Tokyo 2020, day 1 as it happened: Mirabai Chanu provides the silver lining for India

Features:

Mirabai Chanu and a single-minded journey to the Olympic Games silver medal

Saurabh Chaudhary, consistency and the complacency of expectations

7.16 pm: And that brings an end to India’s day; a day many will remember very fondly thanks to Mirabai Chanu’s silver. The schedule for Day 2 will be up on the site soon, do check it out. Good night and join us again tomorrow.

Hockey: The Netherlands 5-1 India (FT)

And that’s that. India fought hard in the first half but the Dutch eventually broken down India’s resistance with wave after wave of attack. The favourites eventually won 5-1.

Hockey: The Netherlands 5-1 India (Q4)

GOAL!! Another PC, another goal. Too good from the Dutch. Caia van MAASAKKER’s hit the board and echoed through the stadium. Just too good. Seems hard to believe that it was 1-1 at HT!

Hockey: The Netherlands 4-1 India (Q4)

This is going to be a tough quarter for India. The Dutch won’t be under any pressure and that will allow them to run even more freely.

Hockey: The Netherlands 4-1 India (Q3 ends)

India, at this point, will just be thinking about minimising the damage. The Dutch are well in control. How will India approach this?

Hockey: The Netherlands 4-1 India (Q3)

GOAL!!! What a reverse shot... Frederique Matla found the tiniest of gaps and beat Savita. It was 1-1 at HT and now the Dutch are running riot.

Hockey: The Netherlands 3-1 India (Q3)

GOAL!!! The Dutch were allowed to run and they just split open the Indian defence. Lovely pacey run from the right and Albers gets her second tap-in of the match. India need to be careful here.

Hockey: The Netherlands 2-1 India (Q3)

GOAL!!! The Netherlands got a PC after a video referral and they got the goal with a superb deflection to beat the Indian defence. Margot van Geffen gets her name on the scoreboard.

Hockey: The Netherlands 1-1 India (Q3 begins)

The Indian team tends to play better in the second half but the Dutch have been pressuring them. India will need a release every once in a while.

Hockey: The Netherlands 1-1 India (HT)

“The best half of hockey that I’ve seen Indian women’s team play in the last five years,” says former India skipper Viren Rasquinha on the Sony Sports show.

Hockey: The Netherlands 1-1 India (HT)

A fine performance by India in the first half. They went behind early but struck back before the heads could begin to drop. Some desperate defence has seen them go in HT on level terms. Can they keep it going in the second half?

Hockey: The Netherlands 1-1 India (Q2)

Another PC, 10 minutes into Q2, and it hit the upright. So close. NED were so close to going ahead again. But India survive.

Hockey: The Netherlands 1-1 India (Q2)

The Dutch gets a PC but nothing comes out of it. Instead, India launch a counter attack. The Dutch have looked sharp but India are finding their feet too.

Hockey: The Netherlands 1-1 India (Q2 begins)

The Dutch will come hard at the Indians but Rani Rampal and her team need to just soak it all up. Eventually, a chance will come their way too.

Hockey: The Netherlands 1-1 India (end of Q1)

The Dutch got a goal in the sixth minute and it looked like India would just fall away. But they got a goal in the 10th minute, against the run of play, to level things up. Good from India so far, they are under the pump but hanging in there.

Hockey: The Netherlands 1-1 India

GOAL!! And India strike right back in the 10th minute and guess who got the goal? Rani Rampal. Super field goal and what a shot. The Indian skipper stands up tall every time the team needs here. That goal came out of the blue.

Hockey: The Netherlands 1-0 India

Just 6 minutes into the game and the Dutch go ahead. Nice ball from the right, across the face of goal and Felice Albers just had to tap it in. Just the start India wanted to avoid.

Hockey: The Netherlands 0-0 India

And we are a go. Will India choose to fight fire with fire or will they sit deep and attempt to hit the Dutch on the counter? Vital that India don’t concede early.

Hockey: The Netherlands 0-0 India

The match is all set to begin. The teams have taken the field. Time for the national anthems.

Hockey: The women’s Pool A match between the Netherlands vs India is coming up next. The Dutch are the team to beat – easily the best team in the women’s game at the moment – but the Indian team have been doing pretty well too. Match will begin at 17:15 hrs IST.

Mirabai Chanu to Sony Sports: The first thing I will do is have a pizza. I love pizza’s and I haven’t had one in a while!

