Esha Singh won the gold medal in the women’s 10m Air Pistol event at the Asian Qualifiers on Monday, guaranteeing India a spot in the Olympics. Varun Tomar followed suit after winning the gold medal in the men’s competition.

With the duo’s qualifying, there are now 15 Indian shooters travelling to Paris, which is an all-time high set during the Tokyo Games.

When the remaining qualifiers are held in July and August of this year, India can add additional players to the group that will compete at the Games.

On the first day of the continental competition on Monday, India won six medals, including two golds as a team.

Arjun Cheema won the silver medal with a score of 237.3, while 20-year-old Tomar took first place with a final score of 239.6. The bronze medal went to Davaakhuu Enkhtaivan of Mongolia (217.2).

Earlier, Iran and Korea won the silver and bronze medals in the 10m air pistol competition, while Tomar (586), Cheema (579), and Ujjawal Malik (575) scored a total of 1740 to earn the team gold.

The cousin of Tokyo Olympian Saurabh Chaudhary, the gold medallist at the 2018 Asian Games, is Tomar, a former junior world champion.

Then, with a score of 243.1 in the women’s event, 18-year-old Esha won the gold. Pakistan’s Kishmala Talat (236.3) took home the silver, while Esha’s fellow countryman Rhythm Sangwan (214.5) claimed the bronze.

With a total score of 1736, Esha, Rhythm, and Surbhi Rao also took home the gold medal for their team. In both the 25-meter pistol team and the 10-meter air pistol mixed team world championships, Esha won the gold medal.

At this continental extravaganza, there are a total of 16 quota spots available for the Olympics in Paris.

There are four quotas available in the 10m air pistol events for both men and women, with a maximum of three for Indian shooters.

In addition to the Paris quotas, up to 385 competitors from 26 different countries are competing for 256 medals (84 gold, 84 silver, and 88 bronze). They are competing at the Senayan Shooting Range in Jakarta.

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India won the gold medal in the Asian Games men’s cricket tournament due to better T20 rankings as compared to Afghanistan as the cricket match was disrupted due to rain in China on Saturday. The Indian Men’s cricket team won the gold medal in its debut in Asian Games.

Cricket has been played in previous two editions (2010 and 2014) but India decided to skip both of them. Afghanistan won its third straight silver medal in Asian Games men’s cricket. India decided to bowl first and the decision paid off. The Afghanistan scored board looked 12/3 in the fourth over.

Arshdeep Singh and Shivam Dube took crucial wickets in consecutive overs to dismiss both Afghanistan openers. Noor Ali Zadran was run out. Shahidullah Kamal hit 49 runs off 43 balls which held the innings together for Afghanistan. The spinners made it difficult to score runs. Ravi Bishnoi gave exceptional performance picking up the crucial wicket of Afasr Zazai and gave away only 12 runs.

When the Afghanistan scoreboard reached 112/5 in 18.2 overs the cricket match was stopped due to heavy rainfall. The match was later abandoned. India was declared the winner on the basis of better T20 ranking as compared to Aghanistan. The Afghanistan Cricket team won their third silver medal after winning it in 2010 and 2014.

India began their campaign in the quarter finals against Nepal defeating Nepal by 23 runs. The Indian team defeated Bangladesh by 9 wickets in the semi final of the tournament. Earlier today Bangladesh defeated Pakistan to win the bronze medal. Heavy rainfall reduced the match to just five overs. Bangladesh was set to chase 65 runs in five overs. Yasir Ali played an important knock hitting 34 runs off 16 balls. He was supported by Atif Hussain who hit 20 runs of 11 balls.

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Saurav Ghoshal, Abhay Singh, and Mahesh Mangaonkar of India’s men’s squash team completed an incredible comeback to win India’s second squash gold medal at the Asian Games.

After losing the first round, the Indians were down 0-1 before Saurav Ghoshal orchestrated a comeback and Abhay Singh won his best-of-five match by 3-2 in a nail-biter. The triumph helped India win the best-of-three gold medal match 2-1.

After the first two bouts failed to distinguish the two bitter rivals, Abhay Singh faced Noor Zaman in the championship match. The last game of the five-game match between the two superstars was decided by a single point. In the fifth and final game, Abhay was down 8-10 and facing certain defeat. There was no room for error because India could have lost the gold medal with just one point.

However, Abhay showed steely strength to save those two points and go on to win the championship game 12-10. After winning a gold in the 2014 men’s competition, this is India’s second gold medal in squash at the Asiad.

