No gold in sight: Neeraj Chopra fetches silver, hockey team gets bronze

Paris, Aug 8 (PTI) Superstar Neeraj Chopra signed off with a silver, bested by Pakistan’s Olympic record-breaking Arshad Nadeem in the men’s javelin throw, and the hockey team delivered a much-anticipated bronze to enhance India’s overall tally but the country is almost certain to end up without a gold in the ongoing Games here.

With Chopra’s silver and four bronze medals, three of them coming from the shooting contingent last week, India stood 63rd in the medals table. Arch-foes Pakistan were 10 notches above thanks to Nadeem’s gold, the country’s lone medal at the big event.

A day after wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s heartbreaking disqualification from the 50kg gold medal bout, the Indian contingent was desperately hoping for medals from the hockey team and Chopra.

Both delivered but Chopra, despite becoming a bonafide legend in Indian athletics with his consecutive Olympic medals, was a shade underwhelming, managing just one legitimate throw, the medal-winning 89.45m effort.

It was a season’s best performance but not enough to get him the gold, which was snared by Nadeem with a throw of 92.97m, a new Olympic record that left the Stade de France stunned.

The earlier Olympic record stood at 90.57m in the name of Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway, set during the 2008 Beijing Games.

Thorkildsen was watching the proceedings from the stands, along with three-time Olympic champion and world record (98.48m) holder Jan Zelezny of Czech Republic.

Nonetheless, Chopra became only the third Indian and the first in track and field to win back-to-back individual Olympic medals.

Only wrestler Sushil Kumar (2008 and 2012) and shuttler PV Sindhu (2016 and 2021) have won back-to-back Olympic medals.

Hockey team shows grit

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India defeated Spain 2-1 in an exciting third-place match with skipper Harmanpreet Singh striking twice with penalty corners (30th and 33rd minutes) after Spain took the early lead thanks to skipper Marc Miralles’ penalty stroke in the 18th minute.

Through the game and much like several other games in the past, Sreejesh stood like a rock in front of the goal, thwarting almost every attack that threatened India’s chances.

India, who claimed the bronze in Tokyo Games after a gap of 41 years, lived up to the expectations and in the process ensured that the long-serving Sreejesh, whose career spanned a remarkable 18 years, walked into the sunset a content man.

The last time India won back-to-back Olympic medals was in 1968 (bronze) and 1972 editions (bronze).

Wrestler Sehrawat enters bronze playoff

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Young grappler Aman Sehrawat lost to Japanese top-seed Rei Higuchi in the 57kg free-style semifinal bout and will now play for the bronze medal against Puerto Rico’s Darian Toi Cruz on Friday.

Aman, who had raised hopes of securing a place in the final following two big victories against celebrated opponents in the earlier rounds, was no match for the 28-year-old Higuchi — the 2016 Rio Olympics silver medallist — as the Japanese toyed with him to stamp his technical superiority with a 10-0 win in just over two minutes.

Women’s golfers stay steady

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Indian golfers Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar were at tied-14th in the 60-player field after two rounds at the Paris Olympics women’ golf competition.

Aditi played one-under 71 after a first round 72 and Diksha was even at 72 after a first round 71. At 1-under each for 36 holes, the Indian duo was Tied-14 in the 60-player field, which has no cut.

Aditi had four birdies, all in succession from the sixth to the ninth against bogeys on the third, fifth and 12th. Diksha was two-under with birdies on the Par-5 third and Par-3 11th and stayed two-under till she came to the 18th, where she messed a third shot with a wedge and ended with a double.

Antim Panghal heads home amid threat of ban

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“Please leave me alone, I want to go back home,” said a distressed Antim Panghal as she and her team left for New Delhi on Thursday evening, concluding a controversial Olympic campaign in which she was ousted in the opening round before facing the prospect of a three-year ban for alleged indiscipline.

Having lost to Turkey’s Yetgil Zeynep in her opening bout, the 53kg category wrestler, who made an Olympic debut here, grabbed headlines on Wednesday after a “disciplinary breach” involving her entourage, including younger sister Nisha.

She allegedly tried to facilitate her sister’s access into the Games village by using her accreditation card, which is a violation of the rules.

Vinesh announces retirement

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Her long-cherished Olympic dream shattered by a cruel twist of fate, Vinesh Phogat bid adieu to her international wrestling career, saying she doesn’t have the strength to continue anymore.

The 29-year-old, who was disqualified for being 100gm overweight ahead of her 50kg category gold medal bout in the olympics on Wednesday, announced her decision on social media, seeking forgiveness from everyone who supported her.

Addressing her mother Premlata, Vinesh wrote, “Ma, wrestling has won, I have lost. Please forgive me, your dreams and my courage, everything is broken.”

“I don’t have any more strength now. Goodbye wrestling 2001-2024. I shall be indebted to you all. Forgive (me),” added the two-time world championships bronze-medallist.