Boxing: Vikas Krishan loses to Sewonrets Quincy Mensah Okazawa
Round 3: Krishan, in his third Olympic campaign, got a standing count early in the third round. He never quite got into this bout. Okazawa was more aggressive, more creative today. Comprehensive points win for the Japanese.

Boxing: Vikas Krishan vs Sewonrets Quincy Mensah Okazawa
Round 2: Krishan needed to be more positive after a passive first round. He came out swinging. But did he connect enough? Krishan got cut and the fight was stopped for a bit towards the end of the round. Round 2 to the Japanese too.

Boxing: Vikas Krishan vs Sewonrets Quincy Mensah Okazawa
Round 1: Intriguing opening round. Both trying to get a feel in the middle. But steady enough. A close round but the judges have given it to the Japanese.

Boxing: India’s campaign is set to begin with Vikas Krishan (69kg) taking on Japan’s Sewonrets Quincy Mensah Okazawa. The boxers are in the ring. Here we go.

Boxing: One more bout to go before Vikas Krishan gets into the ring. Get warmed up with our boxing preview.

Can India’s biggest-ever boxing Olympics squad return with the best-ever medal haul?

Read: From nearly quitting weightlifting to Olympics silver, this is Mirabai Chanu’s inspiring story

Boxing: Just a couple more bouts before India’s Vikas Krishan kicks off India’s boxing campaign. He is India’s most experienced boxer and one can expect good things from him.

Next up for India: A small break before we see more Indians in action.

Boxing, men’s 69 kg: Sewonrets Quincy Mensah Okazawa vs Vikas Krishan will be coming up soon.
The women’s hockey team will be action a little later.

Table tennis: Superb come-from-behind win for Mukherjee. She was trailing 1-3 but then came back to take the last three games on the trot. Great attitude and it showed. That timeout just changed things around. Super win!

Table tennis: Bergstroem found her composure again in the sixth game and moved to 4-1 lead before India called for a timeout. It turned out to be a good decision as Mukherjee came back to take a 7-4 lead before she finally lost a point. The Indian eventually took the game 11-9. We are into the decider.

Table tennis: Bergstroem blinks and Mukherjee comes right back. The Indian takes the fifth game 11-3. Superb play. This isn’t over yet.

Table tennis: Not going to plan for Mukherjee, she loses the fourth game too and goes down 3-1 in the match. Bergstroem doing just enough to stay ahead. She took the fourth game 11-9.

Table tennis: Sutirtha Mukherjee loses a tight third game to Linda Bergstroem 13-11. She had a game point but failed to finish and the Swede took it instead. The Indian now trails 1 game to 2.

Tokyo 2020 medals table: Mirabai Chanu opens India’s account as China pulls ahead at the top

Table tennis: Sutirtha Mukherjee is up against Linda Bergstroem in the women’s singles event. She dropped the first game but bounces back to the second and make it one game all.

Table tennis: Next up for India will be Sutirtha Mukherjee in the women’s singles event.

Table tennis: Batra wins in four straight games. She beats Great Britain’s Ho Tin-tin 11-7, 11-6, 12-10, 11-9 in exactly 30 minutes. Fine win.

Table tennis: Batra took the first two games (11-7, 11-6) and she came back from three game points down to take the third game too (12-10) against Great Britain’s Ho Tin-tin. Fine play.

Table tennis: Manika Batra in action in the women’s singles now...

Mirabai sets the tone for India: Reactions to Indian weightlifter’s silver medal at Tokyo Olympics

Badminton, men’s doubles: What a win for Satwik-Chirag earlier

Tokyo 2020, badminton: Satwik-Chirag win thriller, Sai Praneeth goes down in opener

10m air pistol final: Heartbreak for India as Saurabh Chaudhary is the second shooter to be eliminated in the men’s 10m air pistol final! He topped the qualification but finished 7th in the 8-shooter final. Your time will come Saurabh Chaudhary. Hopefully very soon in Tokyo. Or even otherwise, soon in Paris in this very event.

10m air pistol final: Not the best of starts for Saurabh Chaudhary after the initial series of shots in the final. He just avoids getting the first elimination.

For Mirabai Chanu, Rio 2016 was a disappointment. A missed opportunity. A debut that didn’t go to plan. She began her path to rectifying that then & there. Five years later, she is India’s second woman to win an #Olympics silver. An athlete who just worked harder and harder and harder

Men’s 10m air pistol final is underway: Time for Saurabh Chaudhary in the men’s 10m air pistol final! Can #TeamIndia make it 2 medals on Day 1?

