Highlights, Tokyo Olympics 2020, Day 4: Boxer Lovlina Borgohain wins; mixed team shooters suffer qualifying exit

Indian shooters crash out in 10m air rifle mixed qualifications

The two Indian pairs participating in the 10m air rifle mixed team event crashed out in the first qualifications stage, missing out on yet another final after an outing that left a lot to be desired in the Tokyo Olympics here on Tuesday.

The duo of Elavenil Valarivan and Divyansh Singh Panwar finished 12th with a total of 626.5 across three series each, while Anjum Moudgil and Deepak Kumar ended 18th out of 29 pairs with an aggregate score of 623.8 at the Asaka Range.

The mixed events are making their Olympic debut.

Click  here  to read more of the report.

Indian boxer Lovlina Borgohain through to 69kg quarter-finals with win over Nadine Apetz

Indian boxer Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) advanced to the quarter-finals in her debut Olympic appearance, defeating German veteran Nadine Apetz in a closely-fought last-16 stage bout on Tuesday.

Borgohain, the lone Indian boxer in action on the day, prevailed 3-2 over her rival who is 12 years her senior. Both the boxers were making their Games debut and the Indian became the first from her nine-strong team to make the quarter-final stage.

Click  here  to read more of the report.

Rivals-turned-teammates Varun Thakkar, KC Ganapathy set sails for glory

Ganapathy and Thakkar are currently in action.

In May this year, Shantanu Srivastava  spoke to the Indian sailors on their journey. 

Ganapathy and Thakkar’s marriage of convenience has endured its share of tides. They now describe themselves as ’each other’s backbones.’ Come July, the boys will hit the high seas in Japan, sailing into a new dawn. Click here to read the full article

Historic! 

Italo Ferreira is the inaugural men's Olympic #Surfing champion!@isasurfing @TimeBrasil #BRA pic.twitter.com/hNV6qv1Ihj

— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) July 27, 2021

Day 4 highlights – Indian athletes

The Indian pair of Saurabh Chaudhary and Manu Bhaker caved in under pressure and failed to qualify for the final of the 10m air pistol mixed team events at the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday.

Dragflicker Rupinder Pal Singh scored a brace as the Indian men’s hockey team overcame a demoralising defeat in the previous match to cruise past Spain 3-0 and register their second win at the Games.

Sharath Kamal took a game off the legendary Ma Long, the reigning Olympic and world champion, before making a third-round exit from the table tennis competition.

The two Indian pairs participating in the 10m air rifle mixed team event crashed out in the first qualifications stage, missing out on yet another final after an outing that left a lot to be desired in the Tokyo Olympics.

Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) advanced to the quarter-finals in her debut Olympic appearance, defeating German veteran Nadine Apetz in a closely-fought last-16 stage bout

Medals tally

China wins women’s 10M synchro diving; US earns silver

 China won another gold medal in Olympic diving. Chen Yuxi and Zhang Jiaqi won the women’s 10-meter synchronized platform on Tuesday, giving the diving powerhouse its second gold of the Tokyo Games.

Chen and Zhang totaled 363.78 points over five rounds. They received two perfect 10s for execution on their second dive.

Jessica Parratto and Delaney Schnell of the US took silver in just their second competition as a pair. They totaled 310.80. Schnell was the bronze medalist in individual platform at the world championships in 2019. Parratto was seventh in the same event five years ago in Rio.

Gabriela Agundez Garcia and Alejandra Orozco Loza of Mexico earned bronze at 299.70.

Chen and Zhang were making their Olympic debuts, but already have a winning history. Chen, who is 15, won the individual 10-meter platform title at the world championships in 2019, when she was 13. Zhang, who is 17, won the platform synchro title at the world meet two years ago.

China won its first gold in Tokyo in women’s 3-meter synchro springboard and earned silver in men’s 10-meter platform synchro.

– AP

The sailing races underway. 

And we're underway again!

The 49ers have just started their first race of #Tokyo2020 🙌

Tracking:
➡️ https://t.co/foXebf00W3#Sailing #Olympics pic.twitter.com/QLtIOLP2K2

— World Sailing 🌎⛵️ (@worldsailing) July 27, 2021

The sailing races have been postponed due to bad weather.   

