Paris Olympics 2024 India Highlights, Day 8: Manu finishes 4th in 25m final; boxer Nishant and archer Deepika go down in QF

Vijender Singh, still the last Indian man to win an Olympic boxing medal, weighs in.

I don’t know what’s the scoring system but I think very close fight..he play so well..koi na bhai #NishantDev

— Vijender Singh (@boxervijender) August 3, 2024

It is a Super Sunday for Indian contingent as badminton, hockey and boxing take centerstage during a busy afternoon block of action. Lakshya Sen, who has made history by reaching the semifinal, faces one of the toughest tests there is in badminton: to overcome an in-form Viktor Axelsen, who will be raring to get one step closer to defending his title. 

In hockey, it is once against Great Britain standing in the way of India and a spot in the semifinals. The high of the Australia win must quickly make way for the challenge of GBR, who have shown in their group stage how dangerous they can be with a 2-2 draw against Netherlands. 

In boxing, Lovlina Borgohain is one win away from joining the elite list of women in PV Sindhu and Manu Bhaker with two Olympic medals. But she faces a massive challenge.

Sunday schedule

UPDATE FROM MIHIR VASAVDA: The Mexican boxer says he lost the first round, coach told me I had to work harder, we changed tactics in second -- more punches to body and uppercuts.

SAINT LUCIA TO THE WORLD ??

??'s Julien Alfred storms to the Olympic 100m gold medal with 10.72 ?

That's the first medal in the history of the Olympic Games for her country. #Paris2024 #OlympicGames pic.twitter.com/3c92Ql9EoP

— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) August 3, 2024

End of a disappointing day for India but action doesn't stop in Paris. It's time for women’s 100m final, which will take place it seems in pouring rain! Just one Jamaican in the final, and she is not named Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce. SAFP won't be on the 100m podium, after a streak that started in 2008.

The long wait for a male Indian boxer to win a medal at the Olympics since 2008 continues. No one will join Vijender Singh's club in Paris. Lovlina is the last Indian boxer left standing now. 

Nishant Dev Vs Verde Alvarez Marco Alonso: Nishant Dev is disappointed! He bows out one step away from the podium. HE started superbly with a 4-1 in the first round. But the Mexican is judged to have turned it around

Nishant Dev Vs Verde Alvarez Marco Alonso: Both boxers are celebrating at the end of the bout of course, no surprises there.

Nishant Dev Vs Verde Alvarez Marco Alonso: Pause in the bout for Nishant to get his laces sorted. So far the final round seems to have gone the Mexican's way but let's see

Nishant Dev Vs Verde Alvarez Marco Alonso: Well, never mind again, this time the judges favour the Mexican 3-2. And the bout is level for FOUR JUDGES. One judge goes with Nishant. This could go anyway still. 

Nishant Dev Vs Verde Alvarez Marco Alonso: That appears to be another really good round for Nishant overall, even though Alvarez showed a lot more urgency. Nishant has both his arms up as he gets down to his corner. 

Nishant Dev Vs Verde Alvarez Marco Alonso: Oh wow! Never mind then. Nishant's work apart from that one big punch he took flush on the face has impressed the judges it would seem! The Indian gets the round 4-1. 

Nishant Dev Vs Verde Alvarez Marco Alonso: Nishant comes out swinging in the opening round, wanting to make a fast start. But after a nice start, and a lull in the middle, but Verde with a punch that landed so well that Nishant had to be given a Standing-8 count. That is not a good sign. That punch was quite telling! 

Here we go then, the boxers are in the ring. Nishant walks out with a spring in the step. Time for the first round.

Who is Nishant Dev up against? It is Mexico's Marco Alonso Verde Alvarez, who is the Men's 71kg PanAm Games champion from 2023 in Santiago. His father competed for Mexico in the men's light heavyweight division at the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games.

Nishant fought Alvarez at the 2021 AIBA Men's World Boxing Championships in the round of 16

Men's 71kg QF: 12.18 am
Nishant Dev

One of the more impressive Indian boxers in recent times, Nishant Dev has the chance to end a long wait for India's 2nd men's boxing medal. QF win assures a place on podium

Men's 71kg quarterfinals: Nishant Dev vs Marco Alonso Verde Alvarez

Today, Vishnu Saravanan finished 21st and 13th in Men's Dinghy, Race 5 & 6 respectively. He is placed 23rd overall.

In Women's Dinghy Races 4, 5 & 6 Nethra Kumanan finished 28th, 28th, 20th respectively. She is placed 24th overall.

So how does all of this work?

