Asmita Dey misses out on women's 48 Kg bronze at Asian Games
Judoka Asmita Dey falls short in the women's 48kg bronze bout at the Asian Games, while Sumit Nagal advances to the tennis quarterfinals.
In a heartbreaking turn of events at the ongoing Asian Games, Indian judoka Asmita Dey missed out on a podium finish after losing the women's 48kg bronze medal bout. The Commonwealth Games medalist was unable to secure the medal on Wednesday, falling to Malaysia's Narantsetseg Ganbaatar.
Dey's journey through the mats
Asmita Dey's path to the medal round was marked by both brilliance and narrow defeats. Her journey began with a dominant performance in the Round of 16, where she defeated Vietnam's Ha Ngoc Chi with a decisive ippon to advance to the quarterfinals.
However, her momentum was halted in the quarterfinal stage. She faced off against the formidable three-time world championships medalist, Abiba Abuzhakynova of Kazakhstan, and lost by ippon. Following the defeat, Dey fought her way back through the repechage round, defeating Hong Kong's Wong Ka Lee by Yuko to earn a second chance at a medal.
Ultimately, the opportunity slipped away in the bronze medal clash. Narantsetseg Ganbaatar secured the victory over Dey with a waza-ari, leaving the Indian judoka just shy of the podium.
Tennis update: Sumit Nagal reaches quarterfinals
While the judo mats brought disappointment, the tennis court provided a significant boost for India. Indian star Sumit Nagal has officially booked his place in the men's singles quarterfinals. Nagal, who holds a career-high ATP ranking of world number 68, delivered a commanding performance to outclass Uzbekistan's Sergey Fomin with a score of 6-3, 6-2.
Nagal now faces a daunting challenge in the quarterfinals against China's Wu Yibing, a silver medalist from the 2018 Asian Games.
In other tennis action, the men's doubles duo of Anirudh Chandrasekar and Olympian N Sriram Balaji suffered a narrow exit. In a high-intensity battle, they were defeated by China's Jiang Fumin and Tianhui Zhang with a score of 6-7 (4), 7-6 (9), 10-8. Meanwhile, Dhakshineswar Suresh was defeated by Chinese Taipei's Tseng Chun-hsin.
India's dominant run on Day 11
Despite the individual setback in judo, it has been a sensational day for the Indian contingent on the 11th day of the continental showpiece. India has continued its winning streak with significant achievements across multiple disciplines:
- Archery: India secured three gold medals in the men's team, women's team, and mixed team compound events. Notably, the women's trio of Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Prithika Pradeep, and Chikitha Taniparthi set a new world record.
- Shooting: A historic gold was achieved in the mixed team trap event by Neeru Dhanda and Kynan Chenai, marking India's first gold in this specific category.
- Boxing: India added to its medal tally with bronze medals earned by Priya Ghangas and Kapil Pokharya.