Tokyo 2020 day 7 as it happened: Sindhu in semis, Borgohain assures medal, both hockey teams win

And that’s it from us for today. A fascinating day. Lovlina Borgohain assured India of a medal. Great wins for PV Sindhu and women’s hockey team. But at the same team we experienced the bitterness of defeat too. Deepika Kumar failed to keep her nerve, Avinash Sable ran a good race but missed out on the final while shooters weren’t able to make it to the final either. The schedule for July 31 will be up on the site soon.

Hockey: The men’s hockey quarterfinal line-up is set up folks. Team India vs Team GBR it is for a place in the semifinal. India finished 2nd in Pool A, GBR came 3rd in Pool B.

Table tennis: Ma Long has done it. He has become the first man to win two Olympic gold medals in the singles competition. What a legend! No seventh game needed. He beats the world no 1 Fan in six.

Table tennis: Fan isn’t prepared to go down that easily though. He wraps up Game 5 in just 7 mins.

Table tennis: Ma Long wins another game. He leads 3-1 now and is within one game of making history in the men’s singles.

Olympic spirit: IOC chief Thomas Bach said US superstar Simone Biles had shown “Olympic spirit at its best” by cheering on her fellow gymnasts despite being sidelined with mental problems in Tokyo.

“I can only say we are with her and we wish her well,” Bach told news agency journalists in Tokyo, adding that he spoke to Biles after she withdrew during the team competition on Tuesday. She later pulled out of the individual all-around.

“I’m really admiring how she’s handling the situation,” added Bach. “On the one hand she admits to have this problem. This is already courageous. Who one year ago would have admitted to say I have mental health problems?

“And at the same time, then cheering on their teammates and then being there and supporting when her successor is crowned in the all-around final.

“This is great human quality and this is Olympic spirit at its best.”

Table tennis: Now, Ma Long comes back with a fine game of his own. It went down to the wire once again. Very high level TT on display.

Table tennis: It’s one game all! Fan Zhendong raising his game to keep his nose ahead in the second game before closing it out. There’s not much to choose between the two players now. Fan led 10-8, Ma Long made it 10-10. One game apiece.

Table tennis: Ma Long takes the first game 11-4. Got off to a quick start, didn’t look back. Lovely changes of spin, length and pace. A masterclass.

Table tennis: It is time for the final. Ma Long vs Fan Zhendong. Can Ma Long become the first player to win two Olympic golds?

Table tennis: Dimitrij Ovtcharov saves FOUR match points before launching a stunning comeback to win the bronze medal! Nine years after finishing third at the London Olympics, the German has another bronze to his name.

Tennis: Alexander Zverev said he felt sorry for ending Novak Djokovic’s tilt at a Golden Grand Slam at the Olympics, hailing the beaten world number one as “the greatest of all time”.

“I feel sorry for Novak, but he’s won 20 Grand Slams, 550 (36) Masters series or whatever, you can’t have everything,” said fourth seed Zverev, who consoled Djokovic at the net after the match. “He’s the greatest player of all time, he will win the most Grand Slams out of anybody on tour, but I’m also happy that I’m in the final.”

Swimming: American swimmer Ryan Murphy accused Evgeny Rylov of doping after he was beaten by the Russian in the Olympic 200m backstroke, sparking an angry denial from Moscow. Murphy raised doubts about the result when he claimed he was “swimming in a race that’s probably not clean”. Rylov said he was “surprised” by Murphy’s “strange” suggestion.

In an explosive statement on Twitter, the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) said “the broken record is once again playing the song about Russia doping and someone is diligently pressing the button on the English-language propaganda”.

The Russian Anti-Doping Agency said Rylov had been tested three times this year and that he was “prepared and clean.”

Murphy had to settle for silver after being beaten for a second time this week by the 24-year-old Rylov, who set an Olympic record of 1min 53.27sec.

It was the Russian’s second gold after he won the 100m backstroke on Tuesday.

Golf: Round 2 will resume, in position, at 07:45 Saturday, 31 July. India’s Anirban Lahiri tied 20th and Udayan Mane is tied 57th.

Athletics, mixed 4x400m relay: India finish last in Heat 2. They did get an SB because it was the first time they were running together this season.

Athletics, mixed 4x400m relay: Here are the four athletes representing India in the second heat of the Mixed Team Relay. First 3 in each heat and the next two fastest advance to the final.

Athletics, mixed 4x400m relay: While all other teams went Male-Female-Female-Male, Nigeria tried the tactic of pitting male runners and female runners with Male-Female-Male-Female. Ultimately, USA too good.

