The Indian contingent truly live up to the ‘Is Baar Sau Paar’ target as the nation officially touched the 100-medal mark in the Hangzhou Asian Games on Saturday. India were already assured of a century in the medals tally on Friday which concluded with the country pocketing 95 medals. More medals in compound archery (3), kabaddi (2), badminton (1), and men’s cricket (1) were already assured. On Saturday, which is the final day for Indian athletes’ events in Hangzhou, India added four more medals in archery while the women’s kabaddi team’s win over Chinese Taipei in the final officially took India to the 100-medal mark.

India had won 70 medals in the last edition in Indonesia where the country’s athletes won 16 gold, 23 silver and 31 bronze medals to record their best-ever performance.

On the back of a splendid show by the shooters (22) and track and field athletes (29 medals), who contributed 51 medals, India had already surpassed its best-ever show on Wednesday.

AND THAT IS MEDAL #100 FOR !!!

HISTORY IS MADE AS INDIA GETS ITS 100 MEDAL AT THE ASIAN GAMES 2022!

This is a testament to the power of dreams, dedication, and teamwork of our athletes involved in the achievement of #TEAMINDIA!

Let this achievement inspire generations to… pic.twitter.com/EuBQpvvVQ3

— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) October 7, 2023

The Indian contingent won many surprise medals, the biggest being a women’s table tennis team bronze by Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee, who humbled the mighty China in the semifinals.

Parul Chaudhary’s sensational dash in the last 30 metres of the women’s 5000m event will also be remembered for a long time as the Meerut runner snatched a gold by edging Japan’s Ririka Hironaka in a close finish.

Javelin thrower Kishore Kumar Jena’s astonishing 86.77m throw that gave him lead over superstar Neeraj Chopra for a brief period in the men’s javelin event was another unforgettable moment.

Later Chopra won the gold, while Jena finished behind him to settle for a silver medal.

Canoers Arjun Singh and Sunil Singh Salam’s historic bronze in the men’s double 1000m along with Ram Baboo and Manju Rani’s third place finish in the mixed 35km race walk were perfect examples that if athletes refuse to bow down to the hardships life throws, excelling in sports is possible.

With PTI inputs