New Delhi: India bagged its first medal of the Paris Olympics 2024 edition thanks to shooter Manu Bhaker’s valiant efforts which brought her lot of laurels across the nation. She shot a total score of 221.7 from 22 shots to finish third behind South Korea duo of Oh Ye Jin (243.2) and Kim Yeji (241.3). She is the first woman shooter to win a medal at the Olympics from India, and overall fifth.
Ramita Jindal booked a berth in the final of the women’s 10m air rifle with a total score of 631.5 in the qualification round. Elavenial Valarivan, the other Indian shooter in the women’s 10m air rifle qualification round, finished 10th with a score of 630.7.
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu was on winning ways as she kicked off her third Olympics campaign. She defeated Fathimath Abdul Razzaq of Maldives in straight games 21-9, 21-6, wrapping the contest in 29 minutes. World champion HS Prannoy also started his debut Olympics season with comprehensive victory against Germany’s Fabian Roth (21-18, 21-12).
Winning this medal is a dream come true, not just for me but for everyone who has supported me. I am deeply grateful to the NRAI, SAI, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Coach Jaspal Rana sir, Haryana government and OGQ. I dedicate this victory to my country for their incredible… pic.twitter.com/hnzGjNwUhv
— Manu Bhaker🇮🇳 (@realmanubhaker) July 28, 2024
In one of the shocking moments, veteran paddler Sharath Kamal Achanta bowed out in the first round of men’s singles event in table tennis. He lost to Slovenia’s Deni Kozul 2-4 (12-10, 9-11, 6-11, 7-11, 11-8, 10-12) in what will be his last Olympics event. He will still participate in the men’s team event, where India has qualified for the first time.
Manika Batra advanced to the second round of women’s singles event with a 4-1 (11-8 12-10 11-9 9-11 11-5) win over Anna Hursey of Great Britain in the round of 64. Batra has now won the first round of women’s singles in successive Olympics edition. Youngster Sreeja Akula rallied past Christina Callberg of Sweden 11-4, 11-9, 11-7, 11-8 in straight games.
Nikhat Zareen dominates on Olympics debut
Two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen moved to the second round after defeating Germany’s Maxi Carina Kloetzer in women’s 50kg category on her Olympics debut.
Balraj Panwar, India’s lone rower at the Paris Olympics 2024, qualified for the quarterfinals of men’s singles sculls after finishing second in the repechage round with a timing of 7:12.41s.
Indian women’s archery team was blanked 0-6 by the Netherlands in the quarterfinals, ending their hopes of winning an elusive medal in the women’s team event. Deepika Kumari, Bhajan Kaur, and Ankita Bhakat will now focus on their individual events.
Srihari Nataraj and 14-year-old Dhinidhi Desinghu failed to progress in the heats of men’s 100m backstroke and women’s 200m freestyle, respectively. Srihari clocked a timing of 55.01s to finish 33rd overall among 46 swimmers in his event while Dhinidhi, the youngest member of the Indian contingent at this Olympics, finished 23rd among 30 swimmers, though she topped her heat with 2:06.96s.
India bagged its first medal of the Paris Olympics 2024 edition thanks to shooter Manu Bhaker’s valiant efforts which brought her lot of laurels across the nation. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today