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Balhara, Jadhav beat all odds to win silver, bronze in kurash
India's Kurash contingent, which did not have money to even pay for its kits, has beaten all odds to land two medals at the Asian Games through teenagers Pincky Balhara and Malaprabha Yallappa Jadhav, in Jakarta, on Tuesday.
How Balhara got to the Asian Games is a fascinating story. The team had to go to Uzbekistan for a 20-day training camp ahead of the Games and help came from her village.
"People in my village pooled in Rs 1.75 lakh to send me to training camp. They all have supported me a lot. I am forever indebted to them," a teary-eyed Balhara said.
Balhara, hailing from Neb Sarai village in Delhi, and Jadhav from Belgaum made history by winning the silver and bronze in the 52kg category. The sport is making its debut at the Asian Games.
It is a remarkable effort from the girls in a sport that is almost unheard of in India. Questions were raised about the team's participation at the Games and the Indian Olympic Association had said the athletes would have to pay for their kits as they come from a non-recognised Kurash Association of India (KAI).
KAI is not even recognised by the Sports Ministry but after Tuesday's outcome, that could soon be a reality.
"The Sports Minister (Rajyavardhan Rathore) met us in the morning and has promised to recognise us very soon," KAI secretary Ravi Kapoor, who is here as a technical official, said.
Most of the 14 members in the kurash squad come from a judo background as the two sports are very similar. Kurash, a sport popular in Central Asia, is played while standing while one can also push the opponent to the ground in judo.
Both Balhara and Jadhav have won judo medals in international competitions and they were instant medal prospects at the Games. As most of the team members could not afford the kit worth Rs 35,000, they arranged money to buy at least the jersey and track suit.
Rathore, however, has already assured all expenses of the non-recognised federations would be borne by the ministry.
Balhara also had to go through the loss of her father three months ago. Working in Delhi Jal Board, her father suddenly died of a heart attack. He was only 42.
"I am reminded of his words after I got selected for the team in February. He said 'you will win silver, not gold'. That is exactly what happened today," she said.
Jadhav is one of the four daughters of a farmer based in Belgaum. She too had to fund herself to reach Jakarta.
Balhara won four bouts to win the silver and Jadhav three for bronze.
India continue good work in squash
India continued its march ahead with another fairly comfortable day in the squash team event of the Asian Games.
Barring Harinder Pal Sandhu, who lost to Al Tamini Abdulla in the men's tie against Qatar, no other Indian faced any problem as both the men and the women inched ahead in their pursuit to qualify from the group stage.
Harinder's loss meant both Ramit Tandon and Mahesh Mangaonkar had to be extra cautious but both were up to the task as India eked out a 2-1 win. All other matches ended in India's favour with an identical 3-0 margins.
The results:
Men: India bt Qatar 2-1 ( Harinder Pal Sandhu lost to Al Tamini Abdulla8-11, 9-11, 8-11; Ramit Tandon bt Amjad Syed 11-3, 11-5, 11-3; Mahesh Mangaonkar bt Al Malki Abdulrahman 11-9, 11-6, 11-2)
Women: India bt Thailand 3-0 (Joshna Chinappa bt Prasertratanakul Anantana 11-9, 12-10, 11-6; Sunayna Kuruvilla bt Thamronglarp Tuddaw 11-2, 11-6, 11-2; Tanvi Khanna bt Phongrattana Pranghatai 11-3, 11-4, 11-2); India bt Indonesia 3-0 (Dipika Pallikal Karthik bt Rohmah Yeni Siti11-5, 11-5,11-7; Sunayna Kuruvilla bt Maryani Irma11-3, 11-9, 11-1; Tanvi Khanna bt Nadiya Maudy Wafa 11-1, 11-3, 11-7).