2020 Tokyo Olympics, Day 5: Complete report
It was a mixed day for India on Day 5 of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Indian boxer Pooja Rani won her maiden bout in the Olympics to reach the quarter-finals. Archer Deepika Kumari won two successive rounds to reach the pre-quarters. Meanwhile, fellow archers Tarundeep Roy and Pravin Jadhav exited the Games. Also, the Indian women's hockey team suffered a third successive loss.
India's badminton ace and 2016 Rio Games silver medalist PV Sindhu has booked her berth in the pre-quarter-finals.. Sindhu beat Hong Kong's NY Cheung in a Group J match. Sindhu won the match 21-9. 21-16 in a 35-minute match to top the group. This was also her sixth win out of six meetings against Cheung.
The Indian women's hockey team was beaten 4-1 by Great Britain. With this loss, India's chances of qualifying for the next stage are virtually over. For the third match in a row in Pool A, India wasted several chances before suffering telling defeats. Britain saw Hannah Martin (2nd and 19th minute), Lily Owsley (41st minute), and Grace Balsdon (57th minute) score the goals.
Deepika survived a few anxious moments before getting past Jennifer Mucino-Fernandez 6-4 to sail into the pre-quarterfinals of the women's individual section. Earlier, Deepika moved into the second round with a 6-0 win over Karma of Bhutan. Meanwhile, Jadhav knocked out world number two Galsan Bazarzhapov in his opening match before facing a heavy defeat to world champion Brady Ellison in the second round.
Veteran Indian archer Tarundeep Rai lost to Itay Shanny of Israel. It was a dramatic second-round exit for Tarundeep in what was his last Olympics appearance. Both players were locked 5-5 before Shanny sealed the match 10-9 with a perfect score in the shoot-off.
The Indian rowing team of Arjun Lal Jat and Arvind Singh missed out on qualifying for the men's lightweight double sculls final at the Tokyo Olympics after finishing sixth and last in the second semi-final. The duo clocked 6:24.41 to finish last in the six-team semi-final 2 at the Sea Forest Waterway. They are expected to finish 12th, producing India's best-ever Olympic performance.
Indian men's singles badminton player Sai Praneeth lost his second Group D match against Mark Caljouw of the Netherlands. Caljouw tamed Praneeth 21-14, 21-14 in straight games. Praneeth lost both his group stage matches. Meanwhile, world number one Kento Momota suffered a shock exit. The world number one was beaten by South Korea's Heo Kwang-hee, He beat Momota 21-15, 21-19 in the group stage.
Indian boxer Pooja Rani (75kg) beat Algeria's Ichrak Chaib in her opening bout to enter the quarter-finals of her first Olympic Games. The 30-year-old experienced boxer clinched the bout 5-0, thoroughly dominating a rival who was 10 years her junior.
Tennis ace and world number one Novak Djokovic reached the quarter-finals. Djokovic continued his bid for a calendar Golden Slam by defeating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain 6-3, 6-1. He has extended his winning run to 21 matches and will face Japan's Kei Nishikori next. World number two Daniil Medvedev beat Italy's Fabio Fognini 6-2, 3-6, 6-2. Meanwhile, Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas bowed out.
Gymnast Simone Biles withdrew from the women's all-around final. The American four-time Olympic champion had pulled out of the women's team final on Tuesday, saying she had to focus on her mental health. On Wednesday, it was announced she could not take part in Thursday's event either. USA Gymnastics said it fully supported Biles' decision to withdraw from Wednesday's event.
Japan lead the tally of gold medals (13). China (12) and the USA (11) follow suit. The USA have won the most overall medals as of now (31). They are followed by China (27). Australia and Great Britain have 16 medals each.
