It is the biggest dilemma for an athlete at the Olympic Games: do you lose gold or win silver?
On Thursday, Ravi Dahiya became only the sixth athlete in India's sporting history to win a silver medal at the Olympics. But when he was told to go backstage for the medal ceremony, he trudged across reluctantly. Even on the Games podium, the highest point of an athlete's career, Dahiya had the look of someone who had been forced to stand there. His glum face stood in sharp contrast to those of the other two winners as he picked up the medal from a shiny tray and wore it around his neck.
“What’s the point of this?" he asked later. “I had come here with only one target, a gold medal. This is okay, but it’s not gold.” Perhaps, Dahiya will smile when he learns of the impact his medal has already had. Haryana's Nahari, Dahiya’s village, is all set to get a brand-new indoor stadium. Of course, the wrestler didn't know that yet. He’d kept his phone switched off for several weeks, not even speaking to his parents to avoid distractions.
“But if I had won the gold medal, I’d have felt better,” he said. Dahiya bowed out in the final of the 57-kg class but not before giving a massive scare to his Russia rival and two-time world champion Zavur Uguev in the 7-4 verdict. (Read Full Story)
Punjab School Education and Public Works Department Minister Vijay Inder Singla Friday said the state government has decided to name roads and schools after Olympic medal winning players.
Congratulating the Indian men's hockey team for clinching an Olympic (bronze) medal after 41 years, he said these players have made the country proud, and naming roads and schools after them would be a small token of appreciation.
In an official statement, Singla said Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has given his approval to the proposal and officials have been directed to initiate the process at the earliest.
He said the road connecting the residence and school of the area of the respective medal winning player will be named after them to inspire the youngsters.
On the penultimate day of the Tokyo Olympics, Indians have their last chance to increase their medal tally.
Aditi Ashok has emerged as a surprise contender in Women’s Golf for a medal. With three days of play having been completed, and only one more day remaining, she is still in 2nd place, on course for a Silver medal, India’s first Olympics medal in Golf. What makes her prospects more intriguing is that there is a typhoon forecast in Tokyo on the weekend. If all 18 holes are not possible on Saturday, Aditi Ashok will win silver based on her rank at the end of the third day.
Later in the afternoon, Indian participation ends with a double bonanza of Bajrang Punia playing his Bronze medal match in Freestyle Wrestling and Neeraj Chopra’s Javelin final.
Jessica Springsteen, daughter of famed rocker Bruce Springsteen, qualifies for the team equestrian jumping final. She competed for Team USA in the team jumping qualification, helping the team advance to the final.
READ | The Boss’ daughter: Preferring show-jumping over showbiz, Bruce Springsteen’s offspring is a Tokyo Olympian
Springsteen is the daughter of The Boss and his E Street Band wife, Patti Scialfa. The 29-year-old — ranked 14th in the world — failed to make the individual jumping finals in her Olympic debut this week, but came back with a strong ride today. Her horse, Don Juan van de Donkhoeve, clipped a rail on the 13th of 14 obstacles, but was otherwise flawless.
Italy has surprisingly won the men’s 4x100-meter relay. First time in over 70 years. This also gives Marcell Jacobs his second gold medal of the Tokyo Games. The Jamaican women added the 4x100-meter relay title to their Tokyo Olympic collection after sweeping the podium in the 100-meter final.
Australian hockey players who sought to drown their sorrows in beer after losing the Olympic gold medal match also temporarily lost their freedom on Friday, after breaching COVID-19 rules by leaving the athletes' village to buy the booze.
Five members of the men's squad had been reprimanded and isolated in their rooms, Team Australia chief Ian Chesterman said, adding a further blemish to the team's reputation a few days after rugby sevens players and rowers from the same nation damaged rooms in the athletes village.
Chesterman said three of the players left the village to buy two cases of beer at 0300 on Friday, hours after Australia lost the final to Belgium. (Reuters)
The Netherlands won their fourth Olympic women's hockey title by beating Argentina 3-1 in the final at the Tokyo Games on Friday.
The Netherlands effectively settled the match in the second quarter, scoring three times off penalty corners, with one goal from Margot van Geffen and two from Caia van Maasakker. Argentina replied with moments left to play in the first half when Agustina Gorzelany also scored off a penalty corner. Las Leonas kept fighting after the halftime break but were unable to score again, settling for the silver medal. (Reuters)
"I really like him. He’s very friendly and open-minded. During our car ride, we did not talk a lot about javelin. We spoke about family, private life and discussed how things are going in Germany and India," says Johannes Vetter, the favourite to win the gold medal ahead of Neeraj tomorrow.
