Roshibina Devi assures third successive Asian Games medal, Aryan Thakur loses in soft tennis

Indian wushu star Naorem Roshibina Devi assured herself of a third successive Asian Games medal after storming into the women's Sanda 60kg semifinals with a 5-0 victory over Macao, China's Chu Man Sin, at the 2026 edition here on Tuesday.

Indian wushu star Naorem Roshibina Devi assured herself of a third successive Asian Games medal after storming into the women's Sanda 60kg semifinals with a 5-0 victory over Macao, China's Chu Man Sin, at the 2026 edition here on Tuesday. Roshibina, a two-time Asian Games medallist, will add another medal to her collection after winning bronze at the 2018 Jakarta Games and silver at Hangzhou in 2023. The semifinal berth guarantees her at least a bronze medal in the event, according to ESPN.

The Manipuri athlete, who received the Arjuna Award in 2023, has also won gold medals at the 2017 Asian Junior Championships, 2019 South Asian Games and 2023 Moscow Wushu Stars. She was named the International Wushu Federation's Female Athlete of the Year for 2023. In soft tennis, India's Aryan Thakur suffered a defeat against Chen Po-yi of Chinese Taipei in his men's singles Group C contest.

Thakur had begun his campaign with a 4-0 win over Mongolia's Bold-erdene Altangerel earlier on Tuesday, but could not carry that momentum into his next match. India also had a mixed day across other disciplines, with the men's badminton team confirming a medal after defeating Japan 3-0 in the quarterfinals.

The women's cricket team delivered India's first gold medal of the Games, defeating Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the T20 final. India posted 216/3, powered by Smriti Mandhana's 79 and Richa Ghosh's unbeaten 49, before bowling Sri Lanka out for 69 in 15.4 overs. Deepti Sharma took three wickets for six runs. In boxing, Sakshi Chaudhary advanced to the women's 51kg round of 16 with a unanimous 5-0 decision over Paris Olympics bronze medallist Aira Villegas of the Philippines. Jadumani Singh also progressed in the men's 55kg category after defeating Nepal's Chandra Bahadur Thapa.

India's men's kabaddi team registered a 63-31 win over South Korea in Group A, while the women's table tennis team defeated Thailand 3-2 in the round of 16. The men's table tennis team lost 0-3 to the Republic of Korea in the opening round. In fencing, Taniksha Khatri lost to South Korea's Song Sera in the women's individual epee quarterfinals, while Mitva Chaudhari was beaten by China's Yang Jingwen in the round of 16. Hemash Singh Sanasam and Sachin also exited the men's individual foil event.

In shooting, Elavenil Valarivan and Parth Mane finished fourth in the 10m air rifle mixed team final after qualifying second. In men's skeet qualification, Anantjeet Singh Naruka was second, while Mairaj Khan and Bhavtegh Singh Gill were 23rd and 35th, respectively. In the women's event, Raiza Dhillon stood fifth, Parinaaz Dhaliwal ninth and Maheshwari Chauhan 16th. In swimming, Aryan Nehra finished fourth in the men's 1500m freestyle final B, while India's men's 4x100m medley relay team qualified for the final after finishing seventh overall in the heats.

India's men's team Regu sepaktakraw side lost 0-3 to Malaysia. In karate, Alisha Choudhary lost 1-6 to Indonesia's Cok Istri Agung Sanistyarani in the women's kumite -55kg round of 16, while Chetan Bhatt lost his men's 84kg kumite bronze medal match. In equestrian dressage, Ashish Limaye and Willy Be Dun finished 13th, Arjan Nagra and Cooley Goodwood were 23rd, while Fouaad Mirza and Camouflage 38 finished 26th.

In soft tennis, Jay Meena defeated Pakistan's Hussain Arain 4-0 in men's singles Group D, while Aadhya Tiwari beat Pakistan's Kainaat Shallwani but finished second in her group and missed out on the knockout rounds. India's eFootball duo of Shakeel Danial Patel and Chinmay Sahoo drew 0-0 with Uzbekistan in Group F.

Roshibina's assured medal adds to India's growing tally at the ongoing Games, with the Indian contingent continuing its campaign across disciplines in Aichi-Nagoya. (ANI)