Asian Games 2018: Indian shot putter Tajinderpal helps India get its seventh gold

Indian shot putter, Tajinderpal Singh Toor on Saturday set a record in the men's shot put event with his throw of 20.75 meters to clinch India's seventh gold medal at the ongoing 2018 Asian Games.

Liu Yang of China and Ivan Ivanov of Kazakhstan rounded off the remaining podium places with their respective 19.52 meter and 19.40 meter throws.

Indian sprinter Muhammed Anas Yahiya entered the finals of the men's 400 m event as he topped the qualification rounds with a 45.63 seconds finish, with his compatriot, Arokia Rajiv, also qualifying for the same.

Hima Das, the 18-year-old sprinter who in July became the first ever Indian woman to win a gold medal at the IAAF Under-20 World Championships, clocked 51 seconds in the qualification rounds of the women's 400 m event to enter the finals.

In squash, Saurav Ghoshal bowed out of the Asian Games with a bronze medal after being handed a 2-3 defeat by Hong Kong's Chung Ming Au in the semi-finals of the men's singles event.

Having established a 2-0 lead over his opponent with a 12-10 and 13-11 scoreline, the 2014 Asian Games silver medalist was pegged back with consecutive 6-11 defeats in the next three games.

Ghoshal's bronze medal haul comes after similar exploits by Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa, who took home bronze medals after losing their respective semi-final fixtures in women's squash singles against Malaysian opponents Nicol David and Sivasangari Subramaniam respectively

The focus for Pallikal and Chinappa now shifts to the team event which will begin from Monday, August 27.

In boxing, India's Pavitra qualified in the women's light (60kg) quarter-finals after seeing off Pakistan's Rukhsana Parveen while in archery, India's recurve campaign was ended after the men's team lost 1-5 to South Korea in the quarterfinals.

Ace Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal and P. V. Sindhu made their way to the quarterfinals of the women's singles event by edging past Indonesian opponents Fitriani and Gregoria Mariska respectively.

India currently stands at the eight spot in the medal table with a total tally of 29 - comprising seven gold, five silver and 17 bronze medals.

(ANI)