NAGOYA, Japan: India beat arch-rivals Pakistan on a converted baseball field to retain their Asian Games cricket title on Saturday as South Korean golfer Tom Kim clinched a gold medal and a military service exemption.
Two years before cricket returns to the Olympics, India cruised to a 19-run win over Pakistan, with Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma smashing fifties in the final.
"A huge occasion when you are playing Pakistan in the final, the whole country is watching, and you have that pressure," said India captain Shreyas Iyer.
The Indian cricket women, incidentally
On top of that, India also had a big day on the penultimate day of the Games, winning a total of five gold. Before the cricket gold, they also won gold medals in wrestling, women's golf and women's archery.
But the icing on the cake on the day came after the cricket gold. India is now by far the best Asian team in current form and also the best Asia-ranked in the world rankings.
And it was even sweeter when their national men's team bagged the gold medal in the men's competition in an emphatic way, creating history en route to the title. Like cricket, the women's team had already won their competition.
That meant it was the first time India won both the men's and women's hockey competitions in the Asian Games. It is also the first time they have held all the available titles in cricket and hockey in a top international tournament, the country's top two sports.
In the men's hockey final, an Indian team at its very best thrashed Malaysia 5-1 and secured their automatic ticket for the 2028 Olympic Games.
Meanwhile, a jet-lagged Kim felt the pressure on the final day at the Kasugai Country Club, two years after narrowly missing out on a medal at the Paris Olympics.
The four-time US PGA Tour winner played superbly, though, in a final-round 64 to finish three strokes clear.
South Korea gives Asian Games champions an exemption from compulsory military service.
"This day was the longest day I think I’ve ever had in my life. It’s only been six, five hours but it is definitely the longest, and I’m just glad it’s done," said a relieved Kim, who also won a team silver for South Korea.
PLANNING PROBLEMS
The Games has been blighted by organisational problems, drawing complaints from many teams about accommodation and transport.
The women's hockey final was delayed by nearly an hour on Friday after the shuttle buses taking India and China's teams got stuck in traffic on the way to the venue.
Japan's Olympic Committee President said Aichi-Nagoya organisers needed to reflect on their planning after they struggled to manage logistics for 17,000 athletes and officials.
The home athletes have done the country proud, though, and will finish with a national record haul of over 260 medals, smashing their previous best (218) at Hiroshima 1994.
Coleman Wong won Hong Kong a first men's tennis singles gold and a provisional berth to the Los Angeles Olympics with victory over China's Wu Yibing.
"It’s going to be my first Olympics; it’s going to be amazing," said the 22-year-old world number 100.
Japan's Kae Tokumoto and Saki Tsukamoto won padel's first gold medal on the racket sport's Games debut, beating an Indonesian duo for the women's pairs gold.
Iran's proud taekwondo record was burnished by towering Olympic champion Arian Salimi, who bested Uzbek Marat Mavlonov for the +80kg gold, three years after taking silver at Hangzhou.
"I love pain, I love fighting, and I love my life,” said the tough 22-year-old.
Anti-doping testers said two more athletes had failed drug tests, dealing provisional suspensions to Tajik tennis player Issamjon Sharifov and Kazakh middle-distance runner Aiana Bolatbekkyzy.
In a programme featuring 469 gold medals, the final two will be contested on Sunday in the equestrian event in Tokyo before the Games end with a closing ceremony at Nagoya's Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium.