Racing is postponed here in #Enoshima 🇯🇵 due to the light and shifty winds.

The Finn, Laser and 49er fleets are waiting on the water for conditions to change.

Tracking:
➡️ https://t.co/foXebf00W3

Results:
➡️ https://t.co/1hBYe2KP4z#Sailing #Tokyo2020 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/5cG21IyrRl

— World Sailing 🌎⛵️ (@worldsailing) July 27, 2021

Sailing

In race 6 of women’s one person dinghy – laser radical, India’s Nethra Kumanan finishes 38th. 

Vishnu Sarvanan finished 22nd in race 5. 

 Varun Thakkar and KC Ganapathy will also be seen in action today in the men’s skiff 49er.

Boxing

One more win for Lovlina and India will be assured of a medal. Tactically, she was impressive against an aggressive Nadine. Avoided the punches with a strong defence.

Lovlina’s win makes the day slightly better for India. At least one medal was expected today from the mixed team shooting events but it was not meant to be.

Boxer Amit Panghal cheering his fellow boxer on

Amazing Lovlina 👏👏👏 🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳 https://t.co/i2zd7aPIgh

— Subedar Amit Panghal (@BoxerPanghal) July 27, 2021

Boxing

Lovlina maintains her composure and concentrates on her defence. Round 3 comes into an end. Let’s see how the judges call the bout. 

And Lovlina wins the bout in a 3-2 split decision. She is through to the quarter-final.

Boxing

Lovlina shows patience against an aggressive opponent. Round 2 ends and the judges have gone with Lovlina again with a 3-2 split decision.

Boxing

Nadine ends the round on a high. Looks like India’s Lovlina has lost the round. But no, the judges have give Lovlina the round in a split decision 3-2.

Boxing

Round 1 has started. Both boxers are cautious but both Lovlina and Nadine are landing their punches.

Boxing

Indian boxer Lovlina Borgohai will be in action shortly. This is a round of 16 bout in welterweight category. 

She’s up against Germany’s Nadine Apetz.

Shooting

The margins that we’re dealing with in an Olympics

In the men’s 10m air rifle olympic competition Iran’s Mahyar scored 629.1 Rank 9 .China’s Sheng Lihao shot 629.2 & is Rank 8 . The iranian goes home, the chinese qualifies for the final and wins silver. #deathbyadecimal #suchissport

— Abhinav A. Bindra OLY (@Abhinav_Bindra) July 27, 2021

Tennis

Naomi Osaka not sticking around to speak to the journalists in the mixed zone after the loss

Naomi Osaka has left the Ariake Tennis Park within minutes of her defeat and won't be going through the mixed zone. Presumably the next time she plays will be the US Open or a hard court warm-up event https://t.co/oaWqSiQ79P

— Rob Maul (@Rob_Maul) July 27, 2021

Who will be this time’s Monica Puig in women’s tennis?

Tennis

Surprise result in women’s singles event with Naomi Osaka going down in straight sets to 2019 French Open finalist Vondrousova. 32 unforced errors from Osaka in the defeat!

A shocker in Tokyo…#CZE Marketa Vondrousova stuns home favourite Naomi Osaka 6-1 6-4 in 68 minutes to reach the #Olympics quarter-finals #Tennis | #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/jvPDGxH4iU

— ITF (@ITFTennis) July 27, 2021

Two wins out of three! 

this is really tough on these guys, won more than they lost, yet exit due to the math. terrific young team, power on! #Olympics #Tokyo2020 https://t.co/bvZQbLl2w0

— Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) July 27, 2021

Badminton Men’s Doubles

Scintilliating defensive badminton from Shetty and Rankireddy to draw an error and have two match points. They need just the one to win 21-17, 21-19 in 44 minute. A win for India means the Indonesian pairing finish top of the table with Chinese Taipei’s team second

Shooting – 10m air rifle mixed team event 

Elavenil and Divyansh finish the third series with 104.2 and 105.6.  Total score 626.5. Rank 12.

Anjum and Deepak are also done. Their total scores after three series are 623.8. Rank 18. 

Since only the top eight make it to the next stage of qualifications, the Indian challenge ends here.

