medals in wrestling followed while India won a surprise Bronze in Sepaktakraw as well! However, it was Hockey which stole the show, with India completing a convincing 5-1 win over Japan in the final to clinch the Gold medal. The day finished with the duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty assuring themselves of a silver medal too! Brings to an end what has been a successful day! Join us tomorrow for one final day of action which will feature the Indians before the closing ceremony. Until then, this is Team Sportskeeda, bidding you adieu! Goodnight!

Badminton - Men's Doubles Semifinal

Game 2: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty 21-12 Teng Fong Aaron Chia/Wooi Yik Soh
Match Score: IND 2-0 MAS

This was quicker than expected. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have rallied past the Malaysians in a brisk game 2. Though there was a bit of delay for the Indians for the match point, Chirag was the first to go down on the court only to get up with a huge roar after the triumph. Satwik followed the celebrations by breaking out some of his best moves on the court, now apparently converted into a dance floor. India qualifies for the gold medal match in the men's doubles badminton in the Asian Games 2023 and history potentially awaits them.

Badminton - Men's Doubles Semifinal

Game 2: Rankireddy/Chirag (IND) 17-7 Chia/Soh (MAS)

No respite for the Malaysian pair with the Indians unleashing their powerful shots in a bid to seal this game quickly. The rallies turned out sonorous as Chirag and Satwik smash in tandem.

Badminton - Men's Doubles Semifinal

Game 2: Rankireddy/Chirag (IND) 15-6 Chia/Soh (MAS)

The unforced errors aren't doing any good for Malaysia for a comeback in this game. The Indians, on the other hand, calmly place their shots and escalate the speed of the racket once the rally gets stretched further.

Badminton - Men's Doubles Semifinal

Game 2: Rankireddy/Chirag (IND) 11-3 Chia/Soh (MAS)

A heavy lead for Chirag and Satwik here as both pairs move for a break time in the second game. The Indians need to continue their attacking game to wrap up this game and advance into the semi-finals.

Badminton - Men's Doubles Semifinal

Game 2: Rankireddy/Chirag (IND) 7-3 Chia/Soh (MAS)

Chirag Shetty's top-of-the-shoulder shot coupled with Satwik's smooth touches have turned heavy for the Malaysians to clear the net on successive occasions.

Badminton - Men's Doubles Semifinal

Game 2: Rankireddy/Chirag (IND) 4- 0 Chia/Soh (MAS)

The Malaysians challenged straightaway to reverse an outside call against them but the decision stayed on. Rankireddy has taken the attacking charge from Chirag in this game. The Indian pair started comfortably in this game, seemingly from where they left off in the last game.

Badminton - Men's Doubles Semifinal

Game 1: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty 21-17 Teng Fong Aaron Chia/Wooi Yik Soh
Match Score: IND 1-0 MAS

The Malaysians delayed India's win for a while with Soh playing some cheeky drop shots. However, Rankireddy played it wide softly to the left corner of the Malaysian court to enforce a net error. The Indians take a great advantage in this semifinal clash and another win will confirm their slot in the gold medal match.

Badminton - Men's Doubles Semifinal

Game 1: Rankireddy/Chirag (IND) 20-14 Chia/Soh (MAS)

The attacking game from Indians has been spot on with Soh commiting another error on the net. India gets close to the winning margin.

Badminton - Men's Doubles Semifinal

Game 1: Rankireddy/Chirag (IND) 18-13 Chia/Soh (MAS)

A misjudgment from Soh Wooi Yik cost Malaysia an unpardonable point as India's lead extended heavily. Satwik and Chirag have exhanged their sides very quickly and coordination gets even better as the rally goes further.

Badminton - Men's Doubles Semifinal

Game 1: Rankireddy/Chirag (IND) 14-10 Chia/Soh (MAS)

The Malaysians attempted to attack with all guns blazing but that wasn't enough to win points against a composed Chirag Shetty. The Mumbai-born shuttler displayed some solid blocks to engage the Malaysians in a rally before Rankireddy smashed into the opponent court to clinch the point. India has a better lead of three points now.

