"Very special moment for all": Smriti Mandhana on winning gold medal in Asian Games

AHMEDABAD: After winning the gold medal in the 19th Asian Games, India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana on Thursday stated she was happy to contribute to India's medal tally in the multi-sport event and added singing the national anthem on the podium in Hangzhou made her emotional.

A stellar spell from Titas Sandhu and magnificent spin bowling from Deepti Sharma and Devika Vaidya helped India defend a modest total of 117 runs to clinch the gold medal in the Asian Games women’s cricket tournament in their first outing.

For the gold medal, Women in Blue defeated Sri Lanka in the summit clash by 19 runs.

The vice-captain said that winning a prestigious medal was a very special moment for her and the team.

"It was a very special moment for all when we won the gold medal. It felt great to see our national flag and sing our national anthem play there. I was emotional. I am really happy that we could contribute to the medal tally," Mandhana told ANI at an event in Ahmedabad.

Earlier, the star batter Mandhana received a warm welcome at Mumbai airport. Many fans and family members gathered at the Mumbai airport to welcome the gold medalist, when she returned to Mumbai from China.

Meanwhile addressing a Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and ICC event earlier in the day, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah said that after the cricket governing body in India introduced equal pay to their men's and women's cricketers, many other bodies like US Open Tennis, the English Cricket Board and ICC announced equal pay to their players.

Shah also praised Indian batter, Smriti Mandhana who was present at the event for winning a gold medal at the Asian Games in China.

“First of all I want to congratulate you for winning gold in Asian Games," he said.