Two sportspersons from Odisha made the state proud by winning one gold and one bronze medals in the 5th Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games, held at Ashgabat, Turkmenistan from September 17 to 27, 2017. Athlete Purnima Hembram grabed the gold in women’s pentathlon with 4062 points on the opening day, while chess International Master Padmini secured the bronze medals in women’s rapid team event with Tania Sachdev as her partner.

Purnima’s performance read: 8.56s in 60m hurdles, 1.66m in high jump, 11.52m in shot put, 5.97m in long jump and 2:22.98s in 800m run. Overall, India finished 11th in the final madals table with 13 gold, 8 silver and 19 bronze for a total of 40.

A total of four sportspersons from Odisha represented India in the 10-day Games. Other two were sprinters Dutee Chand and Amiya Kumar Mallick. However, Dutee missed the bronze medal by 100th of a second in women’s 60m sprint, while Amiya bowed out in the semifinals of the men’s 60m sprint.

In chess, Bhubaneswar lass Padmini settled with the bronze after losing to Indonesia in the semifinals 0-2. India reacheded the last-four stage with three wins, one draw and one loss. They beat Bangladesh 2-0, Turkmenistan 2-0, Iran 1.5-0.5; drew with Indonesia 1-1 and lost to Chine 0-2.
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PHOTO: Purnima Hembram celebrates after winning the pentathlon gold medal in Ashgabat on Sept 18, 2017.