Gaurika Singh wrote down her name in history books as she became the first swimmer of the country to bag international medal in individual event. The 13-year-old, who lives in London, had arrived to Guwahati with her father Paras Singh directly from London. The seventh grader holds more than half a dozen of national records under her belt.
Gaurika secured third position in women's 200 m backstroke and also set a new national record. She completed the distance in 2 minutes 26.93 seconds to settle for bronze. In course of completing the distance, she also bettered her own national record of 2 minutes 37.87 seconds. Kimiko Raheem (2 minutes and 18.09 seconds) of Sri Lanka bagged gold and Maana Patel (2 minutes and 22.06 seconds) of India claimed silver medal. However, Gaurika (1 minute and 11.21 seconds) finished sixth in women's 100 m butterfly.
Earlier, Nepal had won a gold medal and two bronze medals in swimming during the SAG. Nepal had won gold in women's relay in the 1999 edition held in Kathmandu and a bronze in men's relay in the 2006 SAG in Colombo.
Swimming coach Ongden Lama said that the first individual medal at the international level had motivated the team. "The medal Gaurika won is a big achievement for Nepali swimming. I hope the achievement will be vital in shaping the future of Nepali swimming," said Lama, adding that she was one of the contenders for women's 100 m backstroke as well.
Sofia Shah missed bronze in women's 400 m individual medley after she faltered in the last lap. She came fourth with a timing of 4 minutes 47.69 seconds while third place finisher, a Sri Lankan swimmer, completed the distance in 4 minutes 44.20 seconds. Coach Lama pointed out that she failed in the last lane after leading in the first 300 meters.
Sonira Bista finished seventh in women's 100 m breaststroke. She completed the distance in 1 minute 29.01 seconds. In the same event of the men's section, Suvam Shrestha of Nepal finished at the bottom with the timing of 1 minute 17.15 seconds.
Nepal wins two silver medals in wushu
Nepal won two silver medals in wushu at the Assam Rifles Indor Stadium in Shillong.
Bijay Sinjali and Sushmita Tamang claimed silver medals in their respective events. Bijay and Sushmita both won the medals in changchuan section of Taolu.
Bijay (8.80 points) lost to Sri Lankan opponent PLH Lakshan (8.86 points), the gold medalist, on the basis of points. Anjul Lamdiyo (8.66 points) of India won bronze medal.
Similarly, Sushmita collected 8.72 points, while gold medalist Sapana Devi had 9.45 points, while Naziya Parwez of Pakistan finished third with 6.30 points.
"I am very happy and excited as I gave my best performance today," said an elated Sushmita, the 10th grader at Paragon Academy. "I missed my balance at one point. However, I recovered well to finish second," she said, giving credit for her victory to her family and school.
Ram Babu wins bronze in wrestling
Ram Babu Yadav claimed bronze medal in men's 61kg freestyle wrestling on Sunday. This was his maiden international tournament. Ram Babu was defeated by Pakistan's Abdul Wahai-the silver medalist. Ram Babu had received a bye in the first match. Mohamed Ali of Afghanistan also won bronze, while Pradeep of India bagged gold.
Ram Babu, from Bara, said that winning medal for the country was the happiest moment.
On Saturday, Saroj Yadav (65 kg) had won bronze medal for Nepal, which was the first medal in wrestling for Nepal.
Meanwhile, female wrestlers Ishwari Thapa and Laxmi Khatri both faced defeats in all three matches in the round-robin format.
Juni wins bronze in weightlifting
Juni Maya Chhantyal won bronze medal in the women's 63kg event in weightlifting. This is the third medal for Nepal in weightlifting as Bikash Thapa (silver) and Devimaya Chaudhary (bronze) had won medals on Saturday.
Juni lifted altogether 125 kg, including 55 kg in snatch and 70kg in clean and jerk.
Nilam Riyaz had also lifted the same weight. However, Juni claimed the medal by the virtue of her weight. Juni was 59 kg while Riyaz was 61 kg.
Mabiya Akhtar (149 kg) of Bangladesh bagged gold and Ayasha Minadini (138 kg) of Sri Lanka claimed silver medal.
Similarly, Anil Malla finished fifth in men's 59 kg event after lifting 100 kg in snatch and 123 kg in clean and jerk. Sambhu Lopung (123 kg in snatch and 158 kg in clean and jerk) claimed gold medal in the event.
Men's Table Tennis team wins bronze
Nepal won bronze medal in the men's table tennis team event. This is the third consecutive medal for Nepal in SAG. Nepal had bagged bronze in the 10th and 11th editions as well.
Nepal lost to Sri Lanka 3-0 in the semifinal and was confined to bronze medal. Nepal had defeated Bangladesh earlier. Meanwhile, the women's team failed to bag any medal after going down 3-2 against Bangladesh.
Lawn Tennis
Nepal recorded win in the men's doubles event of lawn tennis. The pair of Abhishek Bastola and Samrakshan Bhushan Bajracharya beat the pair of Ravi Mohammad and Abdullah Faizal of the Maldives 6-3, 6-4.
Similarly, the pair of Shree Ram Magar and Kamal Bhandari beat the pair of Thinle Norbu and Tenzing Dorje of Bhutan 6-1, 6-2.
Shree Ram and Ira Rawat recorded 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 win over Bhutan's Thinle and Sonam Yonchen in mixed doubles.
Kho-kho
Nepal's men produced mixed results in the team events of kho-kho. Nepal beat Pakistan by 29-8, but faced 21-23 defeat against India. Meanwhile, the women's team went down 12-15 agaisnt India.
Women's hockey team faces big-margin defeat
Nepali women's hockey team, which has already secured at least a bronze medal, was humbled 24-0 by host India. Nepal has confirmed at least a bronze as only three teams are vying in the event. Nepal will now face Sri Lanka and the winner of the match will secure silver medal.
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