Hockey, men’s pool A, India 5-3 Japan, FULL TIME: That’s it, India win their third straight match. Japan fought valiantly but India were simply better. Two goals from Gurjant Singh and one each from Harmanpreet, Shamsher and Nilakanta do the trick for India.

Athletics: Alright then it is time for an Olympics debut. The Mixed 4x400m relay is here and the first leg begins. India are in the second heat.

Hockey, men’s pool A, India 5-3 Japan in Q4: GOAL! Japan pull one back with a minute and 20 second remaining. It was a well worked move and finished off by Murata.

Hockey, men’s pool A, India 5-2 Japan in Q4: GOAALLLLL! India convert the PC again and it’s Gurjant Singh who scores his second goal of the match. He stayed low and deflected the shot perfectly into goal. That should do it for India. Less than four minutes remaining.

Hockey, men’s pool A, India 4-2 Japan in Q4: What a save! It’s that man Sreejesh again but he seems to have taken a nasty hit and is on the floor. But he should be good to go again. Japan fail to convert from the Penalty Corner.

Hockey, men’s pool A, India 4-2 Japan in Q4: Penalty Corner for India, their third of the match. Dilpreet with a silky move inside the box. But the shot by Harmanpreet is blocked bravely by Japan.

Hockey, men’s pool A, India 4-2 Japan in Q4: GOOAAALLLL! A lovely aerial pass and Surender with the flick inside for Nilakanta to finish off. A superb goal by India. This will calm their nerves. Japan trail by two goals now and they need to do something special with time running out.

Hockey, men’s pool A, India 3-2 Japan in Q4: Another close call and another missed chance for India. But Japan with a blazing counter-attack and Sreejesh forced to make a big save. Watanabe seemed destined to score but the Indian goalkeeper puts his body on the line. What a save! This is end to end stuff. Both teams are going all-out in search of a goal.

Women’s singles badminton: IT IS TAI TZU YING WHO WINS! The World No 1 wins an absolute thriller in 67 minutes against former world champion Ratchanok Intanon. The semi-finals are set. All-China affair at the top and PV SINDHU vs TTY at the bottom. Follow the badminton live blog HERE.

Hockey, men’s pool A, India 3-2 Japan, END OF 3RD QUARTER: Stunning save! The Japanese goalkeeper at full stretch to deny India the fourth goal. It is all India at the moment though. Japan started the quarter strongly but the manner in which India responded after conceding the goal will please the coach. Still, there’s just one goal separating the two teams and we’re in for a fascinating final quarter.

Hockey, men’s pool A, India 3-2 Japan in Q3: India with some slick passing down the left flank to earn their second Penalty Corner of the match but the shot by Harmanpreet went wide.

Hockey, men’s pool A, India 3-2 Japan in Q3: India with relentless circle penetrations but Japan have parked the bus. India are pushing hard to get the insurance goal.

Kaushal Shukla: The last few minutes have been the game in a nutshell. India dominant with plenty of penetration but vulnerable to Japanese counter-attacks. Japan score to level it up at 2-2 but India go and make it 3-2 at the other end. All goals pretty much against the run of play.

Hockey, men’s pool A, India 3-2 Japan in Q3: GOOAALLLL!! India hit right back! What a response from the men in blue. It was fired it and Shamsher Singh with a superb deflection into the goal. It’s all happening at the moment!

Hockey, men’s pool A, India 2-2 Japan in Q3: GOAL! Japan have equalised! They were pressing hard and a brilliant worked move by them to get past the keeper to square things up.

Hockey, men’s pool A, India 2-1 Japan in Q3: Japan with the first real attack of the quarter. It was a scramble in front of goal but India managed to clear it somehow. The Japanese have come out playing with high intensity.

Hockey, men’s pool A, India 2-1 Japan: The players are out for the third quarter. Japan to start things off. Can India hold on to their lead?

In badminton, Tai Tzu Ying has forced a decider against Ratchanok Intanon.

badminton live blog here

Hockey, men’s pool A, India 2-1 Japan, HALF TIME: Japan almost find a late goal. India the better team but Sreejesh was called into action right at the end of that half. Japan have carried a threat and India will need a third goal to be comfortable.

Hockey, men’s pool, India 2-1 Japan in Q2: A good quarter for India despite that lapse in concentration that cost them a goal. A fine goal by Gurjant Singh to start the half and then India did well to take the sting out of the Japanese attack. There is a lengthy break in play now as a Japanese player receives treatment. Stretchered off after a long pause.

