Asian Games 2023 Archives

China top Asian Games 2023 with record 201 golds

Hosts China finished top of the Asian Games 2023 medals table with a record 201 golds, as Taiwan’s Gu Shiau-shuang won the final event in Hangzhou on Sunday.

Gu triumphed in the women’s karate -50kg kumite class, beating Kazakhstan’s Moldir Zhangbyrbay in the gold medal match by “Hantei” after a tight battle finished 5-5.

Earlier, Japan beat Macau to take the men’s team kata gold as the final karate competitions brought the curtain down on more than two weeks of action by 12,000 athletes in 40 sports.

China, who surpassed the 199 gold medals they won at the Guangzhou Games in 2010, also won 111 silvers and 71 bronze for a grand haul of 383 medals.

The hosts finished well clear of Japan on 52 golds and South Korea, on 42, in the final medals table.

The first gold medal of the Asian Games 2023 was won by China on the rowing lake on a drizzly Sunday morning two weeks ago.

Their 201st came in the pool in the final artistic swimming event, the team-free routine.

“We had a lot of expectations for these Games and really hoped to do well,” said victorious artistic swimmer Feng Yu.

“But we are not that satisfied with some of the performances today, so everyone is still a little bit nervous.

“We are very happy to get the qualification to the Paris Olympic Games.”

READ: Markram, South Africa smash World Cup records with Sri Lanka thrashing

Asian Games 2023: India creates history, wins 100 medals

India managed to claim 100 medals in the ongoing Asian Games 2023 after its women’s kabaddi team successfully defeated Chinese Taipei 26-25 in a thrilling final to snatch the gold medal in Hangzhou, China.

After this victory in the Asian Games 2023, the Indian women’s kabaddi team secured their third gold medal in history, their journey began in 2010 when the women in blue clinched the gold medal at Guangzhou, defended its title at Incheon 2014, and finished runner-up at Jakarta 2018.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Taipei secured the second position and got the bronze medal, it had previously won a bronze in Jakarta 2018.

During the group stage, Pushpa Rana and Pooja Hathwala – both scored the bulk points for India – started the raid against the Chinese Taipei.

However, the Chinese Taipei made a strong start, with Hsiu-Chen Feng stunned the two-time champion with a super raid to level the score.

In response, Pooja secured a crucial touch point to get a lead against the Chinese Taipei, the women in blue kept calm in the last two raids to run down the time and seal off the victory.

It is worth mentioning here that during the ongoing Asian Games, India successfully clinched 25 gold, 35 silver, and 40 bronze medals.

Earlier on Saturday, India clinched the gold in the men’s cricket tournament without needing to bat as their final fixture against Afghanistan was abandoned due to persistent rain.

They emerged as the champions of the final implementing an Asian Games 2023-specific rule that states that if the match cannot be completed due to rain, the higher-ranked team receives the honours.

Afghanistan scored 112-5 under floodlights in Hangzhou before rain arrived after 18.2 overs. The final was cancelled due to poor weather conditions.

READ: South Africa run riot against Sri Lanka to register highest World Cup total

India win Asian Games 2023 cricket gold without having to bat

India were crowned Asian Games 2023 men’s cricket champions on their first attempt and without needing to bat in an anti-climatic finish Saturday, consigning Afghanistan to a third consecutive silver.

They were declared winners of the final under an Asian Games 2023-specific rule where the higher-ranked team takes the honours if the match cannot be finished, in this case due to rain.

Afghanistan made 112-5 under the floodlights in Hangzhou before the wet weather arrived after 18.2 overs. With conditions not improving, the final was abandoned.

It completed a golden double for India after they beat Sri Lanka by 19 runs to be crowned women’s champions in Asian Games 2023 last week.

“It feels good, we’re very proud, wearing a medal is not something we’re used to and it’s emotional for everyone,” said India skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad.

“It is pretty disappointing because obviously we would love to have had a full game and get the result through that.

“I think even 140 or 150 was a pretty gettable target batting second because of the small ground and with the kind of batting we had,” he said. “We were pretty confident.”

Twenty20 cricket has been played at the Asian Games twice before, at Guangzhou 2010 and Incheon 2014, with Bangladesh and then Sri Lanka crowned men’s winners.

Afghanistan were runners-up both times, while India did not take part.

Despite another silver, Afghan captain Gulbadin Naib said his team could be proud.

