Indian hockey team is probably the safest bet to bag a medal at the Rio Olympics. (Source: AP)
As we enter day seven of the Rio 2016 Olympics, the medals next to India write 0-0-0-0 underneath the columns of Gold, Silver, Bronze and Total. Barring Abhinav Bindra, not one person has come close. Bindra finished fourth in the 10m air rifle event after going out in the shoot-out. But still plenty of events are yet to start and many are yet to finish. There could still be medals in store for India and we look at who can bag that elusive metal and who can possibly wear the national flag around their shoulders in celebration. For now, let’s look at just those who have started with opening rounds or qualifying and are at latter stages in their competition.
Those who have already started and can win medals
Atanu Das – Round of 16 (archery)
Atanu Das won comfortably in the first two rounds. (Source: Reuters)
Atanu Das is into the third round of individual archery and is India’s sole representative now in the sport. On Thursday, Deepika Kumari and Bombayla Devi had crashed out in their respective individual matches.
Best of Express Premium
In the second round, Das beat Cuba’s Adrian Andres Puentes Perez 6-4 in a thrilling finishing after the Indian lead 4-0 post the first two sets. He won the first two sets 28-26 and 29-26 after Puentes started things off slowly with four 8-pointers of the six arrows. However he stepped things up in the next two sets to claw back into the match. In the third set, both archers were at 18-18 after the first two arrows but after Puentes’ 9, Atanu could muster an eight for a close finish.
Vikas Krishan Yadav – Round of 16 (boxing)
Vikas throws punch at USA’s Conwell in Round 1 of the 75kg competition. (Source: PTI)
Vikas Krishan Yadav cruised into the round of 16 in Boxing 75kg category on Wednesday. The Indian pugilist beat USA’s Charles Cornell by a unanimous decision to progress. His next opponent is Onder Sipal of Turkey.
Two-time Olympian Vikas, fighting in the red corner, had a clear advantage going into the bout. He was far more experienced, had the height and southpaw to orthodox advantage.
When the referee signalled action, Vikas very composed in the middle. He was not distracted by the American’s clubbing style. The Indian was reading him easily and had no problems dodging punches thrown at him. Vikas has repeatedly said that for him it’s more about mind than strength.
Manoj Kumar – Round of 16 (boxing)
Manoj Kumar beat Lithuania’s Evaldas Petrauskas in the first round. (Source: AP)
Manoj Kumar won his first round bout against 2012 London Olympics bronze medallist (60kg) Evaldas Petrauskas in the men’s light welter weight 64kg category on Wednesday. His next opponent is Uzbekistan’s Fazliddin Gaibnazarov who is a 2015 World Championship silver medallist and also a silver medallist at the Asian Championships last year.
In what was fiercely contested bout, Manoj won 2-1 despite an aggressive play from Petrauskas in all three rounds. In the first round, Manoj used his long range to counter Petrauskas’s aggressive style of boxing. The close range tactic didn’t help Petrauskas as the judges ruled round one in Manoj’s favour. Manoj was once again using the same technique in the second round and hit less but clean punches while Petrauskas once again tried being aggressive but that backfired.
Dipa Karmakar – Top 8 Finals (Gymnastics)
Dipa Karmakar will compete in the Final on 14 August. (Source: AP)
Dipa Karmakar created history on Monday after she became the first Indian to qualify for the apparatus finals of artistic Gymnastics at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
Karmakar, who hails from Tripura, finished eighth in the qualification event of the Vaults and scored 14.850 to qualify. She could not repeat her performance in three other events, namely uneven bars, balancing beam and floor exercise. Though Karmakar was sixth before the final round, a strong performance from Canada saw her slip to eight but that was the last position to qualify.
In a total of five subdivisions, the gymnasts tried to qualify by finishing in top eight. After three subdivisions, Karmakar was sixth and her qualification depended on performances from gymnasts from USA, Japan, Canada and Russia. The finals of the artistic Gymnastics will be held on August 14, Sunday at 2315 hrs IST.
Men’s Hockey Team – Quarterfinals
The long wait of Indian hockey team to reach the knockout stages of Olympic Games finally ended after they made it to the quarter-finals despite a 2-1 loss against the Netherlands on Thursday.
India progressed to quarters on the basis of the results of other matches in their pool. A 4-4 draw between Argentina and Germany meant that no team can replace India in the top four standings of Pool B. India’s finally position in the table is yet to be decided as they play Canada in their last group game.
In India’s group Netherlands top the table with 10 points but with a better goal difference than Germany, a team which also has 10 points and are in second position. India are currently third with six points while Argentina are at the fourth with five points. Ireland are fifth and Canada are sixth and have no chance of making it to the qualifying stages.
Finishing third will mean India face the team which finishes second in the other group, most likely Spain or Belgium. Both these teams have been in good form.
Sania Mirza / Bopanna – Quarterfinals (Tennis)
Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna started the draw of 16 in mixed doubles with a win.
Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna entered the quarterfinals of the mixed doubles event with a straight-set win over Australian pair of Samantha Stosur and John Peers in Rio de Janeiro on Friday. Sania and Bopanna, who are being touted as India’s medal hope at the Olympics, won their opening round match 7-5 6-4 in 73 minutes.
In the quarterfinals, Bopanna and Mirza will take on the unseeded Great Britain pair of Andy Murray and Heather Watson who beat Spanish combo of David Ferrer and Carla Suarez Navarro 6-3, 6-3.
Four years ago in London, Sania, partnering with Leander Paes, made it to the mixed doubles quarter-finals.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