Annika Schleu saw her Modern Pentathlon gold medal slip after her horse refused several times to jump over a fence, before abandoning the mission in "an absolute real-life nightmare" for the rider. With her horse refusing to cooperate, Annika Schleu is seen breaking down while riding her horse. She was 4th in Rio. Trained for 5 years to better that record. And then, this happened.
Kenya's Faith Kipyegon has won the 1500m women's final with a new Olympic record.
Meanwhile, from an Indian perspective, it's set to be a huge day tomorrow. Bajrang's medal match and Neeraj Chopra's final are set to happen at around the same time tomorrow afternoon. Let us take a look at the big question on Indian Athletics fans' minds for the last two years: Can Neeraj Chopra win a medal at the Olympics?
As far as best throws go for the year 2020, Neeraj Chopra is 2nd.
Now, looking at the best throws for the year 2021, Neeraj Chopra is 4th.
Of course, Neeraj finished qualification in 1st place, a rare occurence in the Olympics for India in Athletics. The heat factor was said to be important in why both Neeraj and Pakistan's Arshad did well that day. Tomorrow, however, the final will be in the evening, in cooler conditions.
Allyson Felix wins 400m bronze in her final Olympic Games. She ties Carl Lewis for the most medals won by an American track & field athlete! This was her 10th medal at the Games. She becomes the most decorated female athlete in the history of track & field.
World record holder Joshua Cheptegei took the gold in the gruelling men’s 5000m final at the Tokyo Olympic Stadium, finishing ahead of Mohammed Ahmed of Canada, who took the silver and Paul Chelimo of United States who scoops the bronze.
Cheptegei became the first Ugandan to win the event as he bagged the Olympic gold that has eluded him for so long. Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda was in front of the pack at the 1000m mark, but his countryman Cheptegei took over the front spot midway through the race.
We knew it when we saw it, and here's the split timings confirming it. Amoj Jacob was on fire on the final lap! A sub-45 lap! 44.68 for him. Arokia Rajiv with a sub-45 lap too.
The Asian record the Indian men's relay team broke was a three year old one of 3:00.56s was set by Qatar during the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games.
It has been a great Athletics campaign for India in Tokyo 2020 so far. Kamalpreet Kaur finished 2nd in her qualification group, finishing 6th in the final. Neeraj Chopra then made history of sorts by finishing 1st in the Javelin qualifiers. His medal event is up tomorrow. For today, Priyanka Goswami walked a fine walk in the 20-km Racewalk event today.
But the India Men's relay team has probably given the most sensational performance of the day. Especially that last lap by Amoj Jacob, who brought India from the middle of the field to 4th place. Just failing to finish within 3 minutes...8th placed qualifier Belgium finished with 2:59.37, less than 1 second ahead of India.
Amoj Jacob makes a great run! Pulls ahead of the middle of the pack by the end! India finish 4th! What a last lap run by Amoj Jacob! India finish 4th in their heat with a time of 3:00.25. They will not make it through. But by the narrowest of margins.
With their time, India have smashed the Asian record. They finish 9th overall. Heartbreakingly missing out of the final (which will have 8 countries) by less than 1 second.
Excellent lap by Anas. Have to wait for the time splits. Nirmal Noah Tom runs the 2nd lap, India in 5th place. He loses a place by the end as the hands the baton over. Arokia Rajiv, now ruinning at 6th. Holds his position. South Africa and Colombia have fallen away. Last lap now. Over to Amoj Jacob...
India are in Lane 2. Anas will be running the first lap. Noah for the second. Arokia to run the 3rd lap. Amoj Jacob for the 4th. Here we go. South Africa with the early lead. Long way to go. It's a full 3-minute race. Anas seen making up some ground on Colombia, running from the inside.
A huge Heat 1! A couple of national records broken! USA, Botswana and Trinidad and Tobago are the three automatic qualifiers from Heat 1. Italy and Netherlands, 4th and 5th, will be waiting on the results of the other heats to see if they can make it as the next two fastest qualifiers.
Time for Heat 2 now. India in action.