“I was confident in our bowling, but unfortunately the rain came and they gave the gold to India,” he said.

“It’s bad luck, but overall in the Asian Games we did well and I’m very proud of the boys. This will give a lot of people (in Afghanistan) hope.”

India won the toss and chose to field. Pacemen Shivam Dube and Arshdeep Singh removed openers Zubaid Akbari and Mohammad Shahzad inside the first three overs.

The needless run-out of Noor Ali Zadran, going for a tight second run in the next over, compounded their problems after Ravi Bishnoi’s accurate throw.

A gritty unbeaten from Shahidullah 49 and his 60-run partnership and Naib (27 not out) ensured Afghanistan passed 100.

In the bronze medal match, Bangladesh stunned Pakistan when Rakibul Hasan smashed a boundary off the final ball to spark wild celebrations at the end of a rain-affected 48-1 off five overs, with Bangladesh set a revised target of 65 under the DLS (Duckworth-Lewis-Stern) method.

The Asian Games 2023 cricket tournament witnessed some one-sided affairs, none more so than Nepal men’s thrashing of minnows Mongolia.

Their 314-3 beat the previous highest international score in the format of 278-3.

Nepal broke several other Twenty20 international records including the fastest century, by Kushal Malla off 34 balls, and the fastest 50, by Dipendra Singh Airee off nine balls).

READ: South Africa run riot against Sri Lanka to register highest World Cup total

Bangladesh defeat Pakistan to win Bronze medal in Asian Games 2023

HANGZHOU: Bangladesh beat Pakistan by six wickets on DLS to secure the bronze medal in the Asian Games 2023 Men’s Cricket event at the Zhejiang University of Technology Pingfeng Cricket Field here on Saturday.

The match had a delayed start due to rain and was shortened to 13 overs a side after Bangladesh won the toss and opted to field first.

Pakistan managed to score 48 for one in five overs when rain interrupted play. Mirza Baig top-scored for his side, returning undefeated on 32 off 18 balls, which included four fours and two sixes.

As no further play was possible during Pakistan’s innings, Bangladesh were given a revised target of 65 to win from five overs.

In the run-chase, Bangladesh got off to a flying start and were on course to achieve the target with ease, needing 25 runs from two overs.

However, Arshad Iqbal, Pakistan’s most successful bowler, conceded only five runs in the penultimate over and dismissed Afif Hossain (20, 11b, 3x4s, 1×6) leaving Bangladesh requiring 20 runs in the final over.

Left-arm spinner Sufiyan Muqeem bowling the final over, went for 16 runs in the first four deliveries but came back stronger to dismiss Yasir Ali (38, 16b, 4x4s, 2x6s) the top run-getter for Bangladesh the next ball.

With four runs required on the final ball, Rakibul Hasan struck a boundary to help his side win the bronze medal.

For Pakistan, Arshad was the most successful bowler with three for 14 runs from two overs.

Prior to that, Afghanistan beat Pakistan by four wickets in the Asian Games 2023 Men’s Cricket second semi-final on Friday.

READ: Inzamam-ul-Haq to head Pakistan’s senior and junior selection committees

Afghanistan stun Pakistan to reach Asian Games 2023 final

Afghanistan beat Pakistan by four wickets in the Asian Games 2023 Men’s Cricket second semi-final played at the Zhejiang University of Technology Cricket Field in Hangzhou, China on Friday.

After being put into bat first, Pakistan were bowled out for 115 in 18 overs. The target was achieved in 17.5 overs by Afghanistan.

Omair Yousuf (24, 19b, 2x4s, 1×6) was the highest scorer for Pakistan, followed by Aamir Jamal (14, 11b, 1×4, 1×6), Arafat Minhas (13, 14b, 1×4) and Rohail Nazir (10, 15b, 1×6).

Pacer Fareed Ahmed returned with three wickets while giving 15 runs in the three overs he bowled. Spinners Qais Ahmed and Zahir Khan grabbed two wickets each.

In return, on the backs of Noor Ali Zadran (39, 33b, 4x4s, 2x6s) and Gulbadin Naib (26 not out, 19b, 1×4, 3x6s), Afghanistan secured the final berth at the 19^th Asian Games.

Pakistan spin attack gained much success during the innings; Qasim Akram and Sufiyan Muqeem got a wicket each, while Usman Qadir and Arafat Minhas returned with two wickets each.

