Tokyo Olympics: Women power lifts Indian spirits on Day 7
Out of the last eight medals India won at Olympics, six of them are from women athletes.
Hyderabad: It was again the woman power that brought cheers to the Indian contingent at the Tokyo Olympics. Boxer Lovlina Borgohain provided the second Olympic medal by advancing into the semifinal in the 69kg category while Indian women’s hockey team finally registered a win in the competition to stay in contention for a quarterfinal berth. Rio Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu provided icing on the cake with her victory over Akane Yamaguchi and entered the semis. She is now one win away from her second Olympic medal.
Out of the last eight medals India won at Olympics, six of them are from women athletes.
Earlier, Lovlina became the second Indian female boxer after Mary Kom and third pugilist to clinch a medal at the Games. Vijender Singh won the first-ever boxing medal for the county in 2008 before Mary Kom won a bronze in the 2012 London Games. The Assam boxer defeated Chen Nien-Chin by 4-1 split decision to advance.
Having suffered three successive losses, Indian women finally registered a victory to stay in the contention for the knockout stages. Riding on the 57th-minute goal from Navneet Kaur, India defeated Ireland 1-0 in the Pool A game. They are currently placed at the fifth position. Top four teams from the pool will advance to quarters.
In the evening session, PV Sindhu took the court and defeated local favourite Yamaguchi in straight sets. Having won the first set comfortably at 21-13, Sindhu downed the fighting Japanese 22-20 to enter the semis.
However, it was not an all-win day for India. Deepika Kumar, the reigning World No.1 archer, went down in the quarterfinals against South Korea’s An San, ending her medal hopes. She started her day brilliantly defeating 2017 world champion Ksenia Perova of the Russian Olympic Committee in the round of 16. However, she failed to put up a fight in her quarterfinals. It was heartbreak for Deepika who returned empty-handed from her third Olympics.
Meanwhile, Indian spriting star Dutee Chand failed to advance as she crashed from the heats in the 100m event. The Odisha athlete, who qualified in 100m and 200m event based on her rankings, finished 45th from 54 athletes. She finished 7th among eight athletes in her heats.
On the boxing front, India’s Simranjit Kaur suffered a 0-5 loss in the Round of 16 against Thailand’s Sudaporn Seesondee. It was also the end of the road for Indian pistol shooters Manu Bhaker and Rahi Sarnobat after both of them failed to qualify for the women’s 25m pistol final.
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