Singapore and India have made encouraging starts to the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, with both contingents producing historic performances across several sports.
As of Sept 24, Singapore had collected six medals – one gold, three silver and two bronze – while India stood at 14 medals, comprising one gold, six silver and seven bronze. India was 13th in the medal standings.
Singapore’s 304-strong contingent has already broken new ground, led by mixed martial arts fighter Tiffany Teo.
The 36-year-old delivered Singapore’s first gold of the Games by defeating Uzbekistan’s Khilola Sobirova in the women’s traditional 60kg final. MMA is making its Asian Games debut, making Teo Singapore’s first champion in the sport at the continental event.
Swimmer Gan Ching Hwee has also been outstanding, winning two silver medals. After finishing second in the 1,500m freestyle, she clocked a national record of 4min 6.81sec to take silver in the 400m freestyle.
Fencing provided another landmark moment when Kiria Tikanah Abdul Rahman won silver in the women’s individual epee, Singapore’s best Asian Games fencing result.
Maxine Wong added bronze in the women’s individual foil, while Zeanne Law’s bronze in the women’s taijiquan and taijijian gave Singapore its first medal of the Games.
India’s 495-member contingent, meanwhile, has relied heavily on shooting for its early medals, with rifle and skeet competitors making repeated trips to the podium.
Elavenil Valarivan won individual silver in the women’s 10m air rifle after combining with Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod for team silver. Himanshu Dhillon also took individual silver in the men’s 10m air rifle, with Rudrankksh Patil claiming bronze.
India’s only gold so far came from its women’s cricket team, which successfully defended its Asian Games title by crushing Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the final.
There have also been significant firsts. Suchika Tariyal earned India’s first Asian Games MMA medal with bronze, while Jay Meena delivered the country’s maiden soft tennis medal.
On Sept 24, Naorem Roshibina Devi added silver in the women’s 60kg wushu sanda, while Satnam Singh and Salman Khan won bronze in the men’s double sculls rowing event.
With athletics and several major events still to come, both Singapore and India have plenty of opportunities to add to their early medal hauls.
