Jinson Johnson and the women’s 4X400 metre relay team won gold in their respective events at the 18th Asian Games here on Thursday as Indian athletes recorded their best tally at the continental extravaganza since the inaugural edition in 1951.

The men’s 4X400 metre team added to the cheer in the Indian camp by clinching the silver.

India now have a tally of 7 gold, 10 silver and 2 bronze medals from athletics at this year’s Asiad.

India’s best ever performance in Asian Games athletics came at the inaugural edition in 1951 when they hosted the event in New Delhi. That year, Indian athletes had clinched 10 gold, 12 silver and 12 bronze.

Indian athletes had won seven gold medals at the 2002 edition as well, but had only managed a total of 17 medals, two less than this year.

Johnson clocked 3 minutes and 44.72 seconds to take the yellow medal in the men’s 1,500 metre event. Iran’s Amir Moradi took the silver with his season-best timing of 3:45.62, while Bahrain’s Mohammed Tiouali settled for the bronze with a time of 3:45.88.

Manjit Singh the other Indian in the fray, came fourth with 3:46.57.

Johnson was among the front runners right from the start while Tiouali took the early lead. However, Johnson powered away towards the end and the Bahrain athlete was not able to match the Indian’s explosive speed.

Manjit ran a more tactical race. He had positioned himself near the back of the group and tried to produce his trademark explosive burst going into the final lap. But with the runners closely bunched together in the rear and middle of the group, he found it difficult to create space which ultimately cost him a medal.

In the women’s 4X400m event, the Indian quartet of Hima Das, Raju Poovamma, Saritaben Laxmanbhai Gayakwad and Vismaya Koroth registered a time of 3:28.72 to finish at the top of the podium.

Bahrain got silver with 3:30.61 while the quartet from Vietnam clocked their season’s best time of 3:33.23 to bag the bronze medal.

The Indians were off to a great start as Hima gave them the early lead. The Assam teenager was a bit slow off the blocks, but produced a superb finishing kick going into the final bend to leave the other runners behind. The other Indian runners built on the lead and claimed what turned out be a comfortable victory in the end.

In the men’s 4X400m relay, the Indian quartet of Muhammed Kunhu, Dharun Ayyasamy, Muhammed Anas and Rajiv Arokia clocked a time of 3:1.85 to finish second.

Qatar created a new Asian record of 3:00.56 to win the gold while Japan finished the race in 3:01.94 and bagged the bronze medal.

Boasting an all African line-up, Qatar dominated the race from start to finish. The Indians were at the fourth position during the initial stages but recovered in superb fashion to take the second spot going into the final lap.

In women’s discus, Seema Punia had to settle for the bronze medal. Seema registered a throw of 62.26 metres to ensure a place on the podium.

China clinched the top two positions with Chen Yang (65.12m) and Feng Bin (64.25m) getting gold and silver, respectively.

Chitra Unnikrishnan Palakeezh bagged bronze in the women’s 1500 metre competition. The 23-year-old clocked 4:12.56 to finish the race at third place, while Bahrain secured the top two places as Kalkidan Befkadu and Tigist Belay clinched gold and silver respectively.

In the morning session, India’s Sandeep Kumar was disqualified during the men’s 50 kilometre race walk.

Sandeep received three official warnings during the race which led to his disqualification.

Hayato Katsuki of Japan won gold with a time of four hours, three minutes and 30 seconds. Wang Qin of China took silver with a time of 4:06:48 while South Korea’s Joo Hyunmyeong clocked 4:10:21 to bag the bronze medal.

Katsuki was trailing during the initial stages of the race before taking the lead at the 45km mark which he held till the end.

India won gold in the women’s 4X400 metre event at the 18th Asian Games here on Thursday.

The Indian quartet of Hima Das, Raju Poovamma, Saritaben Laxmanbhai Gayakwad and Vismaya Koroth registered a time of 3 minutes and 28.72 seconds to finish at the top of the podium.

