Connect with us

Sports

Manu Bhaker recalls Asian Games debut as she carries India’s flag

Shooter Manu Bhaker and kabaddi player Pawan Sehrawat led India’s 503-athlete contingent at the Asian Games 2026 opening ceremony in Aichi-Nagoya after shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor was replaced as a flag bearer.

Published

on

Manu Bhaker, carrying India’s flag at the Asian Games 2026 opening ceremony, reflected on her journey from first competing at the 2018 Asian Games as a teenager.

The double Olympic medallist will compete in the women’s 10m air pistol, the women’s 25m pistol and the mixed team 10m air pistol.

Kabaddi player Pawan Sehrawat was the male flag bearer.

The ceremony was held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, on September 19.

India’s contingent has 503 athletes across 36 sports.

Pawan Sehrawat received word of the flag-bearing honour at short notice.

Sehrawat was part of India’s gold-winning kabaddi team at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.

Bhaker first competed at the Asian Games as a teenager in 2018 and has spoken about how far she has come since then.

She will compete in the women’s 10m air pistol, the women’s 25m pistol and the mixed team 10m air pistol events.

Teqball player Quimcy Dsouza lost her semifinal on September 19 and plays bronze medal matches on September 20.

On September 20, the Indian women’s cricket team plays Bangladesh in a semifinal, and hockey, badminton, shooting and table tennis fixtures are also scheduled.

Some sports, including women’s cricket, began before the official opening on September 19.

India won gold in women’s cricket at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games and is defending the title in Japan.

The opening ceremony was held at the Mizuho stadium in Aichi-Nagoya, one of the main venues of the multi-sport event.

The Asian Games 2026 opened on Saturday, September 19, at a ceremony in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, marking the 20th edition of the Games.

India’s contingent for the Games has 503 athletes competing across 36 sports.

Manu Bhaker, a double Olympic medallist in shooting, and kabaddi star Pawan Sehrawat carried the Indian flag at the Parade of Nations.

Shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor, a two-time defending Asian Games champion, had been named a flag bearer but was replaced because of an issue with his official ceremonial kit.

Paloma Mizuho stadium, Nagoya, Japan (representative image), Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Sports

Records in Ranchi: West Indies’ highest T20I chase

West Indies chased down India’s 249/5 with nine balls to spare in the second T20I in Ranchi on October 9, winning by six wickets on the back of Shai Hope’s unbeaten 102 off 45 balls and levelling the series 1-1.

Published

on

West Indies chased 250 in 18.3 overs.

It is West Indies’ highest successful chase in T20Is.

It is the second-highest successful chase in T20I history, according to Outlook.

Sanju Samson’s 21-ball fifty ties Virat Kohli’s mark for India’s joint-fastest T20I fifty against West Indies.

The series is level at 1-1.

Samson’s 21-ball fifty ties Virat Kohli’s mark for India’s joint-fastest T20I fifty against West Indies, according to Outlook.

Ishan Kishan made 43 off 22 balls, and Shreyas Iyer made 40 off 18 balls.

Tilak Varma remained unbeaten on 44 off 18 balls, and Abhishek Sharma made 20 off 12 balls.

Roston Chase took 3 for 24 in four overs for West Indies, and Shamar Springer took two wickets for 64 runs.

Kuldeep Yadav took 1 for 53 in four overs for India.

West Indies chased 250 to win, reaching 252 for 4 in 18.3 overs.

Shai Hope scored an unbeaten 102 off 45 balls, with nine sixes and six fours.

It was Hope’s second T20I century.

Sherfane Rutherford made 84 off 37 balls.

Hope and Rutherford added 120 runs for the third wicket.

Romario Shepherd made 34 off 13 balls, and Rovman Powell made 24 off 13 balls.

Mayank Yadav took early wickets and reduced West Indies to 58 for 3 in 5.1 overs.

It is West Indies’ highest successful chase in T20Is and the second-highest successful chase in the format’s history, according to Outlook.

The five-match series is level at 1-1 after two matches.

India won the first T20I in Lucknow on October 6 by eight wickets, with Shreyas Iyer scoring an unbeaten 102 off 42 balls.