Badminton - Men's Doubles Semifinal

Game 1: Rankireddy/Chirag (IND) 11-10 Chia/Soh (MAS)

The Malaysians pocketed two points in a row to cancel India's lead. A blistering shot from Chirag saw no response from a diving Aaron Chia. India once again have a slight advantage as both teams leave for a break.

Badminton - Men's Doubles Semifinal

Game 1: Rankireddy/Chirag (IND)9-8 Chia/Soh (MAS)

India finally managed to take a slender lead after playing catchup against the Malaysians for a while.

Badminton - Men's Doubles Semifinal

Game 1: Rankireddy/Chirag (IND) 7-7 Chia/Soh (MAS)

Chirag once again steps up to trouble the Malaysians. First a bit of rally with Aaron before he swiftly directed the shot towards Soh to win a point in the form of an unforced error. There was an unsuccessful challenge from the Malaysians for a potential outside shot. However, it was denied and India leveled the scores.

Badminton - Men's Doubles Semifinal

Game 1: Rankireddy/Chirag (IND) 4-4 Chia/Soh (MAS)

Chirag Shetty goes full throttle, forcing the Malaysians to net the shuttle. The Malaysians have also shown some great attacking game to beat the Indians twice.

Badminton - Men's Doubles Semifinal

Game 1: Rankireddy/Chirag (IND)1-1 Chia/Soh (MAS)

The Malaysians were quick to account for the first point but then came a thumping smash from Chirag Shetty to level the scores.

Badminton - Men's Doubles Semifinal

Game 1: Rankireddy/Chirag (IND) 0 - 0 Chia/Soh (MAS)

The Indian pair will serve first in their next step of the quest for a gold medal match while the Malaysians will play from the left part of the court.

Badminton - Men's Doubles Semifinal

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty vs Aaron Chia/Soh Wooh Yik

This will be a top-tier clash of the Asian Games with the World No.3 Indian pair of Satwik and Chirag ready to take on the second-seeded Malaysian pair of Aaron and Soh. Both pairs are the only ones left in their respective contingent's quest for a gold medal in this Asian Games. While the likes of Lee Zii Jia, Ng Tze Yong (men’s singles), Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah (women’s doubles) and Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei (mixed doubles) were eliminated in the quarterfinal from Malaysia, PV Sindhu (women's singles) and HS Prannoy (men's singles) failed to clear the quarterfinal and semifinal round respectively.

Earlier in June, the Indian pair got the better of their Malaysian counterparts in straight sets to win their first Super-1000 event title in the final of the Indonesia Open. Can the Indians repeat the show tonight or will the Malaysian pair avenge that defeat? Stay tuned with us to find out the regular updates of the men's doubles Asian Games semi-final match.

Coming up:

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in action in the semifinals as they take on the Malaysian pair of Teng Fong Aaron Chia and Wooi Yik Soh. Can the Indians seal a place in the final and assure themselves of a silver medal? Stay tuned to find out!

HOCKEY - Men's Final

India 5 - 1 Japan

GOLD FOR INDIA! They've won the final in style! They came out all guns blazing and credit must also be given to Craig Fulton for shaping the team to play an aggressive form of hockey. This has been nothing short of sensational from the Indian side and they comfortably get past Japan in the final to clinch gold. Harmanpreet scored two, Manpreet, Rohidas and Abhishek scored one! Marks the end of what has been nothing short of a dominant campaign by team India. Right from the first match, they have gotten clinical wins under their belt, and the final is no different too!

For the detailed highlights from the enthralling final, click here.

HOCKEY - Men's Final

India 4 - 1 Japan

India have done a fantastic job in the final thus far and with the last few minutes of quarter 4 remaining, they need to make sure that they don't allow the Japanese any window of opportunity to make a comeback here. India have one hand on the Gold medal already. Can they finish the job convincingly?

To catch the detailed coverage of the match, click here.