All eyes on the track now. The first heat in starting.
A look at the second heat now. Colombia, Jamaica (!), France, Belgium, Japan, Poland and South Africa are the teams in Heat 2 along with India. Going by Season Best timings, India are in 1st position. Based on national rankings though, India are 8th, only ahead of France.
Here's looking at Mohammad Anas, Amoj Jacob, Arokia Rajiv and Nirmal Noah Tom and Pandi Naganathan. 4 of these 5 runners will be fielded by India.
Mexico beat Japan 3-1 to claim the bronze medal in men's football. Mexico dominated Japan ending the host nation’s hope of a first Olympic medal in 53 years with a 3-1 win.
Meanwhile, India's Athletics team will be limbering up. The first heat in the Relays are just about to get underway. Top 3 teams from the heat and the next 2 fastest (from 2 heats) will qualify for finals.
India will be in action in the thrilling Men's 400m relay race up next. The first heat is due to start in another 5 minutes. India are in the second heat. Mohammad Anas, Amoj Jacob, Arokia Rajiv and Nirmal Noah Tom. India's fastest men will now take to the track.
Wrestler Deepak Punia's personal coach Murad Gaidarov of Russia has been asked to leave Olympic Village and will be sent back to India after he allegedly assaulted a match official yesterday. IOA secretary general Rajeev Mehta said he'll be sent back to India on the earliest available flight
A sumo wrestler that may have spooked the horses has been knocked out of the Olympic equestrian ring. The statue and a nearby patch of cherry trees that riders thought might be startling the animals during the individual jumping event were among the obstacles swapped out for the start of the team competition Friday night. Officials say designer Santiago Varela had planned on removing the sumo wrestler even before riders said the life-sized rikishi might be rankling their animals. [Read Full]
Shattered by the heartbreaking loss that saw them miss out on a bronze medal, members of the Indian women’s hockey team broke down during a telephonic conversation with Prime Minster Narendra Modi, who lauded the side for its inspirational display at the Tokyo Olympics. [Read More]
Katie Archibald and Laura Kenny took gold for Great Britain as they won the first ever Olympic women’s Madison in dominant fashion. It was a fifth career Olympic gold for Kenny, who surpassed Dutchwoman Leontien Zijlaard-Van Moorsel to become the most successful female cyclist in Olympic history as she took gold at a third consecutive Games.
National record holder Priyanka Goswami was among the leading pack around the halfway mark but eventually finished 17th while compatriot Bhawna Jat ended at 32nd in the women’s 20km race walk event of the Olympics here on Friday.
In the men’s 50km event, Gurpreet Singh pulled out after the 35km mark due to cramps under hot and humid conditions as the Indian race walkers ended their campaign.
Up Next: Indian team in men’s 4x400m relay Round 1 Heat 2. (5 pm). Mohammad Anas, Amoj Jacob, Arokia Rajiv and Nirmal Noah Tom will form the Indian team.
Bajrang and Neeraj's medal events will take place around the same time tomorrow. Two big events for Indians to close out the event with. If both of them can medal, India can still overtake their highest ever medal haul of 6 from 2012 London. Our Tokyo count is at 5 now.
Bajrang's coach Shako Bentinidis tells reporters on the sidelines of his semifinal that tomorrow's Bronze medal match is a must-win match. "A very important match," he says. He also says Bajrang's knee injury, while still there, is not proving to be too big of a problem now.
Challenge lost. Bajrang gives up with 2 seconds left on the clock. Aliyev wins 12-5 after that unsuccessful challenge. Bajrang, walking off the mat, is caught up with by Aliyev who has a gesture of solidarity with him. Two greats took the mat today. One walks off into the Gold medal match. Another, Bajrang, will take on Rashidov in the Bronze medal match tomorrow.
Last minute! Bajrang picks up another 2 points! 4 points now the difference.
Last 30 seconds! Both wrestlers look absolutely spent! Aliyev plays for time. Bajrang tries to assert his dominance. Aliyev gets 2 more points. 11-5. That should be it then.
India challenge. Seconds left. India are unhappy about the singlet pulling by Aliyev.
Bajrang now tries to push on Aliyev from top. Aliyev makes a wide split, balancing his whole weight around a large area. Holds out. Bajrang gets his first 2 points! Gets Aliyev on his haunches. One successful move! 3-8. A point awarded to Aliyev for a quick turn and pushing Bajrang out.
