India at 2024 Olympics, Day 7 as it happened: Bhaker reaches 25m pistol final; Sen in badminton SF

That’s it for Scroll’s coverage of Day 7 of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

No medals today for India today but a lot of positives. Manu Bhaker reached the final of the women’s 25m pistol event to stay in the hunt for a historic third medal for India in Paris.

The men’s hockey team had their best outing in Paris as they beat Australia 3-2 to finish second in pool B. The win was India’s first in men’s Olympic hockey against Australia since the 1972 Munich Olympics.

The day was topped off by Lakshya Sen who became the first Indian shuttler to reach the men’s singles semi-final at the Olympic Games.

There was also heartbreak as Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat brushed away disappointing performances in the individual and team events to achieve India’s best finish at an Olympic Games so far. The pair finished fourth in the mixed team archery event.

Tomorrow, Bhaker returns to shoot for a third medal in Paris while the likes of archers Bhajan Kaur and Deepika Kumari, and boxer Nishant Dev look to add to India’s medal tally.

Do join us tomorrow!

Athletics, men’s shot put qualification: Another foul throw from Toor and that’s the end of his Paris Olympics. A disappointing outing from the Asian Games champion as he can only muster up a best throw of 18.05m and finishes 29th out of 31 athletes. Italy’s Leonardo Fabbri joins Crouser, Stanek, Otterdahl, Walsh and Jacko to throw past the qualification standard.

Badminton, men's singles quarter-final: Seventh seeded Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia takes down fourth seed from Denmark Anders Antonsen 21-17, 21-15 in straight games.

Athletics, men’s shot put qualification: A foul throw from Toor with his second attempt. The Kiwi pair of Jacko Gill and Tom Walsh also meet the qualification standard and are through to the final.

Athletics, men’s shot put qualification: Toor is the final thrower in the competition and can only manage 18.05m, the lowest of any athlete so far. Only three athletes have qualified for the final so far – Tokyo 2020 champion Ryan Crouser, Tomas Stanek and Payton Otterdahl.

Badminton, men's singles quarter-final: Top seed Shi Yu Qi has been sent packing. Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn beats the Chinese shuttler 21-12, 21-10 in straight games.

Athletics, men’s shot put qualification: India’s Tajinderpal Singh Tool will be in action in the shot put qualification ten minutes from now. There are 31 athletes in the qualification and each athlete will get three throws to try and clear the qualification standard of 21.35m. Toor, the Asian Games champions, has only achieved a throw past the mark twice in his career. Each athlete who meets the qualification standard will qualify for the final.

Hockey, men’s event: The final matches in pool A will get underway in the next hour. France will take on South Africa with both teams looking to get their first win here. The final match will see World Cup winners Germany take on Great Britain to determine the top three in the pool.

The Netherlands, who have played all their matches, have 11 points with Germany in second place with nine and Britain third with eight. The Dutch are guaranteed a top two finish regardless of what happens in the match between German and Great Britain.

Whoever wins the match will also top the pool with the Dutch dropping to second. A tie would see the Dutch win the pool with Germany second and GB third. A GB win will see them win the pool with Germany dropping to third.

India will face the team which finishes third.

Hockey, men’s event: Confirmation that India finish second in pool B behind Belgium! The Tokyo 2020 champions survive a scare against Argentina in the final pool B match. Argentina led thrice in the match with Belgium hitting back each time with the sixth goal coming 25 seconds from the end of the match. Had Argentina held on to victory, they would have finished with seven points, same as India. That would have relegated Australia to fourth, something even the most enterprising of punters wouldn’t have put their money on.

Badminton, men's singles quarter-final: Lakshya Sen will next meet either the reigning champion Viktor Axelsen or Hong Kong's Loh Kean Yew in the semi-finals on Sunday.

Lakshya Sen is the first Indian male shuttler to reach the Olympic semi-finals.

Badminton, men's singles: It was a long battle. It took an hour and 15 minutes. But Lakshya Sen emerges on top. He moves into the semi-finals, beating Chou Tien Chen 19-21, 21-15, 21-12.

