Another disappointing day for the Indian contingent at the Tokyo Olympics. Indian men’s hockey team golden dreams shattered as they lost to Belgium in the finals. India’s wrestling campaign at the Olympics began on a disappointing note as Sonam Malik couldn’t qualify for the final round. Tajinder Pal Singh and Anu Malik failed to progress to the next round on Tuesday.
Hockey
The Indian men’s hockey team was defeated by the Belgians in the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday. Belgium beat India 5-2 and advanced into the finals.
It was a very close contest till the 3rd quarter, with the scoreline 2-2. But in the fourth quarter, Belgium was ruthless. They kept creating chances with penalty corners and converted them into goals. Alexander Hendrickx was the star for Belgium, who scored a hattrick in the game.
India will face Germany in the bronze medal match on Thursday.
“It is really hard for me right now because we came with a winning mindset, but unfortunately, we didn’t win the match. Now we need to focus on our next bronze-medal match and we need to work and we need to get the medal,” Indian captain Manpreet said after the loss.
Wrestling
A two-time Cadet World Champion, Sonam Malik lost her opening bout against Bolortuya Khurelkhuu in the women’s freestyle 62kg 1/8 final. She will not get a chance to compete for the bronze medal as her opponent Bolortuya couldn’t make it to the final.
Wrestlers who lose in pre-quarterfinals get a chance to play for the bronze medal in the Repechage round if the opponent they lost to reaches the final in that weight category. The winner then faces the losing semi-finalist for the bronze medal bout.
“Sonam was definitely a better wrestler than the Mongolian but she made a mistake by being over defensive. That was a mistake. Nevertheless, she has got big-stage experience,” Sonam’s coach Ajmer Malik told PTI.
Athletics
Tajinder Pal Singh filed to qualify for the final of the men’s shot put event. He threw 19.99m in the first round to finish 6th. But then made two fouls in the next two rounds. He finished at 13th position in Group A.
Annu Rani failed to qualify for the women’s javelin throw final at the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday. She finished at 14th position. Annu began with a 50.35m throw and then she made it to 53.19m in her second attempt. And in the last attempt, her best throw was 54.04m.