Asian Games: Best of five!

How will the Hangzhou Asian Games go down in historyWith as many as 97 gamesrsquo records 26 Asian records and 13 world records the 19th Hangzhou edition was quite possibly the most influential and revolutionary edition of the continental gathering After four long years of waiting fans were treated to over two weeks of transcendent human achievement and splendours of multicultural contest and collaborationThe 2023 Asian Games wrapped up on Sunday with a closing ceremony featuring fireworks and dancers using litup props to add a musical component to their dance routine while the words lsquoLove Asiarsquo were projected on a giant screen with thousands of onlookersHosts China were relentless in their domination of the medal tally with 201 golds beating the 199 they clinched at Guangzhou 2010 Now that the event has drawn to a close we can look back at the monumental moments that impressed influenced and inspired us Throughout it all there were the athletes nearly 12000 of them from 45 Asian countries embracing the sporting fervour mdash and win or lose their superhuman feats had us gasping crying and laughing at the funny moving and shocking moments of the continental eventMidDay looks back at some of the most significant highlights from the Olympicsized event encompassing 40 sports across 54 venuesNepal at its imperious bestNepal menrsquos cricket team rose through the ranks and accomplished several feats in a dazzling display of skill and demeanour Their recordbreaking achievements came against parttimers Mongolia Nepal produced a topnotch effort to become the first mens team to score more than 300 runs in T20Is They bludgeoned 3143 in 20 overs surpassing the previous highest of 2783 by Afghanistan against Ireland in 2019 But that was not allFeisty teenager Kushal Malla slammed the fastest T20I century off 34 balls and continued his imperious run with an unbeaten 137 off 50 If this wasnrsquot enough Dipendra Singh Airee shattered another T20 world record while racing to a nineball fifty whacking at least eight sixes throughout his innings Nepals 26 maximums were also the most scored in a T20 inningsA costly premature celebrationSouth Korean roller skater Jung Cheolwon only had his early celebration to blame which he later admitted was a lsquobig mistakersquo that cost him gold Just as Jung the anchor in the menrsquos 3000m relay race raised his arms in the home stretch to celebrate Taiwans Huang Yulin lunged forward on his way to the finish line by onehundredth of a second for what was nothing short of a miraculous achievement While you were celebrating I was still fighting Huang later told Jung I made a rather big mistake Jung told reporters quoted by AP Irsquom very sorry I apologise to my teammates and to our fans who supported us Its all my faultESports swoops inESports made a debut appearance as a fullfledged medal event at the Hangzhou 2023 five years after merely being staged as a lsquodemonstration eventrsquo in Jakarta China rewrote record books with the first eSports Asian Games gold in history defeating Malaysia in the smartphone game Arena of ValorWatch out for the hammerAn athletics official found himself amid a terrifying ordeal after being hit by a hammer hurled during the mens hammer final With the spotlight on Kuwaits Ali Zankawi as he prepared for one of his throws none could have comprehended the amount of damage his throw would inflict in the next few secondsThe official in question Huang Qinghua was sitting outside the throwing circle when Zankawi aborted his attempt with his 726kg hammer veering off course dramatically and hitting into the officials right leg The impact was so forceful that Huang had to immediately be carried out of the arena on a stretcher and undergo surgery The sight of blood spurting from Huangrsquos wounded leg sent shockwaves through the venueHurdles hoohaChinese track darling Wu Yanni headed into the 100m hurdles final as one of the firm favourites in front of a packed home stadium But a suspected false start saw her earning a red card as she walked behind the starting blocks Wu attempted to argue her case with the authorities appearing to say that the wet track had caused her to slip But that likely invited further discussion about the right of an athlete to run under protest She was allowed a second chance nonethelessThe point of discussion became so intense that Indiarsquos Jyothi Yarraji was dragged on and also ejected for moving before the gun Both Wu and Yarraji were eventually allowed to race with Wu finishing second behind compatriot Lin Yuwei and Yarraji taking the bronze However under the rules there were no grounds for Wu to run under protest She was later disqualified with Yarraji upgraded to silver