Agencies
Rio, August 08:
Day two of the Rio Olympics was again a mixed bag for India. On one hand, India created history when gymnast Dipa Karmakar qualified for the final round of the Individual vault finals and the Indian women’s hockey team marked a positive return to the Olympics after 36 years, with a well-fought draw against higher-ranked Japan.
Here’s a look at the hits and misses for India on Rio Olympics Day two.
HITS
Dipa Karmakar
Dipa Karmakar scripted history on Sunday by becoming the first Indian gymnast to enter the Olympic finals. The 22-year-old qualified for the final round in the Individual vault final of artistic gymnastics, after finishing eighth on the standings.
Hockey
The Indian women’s hockey team showed tremendous fighting spirit as it came back from a two-goal deficit to hold Japan 2-2 in its opening pool encounter.
Shooting
Manavjit Singh Sandhu and Kynan Chenai kept themselves in the hunt in men’s trap qualification after finishing 17th and 19th respectively, on the first day of the competitions.
The action will continue on Monday, when the shooters will aim to seal a berth for the semi-finals.
MISSES
Archery
The Indian women’s archery team crashed out after losing to Russia in the quarter-finals. The Indians lost 23-25 in a closely contested shoot-off, after both teams were locked 4-4 on points, having won two sets each.
Earlier, the Indians had progressed onto the quarter-finals, beating Colombia 205-197.
Shooting
Shooter Heena Sidhu missed out in the race for the finals of the women’s 10 metres air pistol event, after finishing 14th in the qualifications. Heena could only manage a score of 380, with 13 inner 10s, after the completion of the four series. A late surge by the Ludhiana shooter was not enough, as she put up a score of 95 cumulative points in the fourth series to move to the 14th spot.
Star of the Day
Dipa Karmakar, in her debut Olympic Games, scripted history by becoming the first Indian to make the cut for the individual vault finals. In a country like India, that has produced no Olympic-level female gymnasts, Dipa’s achievements have already made her a star.