In sailing, athletes are given points equal to their position in a race. So if you finish 10th in a race, you get 10 points. And you finish 1st you get 1 point. There are 10 races through a few days and the points get added up. Lower the points, the higher you are placed. Additionally, from the 10 races, the race where an athlete finished the lowest (meaning the highest points) will be dropped from the tally. So basically you can ignore the worst race you had. At the end of it all, boats ranked 1st - 10th in the Opening Series progress to the Medal Race.

After coming within a whisker of winning a historic third medal at Paris 2024, double Olympic medallist posted on social media: "I am extremely overwhelmed by the support and wishes that have been coming in. Winning 2 bronze medals is a dream come true. This achievement is not just mine but belongs to everyone who has believed in me and supported me along the way. I couldn't have done it without the unwavering support of my family, Coach Jaspal Rana sir and everyone who stood by me, including the NRAI , TOPS , SAI, OGQ, Performax & especially Haryana government. With all my well-wishers.

"Competing and performing at the biggest stage for my country is a moment of immense pride and joy.  Thank you all for being a part of this incredible journey and for standing by me through every step. Your encouragement means the world to me! A bittersweet end to my campaign in Paris but happy to contribute to Team INDIA's success. Jai Hind!"

Shubhankar Sharma carded a 1-over 72 to be 2-under overall and tied 34th after his third round. Compatriot Gaganjeet Bhullar also had an even-par 71 to be 2-over and tied 48th. Spain's Jon Rahm was leading on 13-under after 13 holes of his third round. (Tushar Bhaduri)

Abhinav Bindra, India's first individual gold medallist at the Olympics, has a very sweet message for manu Bhaker, after she ended fourth in the 25m pistol event. 

"Manu, you have made the entire nation stand up and applaud your incredible achievement. Winning a third Olympic medal would have been an extraordinary feat, but what you’ve accomplished in Paris is truly monumental. Your journey stands as a testament to relentless hard work and dedication. At just 22, you’ve already established a remarkable legacy, and this is only the beginning. Congratulations on a historic campaign," Bindra posted on X.

So, the first real piece of good news from shotgun events is that at the end of Day 1 in Skeet Women's Qualification, Maheshwari Chauhan is 8th with scores 23 24 24. The top 6 athletes from qualification go through to the final in this event. But the gap to cover is not that big, so two good rounds on Day 2 tomorrow and she will be in with a real chance. Raiza Dhillon however is far behind in 25th. 

The World Record holder from the ranking round, is now the Olympic champion. And on debut, just like An San did three years back, Lim Sihyeon wins all three gold meals possible.

#Olympics #Archery How about this eh?#Tokyo2020

?? An San, Olympic debutant: ???

(Topped ranking round with Olympic record)#Paris2024

??Lim Sihyeon, Olympic debutant: ???

(Topped ranking round with World record) pic.twitter.com/FMyYPORoRG

— Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) August 3, 2024

Absolute scenes at Esplanade des Invalides.

#Paris2024 #Olympics#Archery WOW! WHAT A MOMENT!

Lisa Barbelin of France prevents a Korean clean sweep in the women's individual medals by defeating Jeon Hunyoung in a thriller of a bronze medal match.

The emotions in front of her home fans! ??https://t.co/MFnXlhZ653 pic.twitter.com/jXYitAyHLs

— Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) August 3, 2024

The top six is yet to be decided with shootoffs required but India's Anant Jeet Naruka won't be a part of the final 6 as he finishes 24th with a total of 116. 

Nam lays down. the marker early in the fifth set with a 10. Scoreboard pressure on Deepika who starts with a 9. The Indians' 2nd arrow is also a 9. If Nam shoots a 10 with her final arrow this is over... and she does. That's the end of Indian archery's quest for an Olympic medal for another edition (and perhaps Deepika's last chance too?  

Oh dear, fourth set is over before the last arrow for Deepika Kumari! The second arrow is a 7 from the Indian and that is not going to be enough as Nam shoots 29. Deepika is scoring more 10s but these 6s and 7s are hurting the Indian. 

WE ARE TIED AT 4-4 after 4 sets. Time for the DECIDER.

Nam starts with a near bull's eye for a 10, Deepika to responds with a 10. 9 and 9 from Nam for the next and it gives Deepika and opening! Once again a longgggg hold for her third arrow... could spell trouble... this is getting tense... AND BOOM., SHE HITS THE 10! 

Deepika takes the third set 29-28!

A lonnnnggggg hold from Deepika Kumari for her first arrow of the 2nd set, usually is a sign of trouble., but in the nick of time she shoots a 10. But it is a long hold again for her 2nd arrow and this time, oh boy, it is a SIX. Yeah, that is an arrow to forget and move on. It is a comfortable set for the Korean, 28-26. 

