Live, Indians At Tokyo Olympics On August 4: Lovlina Borgohain Settles For Bronze; Neeraj Chopra Enters Final

Lovlina Borgohain suffered a 0-5 defeat against Busenaz Surmeneli of Turkey in the semifinal of women's Welter (64-69kg) at Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday. She had already assured herself a medal but a win would have made her India's 'most successful' Olympic boxer. Later, the Indian women's hockey team is playing an Olympic semifinal for the first time after upsetting Australia in the quarterfinals. Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra needed only one attempt to book a place in the final, while wrestlers -- Ravi Kumar and  Deepak Punia -- a win each to ensure medals. Get here live updates of Indians at Tokyo 2020.

11:18 AM IST: Boxing - Women's Welter (64-69kg), Semis

Round 3 - Lovlina Borgohain vs Busenaz Surmeneli of Turkey

Lovlina needs a knockout to win this bout. Probably, that's what she was looking for from the very beginning. Still struggling to land despite her furious and often desperate-looking attack. Another standing count as Surmeneli lands one on the face. Flush. And some play-acting, showboating from the Turkish to sign off. 5-0. Unanimous!

Meaning, Lovlina settles for a bronze medal.

11:15 AM IST: Boxing - Women's Welter (64-69kg), Semis

Round 2 - Lovlina Borgohain vs Busenaz Surmeneli of Turkey

Lovlina fails to find the target. And going for body punches in desperation. And warning to Lovlina for punching after the bell. A point gets deducted. Also loses the round. Unanimous.

11:11 AM IST: Boxing - Women's Welter (64-69kg), Semis

Round 1 - Lovlina Borgohain vs Busenaz Surmeneli of Turkey

Lovlina, in the blue corner, starts in a dominant fashion. Not clean but very effective. Surmeneli makes a strong comeback, landing few punches. Lovlina gets a standing count. Surmeneli takes the first round. Unanimous.

11:04 AM IST: Boxing - Women's Welter (64-69kg), Semis

Live now - Lovlina Borgohain vs Busenaz Surmeneli of Turkey

10:58 AM IST: "Medal to bas gold hota hai, let me get that first," this is what Lovlina Borgohain had said after beating former world champion Nien-Chin Chen of Chinese Taipei to enter semis.

10:53 AM IST: Here's how you can WATCH the Lovlina Borgohain vs Busenaz Surmeneli bout.

10:50 AM IST: Lovlina Borgohain's semifinal opponent, Busenaz Surmeneli of Turkey, is also 23 and has collected two gold medals this year internationally. The former 75kg boxer claims to have promised an Olympic medal to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan back in 2015 itself. Fascinating!

10:47 AM IST: Having already secured a medal, Lovlina Borgohain is the third Indian boxer to ensure a podium finish at the Olympics after Vijender Singh (2008) and MC Mary Kom (2012).

10:44 AM IST: Lovlina Borgohain is the first female Olympian from Assam and she is on the cusp of making history. No Indian boxer has entered the final at the Games.

10:41 AM IST: Boxing - Women's Welter (64-69kg), Semis

Up next - Lovlina Borgohain vs Busenaz Surmeneli of Turkey

10:04 AM IST: Wrestling - Men’s Freestyle Semifinal

Last four bouts for 57kg and 86kg, featuring Ravi Kumar Dahiya and Deepak Punia respectively, start 2:45 PM IST.

9:58 AM IST: Women's Park Skateboarding Final

Sakura Yosozumi of Japan wins the inaugural Olympic women's park event in skateboarding. Kokona Hiraki, who at 12 became Japan’s youngest Olympic medalist, takes silver, ahead of Great Britain’s Sky Brown.

9:43 AM IST: Wrestling - Men’s Freestyle 86kg, Quarterfinal

Period 2 - Deepak Punia vs Lin Zushen of China

Deepak Punia takes a 3-1. Lin Zushen makes it 3-3. And the Indian wins a point to enter the semis. China challenge the verdict. But the verdict comes in India's favour and Punia wins 6-3.

Punia will meet David Morris Taylor III  of USA in the semis.

9:38 AM IST: Wrestling - Men’s Freestyle 57kg, Quarterfinal

Period 2 - Ravi Kumar Dahiya vs Georgi Valentinov Vangelov of Bulgaria.

