Tokyo Olympics Day 13 Preview: Lovlina in action, hockey women face Argentina

Wednesday will also see Neeraj Chopra make his debut at the Games.

Day 13 at the Tokyo Olympics will once again witness several high-profile Indian athletes in action. On Wednesday, several Indian medal hopefuls will be seen at Tokyo 2020. The Indian women’s hockey team has exceeded all expectations at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics and will be playing a historic semi-final match. On the other hand, boxer Lovlina Borgohain will play her semi-final bout, aiming to change the colour of the medal that she has already confirmed.

Elsewhere, medal hopefuls Neeraj Chopra, Deepak Punia and Ravi Kumar Dahiya will also be seen in action in their respective events. Here is a preview of all the Indian action on Day 13 at the Tokyo Olympics.

Golf: Women’s Individual Stroke Play

The Indian women golfers are all set to make their appearance at the Tokyo Olympics. Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar will be the Indian representatives at this event. Aditi Ashok is one of the finest female golfers that the country has ever produced. She is the first LPGA player from India. The 23-year-old has won the Ladies European Tour, Women's Indian Open, Qatar Ladies Open and several other prestigious competitions.

On the other hand, Diksha Dagar is one of the emerging golfers from the country. She became the second Indian female golfer after Aditi Ashok to win the Ladies European Tour. Dagar has a hearing impairment and had clinched a silver medal at the 2017 Summer Deaflympics. The 20-year-old received a last-minute invitation to participate at the Tokyo Olympics, after the withdrawal of South African golfer Paula Reto.

The event will begin at 4:00 AM IST.

Athletics: Men’s Javelin Throw Qualifications

Widely regarded as India’s biggest medal prospect in athletics at the Tokyo Olympics, Neeraj Chopra will compete in this event. Chopra was training in Europe and participated in events in Lisbon, Karlstad and Kuortane. He delivered gold medal-winning performances in Lisbon and Karlstad. At the Kourtane Games in Finland, he came up against some of the best athletes in the world.

German Johannes Vetter, who is the favourite to win gold in Tokyo, came up with a throw of 93.59m to win the event. The Indian achieved a distance of 86.79m to clinch a bronze medal. That should give him plenty of confidence at the Tokyo Olympics. Another Indian javelin thrower Shivpal Singh will also compete in this event.

The Group A qualification round begins at 5:35 AM IST. The Group B qualification round will follow soon at 7:05 AM IST.

Men's Wrestling: Freestyle 57kg 1/8 Finals

India's Ravi Kumar Dahiya will take part in this event. A product of Delhi's famed Chhatrasal Stadium, Dahiya is the reigning Asian champion in the 57kg weight category. The 27-year-old defeated Iranian Alireza Sarlak in the final of the 2021 Asian Wrestling Championships held in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Dahiya had also won the Asian title on home soil in 2020. In addition, he has also claimed a bronze medal at the World Wrestling Championships. The 23-year-old is coming into the Tokyo Olympics in good form. The Indian wrestler has already underlined his ambitions by claiming that his target is not silver or bronze, but a gold medal in Tokyo. Setting high expectations might turn out to be a positive factor, which should mean that he will be pushing himself for glory at his maiden Olympics.

The event will begin at 8:00 AM IST.

Men's Wrestling: Freestyle 86kg 1/8 Finals

Another Indian grappler set to make his Olympics debut is Deepak Punia. Earlier this year, Punia had bagged the silver medal at the Asian Wrestling Championships. He had suffered defeat at the hands of Hassan Yazdani. However, his coach Virender Kumar has stated that Punia is now well-prepared if he has to wrestle the Iranian legend in Tokyo.

The 22-year-old has also achieved podium finishes in the continental competition on two other instances. Punia also has a silver medal from the 2019 World Wrestling Championships in his cabinet. Deepak Punia is now all set to display his talents on the grandest stage of them all.

The event will start at 8:00 AM IST.

Women's Wrestling: Freestyle 57kg 1/8 Finals

Anshu Malik is all set to participate in the 57kg weight category in women’s freestyle wrestling. The 19-year-old's first major international honour came in the World Cadet Wrestling Championships in Athens, Greece in 2017. That was followed by victory in the Asian Junior Championships in Chonburi, Thailand.

Earlier this year, she participated in the Asian Wrestling Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Anshu defeated South Korea’s Um Ji-eun, Kazakh wrestler Emma Tissina and Shokhida Akhmedova of Uzbekistan. Despite a loss in the final, a silver medal was enough to guarantee her place in Tokyo. Now, she has her eyes set on scripting history in the Japanese capital.

The event will take place at the Makuhari Messe Hall from 8:00 AM IST.

Boxing: Women’s Welterweight Semi-final - Lovlina Borgohain Vs Busenaz Surmeneli

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnlocNede3Y

Indian boxer Lovlina Borgohain is making her Olympics debut in Tokyo. She is the first-ever Assamese woman to qualify for the Olympic Games. Having received a bye in the first round, Borgohain defeated experienced German Nadine Apetz 3-2 in her Round of 16 bout. Then, a 4-1 victory over Chen Nien-chin in the quarterfinals followed. This assures Borgohain of at least a bronze medal.

The pugilist becomes only the third Indian to clinch an Olympic medal. The 23-year-old will now have the chance to reach the summit clash. Her semi-final opponent will be Turkey's Busenaz Surmeneli on day 13 of the Tokyo Olympics.

The bout will begin at the Kokugikan Arena from 11:00 AM IST.

Women’s Hockey Semi-final: India Vs Argentina

Nobody expected the Indian women's hockey team to be medal contenders at the Tokyo Olympics. They started their campaign with losses against the Netherlands, Germany and Great Britain. However, narrow wins over Ireland and South Africa brought their campaign right back on track.

This meant the Women in Blue reached the knockout rounds of the Olympics for the first time-ever. In the quarterfinals, Sjoerd Marijne's side upset the odds to beat Australia. Another tough test against Argentina awaits the Indian women in the semi-finals. Can they go on and create further history?

The match will take place at the Oi Hockey Stadium at 3:30 PM IST.

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