Asian Games 2023: Naorem Roshibina Devi assured of bronze; Surya Bhanu Partap Singh advances to quarters

India have won 11 medals already in the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, including two gold medals on Monday in women’s cricket and men’s 10m air rifle team event. Manipur’s Naorem Roshibina Devi on Monday ensured India would add another to their tally sooner rather than later, their first in Wushu in the ongoing Games. She assured India of the medal by qualifying for the semi-finals of the Women’s 60 kg Wushu (Sanda) event, thus staying in contention for a bronze at the very least. Asian Games 2023: India’s medal winners in Hangzhou She outplayed her opening opponent in the quarter-final, Aiman Karshyga of Kazakhstan, convincingly through points difference. Roshibina Devi had won the bronze medal at the last Asian Games in the same category. Notably, she was a gold medallist in the same category at the 2019 South Asian Games.

In the men’s section, Surya Bhanu Partap Singh reached quarter-finals after winning his pre-quarters bout against Islombek Khaydarov of Uzbekistan in the 60kg category in Sanda. His bout lasted three rounds as the Indian prevailed 2-1. Partap, also a bronze medallist from the previous edition of the Asian Games, has won a couple of medals of the same colour in the World Wushu Championships. He also won the gold medal in the 2016 South Asian Games. Asian Games 2023: Updated medal table In the final men’s bout of the day in the 65 kg category, Vikrant Baliyan was knocked out in the pre-quarters by Samuel Marbun of Indonesia by a 1-2 margin. Although the bout was closely contested, the Indian struggled to match his opponent’s agility and speed. Baliyan is a bronze medallist of the 2019 World Wushu Championships, besides winning the gold medal during the 2019 South Asian Games. With inputs from PTI