Badminton Men’s Doubles

Lane/Vendy have once cut the deficit and then built on it with Rankireddy netting the serve return. The British pair lead 19-18

Badminton Men’s Doubles

India serve at 17-15 and the serve is called short. Indian pair decide to challenge. It did indeed land short. The Brits trail by one at 16-17

Sailing

In Men’s One Person Dinghy – Laser Race 4, Vishnu Saravanan collects 23 points and is 26th from 35 participants. Over in Women’s One Person Dinghy – Laser Radial Race 5, Nethra Kumanan collects 32 points. She is 32nd in the standings with five races to go

Shooting

Second series

Anjum: 10.4, 10.7, 10.4, 10.2, 10.3, 10.7, 10.6, 10.3, 10.9, 10.5

Deepak: 10.8, 9.9, 10.5, 10.8, 10.8, 10.9, 10.5, 10.0, 10.6, 10.5 

They are currently out of top 8.

Shooting 

The 10m air rifle mixed team event has started. 

Elavenil and Divyansh are a team. Anjum Moudgil and Deepak Kumar are the other Indian pair in the competition. 

Not so great start by the shooters. Elavenil and Divyansh are 18th. Anjum and Deepak are ranked 24th.

Badminton Men’s Doubles

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty lead Ben Lane and Sean Vendy by two points, 11-9, at the mid-game interval in the second game

Sharath made the Dragon nervous 

Not often you see someone take a game off Ma Long. Not often do you peg Ma Long on back foot. Not often do you make Ma Long nervous (even if for a little while). @sharathkamal1 managed to do that. He bows out but with pride. Really good performance and fight. #Tokyo2020

— Jigar Mehta (@jigsactin) July 27, 2021

Badminton Men’s Doubles

An error into the net and Satwiksairaj and Chirag have three game points. Converted! First game goes to Shetty and Rankireddy 21-17 in 18 minutes

Table Tennis

It’s over for Sharath Kamal.

Ma Long way superior as he wins the fifth game 11-4 and takes the match 4-1.

Badminton Men’s Doubles

Incredible rally all around from both players. Chirag and Satwik both doing beautifully to prolong the point but Lane/Vendy hold firm to eke out an error and trail by 2 points at 15-17

Badminton Men’s Doubles

Indians come off better of the blocks after the little breather. Take four straight points to go 14-11 up.

Table Tennis

This one has gone in Ma Long’s favour. Too tough to make a comeback after going 0-6 down. The defending champion wins the fourth game 11-4.

Badminton Men’s Doubles

Lane/Vendy take the lead with some fierce smashing but it is immediately cut out with a brilliant smash by the Indians themselves. Neither teams able to string two points together. Vendy’s angled smash is too much for Chirag to take and they lead 11-10

Badminton Men’s Doubles

Rankireddy and Shetty with a three point lead at 7-4. But they have it cut to one after a misjudgment. An error by Shetty with the serve return makes it 8-8

Table Tennis

Just too good from Ma Long who takes a 6-0 lead in the fourth game.

Table Tennis

High class so far. Ma Long races ahead from 7-8 to win three points. Superb play from Sharath to make it 10-10.

Chinese coach calls for a time out after Ma Long wins the 12th point and then the champion wins the game 13-11.

Ma Long leading the match 2-1

India’s Olympic medallist headed home

All set to leave for Imphal. ✈ pic.twitter.com/VfYv13r5Tz

— Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (@mirabai_chanu) July 27, 2021

Badminton Men’s Doubles

Neither of the India and Great Britain teams can progress to the quarters but they can change the outcome of who tops the group.

Badminton Men’s Doubles

With Chinese Taipei’s Yang Lee-Chi-Lin Wang beating Indonesia’s Gideon-Sukamuljo 21-18, 15-21, 21-17, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have been knocked out even before taking the court

Table Tennis

Sharath with a clever spinning backhand and then a solid forehand to win points. He’s now leading 4-2.

Table Tennis

Ma Long wins a superb rally to level the score 8-8. Sharath’s forehand does the magic against the Dragon as he wins three consecutive points to take the game 11-8.

Huge boost for Sharath.   

Table Tennis

Ma Long makes it 7-8 before the Indian coach calls for a time out. Sharath had a five point lead but now it is reduced to just one.

