Asian Games 2018, Day 9: Neeraj Chopra wins historic gold, Saina Nehwal finishes with historic bronze

Hello and welcome to the highlights of Day 9 action of Asian Games 2018 from Jakarta and Palembang.

Medalists of the day

Neeraj Chopra - Gold in Men's javelin throw

Neena Varakil - Silver in Women's Long Jump

Sudha Singh - Silver in Women's 3000m steeplechase

Ayyasamy Dharun - Silver in men's 400m hurdles 

Saina Nehwal - Bronze in women's singles badminton

Neeraj's Chopra's gold and four other medals from Day 9 has helped India finish Day 9 on the ninth spot. 

Indian men's team are leading Japan 2-0 in the quarter-final. They're a win away from confirming the first-ever Asian Games medal in the event for the country. 

G Sathiyan opened the tie for India with an 11-9, 11-9, 11-7 win over Japan's Jin Ueda.

Veteran Achanta Sharath Kamal defeated Kenta Matsudaira 11-8, 12-10, 11-8 in the second rubber of the tie.

Harmeet Desai is now in action against Masaki Yoshida of Japan.

India's Deeraj beats Kyrgyzstan's Nurlan Kobashev 3-0 to progress to the quarter-final of Men's Light Welterweight category.

Meanwhile, Mohammed Hussam Uddin lost to Mongolia's Kharkhuu Enkhamar 3-2 in the men's Bantamweight category earlier in the day.

Vikas Krishan (Men's Middleweight) and Amit (Men's Light Fly) had won their R16 matches earlier in the day.

India women lose table tennis quarter-final to Hong Kong 3-1.

Manika Batra, the Commonwealth Games gold medalist, clinched the only win of the tie against Hong Kong's Ching Lee Ho 11-9, 11-9, 5-11, 11-6.

Mouma Das, Ayhika Mukherjee lost their rubbers while Batra lost her second match of the tie to Kem Doo Hoi.

The junior world record holder has made a successful transition to the senior level. Being a consistent participant of IAAF Diamond League, the 20-year-old went on to win the Commonwealth Games earlier this year. 

Having won the Asian Games medal, what's in store for Neeraj Chopra? 

"The competition was good, I had trained well and was focused on getting a gold medal for the country. I dedicate my medal to Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji who was a great man: Neeraj Chopra on winning gold medal in men's javelin throw final at Asian Games 2018," Neeraj Chopra tells ANI after creating history in Jakarta. 

Meanwhile, India's Jinson Johnson has qualified for the final of men's 800m. 

The 20-year-old is quite a fan favourite. After completing the formalities on the field, he obliged to fans who wanted to click photos with the golden boy of Indian athletics.

 Congratulatory messages are pouring in for Neeraj!

Neeraj Chopra was a cut above the men's javelin throw field at Asian Games, become the first Indian to win a javelin gold at the continental meet. 

He broke the national record with a personal best throw of 88.06m and finished comfortably clear of second-placed Liu Qizhen of China, who finished with 82.22m. 

Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan won the bronze with a throw of 80.75m. Chinese Taipei's Cheng Chaotsun, who has a personal best of 90-plus, finishes in the fifth place of 79.81m. 

Third silver from athletics for India this evening. 

This time, it's Neena Varakil who finishes second in the women's long jump. She came up with a best jump of 6.51m, 0.01m better than bronze medalist Xu of China. 

Neeraj Chopra throws 83.25m with his fourth attempt. He retains the gold medal position with his personal best throw of 88.06m. 

Cheng Chaotsun, who has a personal best of 91.36m, has been disappointing in the big final. His best jump is 79.81m and has fouled his fifth attempt.

Neena Varakil improves her best jump by 0.01m to 6.51m.

She retains the silver medal position, behind field topper Bui Thi Thu Thao of Vietnam, who came up with a 6.55m-jump in her first attempt.

The 2010 Asian Games gold medalist and the 2017 Asian Championships gold medalist wins silver in the women's 3000m steeplechase event at Asian Games. 

Solid effort from the 32-year-old, who clocked 9:40.03s in the final. Yavi Winfred of Bahrain was the runaway winner with a timing of 9:36.52s. 

A massive, massive attempt from Neeraj Chopra. The 20-year-old, a gold medal favourite, breaks the national record with a personal best throw of 88.06m.

He is well ahead of the second-placed Liu Qizhen of China, who has made a best attempt of 82.22m. 

India's Sudha Singh, the 2010 Asian Games champion and Asian Athletics Championships 2017 champion, and Chinta are in action in the final.

