India’s 53rd position in the medal tally did not improve on Sunday as no new medals were added but the hockey team’s incredible shoot-out win over Great Britain turned out to be the highlight of the day.
India’s current tally includes bronze medals, all in shooting events — from the women’s 10m air pistol, 10m air pistol mixed team, and men’s 50m rifle three positions.
In boxing, Lovlina Borgohain, a bronze medalist in the welterweight category at the Tokyo Games, faced disappointment. Borgohain lost in the quarterfinals to Chinese veteran Li Qian in the women’s middleweight (75kg) category.
Lakshya Sen also faced a setback in his bid for gold, losing 20-22, 14-21 to defending champion Viktor Axelsen.
However, Sen has another chance for a medal as he will compete against Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia in the bronze playoff scheduled for Monday evening.
Despite the challenges, the Indian contingent had a reason to rejoice. The men’s hockey team showed remarkable resilience, particularly after key defender Amit Rohidas received a red card for unintentionally hitting a rival player 20 minutes into the game.
The team managed to hold off Britain to 1-1, leading to a decisive shoot-out.
Veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, often referred to as the ‘Great Wall of India’, then played a crucial role in the shoot-out. Sreejesh made several vital saves, ensuring India’s 4-2 shoot-out triumph.
“(It is a) daily job of a goalie,” shrugged the 36-year-old, who is competing in his last international event.
“When I stepped on this field today, there was two options for me. This can be my last match, or I got an opportunity for two more matches and I think, yeah, I got two more matches now,” he quipped.
Coach Craig Fulton expressed his pride in the team’s performance, stating that the victory was more than just a win.
“When our backs are against the wall, we’re all roped in. We’re all in this together,” he said.
Boxers end without medal
India’s boxing campaign came to an unsuccessful end after Lovlina Borgohain, the Tokyo bronze-winner, lost in the women’s 75kg quarterfinals to China’s Li Qian.
The defeat followed a close loss by Nishant Dev in the men’s 71kg quarterfinals, leaving the team without any medals.
Borgohain, who is the reigning world champion in her category, was defeated 1-4 in a challenging match against Li Qian, the Tokyo Games silver medalist. Both boxers received repeated cautions for clinching and holding during the contest.
India was represented by a six-member boxing contingent at the Games, consisting of four women and two men. Four of these boxers were eliminated in the preliminary stages.
Lakshya misses bull’s eye but medal still in sight
India’s pursuit of a historic first Olympic gold in badminton was dashed when Lakshya Sen lost to Viktor Axelsen in the men’s singles semifinals.
The 22-year-old Sen, who previously won a bronze at the World Championships, could not hold onto his early leads in either game of the 54-minute match against the two-time world champion.
Sen initially had a three-point advantage in the first game and followed with a 7-0 lead in the second game.
Despite the promising starts, he ultimately succumbed to Axelsen’s prowess, leaving the dream unfulfilled.
India is yet to clinch an Olympic gold in badminton.
PV Sindhu won a silver and bronze in the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Olympics, respectively, while Saina Nehwal secured a bronze at the 2012 London Games.
Shooters do well but not enough
Shooters Vijayveer Sidhu and Anish Bhanwala put up commendable performances in the qualifications of the 25m rapid fire men’s pistol event in Chateauroux but fell short of making it to the finals.
Vijayveer and Anish displayed brilliant shooting skills over the two stages of qualification.
They remained strong contenders until the final 10 shots of the second rapid-fire stage.
However, they shot scores of 92 and 93, finishing in ninth and 13th places respectively. Unfortunately, only the top six shooters advance to the final round.
In the women’s skeet competition, Maheshwari Chauhan and Raiza Dhillon also showed competitive spirit. Maheshwari ended in 14th place, scoring a total of 118 across five series. The first three series, which took place on Saturday, saw her scoring 23, 24, and 24, followed by 25 and 22 in the subsequent series.
Raiza finished in 23rd place with a total score of 113, after recording 21, 22, 23, 23, and 24 in her series.
Similar to the men’s event, only the top six in the qualifications moved on to the final stage.
Nothing to celebrate in athletics so far
India’s performance in the athletics competition saw national record holders Parul Chaudhary and Jeswin Aldrin falling short in their respective events.
While Parul failed to qualify for the women’s 3000m steeplechase, Jeswin Aldrin did not make it through the men’s long jump qualification, both ending their campaigns at the Paris Olympics.
Parul finished eighth in her heat and 21st overall in the women’s 3000m steeplechase.
Jeswin fouled his first two attempts in the men’s long jump qualification before recording a jump of 7.61 meters on his third try.
He concluded the competition 13th in Group B and was placed 26th overall.