Table Tennis

Sharath Kamal wins six consecutive points to go ahead in the game. 7-3 at the moment.

Table Tennis

Sharath Kamal’s forehand coming into the play. 3-3 in the second game.

Shuttler Parupalli Kashyap is not in Tokyo but is tuned in

Come on anna ! @sharathkamal1 @WeAreTeamIndia @IndianOilcl 💪💪🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/Qc1ih7S4ff

— Kashyap Parupalli (@parupallik) July 27, 2021

Table Tennis

Just when it was getting close, Ma Long shows class and takes the opening game 11-7. 

Table Tennis

Ma Long, also known as The Dragon, races off to a good lead of 4-1 before Sharath pulls it back to 5-5.

Badminton Men’s Doubles

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty take on Ben Lane and Sean Vendy of Great Britain in their final Group A match. They, and Chinese Taipei’s Yang Lee-Chi-Lin Wang, have one win, one defeat after two matches. Only the top two move to the quarter-finals. Here’s a look at the scenarios:

– If India win and Chinese Taipei lose, Indonesia (Gideon-Sukamuljo) and India progress

– If India and Chinese Taipei win, Indonesia and Chinese Taipei progress

– If India lose and Chinese Taipei win, Indonesia and Chinese Taipei progress

– If India and Chinese Taipei both lose, Indonesia and Chinese Taipei progress

Table tennis

Right then, Sharath Kamal’s third round match against Olympic champion Ma Long will begin soon.

This needs to be told every Olympics

Just a friendly reminder: Olympic athletes are human & they’re doing the best they can. It’s REALLY hard to peak at the right moment & do the routine of your life under such pressure. Really hard.

— Alexandra Raisman (@Aly_Raisman) July 26, 2021

Sailing 

India’s Vishnu Sarvanan is also in action as the men’s one person dinghy – laser radical race 5 has started. 

After first four races, Vishnu is ranked 25th.

Sailing

India’s Nethra Kumanan in action in race 5 of women’s one person dinghy – laser radical.

After four races, she’s placed  28th in the overall rankings.

Swimming

The American men have lost a backstroke race at the Olympic pool for the first time 1992.

Russian athletes swept the top two spots in the 100-meter back, with Evgeny Rylov claiming the gold medal in 51.98 seconds and teammate Kliment Kolesnikov taking the silver in 52.00. The defending Olympic champion, American Ryan Murphy, settled for the bronze in 52.19.

It was the first backstroke defeat for the U.S. men at the Olympics since the 1992 Barcelona Games. They won 12 straight golds at the last six Olympics, including Murphy’s sweep of the 100- and 200-meter backstroke at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

But the streak finally ended at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.

(From The Associated Press)

Gold in inaugural 10m Air Pistol mixed team event goes to China

#CHN wins the inaugural 10m air pistol mixed team Olympic gold!#Shooting @ISSF_Shooting pic.twitter.com/A1eDdTSXZI

— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) July 27, 2021

Aussies know how to celebrate!

If you win an Olympic Gold Medal, you have earned the right to say what you like. Well done! https://t.co/LG7r1ltdSV

— Glenn Munsie (@MunsieGlenn) July 27, 2021

Two wins from three matches for India! 

#Hockey

Men's Group A standings:

🇦🇺 9 points
🇮🇳 6 points
🇦🇷 4 points
🇳🇿 3 points
🇪🇸 1 point
🇯🇵 0 points

Top-four teams qualify for quarter-finals#Tokyo2020 Live: https://t.co/7hEDnflujt

— Firstpost Sports (@FirstpostSports) July 27, 2021

Final stats from India’s 3-0 win over Spain

India 3-0 Spain

It’s all over. India win the match thanks to two goals from Rupinder Pal Singh and one from Simranjeet.

Superb show from India considering how they bounced back from a 1-7 drubbing against Australia. A win plus a clean sheet will make Graham Reid happy.

Hockey 4th quarter: India 3-0 Spain

Penalty corner for Spain and once again they fail to convert. Sreejesh with a good save.

Hockey 4th quarter: India 3-0 Spain

India ask for a penalty corner and they take the review. But there’s nothing in it. Four minutes remaining in this match.

