DAY-6 PREVIEW OF INDIA IN TOKYO 2020:
Since the first day, India has been waiting for its second medal in Tokyo 2020 Olympics. It was a good start for team India on day 6. Indian rowers Arjun and Arvind finished 11th. Our Indian shuttler PV Sindhu beats Mia Blichfeldt in straight games to advance quarters. Indian men hockey team defeated the reigning champion Argentina by 3-1 and advance to the quarterfinals. Indian boxer Satish Kumar won his first match to advance to the quarterfinals. In addition, archer Atanu Das also stunned London Olympics gold medalist Oh Jin-Hyek to enter the pre-quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, Indian shooter Manu Bhaker finished 5th with a score of 292, while Rahi Sarnobat stands at 18th spot with a score of 287 in 25m women’s pistol qualification precision stage. A setback for Indians as Mary Kom lost by a 3-2 margin in her round of 16 clashes to bow out. Indian golfers Anirban Lahiri and Udayan Mane are also in golf action for India. Sajan Prakash finished 46th out of 55 swimmers in his 100m fly event thus ending the swimming campaign for India.
-ABOUT THE MATCHES
– DOUBLE SCULLS: Indian rowers Arjun Lal Jat and Arvind Singh ended their Tokyo Games campaign in 11th position in the men’s lightweight double sculls event. The best ever result for the country in the Olympics here on Thursday. The Indian pair clocked 6:29.66 to finish fifth in the Final B. It wasn’t a medal round and came 11th overall at the Sea Forest Waterway. Ireland, Germany, and Italy won gold, silver, and bronze respectively after the Final A race later in the day.
-BADMINTON: Reigning badminton world champion P V Sindhu sailed into the women’s singles quarterfinals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. She held a straight-game triumph over Denmark’s Mia Blichfeldt here on Thursday. The 26-year-old Indian, silver medalist in the 2016 Rio Olympics, completed a 21-15 21-13 win over Blichfeldt in a 41-minute match. Sindhu will next face Akane Yamaguchi of Japan, who defeated Korea’s Kim Gaeun 21-17 21-18 in another pre-quarterfinals. The sixth-seeded Indian has a 11-7 head-to-head count against the Japanese world no 5. She had beaten her at the All England Championship in March this year.
-MEN’S HOCKEY: The Indian men’s hockey team stepped into the quarterfinals of the Olympic Games. They secured a comprehensive 3-1 win over the defending champions Argentina. India scored two goals in the final minutes of its penultimate pool. After goalless first two quarters, India broke the deadlock in the 43rd minute through Varun Kumar. Vivek Sagar Prasad (58th) and Harmanpreet Singh (59th) struck in the closing minutes of the match to seal the contest. It was India’s third win in Pool A at the Oi Hockey Stadium. Argentina’s lone goal came from a penalty corner conversion by Schuth Casella in the 48th minute.
-BOXING: India’s first super heavyweight (+91kg) boxer to compete in the Olympics, Satish Kumar, eased into the quarterfinals. He defeated Jamaica’s Ricardo Brown in his opening bout here on Thursday. In the battle of the debutants, the 32-year-old Satish prevailed 4-1, a comfortable win for him despite the split verdict.
-ARCHERY: Bulls eye from Atanu Das! It came down to a single arrow shootdown. Oh Jin Hyek, South Korean former gold medalist and absolute favorite, fired a 9. Atanu Das needed 10. Deepika Kumari had quietened down after shouting words of encouragement from the stands. Das steadied and gazed. Still head. Stiller body. Boooom. A perfect 10…!
It was close right through the match. The stodgy Korean has a slightly unique way. He bends his left shoulder a bit outwards as he feels it suits his body. “What matters how you control the shoulders,” he once said. What also matters is how you control the mind. The Indian was better on the day in Tokyo 2020.
–SHOOTING: Indian shooters Manu Bhaker and Rahi Sarnobat were placed 5th and 25th respectively in the women’s 25m pistol qualification (precision) at the Tokyo Olympics here on Thursday. In a field of 44 shooters, Bhaker scored 292 after 30 shots on target in the precision round. While compatriot Sarnobat aggregated 287 in the qualifications at the Asaka Shooting Range. The second stage of the qualification — the rapid round — will take place on Friday. The top-8 shooters in the qualification will enter the final. Serbia’s Zorana Arunovic led the pack with 296 points, followed by Greece’s Anna Korakaki who has 294.
-BOXING: In the flyweight quarterfinals at Tokyo Olympics, Ingrit Valencia of Colombia beat Mary by a 3-2 split decision. The 38-year-old Indian lost the battle of the bronze-medalists by a razor-thin verdict, despite winning the last two rounds. With the Olympics having an age cap of 40, Thursday’s outing proved to be her last bout at the event.
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