A couple of points to start the second period, then concede two. Lead still six points 8-2. Two more points with a turn as Dahiya takes 10-2 lead. It becomes 12-4, then 14-4 to win back-to-back technical superiority wins. Dahiya in the semis. He will meet Nurislam Sanayev of Kazakhstan.

9:35 AM IST: Wrestling - Men’s Freestyle 57kg, Quarterfinal

Period 1 - Ravi Kumar Dahiya vs Georgi Valentinov Vangelov of Bulgaria.

One minute over and both the wrestlers still looking for the opening move. Then, Ravi Kumar Dahiya wins the first points to take a 2-0 lead. Another couple for the Indian wrestler to make it 4-0. A couple more for a 6-0 lead.

9:27 AM IST: Wrestling - Men’s Freestyle 86kg, Quarterfinal

Up next - Deepak Punia vs Lin Zushen of China

9:11 AM IST: Wrestling - Men’s Freestyle 57kg, Quarterfinal

Up next - Ravi Kumar Dahiya vs Georgi Valentinov Vangelov of Bulgaria.

9:08 Wrestling - Men’s Freestyle 86kg, Round Of 16

Period 2 - Deepak Punia vs Ekerekeme Agiomor (NGR)

Deepak Puniya going for the offensive. Wins a point for pushing his opponent to the passivity zone, then a couple to take a 7-1 lead. Relatively easy outing for the second-seeded Indian. Pushes his opponent for another point. Another couple to make it 10-1. And turns to make 12-1. A win by technical superiority. Deepak Punia enters the quarterfinals and will meet Lin Zushen of China.

Wrestling - Men’s Freestyle 86kg, Round Of 16

Period 1 - Deepak Punia vs Ekerekeme Agiomor (NGR)

Deepak Puniya almost gets a single leg hold, but Agiomor escapes. Deepak then shows his own defensive work. And first points, a couple, for Deepak as manages to pin the Nigerian to the floor. But the Indian concedes a single. Two more points for Deepak. He leads 4-1.

8:45 AM IST: Wrestling - Men’s Freestyle 86kg, Round Of 16

Up next - Deepak Punia vs Ekerekeme Agiomor (NGR)

8:41 AM IST: Wrestling - Women’s Freestyle 57kg, Round Of 16

Period 2 - Anshu Malik vs Iryna Kurachkina (BLR)

Anshu, trailing 0-4, and pushes her opponent out of the mat for a single. Smart play from the Bulgarian. Another push out, for another single point. Warning to Iryna for dangerous grip. One minute left, and a single leg grip but the Bulgarian makes a sensational reversal. Lead now 6-2. Over now. Inexperience costs Anshu the bout. She loses 2-8. If Iryna reaches the final, Anshu will get a repechage chance, and fight for bbronze.

8:37 AM IST: Wrestling - Women’s Freestyle 57kg, Round Of 16

Period 1 - Anshu Malik vs Iryna Kurachkina (BLR)

Cagey start between the two defending continental champions. 19-year-old Indian penalised with passivity even as both the wrestlers engaged in 'measuring'. Back-to-back points for the 27-year-old Bulgarian to take 2-0 lead, and a couple to increase it to 4-0.

8:30 AM IST: Wrestling - Women’s Freestyle 57kg, Round Of 16

Up next - Anshu Malik vs Iryna Kurachkina (BLR)

8:27 AM IST: Wrestling - Men’s Freestyle 57kg, Round Of 16

Period 2 - Ravi Kumar vs Oscar Tigeros (COL)

A strong start from Ravi Kumar Dahiya. Typical from the Indian, who takes some time to warm up. Then, another couple, followed by another couple as Ravi shows his brilliance with a series of attacking moves. 11-2 and needs one more point for a win by technical superiority. And, it's over. Indian wrestler wins with one minute and 10 seconds remaining. Ravi Kumar Dahiya enters quarters. He will meet Georgi Valentinov Vangelov of Bulgaria.

8:21 AM IST: Wrestling - Men’s Freestyle 57kg, Round Of 16

Period 1 - Ravi Kumar vs Oscar Tigeros (COL)

A single leg hold but Ravi Kumar Dahiya fails to flip his opponent. Still good enough to take the first points. Oscar Tigeros makes a strong reply. Ravi leads 3-2.

8:16 AM IST: Wrestling - Men’s Freestyle 57kg, Round Of 16

Third seed Ravi Kumar is ready for his opening bout against Oscar Tigeros (COL).

