Paris Olympics 2024 Day 6 Highlights: Swapnil Kusale bronze the only light for India as medal contenders fall

Paris Olympics 2024 Day 6 Highlights: PV Sindhu's hopes of winning a historic third medal came to an end.

Paris Olympics 2024 Day 6 Highlights: Swapnil Kusale's sensational bronze medal win early on Day 6 in 50m rifle 3 positions men's shooting final remained the highlight for India on a Thursday that ended up being a bittersweet affair for the country. PV Sindhu's hopes of winning a historic third Olympic medal came crashing down as she lost 19-21, 14-21 to China's He Bing Jiao. While it was an even contest in the first game, Sindhu struggled to keep up with the Chinese sixth seed. Sindhu had won silver at Rio 2016 and beaten He in the bronze medal match at Tokyo 2020 to win her second Games medal.

Sindhu's departure came after men's doubles medal hopes Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were knocked out in the quarterfinals after a 21-13, 14-21, 16-21 loss to Malaysia's Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik. Meanwhile, Lakshya Sen eased past HS Prannoy, who looked visibly spent, in the men's singles round of 16.

Kusale's bronze saw India's medal tally increase to three; Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh won bronze in mixed team 10m air pistol shooting while the former also came third in the individual event. Luck didn't prevail for Anjum Moudgil and Sift Kaur Samra, who couldn't make past qualification in women's 50m rifle 3 positions.

Sailor Vishnu Saravanan finished 10th in the first race of the day in men's dinghy but then finished a disappointing 34th in the second. This has left him 25th on the overall rankings featuring in Race 1. Nethra Kumana is ranked 6th after her first race in women's dinghy, with the second being postponed to Friday due to poor wind.

Meanwhile, India crumbled at the 20km race final, with Akshdeep, Vikash and Paramjeet failing to impress. Pravin Jadhav lost in his men's individual round of 32 fixture in archery. In boxing, Nikhat Zareen lost to China's Wu Yu in the women's 50kg round of 16. India lost 1-2 to Belgium in men's hockey.

RESULTS ON DAY 6-

Badminton

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty lose 21-13, 14-21, 16-21 to Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia, knocked out in men's doubles round of 16

Lakshya Sen beats HS Prannoy 21-12, 21-6, through to men's singles quarterfinals

PV Sindhu loses 19-21, 14-21 to China's He Bing Jiao, knocked in women's singles round of 16

Athletics

Vikash 30th in men's 20km race walk final, Paramjeet 37th and Akshdeep DNF

Priyanka Goswami finishes 41st in women's 20km race walk with time of 1:39.55s

Shooting

Swapnil Kusale wins bronze in men's 50m rifle three positions final

Anjum Moudgil, Sift Kaur Samra out in women's 50m rifle three positions qualification

Archery

Pravin Jadhav loses 0-6 to China's Wenchao Kao in the men's individual round of 32, knocked out

Boxing

Nikhat Zareen loses to China's Wu Yu in women's 50kg round of 16, knocked out

Hockey

India lose 1-2 to Belgium in Pool B

Sailing

- Vishnu Saravanan ranked 25th after first two races in men's dinghy

- Nethra Kumanan ranked 6th after first race in women's dinghy

Key events for India on Day 5 of Paris Olympics 2024:

- Swapnil Kusale bagged bronze in the 50m men's 3 position rifle final

- India faltered in the men's 20km race walk final

- Campaigns of badminton medal hopes PV Sindhu and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty came to an end in round of 16 and quarterfinals respectively