Bahrain got silver with 3:30.61 while the quartet from Vietnam clocked their season’s best time of 3:33.23 to bag the bronze medal.

India dominated the opening day of the fourth Test match as the visitors first bowled out England just a few overs before stumps and then scored 19/0 at the Rose Bowl Cricket Ground here on Thursday.

With India trailing by 227 runs, openers Lokesh Rahul (11) and Shikhar Dhawan (3) remained unbeaten.

The day started with Indian pacers wrecking England’s top order, taking four quick wickets to reduce the hosts to 57/4 at lunch.

Jasprit Bumrah (2/21), Ishant Sharma (1/7) and Hardik Pandya (1/16) were among the wickets even as Mohammed Shami, coming in as the second change bowler, constantly kept asking questions to the vulnerable English pair.

Electing to bat on a track with a tinge of live grass, England’s opening woes continued to haunt them as Keaton Jennings was trapped plumb in front by an excellent incoming delivery from Bumrah, for a duck in the third over of the innings.

One over later, Bumrah almost sent packing English skipper Joe Root (4) when he was on two, before the Decision Review System (DRS) came to the latter’s rescue. Root was trapped plumb in front but television replays showed the bowler had overstepped.

The England captain, however, failed to take advantage of the reprieve as Ishant swung it big into the England captain to trap him lbw.

Reduced to 15/2, England’s hopes were pinned on former skipper Alastair Cook (17) and Jonny Bairstow (6), playing as a specialist batsman after injuring his finger.

But Bumrah scuttled such ambitions by scalping Bairstow, caught behind by Rishabh Pant in the 13th over before first-change bowler Hardik ended Cook’s 55-ball resistance, thanks to a brilliant low catch at the third slip by Virat Kohli.

India could have had Buttler too, but Pant missed a tough one. Together with Stokes, Buttler managed to see off the initial scare from the Indian pace attack before heading for lunch undivided.

The second session saw Indian pacers continue their domination, taking two more wickets in the second session to reduce England to 139-6.

Resuming the post-lunch session at 57/4, Stokes and Buttler played out the initial few overs cautiously before Buttler started opening up only to bring his downfall, caught by Virat Kohli off Shami.

Reduced to 86/6, the left-handed pair of Moeen and Sam steered the ship to safety, as they played the Indian pacers with extreme caution and did not allow premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to dominate.

The final session saw Moeen and Curran stabilising the hosts innings, forging a crucial 81-run partnership. After Moeen’s wicket no other batter supported Curran, and as a result the hosts were bundled out for 246 just before the end of play.

For India, Jasprit Bumrah took three wickets while Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami and Ravichandran Ashwin took two wickets each.

Brief scores: England first innings: 246 all out (Sam Curran 78; Jasprit Bumrah 3/46) against India: 19/0 (Lokesh Rahul 11) at stumps on Day 1

A confident India womens hockey team will be vying to win the gold medal after a long wait of 36 years when they take on Japan in the final at the 18th Asian Games here on Friday.

India won the gold medal in 1982, the year women’s hockey was first included in the Asian Games programme. They reached the final for the second time in 1998 when they lost 1-2 to South Korea. They bagged bronze medals in 2006 and 2014

The impressive Indian team has remained undefeated throughout the tournament, registering huge victories against Indonesia (8-0), Kazakhstan (21-0), South Korea (4-1) and Thailand (5-0) in the pool stages and securing a hard-fought 1-0 win against a resilient Chinese team in the semi-final.

India’s form in the competition has been inspired by their resolute defending in all their five matches which has seen them concede only once in 300 minutes of hockey, which was through a penalty stroke against South Korea.

Deep Grace Ekka, Deepika, Gurjit Kaur, Sunita Lakra and youngster Reena Khokhar have all played a major role in defence. But chief coach Sjoerd Marijne believes that the credit for the strong defence goes to the team’s collective performance.