Hockey, men’s pool, India 2-1 Japan in Q2: India have done well not to let the momentum shift after the Japanese goal. They seem content to hold what they have till half time.

TENNIS: Honestly, if *PRIME* Novak Djokovic of 2021 cannot do it, every chance that Steffi Graf’s record is going remain unmatched for a while.

Hockey, men’s pool, India 2-1 Japan in Q2: It is all a bit wildalympics at the moment.

Kaushal Shukla: After a quiet start to the game this game has exploded into life. India seemed in control with two goals either side the end of first quarter but a Japan goal out of nothing has the game back in the balance. India will want to regain control of the game.

BIG NEWS FROM THE TENNIS WORLD:

Hockey, men’s pool, India 2-0 Japan in Q2: GOOOOOOALL! Gurjant pokes it in for two! Great work to win the ball back and launch a quick attack. Yoshikawa saves the first attempt from Simranjeet but his second one is bundled home by Gurjant.

Hockey, men’s pool, India 1-0 Japan in Q1: GOALLLLL INDIA! Harmanpreet Singh’s drag-flick too good for Japan.

Vinayakk Mohanarangan: Every time I came to tweet “great point Sindhu”, “what a rally”, “sensational court coverage Yamaguchi”, there was another point already done. That 54-shot rally in the second game was breathtaking. What a win for PV Sindhu. Watched the match on livestream so I can hear court sounds more clearly. The roar from Coach Park at the end was longer and arguably louder than Sindhu’s when she converted the match point! Brilliant from Yamaguchi too, to fight back as she did.

More on the badminton live blog here

Hockey, men’s pool, India 0-0 Japan in Q1: The game hasn’t come to the boil yet. Both teams haven’t quite got their passing right so far.

Hockey, men’s pool, India 0-0 Japan in Q1: India have already assured themselves of a place in the QF mind you, but they will need to finish strongly to ensure they are 2nd behind Australia.

Hockey: Time for the Indian men’s match against hosts Japan. India have already qualified for the quarter-finals, finishing second in Pool A only behind Australia.
They will look to add another win to further boost their confidence.

Badminton: PV Sindhu is into the semi-finals! The Indian beats home hope Akane Yamaguchi 21-13, 22-20 in a what was a very commanding win.
Head over to our badminton live blog for more detailed updates and analysis.

Equestrian: India’s Fouaad Mirza, with his horse Seigneur Medicott, has finished his individual dressage event and has scored 28.00. He is currently placed sixth.

A brief on the event from the Tokyo 2020 official website:

Dressage

Dressage is considered the most artistic of the equestrian sports and is used as the groundwork for all other disciplines. It tests the ability of horse and athlete to display both athletic prowess and supreme elegance by evaluating, for example, an athlete’s ability to make their horse move quickly from side to side, transition into a gallop or rapidly change direction, using subtle commands.

Sixty horse and athlete combinations take part in the Olympic Dressage events with an initial qualifying competition, the FEI Grand Prix Test, selecting the best teams and individuals for their respective finals. Made up of three horse and athlete combinations, the best eight teams advance to the FEI Grand Prix Special to Music to decide the team medals. The best 18 individual combinations go on to take part in the highly anticipated FEI Grand Prix Freestyle Test to Music, for the individual honours. All Dressage competitions take place in a rectangular arena measuring 20m x 60m.

Badminton: Meanwhile, PV Sindhu has taken the first game 21-13. Head over to our badminton live blog for more detailed updates and analysis.

Sailing: India’s Vishnu Saravanan finishes 15th in the 10th and final race of the men’s one-person dinghy laser.
Overall, he has finished on the 20th spot out of 35 competitors with a total of 183 points and an net total of 156 (points from the nine best races are counted.)
He hasn’t made it to the medal round, but he finished third in the earlier round, which should give him a confidence boost.

Tennis: Meanwhile, world No 1 Novak Djokovic keeps his Golden Slam bid going strong, taking the first set of Alexander Zverev 6-1.

Badminton update: PV Sindhu’s match will start soon, right after the mixed doubles medals ceremony was on.

For more detailed updates and analysis of the women’s quarter-final, head to our badminton live blog here

Archery: Korea’s top seed An San is an Olympic champion – her third Gold at Tokyo 2020.
Not been an easy outing in the individual event, she needed back-to-back shoot-offs but got the final arrow on bull’s eye when it mattered.
She beat ROC’s Elena Osipova in the final shoot-off, minutes after beating USA’s Makenzie Brown in a similar shoot-off in the semis. She had beaten India’s Deepika Kumari in straight sets in the quarters.

