Deepika’s archery trip ends in tears
JAKARTA/PALEMBANG: India’s struggling recurve archers were in for more shock with Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das suffering an upset defeat at the hands of lower-ranked Mongolia in the Asian Games here via shootout.The 4-5 loss in the mixed team quarterfinals left the Indian squad shell-shocked as Deepika yet again floundered in pressure situation, finding a seven in the second shot of the shoot-off, which led to their ouster. Meanwhile, the Indian compound mixed archery team of Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Abhishek Verma lost to Iran in the quarter-finals. Jyothi and Abhishek lost 153-155 to the Iranian pair of Fereshteh Ghorbani and Nima Mahboubi Matbooe.
SQUASH STARS IN SEMIS
Saurav Ghosal, Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal Karthik registered convincing victories to assure India of medals in squash as they entered the semi-finals. Ghosal defeated compatriot Harinder Sandhu 3-1 while Dipika beat Japan’s Misaki Kobayashi. Joshna Chinappa, meanwhile, defeated Chan Ho Ling.
SRIKANTH OUSTED
Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy crashed out after suffering shocking losses in the badminton singles event. While former world No. 1 Srikanth lost to 21-23, 19-21 to Hong Kong’s Wong Wing Ki Vincent, Prannoy lost 12-21, 21-15, 15-21 to Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen.
MIXED DAY FOR BOXERS
Veteran Manoj Kumar (69kg) eased into the pre-quarters but Commonwealth Games goldmedallist Gaurav Solanki (52kg) went out with a stunning opening-round loss, giving a mixed start to India’s boxing campaign.
Manoj prevailed 5-0 over Bhutan’s Sangay Wangdi to make the last-16 stage whereas Solanki was beaten in a unanimous verdict by Japan’s Ryomei Tanaka.