Weightlifting, 49kg Group A: FRAME THIS FOLKS.

Badminton men’s doubles: Satwik/Chirag win a thrilling match against Lee/Wang! The Indians squandered five match points before saving one and then finally closing it out to win 21-16, 16-21, 27-25. Brilliant performance!

Weightlifting, 49kg Group A: SILVER MEDAL FOR MIRABAI CHANU!

Weightlifting, 49kg Group A: HOU FINISHES WITH A 116! All but assured of the gold medal. An Olympic record for her across the board.

Weightlifting, 49kg Group A: Another good lift for Mirabai! The gold is a bit far at the moment but will she go for a big push with the final lift?

Badminton doubles: It’s 19-all! Nerves of steel from the Indian pair to win three points in a row under pressure. This is going down to the wire!

Weightlifting, 49kg Group A: Hou and Mira both register good attempts to start C&J and that’s a medal assured for India. Colour to be decided!

Weightlifting, 49kg Group A: HEARTBREAK FOR USA! Delacruz doesn’t register a C&J. (Which also means a medal is all but assured for Mirabai here)

Tennis men’s singles: A thrilling, topsy-turvy win for Sumit Nagal on Olympics debut! The Indian beats Asian Games champion Denis Istomin 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-4 in 2 hours & 34 minutes to set up a clash with world No 2 Daniil Medvedev. He lead by a set and 5-2 at one point, but the Uzbekistan player bounced back to force a decider. But Nagal held his nerve to close it out in the third.

Badminton, men’s doubles: Lee/Wang have taken a 17-14 lead in the decider. Satwik/Chirag need to make a move soon. The Indians are trying to pump each other up.

Tennis, men’s singles: SUMIT NAGAL IS INTO THE SECOND ROUND! A good win for the Indian against Denis Istomin.

Weightlifting, 49kg Group A: USA’s Delacruz to start with 108kg. We are into the medal contenders now. Getting there folks!

Badminton, men’s doubles: Aditya Chaturvedi – It’s neck and neck in the third game. Satwik/Chirag were leading 10-8 but Lee/Wang fought back to take a 11-10 lead at the interval. A number of errors from the Indian pair.

Weightlifting, 49kg Group A: The Clean&Jerk section is underway. Hiromi fails to register an attempt. The lower entry weights are up first. The battle though is between Zhihui and Mirabai for Gold.

Tennis, men’s singles: Sumit Nagal had chances to close this out in straight sets But it is all very close at the moment in the decider.

Badminton men’s doubles, group A: Lee/Wang take the second game against Satwik/Chirag 21-16. They started off better and took a big lead. The Indians were playing catch up. We are into the decider. A win here would be huge for the Indians but the TPE pair wont make it easy.

Archery, mixed team: Mixed team was a genuine medal hope. The men’s qualification scores resulted in a far from ideal seeding and when you put yourself in a position to face Korea in the QF, then... this is the end result, unfortunately. Over to Deepika Kumari in the individual.

Archery, mixed team quarterfinal: Top seeds Korea are through to the final four. Deepika Kumari-Pravin Jadhav took a set from the prodigies but An San and Kim Je Deok are too good in the end. End of medal hopes for India in this event.

Archery, mixed team quarterfinal: India have a set on the board.

Archery, mixed team quarterfinal: Korea have stormed to a 4-0 lead in the quarterfinal. A closer second set. Not looking good for Deepika-Pravin there but this was alway going to be tough.

Badminton: Satwik-Chirag have taken the first game in their match against the world No 3 pair from TPE! Superb start for the Indians there.

Weightlifting, MIRABAI CHANU: End of snatch in the 49kg. Time for a short break there. Mirabai is in second place not unexpectedly. Zhihui is the leader in Snatch and she sets a new Olympic Record with a 94kg in her third attempt. Mirabai in 2nd place.

Weightlifting, MIRABAI CHANU: Didn’t quite happen for her in the third attempt of the snatch. China’s Zhihui expectedly in the lead as of now. She has lifted 92 as well. Mirabai will still feel good about her chances in Clean & Jerk, she holds the World Record.

Badminton: India’s Sai Praneeth, the 13th seed, loses his first match in Group D. He goes down in straight games — 21-17, 21-15. Bit of a shocker. Not over for him of course, opens up the group but that is a disappointing result.

Badminton, men’s doubles: Satwik-Chirag have started brilliantly against the TPE pair. A 11-7 lead in the first game.

