Aichi-Nagoya [Japan], September 22 (ANI): Indian women’s cricket team wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh expressed her happiness after India won the gold medal at the ongoing Asian Games.
She said the team entered the tournament with the clear objective of winning gold and was delighted to see that goal achieved. Ghosh also praised the team’s collective effort and said she personally felt very happy with the result.
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.
“I am feeling very happy because everyone has been playing with the goal of winning the gold medal. When we started the tournament, our only aim was to win gold. So, I think we are all very happy with the result, and personally, I am feeling really good,” Ghosh told ANI after the match.
Ghosh highlighted the team’s strong performances in both the Asia Cup and the Asian Games, saying the players’ familiarity with each other helped them perform well as a unit. She added that the team enjoyed their cricket and, most importantly, celebrated winning together.
“When you come to a tournament like this, you get the opportunity to play alongside players with you have played before. I think we performed really well in the Asia Cup as well as here. As a team, we played very well, enjoyed our cricket and, most importantly, enjoyed winning together,” she added.
Ghosh said the team arrived in Aichi-Nagoya for the Asian Games with confidence after winning the Asia Cup. She explained that their focus was on playing good cricket, performing as a team and defending their gold medal by taking the tournament one match at a time while keeping their approach simple.
“When we came here after the Asia Cup, we were confident. Our aim was to play good cricket, perform well as a team and win every match. We knew we had a medal to defend, so our focus was simply on playing well and taking things one game at a time. We kept things simple and stayed focused on our goal,” she said.
Ghosh dedicated the Asian Games gold medal to her family, friends and everyone who supported her throughout her journey.
“I would dedicate this achievement to my family, my friends and everyone who has worked so hard and supported me throughout this journey. My family also came to watch the match today. I’ll be in Japan for a few more days, so I’m looking forward to spending some quality time with them and celebrating this achievement together,” she concluded.
Both teams comfortably reached the final, with India defeating Japan in the quarter-finals and Bangladesh in the semi-finals, while Sri Lanka beat Malaysia and Pakistan in their respective knockout match.
The Women in Blue clinched the gold medal at the 2023 edition after defeating Sri Lanka by 19 runs in the final in Hangzhou. (ANI)
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