Hockey 4th quarter: India 3-0 Spain

Spain go for a variation but it doesn’t work out but they got another penalty corner. Again they fail to convert but one more penalty corner for them. This time Sreejesh comes up with the block and Spain still searching for their first goal.

Hockey 4th quarter: India 3-0 Spain

This is Rupinder’s third goal at this Olympics. Meanwhile, Spain get a penalty corner.

Hockey 4th quarter: India 3-0 Spain

GOAAAL!

India get a penalty corner and Rupinder Pal Singh converts! No stopping that.

India win a PC with 9:10 to go in the match

Very important for team @TheHockeyIndia to play smart on making and breaking full press & to play aeriels balls only when sure . Key is ball possesion #INDESP

— Jagbir Singh OLY (@jagbirolympian) July 27, 2021

Hockey 4th quarter: India 2-0 Spain

Chance for Spain but Surender blocks the shot. Seconds later, another opportunity comes for Spain but it’s tough to convert this one. Too much speed.

Swimming

An Olympic record in the pool by Australia’s Kaylee McKeown. She posts a time of 57.47 seconds in 100m backstroke

Olympic Record!

Four-time Youth Olympics medallist Kaylee McKeown wins her first Olympic gold in the women's 100m backstroke with a time of 57.47 seconds!#Swimming @fina1908 @AUSOlympicTeam #AUS pic.twitter.com/o3Gm3IkQlN

— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) July 27, 2021

Hockey 4th quarter: India 2-0 Spain

The fourth and final quarter begins!

Hockey 3rd quarter: India 2-0 Spain

Spain fail to convert the penalty corner. They ask for another one but it’s not given. They don’t take the review so that’s the end of the third quarter. Spain dominated, especially in the final five minutes. They also scored but it didn’t stand.

Hockey 3rd quarter: India 2-0 Spain

Spain score but the goal doesn’t stand as hooter went on to signal the end of the quarter. Spain ask for a review regarding a penalty corner and they get.

If you’re someone who is lashing out at young athletes, competing in their first Olympics, please change!

To all those abusing a 19 year old Manu for failing in her first Olympics. Don't come to claim her as your own, as your bharat ki beti when she achieves that elusive glory.

SHAMEFUL

— Izu (@outof22yards) July 27, 2021

Hockey 3rd quarter: India 2-0 Spain

Circle penetration by Enrique as he smashes a shot to the centre but doesn’t get the deflection. India’s defence doing well again there.

“We need introspection” says former Olympian Joydeep Karmakar

2/2 at the same time its our responsibility to make them strong and agile in tough situation. Somewhere we need to realize, its not about guns , balls or racquet, its your mind which is strongest equipment which can win medals at Olympics. We need introspection!

— Joydeep Karmakar OLY (@Joydeep709) July 27, 2021

Hockey 3rd quarter: India 2-0 Spain

Sumit takes a shot from outside the D, looking for the deflection from the centre but Spain clear the ball.

Hockey 3rd quarter: India 2-0 Spain

Yellow card for Spain. So the captain Miguel Delas is out for five minutes. Chance for India to take advantage.

Hockey 3rd quarter: India 2-0 Spain

Chance for India as Dilpreet collects the ball on the left flank inside the D, turns and shoots but the Spain goalkeeper does well to cover his angle and saves the hit

Hockey 3rd quarter: India 2-0 Spain

The third quarter is underway. Spain off to an attacking start.

A forgettable maiden Olympics for Manu Bhaker. First the gun malfunction and disappointment today in the second qualification

This was a genuine shot at medal... almost as sure shot as Mirabai's. They had six consecutive World Cup medals coming into #Tokyo2020 including a run of five consecutive golds. A proper meltdown for Manu. Forgettable. #Shooting#Olympics

— shantanu srivastava (@journoshantanu) July 27, 2021

Hockey 2nd quarter: India 2-0 Spain

The second quarter ends and it’s half-time. India manage to keep Spain at bay as they defended well. A two-goal lead is a good one going into the break but not a a safe one. Spain will come hard in the remaining quarters.

India should look at the counter-attacking options to increase their lead.