Weightlifting, MIRABAI CHANU: This is a good start! She goes for a 87kg in her second attempt and makes it. Another good lift, another flash of her smile. The Chinese lifter is yet to start.

Badminton: Zilberman is one game up and he now leads 11-7 going into the mid-game interval against Sai. Not looking good for the Indian. He needs a pick-me-up.

Women’s 49kg: MIRABAI CHANU: Yes, it’s a good first lift for the Indian! Starting with 84kg in Snatch and she overcomes a slight early hiccup to make it good.

10m air pistol men’s qualification: Not to be for Abhishek Verma! Two 9s and two 8s in the final series means he only has 92 points and that’s not good enough. He finishes with a total of 575. India looked good for two finalists till the very end there!!!

Ashish Magotra: Zilberman takes the opening game against Sai 21-17 with some inspired play. The Indian needs to show more energy in the middle... looking flat.

10m air pistol men’s qualification: Abhishek Verma is also into the top 8 and there is a real chance that two Indians could be in the 8-player final. But he needs to be wary about the time left.

Badminton, men’s singles Group D, Sai Praneeth 17-21 Misha Zilberman: OH DEAR! Meanwhile, Sai Praneeth has dropped the first game 21-17 against Misha Zilberman. Faced 6 game points, saved three but too much left to do. He needs to up his game here.

10m air pistol men’s qualification: Saurabh Chaudhary ends his qualification with 586/600 (28x) points. He had three 9s in his final series, but his score should be enough to take him to the 10m air pistol final. All eyes on Verma now who is shooting his final series.

Badminton, men’s singles Group D, Sai Praneeth 14-17 Misha Zilberman: Sai took a one-point advantage into the mid-game break against Zilberman. The Indian led 11-10. Tight match so far. Zilberman then goes into the lead at 15-13 and then 17-14. Not getting any rhythm.

Women’s weightlifting 49kg Group A: WE ARE UNDERWAY! The big events keep coming. Mirabai Chanu will soon be lifting.

10m air pistol men’s qualification: Saurabh topping the charts but more importantly, Verma has now moved into the top 8! Can he hold on? It could be massive.

Saurabh Chaudhary, series scores: 95 98 98 100 98

Abhishek Verma, series scores: 94 96 98 97

10m air pistol men’s qualification: Saurabh Chaudhary just went through a sequence of 23 straight 10s!!! That’s brilliant. Couple of 9s after but he is topping the table at the moment.

Badminton, men’s singles Group D, Sai Praneeth 1-0 Misha Zilberman: The men’s singles campaign is underway for India! Sai Praneeth in action against the journeyman Zilberman.

10m air pistol men’s qualification: There’s the perfect 100 from Saurabh.

10m air pistol men’s qualification: A PERFECT ROUND FROM SAURABH! He shoots 10 10s in the fourth series.

Saurabh Chaudhary, series scores: 95 98 98 100

Abhishek Verma, series scores: 94 96 98

Badminton men’s doubles, Group A: Well, from 11-11 in the first game it was all one-way traffic pretty much for the Minions! The top seeds safely home in straight games. Setting the marker early in the tough group. Satwik-Chirag take on the TPE pair next.

10m air pistol men’s qualification: Eight 10s to start series 4 by Saurabh! On fire.

10m air pistol men’s qualification: After a slightly worrying 9-9-9-9-9 sequence in the first series, Saurabh Chaudhary is shooting like we know he can. Back-to-back 98s. In the top 3 for now. Verma is climbing slowly after a poor 94 to start. Needs a few really good rounds.

Saurabh Chaudhary, series scores: 95 98 98

Abhishek Verma, series scores: 94 96

10m air pistol men’s qualification: Back-to-back 98s for Saurabh! He is on a roll at the moment, it would seem.

Zenia D’Cunha: “Saurabh Chaudhary’s cool, constant level in qualifications is just, to quote Jitu Rai, something else”

10m air pistol men’s qualification: Early days still but Sauarbh’s shooting at the moment puts him in the top six based on his average score. Dynamic, of course.

10m air pistol men’s qualification: Just to confirm for those wondering, the shooting qualification rounds are not broadcast, only score updates.

Ashish Magotra: Just imagine the pressure in this event – a nine throws you off... a 9 out a best possible 10. The 10m Air Pistol is not for the weak hearted. Saurabh Chaudhary has begun well. Verma needs to find some rhythm.

10m air pistol men’s qualification: Five 10s to start his first series, five 10s to finish his second series. Saurabh Chaudhary very much in the mix for top 8 at the moment. Verma finally finishes his first series.

