Games-India's women claim cricket gold as Hangzhou fuels Olympic ambitions

HANGZHOU, China : Fringed by forested mountains in eastern China, the Pingfeng campus of Zhejiang University of Technology might seem an unlikely battleground for cricketing powers with Olympic ambitions.

But on Monday it was the focus of much of south Asia as India's women beat Sri Lanka by 19 runs in the Asian Games final, claiming the nation's first gold medal in the sport at the continental showpiece.

Propelled by 46 runs from opening batter Smriti Mandhana and 42 from number three Jemimah Rodrigues, India set Sri Lanka 117 for victory and 18-year-old bowler Titas Sadhu took three wickets for six runs to help secure victory in the T20 match.

"I think this is one of the biggest achievements for us as a team," Rodrigues told Reuters.

"Just to get the gold for the nation and to add to the medals of the nation, I think there's no bigger prize than that."

The usually quadrennial Games have been around for over 70 years but cricket only joined the programme at the 2010 edition in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.

Though returning at the 2014 Games in Incheon, South Korea, it was dropped from Jakarta in 2018.

Having not sent a team to Guangzhou or Incheon, powerhouse India's snubbing of the tournament was often blamed for the Jakarta miss.

Yet no-one can accuse India of lacking enthusiasm now, with the country sending a strong women's squad to Hangzhou and a men's outfit as well despite a scheduling clash with the 50-over World Cup starting on home soil next week.

India's presence has been a coup for Hangzhou, ensuring a sizeable chunk of the subcontinent's population tune in.

A big Indian press pack was present to cover the women's final and a parade of the country's officials, including government and Olympic executives,