Athletics, women’s 5000m heats: Parul Chaudhary clocks a season best time of 15:10.68 minutes and finishes 14th in her heat. Not enough to reach the final but still a good outing from her.

Badminton, men's singles: Lakshya Sen has aced the net game and he leads 11-7 before the change of sides in the decider. Can he wrap this up?

Badminton, men's singles quarter-final: Lakshya Sen ups the ante in the latter half of the second game and he reaps the reward, winning the second game 21-15. Chou Tien Chen looks a bit tired and it has played in favour of the Indian. Sen sensed his smashes were returned rather comfortably and so switches up by rushing up to the net constantly to throw the Chinese Taipei shuttler off.

Athletics, women’s 5000m heats: Ankita finishes last in her heat with a time of 16:19.4, the only athlete to take more than 16 minutes. In a quality field, Ankita really never stood a chance and her time in Paris comes to an end.

Badminton, men's singles, quarter-final: The back and forth battle with long rallies continue. Lakshya Sen does well to put that argument behind and ekes out a slender 11-10 lead.

Badminton, men's singles: Lakshya Sen in a major argument with the chair umpire and then the officials. Chou Tien Chen's shot is called in at the backline, Sen reviews. Seems like the review wasn't shown on the big screen and the Indian is unhappy.

The umpire says his review is unsuccessful and an argument ensues. Nothing Sen could do and the play carries on.

The review, however, was shown for tv viewers and the shuttle had just about clipped the line.

Badminton, men's singles: Lakshya Sen fights back in post the interval. He wins six points in a row at a moment to take the lead, but Chou Tien Chen fights back. The Chinese Taipei shuttler quick to rush forward after his smashes and Sen has no time to recover from his diving defence. Being pushed to the limit is the Indian as he concedes the opening game 19-21.

Athletics, women’s 5000m heats: India’s Parul Chaudhary and Ankita will be in action in the women’s 5000m heats. There are two heats with Ankita in the first and Parul in the second. Both have to finish in the too eight in their respective heat to qualify for the final. It will be a tough task for both to qualify for the finals looking at the personal and season bests of the other athletes. Ankita has the slowest time in her heat while Parul is 17th out of 21. Would take something special from either Indian to finish in the top eight.

Golf, men's individual Round 2: At the end of the day's play, Shubhankar Sharma and Gaganjeet Bhullar scored 69 points each. Sharma is tied 25th with a total of 139, while Bhullar is tied 52 with 144.

Badminton, men's doubles: An intense start to the contest. Extremely long rallies with both shuttlers defending extremely well. Sen trails 9-11 at the mid-game interval.

Badminton, men's singles: Lakshya Sen, the lone Indian shuttler surviving at the Paris Olympics, is set to go up against the 34-year-old Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in the quarter-finals at 9.05pm IST.

The Indian trails 1-3 in four head to head encounters against Chou in the World Tour circuit. India's has always ended up on the Olympic podium in badminton since 2012 and its up to Sen to ensure that this streak does not end today at the La Chapelle Arena.

Archery, mixed team, bronze medal match: In the end, the Indians left too much to do at the end and the Americans win the fourth set 37-35 to seal the match 6-2 and take the bronze medal home.

Another fourth place finish for India at the Olympics, but this time a step further for Indian archers who before this edition, had never progressed beyond the quarter-final stage at an Olympic Games.

Archery, mixed team, bronze medal match: Much better from Ankita there and this time, the Americans falter and shoot loose arrows. India win the third set but still trail 2-4 in the match.

Archery, mixed team, bronze medal match: Again a 7 from Ankita in her first arrow and there's a fair bit of work to do for India if they want to force a shoot-off as the USA win the second set to lead 4-0 in the match.

Archery, mixed team, bronze medal match: Not the best of starts for India as Ankita Bhakat shoots a 7 in her first arrow. They follow it up with three 10s but the USA take the first set 38-37 and lead 2-0 in the match.