Saurabh Chaudhary, series scores: 95 98

Abhishek Verma, series scores: 94

Badminton men’s doubles: Some Indian interest. The other two pairs in Group A featuring the Indians are in action. Top seeds Gideon / Sukamuljo are being given a good game by Lane / Vendy, 11-11 at the moment.

10m air pistol men’s qualification: Saurabh Chaudhary starts with 95/100 in his first series (4 inner 10s) He was 50/50 in the first 5 shots, but had 5 straights 9s after. Not ideal. Verma still in his first series.

Tennis men’s singles: Sumit Nagal has taken the first set 6-4 in 42 minutes against Denis Istomin

10m air pistol men’s qualification: Saurabh Chaudhary starts with 95/100 in his first series (4 inner 10s) He was 50/50 in the first 5 shots, but had 5 straights 9s after

Tennis men’s singles: Meanwhile, Sumit Nagal’s match against Denis Istomin is underway too. The Indian is serving for the first set.

10m air pistol men’s qualification: So we don’t perhaps need to tell you how many are hoping for a good outing in this event. It’s a big one. Saurabh Chaudhary and Abhishek Verma in action and are shooting in their first series. The former begins with 5 10s.

09.30 am: Alright, folks! The 10m air pistol men’s event qualification is underway. Who is crossing their fingers?

09.20 am: Right then, let’s recap the morning shall we? Here’s a quick update of the main events featuring Indians so far on day 1.

• Women’s 10m air rifle: Elavenil Valarivan and Apurvi Chandela finished 16th and 36th respectively to miss out on the final. China’s Qian Yang wins the first gold of Tokyo 2020.
• Archery mixed team: India come from a set down to defeat TPE in round of 16. To face top seeds Korea in the quarterfinal around 11 am.
• Men’s hockey: India come from a goal down to win a thriller against New Zealand 3-2 and start their group stage campaign. PR Sreejesh was immense in goal, Harmanpreet Singh scored twice. 
• Table tennis mixed doubles: Sharath Kamal / Manika Batra bow out in the round of 16.
• Rowing: In Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls, Indians finished 5th in the heat. Move to repechage. 
• Judo: Sushila Devi bows out in the round of 32. 

Table tennis, mixed doubles round of 16, Ind 0-4 TPE: End of the mixed campaign in TT for India; The young-old, left-right combo from TPE just too good in the end. Comfortable winners against Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra. Here are the stats from the match.

Table tennis, mixed doubles round of 16, Ind 0-3 TPE: One way traffic in the fourth game.

Table tennis, mixed doubles round of 16, Ind 0-3 TPE: The Indians are just not able to put together any sustained pressure on the right-left combo. First couple of games were closer but now the gulf is wider. Three games to them in round of 16 clash.

Table tennis, mixed doubles round of 16, Ind 0-2 TPE: Two games down, 3-6 down in the third. If ever there was a need for a timeout, it is now for India. The TPE pair are racing away with this. Can the Indians find some sort of momentum here?

Table tennis, mixed doubles round of 16, Ind 0-2 TPE: A bit of egging on from Sharath to Manika but the tempo is still being set by the TPE players. Into a 5-3 lead in the 3rd game.

Table tennis, mixed doubles round of 16, Ind 0-2 TPE: An already tough task has got much harder for Indian duo. It was close there for a while in the 2nd game. But the TPE pair go after Manika Batra’s defence in the later exchanges and it is 11-6 in the blink of an eye.

Table tennis, mixed doubles round of 16, Ind 0-1 TPE: A crucial 8-6 lead for the TPE pair in the 2nd game.

Table tennis, mixed doubles round of 16: Some really good points in the early stages of the second game. The Indians took a 2-0 lead and now have a 5-3 advantage. Massive spin imparted by Lin to win a crucial point and then it’s now 5-5.

Table tennis, mixed doubles round of 16: First game to the Taipei pair. Indians started well but their opponents stormed back to win 8 straight points. A late rally by the Indians but not enough.

Table tennis, mixed doubles round of 16: Time for Achanta Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra to begin their mixed doubles campaign. Up against third seeds from TPE, not going to be easy. Indians lead 5-1 in the first set.

Archery mixed team update: Koreans through to QF and will take on India at 11.04 am. For those among you looking for optimism, there were a fair few 9s from the Koreans in that match. For what it’s worth.

