NEW DELHI: Manu Bhaker advanced to the bronze medal match in the 10m air pistol mixed team competition to keep on course to make more Olympic history on a day when the men’s hockey team escaped with a draw against Argentina, Arjun Babuta fourth-place finish broke hearts and archers failed to deliver yet again.
For the second consecutive day, Bhaker led the Indian contingent with her stellar performance.
Bhaker, who had already secured a bronze medal in the 10m air pistol individual event, teamed up with Sarabjot Singh to score 580 and qualify for the bronze medal match. They will face the Korean team of Oh Ye Jin and Lee Wonho, who scored 579.
A second medal for India could have been possible on Monday if debutant Arjun Babuta had maintained his form in the men’s 10m air rifle final. Babuta was in contention for a bronze or even a silver but ultimately finished in a disappointing fourth place.
“It was not my day. It is very hard to deal with fourth. It is the worst place to finish. It is disheartening,” the 25-year-old Babuta didn’t hide his pain.
“There are lot of thoughts going on and I feel I have to fight them with counter thoughts. Eventually I have to tell myself that I gave my 100 percent…One can be never ready for a fourth place finish,” he added.
In contrast to Babuta’s close miss, Bhaker, who became the first Indian woman shooter to win an Olympic medal with her bronze, will compete with Sarabjot for a third-place finish in the mixed team event.
In the women’s 10m air rifle competition, Ramita Jindal secured a seventh-place finish, not coming close to medal contention.
Prithviraj Tondaiman finished at the bottom in the shotgun trap qualification rounds, placed 30th with a score of 68 out of 75.
As per the current standings, India is tied at 23rd place in the medal tally with one bronze.
Leading the top three positions are China, Korea, and Australia.
Lakshya on target in badminton court
After his initial victory was ‘deleted’, Lakshya Sen on Monday triumphed over Belgium’s Julien Carraggi in straight games during a men’s singles group match. Sen, a 22-year-old Olympic debutant, defeated Carraggi 21-19, 21-14 in a match that lasted 43 minutes.
Sen’s previous win against Tokyo Olympics semifinalist Kevin Cordon was earlier removed from the records because the Guatemalan had to withdraw from the Olympics due to a left elbow injury.
Sen is set to face Jonatan Christie of Indonesia, the third seed and current world number three, in his final group match on Wednesday. Christie holds the title of reigning Asian champion.
The upcoming match will determine which of the two players progresses in the competition, as only one player from each of the 16 groups will qualify for the pre-quarterfinals.
Manika reaches round of 16
Star paddler Manika Batra became the first Indian player to reach the round of 16 in singles competition after winning 4-0 against Prithika Pavade of France.
The 29-year-old Manika, a gold medallist at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, registered a 11-9, 11-6, 11-9, and 11-7 win.
Earlier, in the Tokyo Olympics, Manika was the first Indian women’s table tennis player to make it to the round of 32 in singles. This time, she has progressed a step further. Achanta Sharath Kamal had also reached the round of 32 in men’s singles in the Tokyo Olympics.
Manika is currently ranked 28th in the world, 10 places lower than Pavade.
Hockey team escapes with draw against Argentina
Skipper Harmanpreet Singh converted a last-minute penalty corner to ensure India held former champions Argentina to a 1-1 draw in a Pool B match. Despite wasting nine penalty corners, India found the net just before the final hooter.
Lucas Martinez initially put Argentina ahead with a field goal in the 22nd minute.
In the 36th minute, Maico Casella missed a penalty stroke for Argentina, a costly error they would later regret.
Harmanpreet, who had earlier struck against New Zealand in the opener, emerged as the savior once again by scoring the crucial goal a minute before the final hooter.
Horror run continues for archers
After Sunday’s horror exit of the women’s archery team, the men’s team also disappointed on Monday.
Veteran Tarundeep Rai, Dhiraj Bommadevara and Pravin Jadhav came up woefully short against a fired up young Turkish team to be knocked out 2-6 in the quarterfinals of the men’s team event.
India’s success hinged on whether Tarundeep could show the way and the young Bommadevara and Jadhav were ready to rise to the challenge. But nothing of that sort happened.
The final scoreline read, 53-57, 52-55, 55-54, 54-58.
Bopanna calls it quits from national duty
Veteran Rohan Bopanna announced his retirement from representing India after losing in the opening round of the men’s doubles event in Paris. The doubles speciallist said that this would be his final event for the country.