Badminton: It’s almost time for the marquee match for India – PV Sindhu vs Akane Yamaguchi!

The Indian leads the H2H 11-7 and won the last match, while the Japanese has won three out of last four.

For more detailed updates and analysis of the women’s quarter-final, head to our badminton live blog here

Sailing: A huge achievement for debutant Vishnu as he finishes Laser Race 09 on the third spot. Race 10 to follow soon and he is 20th in the overall ranking.
Of the 10 races, the points of only 9 races count though,

Archery: THRILLER Semi-final Korea’s top seed An San survives a shoot-off to reach the women’s individual final!

America’s Makenzie Brown gave the gold medal favourite and last Korean left in the draw a tough fight, but when the match went the distance, it was the the top seed who found the bull’s eye.

Look at the numbers: Three perfect 30s, a tied final set and a difference one point on the final arrow!
Brown will now go into the bronze medal match and Korea’s dream of a gold medal is alive.

Golf, men’s individual strokeplay: Not been the best of days for Anirban Lahiri and Udayan Mane...

Anirban Lahiri in round 2:

Udayan Mane in round 2:

Archery: Just one more thought on Deepika Kumari before we look ahead to PV Sindhu...

As much as the 7s today, being the 9th seed hurt Deepika Kumari too. A top 4 or top 6 in the ranking round would have gone a long way in getting her to the semifinals. And she was in position to do it too. It’s those little things that matter in the end.
#Tokyo2020 #Archery

ICYMI: Handling pressure at the highest level is in itself an art... read this interview by Ashish Magotra.

Boxing: Debutant Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) assured India of their first boxing medal at the ongoing Olympic Games when she upstaged former world champion Nien-Chin Chen of Chinese Taipei to enter the semifinals. The 23-year-old Assam boxer prevailed 4-1 to make the last-four where she will square off against reigning world champion Busenaz Surmeneli of Turkey, who hammered Ukraine’s Anna Lysenko in her quarterfinal bout.

Just to recap some of what happened in the last few hours...

Hockey: The Indians Women’s Hockey Team registered their first victory at the Tokyo Olympics after defeating Ireland 1-0 at the Oi Hockey Stadium here on Friday. The Indian team created a flurry of chances throughout the match before Navneet Kaur (57’) converted an opportunity in the last few minutes of the match to keep India’s Quarter-Finals hopes alive.

Ashish Magotra: Talent, technique, reputation... they all mean nothing if you can’t handle the pressure. Deepika Kumari knows what she needs to work on. In that sense, the path is clear. Work on mental conditioning. Work with an expert.

Korea’s An SAN:

First Olympics. 

 Qualification Olympic record, check. 

Mixed team gold, check. 

Team gold, check. 

Individual event, one win away from a medal. 

Four sets of Perfect 10s already. 

 Magic.

Archery, women’s individual quarterfinals: IND 0-6 KOR

Deepika Kumari just never got going... it was not the best of matches by An San but she didn’t have to do much after those perfect 10s.

Disappointing, and for how much she spoke about it was all about her expectations and dreams of winning the medal, it will be worth pointing out: 

London 2012: First round 

Rio 2016: Round of 16 

Tokyo 2020: Quarterfinal 

 Deepika Kumari is 27. Nothing in archery terms. Really hope that medal she has worked so hard for comes in Paris, no one deserves it more.

Archery, women’s individual quarterfinals: IND 0-6 KOR

SET 3: 7-8-9 from Deepika. And that is that. An San just races through the match with 8-9-9. Too easy for the Korean, didn’t even need to be at her best. The 7s hurt the Indian,

Archery, women’s individual quarterfinals: IND 0-4 KOR

SET 3: Oh dear, Deepika all over the place. Four 7s now

Archery, women’s individual quarterfinals: IND 0-4 KOR

SET 2: Deepika follows that with a 7 and a rueful look back at the coach and then another 7. Not the best sets from An San and the Indian must be so disappointed at not being in a position to make the most of a 26 by the Korean.

Archery, women’s individual quarterfinals: IND 0-2 KOR

SET 2: The commentator reminds us Deepika won these 2 met in the Test event in 2019. Well she has a task now. Starting off in set 2... with a 10!

