Hong Kong's gold medallist Lok Kwan Hai (centre) flanked by silver medallist Lee Hakbeom of South Korea (left) and India’s bronze medal-winner Dushyant Chauhan during the awards ceremony, on Wednesday. (AFP)

Incheon: Rower Dushyant Chauhan was the lone bright spot after the shooters drew a blank as India managed just one bronze medal on the fifth day of competitions in the 17th Asian Games here on Wednesday.

Dushyant was the only athlete to manage a podium finish as he grabbed a bronze in the men’s lightweight single sculls event. With the addition of just one bronze, India took their tally to 12 (1 gold, 1 silver, 10 bronze).

Lone bright spot

Early in the day, Dushyant, hailing from Haryana, led from the 500m till the last 200m in the 2000m race before strong northerly winds and rain put paid to his gold medal hopes as he fell behind two others and finished third by clocking 7:26.57.

Chauhan was second behind gold-medallist Lok Kwan Hai by just under two seconds in the first 500m and then caught up with his rival before overtaking him in the course of the next 500m and looked assured of a gold before inclement weather hampered his chances.

He not only lost the gold medal, but also the silver as the host country's Lee Hakbeom, who was third with 500m left, also surged past the Indian rower to clinch the second spot in 7:25.95.

Shuttlers impress

After guiding the women’s badminton team to a historic bronze two days ago, Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu opened their singles campaign with thumping victories.

Saina, seeded sixth, easily overcame U Teng Lok of Macau 21-10, 21-8 in just 20 minutes. Her next opponent is Iran’s Soraya Aghaeihajiagha, who defeated Mongolia’s Khulangoo Baatar in straight games.

Sindhu, seeded eighth, too had a comfortable 21-7, 21-13 first-round victory in 19 minutes over Wong Kit Leng, also of Macau.

Step forward

India took a big step towards winning another squash medal after the women’s team, including Joshana Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal, upset Hong Kong 2-1 before beating Pakistan 3-0 in Pool B.

Chinappa and Anaka Alankamony won their matches after India No. 1 Pallikal lost the opening singles to Hong Kong’s Annie Au in five gruelling games.

Dipika went down fighting to 11th-ranked Annie 11-5, 6-11, 8-11, 12-10, 9-11. Word No. 21 Chinappa defeated 23rd-ranked Joey Chan 6-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-9. to keep India’s hopes alive in the tie. World No. 158 Anaka Alankamony defeated 42nd ranked Tong Tsz Wing 11-8 11-13 11-9 11-5.

The men’s team eased past China 3-0 for its second straight win in Pool B.

Akhil dominates

Comeback-man Akhil Kumar (60kg) pummelled his Nepalese rival Purna Bahadur Lama before notching up a technical knockout triumph while Shiva Thapa (56kg) merely had to show up to enter the second round as Indian boxers began their campaign on a winning note.

Shiva was the first to step into the ring this afternoon and he did not have to do anything more as his opponent, Leonel Helo Prada of Timor Leste, gave him a walkover.

Shooters misfire

After scooping six medals on the first four days, Indian shooters misfired at the Ongnyeon pistol and rifle range here. India had chances of winning four medals from the 25m rapid fire pistol event for men and the 50m rifle prone for women but could not get even one on a disappointing day.

Deepika qualifies 8th

Deepika Kumari, India’s best bet in women’s archery finished eighth-best in the ranking round of the individual recurve event.

The 20-year-old archer, had a combined score of 1337 over four distances – 70m, 60m, 50m and 30m – and now will take on Uzbekistan’s Munira Nurmanova in the pre-quarter final elimination round on Friday.

Dismal show

Indian weightlifters’ dismal campaign continued as Vikas Thakur finished a disappointing seventh in the men’s 85kg category. Even though Vikas topped Group B with a total lift 327kg — best efforts of 148kg in snatch and 179kg in clean and jerk — it was not enough to fetch him a medal.

Mixed bag

In sailing, India’s Varsha Gautham and Aishwarya Nedunchezhiyan occupied the top spot after two races in Women's 29er- Two Person Dinghy event on the first day of competition.

In tennis, Natasha Palha crashed out of women’s singles, but the duo of Shweta Rana and Rishika Sunkara made a bright start for India in women’s doubles.

In women’s hockey, India lost 1-2 to China

The Indian men’s volleyball team thrashed unfancied Maldives 25-10, 25-19, 25-17 in exactly an hour to enter the quarter finals. (PTI)