Taiwan boxer in Olympics gender row reaches quarter-finals

Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting beat Sitora Turdibekova from Uzbekistan on a unanimous points decision in the women's 57kg class.

Lin, 28, is at the centre of a storm over the eligibility of women boxers, along with Imane Khelif, after the Algerian beat her Italian opponent Angela Carini in just 46 seconds on Thursday.

Both Khelif and Lin were disqualified from the 2023 world championships in New Delhi run by the International Boxing Association after failing to meet "eligibility criteria".

However, the International Olympic Committee, which is overseeing the boxing tournament in Paris, has cleared the boxers to compete in the French capital.

Neither Lin nor Khelif is known to identify as transgender and both competed at the Tokyo Games in 2021 in the women's competition.

(Text from AFP)

Archery, mixed team, bronze medal match: And it will be India against the United States of America to decide who will win the bronze medal.

Archery, mixed team, semi-final: Well, in the end, the excellence of the South Korean archers prevails and the defending champions are into the final with a chance to defend their Tokyo 2020 gold medal. Solid final set from Dhiraj and Ankita to try and force the shoot-off, but they will need to regroup quickly for the bronze medal match against either the USA or Germany.

Archery, mixed team, semi-final: A loose arrow from Dhiraj that gets India 8 sees them concede the third set to South Korea and the defending champions now lead 4-2 in the match.

Archery, mixed team, semi-final: South Korea strike back to take the second set and have tied the match at 2-all with two more sets to go.

Archery, mixed team, semi-final: A brilliant start for India as Dhiraj and Ankita take the first set 38-36 and lead 2-0 in the match.

It’s all about the belief against the Korean archers, Tanya Kini had written ahead of the Olympics.

ALSO READ: Confidence key as Deepika Kumari and Co gear up for tough Paris test

Archery, mixed team, semi-final: A tough task for India as Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat will be up against defending champions South Korea. Should the Indians win, they will be assured of a medal, the first for India in the sport at the Olympics.

Hockey, men’s event, India 3-2 Australia, Craig Fulton speaks to broadcaster: “We executed the plan and we scored some good goals, defended well as well. It's [starting the match well] exactly what we want. And the boys played well and executed the plan. And Australia threw everything at us, which was nice. They could have scored one or two as well. So it's a good game. I think it's a good ending of the pool. Right now it's all about us. It's our processes, and I'm not going to worry about anyone else. It's about us improving game by game. And I think we've shown that we're doing that. You can go two-nil down in two minutes. It’s about how you respond. It's always going to be the case because you never win the game in the first quarter. You’ve got to finish strong. And today we finished strong, so it was good. They're [Harmanpreet and forwards] just doing what they naturally do. They have an attacking DNA and it's nice to see. It's nice hockey.”

Hockey, men’s event, India 3-2 Australia, FT: This was by far the best defensive performance by India under Craig Fulton. Sreejesh had another superb game in Paris as he pulled out save after stunning save. Jarmanpreet Singh also had a storming game. The tackles were on point and he was just as effective going forward. A big, big win for India going into the quarter-finals.

Hockey, men’s event, India 3-2 Australia, FT: One last throw of the dice from Australia but Sreejesh denies them once again! Australia review hoping for something but there is not foul. India hang on to beat Australia for the first time in men’s hockey at the Olympics since Munich 1972! A famous win for India. A goalkeeping masterclass from PR Sreejesh. A superb brace from Harmanpreet Singh. India pip Australia to finish second in pool B!

Hockey, men’s event, India 3-2 Australia, Q4: Stunning from Hardik Singh! He is pegged back on the touchline but finds just enough space to play a stunning cross field aerial to Jarmanpreet on the other wing. Instant release of pressure. Jarmanpreet slaps the ball ahead, the ball takes a huge touch off an Australian stick and sails behind the Australian goal. Less than a minute left as Charter is taken off for an extra outfield player.

