India wins first medal in Asian Beach Games

India opened their medal account in the 5th Asian Beach Games here with Pinky Balhara bagged a bronze in kurash on the opening day of competitions today.

Balhara won the bronze in women's 52kg category after she lost to Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy of Vietnam in the semifinals.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy went on to win the gold while another Vietnamese Nguyen Thi Quynh bagged the silver.

Kurash is a form of wrestling originated from Uzbekistan The two opponents wear a green and a blue jacket and they will try to throw the other on the ground. If a player throws down his opponent backward, he is declared victorious. If the opponent is thrown to one side, then the points are awarded.
 

India had sent a contingent of 208 members to participate in the Asian Beach Games.

The athletes will participate in 13 disciplines which include Swimming, Kabaddi, Handball, Kurash, Pencak Silat, Sambo, Ju-Jitsu, Woodball, Sepaktakraw, Pentaque, Shuttlecock, Voninam and Muay Thai.

In the previous edition held in 2014 in Phuket, India had won two gold, a silver and seven bronze medals.