For perspective and context

- In the 10m air pistol, the target is just 11.5mm across

- The heart in such competitions tends to beat around 160 times per minute - thats almost thrice per second

- These shooters try and shoot between heartbeats

Now read all these pointers and imagine how difficult it is

— Aniket Mishra (@aniketmishra299) July 27, 2021

For the young shooters’ sake, not just Bhakar and Chaudhary alone, hope there is patience and they’re persevered with

Three actually.

— Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj) July 27, 2021

Hockey 2nd quarter: India 2-0 Spain

Penalty corner to Spain but it’s not on target. Spain trying hard to open their scoring account but Indian defence is keeping its shape.

Shooting – 10m air pistol mixed team qualification 2

Manu and Saurabh in team event were India’s best bet for a medal in shooting. It was going so good with the pair finishing first in the qualification 1 but something went wrong in the next stage. Saurabh maintained his form but Manu faltered with as many three 8s in two series.

Hockey: India 2-0 Spain

GOAL! After three PCs, India have a penalty stroke! A block on the line and it is deemed to be deliberate enough for a penalty stroke. Rupinder Pal Singh steps up. Scores! Cortez got there but there was plenty of power on it to beat the Spain goalkeeper

Shooting – 10m air pistol mixed team qualification 2

China and ROC will compete for the gold. 

Ukraine and Serbia will meet in the bronze medal match. 

India finish 7th, behind China and one spot above Australia. Although, all three have same number of points.

Hockey: India 1-0 Spain

GOAL! India score! From a sideline hit, the ball comes to Simranjeet Singh inside the circle, controls and slots it into the corner. With just over a minute to go, India lead!

Hockey: India 0-0 Spain

With 3:33 to go in the quarter, Spain get a PC. Spain’s player jumps and Sumit is blindsided. It hits the foot. On the PC, Surender Kumar is the player with the block. And there’s a video referral. It’s a long corner

Shooting – 10m air pistol mixed team qualification 2

Saurabh: 10, 10, 10, 10, 9, 10, 10, 9, 10, 10.    

Manu: 9, 10, 10, 10, 9, 10, 10, 8, 10, 8.   

Two 8s by Manu in the final three shots. Looks like India will finish out of medal contention matches.

Shooting – 10m air pistol mixed team qualification 2

Saurabh: 10, 10, 10, 10, 9, 10, 10, 9, 10, 10    

Manu: 9, 10, 10, 10, 9, 10, 10, 

Three more shots left for Manu. She needs to come up with something special.

Hockey India-Spain

Simranjeet finds himself surrounded by players all around him. Twists and turns and plays a gorgeous ball for Hardik Singh. However, he doesn’t get the control right and a potential chance goes astray. India 0-0 Spain in first quarter

Hockey India Spain

Manpreet with a shot from outside the circle and he was looking for a stick to deflect it into the goal. There was a blue shirt hovering but not close enough to scoring. 0-0 in the first quarter with five minutes played

Hockey India Spain

Birendra Lakra is playing his 200th game. Both teams looking to find their feet so far. Roc Isern Oliva struck on his hand by an India stick during a follow through but continues to play without much delay

Shooting – 10m air pistol mixed team qualification 2

After first series, Manu and Saurabh are ranked 7. 

Saurabh: 10, 9, 9, 9, 10, 10, 9, 10, 10, 10.

Manu: 9, 9, 10, 10, 9, 8, 10, 10, 9, 8.    

This is not looking good for India.

Hockey India vs Spain

Preview: Thoroughly outplayed by Australia, the Indian men’s hockey team would be desperate to rebuild a shattered morale when they take on a lower-ranked Spain in third Pool A match of the Olympics.

After a fighting 3-2 win over New Zealand in their campaign opener, the Indians were completely steam-rolled 1-7 by world no.1 Australia in their second game.

The mighty Kookaburras simply toyed with the Indian defence after the first quarter and scored goals at will to comfortably secure their second consecutive win in the competition.

It was also India’s biggest loss since Australian Graham Reid took charge of the team as coach in April 2019.

But having faced multiple adversities in the run up to the Games, the Indians know how to bounce back and that is what chief coach Graham Reid would be banking on going into the tie against World No 9 Spain.