Hockey, men’s event, India 3-2 Australia, Q4: Harvey and Brand try to create down the left but good defending from Jarmanpreet to deny Brand any space to move into. Hardik eats up a few more seconds in the corner. Just under three minutes left in the match.

Hockey, men’s event, India 3-2 Australia, Q4: Australia score! Rohidas inadvertently stops the ball from going in goal with his foot and it will be a penalty stroke for Australia. Govers steps up and shoots. Sreejesh dives down to his right but the ball sails over him. India have just about five minutes to defend their lead.

Hockey, men’s event, India 3-1 Australia, Q4: India have the ball in goal but it won’t count. Mandeep battles with two defenders in the circle for the ball, wins it and shoots. The ball is deflected off the goal but to Abhishek at the far post. He slaps the ball high in the goal. However, Australia review and indeed there was a stick tackle by Mandeep in the buildup.

Hockey, men’s event, India 3-1 Australia, Q4: Excellent from Mandeep to steal the ball and win a free hit at the halfway line. He takes it quickly and counters. Sukhjeet is ahead of him with Abhishek to his left. He plays it onto Pal’s path on the left. Pal plays it back to Abhishek in the circle and he is impeded. Indian PC. No Harmanpreet so it will be Rohidas. The drag flick is blocked by the first rusher.

Hockey, men’s event, India 3-1 Australia, Q4: Good work from Abhishek and Jarmanpreet on the right to win a PC. Harmanpreet is getting some advice from Craig Fulton on the sidelines. He goes high to the left corner but Charter makes a good save with his stick.

Archery, mixed team, quarter-final: Despite an 8 from Ankita Bhakat, Spain shooting 8s and 9s means the Indians are through to their first-ever semi-final in the sport, winning the match 5-3.

Hockey, men’s event, India 3-1 Australia, Q4: India counter down the right. Lalit wins a free hit and makes his way along the goalline before flicking it back to Sukhjeet. He enters the circle and fires one towards goal where it goes away off an Australian circle.

Archery, mixed team, quarter-final: Once again there's barely a difference between the two teams, but the two 10s shot by Spain in the first two arrows propel them to a set win 37-36 and the match heads to the final set with the scores tied at 3-all.

Hockey, men’s event, India 3-1 Australia, Q3: Jake Harvie is blocked illegally by Pal and Australia have a PC and Harvie, a cut nose. The Kookaburras mess up their injection again. Eddie Ockenden tries to make something out of it but his reverse hit flies over goal. That brings the third quarter to an end.

Hockey, men’s event, India 3-1 Australia, Q3: India on the attack now Jarmanpreet and Sanjay both involved. A couple of moves later, Harmanpreet slaps the ball towards Raj Kumar Pal who cleverly diverts it towards goal. Sukhjeet cannot react quickly enough to deflect it at goal.

Archery, mixed team, quarter-final: Both Spain and India are evenly matched as the teams share the set points with a score of 38-all, but India lead the match 3-1. Just to remember, two arrows being shot by each team means that the mixed team matches are a best of four sets before a shoot-off.

Hockey, men’s event, India 3-1 Australia, Q3: India sitting deep in their own half with just under four minutes left in the quarter. Australia unable to find a way past India’s low block. Lalit wins the ball and then immediately plays it against his own foot. Australia attack but it breaks down as soon as it enters the circle.

Archery, mixed team, quarter-final: Good start from the Indian duo who shoot 38 and manage to seal the first set to lead 2-0 in the match. Interestingly, both teams have a right-handed archer (the two men) and a left-handed archer (the women).

Hockey, men’s event, India 3-1 Australia, Q3: Brand steals the ball on the Indian 23m line and it is a 2v2. Jake Whetton only needs to square it to Zalewski but passes it behind his teammate and India escape.

Archery, mixed team: Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat are back in action in the mixed team event against Spain in the quarter-final.

