Yippie! India gets one more Gold in Asian Games; teenager Saurabh Chaudhary strikes ‘bullseye’ in 10m air pistol event
Jakarta, August 21: Young Indian sensational shooter Saurabh Chaudhary on Tuesday grabbed India's first shooting gold of the 18th Asian Games which is being held in Jakarta, Indonesia. The medal tally of Indian contingent reaches to 7.
The 16-year-old Saurabh Chaudhary shot a Games record score of 240.7 to pip Japan's Tomoyuki Matsuda (239.7) in an exciting final to add a gold to India's shooting tally of two silver and a bronze in the shooting competition in this Asian games.
Meanwhile, shooter Abhishek Verma, also making his Asian Games debut settled for the bronze medal in the same event with a score of 219.3. In the second position for most of the final, Chaudhary grabbed the lead after Matsuda fired 8.9 in his penultimate shot. The Indian went ahead with a 10.2 off his second-last shot and held the nerve to stay ahead.
Sports Minister Rajya Vardhan Rathore congratulated Saurabh Chaudhary and Abhishek Verma for their success in a series of tweet. He said, “16 years. Very first Asian Games. AND A 🥇 MEDAL. The INCREDIBLY talented #SaurabhChaudhary has truly arrived! WELL DONE, young man! Proud of you!”
“Lawyer-cum-marksman #AbhishekVerma makes a MEDAL WINNING Debut at #AsianGames2018. He's taken his shot at glory by gunning a 🥉medal in the 10m Air Pistol event today. Wishing you a splendid career ahead! #IndiaAtAsianGames,” he added.
On Monday, Vinesh Phogat created history by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to win a gold medal at the Asian Games. Earlier, on the first day, exemplifying their electrifying performance, Indian athletes won three medals including a Gold from Bajrang Punia. The total count of medal for India goes to 5.
Asian Games is having the participation of around 11000 athletes from 45 countries including 540 Indians in 40 sports and 67 disciplines consisting of 28 Olympic sports, 4 new Olympic sports and 8 non-Olympic sports. Some of the events, including Handball and Football, began last week. The Indian contingent at the games was led by Javelin Thrower Neeraj Chopra with the national flag at the glittering opening ceremony.
BACKGROUND:
The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years between athletes from all over Asia. Since 1982, the Games have been organized by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). Prior to that, the Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF).
The AGF regulated the very first Asian Games, which were held in New Delhi, India in 1951 until the 1978 Games, till the federation’s breakup. The Games are the second largest multi-sport event after the Olympic Games.
Overall, nine nations have hosted the Asian Games and forty-six nations have participated in it, including Israel, which was excluded from the Games after their last participation in 1974. The last edition of the Games was hosted by Incheon, South Korea from 19 September to 4 October 2014. The current edition was originally scheduled to be hosted by Vietnam in Hanoi, however, the country withdrew its bid, based on economic considerations.
Following Vietnam’s withdrawal, Indonesia offered to hold the 18th Asian Games. This will be the second time that Indonesia hosts the Asian Games. The first one was held in Jakarta in 1962. However, this will be the first time that the Asian Games will be held in two cities - Jakarta and Palembang.