Neena Varakil is impressing in the women's long jump final. 

Neena Varakil of India is at the fourth spot with a best jump of 6.41m, 0.14m lesser than gold medalist Bui Thi Thu Thao of Vietnam.

Nayana James is at the 10th spot in the 11-woman final with the best attempt of 6.14m.

Amit Phangal defeated Mongolia's Kharkhuu Enkhmandakh 5-0 to reach the quarter-final of men's Light Fly event.

What a run from the 21-year-old athlete. He came back from behind to beat Abe Takatoshi of Japan to finish with a silver medal.

Dharun clocked a personal best timing of 48.96s to finish on the second step of the podium. Samba Abderrahman of Qatar takes the gold with a timing of 47.66s. 

T Santosh Kumar of India finished fifth with a timing of 49.66s. 

India's Ayyasamy Dharun, the second fastest qualifier, is in action in the men's 400m hurdles final. He will be joined by compatriot T Santosh Kumar. 

Neeraj Chopra goes into the lead with his first attempt of 83.46m. The Commonwealth Games gold medalist liked his effort as he came up with a little celebratory gesture after his throw.  

Liu Qizhen of China is currently in the second spot with a personal best throw of 82.22m.

Cheng Chaotsun, who has a personal best of 91.36m, is yet to throw.

Meanwhile, Shivpal Singh of India threw 74.11m in his first attempt.

Adekoya Oluwakemi took the gold in the women's 400m hurdles with a Games record of 54.48s. 

Meanwhile, India Anu Raghavan finished fourth with a timing of 56.92s, 1.27s slower than bronze medalist Jamal Aminat of Bahrain. 

Jauna Murmu finished fifth with a timing of 57.48s. 

Jauna Murma and Anu Raghavan of India are in the women's hurdles 400m final.

A lot of athletics action is coming up. Javelin throw star Neeraj Chopra will be in action in the men's final from 5:15 pm IST.

Here's the schedule 

Men's javelin throw final: 5:15 pm IST

Neeraj Chopra, Shivpal Singh

Women's long jump final: 5:15 pm IST

Nayana James, Neena Varakil

Women's 400m hurdles final: 5:15 pm IST

Jauna Murmu, Anu Raghavan

Men's 400m hurdles final: 5:30 pm IST

Ayyasamy Dharun, Santosh Kumar

Men's high jump final: 5:30 pm IST

Chethan Balasubramanya

Women's 3000m steeplechase final: 5:45 pm IST

Sudha Singh, Chinta Yadav

Men's 3000m steeplechase final: 6 pm IST

Shankar Lal Swami

Men's 800m qualification: 6:30 pm IST

Jinson Johnson, Manjit Singh

India have defeated Vietnam 3-0 to qualify for table tennis men's team event quarter-final. 

Meanwhile, the women's team will take on higher-ranked Hong Kong in a tough quarter-final test, shortly. 

India's two-time Asian Games medalist Vikas Krishan storms into the quarter-final of men's middleweight category.

The 26-year-old defeated Tanveer Ahmed of Pakistan by unanimous decision (5-0).

India's Vikas Krishan begins Asian Games campaign in the men's middleweight category (75kg) in the Round of 16 bout against Pakistan's Tanveer Ahmed.

Other boxing matches on Monday. 

Men's flyweight R16: 5:15 pm IST

Amit

Men's bantamweight R16: 6:15 pm IST

Mohammed Husam Uddin

Men's light welterweight R16: 7 pm IST

Dheeraj

India men's team has beaten Indonesia 3-0 in a Pool B encounter. They will take on Singapore later in the day before facing Qatar in their final pool match tomorrow.

The women's team, meanwhile, defeated Iran 3-0 in the morning. They will face Thailand and Indonesia in their final Pool B matches tomorrow.

The top two teams from each pool (in both men and women's category) will reach the semi-final.

India's final Group D game against Vietnam coming up. They had beaten Macau in straight sets earlier in the day.

A win in the ongoing rubber will help them seal the second place in the pool and a semi-final spot.

Chinese Taipei, who had defeated India 3-2 on Sunday, are leading the pool with four wins from as many matches.

Have a look at some of the photos from PV Sindhu's semi-final win over Akane Yamaguchi. The Indian shuttler will face top seed and world number one Tai Tzu Ying in the gold medal match tomorrow. 

India started slow but picked up the pace in the last two quarters to thrash Thailand 5-0 and finish on top of Pool B. Captain Rani, who opened the scoring in the third quarter, finished with a hat-trick.