Going by the points table, India are currently placed fourth just below New Zealand on goal difference. The pool is being headed by Australia with two wins out of as may matches, followed by reigning reigning Olympic champions Argentina with four points.

Spain and hosts Japan are yet to register a win in the two matches they have played.

Top four teams from a pool of six each will qualify for the quarterfinals.

Shooting – 10m air pistol mixed team qualification 2

The second qualification is underway. 

Manu starts off with a nine. Saurabh shoots a 10.

Shooting – 10m air pistol mixed team qualification 2

The second qualification is underway. 

Manu starts off with a nine. Saurabh shoots a 10.

Shooting – 10m air pistol mixed team qualification 1

ROC and China finished second and third respectively. Ukraine, Serbia, Australia, China and Iran round up the qualification 1.

Indian men’s hockey team gears up to face Spain today. The match starts at 6.30 am IST

Ladies and gentlemen, here is our 1⃣1⃣ who will be up against the Spanish challenge. 🇮🇳

Drop a 💙 to wish them luck. 💪#INDvESP #HaiTayyar #IndiaKaGame #TeamIndia #Tokyo2020 #TokyoTogether #Cheer4India #StrongerTogether #HockeyInvites #WeAreTeamIndia #Hockey pic.twitter.com/3cg5hFPPbd

— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) July 27, 2021

Shooting – 10m air pistol mixed team qualification 1

Saurabh shoots 26 10s in his 30 shots. What a brilliant show from the young shooter but he needs to maintain the form. A top two finish in the second qualification will guarantee a medal for India. 

Abhishek upped his game in the final series but it was too late. Yashaswini needs to find more 10s. Still, one Indian makes it to the next stage which was expected.  

The next round starts at 6.15 am IST.

Second qualification stage in 10 minutes when things will get tougher and margins smaller

Manu needs to pull up her socks.. its going to be crazy tough in the 2nd stage.. and that will matter the most if you can finish in top 2 #shooting #Tokyo2020 #TeamIndia sad to see Deswal and Abhishek bow out meekly

— Joydeep Karmakar OLY (@Joydeep709) July 27, 2021

Shooting – 10m air pistol mixed team qualification 1

So, Manu and Saurabh finish qualification 1 on top. Manu shoots 286 while Saurabh ends up with 296. Their combined score reads 582 

Yashaswini and Abhishek fail to make it to the next stage. 281 from Yashaswini and 283 from Abhishek. Looks they have finished 17th.

Shooting – 10m air pistol mixed team qualification 1

Final series:

Saurabh: 10, 10, 9, 10, 10, 10, 9, 10, 10, 10. 

Manu: 9, 9, 10, 9, 10, 9, 10, 10, 9, 10.   

Yashaswini: 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 10, 8, 9, 10, 9. 

Abhishek: 10, 10, 10, 9, 10, 9, 10, 10, 10, 9.

Shooting – 10m air pistol mixed team qualification 1

Saurabh’s second series: 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10. 

Manu: 10, 10, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 10, 9, 10.

Yashaswini: 10, 9, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 9, 8, 9.

Abhishek: 10, 8, 9, 10, 9, 10, 10, 9, 10, 9.

Manu and Saurabh still on top. Yashaswini and Abhishek are 16th. One more series to go!

Shooting – 10m air pistol mixed team qualification 1

Sensational from Saurabh. 

All 10s in his second series. Combine it with five 10s in the first and that makes it 15 10s in a row. Wow!

What a start for Bhaker and Chaudhary

Manu & Saurabh at office. Already showing why they were talked about earlier for Mixed Team. At number one, almost half way.. #shooting #Tokyo2020 #TeamIndia Saurabh on fire right now 🎯🔥still a long way to the top.

— Joydeep Karmakar OLY (@Joydeep709) July 27, 2021

Shooting – 10m air pistol mixed team qualification 1

Saurabh’s 10 shots**:** 9, 10, 10, 9, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Manu: 10, 10, 10, 10, 9, 10, 10, 9, 10, 9 

Yasashwini: 9, 10, 9, 9, 10, 10, 9, 10, 9, 10 

Abhishek: 9, 10, 7, 9, 8, 9, 10, 10, 10, 10

Manu and Saurabh are in top spot at the moment. Yashaswini and Abhishek are 18th. 

