Both the men’s and women’s compound archery teams won the Asian Games gold on day 12; India also got gold in squash mixed doubles for the first time.

India on Day 12

It was a golden achievement for India’s compound archery women’s team. Jyothi Vennam, Aditi Swami and Parneet Kaur snatched victory from Chinese Taipei in the team event with a scoreline of 230-229. The medal was India’s 82nd medal, the 19th gold at Hangzhou Asian Games.

Following the women’s team, the men’s team comprising Abhishek Verma, Ojas Deotale and Prathamesh Jawkar secured their gold  by defeating South Korea 235-230.

Veteran campaigner Dipika Pallikal and Harinder Pal Sandhu won the first-ever mixed doubles Asian Games gold medal for India. The Indian pair beat Malaysia’s Aifa Azman and Mohd Syafiq Kamal 11-10, 11-10 in the final. It is Dipika’s maiden Asian Games gold medal while Harinder won his third one.

But the singles gold remained elusive for squash superstar Saurav Ghosal. The veteran of many battles, Ghosal settled for a silver after his 1-3 defeat against Malaysia’s Ng Eain Yow in the final. However, this is his fifth consecutive singles Asian Games medal and the tenth overall.

Highlights of Day 12

China took gold in both Men’s and Women’s Dragon Boat 500m Grand Final. The Chinese men’s squad outclassed Indonesia by a margin of 0.013 seconds, followed by Thailand in third place in 2:09.822. The Chinese women’s squad later won the title in 2:21.360 followed by Indonesia and Myanmar. This is the third time dragon boat has been designated as an official sport at the Asian Games. It made its debut in the Guangzhou edition in 2010 and was listed as an official program again in Jakarta in 2018. 

China successfully defended its title in the Women’s Basketball. The host nation defeated arch-rival Japan 74-72 on day 12 of the Hangzhou Asian Games. China is one of the leading Basketball teams in the world riding high on the runner-up title at the FIBA Women’s World Cup last year, and the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup title in July 2023.

Japan’s duo Toshiki Uematsu and Noa Takahashi clinched the Asian Games Soft Tennis Mixed Doubles gold after defeating compatriots Riku Uchida and Tomomi Shimuta 5-3. Uematsu also spearheaded Japan to win the Men’s Team gold over Chinese Taipei on day 11.