After 2 sets, we are level at 2-2.

Korea's Nam starts with a superb 10 but uncharacteristically follows that up with not one but two 8s. Deepika shoots a very stead 28 and the Indian star has a 2-0 lead to work with at the start of this match. Decent start, but that can often mean nothing against a Korean archer. 

Korea to get this quarterfinal going...

• Archers at the Olympic Games use recurve bows... hence the name recurve archery. (Compound archery, where archers use compound bows, is not part of the Paris roster -- and neither LA, unfortunately for India). 
• Archers shoot over a distance of 70 metres at targets measuring 122 centimetres in diameter, aiming to hit a 10-ring measuring just 12.2 centimetres in diameter. 
• Matches in the knockout bracket are decided using the set system. Archers shoot series of arrows called ‘sets’. In the individual event, each archer shoots THREE arrows in a set. Better total, wins the set and is awarded TWO points.  A draw awards one set point each.
• Unlike compound, scores don't accumulate in recurve. Once the set is done, it is a clean slate. Good or bad arrows, you forget and move on.
• The goal in an individual match is to accrue six set points.
• If a match is tied at five set points after five sets, we will have a shootoff where each archer shoots a single arrow. The arrow that lands closest to the middle of the target wins the match. (Dhiraj would know the pain of that)

Olympic amateur sports in Bollywood Quiz: 

Which famous Hindi move has sightings of these sports: Pole vault, roller skating, badminton, hockey sticks?

Clue 1. There's also a protagonist who can't swim. 
Clue 2. If tight-rope walking was a sport.

So here's something you need to know about Korea's archery team at this Olympics. The Korean trials in archery to make the national squad is considered to be one of the toughest. It's a grueling process and there are no guarantees who will make the cut. So much so that they have sent a squad of Olympic debutants to Paris. The breakout star of Tokyo 2020, An San, won all gold medals that were possible to win. And she didn't even get close to making the cut for the squad this time. Only Lim Sihyeon had international experience. But here they are, all of them in the quarterfinals, not long after keeping Korea's record of winning EVERY SINGLE WOMEN's TEAM GOLD in Olympic history. (10 out of 10).

Deepika spoke about the ‘biggest sacrifice’ she’s had to make so far in her life: to leave her 10-month-old daughter at home and travel to Goesan. Advertisement “It was a very tough decision,” she said. “But I felt I had no other choice.”

‘Don’t know my destiny, but at least I tried’: Deepika Kumari’s Korea journey to fight back from anonymity

One from the archives by Mihir Vasavda (As part of our 2023 year-ender series)

Goesan, in the heart of South Korea, is as nondescript a county as they come. It doesn’t have the hustle or the nightlife of Seoul, roughly 200 km away. Neither is it a transport hub like Incheon, nor the tourist magnate that Busan is. It has, in the last few years, come to be known for something quite unfortunate – as the symbol of South Korea’s shrinking population. A mountain town that, with a third of its population aged above 65 and amidst falling birthrates, is at the risk of vanishing. But there’s one thing that keeps Goesan-gun going; a global attraction for which the steady stream of visitors hike up the hill hoping to rediscover themselves in a town that advertises itself as the ‘healing hub’ of South Korea.

These aren’t any normal tourists. They are Olympic and World Champion archers who land up there seeking refuge at the Kim Hyung Tak Archery School. If South Korea is the mecca of world archery, Kim Hyung Tak – or ‘coach Kim’, as he is fondly called – is its highest priest.

Last year sometime, Coach Kim had an Indian visitor – Deepika Kumari.

‘Don’t know my destiny, but at least I tried’: Deepika Kumari’s Korea journey to fight back from anonymity

Archery women's individual quarterfinal session is underway. Deepika Kumari vs {2} Nam Suhyeon is the 4th match of the session, around 5.10 pm IST. Of course, three Korean women are in the final 8, surprise surprise. 

Skeet Men's Qualification - Day 1: (Maheshwari Chauhan, Raiza Dhillon) There's not been much to celebrate from shotgun events so far but early days in the women's skeet, Maheshwari Chauhan is going alright with 23 and 24 from her first two series out of 25. Still a couple of point away from what is the pace for top 6, but with three rounds to go, she will keep herself interested. This is a 2-day event. Dhillon with 21 & 22 in her first 2 rounds. 

Speaking to The Indian Express earlier this year, head coach Craig Fulton said he wanted India's forwards to take more shots with their backs to the goal.

