Asian Games 2023: 3 talking points from Day 1

India opened their account in the Asian Games 2023 by winning three silver medals and two bronze medals earlier today (September 24) in Hangzhou. The female athletes won a silver and a bronze in shooting, while the men won two silver medals and one bronze in rowing.

Elsewhere, the Indian teams participated in different sports, but the results were quite disappointing. The Indian women's team lost to Japan by 0-45 in the Rugby 7s, while the Indian women's football team went down 0-1 in a group stage match against Thailand. Even the Indian men's football team was held to a 1-1 draw against Myanmar.

Now that the opening day of Asian Games 2023 is in the history books, here's a look at the three major talking points.

---

#1 India wins 2 medals in shooting competitions of Asian Games 2023

Shooting has always been a medal-tally boosting sport for India because the nation is home of the best shooters in the world. Ashi Chouksey, Mehuli Ghosh, and Ramita helped India win their first silver medal in shooting by finishing second in the Women's 10m air rifle team.

The Indian trio scored 1,886.0, while the gold medal-winning Chinese team finished with 1,896.6. Ramita finished second with a score of 631.9, Mehuli was fourth with 630.8, and Ashi attained the 28th spot with 623.3. The team medals are decided on the scores of the country's shooters in the qualification round. India's total of 1,886.0 was enough to help them win a silver medal.

Ramita continued her excellent form and won a bronze medal in the Women's 10m air rifle event. The 19-year-old could have even finished higher in the standings, but her 13th shot of 9.9 led to a third-place finish. Her score in the singles event was 230.1.

China won the gold medal and silver medal in the Women's 10m air rifle event. Huang Yuting broke the Games record and topped the charts with 252.7, followed by her compatriot Han Jiayu (251.3 points).

---

#2 India wins 3 medals in Asian Games 2023 rowing events

India won total five medals today - two in shooting and three in rowing. While the women made the nation proud in shooting, the men won three medals for India in different events of rowing.

Arjun Lal Jat and Arvind Singh finished second in men's lightweight double sculls to win a silver medal. They clocked 6:28.18s at the Fuyang Water Sports Centre, finishing behind China's pair of Junjie Fan and Man Sun, who clocked 6:23.16s.

India also won a silver in the men's eight event. China once again beat India. This race was much closer, with India clocking 5:43.01s, and China clocking 5:40.17s. Neeraj, Jaswinder Singh, Bheem Singh, Puneet Kumar, Ashish, Nareskh Kalwaniya, Neetish Kumar, and Charanjeet Singh featured in India's team.

Babu Lal Yadav and Lekh Ram (6:50.41s) won a bronze medal for India in the men's pair event. Hong Kong and Uzbekistan won the gold and silver medals, respectively.

---

#3 India lose to Korea in Asian Games 2023 men's table tennis team event quarterfinals

India's medal hopes in the men's table tennis team event came to an end earlier today when Korea beat the Indian side 3-0 in the quarter-finals match. Harmeet Desai lost to An Jaehyun, followed by a defeat for G Sathiyan at the hands of Park Ganghyeon.

Veteran paddler Achantha Sharath Kamal came out to play the do-or-die match for India against Oh Junsung. Kamal gave his best but ended up losing 2-3, leading to India's early exit from the men's table tennis event of Asian Games 2023.