India at Paris Olympics 2024 Day 7 Highlights: Lakshya creates history by reaching semis; Bhaker into 25m pistol final

Leon Marchand continues his dream run in what is a home Olympics for him, as he wins a staggering fourth gold medal and smashes another world record! This time he adds the 200m individual medley to his collection!

LA QUATRIÈME DE LÉON MARCHAND ! 🥇🥇🥇🥇#Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/roCAdnhCSI

— Paris 2024 (@Paris2024) August 2, 2024

Tajinder Pal Singh Toor bows out of the Paris Olympics! It was a do-or-die attempt for him in Round 3, and he once again gets a red flag from the officials as he ends up stepping across the line, getting another ‘X’ against his name.

Asian Games gold medallist Toor finishes with a best effort of 18.05m in his first attempt — his only legal throw in the qualification round — which is the lowest in either Group A or B, meaning he finishes last out of 29 athletes with at least one legal attempt.

Italy’s Leonardo Fabbri jumps to the top of Group A with a throw of 21.76m in his third attempt after 20.44 in the first followed by an X in the second.

That’s the highest distance covered in either group. Funnily enough, that’s less than Toor’s personal best effort of 21.77m.

Round Two for Tajinder. The southpaw had fallen short by a long way in Round 1, and unfortunately for him, it’s the same in the second round as well, although it doesn’t count in the end as it’s an illegal throw. He’s slipped to the 15th spot now.

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Jacko Gill achieves the qualification mark in his second attempt after falling short by 0.21m in the first one. Also, several other competitors in Group A get an X against their name in Round 2.

Here’s a look at the top 10 in Group A of the men’s shot put qualification at the Paris Olympics. Tajinderpal Singh Toor of India is ranked 14th:

The men’s shot put heats, in which Tajinder Pal Singh Toor will be in action, are about to get underway. Stay tuned for more updates.

The Indian’s in Group A in the qualification round.

Meanwhile in men’s golf, India’s Shubhankar Sharma and Gaganjeet Bhullar dished out improved performances in Round 2.

Sharma moved four places to tied-25th after completing the 18-hole course in 69 shots. Bhullar improved his ranking by as many places to tied-52nd after completing the course in as many shots as his compatriot.

The two will be back in action at 12.30 pm on Saturday, 3 August for the third and the penultimate round.

USA’s Xander Schauffele meanwhile moves to the top spot ahead of Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama.

Meanwhile in the women’s dinghy event, Nethra Kumanan finishes 15th and 27th in Race 2 and 3 respectively, and currently sits at the 11th spot in the overall rankings.

Race 4 was supposed to happen today as well but that has been rescheduled for now.

Next up in athletics we have Tajinder Pal Singh Toor in action in the men’s shot put qualification at 11.40 pm IST. That will be the final event of the day as far as the Indian contingent is concerned.

Toor, who holds the national record with a best throw of 21.77m, had made his Olympic debut in Tokyo three years ago, but had failed to qualify for the final as he finished 13th after injuring his wrist.

Can he make amends for the disappointment in Tokyo and reach the final round in Paris?

Moving to athletics, the women’s 5000m heats are over, and both Parul Chaudhary and Ankita Dhyani have failed to qualify for the finals.

Chaudhary, who won Asian Games gold last year, finishes 14th in Heat 2 with her season-best timing of 15:10.68 .

Ankita, on the other hand, finishes at the bottom of Heat 1 — among runners who finished the race that is — with a timing of 16:19.38.

Only the top-8 from each heat advances to the final.

Lakshya Sen 19-21, 21-15, 21-12 Chou Tien-chen

Phew! What a semi-final that turned out to be between Lakshya and Chou, a battle worthy of a final! One that was dotted with several marathon rallies and clever finishes.

The Indian fell narrowly short in Game 1 after fighting till the last point, but bounced back in style in the must-win Game 2 and in the decider to highlight his credentials as a solid contender for a men’s singles medal at the Paris Games.

He now faces the winner of the last men’s quarter-final, in which Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen takes on Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew, in the semi-finals on Sunday, 4 August starting 12 pm.

Whoever his opponent, Lakshya sure will be a force to be reckoned with if his display in the quarter-final is anything to go by.

Lakshya Sen 19-21, 21-15, 21-12 Chou Tien-chen

LAKSHYA SEN IS THROUGH TO THE MEN’S SINGLES SEMI-FINALS! He seals a historic victory after Chou’s return hits the net!

Lakshya Sen 19-21, 21-15, 20-12 Chou Tien-chen

Back-to-back points for Lakshya, and he has eight match points in hand!

Lakshya Sen 19-21, 21-15, 18-12 Chou Tien-chen

Excellent challenge by Chou after the umpire initially awards the point to Lakshya following a lob that appears to land within the baseline. Hawk-Eye though, shows the shuttle to have landed outside.

Chou, however, fires the next two points wide of the tramline to Lakshya’s left, resulting in the Indian needing just three more points for a historic win.

Lakshya Sen 19-21, 21-15, 15-10 Chou Tien-chen

Lakshya loses a challenge after the shuttle lands on the tramline to his left following a cross-court smash by Chou. Lakshya responds with a smash of his own to maintain a five-point lead.

