The first day of the Paris Olympics 2024 brought a blend of triumphs and disappointments for the Indian contingent, as several athletes made their mark while others missed out on opportunities.
Shooting:
10 Metre Air Rifle Mixed Team Event: India’s shooting campaign began on a sour note, with both Indian teams failing to advance to the medal matches. Elavenil Valarivan and Sandeep Singh, along with Arjun Babuta and Ramita Jindal, were unable to secure a spot among the top four teams required for qualification.
Men’s 10 Metre Air Pistol: The disappointment continued as Sarabjot Singh and Arjun Cheema fell short in the men’s 10 m air pistol competition. Sarabjot finished 9th with 577-16x points, while Cheema ranked 18th with 574-17x points, missing the final round.
Women’s 10 Metre Air Pistol: In a brighter moment, ace shooter Manu Bhaker secured a third-place finish in the qualification round, earning a spot in the final. Rhythm Sangwan, however, finished in 15th place, missing out on the final.
Badminton:
Men’s Singles: Lakshya Sen made a strong start, defeating Guatemala’s Kevin Cordon 21-8, 22-20 in the Group L match, winning in straight sets in 42 minutes.
Men’s Doubles: The duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty triumphed over France’s Lucas Corvee and Ronan Labar 21-17, 21-14 in Group C, wrapping up the match in 46 minutes.
Women’s Doubles: Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto faced a tough defeat against South Korea’s Kim So Yeong and Kong Hee Yong, losing 21-18, 21-10 in straight sets.
Hockey:
The Indian Men’s Hockey Team started their campaign with a thrilling 3-2 victory against New Zealand. Goals from Mandeep Singh (24′), Vivek Sagar Prasad (34′), and Harmanpreet Singh (59′) secured the win in Pool B.
Table Tennis:
Harmeet Desai advanced to the Round of 64 in men’s singles after a commanding 4-0 win over Jordan’s Zaid Abo Yaman. He will face Felix Lebrun of France next.
Boxing:
Preeti Pawar progressed to the Round of 16 in women’s 54 kg boxing, defeating Vietnam’s Vo Thi Kim Anh by unanimous decision. Despite trailing in the first round, Preeti made a strong comeback in the subsequent rounds.
Rowing:
Balraj Panwar faced a challenging start in rowing, finishing fourth in his heat race with a time of 7:07:11 minutes. Only the top three competitors advanced to the quarterfinals directly.
India’s opening day at the Paris Olympics showcased a mix of promising performances and areas for improvement, setting the stage for the days to come.