WRESTLING - Men's Freestyle Bronze Medal Match

Bajrang (IND) 0 - 10 Kaiki Yamaguchi (JPN)
Kaiki wins on technical superiority

Another takedown to start the second period. He makes a terrific turnaround from a difficult position to execute a takedown. And within seconds, he uses his reach to get a hold of Bajrang's legs and pull off another takedown as Bajrang surrenders and accepts his fate. It is a loss for the Indian as his opponent wins on technical superiority in the bronze medal match. Bajrang will return without a medal.

WRESTLING - Men's Freestyle Bronze Medal Match

At the end of Period 1: Bajrang (IND) 0 - 4 Kaiki Yamaguchi (JPN)

Kaiki pushes Bajrang out of bounds and takes the early lead in the contest. He gets a hold on his thigh and pushes the Indian out of the playing area. Another hold on the leg and this time, he pins down Bajrang and executes a takedown. The Japanese is looking in complete control here and Bajrang will need a dramatic turnaround to win this.

CHESS

Here are the results from today's Chess matches, with just one round left in the competition.

Men's Team:
India beat Republic of Korea (3.5 - 0.5)
Gukesh D beat J Lee (1.0 - 0.0)
Praggnanandhaa RB beat SH Kwon (1.0 - 0.0)
Arjun Eirgaisi beat IJ Gu (1.0 - 0.0)
HK Pentala tied with H Ahn (0.5 - 0.5)

Iran continues to be placed first in the Men's Team event while India retain their second position.

Women's Team:
India beat Hong Kong (4.0 - 0.0)
Harika Dronavalli beat E Feng (1.0 - 0.0)
Vaishali RB beat TY Liu (1.0 - 0.0)
Vantika Agrawal beat JC Li (1.0 - 0.0)
SS Baskar beat L Liang (1.0 - 0.0)

China continue to be placed first in the Women's Team event while India retain their second position.

BRIDGE

MEDAL ALERT! It is a SILVER MEDAL for India in Bridge as they lose to Hong Kong in the final.

Here are the scores from the six sessions that unfolded in the final:
Session 1: India 32 - 55 Hong Kong
Session 2: India 29 - 46 Hong Kong
Session 3: India 30 - 28 Hong Kong
Session 4: India 32 - 42 Hong Kong
Session 5: India 17 - 38 Hong Kong
Session 6: India 12 - 17 Hong Kong

WRESTLING - Men's Freestyle Bronze Medal Match

We are down to our final medal match today for India in wrestling as Bajrang takes on Japan's Kaiki Yamaguchi. Can Bajrang win a fourth bronze for India in wrestling today?

HOCKEY

India 2 - 0 Japan

With the third quarter in progress, India are leading against Japan in the Final! This is turning out to be a sensational performance from the Indians and they look all set to lay their hands on the gold medal!

For the detailed coverage from the hockey final, click here.

WRESTLING - Men's Freestyle Bronze Medal Match

Aman (IND) 11 - 0 Minghu Liu (CHN)
Win by Technical Superiority

Starts off by pushing his opponent out of bounds and the Chinese has gotten a caution as well, which hands Aman another point.

Another comfortable takedown for Aman and he's absolutely shocked the Chinese, who was definitely not prepared for Aman's prowess in this match. Pushes his opponent out of bounds while pinning him down and that will be it! A WIN BY TECHNICAL SUPERIORITY! AMAN WINS BRONZE! The 20-year old had added another medal to India's tally and will definitely be one of India's brightest prospects in the coming future!

WRESTLING - Men's Freestyle Bronze Medal Match

After Period 1: Aman (IND) 5 - 0 Minghu Liu (CHN)

Aman was quick to get off the mark in fashion, executing a takedown first up. Liu is completely flabbergasted as Aman scores his second takedown.

Passivity warning given to the Chinese wrestler, who fails to get a point on a defensive Aman and the Indian gets a point! Terrific defense by Aman after being aggressive initially.

WRESTLING - Men's Freestyle Bronze Medal Match

Coming up next:

Aman is in action in the Men's Freestyle 58Kg Bronze Medal match. Both previous wrestlers today have won the Bronze. Can Aman make it three-in-three? He will be facing China's Minghu Liu.

