Paris 2024: Five things to watch out for on Day 5
Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh win bronze in 10m air pistol mixed team event for India. Wednesday features key events in badminton, boxing, archery, football, and triathlon.
New Delhi: Manu Bhaker rose to the occasion again for India as she along with Sarabjot Singh claimed another bronze medal, this time in 10m air pistol mixed team event. While India doubles its medals tally to two bronze medals, they won’t be adding another on Wednesday as all their matches will be non-medal events.
Here are the five things to watch out for on Wednesday:
Badminton
Wednesday will be a big day for Indian badminton as HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen in men’s singles and PV Sindhu in women’s singles will play their final matches of their respective groups. A win will put all three in the Round of 16, making their matches virtual Round of 32 contests. While Sindhu and Prannoy face much lower ranked opponents, Lakshya will face a stiff test against reigning Asian and All England champion Jonatan Christie of Indonesia. Crucially, the knockout draws for men’s doubles will also be announced on Wednesday as Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty await their quarter-final opponents.
Time: 12:50 PM onwards
Boxing
One of only three Indian boxers to medal at the Olympics, Lovlina Borgohain will begin her campaign at Paris Olympics on Wednesday. Lovlina had claimed a bronze at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago and will face Norwegian Sunniva Hofstad in the women’s 75kg Round of 16. While the Indian won the World Championships gold last year in New Delhi, Sunniva won gold in the Junior World Championships two years ago. Also in action will be Nishant Dev, who will face Ecuador’s Jose Gabriel Rodriguez Tenorio in the men’s 71kg Round of 16
Time: 3:50 PM onwards
Archery
While the Indian teams failed to progress beyond the quarter-finals, hopes will be high from the archers to do well in the individual events. Bhajan Kaur started well on Tuesday by reaching the Round of 16. But Wednesday will see former world No.1 Deepika Kumari in action in the women’s Round of 64 as she takes on Estonian Reena Parnat. If she wins, she will also play her Round of 32 on Wednesday. Tarundeep Rai will also be in action in the men’s Round of 64 as he will face Briton Tom Gall.
Time: 3:56 PM
Football
Though in the group stages, there will be a lot of action in women’s football at the Games as four-time Olympic champions United States of America will take on Australia in a rematch of last edition’s bronze medal playoff. Reigning champions Canada will also be in action as they will face Colombia while Rio 2016 champions Germany will take on Zambia.
Time: 8:30PM onwards
Triathlon
Both the men’s and women’s triathlon events will take place at Pont Alexandre III. Last edition’s men’s champion Kristian Blummenfelt of Norway will be competing to defend his title. Tokyo 2020’s women’s gold medallist Flora Duffy of Bermuda will also be out to defend her crown.
Time: 11:30 AM onwards