A day of heartbreaks for India as the top medal contender PV Sindhu lost in the semifinals and missed the chance of winning the gold medal. World No.1 Amit Pangal and Boxer Pooja Rani failed to qualify for the next round on Saturday. Archer Atanu Das crashed out of the Tokyo Olympics. But it had a couple of great moments as Kamalpreet Kaur qualified for the finals discus throw and the women’s hockey team reaching the quarterfinal.
Let’s look at India’s performance on Day 8 at Tokyo Olympics in each event.
Boxing
Indian boxer Pooja Rani was knocked out in the quarterfinals of the women’s boxing event in the 75 kg middleweight category on Saturday at the Tokyo Olympics. She conceded a 0-5 defeat against China’s Li Qian.
A huge upset for India in Boxing as top seed and medal contender Amit Panghal crashed out of Tokyo Olympics. He lost 4-1 to Colombian Yuberjen Martinez in the 52kg pre-quarterfinal bout.
The World No.1 dominated the first round but looked tired, very much defensive in the second and third rounds. The Rio Olympic Silver medallist, Martinez was quick and attacked with the volume of punches in the last two rounds.
Hockey
India women’s hockey team defeated South Africa by 4-3 in the must-win final group match on Saturday. Indian striker Vandana Kataria became the first Indian woman hockey player to score a hat-trick in the history of the Olympics. Neha Goyal (32nd) was the other goal-scorer for India. India finished in fourth place with six points in the group A league.
Indian women’s hockey team qualified for the Olympic quarterfinals after 41 years. They will now face pool B toppers Australia in the quarter-final on Monday.
Badminton
Indias’s ace shuttler PV Sindhu lost the semifinal on Saturday. And with this loss, Sindhu’s hopes of winning a gold or silver medal got ended. The top-seed Tai Tzu-Ying of China defeated Sindhu in straight games – 18-21, 12-21. In-Game one Sindhu was leading at one stage, but Tai Zu made an excellent comeback to pull off the victory. And in the second game, she outclassed Sindhu and gave her no chance to make a comeback.
PV Sindhu will face He Bingjiao of China in the bronze medal match on Sunday.
“I need to go back and relax and prepare for tomorrow because it is not over yet. I still have a chance. Hope I can give my best. It just wasn’t my day (today), but I’m going to try it again tomorrow.” said PV Sindhu
Shooting
Another disappointment from Shooting as Indian rifle shooters Anjum Moudgil and Tejaswini Sawant failed to qualify for the women’s 3P final. Anjum finished at 15th position. She shot 390/400 in the kneeling position and 395/400 finished at fifth place in prone. While Tejaswini finished at 33rd position overall.
Athletics
India’s Kamalpreet Kaur qualified for the finals of the women’s discus throw. In her three attempts, she threw 60.29m 63.97m, 64m. Kamalpreet Kaur was one of only 2 throwers in a field of 31 athletes across Group A and B who could touch the direct qualification mark of 64m. The Rio & London Olympics gold medallist, Sandra Perkovic of Croatia, threw 63.75m as her best.
Earlier this year, Kamalpreet had qualified for the Tokyo Olympics with a throw of 65.06 meters during the Athletics Federation Cup. She will play the finals of the women’s discus throw event on Monday.
Veteran Seema Punia failed to qualify for the final as her best throw in three attempts was 60.57.
Archery
India’s Archer Atanu Das lost (4-6) to Japan’s Takaharu Furukawa in the round of 16 of the men’s individual recurve event at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday. Atanu shot 9, 8, and 9 in the fifth set, which proved costly as Furukawa sealed the issue by a one-point margin in the decider.