Swapnil Kusale’s bronze only positive in a disappointing day: India at 2024 Paris Olympics Day 6 Roundup

The first day of August at the Paris Olympic Games began with an unexpected medal for India from the field of shooting. However, the performance of the Indian athletes only went downhill thereafter as numerous promising medal contenders were eliminated across their respective events.

Parimatch News gives an exhaustive report of Team India’s performances on the sixth day of the 2024 Summer Games.

Athletics

At the Paris 2024 Olympics, India continued its medal-less streak in the 20km race walk event. Priyanka Goswami, the sole Indian participant in the women’s race, finished in 41st place with a time of 1:39:55. This marked her second Olympic appearance, having previously competed in 2020.

Goswami had shown promise in Tokyo by leading the 20km race walk event at the halfway mark. However, she eventually slipped down to finish in 17th place. 

In the men’s event, Vikash Singh emerged as the top performer among the three Indian athletes in the 20km race walk. He clocked a time of 1:22:36, which placed him 30th in the medal event. Incidentally, Vikash had an impressive fifth-place finish in the same event at the Asian Games last year.

Paramjeet Singh Bisht, making his Olympic debut, finished 37th with a time of 1:23:48. Akshdeep Singh, the national record holder, did not complete the race and withdrew after completing only 6 kilometres.

Golf

At the Le Golf National in Paris, Indian golfers Shubhankar Sharma and Gaganjeet Bhullar made their Olympic debuts in the men’s golf competition, with Sharma finishing ahead of Bhullar after the first round on Thursday.

Sharma is currently tied for 29th place with a total score of 70, while Bhullar is tied for 56th place with a total score of 75. The par for the course is 71. The golfers will resume their quest for medals on August 2nd in the second round of the men’s golf event. After the four rounds, the top three golfers will be awarded medals.

Shooting

Swapnil Kusale, who finished seventh in the qualification round with a score of 590-38x, secured a bronze medal in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions final, making him the third Indian shooter to medal in the ongoing Games, after Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh. 

This marks India’s best shooting performance at the Olympics, with all three medals being bronze. His medal marks India’s first-ever Olympic shooting medal in the 50m 3P event and the third medal in rifle shooting, joining Abhinav Bindra’s gold in the men’s 10m air rifle in Beijing 2008 and Gagan Narang’s bronze in the same event in London 2012.

Kusale’s impressive performance included scores of 153.3 and 156.8 in the kneeling and prone rounds, respectively. During the standing position elimination stage, he outperformed the Czechia shooter to secure his place on the podium.

Unfortunately, Sift Kaur Samra and Anjum Moudgil were unable to advance to the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions final, with Sift Kaur finishing 31st and Moudgil 18th in the qualification round where only the top eight shooters made the finals. 

Hockey

India lost their first hockey game of the 2024 Olympics

During their penultimate Pool B match at the Paris 2024 Olympics, the Indian men’s hockey team faced defeat against the reigning Olympic champions, Belgium, by a score of 2-1.

Forward Abhishek gave India an early lead in the first half from open play with a goal in the 18th minute. However, Belgium mounted a comeback in the third quarter, with Thibeau Stockbroekx and John-John Dohmen scoring in the 33rd and 44th minutes respectively.

This marked India’s first loss in the men’s hockey Pool B at Paris 2024, after their previous victories against New Zealand (3-2) and Ireland (2-0). They had also drawn 1-1 with Argentina.

On the other hand, Belgium continued their winning streak in Paris, having previously defeated Ireland (2-0), New Zealand (2-1), and Tokyo 2020 silver medalists Australia (6-2).

Despite the loss, India secured their place in the men’s hockey quarter-finals after Argentina beat New Zealand. 

Archery

During the men’s individual Round of 64 at the Les Invalides on Thursday, Pravin Jadhav was defeated 6-0 by Kao Wenchao of the People’s Republic of China.

The Chinese archer put on an impeccable performance, scoring 10s on six of his nine arrows. Jadhav, on the other hand, managed only four 10s in response, allowing Wenchao to claim victory after three sets. 

Sailing

Vishnu Saravanan finished 10th in the first race and 34th in the second of the men’s dinghy competition. A total of 10 races will be held in the opening series, with only the top 10 boats advancing to the medal round.

Currently ranked 25th with 44 net points, Saravanan is aiming to improve upon his 20th-place finish at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. 

Badminton

This is the first time ever that Sindhu has failed to win an Olympic medal

Indian badminton fans experienced a day of disappointment on Thursday as PV Sindhu lost  19-21, 14-21 to sixth seed He Bingjiao of China in the women’s singles round of 16. The match lasted 56 minutes at La Chapelle Arena. This is the first time in Sindhu’s Olympic career that she has failed to secure a medal.

Earlier, Lakshya Sen secured a victory against his compatriot HS Prannoy in the men’s singles Round of 16. Sen, who is only 22 years old, will now face Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in the quarter-finals. He is the third Indian male badminton player to make it to the last eight at the Olympics, joining Parupalli Kashyap (London 2012) and Kidambi Srikanth (Rio 2016).

In the men’s doubles quarter-final, Indian pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty faced a heartbreaking loss to Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia. The Malaysian duo, ranked third in the badminton rankings and bronze medalists at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, displayed exceptional skills, winning the match 21-13, 14-21, 16-21.

Boxing

Nikhat Zareen, one of India’s most promising boxing medal hopefuls, faced an early exit in the second round of the women’s 50kg category. Competing against the top-seeded Chinese boxer, Wu Yu, Nikhat started the match with some missed punches, while Yu displayed greater accuracy. Despite exchanging a few blows, Nikhat’s late charge in the first round proved insufficient, resulting in a 1-4 loss.

In the second round, Nikhat showed improved intent, landing a precise right jab and hook while Yu attempted to block her attacks. However, the judges awarded the round 3-2 to Yu, the reigning Asian Games gold medalist.

Entering the third round, Nikhat started with a couple of punches. However, Yu’s defence held strong. As the Indian’s energy waned in the final seconds, Yu seized the opportunity, landing several accurate punches that helped her secure a 5-0 win. 

With Nikhat’s elimination, India’s medal hopes now rest upon the shoulders of Lovlina Borgohain and Nishant Dev, who are both one win away from guaranteeing a medal in their respective categories.