Lakshya Sen 19-21, 21-15, 12-8 Chou Tien-chen

Chou makes a successful review after the interval as the shuttle is found to be landing on the baseline. Lakshya, however, responds with a fiery cross-court jump smash to restore a four-point lead.

Lakshya Sen 19-21, 21-15, 11-7 Chou Tien-chen

It’s a four-point lead for Lakshya at the interval in the deciding game! Can Lakshya remain ahead and take his maiden Olympic campaign into the semi-finals?

Lakshya Sen 19-21, 21-15, 10-6 Chou Tien-chen

Chou narrows the deficit by winning back-to-back points, the second one with a powerful jump smash. However, his lob in the next goes wide.

Lakshya Sen 19-21, 21-15, 9-4 Chou Tien-chen

Lakshya’s surging ahead close to the interval, opening up a five-point lead at the moment! Boy has he been electric so far today!

Lakshya Sen 19-21, 21-15, 5-3 Chou Tien-chen

Lakshya wins a drop-shot battle against Chou in the net by placing one slightly wide. Wins the next point as well with a lob that lands on the baseline, with Chou losing a challenge in the process.

Lakshya Sen 19-21, 21-15, 2-2 Chou Tien-chen

Chou races into a 2-0 lead early in the decider before Lakshya opens his account with a lob that lands an inch inside the tramline close to the baseline. Lakshya then fires a winner next up to go level.

Lakshya Sen 19-21, 21-15 Chou Tien-chen

Lakshya has six game points in hand, and eventually takes the contest to a decider after Chou’s shot goes wide of the tramline to Sen’s left.

With that, the blockbuster quarter-final between Sen and Chou goes into a decider!

Lakshya Sen 19-21, 13-18 Chou Tien-chen

Chou loses a challenge after a defensive clear by Sen lands at the edge of the baseline, putting Lakshya in the lead again. Lakshya then wins the next three points as well to open up a four-point lead, needing four more to take this to a decider!

Lakshya Sen 19-21, 13-13 Chou Tien-chen

Another remarkable rally between the two, with Lakshya dashing across the court from the net to successfully return a long shot by Chou, and eventually win the point. The two have already produced a contest worthy of a final so far!

Lakshya Sen 19-21, 11-10 Chou Tien-chen

Lakshya engages in a long discussion with chair umpire Trish Gubbs of New Zealand apparently because he had gone for a referral and the hawkeye graphic was not showing up on the big screen. Umpire Gubbs however, insists she has seen the result of the challenge and asks Lakshya to continue with the match. The Indian for one, isn’t happy with the verdict and is seen shaking his head.

Lakshya, meanwhile, has a slender one-point lead at the interval after winning consecutive points. Can he take this contest into a decider?

Lakshya Sen 19-21, 7-7 Chou Tien-chen

The two are going neck-and-neck at the moment. Meanwhile, music starts blaring from the arena’s loudspeakers for some reason in the first half of Game 2, which leads to Chou having a word with the umpire.

Lakshya Sen 19-21, 4-5 Chou Tien-chen

Chou fights back with a hat-trick of points to go level with Lakshya at 4-all! Wins the next point as well to take the lead for the first time in Game 2.

Lakshya Sen 19-21, 4-1 Chou Tien-chen

Lakshya’s off to a strong start in Game 2, winning the first two points before Chou opens his account. Lakshya then collects two more points, both with a smash, to open up a three-point lead early on in the must-win game.

Here’s what the quarter-final meeting between Lakshya Sen and Chou Tien-chen has looked like so far:

Lakshya Sen 19-21 Chou Tien-chen

Chou moves to two game points with a fiery cross-court smash, with Lakshya desperately scrambling around the court.

Lakshya narrows the deficit after an unforced error by Chou, but the latter seals Game 1 in his favour with a powerful leaping smash straight down the court.

Can Lakshya fight back in Game 2 and take this to a decider? Or will the Indian badminton team return empty-handed for the first time since Beijing 2008? Stay tuned to find out.

Lakshya Sen 18-18 Chou Tien-chen

Chou goes level at 18-all after winning another marathon rally with a cross-court smash! That is followed by a quick tower break followed by a change in shuttle.

Lakshya Sen 18-17 Chou Tien-chen

Make that six consecutive points as Lakshya surges ahead to 17-15, before Chou narrows the deficit to one with smash straight down the court. Chou and Lakshya then collect a point each, the latter slightly ahead at the moment.

Lakshya Sen 15-15 Chou Tien-chen

Another impressive fightback by Lakshya as he goes level with Chou at 15-all with a body smash, collecting his fourth point in a row! Looks like Game 1 is set for an exciting finish!

Lakshya Sen 9-11 Chou Tien-chen

Another marathon rally between Lakshya and Chou — the third before Game 1 even reaches the interval. And this time it’s Chou who wins the mini battle.

Chou, meanwhile, has a two-point lead at the interval.

Lakshya Sen 6-6 Chou Tien-chen

Superb fightback Lakshya, collecting four consecutive points to move to a slender one-point lead. Chou, however, goes level at 6-6 after winning the next point.