Mahesh Mangaonkar and Saurav Ghoshal played their matches before to Abhay Singh’s match. Mahesh lost three games in a row, which was a devastating setback. Then Ghoshal took matters into his own hands. The renowned Indian talent defeated Muhamad Asim of Pakistan in three straight games, 3-0. After then, Abhay Singh joined the group and contributed to the historic match.

Esha Singh, Palak, and Divya Thadigol, members of the Indian women’s 10m air pistol squad, won silver yesterday in the team competition at the 2018 Asian Games.

Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Swapnil Sunil Kusale, and Akhil Sheoran’s men’s squad quickly followed suit by winning gold in the men’s 50m rifle 3P team competition.

After losing 1-2 against Hong Kong in the semifinals, the Indian women’s squash team, comprised of Joshna Chinappa, Tanvi Khanna, and Anahat Singh, won bronze.

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A former student leader who is facing trial for alleged role in a 2019 bombing in Guwahati, has been awarded the gold medal for his academic achievement from Assam Governor Jagdish Mukti, which he received from behind the bars.

Sanjib Talukdar, who, along with other suspects, was arrested for his alleged role in a United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) orchestrated blast in Guwahati in 2019 that wounded 12 people, topped his post-graduation in Sociology.

Talukdar had enrolled and completed his Master of Arts from Krishna Kanta Handique State Open University (KKHSOU) while being lodged in a Guwahati jail.

Governor Mukti presented the medal to Sanjib Talukdar on Thursday at a convocation for topping his class with 71 percent marks.

Sanjib’s family expressed their joy on his achievement, however, they lamented that their son, who they stressed was innocent, is still behind bars. Sanjib’s sister Dolly expressed faith that justice will be served and her brother will soon be free.

Sanjib, the youngest among five siblings, was pursuing M Phil in Botany at the time of his arrest, soon after the blast.

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Dolly said that her brother could not pursue his M Phil due to lack of lab facilities in prison and instead opted to complete a Masters in Sociology in the meantime. She hoped that Sanjib gets time to complete his M Phil once released.

Sanjib was the president of the Post Graduate Students’ Union of Gauhati University, from where he was doing his M Phil at the time of arrest. He was also well known among literary circles for his writings and oratory skills, a friend of the under-trial revealed.

He has completed the course for Certificate in HIV and Family Education (CAFE) and Certificate in Human Rights (CHR), both from IGNOU and also appeared for Post Graduate Certificate in Geoinformatics from KKHSOU, the result of which is awaited.

Sanjib’s bail petition is due in Gauhati Hight Court in another four months and the family is hopeful of a favorable ruling. He was released on parole briefly last year to attend his sister’s wedding.

Sanjib Talukdar, 29, is among the accused, arrested for their alleged role in a bombing on RG Baruah Road in Guwahati on May 15, 2019. The NIA in its chargesheet has charged Talukdar with multiple offences including conspiracy, unlawful activities and providing help and support to the prime accused in the case.

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Tokyo Olympics champion Neeraj Chopra scripted history by becoming the first Indian to clinch a gold medal at the Diamond League 2022 on Friday. India’s golden boy won the Lausanne leg with a massive throw of 89.08 meters in his first attempt.

From winning gold in Tokyo Olympics, shattering his national record at Paavo Nurmi Games, and bagging gold at Kuortane Games to winning silver at World Athletics Championship 2022, there is no stopping for the 24-year-old javelin thrower.

Chopra’s massive win at the Diamond League earned him qualification for the all-important Diamond League final in Zurich next month, as well as the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, which has a qualification mark of 85.20 meters.

Chopra made an impressive return from a groin injury that made him skip the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022 last month.

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Jakub Vadlejch, who won silver at the Tokyo Olympics, placed second with a best throw of 85.88 meters, and Curtis Thompson of the United States took third with a throw of 83.72 meters.

After a spectacular performance, Chopra said he is delighted with his result. He said 89 meters is a great performance and he is especially pleased because he achieved this feat after coming back from an injury. He further said his win was a good indicator that he has recovered well.

Adding further Chopra said, he was quite nervous as he had to skip Commonwealth Games but finishing the season on a high has given him a lot of confidence to perform stronger and better in the Zurich DL Final.

The only other Indian to place in the top three at a Diamond League Meet before Chopra was discus thrower Vikas Gowda. Gowda placed second twice in New York in 2012 and Doha in 2014, and third twice in Shanghai and Eugene in 2015.

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PV Sindhu clinched gold over Canadian, Michelle Li, marking her Maiden gold win and racking up India’s medal tally.

The final day of the Commonwealth Games has been a historical one for India so far by keeping in the trend going by picking up yet another gold in the women’s badminton category. The women’s Badminton final was played between India’s PV Sindhu and Canada’s Michelle Li which saw Sindhu tear down her opponent, Li, who is the 14th ranked player in the world.

