2020 Tokyo Olympics, Day 2: Complete report

Written by

Rajdeep Saha

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Last updated on Jul 25, 2021, 08:20 pm

After an action-packed Day 1 at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Day 2 saw several top-notch performances many new nations entered the medals chart. After 28 nations won medals on Saturday, the tally increased to 40. The USA had a brilliant day in Tokyo, starting their journey on a strong note. However, India had a tough day with several disappointing results. Here's more.

Indian shooters endure another poor day

After a poor start on Saturday, the shooting contingent of India disappointed once again on Sunday. Indian shooters Deepak Kumar and Divyansh Singh Panwar finished 26th and 32nd respectively in the men's 10m Air Rifle event of the Tokyo Olympics. Deepak aggregated 624.7 while Divyansh shot 622.8 over six series. Both shooters failed to qualify for the final.

Indian men's hockey team blown away by Australia

After earning a superb 3-2 win against New Zealand on Saturday in a crucial Group A encounter, the Indian men's hockey team suffered a telling loss against Australia. India lost the tie 7-1 and were pretty ordinary. They were 4-0 down at half-time and the last two quarters saw Aussies keep up with the intensity. India suffered their biggest defeat in the Olympic Games.

Boxer Manish Kaushik bows out of Olympics

After Indian boxer, Vikas Krishan (69kg) was beaten convincingly by Sewonrets Quincy Mensah Okazawa in his opening bout on Saturday, Manish Kaushik's (63kg) Games debut ended in disappointment. Manish went down 1-4 to Britain's Luke McCormack. Manish gave a decent account of himself in his clash with McCormack but lost the battle in the final three minutes.

Manika Batra progresses, G Sathiyan exits

Manika Batra made a stunning comeback against world number 32 Margaryta Pesotska to reach the women's singles third round The 62nd-ranked Batra prevailed 4-11, 4-11, 11-7, 12-10, 8-11, 11-5, 11-7. Meanwhile, G Sathiyan suffered an upset at the hands of lower-ranked Siu Hang Lam to make an early exit. Seeded 26th, Sathiyan had a commanding 3-1 lead but lost three games in a row.

Manu Bhaker, Yashaswini Singh Deswal bow out in shooting

Yashaswini Singh Deswal and the promising Manu Bhaker missed out on the final in women's 10m air pistol after finishing 12th and 13th in the qualification. The 19-year-old Bhaker suffered a technical glitch involving her gun after an impressive start saw her take one of the places in the top eight. World number one Deswal wasn't consistent enough and paid the price.

Sania Mirza and Ankita Raina out in opener

In women's doubles tennis, India's Sania Mirza and Ankita Raina were knocked out of the Tokyo Olympics despite dominating most of the match against Ukrainian twin sisters Nadiia and Liudmyla Kichenok. The Indians started with a bagel, winning the first set 6-0. But in a dramatic turnaround, the Ukrainian pair came back from the dead to pull off a 0-6, 7-6(0), 10-8 win.

Wins for Mary Kom and PV Sindhu

In boxing, six-time world champion Mary Kom (51kg) powered into the Olympic Games' pre-quarterfinals after staving off a stiff challenge from Dominican Republic's Miguelina Hernandez Garcia in the opening round in Tokyo. Mary prevailed 4-1 against a rival who is 15 years her junior. In women's singles badminton, PV Sindhu thrashed Israel's Ksenia Polikarpova in straight games (Group J). Sindhu won 21-7, 21-10.

Arjun and Arvind qualify for semis in lightweight double sculls

Indian rowers Arjun Lal Jat and Arvind Singh qualified for the semi-finals of the men's lightweight double sculls repechage. The Indian duo clocked 6:51.36 to finish in third place at the Sea Forest Waterway. The repechage was a second chance for rowers to progress to Semifinal A/B 1 and 2 and the Indians are in semi-final A/B 2 now.

China lead the show, USA bag 10 medals on Sunday

China won three gold medals on Sunday to increase the tally to six. Overall, they have 11 medals. The USA won four gold medals, two silver, and four bronze. Hosts Japan won four more gold medals and have a tally of six. The Republic of Korea added another gold in their tally (overall five medals). Australia, France, Tunisia, and Austria won a gold each.

Swimming: Srihari Nataraj, Maana Patel fail to qualify for semi-finals

Indian swimmers Srihari Nataraj and Maana Patel failed to reach the 100m backstroke semi-finals. The latter had become the first Indian female swimmer to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.