Archery, women’s individual quarterfinals: IND 0-2 KOR

SET 1: 10-10-10, her third of the day for An San and 4th of the event! Deepika Kumari starts with a 7 and that’s costly but gets some momentum with two 10s. Five 10s out of six arrows, wow.

Archery, women’s individual quarterfinals: IND vs KOR

SET 1: An San will start

Archery, women’s individual quarterfinals: THE World No 1 vs the top seed and already twice a gold medallist here at the Games. HERE WE GO!

Archery, women’s individual quarterfinals: UPSET TO START! To kick things off, ROC’s Osipova has put the pressure on Korea’s third seed Kang Chaeyoung! Three sets done, Osipova leads 5-1... and she clinches the 4th set too. Two out of the three Koreans are out! What about the third?

Archery, women’s individual quarterfinals: To kick things off, ROC’s Osipova has put the pressure on Korea’s third seed Kang Chaeyoung! Three sets done, Osipova leads 5-1!

Archery, women’s individual quarterfinals: The first quarterfinal is underway, Kang and Osipova.

Women’s POOL A: IMPORTANTLY. India face South Africa before Ireland face Great Britain. That is not the ideal scenario because Ireland will know the exact equation against a GBR side that know they just have to avoid defeat. (And a much better GD, so they are alright). Anyway, for starters India have to beat RSA and hope for an assist from GBR.

Women’s POOL A: So, India face South Africa in the final match. Ireland face Great Britain. India have to better Ireland’s result to finish top 4.

FULL TIME: A win! Joy for India. Disappointment for the valiant Irish. Navneet Kaur’s 57th minute goal the difference between the two sides. The celebrations clearly showed how important this was. Queen Rampal, indeed. Created that one moment of brilliance that mattered. And glad Navneet finished it too because that exactly was proving to be an issue till then. QF hopes remain alive.

Hockey, Women’s Pool A, IND 1-0 IRE in Q4: India have to hang on for less than 3 minutes. Ireland have taken off their GK. 11 outfield players. Pressure. Ireland want a PC but don’t have referrals left.

Hockey, Women’s Pool A, IND 1-0 IRE in Q4: GOALLLLLLLLL INDIAAAAAA! What a massive massive goal that could be, the pressure finally pays off. Not long after the IRE GK pulled off a diving save, India come forward again. Rani’s reverse hit into the D is deflected brilliantly by Navneet.

Hockey, Women’s Pool A, IND 0-0 IRE in Q4: We are down to the last 7 minutes in this match. Chances at both ends now. Savita Punia pulled a brilliant save not too long back as Ireland put together a swift counter. Still feels like there is a goal in this match.

Hockey, Women’s Pool A, IND 0-0 IRE in Q4 Start of the final quarter... and not on a good note for India. A green card and they are down to 10 for 2 minutes.

Hockey, Women’s Pool A, IND 0-0 IRE in Q3: STAT – so far, Deep Grace has taken 5 PCs, Rani 4 and Gurji 2 as per the official stats. All three are better than that. Have to be too. Luckily for them it is still 0-0.

Hockey, Women’s Pool A, IND 0-0 IRE in Q3: Waiting for India to convert their 16th penalty corner so that we can all say “Sweet 16” together. They are 0 out of 14 at the moment! There have been some saves made but this is still verging on the bizarre at the moment.

Hockey, Women’s Pool A, IND 0-0 IRE in Q3: India’s PC count is now 13! Not one converted. That is so wasteful, will they end up rueing it?

Ashish Magotra: HT: India have dominated the proceedings. They have got 10 PCs but not been able to get any goals yet. This lack of finishing can come back to haunt them. But this has been the problem for India all through the tournament. Rani Rampal is the only one who brings a credible threat. Still, the second half needs them to be better.

Hockey, Women’s Pool A, IND 0-0 IRE in Q2: CHANCE! India try a variation this time and try to find a forward goal-mouth but the deflection is off the upright! And that will be half time,

Hockey, Women’s Pool A, IND 0-0 IRE in Q2: Both teams have had PCs in this quarter and India with latest one and perhaps the last one for half, which is saved. Oh wait, they come back again with 40 secs to go and are awarded another! SURELY THEY HAVE TO CONVERT ONE OF THESE?

Hockey, Women’s Pool A, IND 0-0 IRE in Q2: Ireland have started this quarter better and have a PC early on but India see it through. A bit more even in this quarter.

Hockey, Women’s Pool A, IND 0-0 IRE in Q1: END OF FIRST QUARTER! If anything, Rani and Co must feel a little deflated that they had all the chances in the first 15 but are not in the lead. Nine circle penetrations and five PCs is brilliant for Q1 but conversion...

