The Indian contingent produced a blistering session across three sports, mixing grit, precision and outright demolition as the table tennis men dug deep, the shooters climbed the podium, and the women’s hockey team rewrote scoring history.
Table tennis: Manav and Manush drag India clear
In the men’s team event, India’s paddlers walked a tightrope and then stamped their authority on Group F against Indonesia.
Manav Thakkar set the tone in dramatic fashion. His 3-2 win over Muhammad Junindra was a test of nerve as much as touch: 11-7, 8-11, 11-6, 6-11, 11-8. Every time he pulled ahead, Junindra found a response. The decider underlined that tension.
World No. 48 Manav burst out to a 5-1 lead in the fifth, only to see Junindra claw back point by point until it was 7-7. The hall tightened. Manav didn’t. He steadied his serve, picked his placements, and strung together the final surge to close it out 11-8, giving India the opening point.
The pressure then shifted to Manush Shah in the third match of the tie, up against Affan Pratama. Twice, Manush walked to the towel corner trailing and twice he walked back to the table transformed.
In the first game, he slipped behind 3-6, struggled for rhythm, then suddenly caught fire. His forehand began to bite, his counters grew sharper, and he reeled Pratama in to steal it 11-9.
The second game felt like déjà vu, only worse. Pratama raced to 6-1 and later stood at 9-7, two points from levelling the match. Manush refused to blink. Four points in a row, all on his terms, turned the game on its head again. Another 11-9, and with it a 2-0 lead in the match.
India, as a result, surged 2-0 ahead in the Group F team clash, the scoreboard reflecting not just superiority but resilience under fire.
Shooting: Indian rifle trio hit silver, Sonam and Elavenil into final
On the shooting range, India’s women were locked into their sights and into the medals.
The 10m air rifle team of Elavenil Valarivan, Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod delivered a combined total of 1898, a score good enough for silver in a high-class field. China edged gold with 1904.2, while Japan took bronze on 1897.1 in a tight cluster at the top.
Within that silver, individual stories stood out. Sonam posted 634.1 and Elavenil 633.5, both strong enough to punch their tickets into the individual final. Vidarsa, with 630.4, finished 12th, just outside the qualification spots but part of a unit that still climbed the podium.
The final, scheduled for 11:00 AM IST, will now feature two Indian rifles on the line, both with the form to turn team silver into something even brighter.
Hockey: India 19–0 Uzbekistan, and Deepika makes history
Then came the avalanche.
In their first-ever meeting with Uzbekistan, India’s women’s hockey team produced a scoreline that will echo far beyond the group stages: 19-0. They fell just short of matching their famous 22-0 record, but the story of the night belonged to one player.
Deepika Sehrawat tore through the Uzbek defence with a performance for the ages, racking up eight goals. No woman has ever scored more in a single hockey match. She found space where there was none, finished with ruthless calm, and turned a routine opener into a personal landmark.
Around her, India swarmed in waves, Sjoerd Marijne’s side playing with the freedom of a team that knows exactly what it wants from this campaign. Every quarter brought fresh pressure, fresh goals, and a clear message to the rest of the field.
Nineteen without reply. A record-breaking individual haul. A statement start.
If this is how India open their campaign across the board — clawing back deficits in table tennis, climbing the podium in shooting, and dismantling opponents in hockey — the real question now is how high this group can push the ceiling.