In the first Asian Games 2023 semi-final, India outclassed Bangladesh by nine wickets and 64 balls to spare, thanks to a combined bowling effort, followed by Tilak Verma’s unbeaten half-century.

Put into bat first, Bangladesh could post a meagre total of 96/9 on the board.

Wicketkeeper batter Jaker Ali (24 not out) top-scored for Bangladesh in their dismal show with the bat, followed by opener Parvez Hossain Emon (23) and Rakibul Hasan (14) while the rest of their batters failed to make it into the double figures.

In response, India comfortably knocked off the winning runs, courtesy of an unbeaten 97-run partnership between Ruturaj Gaikwad and Verma.

Verma remained the top-scorer for India with an unbeaten 55 off just 26 deliveries while Gaikwad scored 40 not out in as many balls.

Pakistan next face Bangladesh for the Asian Games 2023 bronze medal at the same venue tomorrow. The match will begin at 0600 local time.

READ: Empty stands in ICC World Cup 2023 opener ‘disappoint’ fans

India crush Bangladesh to reach Asian Games 2023 cricket final

HANGZHOU: India crushed Bangladesh by nine wickets on Friday to power into the gold medal match in the final of Asian Games 2023 as they bid to win the title on their first attempt.

Awaiting their young, but still formidable, side in Saturday’s Asian games final will be Pakistan or Afghanistan, who meet later.

Twenty20 cricket has been played at the Asian Games twice before, at Guangzhou 2010 and Incheon 2014, with Bangladesh and then Sri Lanka crowned champions.

India did not take part and are participating in the Asian Games for the first time.

“This gives us a lot of confidence because we came together and played as a team, which is very important,” said India bowling hero Sai Kishore, who snared 3-12.

“If we play to our best potential, I think we have a good chance to win the final.”

On an overcast day at the Zhejiang University of Technology Pingfeng Cricket Field, they won the toss and chose to field on a pitch that has been susceptible to spin.

It proved so again, with Bangladesh stumbling to 96-9.

Only three Bangladesh batters made double figures, led by Jaker Ali’s unbeaten 24.

While Bangladesh struggled, India made it look easy, steaming to their target in 9.2 overs for the loss of one wicket. Tilak Varma was 55 not out and skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad was unbeaten on 40.

Their chase got off to a horror start with quarter-final century-maker Yashasvi Jaiswal out for a duck in the first over, caught at fine leg.

But fellow opener Gaikwad quickly seized control, plundering 20 from the third over including two consecutive sixes off paceman Ripon Mondol.

Varma got in on the act in the next over, also crashing straight sixes, this time off Mrittunjoy Chowdhury, as they raced to 50-1.

“They batted really well and we could have bowled better. We just didn’t get enough runs on the board,” said Bangladesh captain Saif Hassan.

“We have one more match left (for bronze) and hopefully we can turn it around.”

In contrast to India, Bangladesh found runs hard to come by.

India got the breakthrough in the fifth over with Mahmudul Hasan Joy holing out to Jaiswal at mid-on off Kishore for five.

Most of India’s big names, including Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, are at home for the one-day World Cup, but their squad in Hangzhou still has some top talent.

Spinner Washington Sundar has played all three formats for India and Bangladesh couldn’t cope with his tricky off-breaks.

Hassan and Zakir Hasan were both out in the space of three balls.

Opener Parvez Hossain Emon ground 23 off 32, but he too succumbed to spin, shanking to cover off Varma as Bangladesh crawled to 36-4 in the ninth over.

Gaikwad’s decision to deploy Kishore again paid immediate dividends with Afif Hossain and Shahadat Hossain both out to soft dismissals, before Ali’s late flurry.

READ: Empty stands in ICC World Cup 2023 opener ‘disappoint’ fans

Neeraj Chopra goes big to bag gold at Asian Games 2023

India’s star javelin thrower and Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra produced a giant throw to strike gold at the Asian Games 2023 on Wednesday and cap a gruelling season, with Olympic high-jump champion Mutaz Essa Barshim joining him as a winner.

They were among seven titlists on day six of the track and field in Hangzhou with just the men’s and women’s marathons left on Thursday, concluding an event dominated by hosts China.

Reigning Olympic and world champion Neeraj Chopra was under pressure after teammate Kishore Kumar Jena produced a huge personal best of 86.77 metres, which he would later improve to 87.54m and eventual silver.

