Sunday turned out to be one of the finest days for India at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics thanks to sparkling performances from PV Sindhu and India men’s hockey team. While Sindhu added another Olympic medal to her name, the men’s hockey team entered the semi-finals at the Games for the first time in 49 years.
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A look at how Day 9 of the Tokyo 2020 turned out for the Indian contingent
Sindhu Sparkles
Definitely, Sindhu was biggest newsmaker of the day for India from Tokyo. Just 24 hours ago her dreams of an Olympic gold ended with a semifinal defeat in straight games to Tai Tzu-ying. But, as she has done in the past, the shuttler moved on, in quick time, for she was to get ready for a bronze medal clash against Chinese He Bingjiao on Sunday. The 26-year-old reverted to her sensational form in the lead up to the semis as she outclassed Bingjiao in straight games 21-13, 21-15 to capture her second successive Olympic medal.
With this win, Sindhu has become the first female athlete from India to win medals at two different Olympics and the second overall after wrestler Sushil Kumar. For India, it was the third medal at the Tokyo Games and a third successive Olympic medal in badminton starting with Saina Nehwal’s bronze in London 2012 and Sindhu’s silver in Rio 2016.
Hockey Raises Hopes
Sindhu’s medal followed India men hockey team’s impressive 3-1 win over Great Britain in the quarterfinals. Goals from Dilpreet Singh, Gurjant Singh and Hardik Singh powered the eight-time Olympic champions in the Tokyo semis - the first time in 49 years that they have reached the stage. World champion Belgium awaits them in the last-four stage and the Manpreet Singh-side will target nothing short of a win.
Gutsy Satish
With 13 stitches on face, it was obvious why boxer Satish Kumar’s wife wanted him to pull out of his 91kg quarterfinal bout against reigning world champion Bakhodir Jalolov. But the 32-year-old Army man was determined to see through the clash that was certainly going to be a painful affair for him. He was left bruised and groggy after a 0-5 defeat but his spirit out-shined everything as even his opponent Jalolov acknowledged the gutsy performance.
The Indian sustained two deep cuts on forehead and chin during his pre-quarterfinal bout requiring stitches. “My phone hasn’t stopped ringing, people are congratulating me as if I won. I am on medication right now but I know how badly bruised my face is," Satish told PTI from Tokyo.
Lahiri, Mane Sign-off
In golf, Anirban Lahiri finished Tied 42 along with three others with a total of five-under in the competition. The other Indian in the fray Udayan Mane ended 56th with a three-over overall.
Equestrian Slip
India’s Fouaad Mirza dropped down to 22nd spot after the cross-country stage with 11.20 points. He had finished inside top-10 after the dressage category on Saturday. Mirza, who won two silver medals at the Asian Games, will now aim to improve his position in the show-jumping event on Tuesday.
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