Rio Olympics Day 6: India Succumbs in Hockey; Mixed Day in Badminton
Saina, Sindhu win but Shiva Thapa and the men’s hockey team lose on day 5 of the Rio Olympics.
The Indian men’s hockey team was defeated 1-2 by Netherlands in their Group B game of the men’s field hockey tournament. Despite the loss, India remains in contention for a quarterfinal berth.
India had an exceptional first half from a defensive point of view. PR Sreejesh lead the team with multiple saves as his defenders kept up the pressure and thwarted the Dutch. The deadlock was broken by Rogeir Hofman who tapped in a rebound to give the men in orange a lead. However, six minutes later, India equalised through VR Raghunath’s forceful strike off a penalty corner. Mink van der Weerden scored the decisive goal in the 54th minutes.
India could only score once in the six penalty corners they won in the game, sliding to third position in Group B while Netherlands bolted to the top of the table. The men in blue play Canada next, in what will be a must win game.
India Eves Thrashed by U.S.
The Indian women’s hockey team suffered yet another loss in the Group B of the women’s field hockey competition. The first time qualifiers were slumped to a 0-3 defeat, with the outcome bearing no positives for the side. They now languish at the bottom of the table with just one point from four matches.
Mixed Day in Badminton for India
The doubles and singles badminton events threw up contrasting results for India on Thursday.
The singles campaign was off to a flying start as both Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu won their respective matches comfortably. Saina Nehwal eased past her Brazilian opponent Lohaynyy Vincente to win 21-17, 21-17 in her opening group match. Nehwal, among the few Indians still in contention for a medal, sealed the match in just 39 minutes.
PV Sindhu put up a show for the spectators as she destroyed Lauri Sarosi of Hungary with a 21-8, 21-9 scoreline. The Hungarian tried to make a comeback in the second set winning some early points but was no match for Sindhu’s sharp play.
In the men’s singles, Srikanth Kadambi cruised to a 21-11, 21-17 victory after shrugging off a shaky start to the game.
The doubles campaign was off to a disastrous start, with both the men’s and women’s duo losing their first group games.
Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponappa were defeated 15-21, 10-21 by number one seeds Ayaka Takahashi and Misaki Matsutomo. The Japanese duo took advantage of multiple unforced errors by the Indians while dominating throughout the match.
In the men’s doubles, Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy lost their opening game to Indonesian opponents Ahsan Mohammad and Setiawan Hendra by 18-21, 13-21. The two sides went neck-to-neck till the middle of the first set after which it was a one way ride home for the Indonesians.
Archers Bow Out
Deepika Kumari and Bombayla Devi Laishram were knocked out of the Round of 16 of the women’s archery tournament, ending the Indian women’s bid for a medal in archery.
Kumari was handed an embarrassing 0-6 loss by Ya Ting-Tan of Chinese Taipei. Deepika disappointed by hitting only a solitary bull’s eye in all her sets. Her opponent capitalised on Deepika’s poor form and the match ended with a scoreline of 27-28, 26-29, 27-30.
Bombayla Devi, who was in scintillating form on Wednesday, lost 2-6 to her Mexican opponent Alejandra Valencia. She too could only manage two bull’s eyes and was defeated 26-28, 26-23, 27-28, 23-25.
On Day 3, their female compatriot Laxmirani Majhi was also eliminated in the Round of 64.
Sania, Bopanna Advance to Quarterfinals
Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna entered the quarterfinals of the mixed doubles tennis event at the Rio Olympics after a comfortable straight sets win over Australia’s Samantha Stosur and John Peers.
The pair, who are now the solitary hope of winning a medal in tennis, overcame their opponents 7-5, 6-4 in 79 minutes. The topsy turvy first set saw an exchange of break points before the Indian duo gathered composure wrapping up the set. The second set was a fairly easy walk to victory.
The match was scheduled to be on August 10, however, it was postponed due to rains. Mirza and Bopanna will now face Great Britain’s Andy Murray and Heather Watson for a place in the semi finals.
Bad Day in Office for Golfers
Indian golfers Anirban Lahiri and Shiv Chawrasia had an uncertain start to their campaign at the Rio Olympics as they carded a three-over 74 and even-par 71 respectively in the opening round of the golf competition in Rio de Janeiro on Friday. Lahiri score only a couple of birdies but ended dropping five bogeys. Chawrasia managed to get four birdies but all his hardwork was undone by his four bogeys.
Lahiri and Chawrasia were tied 49th and tied 27th respectively on the standings after day one as the Olympic games welcomed golf again after 112 years.
Straight Jabs Become Thapa’s Undoing
Indian bantamweight (54kg) boxer Shiv Thapa was eliminated from the men’s bantam boxing tournament after he lost 0-3 to Cuban Robeisy Ramirez by unanimous decision at the Rio Olympics on Thursday.
Thapa was put on the back foot from the start as his opponent made haste by scoring big points off some straight arm jabs. Ramirez, who won gold at the London Olympics, took the match home with a 30-26 margin.
Day 7 Heads Up
4 pm IST
- Anirban Lahiri and Shiv Chawrasia will feature in the men’s individual golf tournament.
5:30 pm IST
- Gagan Narang and Chain Singh will be in action in the men’s 50 meter rifle prone shooting competition.
- Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa will go up against the Dutch pairing of
Selena and Piek Eefje Muskens in their second and final group game of the women’s doubles badminton tournament. - Surprise package Atanu Das will take on South Korea’s Lee Seung-yun for a quarterfinal berth in the men’s archery event.
6 pm IST
- Vikas Gowda will take part in the men’s discus throw competition.
- Mairaj Ahmad Khan will be in action on day one of the men’s skeet shooting event.
6:40 pm IST
Jinson Johnson will be in the fray in the first round of the men’s 800 meters heats event.
7:50 pm IST
Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy will take on China’s Chai Biao and Hong Wei in their second group game of the men’s doubles badminton event.
9:20 pm IST
- Dattu Bhokanal who missed competing for a medal, will be in the semi final of the men’s singles sculls rowing event, where he’ll be competing solely for world rankings.
11:00 pm IST
Gurmeet Singh, Manish Singh and Krishnan Ganapathi will test their endurance in the men’s 20 kilometer walk event.
11:30 pm IST
- Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna will battle it out against Great Britain’s Andy Murray and Heather Watson in the quarterfinals of the mixed doubles tennis competition.
Day 7 Events on August 13
3 am IST
Vikas Krishan Yadav will look to continue his good form in his bout against Turkey’s Önder Şipal in the round of 16 of the men’s 75 kilogram boxing tournament.
5:50 am IST
Ankit Sharma will participate in the qualifications round of the men’s long jump event.
6:23 am IST
Muhammad Anas Yahiya, who was the 100th Indian to qualify for the Olympics, will be in action in the men’s 400 meter event.
Also Read
Rio Olympics Day 5: Women’s Hockey Team Humbled; Jitu Rai Draws a Blank
Rio Olympics Day 4: India’s Historic Hockey Win; Atanu Das Advances in Archery
Rio Olympics Day 3: Abhinav Bindra Misses Bronze, Agonising Defeat in Men’s Hockey
Rio Olympics Day 2: Dipa Karmakar Enters Artistic Gymnastics Finals, Makes History
Rio Olympics: Men’s Hockey Gives Hope on Disappointing Day One For India