“We have been good in defence throughout the tournament and have been excellent with the tackling. The only goal we conceded was against a strong team like South Korea, and that gives me and the girls a huge confidence going into the final against Japan,” Marijne said.

“We have defended well as a unit with everyone executing their duties and it gives us a solid foundation in all the matches,” he added.

The World No. 9 India became the highest ranked Asian team in the world after their quarter-final finish at the recent FIH Women’s World Cup 2018, and captain Rani Rampal is determined to become the champions of the Asian Games as well.

“The final against Japan will be exciting for sure but we are determined to give everything on the pitch to win the match. The team knows that they came here to only achieve one thing, and that is qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Therefore, we will make sure that we play like the best team in Asia and work hard to achieve our goal,” Rani said.

The team’s forward-line, led by the experience of Vandana Katariya and skipper Rani, has also been in prime form throughout the tournament, scoring a total of 39 goals. This includes 38 in four Pool B matches and one in the semi-final in the five matches that they have played.

The Indian team will expect their forwards Navneet Kaur, Navjot Kaur and Lalremsiami to deliver again as they look to win only their second gold medal at the Asian Games after having won one gold, one silver and three bronze medals in their nine previous appearances.

Friday’s decider will also be India’s second gold medal match at the Asian Games, with the team having lost their 1998 final match 1-2 to South Korea, and chief coach Sjoerd Marijne is wary of the threat that the Japanese team poses but believes that his team is oozing confidence ahead of the summit clash.

“We have played Japan in the past and we know that they are a strong side. They have played well in this tournament and deserve to be in the final,” he said.

“But I believe we have the quality and confidence to beat any team in the world. Therefore, it is important that we stick to our game-plan and concentrate on producing the kind of performance which is worthy of being the Champions,” he added.

(IANS)

England decided to bat after winning the toss against India in the fourth Test here today.

For the first time in 39 Tests that he has captained, Virat Kohli has fielded an unchanged eleven that won against England at Trent Bridge.

England have included Moeen Ali and Sam Curran in the starting XI.

Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma

England: Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Joe Root (captain), Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (Wicketkeeper), Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Stuart Broad, James Anderson.

Third-seeded Argentine Juan Martin del Potro rolled through the first two sets and fought off a late challenge in the third to defeat American Denis Kudla 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4) and advance to the third round of the US Open tennis tournament.

The 2009 champion was untouchable on serve and did not face a single break point throughout the one-hour, 56-minute match here on Wednesday, EfE news reported.

He also used his normal strategy of low slice backhands and mammoth forehands from the baseline to control play against the speedy Kudla.

The 72nd-ranked American was able to keep the third set close and force a tiebreaker. He also rallied from a 6-1 deficit in the third-set tiebreaker, getting one mini-break back before missing a backhand on match point.

Next up for the “Tower of Tandil” in the third round of this Grand Slam tennis event will be Spain’s Fernando Verdasco, who edged the UK’s Andy Murray 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 on Wednesday.

Verdasco needed three hours and 23 minutes to overcome the resistance of the 2012 champion, a former world No. 1 who is trying to make a comeback after undergoing hip surgery and being off the ATP Tour for 11 months from July 2017 until June.

Both players struggled in the extremely hot conditions that have been a major factor in the first week of the tournament.

Murray, however, appeared to be the more tired player down the stretch and eventually succumbed in a long final game in which he had break points that could have evened the fourth set at 5-5.

In other men’s singles action Wednesday, fifth-seeded South African Kevin Anderson brushed aside Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 in just under two hours.

Anderson, who was runner-up at the 2017 US Open and at this year’s Wimbledon, was dominant on serve and also showcased his much-improved return game.

The 6’8″ South African, whose ranking is currently at a career-best No. 5, did not come close to losing his own serve and also earned four service breaks over three sets.

Ninth-seeded Dominic Thiem also advanced to the third round, rallying from a two-set-to-one deficit to defeat American Steve Johnson 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 on Wednesday.