The chase has now dismissed Ishan Kishan three times in T20Is, according to Outlook.

West Indies beat India by six wickets in the second T20I at the JSCA International Stadium in Ranchi on Friday, October 9, 2026.

Cricket stadium (representative image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Continue Reading

Sports

Asian Games 2026: India’s wrestling gold in 57kg explained

Aman Sehrawat won the men’s freestyle 57kg gold at the Asian Games 2026 on October 3, beating North Korea’s Han Chong Song 11-7 to become the first Indian wrestler to win Asian Games gold in the category.

Published

on

Aman Sehrawat won the men’s freestyle 57kg gold at the Asian Games 2026.

The final score was 11-7 against North Korea’s Han Chong Song.

No Indian wrestler had won Asian Games gold in the category before.

India had won medals in the weight class, but none were gold.

Sujeet Kalkal had earlier won 65kg gold at the same Games.

He is the first Indian wrestler to win an Asian Games gold medal in the men’s 57kg category.

India had won medals in the weight class before, but none had been gold.

Sehrawat is a Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medallist in 57kg freestyle.

He also won bronze at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou.

In the quarterfinals he beat Kazakhstan’s Nurdanat Aitanov 12-1.

In the semifinals he recovered from 2-6 down to beat Tajikistan’s Aiaal Belolyubskii 14-8.

Both Business Today and the Sunday Guardian reported the 11-7 final score and the first-in-category claim.

Sujeet Kalkal had earlier won gold in the men’s 65kg freestyle at the same Games.

The Asian Games 2026 are being held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4.

October 3 was Day 14 of the Games, and India also won golds in golf, archery and cricket on the same day.

Freestyle wrestling bouts are won by scoring technical points, and a bout can also end early if one wrestler leads by a large margin.

The 57kg category is one of the lighter freestyle weight classes, and it was also Sehrawat’s weight at the Paris Olympics.

Sehrawat came back from 2-6 down in the semifinal, which meant he had already won one bout from behind before the final.

The final score of 11-7 meant the two wrestlers scored 18 points between them.

Aman Sehrawat won the men’s freestyle 57kg gold at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya on Saturday, October 3.

Freestyle wrestling gold medal match (representative image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Continue Reading

Sports

India retain Asian Games cricket gold: The final in numbers

India beat Pakistan by 19 runs in the Asian Games 2026 men’s T20 cricket final on October 3 to win a second successive gold, posting 211/6 before Pakistan finished on 192/6 despite Hasan Nawaz’s 96.

Published

on

India beat Pakistan by 19 runs in the Asian Games 2026 men’s T20 final.

India scored 211 for 6 and Pakistan 192 for 6.

Abhishek Sharma made 61 and Tilak Varma 51 not out.

Hasan Nawaz made 96 off 51 balls for Pakistan.

Sri Lanka won bronze.

Pakistan were held to 192 for 6 in their 20 overs.

Hasan Nawaz scored 96 off 51 balls for Pakistan, with seven sixes and five fours, but could not take his side home.

The result gives India a second successive gold in men’s cricket at the Asian Games.

It was India’s seventh consecutive T20 win over Pakistan, according to Al Jazeera.

The captains did not shake hands before the match, and the players did not shake hands afterwards either.

It was the fifth consecutive men’s match between the two teams in which players declined handshakes.

The medal ceremony was significantly delayed, and no official reason was given for the delay.

ICC chairman Jay Shah presented medals to the Indian players, while Pakistan and bronze medallists Sri Lanka received theirs from Asian Games officials.

The Asian Games 2026 are being held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4.

The cricket competition at the Games is played in the T20 format, with each side batting for a maximum of 20 overs.

To win the match Pakistan needed to chase 212 runs, which meant scoring at more than ten runs an over.

A T20 total of 211 is a high score for a final, and it required Pakistan to attack from the start.

Sri Lanka took the bronze medal in the men’s event, according to Al Jazeera’s report.

Cricket was played at the Asian Games in 2010 and 2014, was left out in 2018, and returned at the 2023 Games in Hangzhou, where India won the men’s title.

Cricket stadium (representative image), Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Continue Reading

Trending