Hockey, Women’s Pool A, IND 0-0 IRE in Q1: It is a must-win match for Rani Rampal and Co against Ireland and the Indians have started it really well, making all the moves in Q1. Still no goals but a strong start.

Athletics women’s 100m, round 1 heat 5: The fastest woman alive would obviously be the fastest woman of a heat. Fraser-Pryce cruises through with a 10.84. Here’s how Dutee Chand’s heat went.

Athletics women’s 100m, round 1 heat 5: Dutee Chand clocks 11.54 and finished 6th in her hear. A fair bit of her best of 11.17. Unlikely to reach semifinals.

Athletics women’s 100m, round 1 heat 5: Dutee Chand has a PB of 11.17.

Lovlina done... time for Dutee Chand (alongside Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce) and the women’s hockey match is underway.

Boxing women’s welterweight quarterfinal: IND vs TPE

ROUND 3: IT IS A MEDAL CONFIRMED FOR INDIA!!! Lovlina Borgohain has done it.

Boxing women’s welterweight quarterfinal: IND vs TPE

ROUND 3: This looks good for Lovlina, folks!!!

Boxing women’s welterweight quarterfinal: IND vs TPE

ROUND 3: TPE will come hard without a doubt, Lovlina can’t take this lightly. Chen lands a strong right early

Boxing women’s welterweight quarterfinal: IND vs TPE

ROUND 2: Looked like an efficient round from the Indian... nothing flashy. That is a good sign. Chen was throwing fists around, didn’t land much. Let’s see if it reflects on the card.... IT IS A 5-0! TO INDIA!!!!

Boxing women’s welterweight quarterfinal: IND vs TPE

ROUND 2: Chen will come out strong in the second round surely. Can the Indian counter? It is a cagey affair this one! “Come on India!” is heard in the arena.

Boxing women’s welterweight quarterfinal: IND vs TPE

ROUND 1: Lovlina takes the first round just about! A 3-2 for the Indian. “You can write history for India,” the coach tells the Indian.

Boxing women’s welterweight quarterfinal: IND vs TPE

ROUND 1: Not the most clean round of boxing you’ll ever see. Both boxers scrappy to start. Who impressed the judges though... will matter.

Boxing women’s welterweight quarterfinal: IND vs TPE

HERE WE GO! Big one for Lovlina against the fourth seed from TPE, who did look beatable in the round of 16. Can the Indian make it a famous win?

Boxing women’s welterweight quarterfinal: SURMENELI Busenaz of Turkey is the first medallist in this division as she wins the first QF. Lovlina next!

Boxing women’s welterweight quarterfinal: Not far away now from a big one, folks. Lovlina Borgohain a two-time World and Asian championships bronze-medallist, will next face Chinese Taipei’s Nien-Chin Chen, who is seeded fourth and a former world champion. A win in that bout would assure Borgohain of at least a bronze medal. (Info via PTI)

Athletics, men’s 400mH heats: MP Jabir clocked 50.77 in his heats and finished 7th out of seven. Out of semifinal contention. His PB is 49.13.

Boxing women’s lightweight, round of 16: Simranjit Kaur bows out. Was never in this one, quite simply outpunched from the word go.

Athletics, men’s 400mH heats: MP Jabir in action. His personal best of 49.13 could actually take him into SF, if I am not mistaken.

Boxing women’s lightweight, round of 16: IND vs THA. Simranjit tried to go all out attack, played into Seesondee’s hands. Another 5-0 round to the boxer, all but over for the Indian.

Boxing women’s lightweight, round of 16: IND vs THA. Simranjit in trouble, all judges rule in favour of the Thai boxer.

Simranjit Kaur is out in the ring for her Round of 16 bout against Thailand’s Sudaporn Seesondee

Boxing women’s lightweight, round of 16: Simranjeet Kaur in action!

Athletics, men’s 400mH heats: WORLD RECORD holder Karsten Warholm (46.70) jogs past the finish line in his heat for 48.65. He had plenty left in his tank. MP Jabir of India in his heat 5.

Badminton, women’s singles: The top seed is through in straight games. Chen YuFei defeats An Se Young in a bruising encounter and joins He Bingjao for an all-China women’s semifinal. And after missing out in Rio 2016 a Chinese female shuttler will return to the podium at Tokyo 2020.