Top eight ranked teams move to the next stage.

Shooting – 10m air pistol mixed team qualification 1

Manu and Saurabh move to the second place. Four shots from Manu and all have been 10s. Saurabh shoots four 10s in seven shots.

Shooting – 10m air pistol mixed team qualification 1

Manu and Saurabh are off to a good start. Two 10s by Saurabh while Manu starts off with a 9 and follows it up with two 10s. 

Abhishek shoots a 7 in his third shot. Yashaswini showing good form – 9, 10, 9.

Shooting – 10m air pistol mixed team qualifications

So, India have two teams in this event. Manu and Saurabh are paired as one team and other one includes Yashwini and Abhishek. 

Manu and Saurabh have won gold medals in five of the six World Cups they have played so they are the favourites in this one. 

The qualifications will start at 5.30 am so it’s not too far away.

Here are rules of shooting’s mixed team events

Two athletes, one man and one woman make a team and their combined scores will be considered as the final score. There are two qualification rounds. In qualification 1, each athlete has to fire 30 shots in 30 minutes (60 shots per team). The top eight teams make it to the next stage. 

In qualification 2, each shooter shoots 20 shots in 20 minutes (40 shots per team). The top two teams make it to the gold medal match while three and four will vie for the bronze. 

In the medal rounds, all shooters have to fire one shot inside 50 seconds. Two points will be awarded to teams winning a series. The first team to reach 16 points wins the match.

In case of a tie where both teams have scored 16 points, the match will continue with one additional shot fired by both members of each team to decide the tie.

If the scores are still tied the teams will continue to shoot additional shots on command until the tie is broken.

A coach or athlete may request a ’time-out’ by raising a hand whilst the announcements are being made after the completion of a round

Shooting – mixed team events

Good morning! 

Hello and welcome to our blog. Two big shooting events lined up for India on Day 4 of the Olympics. The 10m air rifle and pistol mixed team events are scheduled today and the likes of Manu Bhaker, Saurabh Chaudhary, Yashaswini Singh Deswal, Abhishek Verma, Elavenil Valarivan, Divyansh Sing Panwar, Anjum Moudgil and Deepka Kumar will aim for the medal. 

The Indian shooters couldn’t make impact in the individual events but their form in the team events has been good so there’s a realistic chance of India increasing their medal count by the end of the day.

India’s Day 4 schedule

Badminton

Men’s Doubles Group Stage – Chirag Shetty & Satwiksairaj Rankireddy vs. Sean Vardy & Ben Lane 8:30 AM

Boxing

Women’s Welterweight Round of 16 – Nadine Apetz vs. Lovlina Borgohain, 10:57 AM

Hockey

Men’s Pool A – India vs. Spain, 6:30 AM

Sailing

Women’s Laser Radial Race 5 – Nethra Kumanan, 8:35 AM

Women’s Laser Radial Race 6 – Nethra Kumanan, 9:50 AM

Men’s Laser Radial Race 4 – Vishnu Saravanan, 8:45 AM

Men’s Laser Radial Race 5 – Vishnu Saravanan, 10:00 AM

Men’s Laser Radial Race 5 – Vishnu Saravanan, 11:15 AM

Men’s Skiff 49 er Race 1 – Ganapathy Kelapanda & Varun Thakkar, 11:20 AM

Men’s Skiff 49 er Race 1 – Ganapathy Kelapanda & Varun Thakkar, 12:15 PM

Men’s Skiff 49 er Race 1 – Ganapathy Kelapanda & Varun Thakkar, 1:10 APM

Shooting

Mixed 10m Air Pistol Qualifications – Manu Bhaker & Saurabh Chaudhary, 5:30 AM

Mixed 10m Air Pistol Medal Match – Subject to qualification, 7:30 AM

Mixed 10m Air Rifle Qualifications – Elavenil Valarivan & Divyansh Singh Panwar, 9:45 AM

Mixed 10m Air Rifle Medal Match – Subject to qualification, 11:45 AM

Table Tennis

Men’s singles – Ma Long vs. Sharath Kamal Achanta, 8:30 AM