(IANS)

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday congratulated Swapna Barman who became the first Indian woman to achieve a top podium finish in the gruelling heptathlon event at the Asian Games.

“Heartiest congratulations to @Swapna_Barman96 our heptathlon queen from India and Bangla, on winning the gold at the Asian Games. You have made us very proud,” Mamata said in a tweet.

Swapna posted a score of 6,026 points to clinch the yellow metal. Wang Qingling of China scored 5,954 to take silver while Japan’s Yuki Yamasaki produced her personal best of 5,873 to bag the bronze medal.

(IANS)

Carles Cuadrat’s Bengaluru FC bowed out of Asian football competition after a 0-2 loss (2-5 agg.) to Turkmen club Altyn Asyr FK in the second leg of their AFC Cup Inter-Zone semi-final at the Kopetdag Stadium here on Wednesday.

Second half goals from Altymyrat Annadurdyyev and Vahyt Orazsakhedov settled the tie in favour of the hosts after the Blues found the going tough in attack.

Earlier, Cuadrat rung in one change to the side that faced the Turkmenistan champions at home as Boithang Haokip dropped to the bench in favour of a returning Harmanjot Khabra.

Rino Anto and Rahul Bheke joined Spaniard Juanan Gonzalez at the back as Nishu Kumar was pushed forward to add impetus to the Blues’ attack.

After a spell of holding fort at the back, Bengaluru pushed high up with Miku and Sunil Chhetri creating back-to-back chances with less than half-an-hour on the clock.

While the duo’s efforts went wide, Bengaluru gained momentum and had spells of possession. Udanta Singh and Nishu, attacking from either flank, had attempts of their own, but none dangerous to trouble Mamed Orazmuhamedov in the Altyn goal.

The Blues had their best chance of the first period in the 38th minute when Miku fed Chhetri on the counter, but the skipper’s foray into the rival box was met with a strong tackle from an Altyn Asyr defender. Shouts for a penalty were waved away as referee Turki Al-Khudair chose to book the Blues’ number 11 instead.

While the first half was an even affair, the hosts struck twice early on in the second to effectively seal the tie.

Annadurdyyev scored the opener in the 50th minute with a strike from the edge of the box that Bengaluru keeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu struggled to get his hand to.

Striker Vahyt Orazsakhedov then added another with his third goal of the tie, tapping home from close after defender Mekan Saparov’s strike from distance cannoned off the upright, making it 2-0 on the day and 5-2 on aggregate.

As the Blues kept on pushing ahead in search of the elusive goal, it was Altyn Asyr goalkeeper Mamed who pulled off two saves to keep the score unchanged.

Miku, who managed to create a yard for himself, had his shot from distance palmed away in the 65th, before Chhetri’s shot was tipped onto the vertical.

The Blues return to Bengaluru, where they will prepare for the opener of the 2018-19 Indian Super League, against Chennaiyin FC, at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on September 30.

(180829) — JAKARTA, Aug. 29, 2018 (Xinhua) — Swapna Barman of India celebrates after women’s heptathlon 800m of athletics at the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia on Aug. 29, 2018. (Xinhua/Wang Lili)

Swapna Barman created history by winning the women’s heptathlon title while Arpinder Singh ended India’s 48-year wait for men’s triple jump gold as Indian athletes enjoyed another successful day at the 18th Asian Games here on Wednesday.

Experienced sprinter Dutee Chand grabbed her second silver medal at this year’s Asiad after finishing second in the women’s 200 metres event.

Swapna’s triumph in the women’s heptathlon is the first ever gold for India in the event at the Asiad.

Swapna posted a score of 6026 points. Wang Qingling of China scored 5954 to take silver while Japan’s Yuki Yamasaki produced her personal best of 5873 to bag the bronze medal.

Purnima Hembram, the other Indian in the fray, finished fourth with 5837 points.

