Day 1 Highlights: Key Moments from the Summer Games in Paris
Boxing:
- Indian boxer Preeti Pawar secured a victory over Vietnam’s Vo Thi Kim Anh in the women’s 54kg category, advancing to the pre-quarterfinals.
Hockey:
- The Indian men’s hockey team triumphed over New Zealand with a 3-2 win in their Pool B match.
Tennis:
- Spain’s Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz commenced their Paris campaign with a strong doubles victory.
- The men’s doubles match featuring India’s Rohan Bopanna and Sriram Balaji against France’s Gael Monfils and Edouard Roger-Vasselin was canceled due to persistent rainfall.
Badminton:
- Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa faced a defeat (18-21, 10-21) in their women’s doubles Group C match against Korea.
- Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty achieved a notable 21-17, 21-14 win over French duo Lucas Corvee and Ronan Labar in men’s doubles.
- Lakshya Sen began his Olympic journey with a win, defeating Kevin Cordon 21-8, 22-20 in Group L.
Table Tennis:
- Harmeet Desai advanced to the round of 64 with a commanding 11-7, 11-9, 11-5, 11-5 victory over Jordan’s Abo Yaman Zaid.
Rowing:
- Balraj Panwar finished fourth in men’s singles sculls heat 1, progressing to the repechage round.
Shooting:
- Manu Bhaker secured third place in the women’s 10m pistol qualification, moving on to the final.
- China claimed the first gold medal of the Paris Games with a 16-12 win over Korea in the 10m Air Rifle mixed team final.
- The Indian teams in the 10m air rifle mixed team qualification (Ramita Ramita-Arjun Babuta and Elavenil Valarivan-Sandeep Singh) finished 6th and 12th respectively, failing to qualify.
- Sarabjot Singh placed ninth in the 10m men’s air pistol qualification round, while Arjun Cheema was 18th, both missing the cut.
Day 2 Highlights: Noteworthy Performances
Shooting:
- Manu Bhaker clinched a bronze medal in the women’s pistol final, marking a significant achievement.
- Ramita Jindal finished 5th in the 10m air rifle women’s qualification round, while Elavenil Valarivan did not advance.
Tennis:
- The Rohan Bopanna/Sriram Balaji pair was defeated in the first round of men’s doubles, losing 5-7, 2-6 to Gael Monfils and Edouard Roger-Vasselin.
- Rafael Nadal is set to face Novak Djokovic in a highly anticipated second-round clash.
- Sumit Nagal was knocked out in the first round of men’s singles, losing 2-6, 6-2, 5-7 to France’s Corentin Moutet.
Archery:
- The Indian women’s team was eliminated in the quarterfinals with a 0-6 defeat to the Netherlands.
Table Tennis:
- Manika Batra advanced to the women’s singles round of 32 after defeating Anna Hursey of Great Britain 4-1.
- Sharath Kamal was defeated by Slovenia’s Deni Kozul 2-4 in the men’s singles round of 64.
- Sreeja Akula progressed to the women’s singles round of 32 with a 4-0 win over Christina Kallberg of Sweden.
- Harmeet Desai’s Olympic debut ended with a second-round exit, losing to Felix Lebrun of France 8-11, 8-11, 6-11, 8-11.
Badminton:
- PV Sindhu won her women’s singles first-round match against Maldives’ Razzaq.
- HS Prannoy defeated Fabian Roth in his men’s singles Group K match.
Boxing:
- Nikhat Zareen triumphed over Germany’s Maxi Kloetzer with a 5-0 win in the women’s 50kg category, advancing to the round of 16.
Rowing:
- Balraj Panwar secured a 2nd place finish in the men’s singles sculls repechage round, progressing to the quarterfinals.
Key Takeaways:
- Manu Bhaker’s bronze medal in the women’s air pistol event was a highlight.
- Manika Batra equaled her Tokyo Olympics performance by reaching the round of 32.
- HS Prannoy delivered a solid performance in men’s singles.
- PV Sindhu’s win marked a strong start in her Olympic campaign.
- Harmeet Desai’s journey ended with a second-round exit.
Day 3 Highlights: Key Events and Upcoming Matches
- Tennis: Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, two of tennis’s biggest rivals, are set to face off in their 60th meeting on Court Philippe Chatrier. Djokovic leads their head-to-head 30-29 and holds 24 Grand Slam titles, surpassing Nadal’s 22. Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek, and Coco Gauff are also scheduled to play.
- Diving: Britain’s Tom Daley will attempt to defend his men’s 10-meter synchronized diving title with partner Noah Williams.
- Gymnastics: The men’s gymnastics team final will be held, with China and Japan being the top contenders. China, the favorite, posted a total of 263.028 in qualifying.
- Basketball: The US women’s basketball team begins their quest for a record eighth consecutive gold medal against Japan. The US team is on a 55-game Olympic winning streak, having not lost since Barcelona 1992.
- 10m Air Rifle : Arjun Babuta misses medal, finishes fourth in men’s air rifle
Stay tuned for more updates as the Paris Games continue to unfold!