India’s journey at the Paris Olympics 2024 began with a mix of triumphs and setbacks. While there were moments of national pride, there were also heartbreaks as athletes gave their all on the world stage.
The good news is that the medal contenders started their campaigns strongly. However, the underdogs struggled to perform well in their respective competitions.
Rowing: Narrow miss for Balraj Panwar
The day began with rowing. India’s lone rower, Balraj Panwar, narrowly missed out on a direct quarterfinal berth in the men’s single sculls. He clocked a time of 7:07.11 seconds, finishing fourth in his heat behind New Zealand’s Thomas Mackintosh (6:55.92), Greece’s Stefanos Ntouskos (7:01.79), and Egypt’s Abdelkhalek Elbanna (7:05.06). Despite a strong performance, Panwar finished fourth in his heat and will now compete in the repechage round today to keep his Olympic hopes alive.
Shooting: Mixed emotions for Indian shooters
Shooting saw a mix of emotions today. The day started with disappointment as India failed to qualify for the medal round of the 10m air rifle mixed team event. India’s Team-1 pair of Elavenil (312.6) and Sandeep (313.7) finished 12th with a total of 626.3 points, while Team-2’s Ramita (314.5) and Arjun (314.2) finished sixth with a total of 628.7 points.
Later, Indian shooters Sarabjot Singh and Arjun Singh Cheema were eliminated from the qualification event of the 10m men’s air pistol. In the 6-set qualifying event, Sarabjit finished 9th with 577 points, narrowly missing out on the final. Arjun Singh Cheema finished 18th with 574 points.
The good news came from Manu Bhaker, who reached the final of the 10m women’s air pistol event. Bhaker qualified for the final by finishing third with 580 points, while Hungary’s Veronica Major and Korea’s Oh Ye Jin finished first and second, respectively, with 582 points. Ridham Sangwan, however, could only reach the 15th position and was eliminated from the medal race.
Badminton: Strong Performance from Lakshya and Sat-Chi
In badminton, the medal hopes performed well. In the men’s singles match, Lakshya Sen won the first game 21-8 against Guatemalan player Kevin Cordo.
Indian star shuttlers Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty defeated France’s Corvi and Labar in their opening match at the men’s doubles event. The duo played brilliantly, winning the first game 21-17 and the second game 21-14 in a match that lasted 47 minutes.
In contrast, the women’s doubles duo of Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto lost in straight games to South Korea’s Kim So Yeong and Kong Hee Yong.
Table Tennis: Harmeet Desai advances
Indian men’s singles table tennis player Harmeet Desai started his campaign with a win. Harmeet faced Jordan’s Zayed Abo Yemen and won 4-0 in a one-sided match that lasted 30 minutes, with set scores of 11-7, 11-9, 11-5, and 11-5. With this victory, Harmeet has advanced to the Round of 64.
Hockey: Thrilling victory for Indian team
In a thrilling match, the Indian men’s hockey team triumphed over New Zealand in their Pool B match, securing a 3-2 victory.
Boxing: Preeti Pawar punches her way to the Round of 16
Preeti Pawar came from behind to defeat her Vietnamese opponent in the Round of 32. A unanimous decision in her favour has taken her to the pre-quarterfinals, where she will face World No. 2, Yeni Marcela.
You’ll also see top players like PV Sindhu, Rohan Bopanna and Nikhat Zareen in the arena today. Know the Paris Olympics Day-2 Schedule here.
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