2nd Half: Bajrang starts the second half with a push again! Aliyev maneouvres around Bajrang. Gets 2 points. An ankle hold now! 2 more points! Bajrang just holds off. But what a disastrous move. The Azerbaijani has moved 7 points clear with one series of moves! 3 more points and we are done!
Can Bajrang roar back?
Aliyev now drives! Grabs hold of Bajrang from behind. Tests the ligaments on Bajrang's ankles. 2 points! First 2-pointer. Last minute of the first half, Aliyev goes for the same move. Again grabs hold of Bajrang. 2 points!
Half-time hooter sounds. Aliyev with a 3-point lead at the halfway mark.
1st minute: We begin! Bajrang has had low-scorings wins in his 2 matches so far. He looks to be a little more aggressive from the outset here. Aliyev could be at a different level from his previous opponents though. 0-0 with a minute gone.
2nd minute: Bajrang keeps pushing, still going for the upper body. Aliyev now lunges for Bajrang's legs now, with the passivity clock ticking down on him. Aliyev goes for a lunge again. The referee stops play for a pull on Bajrang's singlet. Aliyev walking a thin line.
Otoguro takes a 2-0 lead in the first half. Rashidov tries to attack in the 2nd half, gets it down from 0-3 to 1-3 in the last minute, but cannot do enough. Otoguro goes through to the Gold medal match. Rashidov will fight for Bronze.
Now it's time for the 2nd semifinal, to see who they will face tomorrow. Bajrang vs Aliyev. Starts next.
Bajrang Punia's story started in Khudan village of Jhajjar district in the state of Haryana, India.He began wrestling at the age of seven and was encouraged to pursue the sport by his father. Today, the whole of India will be cheering for him.
Meanwhile, the first semifinal is underway. Rashidov and Otoguro are on the mat. All eyes on this result too to see who Bajrang will face tomorrow in his medal matches.
It's a very difficult semifinal field in the 65-kg category. Bajrang is one of the best in the world, but the others are definitely no lesser names. Bajrang is also carrying an injury on his right knee, which was heavily strapped in his first two matches today.
In the quarterfinal, Bajrang conceded the first point against Iran's Morteza in his last match and was down for the most of the match. However, he roared back and won the match 2-1.
Bajrang Punia will take on Haji Aliyev in Men's Freestyle 65 Kg Semifinal in a few more minutes. Both the semifinals will take place one after the other in Hall A on Mat B. The first semifinal will be between Russia's Rashidov and Japan's Otoguro. Bajrang's match is after that. Stay tuned...
Germany, Kazakhstan, Russia, USA. Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia has made crowds fall in love with him around the world. The reason, though, is beyond him. “It’s perhaps the craze for wrestling in these countries. You don’t get this much love in India, because not a lot of people truly follow wrestling,” Bajrang had told Gaurav Bhatt last year.
Women's team coach Sjoerd Marijne won't extend his stay with the Indian team. His assistant and analytical coach Janneke Schopman could takeover as the new coach of the women's hockey team, reports Mihir Vasavda.
The Athletics 20km race is over. Priyanka Goswami has finished 17th with a time of 1:23.25. Bhawna Jat has finished 32nd.
Up Next: Wrestling. If Bajrang wins, India match their best ever medal haul of 6 from London 2012.
Bajrang Punia was always going to be the most anticipated Indian wrestler in Tokyo, and it is fitting that he is the last one to start his campaign. Of course, there are multiple reasons why Bajrang is already a champion. He has been as Asian champion many times by now. In the world championships, 2nd is the highest he has got.
Apart from that though, Bajrang is also a champion because of the way he carries himself. Like at the end of his Quarterfinal victory, when he offered his fallen opponent his hand to help him get back up:
Priyanka Goswami and Bhawna Jat, meanwhile, are in the last few kilometres of their 20-km race, still holding on to their positions.
The leaders have now stepped on their fifth gears. Italy and China in the lead, clearing the rest of the field out. Colombia in Bronze place for now. China looks to be in trouble, Italy moves ahead of the rest. After 17 kms, Priyanka is now at 17th spot, a full minute behind the leader. Bhawna at 32nd.
The big event coming up for India today is half an hour away. Bajrang Punia will take on the dreaded Aliev in his semifinal. His result today will determine whether he fights for Gold tomorrow or a Bronze.