Hockey, men’s event, India 3-1 Australia, Q3: No mistake from Harmanpreet from the spot. Goes to the bottom left corner. Charter put his foot down but the shot from Harmanpreet was just too fast for the Australian goalkeeper. A sixth goal for Harmanpreet Singh in Paris!

Hockey, men’s event, India 2-1 Australia, Q3: Mandeep Singh is clattered onto the ground as he led the Indian counter and India have a PC. Harmanpreet’s drag flick is cleared off the line by Flynn Ogilvie. The umpire gives a long corner but India review. And a superb review as the replays show that the ball came off Ogilvie’s foot on the line. Penalty stroke to India!

Hockey, men’s event, India 2-1 Australia, Q3: Australia counter once again and Sreejesh denies them once again! What a game the Indian goalkeeper is having!

Sailing: India’s Vishnu Saravanan finished 20th in the third race of the men’s dinghy competition at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Meanwhile, Nethra Kumanan's third race is in progress. Saravanan will be in action in his fourth race later in the day.

Hockey, men’s event, India 2-1 Australia, HT: That was a very good half of hockey from India. Australia looked sluggish in the first quarter and India duly punished them with two goals in as many minutes. When the Tokyo 2020 silver medallists finally found their footing, they found a resolute Indian defence and the Great Wall of India, PR Sreejesh, standing tall. The Australians still managed to score but India have also looked threatening every time they reached the Australian 23m zone. The job is half done for India with a big second half of hockey coming up next.

Hockey, men’s event, India 2-1 Australia, Q2: Australia storm forward again with Craig having a crack from the edge of the circle. Sreejesh boots it away and Indian win the ball. Indian stream ahead with Mandeep carrying the ball on the right wing before feeding it to Abhishek. The Indian is double teamed and loses the ball. Australia have around 20 seconds to reach the other end but send their aerial ball too long. India run down the clock to end the first half ahead.

Hockey, men’s event, India 2-1 Australia, Q2: Abhishek wins India its second PC. Harmanpreet flicks the ball towards the left bottom corner but Charter sticks out his leg to put it away. A very good save from Charter there to deny Harmanpreet a good goal.

Hockey, men’s event, India 2-1 Australia, Q2: Australia score! Manpreet Singh puts the ball behind goal while clearing it off the line. PC for Australia. Zalewski makes a mess of the injection. Australia recycle it and the ball is played across goal where Tom Craig has the easiest of tap ins at the far post.

Hockey, men’s event, India 2-0 Australia, Q2: Amit Rohidas gives away a PC but makes up for it by blocking Blake Govers’ dragflick. Lachlann Sharp quickly gets on the rebound and reverse hits it at goal. Sreejesh with another stunning save to deny the Kookaburras.

Hockey, men’s event, India 2-0 Australia, Q2: Australia nearly score to start the second corner. India lose possession and Australia counter with Wickham finding Tim Brand unmarked in the circle. He goes across goal with Sreejesh covering the near post. Flies well wide of the goal. India down to 10 players for two minutes as Vivek Sagar Prasad gets a green card.

Hockey, men’s event, India 2-0 Australia, End of Q1: Another nice save from Sreejesh to deny Australia. The Kookaburras streamed ahead on the counter. Tom Wickham gets the ball and moves to the left. Sreejesh follows him and sprawls on the turf to put the ball behind. A very good quarter of hockey from India!

Shooting, women's 25m pistol qualification: Manu Bhaker is through to yet another medal match at the Paris Olympics. She shoots only 96 in her final rapid series, but it doesn't matter.

Bhaker finishes second in the qualification round with a total of 590, two points behind the first placed Veronika Major.

Esha Singh, sadly, bows out. She is 18th with a score of 581.

Hockey, men’s event, India 2-0 Australia, Q1: India double their lead! Wow! India win their first PC of the match and Harmanpreet Singh rockets the ball between Charter and the defender on the post. Two quickfire goals from India to stun Australia!

Hockey, men’s event, India 1-0 Australia, Q1: India take the lead! What a superb finish from India. They counter attacked quickly after the PC. Lalit Upadhyay shot at goal but Charter saved it. The rebound came to Abhishek who set himself and threaded the tiny gap between the post and Charter.