8:06 AM IST: Athletics - Women's 400m Hurdles

Sydney McLaughlin creates a new world record en route to gold medal. Her American compatriot, Dalilah Muhammad and Netherlands Femke Bol take silver and bronze respectively.

7:50 AM IST: Athletics - Men's Javelin Throw, Qualification - Group B 

Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem produces an 85.16m throw in his second attempt to gain automatic qualification for the final. Shivpal Singh manages 74.81 in his final attempt. 76.40 in the first attempt is his best and it will not be enough to make the final.

7:27 AM IST: Athletics - Men's Javelin Throw, Qualification - Group B

Not so bright start from Shivpal Singh. The 26-year-old manages 76.40m in his first attempt. He is ninth in the group. Julian Weber of Germany becomes the first to breach the automatic qualification mark from the group, and fourth overall, with a throw of 84.41.

6:24 AM IST: Athletics - Men's Javelin Throw, Qualification - Group B

Shivpal Singh warming up. Ranked 18th, his personal best is 86.23m. 81.63m is his season-best.

6:43 AM IST: Wrestling

Upcoming...

Men’s Freestyle 57kg, Round Of 16 - Ravi Kumar vs Oscar Tigeros of Colombia

Women’s Freestyle 57kg, Round Of 16 - Anshu Malik vs Iryna Kurachkina of Belarus

Men’s Freestyle 86kg, Round Of 16 - Deepak Punia vs Ekerekeme Agiomor of Nigeria

6:24 AM IST: Athletics - Men's Javelin Throw, Qualification - Group A

Johannes Vetter responds with a big throw of 85.64 in his final attempt to join Neeraj Chopra in the final. Lassi Etalatalo of Finland makes it three direct qualifiers from Group A.

6:03 AM IST: Athletics - Men's Javelin Throw, Qualification - Group A

No need for Neeraj Chopra to use his remaining two throws. Day's work for him. Another Indian in the fray, Shivpal Singh will be in action in Group B. He is 6th on the start list. Action starts 7:05 AM IST.

And of course, final is on Sunday (August 7).

5:54 AM IST: Athletics - Men's Javelin Throw, Qualification - Group A

16 athletes in Group A. Neeraj Chopra produces a monster throw to automatically qualify for the finals. 86.65m. Lassi Etalatalo of Finland also qualifies automatically with a throw of 84.50m. After the first attempt, Alexandru Mihaita Novak of Romania is third with 83.27m throw. Sweden's Kim Amb is fourth with 82.40. German legend Johannes Vetter is fifth with 82.04.

5:25 AM IST: Athletics - Men's Javelin Throw, Qualification - Group A

Athletes are ready for action. Neeraj Chopra 15th on the start list. 83.50m is the automatic qualification mark for the final, or at least 12 best performers.

5:03 AM IST:  Marathon Swimming

Ana Marcela Cunha of Brazil won women's 10km gold. Sharon Van Rouwendaal (NED) and Karenna Lee (AUS) take silver and bronze respectively. Cunha is a five-time marathon swimming world champion.

Men's final tomorrow.

Indian fans will look up to Lovlina Borgohain to upset world champion Busenaz Surmeneli of Turkey in the semifinals of the 69kg category. Lovlina is on a high having beaten two classy opponents in earlier rounds. The emphatic 4-1 quarterfinal victory against Chen Nien-Chin of Chinese Taipei, a former world champion, would have given Lovlina a lot of belief in her maiden Olympics.

Busenaz is in top form too. She defeated European champion Karolina Koszewska (Poland) in the opening round and smashed Ukraine’s Anna Lysenko 5:0 in the quarter-final to set up the contest against Assam girl Lovlina, who is assured of a medal even if she loses. If Lovlina wins and goes to the final, she will become India's most successful boxer after Vijender Singh and Mary Kom. Both had won bronze medals at Beijing 2008 and London 2012, respectively.

In the afternoon session, all eyes will be on the women's hockey semifinal between India and Argentina. Both teams are familiar with each other. The Indian girls did well during their tour of Argentina in January 2021. Rani's team is on a high after stunning Australia 1-0 in the quarterfinals and if they enter the final, it will be a dream come true.

Athletics - Women's 400m Hurdles
Sydney McLaughlin creates new world record en route to gold medal. Her American compatriot, Dalilah Huhammad and Netherlands Femke Bol take silver and bronze respectively.