But Chopra responded emphatically with a season-best 88.88m to retain his Asian Games crown in style.

It was a massive statement and longer than the 88.17m that won him the world title at Budapest in August and the 87.58m that earned gold at the Tokyo Olympics.

“It feels great when we push each other to go farther and farther,” he said of competing with Kumar Jena.

His title defence opened controversially.

He hurled close to the 85m line on his first throw and pumped the air in celebration, but his score didn’t register and a lengthy delay followed.

Chopra eventually threw again, making 82.38m, then improved to 84.49m.

But Kumar Jena, who was fifth in Budapest, then produced his all-time best to put the pressure on, before Chopra hit back.

“I had some issues in the first throw. There may have been a technical problem or they may not have measured my first throw properly,” he said of the delay.

“This is the first time this has happened to me in a competition. The rule is for six throws, but I threw seven times.”

Neeraj Chopra’s job was made easier after his chief rival, Pakistan ace Arshad Nadeem, pulled out on Tuesday with a knee injury.

Kumar Jena was content to finish behind his “idol”.

“Keep watching, you will see more of us in the future too,” he warned.

Meanwhile, Qatar’s Barshim skipped the season-ending Diamond League event at Eugene last month to prepare to add to his 2010 and 2014 Asiad titles, and it paid dividends.

He entered on the fourth jump at 2.19m and it turned into a battle with South Korea’s Woo Sang-hyeok, who won the Diamond League in Eugene that Barshim skipped.

The Qatari prevailed, clearing a new Games record 2.35m with Woo unable to match it.

Barshim had extra motivation to get back on top after being shocked in Budapest by Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi, who denied him a fourth consecutive title.

In other action, China’s Wang Chunyu was dethroned as women’s 800m champion by Sri Lanka’s Tharushi Karunarathna, who ran a storming 2:03.20.

It was enough to edge India’s Harmilan Bains with Wang taking bronze.

In contrast, Bahrain’s Birhanu Balew, who was sixth at the Tokyo Olympics, was a successful title defender with his 13:17.41 in the 5,000m, a new Games record.

India’s Avinash Sable, who won the 3,000m steeplechase, came second and fellow Bahraini Dawit Fikadu third.

Uzbekistan’s Sharifa Davronova was crowned triple jump champion with a new personal best of 14.09m. India won the men’s 4x400m relay and Bahrain took out the women’s race.

READ: Hazlewood, Siraj share top-spot in latest ICC ODI Bowling Rankings

Arshad Nadeem withdraws from the Asian Games 2023

Star javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem on Tuesday withdrew from the javelin throw final event of the ongoing Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, China.

Arshad Nadeem decided not to participate in the final due to the recurring pain in his previously injured leg. He suffered an injury during training, and the MRI reports identified the recurrence of the old injury consequently ruling him out of the Asian Games.

The final of the javelin throw event of the Asian Games 2023 is scheduled to be played tomorrow.

Arshad Nadeem is already having a roller coaster of a year as he made history in August by clinching a silver medal, at the World Athletics Championship. This was Pakistan’s first-ever medal in the tournament’s history.

Arshad Nadeem secured the silver with his best throw in his third attempt which went at a distance of 87.82 meters.

Arshad started things slowly with a 74.80m throw in his first attempt, however, he made a sounding comeback with an 82.81m throw in his second attempt.

His aforementioned third throw, proved to be his best in the season, going as far as 87.82 meters, while his fourth attempt could only go at 87.12m.

His fifth and sixth attempts failed to breach Neeraj Chopra’s 88.17-meter mark, hence settling for a silver.

Prior to that, Arshad Nadeem secured his place for the final of the World Athletics Championship in Budapest, as well as, the Paris Olympics in 2024 in the qualifying round of the World Athletics Championship.

Arshad Nadeem started off the qualifying round of the javelin throw event with a 70.63m throw in his first attempt, while in his second attempt, he threw his javelin at a distance of 81.53 meters.

However, the Automatic qualifying mark for the final of the World Athletics Championship was 83 meters, while the benchmark for the Paris Olympics was 85.50 meters.

Arshad Nadeem breached both benchmarks in his third attempt with an amazing 86.79-meter throw, consequently qualifying for both events.

It is worth mentioning that Arshad Nadeem was declared fit for the World Athletics Championship earlier this month by the medical board, after being ruled out of the Asian Athletics Championship, due to an injury to his left knee.