Hockey, men’s event, India 0-0 Australia, Q1: Sreejesh with a lovely save to deny Ky Willot. India give away the first penalty corner of the match. Jeremy Hayward sends his drag flick well wide of the goal.

Shooting, women's 25m pistol qualification, rapid round: A score of 98 in the second rapid series for Manu Bhaker and she is solidifying her position in the top 8. Continues to be at the second spot, trailing only on inner 10s.

Shooting, men's skeet qualification: Anant Jeet Singh Naruka shoots a 22 in his second round, a drop down from the first round score of 23.

Hockey, men’s event, India 0-0 Australia, Q1: Lovely tackle from Jarmanpreet inside his own circle to end the Australian counter attack. At the other end, he gets on the end of a long ball but concedes a foul. He is not happy and remonstrated with the umpire. The umpire is not happy and warns Jarmanpreet of a similar reaction next time will result in a booking.

Hockey, men’s event, India 0-0 Australia, Q1: Australia finally have a couple of attacking moves. PR Sreejesh boots the ball away from a cross. Australia win a free hit and Jake Whetton gets on the end off a pass. Sreejesh dives as Whetton shoots but the Australian can only hit the outside of goal.

Shooting, women's 25m pistol qualification, rapid round: Manu Bhaker comes out shooting fire. A perfect 100/100 to start off the rapid stage and she is up to the second spot in the standings.

Hockey, men’s event, India 0-0 Australia, Q1: What a miss from Sukhjeet Singh! Lovely pass from the right wing from Jarmanpreet to find Sukhjeet at the far post all by himself. He only has Charter to beat but his touch lets him down and the ball gets away from him. He scampers to hit it at goal but Aran Zalewski puts in a good tackle to take the ball away from him. That would have been a superb start for India had Sukhjeet connected.

Hockey, men’s event, India 0-0 Australia, Q1: India with the first couple of circle entries. Harmanpreet Singh pings in a superb aerial ball to find Mandeep Singh on the left edge of the circle. Lovely turn from Mandeep to get away from his marker. Flicks it to the front of the goal. Andrew Charter in the goal kicks the ball away.

Hockey, men’s event, India vs Australia: After an encouraging performance against defending champions Belgium yesterday, India take on Australia in their final pool B match in Paris. The Kookaburras are second in the pool with nine points ahead of India who have seven points. Australia did not have the best of starts to the tournament when compared to their lofty standards. They were eked out narrow wins over Ireland and Argentina before being outclassed 6-2 by Belgium. They seem to have finally found their groove after beating New Zealand 5-0.

Today’s match is a battle for second place in the pool although does not mean they will get an easier opponent in the quarter-finals. Any one of the Netherlands, Germany and Great Britain can finish top of pool A with the Dutch guaranteed a top-2 spot. Germany and Great Britain are both strong teams with little to separate them. India will like it to get a morale-boosting win over Australia ahead of the quarters.

Athletics: The women’s 100m heats are done. All the major culprits – Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce, Sha’Carri Richardson, Twanisha Terry, Dina Asher Smith – are through to the semi-final.

A massive eight athletes dip below 11s, with Costa Ivory’s Marie-Josse Ta Lou-Smith recording the fastest time at 10.87s.

Shooting, women's 25m qualification, rapid round: Esha Singh can’t really replicate her heroics from the precision round. She shoots 97 with her final series and ends with a total score of 581.

Singh is placed 15th currently and would need the shooters in the second relay to flop massively. A top-8 finish looks unlikely.

Shooting, women's 25m qualification, rapid round: Esha Singh shoots 96 out of a possible 100 in the second series and she drops down to 14th round.

She had shot a perfect 100 in the final precision series and will need to replicate it here to stay in contention.

Shooting, women's 25m qualification, rapid round: Esha Singh was going well in her first series but two 9s with her final two shots, means she can only record 97. She stays 10th overall with a total of 388.