And boy, has Abhishek been good on the turn. Read more here.

Men's 100m round 1 races have begun, and before the first heat, there was one of the most cruel things you'd ever see in sport. A disqualification before a 100m race. You get to the Olympics with all sorts of dreams and then get DQ'd before you could even run. 

Kishane Thompson, season's leader, starts off with a casual 9.99s. Read more about here.

Skeet men's qualification is into Day 2 and after four series, Anant Jeet Naruka is quite a way off the top 6 needed to be in the final. One more series to go, and even a perfect 25 is unlikely to be enough.

Deepika Kumari vs Korea's Nam Suhyeon in the quarterfinals at 5.09 pm IST

The 19yo from Korea starts off a bit shaky but shoots a SUPERB third and fourth sets to reach the quarterfinals. The Korean youngster vs the Indian veteran.

This is how the bracket stands at the moment. Deepika is likely to face the 2nd seed from Korea next.

Bhajan Kaur misses out a golden opportunity to reach the quarterfinals. Her side of the draw had actually opened up with the third seed from China losing earlier.

#Paris2024 #Olympics#Archery And Bhajan Kaur bows out in R16. Survived a really tense match to reach the shootoff, had a great chance to win it after the Indonesian shot a wide 9. But she shoots an 8.

Deepika Kumari is India's last standing archer.https://t.co/MFnXlhZ653 pic.twitter.com/rF2NfEXPQg

— Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) August 3, 2024

BHAJAN KAUR BOWS OUT: Oh dear! Bhajan Kaur had a big chance to join the quarterfinals after a 9 from the Indonesian but the Indian teenager manages only an 8 in the red zone. That was a winnable match after surviving two close sets earlier!

Bhajan has a smile on her face. She knows this is a second chance. 

The Indonesian to go first in the shootoff.

Alright then here we go. 

Bhajan starts with a 9 again. Diananda responds with a 9 again.

Bhajan's next arrow is a 8. Wow. Diananda responds with an 8 too! 

Chance for Bhajan... and she hits a 10! Diananda needs a 10 to win again... and she shoots a 9 again! 

WOW. WE HAVE A SHOOTOFF.

Bhajan starts with a 9. Diananda responds with a 9.

Bhajan shoots a 10. Diananda responds with a 10.

Bhajan shoots a 9. Diananda can with the match with a 10, but she shoots a 9! 

The Indian JUST about stays alive in the match with one set to go.

Incredible grouping from the Indonesian in the third set for a 29 and Bhajan drops an 8 in that set, that is not going to cut it at this stage of a high stakes clash. The Indian youngster is putting herself under pressure  

Bhajan Kaur starts once again with an 8 but this time she recovers superbly with a 9 and 10 while it is the reverse for the Indonesian. An 8 with her 3rd arrow when she needed a 10 and it is 2 points for Bhajan Kaur who is getting into a decent shooting rhythm. 

All square at 2-2 after 2 sets. 

Set 1 for Indonesia. Bhajan shoots two superb 10s but the problem was the first arrow of the match which was an 8. Diananda with an impressive grouping close to the center as she drops a 29 to take the first set. 

Here we go then, Bhajan has been impressive so far in Paris, can she join Deepika in the quarterfinals?

Deepika Kumari reaches the quarterfinal: Wasn't the cleanest archery from both archers but Deepika does enough to overcome 7th seed Kroppen from Germany. She will be in action soon again, but for now, Bhajan Kaur time.

SET 5: A CUTCH 10! Deepika Kumari reaches the quarterfinal.

#Paris2024 #Olympics#Archery It was the greatest match of archery you'll see at these Games but with the pressure mounting, in the final set of the R16, with her penultimate arrow, this is what Deepika Kumari shot to seal her spot in QF. ?https://t.co/MFnXlhZ653 pic.twitter.com/krdhcfiGbw

— Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) August 3, 2024

Ffith and final set coming up. Since Kroppen is trailing, she will go first again. 

Set 4: A long hold for Deepika to start the set, her heart rate is getting higher, and she shoots an 8. Not ideal. Kroppen shoots 9, 10, 10 and the set is over before Deepika's last arrow. 27-29 and the German takes the 2 points to fight back. Deepika just needs a point to win this but Kroppen is finding momentum. Are we in for a shootoff? 

Both archers start the third set with wayward arrows (there does seem to be a stiff wind) for 7 each but Deepika recovers with a super 10 and she takes the 2 points for a 5-1 lead. Two sets to go. 

Kroppen with 3 9s in the set, Deepika gets to 27 in the scenic route with a 10, 8 and 9. Split set, so Deepika stays ahead.