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The 2018 Asian Games are finally here. The multi-sport event comes to us from the Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Palembang. A strong Indian contingent of over five hundred and fifty sportspersons is currently in the host cities, participating in over forty sports.
After an average Day One, India were hoping for better results on Day Two. However, the second day of the pan-Asian games once again brought mixed results. Indian sportspersons were in action in fifteen sports throughout the day and finished with a few medals.
Badminton was the big disappointment of the day as both the Men's and the Women's team crashed out in the Quarterfinal.
The Women's team were off to a flyer when PV Sindhu got the better of her opponent Akane Yamaguchi. The Japanese shuttler is currently ranked one place higher than the Indian but was on the losing end of Match one. However, it was all downhill from there as India lost the next three matches, eventually losing the tie, 3-1.
The doubles teams of Sikki Reddy and Arathi Sunil, as well as, Ashwini Ponnappa and PV Sindhu lost to their Japanese counterparts with ease. Saina Nehwal put up a brilliant fight against Nozomi Okuhara in the second singles match but eventually went down in three games.
The Men's team didn't fare better. They lost to Indonesia by the same scoreline as there female teammates.
Kidambi Srikanth and Anthony Ginting opened with a brilliant match. The Indonesian edged that one in the end. HS Prannoy took to the court for the second doubles match and won. However, two more defeats in Men's Double meant India was on the losing side of this one as well.
Basketball and Handball haven't been India's best sports so far. However, there was a win in Handball as Indian Men's team beat Malaysia 45-19. In Basketball, however, the Women's team were thrashed by Korea who ran out winners by a fifty point margin (104-54).
Rowing was a surprise package on Day One of the Asian Games. It continued to be the same on Day Two as well.
Dushyant qualified for the finals of the Men's Lightweight Single Sculls early on, as did the Indian Men's Quadruple Sculls team. Men's Lightweight Doubles team, Men's Lightweight Eight, and Women's Four all went to the Repechage round.
There were mixed results in Sepak Takraw, as well. The Indian Men's team won one and lost one of their Group matches. Their win came against Iran, who they beat 2-1. However, the lost to hosts Indonesia later on in the day by a score of 3-0. The Indian Women's team also lost on the day, to Laos, by a scoreline of 1-2.
Swimming brought more finals and broken records, but no medals. Srihari Nataraj, who had broken the National Record for Men's Backstroke yesterday did the same for Men's 50m Backstroke today. However, even that couldn't help him qualify for the final.
Neel Roy was taking part in the 200m Individual Medley event but was unable to progress. Advait Page suffered from the same fate in the Men's 800m Freestyle heats.
The Indian Men's 4x200 team did qualify for the final but were completely outclassed. They finished eighth but were bumped up to seventh after Hong Kong were disqualified.
Men's Volleyball team saw progress as well, as they beat Hong Kong in three straight sets to book their place in the next round. Elsewhere, Latika Bhandari was beaten by a score of 22-24 in the Taekwondo Women's 53 Kg Round of 16.
Staying in the realm of Martial Arts, there was plenty of Indian representation in Wushu. Santosh Kumar and Bhanu Pratap Surya Singh won in the Men's Sanda event in their respective weight category. Narender Grewal also won his match in the 65 Kg weight category.
There was disappointment for Sanatombi Chanu, however, as she finished eighth in the final of Women's Taijijian. She finished fourteenth in Taijiquan.
Chirag Sharma meanwhile, finished eighth and fifth in the Men's Daoshu and Gushu, respectively. There was somewhat progress in the Nangun event, however, as Sajan Lama finished second.
Tennis yielded results for India as well, as all four of the Singles player- Ankita Raina, Karman Kaur Thandi, Prajnesh Gunneswaran, and Ramanathan Ramkumar- made it through to the next round.
There was also progress in the doubles category. Both the pairs of Men's Doubles made it to the Round of 16. Indian Tennis contingent's hundred per cent record was broken, however, by the Women's doubles pairing of Bhosale and Yadlapalli as they lost their match. Raina and Thombare progressed, in the meantime.
Eight events made up the Shooting schedule for the day. There were qualifiers and a final in the following events- Men's Trap, Women's Trap, Men's 10m Air Rifle, Women's 10m Air Rifle.
There was some success for India in Shooting, as Lakshay won the Silver medal. Compatriot Manavjit Singh Sandhu was also present in the final but finished fourth. Seema Tomar made it through to the final of Women's Trap but finished sixth.
Moving on to the 10m Air Rifle. Deepak Kumar won the Silver medal in the event, while Ram Kumar finished fourth. Apurvi Chandela finished fifth in Women's 10m AR event, while Elavenil Valarivan was eliminated in the qualifiers.
The big shock of the day came through Kabaddi, as the Men's team lost against South Korea (23-24) in a group stage match. This was a first defeat for the Kabaddi team at the Asian Games in twenty-eight years!
The Women's team, on the contrary, won their group match easily. They defeated Thailand by the score, 33-23.
The Hockey Men's team came up against hosts Indonesia. They were favourites going into the match but few would have expected what happened next. When the dust settled, the scoreline read 17-0 (Yes, 17!) in India's favour.
The Indian Artistic Gymnastics Men's team suffered heartbreak, as they finished one place below the qualifying mark.
We end with another sport which saw an Indian win a medal. While Sakshi Malik, Sumit, and Pooja Dhanda all lost their Bronze medal bouts, Vinesh Phogat won the Gold. In doing so, she became the first Indian woman ever to win an Asiad wrestling gold.
This was all that transpired on an action-packed Day Two of the Asian Games. The games will be back tomorrow for what promises to be an exciting Day Three.