Shooting, women's 25m qualification, precision round: An impressive 99 from Manu Bhaker in the third series, takes her total to 294 tied with the top two shooters. She, however, is placed third with lesser inner 10s.

Esha Singh's 291 earlier in the day, meanwhile, puts her 10th at the end of the precision round. The teenager will have a job to do when the rapid stage starts at 3.30 pm IST.

Shooting, men's skeet qualification: Anant Jeet Singh Naruka is in 24th position with a score of 24 in his first series.

Shooting, women's 25m qualification, precision round: Manu Bhaker seems to be getting into the zone. She improves to 98 in the second series and now has a total of 195. Up to seventh in the standings. Esha Singh, meanwhile, has fallen down to 10th.

Shooting, women's 25m pistol qualification, precision round: Manu Bhaker has a tough start in the first five shots, but recovers well to to finish with five 10s in a row. She scores 97 in the first series and is placed 12th.

Judo, Women +78 kg Elimination Round of 32: Tulika Maan is no match against the experienced Idalys Ortiz of Cuba. The London 2012 gold medallist strangles the Indian in just 28 seconds to win 10-0. What a damper!

Rowing, men’s single sculls: Balraj Panwar finishes fifth in Final D with a timing of 7:02.37.

Archery, mixed team: Solid shooting from Dhiraj and Ankita who finish off with 38 in the third set to take the set points and win the match 5-1 against Indonesia. They move into the quarter-finals where they will face the winner of Spain vs China.

Archery, mixed team: Consistent from Dhiraj and Ankita who do enough to share the points from the second set 38-all and continue to lead 3-1 in the match.

Archery, mixed team: The left-right combo of Dhiraj and Ankita begins with a solid set and takes the opening set points after winning 37-36.

Correction: The rapid round in the women’s 25m pistol qualification event will begin at 3.30pm today.

Shooting, women's 25m pistol qualification, precision round: Esha Singh comes out clutch. A perfect 100/100 with her third and final series of the day. She climbs up to the third spot, trailing Hungary's Sara Fabian by just an inner 10.

Singh has done well to keep herself in contention here after an underwhelming start. She'll now return for the rapid round, starting at 3.30 pm.

With the second relay, where Manu Bhaker competes, about to start, Singh's standing might fluctuate a bit.

Archery, mixed team: While their individual campaigns didn't go to plan, Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat have a chance at another team medal in the mixed team event.

They are up against Indonesia in the Round of 16.

Shooting, women's 25m pistol qualification precision: A tad bit better from Esha Singh in the second series as she shoots 96/100, but it is not good enough. She drops down two positions to 14th. Needs to get her act together quickly or she'll have a mountain to climb when she returns for the rapid qualification round tomorrow.

One more series left in the day for Singh.

Shooting, women's 25m pistol qualification precision: Esha Singh shoots 95 in the first series out of 100. This puts her 12th currently. Two more series of ten shots each left in the day for the Asian Games medallist.

South Africa's Olympic breaststroke star Tatjana Smith retires

South Africa's Tatjana Smith confirmed her retirement Thursday after winning Olympic silver in the 200m breaststroke, saying she may not even “look at the pool for the next 10 year.”

The 27-year-old came to Paris as the defending champion but was edged into silver by American Kate Douglass.

Smith won the 100m breaststroke title earlier this week and said it was time to hang up the goggles.

(with inputs from AFP)

Shooting, men's skeet qualification: Anant Jeet Singh Naruka will be competing against 29 competitors for the top 6 spots in the qualification event. The qualifiers start at 1 pm.

Shooting, women's 25m pistol qualification precision: Interesting to note that India's Rhythm Sangwan holds the women's qualification world record in the event, but she is not competing today.

Sangwan had missed out on a place in the team, finishing behind Bhaker and Singh in the trials. She was earlier in action in the women's 10m pistol and mixed 10m pistol – both events where Bhaker ended on the podium.

