The men's hockey side fell to Belgium 5-2 in the semi-final after a valiant fight, and will face Germany for the bronze medal.
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It was not a particularly good day for India at the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday as most of the participating athletes were eliminated in their respective competitions. There was action in javelin throw, wrestling, hockey, and shot put. Unfortunately, none of the participants managed the win. The men’s hockey side fell to Belgium in the semi-final after a valiant fight. Javelin thrower Annu Rani and shot-putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor failed to impress in their respective events. Wrestler Sonam Malik also failed to make it to the quarter-final. However, the hockey team and Sonam delivered strong performances, which can be counted among the day’s high points.
Indian athlete Annu Rani was involved in the first action of the day for the country. She was a participant in the women’s javelin throw group A qualification. She had to either obtain an automatic qualification by hitting the 63m mark or be in the best 12 performers from all the groups. Unfortunately, Rani could not do either. Her best throw reached 54.04m and she was placed 14th in her group.
The India men’s hockey team was in action next in a semi-final match against Belgium. The Indian side was being praised by fans at home for making it to the semis, and would have been over the moon had they made it to the final. Unfortunately, Belgium won the game 5-2. India displayed a valiant performance until the end but it was not enough. Harmanpreet Singh and Mandeep Singh were the two scorers for the country. The team will now face Germany for the bronze medal.
Wrestler Sonam Malik failed to make it to the quarter-final of the women’s freestyle 62kg event as she lost to Mongolian boxer Bolortuya Khurelkhuu. The score at the end of the bout was tied at 2-2. However, the judges gave Khurelkhuu the win by separation. Malik did her best but it was just not to be for the 19-year-old Indian athlete.
The final action of the day in which India was involved was shot put. Tajinderpal Singh Toor was the athlete from India that was participating. It was the men’s shot put group A qualifications. To qualify for the final, the athlete must either gain automatic qualification by throwing to a distance of 21.20m or be among the 12 best performers in all groups. Toor, unfortunately, failed to qualify. Two of his three throws were invalid, and the one he got right flew only 19.99m. He was placed 13th in the group.