Zenia D’Cunha: Superstar Sreejesh saves as TeamIndia prevails! I could barely control my nerves watching that very long 4th quarter and the Indian goalkeeper stands firm & India starts their Tokyo 2020 hockey campaign with a fightback win.

Judo: It was always going to be a tough task for India’s Shushila Devi.

Men’s hockey, India 3-2 New Zealand FULL TIME: SREEJESH WITH ANOTHER MASSIVE AT THE END! What a goalkeeper,

Men’s hockey, India 3-2 New Zealand, 24 secs to go: PC NZ!!!! And a referral by India of course. GEEZ!

Men’s hockey, India 3-2 New Zealand, 50 secs to go: Another long referral and it is rejected. India ball. Relief.

Men’s hockey, India 3-2 New Zealand, 69 secs to go: Another referral! Are even the umpires laughing now? Another delay. What a bizarre match this is.

Men’s hockey, India 3-2 New Zealand, 90 secs to go: SREEJESH!!! First from the PC and then from open play, two MASSIVE SAVES by the Indian goalkeeper.

Men’s hockey, India 3-2 New Zealand, 3 mins to go: oh dear! Just what Mr. Magotra was saying a while back. A PC for NZ! But it has been dealt with India and a review by Manpreet to overturn the follow up PC. India have been good with that one review they have but that’s another LONGGGG review that, geez. No advice possible and India keep the review, importantly it is a PC still!

Men’s hockey, India 3-2 New Zealand, 4 mins to go: CHANCE INDIA! Lalit with some superb play in the D but his shot is at a good height for the GK to palm away. Great play from the Indian there.

Ashish Magotra: Just 7 minutes left in the fourth quarter, India still leads 3-2 but this is where nerves will start to become a factor. NZ can be deadly from PCs and that will keep them in the game till the very end. In a tough group, this is a match India need to win.

Men’s hockey, India 3-2 New Zealand, 7 mins to go: This is not the smoothest flowing game of hockey you will ever see. Quite a bit of time being spent in referrals. India holding on to the lead for now but NZ are still in this.

Ashish Magotra: The 4th quarter is where things tend to unravel for India. Pressure and all that jazz... hoping they can get another one early. India lead 3-2 with 12 mins to go.

Men’s hockey, India 3-2 New Zealand end of Q3: WELL! Almost another good move by New Zealand but the hooter goes in time to ease the pressure on India. This has been a rollercoaster. Black Sticks have forced their way back when it seemed India were in the ascendancy.

Men’s hockey, India 3-2 New Zealand in Q3: GOAL, NZ! THE BLACK STICKS HIT BACK! NZ find a way back through Jenness. Lovely move down the right before the field goal. Rohidas might have got a touch perhaps. A bit of a scramble. But the game is alive!

Men’s hockey, India 3-1 New Zealand in Q3: India forced another PC that was saved, Harmanpreet came close to his hat-trick.

Rowing, Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls: Arvind Singh and Arjun Jat Lal have finished 5th in the heats, overtaking Uruguay in the final stages of the race. The Indians progress to the repechage races now.

Rowing: The Indians are in action in their heats of the Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls. Top 2 progress to semifinal A/B.

Men’s hockey, India 3-1 New Zealand, Q3: GOALLLLLL INDIA! HARMANPREET! Another PC for India. Early in the third quarter. India keep their referral again, using it so well. Unstoppable from the PC is Harmanpreet who scores his secnd.

Men’s hockey, India 2-1 New Zealand, Q3 begins: Can India extend their advantage? They are growing into this game, would like to keep that going. Meanwhile, Australia have gone ahead 5-3 against Japan! What a wild match that has been

Archery, mixed team: Indonesia have defeated second seeds United States in the mixed team round of 16! Team GB have overcome 5th seeds China too. Interesting results in the mixed team already!

Men’s hockey, India 2-1 New Zealand at half-time: India have come from behind to take the lead. The NZ team looked better for most of the first half it must be said. But India looked the stronger of the two teams in the second quarter. Harmanpreet’s goal the difference as of now, Rupinder scored from the spot earlier.

Archery mixed team:

Report from PTI (if you’d like to catch up):

Deepika Kumari and Pravin Jadhav bounced back from behind to knock out Chinese Taipei and book a quarterfinal berth. Trailing 1-3 after they lost the first set by one point and the second set was a tie, Team India needed to win the third set to save their fortunes and the duo, who were shooting together at international level for the first time, showed perfect coordination to seal the issue 5-3 in style. Later in the day, the Indian duo will face the winners of top seed Korea and Bangladesh in the mixed pair section, which is making its Olympics debut at Tokyo.

