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Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, former India opener Shikhar Dhawan and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday congratulated the Indian womens cricket team for winning the gold medal at the Asian Games 2026, with Tendulkar praising the team effort and Dhawan hailing the sides back-to-back triumph.
India defeated Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the women's T20 cricket final on Tuesday to claim their second successive Asian Games gold medal. The victory also gave India its first gold of the ongoing edition, taking its medal tally to seven, comprising one gold, four silver and two bronze medals. Tendulkar highlighted the contributions of different players in Indias comprehensive victory and praised the teams all-round effort. "Thats the beauty of a team game. Different players, different moments, one big result. Shafali and Smritis 99-run partnership at the top gave India the platform, Richa Ghoshs late blitz took the total to a massive 216, and then Shafali, Deepti, Shreyanka and Shree Charani kept finding the wickets. A terrific effort from the Indian womens team. Congratulations on the Gold!" Tendulkar wrote on X. https://x.com/sachin_rt/status/2102319286253490362?s=20 Dhawan congratulated the team for bringing India its first gold medal of the 2026 Asian Games and noted the achievement of winning the title in consecutive editions. "What a way to bring India its first gold at the Asian Games 2026! Great performance, girls. Back-to-back Asian Games champions!" Dhawan wrote on X. https://x.com/SDhawan25/status/2102315987995689352?s=20 Rajnath Singh also lauded the Indian womens team for their performance throughout the tournament and described the victory as a historic achievement. "An exceptional game of cricket and an outstanding result! Proud of our Indian women cricket team for winning the first Gold Medal at the Asian Games 2026. They have played wonderfully through the Games. Such an impressive display of skill and teamwork. Congratulations to our team for the splendid victory and scripting a new cricketing history at the Asian Games," Rajnath Singh wrote on X. https://x.com/rajnathsingh/status/2102309647713738986?s=20 India produced a dominant performance in the final, first posting a formidable 216/3 after being asked to bat. Smriti Mandhana top-scored with 79 off 45 balls, while Shafali Verma made a brisk 48 off 29 deliveries. Richa Ghosh provided the late impetus with an unbeaten 49 off 22 balls. Mandhana's innings included five fours and seven sixes, while her half-century was her 37th in T20 internationals. She also became the first woman cricketer to reach 11,000 runs in international cricket. India's bowlers then dismantled the Sri Lankan batting line-up, dismissing them for 69 in 15.4 overs. Deepti Sharma led the attack with figures of 3/6, while Shafali Verma and Shreyanka Patil claimed two wickets each. Shree Charani also picked up two wickets. The 147-run victory secured India's second consecutive Asian Games gold in women's cricket, following their title at Hangzhou in 2023. (ANI)
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