ICYMI: Tokyo 2020, boxing: Mary Kom slams poor judging, thought she won her bout till she saw social media

Some schedule updates: Dutee Chand confirmed on the Start List for Heat 5 in women’s 100m round 1. Race scheduled for 9.17 am. She gets to race along Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce! Meanwhile, India’s hockey match (women’s pool A vs Ireland) has been postponed by an hour to 9.15 am.

STAT ALERT: For the second consecutive Olympics Games, the pistol campaign is over without a medal for India. Vijay Kumar, in London 2012 rapid fire, is still the only pistol shooter to win a medal.

Women’s 25m pistol qualification: BOTH INDIANS MISS OUT ON THE FINAL. The shooting disappointments continue for Indian athletes and fans alike. Manu was placed decently yesterday but a couple of 8s in the rapid round prove costly. One relay left but there are already 8 above her.

Women’s 25m pistol, qualification, rapid stage: Manu Bhaker has started the third series with 49.

Women’s 25m pistol, qualification, rapid stage: Reminder that is an event where shooters go in relays. THis is the third Relay and there is one more to come to Bhaker will not quite know either way if she makes it to the final immediately.

Women’s 25m pistol, qualification, rapid stage: Manu Bhaker started the 2nd round of fire with 7 straight 10s and but then drops three 9s! THIS IS SO CLOSE.

Shooting time! Manu Bhaker has begun her rapid round and hits 96/100 in her first series.

Archery, women’s individual quarterfinal IND vs KOR: Top seed vs World No 1. An San has had three PERFECT sets in the individual rounds already, and dropped 2 of those in the round of 16. She is looking near unbeatable but will the pressure of facing the world No 1 in Deepika factor in? Match is at 11.30 am:

Ashish Magotra: How unlucky is Sable?!!! He is the fastest finisher to not qualify for the final. Three guys slower than him will be in the final. The third heat was a slow one. Bah!

Archery, women’s individual round of 16: WOW. An incredibly high quality match of archery!! An San drops two sets but only because Hayakawa Ren had two superb sets herself. The Korean top seed casually dropped not one but two PERFECT sets of 10-10-10.

Badminton: Nozomi Okuhara is out! An epic win for He Bingjao in the quarterfinals. Caught some epic rallies in the third game. Women’s singles has started off in predictably exciting fashion.

Archery, women’s individual round of 16: An San responds to losing Set 1 with 10-10-10! And two more 10s in Set 3! She has stormed back to take a 4-2 lead. An San is looking on fire.

Badminton: I could not have been more wrong in thinking Okuhara had the easiest of quarterfinals. He Bingjao was trailing by a few points early in the decider but is now leading 18-13!

Archery, women’s individual round of 16: We turn our focus to the archery final field. An San vs Hayakawa Ren to decide Deepika Kumari’s opponent.

Badminton: An interesting start already to what promises to be a great of women’s singles badminton. He Bingjao has taken Nozomi Okuhara to the decider in the quarterfinal. 21-13, 13-21. And in the decider it is 12-12!! THRILLER UNFOLDING.

Zenia D’Cunha: Avinash Sable bettered his personal best and rewrote the national record yet again in men’s 3000m steeplechase in the Heat 2z at Tokyo Olympics. Although he finished 7th with a time of 8:18.12, it was a ahead of the national record of 8:20.20. He had clocked his PB at 24th National Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships earlier this year in Patiala.

Athletics, men’s 3000m steeplechase: A spot in the final is going to be elusive but it is yet another new National Record for Avinash Sable, no stranger to rewriting his own mark. He clocks 8:18.12.

Athletics, men’s steeplechase: A new national record for Sable!

Archery: Deepika Kumari will next take on the winner of the match between Korea’s San An (top seed) and Japan’s Ren Hayakawa.

Athletics, men’s steeplechase 3000m: Sable starts with a personal best and season best of 8:20.20. He started this heat well as the frontrunner but has slipped down as we near the finish line.

Athletics, men’s steeplechase 3000m: Qualification Rules: First 3 in each heat (Q) and the next 6 fastest (q) advance to the Final. Sable is in Heat 2. The first Heat went like this.

Athletics: Sable is off. He had qualified for the Olympics shattering his own national record twice in three days, finishing 13th in the final race of the World Championships in Doha in 2019.

Athletics: India’s track and field campaign is set to begin, with Avinash Sable competing in Men’s 3000m Steeplechase heats, the second race. He was one of the first Indian athletes to qualify for the Games.

Archery, women’s individual round of 16: The 9th seed and world No 1 Deepika Kumari had a late wobble despite leading for the most part. The shootoff is anyone’s arrow! The Indian responded in time though, nailing a 10 after Perova hit a 7. Superb recovery after that horror 5th set.

