India cricketers win in style as Afghan savours ‘special’ Games silver
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India's Shreyanka Patil posing with supporters after their victory in the women's gold-medal cricket match between India and Sri Lanka on Sept 22.
PHOTO: AFP
- India's women cricket team won gold at the Asian Games, smashing records with a total of 216-3 and defeating Sri Lanka by 147 runs.
- Afghan cyclist Fariba Hashimi won a "special" silver medal after disguising herself as a man to pursue cycling, inspiring women amid harsh restrictions in Afghanistan.
- China dominated the medals, especially in swimming, while MMA made its Asian Games debut with Singapore's Teo Hui Hoon winning gold in women's traditional -60kg class.
AI generated
NAGOYA – India’s dominant women retained their Asian Games cricket crown in style on Sept 22, as an Afghan cyclist who once disguised herself as a man won a “special” silver.
China were streaking away in the medals table ahead of hosts Japan towards the end of the third full day of action in Aichi-Nagoya.
India won their first gold of this 20th edition of Asia’s biggest sporting spectacle, with Smriti Mandhana the hero.
Her whirlwind 79 helped them crush Sri Lanka by 147 runs and win a second consecutive women’s cricket title.
India smashed 216-3 off their 20 overs, the highest women’s total in Games history, with 18 fours and 13 sixes.
Sri Lanka were never a threat as they were skittled for 69 in 15.4 overs and had to settle for silver.
“It’s a good thing to win the first gold medal for India,” opening batter Mandhana told AFP.
“It feels amazing. We’ve seen other athletes win gold on TV.”
The men’s cricket competition begins on Sept 24, with India favourites to win that too.
China extended their dominance in swimming, which is taking place in Tokyo.
They have won 15 of the 20 golds in the pool so far.
But they did not have it all their own way on the night, as 17-year-old Yumeki Kojima won the 400m individual medley in an Asian Games record time of 4min 7.02sec for a Japan one-two.
Watched by Leon Marchand, the teenager now has the French superstar in his sights before the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
“Right now, Marchand is the highest target that I’m aiming for,” said Kojima.
“I want to keep getting closer to him, even if it’s little by little, and eventually surpass him.
‘Really overwhelmed’
An Afghan cyclist who disguised herself as a man to pursue her sporting dreams hopes her silver will inspire women in a country where their freedoms have been sharply curtailed.
Fariba Hashimi powered home second in the women’s road race, calling the triumph “something special”.
“I can’t explain my feelings now,” said the 23-year-old, who fled Afghanistan after the Taliban authorities returned to power in 2021.
She reflected on how she was attacked with stones and trained dressed as a man when she started out in the sport as a teenager along with sister Yulduz, who is also now a pro cyclist.
“I was born inside a country where the women who dream are getting attacked, and I’m really happy that I have fought against that,” said Hashimi, who is now based in Italy.
Mixed martial arts, or MMA, is making its Asian Games debut as it makes an audacious play to one day be on the Olympic stage.
One of the first champions in Games history was Teo Hui Hoon as the Singaporean clinched gold in the women’s traditional -60kg class.
“I was really overwhelmed when I knew that I had won the match. I’ve never cried before after a fight,” she said.
China top the medals table with 31 golds, with Japan a distant second on 11 and South Korea and Kazakhstan joint third with six each towards the end of Sept 22.
Games organisers meanwhile came out fighting, blaming teams for “confusion” and delays in boarding the cruise ship housing thousands of athletes.
More than 4,000 people are staying on the Costa Serena in Nagoya’s port, but some had complained of long delays to get on last week. AFP