“This will definitely go down as my last event for the country. I totally understand where I am and now, I am just going to be enjoying the tennis circuit as long as that goes,” Bopanna said, ruling himself out from the 2026 Asian Games in Japan.
For the second consecutive day, Bhaker led the Indian contingent with her stellar performance.
Bhaker, who had already secured a bronze medal in the 10m air pistol individual event, teamed up with Sarabjot Singh to score 580 and qualify for the bronze medal match. They will face the Korean team of Oh Ye Jin and Lee Wonho, who scored 579.
A second medal for India could have been possible on Monday if debutant Arjun Babuta had maintained his form in the men’s 10m air rifle final. Babuta was in contention for a bronze or even a silver but ultimately finished in a disappointing fourth place.
“It was not my day. It is very hard to deal with fourth. It is the worst place to finish. It is disheartening,” the 25-year-old Babuta didn’t hide his pain.
“There are lot of thoughts going on and I feel I have to fight them with counter thoughts. Eventually I have to tell myself that I gave my 100 percent…One can be never ready for a fourth place finish,” he added.
In contrast to Babuta’s close miss, Bhaker, who became the first Indian woman shooter to win an Olympic medal with her bronze, will compete with Sarabjot for a third-place finish in the mixed team event.
In the women’s 10m air rifle competition, Ramita Jindal secured a seventh-place finish, not coming close to medal contention.
Prithviraj Tondaiman finished at the bottom in the shotgun trap qualification rounds, placed 30th with a score of 68 out of 75.
As per the current standings, India is tied at 23rd place in the medal tally with one bronze.
Leading the top three positions are China, Korea, and Australia.
Lakshya on target in badminton court
After his initial victory was ‘deleted’, Lakshya Sen on Monday triumphed over Belgium’s Julien Carraggi in straight games during a men’s singles group match. Sen, a 22-year-old Olympic debutant, defeated Carraggi 21-19, 21-14 in a match that lasted 43 minutes.
Sen’s previous win against Tokyo Olympics semifinalist Kevin Cordon was earlier removed from the records because the Guatemalan had to withdraw from the Olympics due to a left elbow injury.
Sen is set to face Jonatan Christie of Indonesia, the third seed and current world number three, in his final group match on Wednesday. Christie holds the title of reigning Asian champion.
The upcoming match will determine which of the two players progresses in the competition, as only one player from each of the 16 groups will qualify for the pre-quarterfinals.
Manika reaches round of 16
Star paddler Manika Batra became the first Indian player to reach the round of 16 in singles competition after winning 4-0 against Prithika Pavade of France.
The 29-year-old Manika, a gold medallist at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, registered a 11-9, 11-6, 11-9, and 11-7 win.
Earlier, in the Tokyo Olympics, Manika was the first Indian women’s table tennis player to make it to the round of 32 in singles. This time, she has progressed a step further. Achanta Sharath Kamal had also reached the round of 32 in men’s singles in the Tokyo Olympics.
Manika is currently ranked 28th in the world, 10 places lower than Pavade.
Hockey team escapes with draw against Argentina
Skipper Harmanpreet Singh converted a last-minute penalty corner to ensure India held former champions Argentina to a 1-1 draw in a Pool B match. Despite wasting nine penalty corners, India found the net just before the final hooter.
Lucas Martinez initially put Argentina ahead with a field goal in the 22nd minute.
In the 36th minute, Maico Casella missed a penalty stroke for Argentina, a costly error they would later regret.
Harmanpreet, who had earlier struck against New Zealand in the opener, emerged as the savior once again by scoring the crucial goal a minute before the final hooter.
Horror run continues for archers
After Sunday’s horror exit of the women’s archery team, the men’s team also disappointed on Monday.
Veteran Tarundeep Rai, Dhiraj Bommadevara and Pravin Jadhav came up woefully short against a fired up young Turkish team to be knocked out 2-6 in the quarterfinals of the men’s team event.
India’s success hinged on whether Tarundeep could show the way and the young Bommadevara and Jadhav were ready to rise to the challenge. But nothing of that sort happened.
The final scoreline read, 53-57, 52-55, 55-54, 54-58.
Bopanna calls it quits from national duty
Veteran Rohan Bopanna announced his retirement from representing India after losing in the opening round of the men’s doubles event in Paris. The doubles speciallist said that this would be his final event for the country.
“This will definitely go down as my last event for the country. I totally understand where I am and now, I am just going to be enjoying the tennis circuit as long as that goes,” Bopanna said, ruling himself out from the 2026 Asian Games in Japan.
