Asian Games Sept 28: Bhaker, Sable and India men’s cricket headline schedule
Manu Bhaker, Avinash Sable and India’s men’s cricket team are among the leading Indian athletes in action at the Asian Games on September 28. The day’s programme spans shooting, athletics and a crucial cricket knockout match.
India sit 12th on the Asian Games medal table with 37 medals — four gold, 16 silver and 17 bronze — after September 27 produced seven medals from athletics and squash but no gold, dropping the country from 10th to 12th. Athletics accounted for five of those medals: Ancy Sojan and Sarvesh Kushare won silver, while Parul Chaudhary, Tejaswin Shankar and Harita Bhadra took bronze. Squash contributed two more silvers through Anahat Singh and Abhay Singh, and three Indian boxers — Ankush Panghal, Parveen Hooda and Narender Berwal — guaranteed themselves medals by reaching the semi-finals.
Manu Bhaker, who finished fifth in the 10m air pistol final, returns in the women’s 25m pistol where she is the defending Asian Games champion. Bhaker, Esha Singh and Rahi Sarnobat will contest the rapid stage from 6:10 AM IST, with the individual final scheduled for 10:45 AM, subject to qualification. Bhaker had qualified third for the 10m final but finished fifth, while India’s women’s team ended fourth after being tied with Vietnam on points.
Other shooters in action include Neeru, Manisha Keer and Aashima Ahlawat in the women’s trap events and Kynan Chenai, Ahvar Rizvi and Shapath Bharadwaj in men’s trap qualification. Esha Singh and Rahi Sarnobat remain in pursuit of additional medals within the pistol events.
Avinash Sable returns to the 3000m steeplechase final — the event he won in 2023 — with his race scheduled for 4:17 PM IST after a serious knee injury and a long break from steeplechase racing. Murali Sreeshankar competes in the men’s long jump final at 4:30 PM, and Parul Chaudhary races in the women’s 5000m final at 5:13 PM after winning bronze in the 3000m steeplechase on September 27. The evening session also includes the men’s 1500m, javelin, women’s 800m and the men’s 4x400m and women’s 4x100m relays.
India’s women’s cricket team have already secured gold after beating Sri Lanka, while the men faced a rain-shortened five-over warm-up against Japan that India won by two runs after being restricted to 32/4 and holding Japan to 30/3. The truncated match served as preparation ahead of knockout play against stronger opposition.
Lovlina Borgohain begins her campaign in the women’s 75kg quarter-finals, India’s men’s hockey team face Bangladesh, and the Indian contingent also have fixtures in squash, tennis, volleyball and sepak takraw. All timings are in IST and are based on the official India schedule.
India’s men’s cricket side meet Afghanistan in a quarter-final at 10 AM IST on September 28; a defeat would end India’s tournament run while a victory would keep their gold-medal bid alive.
