Paris Olympics 2024: Who are India’s medal contenders today, August 2 (Day 7)?

Day 7 will see India’s lone Judo athlete competing at Paris Olympics 2024.

India had a day with mixed results on Thursday. The day started with a stunning come-from-behind performance by Swapnil Kusale in the Men’s 50m Rifle 3P event which helped India win their third bronze medal of Paris Olympics 2024.

The results in men’s singles Badminton saw Lakshya Sen moving ahead to the quarter-finals after defeating fellow countryman HS Prannoy in straight games. Sen has become the third male Indian shuttler to make it to the Olympic quarterfinals. But It was a heartbreaking loss for Prannoy.

The results in Badminton went downhill as the men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy–Chirag Shetty lost in the quarterfinals after winning the first game against Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik. The biggest upset for Indians in the event was the exit of PV Sindhu in the round of 16. The two-time Olympic medallist lost in straight games against He Bingjiao.

The shock losses prevailed with two-time World Champion Nikhat Zareen losing in the round of 16 in boxing against Wu Yu with the scoreboard reading 0-5. One of the bright medal prospects in shooting, Sift Kaur Samra had a disappointing day as she finished 31st and failed to make it to the finals.

Also Read: Paris Olympics 2024: India schedule for today Day 7 (August 2)

The Indian men’s hockey team suffered its first defeat at Paris Olympics 2024 as they lost 2-1 to Belgium after leading in the start of the match. Neverthless, they have qualified for the quarter-final stages.

Indians are hoping that the upcoming days will get better as more athletes will be taking part at Paris Olympics 2024. Let’s look at some of the Indian medal prospects on Friday, August 2.

Medals contenders for India on Day 7 (August 2) at Paris Olympics 2024

Judo – Tulika Maan – Women’s 78+ Category (2:12 PM)

Tulika Maan will be the lone Judoka representing India at the Paris Olympics 2024. The 25-year-old is not new to representing the nation at major events. She won Gold in the 2019 South Asian Games and a silver in the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Having earned a spot in the continental quota under her rankings, the Delhi girl will be competing in the 78+ weight category.

In the opening round, Tulika will start her campaign against the Cuban legend and four time Olympic medallist Idalys Ortiz who is one of the favorites. The draw has been filled with some of the legends of the game with Japan’s Akira Sone, the defending champion leading the field. But Tulika will draw inspiration from her CWG achievement and look to become the first Indian to win a Judo medal.

Archery – Mixed Team – Dhiraj Bommadevara- Ankita Bhakat (1:19 PM)

India will take on Indonesia in the quarterfinals of the Mixed Team Archery Team. The scores of the top-ranked archers in the Men’s and Women’s section are added together and the top 16 nations in this get an entry in the Mixed Team event. Dhiraj Bommaradeva who finished fourth in the Men’s ranking round and Ankita Bhakat whose season-best performance made her finish 11th in the Women’s ranking round.

These two will be representing India in the Mixed Team event. Despite doing well in the rankings round, both have been knocked out in the Individual events. So, both Archers have to step up to have a shot at the medal. The Indians should remember their performance in the rankings round and if they could replicate it, India could get their first Olympic medal in Archery.

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