PV Sindhu, who defeated Akane Yamaguchi, to book a place in the women's singles final, spoke to Sony Pictures India from Jakarta about tomorrow's big tie. 

The Rio Olympic silver medalist says she wants to win her country a gold medal this time. 

"It's not going to be easy. I will give my best. I think it's the final. Will give my heart out and play well. She [Tai Tzu Ying] is doing well," Sindhu said. 

"Not really [final defeats not playing on my mind]. You play in big tournaments finals and it's proud feeling. Playing the final for my country is a proud moment. I hope I get my country a gold."

India are sitting pretty at the top of the Pool B table with 9 points in three games.

Having sealed a semi-final spot, Rani's girls are being frustrated by Thailand, who are parking their bus.

At the end of second quarter, it remains 0-0/

PV Sindhu was the first Indian woman to reach an Olympic badminton final in 2016. She now becomes the first from the country to reach the badminton final at Asian Games. 

The world number three beats second-ranked Akane Yamaguchi 21-17, 15-21, 21-10 in an hour and six minutes. 

The 23-year-old Rio Olympic silver medalist could have finished the match in straight games if not for some unforced errors and a spirited effort from Yamaguchi. 

However, in the third game, Yamaguchi was clearly tired and Sindhu made good use of it, winning the decider with ease. 

Sindhu will now face world number one Tai Tzu Ying in the final. Can the Indian shuttler get the elusive gold tomorrow? 

Some marathon rallies are being played by the two shuttlers. Sindhu though manages to hold on to a four-point lead in the decider of this second semi-final. 

She was down on the court after a Yamaguchi shot caught the tape. However, she has shifted gears and has taken the attacking route ever since. 

A run of four straight points gives her the 7-3 lead in the decider. Some brilliant attacking display from the young shuttler. Yamaguchi was certainly not ready for this. 

Sindhu went from dominating the match to being dominated in the tie within minutes. She loses the second game 21-15 and the semi-final goes into the decider. 

Yamaguchi displayed some tremendous grit and composure to come back after being down 10-6 at one point in the game. The 21-year-old Japanese retrieving skills put pressure on Sindhu as the Indian shuttler grew tired towards the end of the game. 

It's now or never for the Indian shuttler now. She needs to step up and do what she did in the first game in order to book a place in the final.  

Sindhu was leading 10-6 in the second game but goes into the break trailing Yamaguchi by a point. 

Quite a few unforced errors here from the Indian shuttler. How much is the series of five points going to cost her? 

PV Sindhu didn't really have much trouble while sealing the first game 21-17. She hit her smashes with precision and dragged Akane Yamaguchi across the court. Positive badminton from the young Indian shuttler!

PV Sindhu goes into the break of the first game with a three-point lead. Some good precision from the Indian as she took the lead and capitalised on it. 

PV Sindhu has begun her semi-final match against Akane Yamaguchi. Can the Indian shuttler join Tai Tzu Ying in tomorrow's final? 

Saina Nehwal has become the first Indian to win an Asian Games medal in women's singles badminton. 

She goes down in straight games to world number one Tai Tzu Ying in the semi-final. This is her 10th straight defeat to the Chinese Taipei shuttler, who is the top seed at the ongoing Asian Games. 

Saina was looking determined and troubled Tai, who was struggling to deal with the drift at the Istora but the numero uno was able to outclass the Indian shutter. 

Tai was trailing 12-13 in the second game but she won nine of the next 10 points to win the match 21-17, 21-14 and book a place in the final. 

PV Sindhu will be in action in the second women's singles semi-final against Akane Yamaguchi, shortly. 

Saina Nehwal into the lead for the first time in the match. She is leading 13-12 after some good deceptive play. 

Saina stitched a good run of four points to go 6-6 but with two very good deceptive shots, Tai is once again in the lead at 9-6. 

The Indian shuttler shouldn't let the game slip away if she is to stop Tai from winning this in two games. 

Tai Tzu Ying is ruthless here. Saina is looking determined but the Chinese Taipei shuttler is finding ways to win points easily. She is off to a 6-2 lead in the second game. 

Saina Nehwal hasn't won a game against Tai Tzu Ying since December 2015 and the trend continues at the Asian Games as she loses first game 21-17 to the Chinese Taipei shuttler. 

The top seed wasn't at her best as she was struggling to control the shuttle due to the drift. However, she was able to win crucial points to put the pressure on the Indian. 

