Asian Games Live: Satnam-Salman eye rowing medal, Roshibina in wushu final
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of India's campaign at the Asian Games for Thursday, September 24.
The Indian duo currently are in the third spot at the halfway mark and are defending hard to ensure they bring home a medal here.
There is no time to be disappointed with Balraj Panwar's agonising medal loss as Satnam Singh and Salman Khan will be action in the medal event for Men's Doubles Sculls. It will be a packed field here, but the Indian rowers will back themselves for a medal.
It’s a heartbreaking start to India’s medal hunt as Balraj Panwar narrowly misses out on a podium finish in the men’s single sculls.
Balraj looked firmly in the medal positions for most of the race, holding second place at the 500m, 1000m and 1500m checkpoints. However, the Indian rower could not maintain his advantage in the closing stages.
Uzbekistan’s Shakhboz Kholmurzaev and Japan’s Tatsuya Sakurama both surged past Balraj during the final 500m. The Indian had entered the final stretch with a five-second cushion over Sakurama, but eventually crossed the line eight seconds behind the Japanese rower.
Balraj clocked 6:54.80, finishing 15.82 seconds behind China’s Zhiwei Deng, who claimed the gold medal.
India’s push for medals at the Asian Games continues on Thursday, September 24, with another packed day of action across rowing, wushu, shooting, canoe sprint, swimming and athletics. Several Indian athletes will be in medal contention from the early hours, setting up a busy day for the contingent.
The first major medal opportunity comes in rowing, where Balraj Panwar will take part in the men’s single sculls Final A at 5:10 AM IST. Satnam Singh and Salman Khan will also be in action in the men’s double sculls Final A, while India will feature in the women’s four, men’s lightweight double sculls and men’s quadruple sculls medal races.
Wushu will then take centre stage, with Roshibina Devi fighting for gold in the women’s Sanda 60kg final. She faces China’s Zhang Xiaoyu in the title bout at 6:10 AM IST.
There will be plenty to follow in shooting as well. Anantjeet Singh Naruka and Parinaaz Dhaliwal will compete in the mixed team skeet final, while Kedarling B. Uchaganve, Aakash Bharadwaj and Kamaljeet could feature in the men’s 10m air pistol final, depending on their qualification.
Athletics will add another layer to India’s medal campaign. Asha Ilango and Niharika Vashisht will line up in the women’s triple jump final, while Seema will compete in the women’s 10,000m final. The men’s 100m campaign will also get underway, with Animesh Kujur and Gurindervir Singh set to begin their quest.
Away from the individual medal events, India’s team sports will also be in action. The men’s kabaddi team will take on Chinese Taipei, while the women’s side faces Japan. In hockey, the Indian men will meet South Korea.
