Tajinder clinches shot put glory; Saina enters quarters

Tajinderpal Singh Toor smashed the previous Games record.

India's Tajinderpal Singh Toor set a new meet record to clinch the gold medal in the men's shot put event at the 18th Asian Games here on Saturday.
Toor hurled the iron ball a distance of 20.75 metres to smash the previous Games record.
The previous mark of 20.57m was set by Aboulmajeed Alhabashi of Saudi Arabia at the 2010 Asiad in Guangzhou, China.
China's Liu Yang was a distant second with his season's best throw of 19.52m. Ivan Ivanov of Kazakhstan took bronze with 19.40m. This is the eighth gold medal for India in men's shot put in the history of the Asian Games.
Toor dominated the final right from the start but reserved his best for the very last attempt.
The tall, burly 23-year-old from Punjab had taken the lead with an effort of 19.96 metres in his first attempt. He threw 19.15 in his second attempt but fouled his third throw. The fourth attempt saw the Indian clock yet another 19.96m before he simply blew away the competition with his last attempt.  
Meanwhile, India's Saina Nehwal compared the cauldron atmosphere in the Jakarta badminton arena to a game of football after her second-round win at the Asian Games on Saturday.
Nehwal got past Indonesian teenager Fitriani 21-6, 21-14 in just 31 minutes to sail into the women's singles quarterfinals. But the 28-year-old Nehwal, who won her second Commonwealth gold in April, said playing against the backdrop of an intimidating crowd is always tricky.
"Easy win but a tough match. She has been playing well. She is not an easy opponent to play against. The crowd was with her," Nehwal told reporters.
"It's crazy. It's how football or cricket matches are. You have to play against so many of them. Sometimes it plays in your head," said Nehwal.
The 19-year-old Fitriani tried to come back in the second game by forcing Nehwal into errors, but the Indian veteran kept her calm. "When you keep losing points then crowd support really helps. In the second game she started well and went up to 8-4 but I am happy I could come back," said Nehwal. - Agencies
"Sometimes when there are long rallies and conditions are difficult you might have some shots that you hit into the net or miss out on. You have to control your game, be calm and relaxed."
Nehwal's team-mate PV Sindhu has eclipsed Nehwal as India's biggest badminton star after winning silver at the 2016 Olympics.
But former world number one Nehwal, who has won over 23 international titles, said tournaments like the Asian Games and Olympics are always unpredictable.
China's world number two Shi Yuqi and India's Kidambi Srikanth both crashed out on a day of men's upsets on Friday.
"Playing (in these big tournaments) is not easy because there's a lot of expectation, especially from yourself. Whoever comes out with that pressure is champion," Saina said.
She added: "Every big tournament like the Commonweath Games, Asian Games, Olympics is tough because it's not about whom you are playing, but the battle with yourself is the toughest. - AFP
 
 
 

• Athletics