By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIA had a disappointing day on Day 4 of the Tokyo Olympics on Monday (26) despite producing some moments of individual brilliance. In fencing, Bhavani Devi made history by becoming the first fencer from India ever to qualify for the mega show. However, he lost to world No.3 Manon Brunet in the Round of 32 of women’s Sabre event.
In archery, the Indian men’s team featuring Atanu Das, Tarundeep Rai and Pravin Jadhav lost 0-6 to a dominant South Korea in the quarter-finals to bow out of the tournament. The Indian trio had a bright start to the day when they defeated Kazakhstan 6-2. But the Korean opponents proved too hot for the Indians to handle.
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In shooting, India’s men had a disappointing outing as Mairaj Khan and Angad Vir Singh failed to qualify for the skeet final.
In table tennis, India had a mixed day. Sharath Kamal made the third round by deating Portugal’s Tiago Polonia 2-11 11-8 11-5 9-11 11-6 11-9 and will meet defending Olympic and world champion Ma Long of China.
Sutirtha Mukherjee, on the other hand, bowed out after losing in Round 2 when she lost 0-4 to Portugal’s Fu Yu. India’s top hope in table tennis Manika Batra, who earned a thrilling win in the second round on Sunday (25), lost 0-4 against Austria’s Sofia Polcanova in the third round to get knocked out.
In the men’s doubles group play stage in badminton, Indonesia’s Marcus Fernaldi and Kevin Sanjaya beat Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty duo 21-13, 21-12.
In tennis, Sumit Nagpal, who on Saturday (24) became the first Indian to win a singles match at the Olympics since 1996, lost to world No.2 Daniil Medvedev 2-6, 1-6 in the second round.
In boxing, Ashish Kumar lost 0-5 to China’s Tuoheta Erbieke in the Round of 32 in the men’s middleweight (69-75 kilograms) category event.
In swimming, Sajan Prakash finished 24th overall and failed to qualify for the semifinals in the men’s 200-metre Butterfly event.
In women’s hockey, India tasted their second consecutive defeat as Germany trounced them 2-0.
In sailing, Nethra Kumanan finished 15th in Race 03 and 40th in Race 04.