Manu Bhaker and women archers have medal hopes
Indian shooter Manu Bhaker headlined the opening day proceedings at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Saturday. The 22-year-old finished third in the qualification round of the women’s 10m air pistol event and made it to the final.
The Indian badminton players were off to a good start. Doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won in straight sets, while Lakshya Sen breezed past his opponent too in the men’s singles. However, Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa lost their opening match in the women’s doubles.
The Indian men’s hockey team came out on top of a thrilling tournament opener against New Zealand. Goals from Mandeep Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad and captain Harmanpreet Singh helped them edge out the Black Sticks 3-2.
Sarabjot Singh was inches away from securing a place in the men’s 10m air pistol final, but lost out on the count of inner 10s. Arjun Cheema and Rhythm Sangwan (women’s 10m air pistol) were the other shooters who were knocked out in the qualification round.
Boxer Preeti Pawar won her opening bout in women’s 54kg by unanimous decision, while table tennis player Harmeet Desai made it to the main draw of the men’s singles event.
The Indian contingent, however, finished Day 1 without a medal. Their only opportunity for a podium finish was in the 10m air rifle mixed team event, but both the Indian duos in action failed to reach the medal matches.
Badminton: Ponnappa-Crasto defeated in straight sets
Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto lost their opening match of the women's doubles event in straight sets. Kim So Yeong and Kong Hee Yong of the Republic of Korea defeated the Indian duo 21-18, 21-10 in 46 minutes.
Ponnappa-Crasto will face fourth-seeded Japanese pair Nami Matsuyama-Chiharu Shida next on July 29.
India’s badminton campaign at the Paris 2024 Olympics began on a high note with Chirag Shetty-Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Lakshya Sen claiming victories in their respective opening group matches at the La Chapelle Arena on Saturday.
World No. 18 Lakshya Sen, competing in the men’s singles Group L, defeated five-time Olympian Kevin Cordon of Guatemala 21-8, 22-10 on his Olympic debut.
Using his brisk pace on the court, the Indian badminton player took less than 15 minutes to pocket the first game.
Despite a strong comeback from world No. 41 Cordon, who led 20-16 after the change of ends, Sen saved four game points to clinch his first Olympic win in 42 minutes.
Sen will take on world No. 52 Julien Carraggi in his second match on Monday before playing his final Group L match against world No. 3 Jonatan Christie.
All badminton events at Paris 2024 will start with round-robin group stages before the knockout rounds. In doubles, the top two from each group will make the quarter-finals while only the group winners will advance in singles competitions.
In India’s second badminton match of the day, the world No. 3 men’s doubles badminton pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy defeated French shuttlers Lucas Corvee and Ronan Labar, ranked 40th, 21-17, 21-14 in Group C.
The lower-ranked French pair matched the intensity of the Indian duo early in the first game. However, Chirag’s deft net play and Satwik’s powerful smashes led to an 11-6 advantage at the break and the Indian pair eventually sealed the opening game.
Corvee and Labar looked sharper in the second game but Shetty and Rankireddy wrapped up the match in 47 minutes after leading 11-8 at the break.
Sat-Chi will play Mark Lamsfuss and Marvin Seidel of Germany in their next match on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Indian women’s doubles pair of Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa, world No. 19, lost to world No. 8 Kim So Yeong and Kong Hee Yong of the Republic of Korea 21-18, 21-10 in their Group C clash.
Crasto and Ponnappa will play the world No. 4 Japanese pair of Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida in their next match on Monday.
PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy, India’s top-ranked shuttlers in the women’s and men’s singles, respectively, get their Paris 2024 Olympics badminton campaigns underway on Sunday.