READ: Aamer Jamal’s blitz powers Pakistan Shaheens to Asian Games semi-final

Aamer Jamal’s blitz powers Pakistan Shaheens to Asian Games semi-final

HANGZHOU: Aamer Jamal’s blistering 41 off 16, followed by a combined bowling effort by spin bowlers helped Pakistan Shaheens qualify for the Asian Games 2023 semi-finals after thumping Hong Kong by 68 runs in the quarter-final match at Zhejiang University of Technology Pingfeng Cricket Field on Tuesday.

After being put into bat first, Pakistan put 160 on the board, courtesy of Aamir Jamal’s fiery batting display at death.

In the second innings, the Qasim Akram-led spin attack proved too difficult a task for the Hong Kong batters who folded for 92 runs in 18.5 overs.

Nizakat Khan won the toss for Hong Kong and elected to field first. After a bumpy start to the innings, Pakistan eventually ended with a solid total of 160, owing to Aamir’s extraordinary hitting in the final overs of the innings.

Coming to bat in the 17th over, Aamir took only 16 balls to score 41 runs, including four maximums and two boundaries.

Earlier in the innings, veteran Asif Ali and debutant Arafat Minhas stitched a partnership of 36 runs from 26 balls for the seventh wicket. Asif (25, 21b, 1×4, 2x6s) and Arafat (25, 16b, 2x4s, 2x6s) were the second-highest scorers after Aamir.

Hong Kong had an impressive day with the ball; Ayush Shukla ended the innings with four wickets and Mohammad Ghazanfar grabbed three wickets.

In turn, Pakistan spinners rose to the occasion, allowing the side to completely command the game. The Hong Kong batters fell victim to the web Arafat, Sufiyan Muqeem, Qasim Akram and Khushdil Shah spun around them.

Khushdil got three wickets while the remaining three got two wickets each. Babar Hayat was the highest scorer for the side, after making 29 runs in 27 balls, hitting three boundaries and two sixes.

Pakistan will now feature in the second semi-final on Friday, 6 October against the winner of the third quarter-final between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka scheduled tomorrow.

READ: Arshad Nadeem withdraws from the Asian Games 2023

Asian Games 2023: Pakistan lost to Japan, crashed out of medal race

HANGZHOU: Pakistan men’s hockey team crashed out of the Asian Games 2023 medal race following a 3-2 defeat against Japan on Monday.

Japan needed to win the all-important clash to book their place in the semi-final of the Asian Games 2023 Hockey event while the Green Shirts only needed to avoid a defeat.

However, the result came out in Japan’s favour as they edged Pakistan 3-2 and made it to the final four.

Pakistan got off to a flying start as they opened their account just five minutes into the game through Arshad Liaquat only for Japan to hit two goals in response in the sixth and 17th minutes via Tanaka Kaito and Fukuda Kentaro, respectively and took the lead.

Fujishima Raiki then enhanced Japan’s lead to 3-1 in the 28th minute but Pakistan cut their lead soon after through Arbaz Ahmad.

Both sides threatened to score more goals in the final quarter of the sea-saw contest but the scoreboard remained intact at 3-2 till the final whistle in Japan’s favour.

A narrow defeat against Japan meant Pakistan have now crashed out of the Asian Games 2023 medal race and will compete against a third-placed side from Pool B for the fifth and sixth position on October 6.

Earlier in the tournament, Pakistan hockey team suffered a 10-2 thrashing at the hands of arch-rivals India on Saturday.

India had a flying start to the match as they took a dominant 2-0 lead over Pakistan in the first quarter, courtesy of Harmanpreet Singh and Mandeep Singh, who scored one each.

The men in blue then doubled their lead in the second quarter and attained the complete command of the highly-anticipated match.

Pakistan finally showed some resistance in the third quarter as they managed to pull two back but it was insufficient as India still managed to further extend their lead by scoring three.

India then enjoyed another dominant quarter as they scored three more in the fourth to finish the match with a scoreline of 10-2, one of their largest victories against Pakistan.

Harmanpreet Singh was the star for India, scoring four, followed by Varun Kumar, who scored two while Mandeep Singh, Sumit, Shamsher Singh and Lalit Kumar Upadhyay scored one each.

For Pakistan, Mohammad Sufyan Khan and Waheed Rana Ashraf could score one apiece.

READ: Pakistan crush West Indies to win inaugural Over 40s Global Cup