India at Tokyo Olympics: Day 8 Highlights – Lovlina Borgohain assures 2nd medal, PV Sindhu reaches semi-final; end of road for Deepika Kumari

India at Tokyo Olympics: Day 8 Highlights – Lovlina Borgohain assures 2nd medal, PV Sindhu reaches semi-final; end of road for Deepika Kumari

Lovlina Borgohain, PV Sindhu and Deepika Kumari

The Indian contingent had a decent outing on day 8 at Tokyo 2020 where the major highlight came in the form of a bronze medal assurance for boxer Lovlina Borgohain. The 23-year-old boxer beat Chen Nien-chin (Chinese Taipei) in her quarter-final bout to book a semi-final match in the women’s welterweight event. The Assamese athlete will now face Busenaz Surmeneli from Turkey on August 4.

Another delightful news for India came when ace shuttler PV Sindhu continued with her dominance at the Tokyo Summer Olympics. She beat the higher-ranked and local badminton player Akane Yamaguchi in straight sets 21-13, 22-20 in a nail-biting clash. This win continued Sindhu’s defeat-less journey at Tokyo 2020. India’s top seed will now lock horns with world number one Tai Tzu Ying tomorrow in the SF match.

Double glory in hockey

India vs Japan hockey
India vs Japan (Men’s)

Both Indian men’s and women’s hockey teams won their respective group stage matches on July 30 in Tokyo. It began with the first victory for the eves at the ongoing Olympics edition. The Rani Rampal-led side went past 1-0 against Ireland in their penultimate match of the tournament. Navneet Kaur gave India a lifeline after emerging as the lone-scorer of the match.

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On the other hand, the men’s team won their third consecutive group stage match after the painful 1-7 loss against the mighty Australians. This time, India handed over a 3-5 defeat to the hosting nation, Japan to book a place against Great Britain in the quarter-final round.

No positives in track and field events

Dutee Chand and Avinash Sable
Dutee Chand and Avinash Sable

Various events of athletics began at Tokyo 2020 to mark the emergence of one of the most important sports in the tournament. However, Indian athletes were not able to bring any positive news as none of the competitors was able to reach the next round. 

Avinash Sable, competing in the men’s 3000m steeplechase successfully broke the national record with a timing of 8:18:22, however, he was not able to book a berth in the finals. Secondly, India’s women’s 100m competitor Dutee Chand clocked 11:54 to finish at seven in heat 5 on Friday.

Other athletes competing on day 8 at Tokyo 2020 included M. P. Jabir in the men’s 400m hurdles event. Just like other athletes, he finished at the seventh rank with a timing of 50.77. Lastly, the Indian team competed in the 4*400m relay mixed round 1 where they lagged at the last spot.

Simranjit Kaur, Manu Bhaker and Deepika Kumari register losses

Simranjit Kaur and Manu Bhaker
Simranjit Kaur and Manu Bhaker

Day 8 at Tokyo Olympics also marked the exit for boxer Simranjit Kaur, shooter Manu Bhaker and archer Deepika Kumari. The pugilist lost her round of 16 match against Thailand’s Sudaporn Seesondee. While ace shooter Manu Bhaker, alongside Rahi Sarnobat, failed to qualify for the final round of the women’s 25m pistol rapid event. Lastly, world number one Deepika Kumari lost 0-6 in a one-sided affair against Korea’s An San.

Fouaad Mirza (equestrian), Anirban Lahiri and Udayan Mane (golf) and Vishnu Saravanan, Nethra Kumanan and Ganapathy Kelapanda & Varun Thakkar (sailing) also competed in their event categories on July 30 at the Games.

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