NEW DELHI: Manu Bakel got off to a strong start by reaching the 10m air pistol final, while India’s badminton and men’s hockey teams also got off to a strong start at the Olympics on Saturday.
Harmanpreet Singh’s men’s hockey team defeated New Zealand 3-2 in an emotional match that was decided just a minute before the end of the game.
India’s scorers included Mandeep Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad and Harmanpreet Singh.
Earlier, Bakar, competing in her second Olympics, was trying to put memories of her tearful performance in Tokyo behind her, having qualified in third place for the women’s 10-meter air pistol final at the Chateauroux Shooting Center on Sunday afternoon.
In badminton, men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won their opening group stage match in straight sets at the Porte de la Chapelle Arena. The third-seeded pair, the reigning Asian Games champions, defeated France’s Lucas Corvet and Ronan Labarre 21-17, 21-14 in their Group C match.
Lakshya Sen also started his Olympic debut in style, beating Tokyo semi-finalist Kevin Cordon of Guatemala 21-8, 22-20 in the Group L men’s singles match.
Day 1: Real life events
Boxer Priti Pawar beat Vietnam’s Vo Thi Kim Anh in the first round of the women’s 54kg category to reach the quarterfinals. The Asian Games bronze medallist, making her Olympic debut, scored the opening goal for India, winning 5-0.
Paddler Harmeet Desai also performed well in his Olympic debut, outplaying Jordan’s Zaid Abo Yaman 4-0 to reach the second round of the men’s singles.
The familiar horror that Bakar experienced before saving the day
Bakar shot 580 in the qualifying round and qualified for the final.
The 22-year-old Haryana athlete, who was aiming to end the country’s shooting drought which has seen it fail to win an Olympic medal since 2012, qualified despite tough conditions and competition from Hungary’s Veronika Major who topped the list with 582 points.
Fellow Indian competitor Rhythm Sangwan finished in 15th place with 573 points.
Bakar maintained control throughout the 1 hour 15 minute session, with his coach Jaspal Rana expressing relief but stressing the importance of the final stage.
“What happened today doesn’t matter anymore. Tomorrow is what matters. We will make a fresh start,” he told PTI, referring to the heat at the training ground and the poor air conditioning.
In the men’s event, Sarabjot scored 577 points in the 10m air pistol event, placing him in ninth place behind Germany’s Robin Walter, who also scored 577 points, and narrowly missed out on a place in the finals.
Walter earned the final qualifying spot as he had one more inner 10 (X) than Singh’s 16.
Arjun Singh Cheema finished in 18th position with 544 points.
Coach Samresh Jan acknowledged the pressure on his Olympic debut and tried to console a visibly heartbroken Sarabjot Singh.
“There are only two types of people who don’t feel pressure. One is dead and the other is a fool. He is neither dead nor a fool,” said Yoon, who is hoping Sarabjot can make a comeback in the mixed team event.
At the rifle range, Indian participants lost in the 10m mixed team qualifying round.
Ramita Jindal and Arjun Babuta secured sixth position with a total score of 628.7 points while Elavenil Valarivan and Sandeep Singh secured 12th position with a total score of 626.3 points.
Of the 21 Indian shooters in the upcoming Olympics, 17 will be making their debut, adding to the pressure to perform on the world stage.
But despite setbacks in both the men’s and mixed events, Bakar’s final is India’s big chance to end a medal drought in shooting since 2012.
Sen adds some sparkle to the night
Senn showed marked improvement in his frontcourt attention and late-game composure during his match against Cordon.
Sen fended off four match points in 42 minutes despite trailing big in the second game to win. He will face Belgium’s Julien Callaghan in his second group match on Monday.
Meanwhile, Satwik and Chirag displayed their usual dominance, winning most of the rallies in the match that lasted for 45 minutes.
The Indian duo will face Germany’s Mark Lamsfuss and Marvin Seidel in their next group match on Monday.
Hockey team shows tenacity
The men’s hockey team, aiming to improve on the bronze medal they won in Tokyo, fell behind early in the game but showed composure to tie the score.
Harmanpreet’s team then allowed New Zealand to fight back but kept their cool thereafter to win the match in the nick of time.
India will take on Argentina in their next Pool B match on Monday.
Panwar advances to repechage in rowing
India’s only rower in the tournament, Balraj Panwar, placed fourth in the first heat of the men’s single sculls event and qualified for the repechage.
In table tennis, Desai easily defeated his opponent ranked 538th in the world in a qualifying round that lasted 30 minutes.
The 31-year-old from Surat is a stalwart in Indian table tennis, having been a key player in Team India’s gold medal-winning performances at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 and 2022. He has been striving for an Olympic spot for many years and has also competed in other top international tournaments.
Desai’s experience and dedication was evident as he won the qualifying matches with ease.
In boxing, 20-year-old Priti from Haryana had a weak first round as her Vietnamese opponent dominated the bout, but the Indian fighter bounced back in the next two, coming on the offensive and landing some notable blows.
Pretty will face second seed and world championship silver medalist Marcela Yeni Arias of Colombia in the round of 16 on Tuesday.