Follow Scroll’s 2024 Paris Olympic Games coverage here.
India’s schedule for Day 14.
India’s schedule for August 10.
Key updates:
Athletics: The Indian women’s 4x400m relay team finish last in their heat and bow out of the contest.
Athletics: The Indian men’s 4x400m relay team finished 11th in the heats stage and miss out on a spot in the final.
Golf: Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar have fallen down to tied 40 and tied 42nd on the leaderboard after the third day, with one round to go.
Wrestling: Aman Sehrawat wins bronze in the men’s 57kg freestyle event.
That’s it for Scroll’s coverage from Day 14 of the Paris Olympic Games.
Aman Sehrawat added a sixth medal to India’s tally, and a fifth bronze. With the triumph, he ensures Indian wrestling’s legacy continues at the Olympics.
For the fifth consecutive edition, an Indian wrestler has won a medal at the Olympic Games.
There may be one more medal in the offing as Paris 2024 comes to its penultimate day on Saturday, with Reetika Hooda taking to the mat in the women’s 76kg freestyle event.
Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar will also be competing in the final day of golf, but unfortunately, they have a tough task at hand if they are to get close to the podium.
Join us again tomorrow for another action-packed day.
Wrestling, men's 57kg, bronze medal match: AMAN WINS THE BRONZE! A 13-5 win for the Indian. A fine effort from Cruz but Aman just came into his own in the second period as he continued with the attack and consistent scoring. Cruz looks distraught but this is India's first medal in wrestling in this Olympics edition and Aman looks elated.
Wrestling, men's 57kg, bronze medal match: Aman is relentless in racking up the points. 13-5 in the Indian's favour.
Wrestling, men's 57kg, bronze medal match: This is too fast! It's a race for the points and while Cruz is first to get the 2 points on the board in the second period, Aman also is in the game with two 2-pointers and a lead of 12 to Cruz' 5. He has worn down Cruz it seems.
Wrestling, men's 57kg, bronze medal match: Cruz gets back his momentum and manages to get a point again as he attempts a single leg takedown and then a leg ace. But Aman manages to get back again with two back to back two-pointers to take a 6-3 lead.
Wrestling, men's 57kg, bronze medal match: An attacking approach rewards Aman as he also manages to score two points.
Wrestling, men's 57kg, bronze medal match: Cruz manages to hold on to the leg and push Aman out of the circle to get his first point on the board.
Wrestling, men's 57kg, bronze medal match: In action now is Aman Sehrawat, the only male wrestler in Paris. He will face off against Puerto Rico’s Darian Cruz for the bronze medal. Ravi Dahiya had secured a silver medal in the same weight category at Tokyo 2020. Notably, Aman earned his place by defeating Dahiya during the national trials. Can he return with the medal?
Golf, women's event, round 3: Forgetful day for both Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar as both falter and fall down the leaderboard on the penultimate day of play. Aditi scored 79, compared to the 72 and 71 she got on the first two days, to take her to a total score of 222 be tied 40th – a drop by 26 places.
Dagar meanwhile is joint 42 after Day 3, which is a drop by 28 places. She scored 80 today, compared to the 71 and 72 from the first two days to get up to a score of 223.
The players tied for third place are on 209 points.
Aditi and Dagar will be fighting against incredible odds on the final day if they are to get anywhere close to the podium.
Wrestling, men's 57kg: Asian and U23 world champion Aman is set to compete against Puerto Rico’s Darian Cruz, a Pan American Games medallist, for the bronze medal. Ravi Dahiya had returned with a silver medal in the same weight category in Tokyo 2020. Interestingly, Aman earned his spot by trumping Dahiya during the national trials. Can he add to India's medal tally?
McLaughlin-Levrone eyeing more targets
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is targeting more records after cementing her place as the greatest women's 400m hurdler in history with a jaw-dropping defence of her Olympic crown.
The 25-year-old American star electrified the Stade de France on Thursday after storming to victory over rival Femke Bol in a new world record of 50.37sec.
While McLaughlin-Levrone may yet take another crack at mastering the flat 400, as she did in 2023, she also has her sights set on becoming the first woman to duck under 50 seconds.
Thursday marked the sixth time McLaughlin-Levrone has bettered the world record since 2021, when she ran 51.90sec to break Dalilah Muhammad's mark of 52.16sec.
McLaughlin-Levrone believes given how rapidly the record has progressed, sub-50 is achievable.
"I think this is an event that wasn't very popular, but we've made it very popular very quickly," she said.
"I do think 49 is possible and I do think the talent sitting in front of you can do that," she added referring to silver medallist Anna Cockrell and the Netherlands' Bol.
