Aichi-Nagoya: India added two bronze medals on Day 6 of the Asian Games on Friday, with Manpreet Kaur finishing third in the women’s shot put and the mixed doubles pair of Manush Shah and Diya Chitale also securing a podium finish in table tennis.
Manpreet produced her best effort of 17.17 metres with her fourth throw to claim bronze. China’s Song Jiayuan took the gold with 19.40 metres, while her compatriot Zhang Linru won silver with 18.14 metres. India’s Krishna Jayasankar Menon finished fifth with a best throw of 16.57 metres.
In table tennis, Manush and Diya were assured of bronze after reaching the mixed doubles semifinals. The Indian eighth-ranked pair fought hard against China’s Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha but lost 8-11, 5-11, 8-11, 2-11.
The Indians had booked their place in the semifinals with a notable quarterfinal victory over Hong Kong’s world No. 4 combination of Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem. Manush and Diya prevailed 11-6, 13-15, 11-9, 11-5 to guarantee India a medal.
The bronze marks only India’s second mixed doubles table tennis medal at the Asian Games. Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra had won the country’s first in the event at the 2018 edition.
India secured several other medal opportunities on Friday. Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar reached the squash mixed doubles semifinals, while Abhay Singh and Anahat Singh progressed to the men’s and women’s singles semifinals respectively.
India’s men’s and women’s kabaddi teams also advanced to their respective finals after defeating Thailand and Nepal. In hockey, the Indian women’s team recorded a 3-1 win over Japan in their Pool B match.
Swimmer Rishabh Das finished sixth in the men’s 200m backstroke final, while weightlifter Seram Nirupama Devi placed seventh in the women’s 61kg category. Boxer Preeti was eliminated in the women’s competition after a 0-5 Round of 16 defeat to North Korea’s Pang Chol Mi.
Following the day’s results, India had 21 medals, two gold, eight silver and 11 bronze, and stood 12th in the medal standings at the time of writing.
