On day nine of Asian Games, India’s athletes once again rose to the occasion, led by a fantastic performance by star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra. He broke the national record and bettered his personal record with a throw of 88.06m, winning India’s second gold in athletics. The second-placed Qizhen Liu of China threw the javelin 82.22m. Pakistan’s Nadeem Arshad finished third with a throw of 80.75m.
The silvers kept coming, too. In men’s 400m hurdles, India’s Dharun Ayyasamy won silver with a personal best of 48.96s, while Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba won gold with a timing of 47.66s. India’s Santosh Kumar Tamilarasan finished fifth after completing the race in 49.66s.
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In the women’s 3000m steeplechase, India’s Sudha Singh claimed silver with a timing of 9:40.03, while the other Indian in the race, Chinta, finished 11th with a timing of 10:26.21. The gold winner, Winfred Yavi of Bahrain, finished with a timing of 9:36.52.
In women’s long jump, Neena Varakil finished second on the podium with a jump of 6.51m. The winner, Vietnam’s Thi Thu Thao Bui, jumped a season best of 6.55m. The other Indian, Nayana James, finished 10th with a jump of 6.14m.
In women’s 400m hurdles, India’s Annu Raghavan finished fourth with a timing of 56.92s. The gold-medallist, Bahrain’s Oluwakemi Adekoya, completed the race in 54.48s, an Asian Games record. India’s Jauna Murmu finished fifth with a timing of 57.48s.
After the early disappointments on the badminton court, star female shuttlers gave the county a reason to rejoice. Though world number 10 Saina Nehwal was felled at the hands of the top-ranked Tai Tzuying of Chinese Taipei 21-17, 21-14, she won bronze for her efforts. This makes her the first Indian shuttler to win an individual medal at the Asian Games after Syed Modi won bronze at the 1982 edition in Delhi. Saina’s teammate P.V. Sindhu did one better, entering the final of the women’s singles. She defeated her Japanese rival Akane Yamaguchi 21-17, 15-21, 21-10 to set up a clash with Tzuying. They both have met 12 times previously, with Sindhu having won only three times. They last met at the Malaysia Open, where Sindhu lost. Her last win against Tzuying was at the Rio Olympics, where Sindhu won silver.
In hockey, the women’s team registered another comfortable win, beating Thailand 5-0. Rani Rampal scored a hat-trick.
In squash, the men’s team defeated Indonesia 3-0 in a pool B match. They then beat Singapore 3-0 in another pool B match. The women’s team beat Iran 3-0 in their pool B match.
In table tennis, the men’s team overcame Macau 3-0 and Vietnam 3-0 in group D matches. The women’s team lost 3-1 against Hong Kong in the quarterfinals.
In boxing, Vikas Krishan defeated Pakistan’s Tanveer Ahmed 5-0 in the men’s 75kg round of 16. Amit Panghal beat Mongolia’s Enkhmandakh Kharkhuu 5-0 in the men’s 49kg round of 16. In the men’s 56kg round of 16, India’s Hussamuddin Mohammed lost to Mongolia’s Enkh-Amar Kharkhuu 3-2. In men’s 64kg round of 16, India’s Dheeraj defeated Kyrgyzstan’s Nurlan Kobashev 3-0.