Asian Games: Nitesh's historic silver headlines India's six-medal haul on Day 12
Tridib Baparnash
New Delhi, Oct 1 (UNI) Nitesh Siwach became the first Indian Greco-Roman wrestler in 64 years to win an Asian Games silver as India collected six medals on a packed Day 12 in Aichi-Nagoya on Thursday.
The 23-year-old reached the men's 97kg final before losing 0-4 to Japan's Yuri Nakazato, ending India's wait for a Greco-Roman wrestling finalist since the 1962 edition. India's medal haul also included silver for sailors Manu Francis and Prince Kurisinkal Noble in the men's skiff, bronze for the women's skiff pair Harshita Tomar and Shital Verma, and bronze medals for the men's and women's squash teams. Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru added a bronze in the men's individual compound archery event.
The six medals took India's tally to 66 (10 gold, 23 silver and 33 bronze) as the country remained eighth in the standings. China continued to lead with 289 medals, including 155 gold, followed by Japan with 218 and South Korea with 113. Nitesh scripts wrestling history Nitesh's historic run ended with a silver after Nakazato produced a controlled performance in the 97kg final at the Nagoya City Inae Sports Center. The Japanese wrestler opened the scoring by pushing Nitesh out of the mat.
Nitesh attempted a two-on-one grip but could not breach Nakazato's defence and was later put into the ground position for passivity. The Indian defended well and denied his opponent a clear opportunity to score with a gut wrench. Nakazato led 2-0 at the end of the first period and continued to keep Nitesh under pressure. He eventually disbalanced the Indian with a push and converted it into a takedown to extend his advantage.
Nitesh was forced to attack in the final minute but could not find a way past Nakazato, who held on for the gold. Earlier, Mansi Ahlawat missed out on a medal in the women's 62kg category after losing 2-5 to Mongolia's Altjin Togtokh in the bronze-medal bout. Sailing adds two medals Kerala sailors Manu Francis and Prince Kurisinkal Noble secured India's first Asian Games silver in the men's skiff, finishing the nine-race competition with 23 net points. China's Liu Tian and Wen Zaiding won gold with 16, while Hong Kong took bronze with 24.
The Indian pair won Race 3 and finished second in Races 1, 5 and 9. Their sixth-place finish in Race 8 was discarded under the low-point scoring system. India also won bronze in the women's skiff after Harshita Tomar and Shital Verma were upgraded from fourth following a successful protest. The Indian pair finished with 24 net points, behind gold medallists Japan and silver winners Hong Kong. Ganesh adds another archery medal Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru beat Vietnam's Dang Cong Duc 149-144 in the men's compound individual bronze-medal contest.
The Indian produced a perfect finish with three successive 10s to pull clear and secure his second medal of the Games. India ended the compound archery competition with three gold medals from the team events and Ganesh's individual bronze. Hockey teams reach finals Defending champions India survived a dramatic Pakistan fightback to win their men's hockey semifinal 4-3 and book a place in the gold-medal match. Skipper Harmanpreet Singh scored twice and Sukhjeet Singh was also on target before Pakistan erased a three-goal deficit.
Abhishek then scored the winner in the dying minute to send India through. The result means India's men's and women's teams will both contest the hockey finals at the same Asian Games for the first time since 1998. Sepak takraw assure medal India's men's quadrant team completed an unbeaten group-stage campaign with a 2-1 comeback win over Myanmar. After losing the opening game 10-15, India responded with 15-13 and 15-7 wins to top Group A and enter the semifinals, assuring themselves of a medal.
They had earlier beaten the Lao People's Democratic Republic and Vietnam. Squash teams settle for bronze India's men's team picked bronze after losing 1-2 to Malaysia in the semifinal. Abhay Singh lost 8-11, 8-11, 8-11 to Ng Eain Yow before Veer Chotrani beat Sanjay Jeeva 11-4, 11-8, 11-5 to level the tie. Velavan Senthilkumar then lost 12-10, 6-11, 8-11, 9-11 to Ameeshenraj Chandaran in the deciding match.
The women's team also took bronze after their semifinal defeat. Cricket and other results India marched into the men's cricket final with a commanding 124-run win over Sri Lanka, setting up a gold-medal clash against Pakistan. In golf, Saptak Talwar was tied seventh at six-under 134 after two rounds of the men's individual stroke play. Veer Ahlawat was tied 16th at one-under 139, while Yuvraj Sandhu was tied 22nd at even-par 140. In shooting, Anish Bhanwala finished seventh in the men's 25m rapid-fire pistol final after being eliminated on countback on 11 points. Judo's India campaign also ended on Thursday, with Inunganbi Takhellambam losing her women's -70kg bronze-medal bout to Mongolia's Anujin Ulzii-Uran.
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