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The Tokyo Olympics 2020 has been a major disappointment for India after almost five days of action. After the opening ceremony on July 23, the Indian contingent has flattered to deceive in many disciplines. Heading into Tokyo Olympics 2020, there was a major hope that India could better their tally of six medals earned in the 2012 London Olympics. India had sent a contingent of 119 athletes, which included 67 men and 52 women. Unfortunately, they have come up short in this Olympics so far.
With only 11 days of action remaining, India will be gunning for at least two or three medals so that they could leave the Olympics with some form of respectability. Here is a look at what has happened on all the days in Tokyo Olympics 2020.
Mary Kom and Manpreet Singh were the flagbearers for India in the opening ceremony.
It was a day of immense joy and but plenty of pain. Mirabai Chanu created history on day 1 of the Olympics as she secured a medal in the 49kg weightlifting category. Chanu became the first weightlifter since Karnam Malleswari to have won a medal in weightlifting. Malleswari achieved the feat in 2000 Sydney Olympics. Chanu’s achievement once again showcased the northeast as one of the sporting hubs of India.
But, there was pain. Saurabh Chaudhary, who had topped the Olympic qualifiers in the 10m air pistol event, was eliminated in the medal round. He finished seventh and that was a massive jolt to India’s hopes.
The day had actually begun badly when Elenavil Valarivan and Apurvi Chandela both crashed out in the 10m air rifle event. The India men’s hockey team started their World Cup on a tense note with a 3-2 win against New Zealand. The India women’s team, though, started disastrously with a 5-1 loss to the Netherlands.
There was not much joy in the other sections. Sushila Devi failed to qualify for the medal rounds in Judo. In badminton, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty put up a brilliant show as they won the final game 27-25 against the No.3 ranked doubles duo. But, Sai Praneeth lost in his opening game to Misha Zilberman. Table Tennis, with Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra winning well. Archery saw Atanu Das and Deepika Kumari struggle. Arjun Jat and Arjun Yadav both entered the repechage round of sculling, keeping them in contention for a bronze.
PV Sindhu started incredibly strong as she won her first match in straight games. But, there was massive heartbreak for Sania Mirza and Ankita Raina. They had won the first set 6-0 but squandered an advantage to serve out the match. The Kichenok sisters from Ukraine then won the set on the tie-breaker. In the deciding third set, the Kichenok sisters won 10-8 and Sania was dumped out.
Manish Kaushik was knocked out in boxing while MC Mary Kom started her campaign on a glorious high. Sharath Kamal, Manika Batra, and Sutirtha Mukherjee all registered wins but Sathiyan Gnanasekaran was knocked out in Table Tennis.
However, the biggest jolt came from shooting again. Manu Bhaker lost valuable time due to a malfunction in her pistol and she was knocked out of contention for the medals. Yashasvini Deswal was also knocked out. In the 10m air rifle, Divyansh Singh Panwar and Deepak Kumar failed badly.
But, the day ended on a traumatic note when the India men’s hockey team was annihilated 7-1 by Australia. The No.1 ranked team really put on a brilliant show and India had no answers.
The Indian mixed team archers faced a massive task against South Korea, the number one team in archery. They were thrashed 6-0. Badminton also had a mixed day, with Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also losing out in their second doubles match, Sumit Nagal was defeated by Daniil Medvedev and India’s challenge in Tennis disappointed in the Olympics.
Angad Singh Bajwa and Mairaj Ahmed Khan were both eliminated in the skeet shooting competition. Vishnu Saravanan and Nethra Kumanan also struggled in sailing. Manika Batra and Mukherjee were both eliminated in the singles competition whie Sharath Kamal advanced to the third round. Ashish Kumar was also eliminated from boxing. Maana Patel, Srihari Nataraj and Sajan Prakash also failed to make a mark in swimming.
The India women’s hockey team were up against Germany and their task was going to get even tougher in the coming matches. All hopes will be on the mixed team event in the 10m air pistol featuring Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary.