In men’s triple jump, Arpinder won gold with an effort of 16.77 metres. He pipped Uzbekistan’s Ruslan Kurbanov, who took the silver medal with a personal best jump of 16.62 metres. The bronze medal went to China’s Cao Shuo, who jumped 16.56 metres.

Before the 25-year-old Arpinder, the previous Indian champion at the Asiad was Mohinder Singh Gill in 1970 with an effort of 16.11m.

A.V. Rakesh Babu, the other Indian in the fray, was sixth with a best attempt of 16.40 metres.

Arpinder flopped in his first attempt. After the invalid jump, he came back strong with a jump of 16.58 metres in the second attempt which made him the leader after the first two attempts.

Babu, in his second attempt of 16.40, was second behind his compatriot, even as Ruslan till then had his best of 16.28.

Arpinder gained further ascendancy when he came out with a jump of 16.77m. Ruslan too made his best attempt of 16.62 metres. The Uzbek athlete however could not topple Arpinder as the former made attempts of 15.99, 16.43, 16.41 in his final three chances respectively.

Arpinder jumped 16.08 in his fourth attempt before fouling the last two attempts.

China’s Cao delivered his best in his sixth and last attempt with a jump of 16.56 to push Japanese Kohei Yamashita to the fourth spot.

Yamashita had fouled his last three attempts. His best of 16.46 came in his third attempt.

In the women’s 200m, Dutee clocked 23.20 seconds to finish behind Bahrain’s Edidiong Odiong, who claimed the gold medal with 22.96 seconds. Wei Yongli of China got the bronze medal with a time of 23.27 seconds at the Gelora Bung Karno Sports Stadium.

Dutee, who also took silver in the 100m, grabbed her second silver of the Games.

The Odisha athlete had topped the standings in the semi-finals on Tuesday with a time of 23.00 seconds — her personal best — while Odiong was second in 23.01 seconds.

In the final, the 22-year-old Dutee was 0.20 seconds slower than her Tuesday’s performance. Running in the third lane, Dutee started strong and in the first 3040 metres she was in the third position.

But she peaked and gave a tough fight to 21-year-old Odiong, who seemed the favourite from the start. After the 7-metre mark, it was nearly obvious that the top two positions would be taken by Odiong and Dutee respectively.

Odiong, with a long stride, never looked beatable by Dutee. The latter then just had to held off Yongli, who was pushing to the limit.

Asian Championships bronze medallist Olga Safronova, who had finished a spot ahead of Dutee in the Bhubaneswar meet in 2017, claimed the fourth spot. The Kazakh sprinter finished with a timing of 23.32.

The two medals for Dutee at this Games meant that her career had taken a completely different turn after she was barred in 2014 for high androgen levels.

Earlier in the morning session, Khushbir Kaur finished fourth in the women’s 20km race walk.

Khushbhir, who had bagged silver medal at the 2014 edition, clocked one hour, 35 minutes and 24 seconds to finish one minute and 22 seconds behind bronze medallist Kumiko Okada of Japan.

China’s Jiayu Yang and Shijie Qieyang claimed the top two positions respectively. Both clocked a Games record timing of one hour, 29 minutes and 15 seconds but Jiayu was declared the winner in a photo finish.

Another Indian in the women’s category, Soumya Baby and men’s 20km race walkers K.T. Irfan and Manish Singh Rawat were disqualified.

In the men’s race, China’s Wang Kaihua won the gold medal with a timing of one hour, 22 minutes and 04 seconds. He was 0.06 seconds faster than Japan’s Toshikazu Yamanishi.

The bronze medal went to Jin Xiangqian, who posted a time of one hour, 27 minutes and 58 seconds.

India’s Harshdeep Singh Brar lost in the pre-quarterfinals of the men’s 81 kilogram category of the judo competition at the 18th Asian Games here on Thursday.

Brar was outclassed 3-10 by Lee Seungsu of South Korea in a one-sided contest in the Round of 16.

Earlier, Brar thrashed Rajitha Pushpa Kumara of Sri Lanka 10-1 in his campaign opener.