"I think we're pushing each other to do that and to get better and improve and find ways to lower times that for so long were thought impossible. I don't know when (sub-50) is possible, but it's out there for sure." (AFP)
Wrestling, women’s 76kg event: India’s Reetika Hooda has been drawn against Hungary’s Bernadett Nagy in the first round which will be held on Saturday. Hooda, the U23 World Champion could face 2023 World Championships silver medallist Aiperi Medet Kyzy of Kyrgyzstan in the quarter-final.
Athletics, men's 4x400m relay: The Indian men's quartet register a season best 3:00.58s, but that is not enough. They finish fifth in their Heat 2 and miss out on the automatic spot.
The two non-automatic spots, meanwhile, go to Japan (2:59.48) and Zambia (3.00.08) from the first heat. It means India missed out by just 0.5s. Muhammed Ajmal and Amoj Jacob with fine, fine splits...but it wasn't meant to be.
India’s hockey team goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, who officially retired from the sport after the team won bronze in Paris, has been announced as the joint-flagbearer for India at the closing ceremony, along with pistol shooter Manu Bhaker.
Athletics, men's 4x400m relay: The Indian quartet of Muhammed Anas Yahiya, Muhammed Ajmal, Amoj Jacob, and Rajesh Ramesh will be in action next. Once again, they'll need to be among the top three or among the next two fastest to advance to the final.
A run anywhere close to their national record, should hold the Indians in a good stead. But a season best of 3:03.23s doesn't inspire a lot of confidence.
Athletics, women's 4x400m relay: That was disappointing. The Indian quartet never got out from the bottom position. They were last at the end of the first leg and remained there throughout. They clock 3:32.51s – almost four seconds over their season best – to bow out of contention.
Jyothika Sri Dandi in the second leg the only saving grace with a split of 51.30s
Athletics, women's 4x400m relay: The Indian team will compete in Heat 2. They need to finish among the top three or be among the two fastest next to stand a chance to qualify.
India have gone in with the quartet of Vithya Ramraj, Jyothika Sri Dandi, Poovamma Raju, and Subha Venkatesan. Interestingly, the only Indian to qualify for individual 400m at the Olympics - Kiran Pahal - has been left out.
Khelif bids for gold
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, at the centre of an Olympic gender eligibility row, will aim to bring glory to her nation when she competes in the women’s 66kg final at the iconic Roland Garros venue on Friday.
Last week, after her Round of 16 match against Italian boxer Angela Carini ended with the latter conceding the bout, Samreen Razzaqui wrote about the disproportionate nature of the absue levelled at Khelif which was an indication of a larger problem in organised sport.
ICYMI…
Shahid Judge wrote about the greatness of Neeraj Chopra and the high standards he sets himself after he won silver in men’s javelin on Thursday night, despite an off day for the 26-year-old.
Resurgent USA take on Marta’s Brazil
A resurgent United States under new coach Emma Hayes are hoping to establish themselves as the leading force in women's international football once again by claiming the gold medal in Saturday's Olympic final against Brazil and their legendary skipper Marta.
The arrival of renowned English coach Hayes from Chelsea has given the USA the boost they needed, and they have been inspired on their way to the final by the exciting attacking trio of Sophia Smith, Mallory Swanson and Trinity Rodman.
Now they are hoping to add to their women's football record haul of four golds and win the title for the first time since London 2012.
Brazil will meet the USA in the gold medal match and they will be attempting to make it third time lucky after losing to the same opponents in the Athens final in 2004 and in Beijing in 2008.
Both of those finals were won by the USA in extra time, and both featured Marta, the Brazilian legend and multiple winner of the FIFA World Player of the Year award.
Now 38, she is appearing at her sixth and likely last Olympics, and is hoping to sign off with gold to go with her two silver medals.
(Text inputs from AFP)
India have now moved up to 64th place in the overall medal tally with one silver and four bronze medals. The country will have a chance to add to their medal tally later today through wrestling.
Hello and welcome to Scroll’s coverage of Day 14 of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
India won two medals yesterday, with the men’s hockey team clinching bronze and Neeraj Chopra once again claiming a spot on the men’s javelin throw podium, this time with silver.
The contingent has a chance to win another medal today, with Aman Sehrawat competing in the bronze medal men’s 57kg freestyle wrestling match, against Darian Toi Cruz of Puerto Rico. That match however, will be later in the day.
Friday starts with Aditi Ashok and Divya Dagar in the third round of the women’s golf event, starting at 12.30 pm. Soon after, the men’s and women’s 4x400m relay teams will be out on the athletics track of the Stade de France, as they aim to qualify for their respective finals.
Stay tuned for another day of live action from the Olympic Games.
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.