Men’s hockey, India 2-1 New Zealand in Q2: GOAL INDIA!!!! India have both Rupinder Pal and Harmanpreet in the middle for a PC routine and execute a nice variation with them to go into the lead. Harmanpreet with the goal. India 2-1 NZ in Q2. The PC came about from a successful review by India, one of the many things hockey does well is video referrals.

Men’s hockey, India 1-1 New Zealand in Q2: India defending better in this quarters, closing down the gaps quickly. But would still like to do more on the attack. Not in rhythm there yet. Meanwhile, Australia have now taken the lead against Japan 4-3!

Men’s hockey, India 1-1 New Zealand in Q2: The second quarter begins. India need to avoid giving away too many PCs, reckons Ashish Magotra.

Men’s hockey, India 1-1 New Zealand at the end of Q1: India have levelled things up 1-1 at the end of Q1. NZ had more pressure on the Indian defence at the end there but Sreejesh and Co hung on and then had a counter chance. Meanwhile, the story of the morning so far is the Japan team storming back from 0-2 down to make it 3-2 against Australia! Half-time there.

Zenia D’Cunha: Not just Indians, several other expected names didn’t make the women’s 10m air rifle final either Jeanette Hegg Duestad tops with Olympic record of 632.9; Eszter Mezaros, Ziva Dvorsak, Laura-Georgeta Ilie, Sofia Ceccarello, Yulia Karimova miss out. This is Olympics, folks!

Men’s hockey, India 1-1 New Zealand in Q1: Another PC for NZ. Has Sreejesh pulled off a blinder?! He might have. Video referral going on to see if he did save it on time. He did. Another PC for NZ.

Men’s hockey, India 1-1 New Zealand in Q1: GOALLLL INDIA!!! A penalty corner won by the Indians and it results in a penalty stroke. Rupinder Pal Singh makes no mistake from the spot.

Archery, mixed team: India’s mixed team QF scheduled for just after 11 am, likely vs Korea.

Men’s hockey, India 0-1 New Zealand: Now, NZ get a PC and they convert. Penalty corner expert Kane Russell with the goal. Right in the corner and high. Early setback for Manpreet and Co but plenty of time left.

10m women’s air rifle: (Via Olympics) Norway’s Jeanette Hegg Duestad is the new owner of the women’s 10m air rifle Qualifying Olympic Record.

Here’s the final 8:

Zenia D’Cunha: The women’s 10m air rifle discipline was one the most competitive and exciting disciplines in India in the last Olympic cycle, with 4 world-class shooters in Apurvi Chandela, Anjum Moudgil, Elavenil Valarivan and Mehuli Ghosh. It was the first event in which India clinched Tokyo 2020 quota, with Apurvi Chandela, Anjum Moudgil claiming it at the 2018 World Championship. It is also among the only event where the quota winner was usurped by someone with a higher score in selection period. The two Indians today were the world No 1 and a world record holder. But with a year lost to the pandemic, the effects showed. Chandela had issues with her rifle kit due to weight loss, Elavenil lost momentum ahead of her Olympic debut. Being away from the sport, not being able to train with coaches and makeshift arrangements didn’t help and skewed the selection period. Almost everyone has had difficulties due to Covid-19, but it showed heavily in this one discipline.

Men’s hockey, India 0-0 New Zealand in Q1: Early PC for India and Rupinder Pal hits the woodwork. So close.

Ashish Magotra: For NZ, Stephen Jenness and Hugo Inglis are both wonderful attacking talents, while veteran defender Shea McAleese and penalty corner expert Kane Russell are consistently excellent performers. Keep an eye on them. India, on the other hand, have claimed victories against nearly all the top teams in world hockey over the past couple of years. Time to step up on the biggest stage.

Hockey starts.

10m women’s air rifle: Disappointment in the first medal event for India.

Ashish Magotra: The women’s 10m air rifle qualification showing why it is so difficult to make predictions here. Rankings don’t matter and even competitions have never quite got all the best athletes competing together. No Indian makes it to the final.

10m women’s air rifle: No Indian in women’s 10m air rifle final! Chandela finishes her qualification with 621.9, much below her best of 633, and manages the 36th spot

Archery, mixed team: SET 4. HERE WE GO. 10-9 from TPE. 9-8 from Ind. That put the pressure on India. 8-9 from TPE. And 10-10 from DEEPIKA AND PRAVIN!!! Through to QF with a come-from-behind win!

