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It was a memorable day for Indian athletes at Asian Games 2023 on Sunday, October 1. India crossed the 50-medal mark, with 15 medals being won on the eighth day of the competition in Hangzhou.
Three out of the 15 medals were golds. Avinash Sable won a gold medal in the Men's 3000m Steeplechase, while Tajinderpal Singh Toor clinched a gold in the Men's Shotput event. Team India won a gold in the Men's Trap Team shooting to take the nation's gold medal tally at the Asian Games 2023 to 13.
Apart from the three gold medals, India also won eight silver medals and four bronze on Day 8 of the Asian Games 2023 event. Aditi Ashok finished second in women's golf, while India's teams finished second in the men's badminton and women's trap event of shooting.
Now that the eighth day of the Asian Games 2023 is in the history books, here's a look at the three major talking points from the competition.
#1 India's 3 gold medal wins on Day 8 of Asian Games 2023
The biggest talking point of the day were the triple gold medal wins for India on the eighth day of the mega event.
Tajinderpal Singh Toor topped the leaderboard with a throw of 20.36 metres. He successfully defended his crown at the Asian Games.
Avinash Sable completed the 3000m steeplechase race in 8:19.50. Sable made history as he became the first Indian man to win the 3000m steeplechase event. He did so with authority, creating a new Games Record in the process.
The third gold medal was won by India's shooting team in the Men's Trap event. Kynan Chenai, Zoravar Singh Sandhu, and Prithviraj Tondaiman combined to shoot 361 and clinch a gold medal. Chenai also won a bronze medal in the individual event.
#2 A controversy in women's 100m hurdles at Asian Games 2023
A massive controversy erupted in the women's 100m hurdles race, where India's Jyothi Yarraji was disqualified along with China's Yanni Wu for a false start. However, both runners were allowed to run but their status was to be reviewed following the race.
It was clear, however, that Wu, the Chinese runner in the lane next to Yarraji, had made the first false start. Though the Indian runner also went before the shot, she took off after her neighbor had bolted.
While Yanni Wu's disqualification was beyond doubt, things became complicated when Yarraji learnt that she is going to be disqualified too. She protested vehemently that it was Wu's false start that prompted her to go off the blocks, a fact borne out by replays.
After a great deal of discussion among the officials and the two runners, it was decided to let both the runners take part but keep their participation under review.
Yarraji finished third, but China's Yanni Wu, who finished second behind her compatriot, the winner Yuwei Lin, was later disqualified. Eventually, Yarraji was upgraded to the second position, and she added a silver medal to India's tally at Asian Games 2023.
#3 Nikhat Zareen and men's badminton team lose after taking the lead at Asian Games 2023
Nikhat Zareen was expected to win a gold medal for India in the women's boxing event at the Asian Games. However, she suffered a shock defeat in the women's 50kg category semifinals at the hands of Thailand's Raksat C.
The Thai boxing star won the match by 3-2. Nikhat won a bronze medal as she lost the semifinals.
The boxer from Hyderabad started on a strong note, taking the first round in a split decision. However, her opponent fought back to take the second round and clinched the match by winning the third too.
Another important event where India lost by 2-3 was the men's badminton team event final. India went down against hosts China in the summit clash.
Lakshya Sen won the first match against Shi Yuqi. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty extended India's lead to 2-0 by defeating Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang in straight games.
Kidambi Srikanth, doubles pair of Sai Pratheek & Dhruv Kapila, and Mithun Manjunath lost their matches in as India suffered a heartbreaking defeat.