Archery, women’s individual round of 16: SHOOTOFF

Shootoff arrow: DEEPIKA KUMARI HITS A 10!!! Phew.

Archery, women’s individual round of 16: SHOOTOFF

Shootoff arrow: Perova hits a 7!!!

Archery, women’s individual round of 16: SHOOTOFF

Perova shoots first on target 2... NERVES.

Archery, women’s individual round of 16: IND 5-5 ROC (SHOOTOFF!)

Set 5: OH DEAR! Perova with a 9, Deepika has a long hold and it is a 7! PRESSURE ON THE INDIAN. 160 bpm her heart rate. That 7 really really hurt her and she has lost the set before the final arrow. The Russian has taken the 5th set 28-25 and WE HAVE A SHOOTOFF.

Archery, women’s individual round of 16: IND 5-3 ROC

Set 5: Perova to start again... she needs to win this set, the Indian needs to not lose!

Archery, women’s individual round of 16: IND 5-3 ROC

Set 4: Both archers start with 9, follow that up with 8. Perova has a 9 and that leaves the Indian with a chance to win with 10, but it is a 9! TIED SET. A chance to win the match with one arrow... hope she doesn’t regret eh? 26-26.

Archery, women’s individual round of 16: IND 4-2 ROC

Set 4: Perova to start... a must win for her.

Archery, women’s individual round of 16: IND 4-2 ROC

Set 3: Deepika needs to start well here... and she follows Perova’s 9 with a 10! Four 9s from the archers after that and that is enough to give the set to the Indian 28-27!

Archery, women’s individual round of 16: IND 2-2 ROC

Set 3: Perova to start still.

Archery, women’s individual round of 16: IND 2-2 ROC

Set 2: Perova will go again as she is trailing. She goes 9-8... and finishes with a 10! Deepika had a chance to wrap it up with a 9 after 9-9 but she goes to the left... 7! Ouch. One set each now,

Archery, women’s individual round of 16: IND 2-0 ROC

Set 1: Shabhassh, says the Indian coach! Both archers start with a 9, but the Indian’s second arrow is a perfect one. Perova under pressure, land a 7. Easy enough for Deepika to wrap it up, 28-25

Archery, women’s individual round of 16: IND vs ROC

Set 1: Perova to start

Archery: Overcast it would seem in the Yumenoshima Final Field. Deepika Kumari is about to start in her round of 16 against 8th seed Ksenia Perova of ROC.

Men’s golf action continues today... Udayan Mane in action early. Score updates coming up later.

Women’s 25m pistol qualification, Rapid stage: A 96 in the third series. Already can count 7 shooters ahead of her on total score. That’s that for Rahi Sarnobat in this event.

Women’s 25m pistol qualification, Rapid stage: Rahi’s 44th shot... A six. No one is recovering from that, unfortunately.

Women’s 25m pistol qualification, Rapid stage: This looks over for Rahi. She needed to near perfect today to be in contention. A 94 in her second rapid series doesn’t help at all. Outside top 30 based on average scores.

Women’s 25m pistol qualification, Rapid stage: Rahi Sarnobat is in the first relay of shooters and she has quite a bit of catching up to do. Her first series is 96 here.

Athletics: And by the way... track and field events begin! Highlight of the Olympic Games, aren’t they? Three Indians in action a bit later: Avinash Sable, Dutee Chand, MP Jabir.

The 25m pistol event will the point of early focus as the second day of qualification action continues.

Tokyo 2020, shooting: Manu Bhaker placed 5th, Rahi Sarnobat 25th in 25m pistol first qualification

05.20 am: Hello all and welcome to the live coverage of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games as India look to add to their tally of one medal so far in Japan. As great as Thursday was for the Indian contingent, there were no medal events and that changes on Friday. As many as four athletes in contention are capable of winning / assuring a medal: Rahi Sarnobat, Manu Bhaker in 25m pistol (need to qualify for final), Deepika Kumari in archery (knockouts from round of 16 through the finals) and Lovlina Borgohain (boxing quarterfinal win assures at least bronze). And there is the small matter of PV Sindhu vs Akane Yamaguchi to look forward in the badminton women’s singles quarterfinals. And oh, it’s a go for athletics! That is always exciting, isn’t it?

India at Tokyo 2020, July 30 schedule: Sindhu vs Yamaguchi; Deepika, pistol shooters in medal fray