Zenia D’Cunha: Elavenil Valarivan has finished her qualification series and it’s not looking good. She has a total of 626.5 and is placed 15th, a far cry from her best of 632.7 and the 8-member final. Elavenil raised hopes with a brilliant third series but was unable to keep that going.

Archery, mixed team: Brilliant from Deepika and Pravin! 10-10-10-10! And the Indians have taken that set 40-35. 3-3 on set points. The Indians are in better rhythm at the moment. TPE’s Lin not in the best of form.

Archery, mixed team: Set 2 is a tie! Better from all four archers and we see a 38-38 that sees the points getting split. TPE still ahead.

Zenia D’Cunha: Elavenil has finished her penultimate series and has a total of 522. She is currently placed 15th & needs a good final series to make the top 8. One 9 in the fifth series but that has been the only one so far. Things not looking as good for Apurvi, who is shooting her fifth and has scores two back-to-back 9s.

Archery, mixed team: Set 1 goes to Chinese Taipei. Two 8s from Pravin Jadhav sees the Indians miss out narrowly 36-35. Two points to TPE.

Archery, mixed team round of 16: blustery conditions we are told, and it certainly seems not the easiest. Set 1 is underway,

Archery, mixed team round of 16: TPE will start. The first mixed team event in the history of Olympics!

Women’s 10m air rifle qualification: Ela is still on the cusp of qualification but she has just shot a 9.7 in the fifth series.

Elavenil Valarivan: 104.3 104.0 106.0 104.2

Apurvi Chandela: 104.5 102.5 104.9 104.2

Zenia D’Cunha: Women’s 10m air rifle qualifications scenario With 60 shots in 75 minutes, scored in decimals of 10, anything over 630 (out of 654) is good for the 8-player final

Archery, mixed team round of 16: Starting at 6 am with the first match, Indian archers will take on Chinese Taipei. Reminder that India decided to go with Pravin Jadhav after he edged out Atanu Das in the ranking yesterday to partner with world No 1 women’s archer Deepika Kumari.

Women’s 10m air rifle qualification

Going to be tough from here for Chandela. That 2nd round is brutal. Elavenil still in the mix though, around the top 14-15 mark.

Apurvi Chandela: 104.5 102.5 104.9
Elavenil Valarivan: 104.3 104.0 106.0 104.2

Women’s 10m air rifle qualification: /That second series is going to hurt Chandela, two shots below 10. Meanwhile, a great third series from Elavenil! She has started her 4th as well.

Apurvi Chandela, series: 104.5, 102.5

Elavenil Valarivan, series: 104.3, 104.0, 106.0

Badminton group-stage: The shuttlers get into action today as well and the early matches are underway. Here’s our preview for Team India.

Women’s 10m air rifle qualification: The pace-setters are shooting at an average of 10.5-plus. Elavenil is 10.410 at the start of the third series and Chandela is 10.373. Not the best signs.

Women’s 10m air rifle qualification: Ouch. Chandela with a 9.5 in the ongoing second series. That will hurt her. The rankings are not looking too great at the moment as we progress a bit further.

Women’s 10m air rifle qualification: The SIX SERIES of 10 shots each determine the qualification for the final where top 8 shooters go through. The qualification is highly dynamic with the scores moving up and down quickly. Not worth reading too much into the standings.

Apurvi Chandela, series: 104.5

Elavenil Valarivan, series: 104.3, 104.0

Women’s 10m air rifle qualification: Apurvi Chandela has started the first series with shots of 10.5 and 10.9. Elavenil Valarivan has started with 10.7 and 10.3. Good early scores. First series underway.

Women’s 10m air rifle qualification: The event has begun, folks.

Women’s 10m air rifle:

Data check – women’s 10m air rifle featuring Apurvi Chandela, Elavenil Valarivan

04.50 am: Hello all and welcome to the live coverage of India’s campaign at the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020. It’s officially day one of the Games and after a glittering Opening Ceremony on Friday (preceded by the archery qualification rounds) we are set for an action-packed Saturday.

Simply put: for the Indian contingent at the Games, day one is as big as it could get.

On paper, there are five medal events and in some of those, Indian athletes are seen as genuine contenders as the action kicks into high gear from Saturday.

Entering the Tokyo Olympics on the back of an unprecedented run that began sometime after the disappointments at Rio 2016, Indian shooters get going with the big guns in action straight away.

The first medal event at the Games is women’s 10m air rifle and that is where our attention turns to first up.

India’s full schedule for Saturday