India on Wednesday made the 19th Asian Games their most successful ever, surpassing the 70 medals they won in Jakarta five years ago. It was a day that was eventually headlined by a sensational battle in the javelin between Neeraj Chopra and Kishore Kumar Jena, and a superb run in the men's 4x400m relay.
Here, ESPN India picks out 9 unique numbers that truly helped define the day that India had on Wednesday, October 4.
88.88
Perfect number for the perfect champion. Neeraj Chopra, under extreme pressure, threw a season's best 88.88m to take gold from compatriot Kishore Kumar Jena in the men's javelin.
0.04
Jena, meanwhile, improved upon his personal best twice (and massively). The second time he did it, with 87.54m, he came within 0.04m (4 cm) of the mark that had won Neeraj Chopra Olympic immortality.
2-2-1
In her first Asian Games, Harmilan Bains did something pretty awesome, winning silvers in the 1500m and the 800m.
What made the latter medal even more special was this:
Harmilan Bains wins silver in the same event that her mother did at the 2002 #AsianGames in Busan ❤️ pic.twitter.com/SSM5xn5QGl
- ESPN India (@ESPNIndia) October 4, 2023
0/4, 1/5?
Saurav Ghoshal has won men's singles medals at five consecutive Asian Games now; but has never won the gold medal before. Come tomorrow, can the 37-year-old great finally, do it?
Not 6
2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018: 4x400m women's relay, India gold. Five consecutive years, they'd won, and in the sixth (2023) they broke the Games Record. And yet finished second as Bahrain ran an incredible race to break a remarkable streak.
0.47s
The men's team, though, made up for it by pipping defending champions Qatar to 4x400m men's relay gold. And they did it by 0.47 seconds.
3
Only three Indian boxers have medalled at the Olympics, World Championships & Asian Games: Vijender Singh, MC Mary Kom and now Lovlina Borgohain.
32
After opening their Asian Games with a 34-34 tie vs Chinese Taipei; but have since beaten South Korea 56-23 and today afternoon beat Thailand 54-22, despite slipping into second gear halfway through the game.
1
Three points separated winner from loser in the quarterfinal. Five in the semifinal. And in the final, just one. By the slenderest of margins, Ojas Deotale and Jyothi Surekha Vennam pulled out something magical and with it came Asiad Gold in the mixed team compound archery team event.