Tokyo Olympics 2020 Highlights, Day 14: Bajrang Punia to fight for bronze; India set Asian record in men's 4x400m heats

Day 14 preview: After a day that witnessed historic scenes at the Oi Hockey Stadium with the Manpreet Singh-led India men’s team ending the country’s 41-year wait for another medal, it’s the women’s team’s turn to create a generation-defining moment on Friday. The bronze medal playoff between India and Germany turned out to be every-bit a high-octane thriller that it promised as Graham Reid’s men emerged winners by the narrowest of margins, finishing victors 5-4 to win their first Olympic medal since the gold that they won in Moscow 1980. The spotlight now shifts to the Rani Rampal-led women’s side, who had earlier defeated powerhouse Australia 1-0 to make it to the Olympic semis for the first time in only their third appearance after Moscow 1980 and Rio 2016. They face Great Britain, a side they had lost to earlier in the Pool stage by a 4-1 margin, although the impressive turnaround they staged after three consecutive defeats, as well as the fight they put up in the 1-2 defeat at the hands of Argentina in the semi-final, will give them confidence of beating a side that is ranked three places above them in the FIH Rankings. Also in action on Friday will be ace wrestler Bajrang Punia, a key medal hope in the wrestling team who begins his campaign in the men’s 65 kg freestyle event against Kyrgyzstan’s Ernazar Akmataliev. Punia however, will hope to guard himself from complacency, as another gold medal hope Vinesh Phogat had found out on Thursday when she suffered an upset at the hands of Belarus’ Vanesa Kaladzinskaya in the 53kg quarter-finals. You can check the complete Day 14 schedule here . For full Tokyo Olympics coverage, **click here** .