India at Paris Olympics, August 2: Swapnil Kusale wins medal, Lakshya enters quarter-finals, PV Sindhu and Nikhat out

It was a mixed day for India at the Paris Olympics—more was a surprising day 6 at the grand event. Again, shooting shone for India after winning the third medal. Swapnil Kusale bagged the bronze medal in men’s 50m 3 positions. However, it was a heartbreaking day for badminton; it all looked good in the group stage, but the knockout rounds didn’t go well for India. Satwik-Chirag, HS Prannoy, and PV Sindhu said bye to Paris on a bitter note.

Shooting shines bright again

It was a good start to the day as Swapnil Kusale made history by winning the bronze medal in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions, marking India’s first-ever Olympic medal in this event.

Unfortunately, the day saw a downturn as Sift Kaur Samara and Anjum Moudgil failed to qualify for the final in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions. Anjum finished 18th, while Sift ended 31st. Notably, Sift Kaur holds a world record in this category.

Disappointing day for Badminton

Badminton’s fortunes were less favourable. Despite a promising start in the group stage, the knockout rounds were harsh. The Indian pairs of Satwik-Chirag, HS Prannoy, and PV Sindhu faced early exits from the games.

Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were defeated in the men’s doubles quarter-finals by Malaysia’s Aaron Chia and Soh Woi Yik. In the women’s singles, PV Sindhu was outplayed by China’s He Bingjiao, ending her campaign in the pre-quarterfinals.

Lakshya Sen made it to the quarter-finals of the men’s singles category in badminton. He defeated his compatriot HS Prannoy with scores of 21-12 and 21-6. The match lasted 39 minutes. Lakshya’s quarter-final match will be against Taiwan’s Chou Tien-Chen on August 2. He is the third Indian men’s player to reach the quarter-finals in Olympic Games history.

Tough start in Athletics

The athletics segment began with the men’s 20km race walk. Indian runners Vikas Singh, Paramjit Singh Bisht, and Akshdeep Singh struggled to make an impact. Vikas finished 30th with a time of 1:22:36, while Paramjit Singh Bisht, competing in his first Olympics, came in 37th with 1:23:48. Akshdeep Singh was forced to drop out after 6 km due to injury.

In the women’s 20km race walk, Priyanka Goswami finished 41st with a time of 1:39:55, being the sole Indian competitor in the event.

Boxing is cruel, Nikhat out

In boxing, Nikhat Zareen’s journey came to a halt after a loss in the pre-quarterfinals of the 50 kg weight category. She was defeated 5-0 by China’s Yu Wu, marking an early exit from the tournament.

Hockey: India loses after qualification guarantee

The Indian men’s hockey team faced its first defeat at the Paris Olympics, losing 2-1 to defending champions Belgium in Pool B. Despite an early goal by Abhishek, the team fell behind after Belgium’s Thibo Stockbroeks and Domen John-John scored. The loss dropped India to second place in the pool, though both teams have advanced to the quarter-finals already.

Archery disappointment continues

The archers again failed to impress as Praveen Jadhav was defeated 6-0 by China’s Cao Wenchao in the round of 64, marking an end to his Olympic journey.

Sailing: The convoy continues

In sailing, Nethra Kumanan secured a respectable sixth place in the first race of the women’s dinghy competition. The second race is rescheduled for August 2.

In the men’s category, Vishnu Saravanan finished 10th in the first race but fell to 34th in the second race. The series will consist of 10 races, and the top 10 with the best total score will advance to the medal round.