Priyanka's valiant run is now losing gas. We are past the one-hour mark. Priyanka was with the leaders for this long. But with one quarter of the race left, Priyanka has finally lost sight of the leader. She is at 15th spot after 15 kms, a full 15 seconds behind the leader. Bhawna still at 33rd.
The Indian women hockey team's emotional telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Priyanka, still hanging tough, has finally fallen off from the leader. She is still in touch with the leading pack, but 9 women are definitely ahead of her now, after 11 kms. The heat is also beginning to tell on the women now. Priyanka 10th after 12 kms.
Bhawna Jat is in 33rd spot.
We've crossed the halfway point of the 20-km walk. The field has spread out. Maybe the leader will soon catch up with the last woman - 57 women still in the race - Priyanka is still holding on! She is less than 1 millisecond behind the leader. But she has fallen to the second row. After 10 kms, she is ranked 9th officially.
While watching Priyanka, who is still keeping pace with the leaders, even as a lot of the others have fallen off, it is worth remembering how the Men's 20-km Racewalk final went yesterday. Sandeep Kumar kept pace with the leader, even as all others fell off, being 2nd till 8 kms, before he started losing ground. He eventually finished 23rd. Can Priyanka hold on?
Some amazing sights coming from the 20-km race! Indian Priyanka Goswami, who has the 22nd best time of the year so far, is currently with the leading pack. She is 3rd. She is one among 8 women now leading the race. Could we dare to dream?
After 10 minutes, Priyanka Goswami is right up there in the leading pack of the Women's 20km Race Walk. After the end of the first 2kms, India’s Priyanka is in the 17th spot while Bhawna is currently in the 34th position.
Priyanka Goswami and Bhawna Jat start their Olympics campaign in women’s 20km race walk event. Priyanka is the current National Record holder while Bhawna was the previous National Record holder. Priyanka needs to clock 1.27 hours to be in medal contention.
Prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced that the most prestigious sports awards 'Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awards' have now been renamed to 'Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Awards'.
After India lost to Argentina in the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday, Vandana’s family alleged a group of youths in their locality in Haridwar burst crackers, danced in celebration and passed casteist remarks.
Vandana, who scored one of India’s three goals today, said she heard about the incident that took place back home but hadn’t spoken to her family yet. When asked if she had any message for her family, the 26-year-old said: “Hum log country ke liye khel rahe hai .. aur jo bhi kuch bhi ho raha hai, uske liye kuch bhi na kare, like ‘caste-ing baazi’ jo maine thoda sa suna tha, woh sab na ho. (We all are playing for the country, and whatever is happening, shouldn’t happen, like casteist comments. Whatever little I have heard about it, don’t do that.) (READ FULL STORY)
While Indian are still celebrating hockey's solid return to form, golfer Aditi Ashok has grabbed attention for a third successive good day at Olympics. You never know, she could become the biggest name to come out of Tokyo Olympics for us Indians!
As the Indian hockey team faced Germany in the bronze medal match at Tokyo Olympics, I made preparations to watch the match, just as my father — Late Balbir Singh Senior, who passed away last year — would have liked to.
Whenever India would play any tournament, my father Balbir Singh Senior would always make it a point to tell us about his preparations to watch the match. A day prior to the match, he would remind us to wake him up at least one hour before the match if it was early in the morning. He would also tell us to make sure that we carried the Indian flag in his room. He would then watch the match with as much attention as a player or a coach would have. As he sat with all his passion and energy in front of the television, his cheers would be the loudest whenever India scored. (Read Full Story)
A ‘James Bond’ who cleaned at dhabas before practice. One ‘Mr Backhand’ who wowed the Germans and an ‘Australian-type’ from Punjab. The drag-flicker who sculpted his shoulder playing with a tractor and a pair of cousins linking attack and defence. From Karnal to Kochi, Imphal to Varanasi, India’s history-makers assembled to complete comebacks after blood clots and injuries, honour their lineages and end an excruciating 41-year-long wait. The Indian Express tells their stories.
COVID-19 testing stats from 1 July to 4 August under the authority of Tokyo 2020:
571,242 screening tests
124 confirmed positives
0.02% positivity rate
42,410 airport tests for Games participants
36 confirmed positives
0.08% positivity rate