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While shooter Swapnil Kusale advanced to the final of Men’s 50m Rifle Three Positions event, shuttlers HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen and PV Sindhu all made it to the last 16. However, it was a forgettable outing for paddlers Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula. read more
 "Prannoy sets up blockbuster last 16 clash against Sen; Swapnil in shooting final")
A blockbuster clash against Lakshya Sen in the last 16 awaits HS Prannoy at Paris Olympics. AP
It was a mixed day for Indian athletes on the fifth day of the 2024 Paris Olympics on Wednesday. While shooter Swapnil Kusale advanced to the final of Men’s 50m Rifle Three Positions event and shuttlers HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen and PV Sindhu all made the round of 16, it was a forgettable outing for paddlers Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula.
There was still something to celebrate in boxing on Wednesday. Lovlina Borgohain, a bronze medallist in Tokyo, and Olympics debutant Nishant Dev qualified for the quarter-finals in their respective categories. This will definitely come as good news for fans after boxers Amit Panghal, Jaismine Lamboria and Preeti Pawar’s campaigns had ended with defeats on Tuesday.
Paris Olympics: News, schedule, medals tally and more
In archery, Deepika Kumari stormed into the pre-quarter-finals of the women’s individual competition but it was curtains down for Tarundeep Rai in the men’s individual category.
Swapnil Kusale raises medal hopes
Both of India’s medals at the Paris Olympics have come in shooting and there could be another chance for a shooting medal on Thursday. On Wednesday, Swapnil Kusale qualified for the medal round of the Men’s 50m Rifle Three Positions event after he finished in seventh place with a score of 590.
Very happy & emotional for Swapnil Kusale today. Qualifying for Olympic Finals in 50M events is always special as this event is not amongst the strongest challenge from India. Closely worked with him during my tenure as a Chief Coach of 50M Indian Shooting Team 2022-2023. Heres a… pic.twitter.com/ke48mt1SDv
— Joydeep Karmakar OLY (@Joydeep709) July 31, 2024However, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, the other Indian in the event, missed out on qualification after he finished in 11th place with a score of 589. To add context, only the top eight shooters from the qualification round make it to the final.
The 28 year-old Swapnil secured 38 inner tens and registered scores of 198 from kneeling position, 197 from prone position and 195 from the standing position. Aishwary scored 33 inner 10s with 197 (kneeling), 199 (prone) and 193 (standing).
Also read | Who is Swapnil Kusale, Indian shooter set to fight for men’s 50m 3P gold?
In women’s trap shooting qualification, Shreyasi Singh and Rajeshwari Kumari missed out on making the final. Both Shreyasi and Rajeshwari scored 113 and finished 22nd and 23rd respectively.
Boxers, shuttlers shine
It was a day to remember for Olympic debutant Nishant Dev. The 23 year-old kept his hopes of a medal alive with a split decision victory over Ecuador’s Jose Rodriguez in the men’s 71 kg last 16 bout. Nishant began on an aggressive note as he landed a few powerful punches against the Ecuadorian. The judges ruled in favour of the Haryana youngster in the first two rounds, and although Jose intensified the speed of his punches later in the bout, he still failed to connect the hook well.
Lovlina Borgohain was also through to the quarter-finals of the women’s 765 kg category with a unanimous decision win over Germany’s Sunniva Hoftstad.
The major talking point in badminton on Wednesday was HS Prannoy setting up a blockbuster last 16 clash against fellow Indian Lakshya Sen in men’s singles. Prannoy came from one game down to beat Vietnam’s Le Duc Phat 16-21, 21-11, 21-12, whereas Lakshya Sen had beaten Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie 21-18, 21-12. The last 16 match will take place on Thursday.
No glitch in this Matrix! 😉@lakshya_sen | #Paris2024 https://t.co/zWNw0NcPx0
— Olympic Khel (@OlympicKhel) July 31, 2024In women’s singles, PV Sindhu advanced to the last 16 with an easy 21-5, 21-10 win over Kristin Kuuba of Estonia. The two-time Olympic medallist, however, faces World No 8 He Bingjiao in the last 16 on Thursday.
Paddlers disappoint; Deepika advances in archery
It was a disappointing outing for paddlers Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula at the Olympics on Wednesday. Both produced spirited performances in their respective outings in women’s singles, but their higher-ranked opponents were just too good.
Batra went down to Japan’s Miu Hirano with a 1-4 scoreline. After losing the first two games, the 29 year-old held her composure to see off a scare against the 13th ranked Japanese to win the third game 14-12.
After going behind in the fourth game 1-4, the New Delhi-born athlete was right back in it at 9-8, but the Japanese was aggressive enough to take that game as well as the fifth.
Sreeja, on the other hand, faced World No 1 Sun Yingsha from China. Sreeja had the first two games in her control at one stage (10-6 and 10-5 in first and second games), but conceded consecutive game points to lose the first two games 10-12.
Sreeja was never really in contention in the second half of the contest as Sun made the win look so easy. Earlier on Wednesday, Sreeja had bounced back from a game down to beat Zeng Jian of Singapore 4-2 in the last 32.
In archery, Deepika Kumari qualified for the pre-quarterfinals of the women’s individual event with a 6-2 win over Quinty Roeffen of Netherlands. However, Tarundeep Rai went down to Tom Hall of Great Britain in the men’s 1/32 elimination round.
Anush Agarwalla knocked out
Anush Agarwalla, the lone Indian in equestrian at the Olympics, failed to make the medal round of the individual dressage event after he and his horse Sir Caramello finished ninth out of 10 competitors with a score of 66.444% in Group E qualification.
In rowing, Balraj Panwar finished sixth in the men’s single sculls semi-final C/D, which means he will now compete for the classification spots between 19 and 24. He had finished fifth in the quarter-final on Tuesday, which meant he was eliminated from medal contention.
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