Apurvi Chandela's 5th place finish once again proves the importance of mental strength in sports
From the Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Palembang, comes the eighteenth edition of the Asian Games. Over five hundred and fifty sportspersons make up the Indian contingent, which makes it one of the biggest to go overseas. After India's excellent performances at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, expectations will be high. Sports such as Shooting and Wrestling stole the show at the Gold Coast Games earlier this year, and are expected to be India's strengths at the Asiad. The Shooting contingent, especially, raised the hopes of the Indian crowd after a spirited performance Down Under. A total of sixteen medals at the Commonwealth Games, along with excellent performances by shooters throughout the year, made the Indian fans eager for Asiad. However, the Indian contingent hasn't had the best of starts in Jakarta. Although the shooters have brought back two medals in two days,
some of the big names have disappointed. Manu Bhaker and Abhishek Verma started Day One on a wrong note. They were eliminated in the qualifying round. With no medal in the 10m Mixed Team Pistol event, we moved on to 10m Air Rifle. The pairing of Apurvi Chandela and Ravi Kumar yielded results in this one, as they won the Bronze medal to kick-start India's Asian Games. Chandela then returned on Day Two of the Games. This time she was on her own, participating in the 10m Air Rifle Women's event. However, the Twenty-Five-year old faltered on the big stage, eventually finishing fifth. The Indian Shooters previous records show an alarming trend. She has gone close to the top prize on several occasions but has faltered at the last step. Chandela's final big Gold medal came four years ago when she won at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.