GUANGZHOU, Nov 26 (PTI): India created history by recording their best-ever performance in Asian Games with 64 medals, including a record 14 gold, with star boxer Vijender Singh providing the icing on the cake by bringing the last yellow metal on the penultimate day here today.
The men�s and women�s kabaddi teams expectedly maintained their supremacy by clinching the gold before the women�s 4x400m quartet and Vijender (75kg) bagged a yellow metal each on the most productive day for India in the mega-event.
With the addition of 11 more medals today, India�s tally climbed to a record 14 gold, 17 silver and 33 bronze (total 64), the biggest ever haul in the Asian Games so far, to jump to the sixth place.
India�s best medal haul till date was recorded in the 1982 Games in Delhi when they had won 13 gold, 19 silver and 25 bronze for an overall tally of 57. India had finished 10 in the last edition of the Games in Doha with a tally of 10-17-26.
India have now completed their engagements in the Games and their final standing will depend after the completion of the six events � men�s and women�s marathon, men�s and women�s doubles sepaktakraw finals and women�s volleyball final � tomorrow.
China leads the medal table with 197 gold, 117 silver and 98 bronze (total 412), followed by South Korea (74-63-91) and Japan (47-73-94) at second and third respectively.
While the kabaddi teams did not sweat much to keep their reputation intact in rather lopsided finals, Vijender made amends for his bronze-finish in Commonwealth Games with a gold here while compatriots Santosh Kumar (64) and Manpreet Singh (91kg) settled for a silver each.
The women�s 4x400m relay team also lived up to the expectations as they defended the gold they won in the 2006 Doha Asian Games.
Long distance runners Preeja Sreedharan, who had earlier won a gold in women�s 10,000m race, and Kavita Raut had their moment of glory by winning the silver and bronze medals respectively in the women�s 5000m event.
Rollersports fetched India a couple of unexpected bronze medals with Anup Kumar Yama bagging one in men�s single free skating before combining with Avani Panchal to finish third in the pairs skating event. The Indian men�s chess team also contributed a bronze.
Much was expected from the kabaddi teams to provide the boost to the gold haul and they did not disappoint.
The men�s kabaddi team maintained their impeccable track record by winning the gold medal for the sixth time on the trot, demolishing Iran with a facile 37-20 margin what turned out to be a lop-sided contest.
The script unfolded on expected lines for the women�s kabaddi team also as they completed a memorable Asian Games debut by clinching the gold medal with a comprehensive win over Thailand in the final.
The Indians beat Thailand 28-14 in a dominating performance to clinch the inaugural women�s kabaddi gold of the Asian Games.
World number one Vijender added another feather on his cap by clinching an unprecedented second boxing gold for India in the Asian Games to round off the best ever campaign by the country�s pugilists at the quadrennial mega-event.
