India won its first medal of the day in the women’s 10m air rifle event with the trio Ramita, Mehuli Ghosh, and Ashi Chouksey taking home a silver medal each. Arjun Lal Jat and Arvind, both army men, won silver in men’s lightweight double sculls shortly after the first medal. Rowing brought India more medals, with the men’s eight team taking silver and Babu Lal Yadav and Lekh Ram taking bronze in the men’s pair.
Ramita of India won bronze in the women’s 10m air rifle final, bringing her total to five. In addition, the Indian women’s cricket team secured a silver medal after defeating Bangladesh by eight wickets in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, the Indian men’s hockey team defeated Uzbekistan 16-0 in their first game. The Indian men’s football squad, led by Sunil Chhetri, advanced to the Round of 16 after a 1-1 tie with Myanmar. The women, on the other hand, bowed out.
On her Asian Games debut, two-time world champion boxer Nikhat Zareen defeated two-time Asian champion Nguyen Thi Tam of Vietnam in the women’s 50kg event. Preeti Pawar advanced to the women’s 54kg quarter-finals with an RSC victory against Jordan’s Silina Alhasanat.
After losing in the quarter-finals and pre-quarterfinals, the Indian men’s and women’s table tennis teams will return without a medal. Men’s volleyball medal dreams were again dashed after losing to Japan, the eight-time Asian Games champion. Sumit Nagal put up a dominant performance in his tennis debut. These were some of the remarkable feats achieved by Indian athletes on day one of the Asian Games 2023.
Image source: Olympics.com