Tai Tzu Ying has stepped up after the break. With a run of five straight points, she is up 15-10 in the first game. Some lovely net play and quick reflexes on display from the Chinese Taipei shuttler. 

Tai Tzu Ying, the top seed, has a one-point lead at the break. She had made a strong start, racing to a 3-0 lead but Saina was up to the task. It has been a close game so far!

Tai Tzu Ying is struggling to control the shuttle with all the drift at the Istora and has already hit a few long and wide. Saina has fought back well to make it 9-9 in the first game. 

It looks like Tai Tzu Ying is in the mood to make it 10 straight wins against Saina Nehwal.

She has raced to a 4-1 lead with some good pushes and deceptive drops early on.

Big, big test for Saina Nehwal. She fittingly became the first Indian woman to assure herself an Asiad medal yesterday.

Can she beat Tai Tzu Ying and progress a step further today? 

Tai has a 33-2 record and has been nearly unbeatable this season. The Chinese Taipei shuttler has won 11 of her 17 meetings with Saina, including their last nine on the trot. 

India will begin men's team Pool B action against hosts Indonesia in a while.

Saurav Ghosal, Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu, Ramit Tandon and Mahesh Mangoankar are part of the side.

India, the defending champions, are favourites to finish on the podium and a good start will give them the much-needed confidence.

Notably, three of the four players — barring Ramit — were part of the gold medal-winning unit at 2014 Asian Games.

Mangoankar spoke to us in the lead up to the Asian Games about India's chances in Jakarta. Read it here.

India eased past Nepal in Men's Regu Preliminary Group B tie. They clinched a 21-15, 21-15 win over their lower-ranked opponents. 

As many as 11 athletes are in action in the track and field final events, starting from 5:15 pm IST on Monday. 

Badminton

Women's singles badminton semi-finals: From 10:30 am IST

• Saina Nehwal vs Tai Tzu Ying
• PV Sindhu vs Akane Yamaguchi

Athletics 

Men's javelin throw final: 5:15 pm IST

• Neeraj Chopra, Shivpal Singh

Women's long jump final: 5:15 pm IST

• Nayana James, Neena Varakil

Women's 400m hurdles final: 5:15 pm IST

• Jauna Murmu, Anu Raghavan

Men's 400m hurdles final: 5:30 pm IST

• Ayyasamy Dharun, Santosh Kumar

Men's high jump final: 5:30 pm IST

• Chethan Balasubramanya

Women's 3000m steeplechase final: 5:45 pm IST

• Sudha Singh, Chinta Yadav

Men's 3000m steeplechase final: 6 pm IST

• Shankar Lal Swami

Men's 800m qualification: 6:30 pm IST

• Jinson Johnson, Manjit Singh

Boxing

Men's middleweight R16: 3 pm IST

• Vikas Krishan

Men's flyweight R16: 5:15 pm IST

• Amit

Men's bantamweight R16: 6:15 pm IST

• Mohammed Husam Uddin

Men's light welterweight R16: 7 pm IST

• Dheeraj

Hockey

Women's Group-stage tie: 12:30 pm IST

• India vs Thailand

Table Tennis

Men's team Group D matches

• India vs Macau: 10:30 pm IST
• India vs Vietnam: 2:30 pm IST
• Quarter-final: 6:30 pm IST

Women's team quarter-final: 4:30 pm IST

Squash

Men's Team (Pool B)

• India vs Indonesia: 11 am IST
• India vs Singapore: 5 pm IST

Women's Team (Pool B)

• India vs Iran: 11 am IST

Canoe (Men's TBR 1000m)

From 8:30 am IST

Cycling Track

From 11:30 am IST

Women's team sprint, Men's team sprint, Women's team pursuit, Me's team pursuit

Sepaktakraw

Men's regu preliminary group: India vs Nepal

9:30 am IST

PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal will be hoping to set up an all-Indian final in Jakarta. The two shuttlers have already assured themselves their maiden Asiad medals after reaching the semi-finals. 

Sindhu will take on higher-ranked Akane Yamaguchi while Commonwealth Games champion Saina will be facing a stiff test against world number one Tai Tzu Ying. 

On the other hand, India's Neeraj Chopra will be eyeing javelin throw gold medal. The CWG champion and world junior world record holder will be competing with Chinese Taipei's Chen Chao-Tsun for a place on the top step of the podium. 

Dharun Ayyasamy and Santosh Kumar will be competing in the men's 400m hurdles final. The former had finished the semi-final as the second-fastest runner.

Jinson Johnson will also be in action in the men's 800m qualification race alongside compatriot Manjit Singh.