SPORTS

Day 12 was a largely positive one for the Indian contingent at Tokyo Olympics. First, golfer Aditi Ashok advanced to the next round by securing the second spot in the first round. Then Neeraj Chopra cruised to the finals of the men’s javelin throw event. Chopra topped the qualification round overall with an 86.65m throw. Though boxer Lovlina Borgohain lost her semi-final match in the women’s 69kg category, she did add a bronze medal to India’s medal tally. Wrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiya also marched to the 57kg freestyle final, where he will be vying for gold. At one point in the semifinal game, Dahiya was in deep waters against Kazakhstan's Nurislam Sanayev, but made a spectacular comeback to book his place in the gold medal match. Now Dahiya will be eyeing a gold medal with a win in the final on August 5.

However, his fellow wrestler Deepak Punia failed to cement his place in the final of 86kg category but he still has a chance to secure a bronze medal. Anshu Malik’s chance for medal was also alive as he went through to the repechage round.

After a disappointing day at Tokyo Olympics 2020, Team India will be looking to make Day 12 of the Games count and there is plenty of action to look out for today.

Neeraj Chopra is rated as among India's best javelin thrower and records don't lie. Reigning Olympic champion Thomas Rohler, too, backed the javelin thrower to bring a medal for his country. He said that Neeraj has the experience and looks ready to battle for a medal at the biggest stage. It will be interesting to see how Neeraj fares. He is the last hope for Indian athletics contingent which has had a bad outing so far, except of course Kamalpreet Kaur who finished sixth in the discus throw.

India will aim to continue their inspiring performance at Tokyo Olympics. On 2nd August, India's Women Hockey team stunned Australia by 1-0 to book their place in the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics for the first time in the history of sporting carnival. Gurjit Kaur scored in the second quarter for the Women in Blue and they were able to hold on to their lead to create history.

Earlier, PV Sindhu had bagged India's second medal at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics 2020 when she defeated China's He Bingjiao in the Bronze medal match. Meanwhile, the focus on 3rd August will be on the Men's Hockey team, which will face Belgium in the semifinal of the games.

The Manpreet Singh-led team won the quarterfinal against Great Britain by 3-1 as the Indian team qualified for the last four of the tournament after a long gap of 49 years. The last time India had qualified for the semis was back in 1972 in the Munich Olympics but they had lost to arch-rivals Pakistan by 0-2.

India has assured their second medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 as Boxer Lovlina Borgohain won her quarterfinal clash against N.C Chen by 3-2 to confirm her semifinal berth. 

The Assam Boxer stated that now she will go for Gold as there is no pressure on her as she has already secured the medal. Lovlina is making her debut in the Olympics and she will become the third Indian boxer after Vijender Singh (2008 Beijing) and Mary Kom (2012 London) to win an Olympic medal. Lovlina will now play her semifinal match against Turkish boxer Busenaz S rmeneli on 4th August, 11:00 AM IST. 

It was a good day for Indians at Tokyo Olympics 2020 on Thursday. While the India men’s hockey team advanced to the quarter-finals with a 3-1 win over Argentina in their Pool A match, PV Sindhu too made it to the last eight of the women’s singles badminton tournament with a 21-15, 21-13 win over Denmark’s Mia Blichfeldt.

However, the biggest shock of the day came when veteran boxer MC Mary Kom succumbed to a 2-3 defeat to Colombia’s Ingrit Valencia in the women’s flyweight round of 16 clash. Despite her loss, she earned plaudits from sportspersons across India for the grit and determination she showcased.

Meanwhile, India’s swimming campaign ended when Sajan Prakash failed to qualify for the 100m butterfly semi-finals. He finished with an overall position of 46.