Rowing was the most significant of the lot on the day as the heats were underway for the men's and women's Single Sculls, Double Sculls, and Quadruple Sculls.
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The Olympics officially commenced on July 23 after a spectacular opening ceremony. It was a one-of-a-kind event as there were no fans allowed in the 68,000-capacity Olympic Stadium in the Japanese capital of Tokyo. There was not much sporting action on the day as the main focus was the opening ceremony. Still, there was some action in certain sports like rowing, shooting, and archery. Rowing was the most significant of the lot on the day as the heats were underway for the men’s and women’s Single Sculls, Double Sculls, and Quadruple Sculls. A total of 22 races were held in the sport. In archery, there was the ranking round while shooting only saw a couple of training sessions. Equestrian was also in the fray on the day but only the horse inspection took place.
There were six races for the men’s Single Sculls in rowing. From each of those races, the top three athletes would automatically qualify to the quarter-finals, while the others would have to go to Repechage for another chance to make it to the quarters. Norwegian athlete Kjetil Borch set the fastest time in the heats in the very first race. The time he set was an impressive 6:54:46. It is only some 13 seconds more than the Olympic record.
The women’s Single Sculls heats were next and they followed the same pattern as the men’s. The top three from each race would directly qualify to the quarter-finals while the others would have to try again through Repechage. There were six races, just like the men’s ones. New Zealand athlete Emma Twigg was the one who set the fastest time in the heats with 7:35:22. The Olympic record is 7:18:12.
The next events were the men’s and women’s Double Sculls. The event had three heats each and the top three teams from each race directly qualified to the semi-finals. The others would have to go to Repechage to get another chance to make it to the semis.
In the men’s heats, the Olympic record was broken twice as France set the new record with a time of 6:10:45 in the first heat. This time was then beaten by the Netherlands in the third and final heat with a time of 6:08:38.
The final rowing events of the day were the men’s and women’s Quadruple Sculls. In this heat, two races were held and the top two from each would qualify directly to the final. The remaining will go to Repechage to have a chance to qualify again. In the men’s races, Holland, Australia, Italy, and Poland qualified to the final. In the women’s races, Germany, Holland, China, and Poland made it to the final.
Indian athlete Deepika Kumari was ranked ninth after the women’s ranking round in archery. The South Korean athletes showed their dominance in the sport as three of them managed to grab the top three places, and are favorites heading into the knockout stages.
In the men’s individual ranking round, South Korea’s Je Deok Kor Kim took the first rank, followed by USA’s Brady Ellison. The third and fourth places were also occupied by archers from South Korea. Indian archers Pravin Jadhav, Atanu Das, and Tarundeep Rai finished in 31, 35, and 37 respectively.
