Shuttler PV Sindhu won her match to qualify to the round of 16 while boxer Pooja Rani made it to the quarter-final.
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India had a fairly satisfactory day at the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday. The country did not manage to win any medal but there were some exceptional performances by athletes who are within a shout of winning a medal in the future. Shuttler PV Sindhu won her match to qualify to the round of 16 while boxer Pooja Rani made it to the quarter-final. The latter is now just one win away from a medal. Archer Deepika Kumari also won her match to advance to the next round. India’s rowing duo of Arjun Lal Jat and Arvind Singh gave India its best-ever finish in a rowing event at the Olympics. However, there were still a few disappointing performances. The women’s hockey team fell to their third straight defeat at the hands of Great Britain and shuttler B Sai Praneeth fell to a shock defeat.
Archer Tarundeep Rai won his first match of the day in the men’s individual event against Ukraine archer Oleksii Hunbin. He would then go on to face Israel’s Itay Shanny and taste defeat. Rai, however, put up a very strong fight in that match. Pravin Jadhav displayed a dominating performance as he beat Galsan Bazarzhapov, but fell short against the US archer Brady Ellison in the next match.
Ace archer Deepika Kumari absolutely nailed her performance on the day as she won both of her matches in the women’s individual event. She beat Bhutanese archer Karma Bhu 6-0 in the first round. The world number 1 would then go on to face US archer Jennifer Mucino-Fernandez and beat her 6-4 to qualify to the third round of the competition.
There were mixed fortunes for India in badminton on the day. PV Sindhu managed to earn a comfortable 2-0 victory against Hong Kong’s Ngan Yi Cheung in a group game of the women’s individual event. On the men’s side, however, things did not go as well. B Sai Praneeth fell to a shock defeat at the hands of Dutch shuttler Mark Caljouw.
In boxing, Pooja Rani displayed a masterful performance as she got the better of Algeria’s Ichrak Chaib by a scoreline of 5-0. Pooja has now made it to the quarter-final stage and is just one victory away from clinching a medal for herself and the country. Lovlina Borgohain also made it to the quarters in her category, while veteran Mary Kom will have the opportunity on Thursday.
The Indian women’s hockey team did not have a day to remember as they fell to their third straight defeat in the group. This time, it was against Great Britain. India was handed a hefty 4-1 defeat by the GB team. Sharmila Devi scored India’s only goal in the match from a penalty corner. Martin Hannah scored a brace for GB while Grace Balsdon and Lily Owsley scored one each.
Arjun Lal Jat and Arvind Singh participated in the semi-finals lightweight men’s double sculls event, but they could not make it to the final. They finished in sixth place in their race, and that was not good enough. Only the top three from each semi-final make it to the final. However, the duo gave India their best ever result in rowing at the Olympics, and that is something fans can be proud of.