Golf, men's individual Round 2: Action begins on Day 2 of the event at the Le Golf National. Shubhankar Sharma will start in tied-29th place with his overnight score of 70, while Gaganjeet Bhullar will look to improve on his score of 75 today across the 18 holes today.

Shooting, women's 25m pistol qualification precision: Esha Singh will shoot in the first relay, while Manu Bhaker will be in action in the second.

Singh has started and has a score of 47 out of a possible 50 after five shots in the first series. Not an ideal start and she is 17th out of the 20th shooters in the first relay.

Shooting: Two events in the day for India – both with no medals on offer. Two-time medallist Manu Bhaker will take to the Chateauroux Shooting Centre in women's 25m pistol precision qualification stage along with the teenaged Esha Singh.

Besides, Anantjeet Singh Naruka will be in action in men's skeet – possibly India's only chance, however little – to medal in a shotgun event.

Simon Biles buries demons to reclaim Olympic all-around crown

Simone Biles buried her demons to recapture the Olympic gymnastics all-around crown on Thursday, warning she was ready to have fun as she targets three more gold in Paris.

The American saw off Brazil's Rebeca Andrade to claim her sixth Olympic gold and second in the French capital.

Biles became the first gymnast to reclaim the individual title. She scored 59.131 points to finish 1.199 ahead of Andrade with defending Olympic all-around champion Sunisa Lee of the United States sealing bronze, having trailed in fourth going into the final rotation.

It was the first time that two women's Olympic all-around champions have gone head-to-head chasing a second crown.

Biles has won nine Olympic medals including six golds, and donned a silver necklace of a goat after her performance – a nod to her being considered the greatest gymnast of all time.

(With inputs from AFP)

Hello and welcome to Scroll’s coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games!

August 1 was a mixed bag of results for the Indian contingent in Paris.

The exits of boxer Nikhat Zareen, shuttlers Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty and PV Sindhu along with the disappointing performances of Sift Kaur Samra and Anjum Moudgil in the women’s 50m Rifle 3 positions final brought a damper on Swapnil Kusale’s bronze medal feat.

But there’s plenty of action in store for the Indian contingent today with more medal hopefuls on the card.

First up, Manu Bhaker returns to action along with Esha Singh to aim for a third medal in the 25m pistol women’s event. Both Bhaker and Singh will be looking to finish in the top eight for a chance to compete in the final on Saturday.

Lakshya Sen will aim to boost India’s medal hopes in badminton when he takes on Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in the men’s singles quarter-final.

Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat will try to go the distance in the archery mixed team event when they come up against Indonesia in the Round of 16.

Sailors Nehtra Kumanan and Vishnu Saravanan will continue their campaign in Marseille while golfers Shubhankar Sharma and Gaganjeet Bhullar gear up for Day 2 of the men’s individual event.

Also in action will be Anant Jeet Singh Naruka in the men’s trap event and Tulika Mann in the women’s judo event.

The Indian men’s hockey team will also conclude their group stage fixtures when they play Australia to try and finish high in Pool B.

ALSO READ

In the build up to the mega event in Paris, Scroll looks at the eight different Olympic disciplines where Indians have returned with a medal.

Athletics: Neeraj Chopra India’s best bet, but don’t forget Avinash Sable in Paris

Badminton: Satwik-Chirag India’s favourites for podium; Chinese hurdle for PV Sindhu

Boxing: Nikhat, Lovlina shoulder hopes but pressure on male boxers mounts

Hockey: Harmanpreet & Co have tough task in Paris, but podium finish not impossible

Shooting: Manu Bhaker and Co hope to bury Tokyo ghosts in Paris

Tennis: Rohan Bopanna and Sriram Balaji lead charge; Sumit Nagal ready to run on clay

Weightlifting: Resilient Mirabai Chanu expected to shine after injury-plagued year

Wrestling: Indian grapplers aim to kickstart new era in Paris

Screenshots in blog courtesy Jio Cinema and 2024 Paris Olympics website.