The game was dominated by Sindhu since the first set as she pulled away from her Canadian opponent from the go; winning the first game by 21-15 and subsequently following that trend up by winning the second by 21-13 to pick up the gold over Michelle Li.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi also congratulated Sindhu on her elusive gold medal win at the Commonwealth Games. Modi called her a champion and said that her dedication and commitment is awe-inspiring.

Sindhu’s gold takes the Indian medal tally to 19th gold and 56 medals in total. And with this win India has pushed down down New Zealand to the fifth spot and has taken over the fourth position on the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022 medal tally.

With 66 gold and 174 medals in total, Australia is on the unshakable number one spot followed by the host, England on the second position with 168 medals.

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Indian shuttler Pramod Bhagat on Saturday added one more gold in India’s medal tally defeating Great Britain’s Daniel Bethell by 21-14,21-17 in men’s singles (SL3) event at the ongoing Tokyo Paralympics.

With the result, India’s medal tally has now risen to 16 that includes four gold medals, seven silver and five bronze medals so far. This is the country’s best ever showing at a Paralympic event.

Bhagat, the world number one player in his category, won the final in straight games, 21-14, 21-17, to clinch the gold medal.

The match lasted a total of 45 minutes, with Bhagat taking the first game in 21 minutes and the second in 24 minutes.

On his way to the semifinals, Bhagat defeated fellow countryman Manoj Sarkar 21-10, 21-23,21-9, and Ukraine’s Oleksandr Chyrkov 21-12,21-9. However, in the last four stage, he stormed past Japan’s Daisuke Fujihara 21-11,21-16 to make the final. 

The final game saw a breathtaking battle between the Indian and Briton. Pramod Bhagat started off slowly in the opening game but hit his stride soon enough. The Indian was patient with his gameplay and showed incredible defensive skills to time and again deny Bethell the point.

Not only defence, Bhagat also did well to target and attack the body of his opponent.

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Shooters Avani Lekhara and Manish Narwal and javelin thrower Sumit Antil had won India’s three gold medals prior to Bhagat’s victory on Saturday.

Day 12 brought India its third gold of the Tokyo Paralympics when Manish Narwal finished on top of the podium in Mixed 50m Pistol SH1 final and Singhraj followed him at the second place for a silver medal.

Pramod Bhagat, who had started his career as a badminton coach, took a break in 2019 to focus on Tokyo Paralympics qualification. In 2019, he received the Arjuna Award and Biju Patnaik Award for excellence in sports in India.

In other India News, Ahead of her big release Thalaivii, Kangana Ranaut paid homage at Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s memorial and at Marina Beach in Chennai.

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When the entire nation is celebrating javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra’s gold win at the just concluded Tokyo Olympics in different ways, a petrol pump owner named Ayub Pathan in Gujarat’s Bharuch district has come up with a unique idea to celebrate this historic victory.

In an attempt to uniquely celebrate Neeraj Chopra’s gold win, the Gujarat petrol pump owner had offered free fuel upto Rs 501 to people named Neeraj in Gujarat. The offer, however, was valid only till Monday evening.

Ayub Pathan, the owner of the SP Petroleum in Netrang town of Gujarat’s Bharuch district had announced on Sunday that free petrol of Rs 501 would be given to all Neerajs who can claim the fuel after showing a valid ID proof.

To pay tribute to Neeraj Chopra, who won a gold medal for India at Tokyo Olympics, Pathan had started this two-day scheme on Sunday. So far, 30 people have availed the scheme, the petrol pump owner said.

Pathan said through this gesture, he wanted to celebrate the feat of the athlete who brought laurels to India.

After the SP petrol pump owner’s announcement of free petrol, the beneficiary of the scheme were thought it was a hoax call, but found on reaching the pump that it was indeed true.

However, it was a bonanza for them who share their name with gold medalist  Neeraj Chopra at a time petrol prices is skyrocketing.

Various state governments and other institutions have announced over Rs 13 crore in cash awards for Neeraj Chopra after his gold medal win.

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Indian airliner IndiGo has announced a one-year unlimited free travel offer for Chopra, while Anand Mahindra, chairman of Mahindra and Mahindra, has promised a brand new XUV 700.

The gold won by Neeraj Chopra on Saturday enabled India to register its first-ever gold in track and field at the Olympic Games.

India recorded its best-ever haul at the Olympics with a total of seven medals.

In other India News, Ashwini Upadhyay and five others have been detained for allegedly raising anti-muslim slogans in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. 

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