WRESTLING - Women's Freestyle Bronze Medal Match

Kiran (IND) 6 - 3 Ariunjargal Ganbat (MGL)

Kiran had gone back to the defense and loses some points in the process. The Mongolian makes a quick reversal out of a difficult position as she executes a takedown on the Indian to earn two points.

But Kiran is quick to return the favour with a takedown of her own. She also gets the Mongolian out of bounds, taking her lead up to four points.

A yellow card is awarded to Kiran and a point is awarded to Ganbat. Kiran manages to defend and run down the clock! KIRAN WINS! SHE WINS BRONZE!

WRESTLING - Women's Freestyle Bronze Medal Match

At the end of Period 1: Kiran (IND) 3 - 0 Ariunjargal Ganbat (MGL)

Kiran gets off the mark as she pushes her opponent out of bounds. The pair are locked in battle and just about escape getting a warning for passivity. Ganbat escapes from a thigh hold but is still pinned down by Kiran. Gives the Indian two additional points and she is currently leading going into the second period.

WRESTLING - Women's Freestyle Bronze Medal Match

Kiran is in action! Although her opponent, Mongolia's Ariunjargal Ganbat starts off as the favourite, the Indian will want to show her mettle here.

KABADDI

Well, we saw a surprise in the Women's Kabaddi semifinal, with Chinese Taipei beating Iran but the same does not happen in the Men's Semifinals as Iran beat Chinese Taipei 47-24. Right, so while Indian women will face Chinese Taipei in the final, the men, along much expected lines, will be locking horns with Iran tomorrow.

HOCKEY

India will be locking horns with Japan in the final of the Men's Hockey event at Asian Games 2023! Thematic is all set to begin at 4:00 PM IST. For a preview to how both teams are shaping up ahead of the contest, click here.

WRESTLING - Women's Freestyle Bronze Medal Match

There's four bouts to go before Kiran will be in action. However, after Kiran, it won't be long before Aman and Bajrang play their respective Bronze medal matches.

WRESTLING - Women's Freestyle Bronze Medal Match

Coming up:

Kiran will be taking on Mongolia's Ariunjargal Ganbat. Stay tuned for updates from the match, which is starting soon!

WRESTLING - Women's Freestyle Bronze Medal Match

Sonam (IND) 6 - 5 Jia Long (CHN)

Long pins down Sonam and added a couple of points at the beginning of the period itself. The pressure was on Sonam and she responded by getting a double thigh hold. She carries her opponent out but cannot pin her down. One more point added but the Chinese immediately executed a takedown to level the score. A winded Sonam got up and made sure a takedown took her in the lead. She got pushed out of the court but defended against the takedown to ensure that she wins by a solitary point! TAKE A BOW, SONAM! SHE WINS BRONZE!

WRESTLING - Women's Freestyle Bronze Medal Match

At the end of Period 1: Sonam (IND) 3 - 0 Jia Long (CHN)

Sonam gets the first points by pushing Jia out of bounds. She executes a takedown too, allowing her to take another couple of points. She leads going into the second three-minute period. Can she finish with the Bronze here?

BRIDGE - Men's Team Final

Well, the Gold medal seems to be going further and further away from the Indian Men's Team as they play against Hong Kong in the final. Here's a summary of their results from the first 5 sessions, with the sixth and final one in progress currently:

Session 1: India 32 - 55 Hong Kong
Session 2: India 29 - 46 Hong Kong
Session 3: India 30 - 28 Hong Kong
Session 4: India 32 - 42 Hong Kong
Session 5: India 17 - 38 Hong Kong

ASIAN GAMES 2023 Day 13: What's coming up?

Here's what's still in store on Day 13 of Asian Games:

2:30 PM onwards: Wrestling Bronze Medal Matches

4:00 PM: Men's Hockey Final - India vs Japan

5:00 PM (approx.): Badminton Men's Doubles Semifinals ft. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty

ARCHERY - Men's Recurve Team Final

South Korea 5 - 1 India

Set 1: 60-55
Set 2: 57-57
Set 3: 56-55

Korea are champions! They needed a perfect 10 on the last shot to finish it off and win it, and their archers deliver! An 8 in the third arrow from Korea kept India interested but courtesy of a 7 in the second arrow, India's score was not large enough to defend as well. In the end, it is the Koreans who take an unassailable 5-1 lead in the match and are crowned as champions! The trio of Atanu Das, Dhiraj Bommadevara and Tushar Shelke will settle for silver!

ARCHERY - Men's Recurve Team Final

South Korea 3 - 1 India

Set 1: 60-55
Set 2: 57-57

A much better showing from the Indians as four 10s and an 8 & 9 take them to 57 points. For Korea, this time, there were three 10s and three 9s. It was all tied up and the countries split the points.

ARCHERY - Men's Recurve Team Final

South Korea 2 - 0 India

Set 1: 60-55

India have not got off on the front foot in the final. Korea with the early lead. All six of Korea's shots fetched them 10 points! Whew! That is impossible to better. All India could do was attempt to tie it but they failed to do it.

KABADDI (MEN)

Full-Time!
India 61 - 14 Pakistan

India picked up where they left off after half-time, adding 31 points to the 30 they had at half-time, although Pakistan would've been relieved to cross double digits. For a brief moment at the start, it looked like the Pakistan defense would actually pose a challenge for India, but after those couple of tackles, the Indian raiders blew them apart.

If it was Pawan and Naveen in the first half, it was Aslam Inamdar, Sachin Tanwar, and Akash Shinde in the second as India registered six all-outs in the match! Vishal Bhardwaj was the star in defense, coolly executing ankle holds from that left corner position.

India showcased their A-Game in this semi-final, and they look on course to win Gold! Iran and Chinese Taipei will be in action shortly, and it'll be interesting to see if the Chinese Taipei men's team can upset Iran like their women did.

Plenty of Kabaddi action tomorrow, with the Women's Final taking place at 07:00 AM IST and the Men's Final scheduled at 12:30 PM IST. Will India win gold in both events? We're a sleep away from finding out.

SOFT TENNIS

Here's where the Indians are placed post the competition of group stages of Soft Tennis:

Men's Singles:

Group A:
Jay Meena finishes first in Group A after winning both his matches today. He will proceed to the next round, which will be played tomorrow.

Group F:
Aniket Patel has won one and lost one contest. He might not be participating any further in this tournament.

Women's Singles:

Group B:
Aadhya Tiwari finishes third and last as she loses both her matches. She won't qualify for the further rounds.

Group F:
Raga Sri KM finishes first, winning both her matches. She will qualify for the next round, which is likely to be the quarterfinal.

KABADDI (MEN)

2nd Half, 40'
India 61 - 14 Pakistan

Looks like India have decided to take their foot of the throttle toward the end of this match as both teams are content to put in empty raids. Aslam Inamdar has a Do-or-Die raid right at the end, but he chooses not to risk anything and concedes the point as the buzzer goes for full-time. India absolutely decimate Pakistan to make the Finals of the 2023 Asian Games where they'll face either Iran or the Chinese Taipei.

KABADDI (MEN)

2nd Half, 37'
India 60 - 12 Pakistan

India slowing the game down and not taking any risks as the game reaches its end. A Do-or-Die raid for Akash Shinde, who promptly delivers, escaping from an attempted advanced tackle.

SEPAKTAKRAW Women's Regu SF

THA def. IND 21-10, 21-13

A historic BRONZE for India!

The Indian side — Priya Devi Elangbam, Bi Devi Elangbam, Khushboo, Chaoba Devi Oinam and Maipak Devi Ayekpam —go down fighting against Thailand in the semifinal, but bag the just the second Bronze medal by India has ever picked up in the sport!

Sepak takraw (or kick the "rattan" ball) is a dynamic sport with very little history in India, but this team has bagged in what we can hope to be a trail-blazing medal and give way for more recognition to the sport back home in India!

SEPAKTAKRAW Women's Regu SF

IND 13-19 THA (Match score: 0-1)

It's Primprapha back to doing what she does best, bagging service winners as Thailand get close to the win.