Tokyo 2020 Highlights Day 7: Sindhu enters semifinals; Boxer Lovlina assures medal; India finish 2nd in men's Pool A

This has been a free-flowing game so far. Despite Japan pulling one back, India have had the upper hand in possessional and other major areas of the match

Tanaka Kenta, who has looked the most threatening Japanese player on the pitch so far for India, has scored to halve the home team's parity

WORLD NO.1 KNOCKED OUT! Novak Djokovic crashes out in the semifinals of the men's singles event after losing 6-1, 3-6,1-6 to Germany Alexander Zverev. Is this the upset of the year?

India begin Q2 with a goal. Gurjant Singh gets down on the knees and deflects the ball hone. Simranjeet is played through and he goes for goal. The Japanese goalkeeper makes the save charging off his line but Simranjeet stays with the ball, hits it again towards the right post where Gurjant Singh deflects it home. His first goal of the competition

The first 15 belong to India

India win a PC and Hamapreet Singh nets his fourth goal of the tournament

Japan's Tanaka Kenta goes for goal but the ball shoots just wide of Sreejesh.

Yoshikawa makes a great stop near the goal line after Harmanpreet Singh put in a dangerous ball to the left post

Q1 begins: Quick recap of the starting XIs:

INDIA XI: PR Sreejesh (GK), Birendra Lakra, Surender Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Manpreet Singh (C), Hardik Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Dilpreet Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Sumit.

JAPAN XI: Takashi Yoshikawa (GK), Koji Yamasaki, Genki Mitani, Seren Tanaka, Kazuma Murata, Kenta Tanaka, Yuma Nagai, Manabu Yamashita (C), Masaki Ohashi, Shota Yamada, Hirotaka Zendana.

We now have the Indian men's hockey team taking on Japan in their final Pool A game. India are into the quarters and assured of a second-placed finish. Can they end this stage with a win? Let's find out

World No.1 Tennis player Novak Djokovic says he thrives under pressure. Sindhu seems to enjoy it as well and she brings out her best under pressure

Just one game away from the semifinals. Let's go!

Scores: Sindhu-Yamaguchi

1-0: What a smash down the line from Sindhu past Yamaguchi's forehand.

1-1: Excellent from Akane. Forces Sindhu deep into the court towards the forehand corner, opens up the backhand side and wins the point with a smash.

2-1: Another slip from Akane as her tap on the forehand side ends up into the net.

3-2: Akane's crosscourt drop fails to cross the net.

3-3: A long, exhausting rally and eventually, Sindhu's lift falls just outside the line.

4-3: PRESSURE! A service error from Yamaguchi.

5-3: On the jump from the backline, goes crosscourt. The call is of out and Sindhu challenges and is successful. The shuttle indeed grazed the line.

6-4: MENACING! Sindhu uses her height to fetch the shuttler from over and across her head on the forehand and drill a menacing smash down the line. No chance for Akane on that occasion.

6-5: Great defence from the Japanese. The long rallies are working in favour of Akane and they are taking some sting out of Sindhu. The Indian concedes the point by netting her return.

7-5: Long! Akane's return falls long of the backline.

8-5: Akane returns one smash but fails to connect her next return cleanly as she concedes another point.

9-5: Another push hit long by Akane. Strange

10-5: A great piece of net play from Sindhu. Waits for the shuttle to cross the net before pushing the ball into the court for a winner.

10-6: Sindhu's forehand crosscourt slice falls just wide.

11-6: A 5-point advantage at the mid-game interval. A thumping crosscourt smash that Akane fails to return over the net.

12-6: SCINTILLATING! Another powerful crosscourt smash past Akane's forehand.

12-7: A down the line jump smash from Yamaguchi helps her pull one point back.

13-7: The body language of Akane is saying it all. Hands on the knees, head dropped. She knows she can't make any more unforced errors.

14-8: What a drop. On the backfoot, bodyweight going backward, she nails an excellent drop shot to the near side of the left line from the centre.

14-9: Wide from Sindhu bur the Indian challenges and she loses it. Her return is wide

14-10: Error in judgment from Sindhu. Looks to for the return but backs out of it at the last moment. The shuttle falls inside the backline.

15-11 A flurry of flat smashes from Sindhu and Akane returns them until she nets the last one

15-13: What a miss. She looks to go for the kill with her backhand at the net but misses it.

15-14: THE BEST AND THE LONGEST RALLY SO FAR! BOTH PLAYERS DOWN ON THEIR KNEES, CATCHING UP ON THEIR BREATH. Eventually, it was a crosscourt smash from Akane that wins her the point. What a comeback this has been from Akane Yamaguchi. 54 shots in this rally.

15-15: Scores level! Akane has wiped out Sindhu's lead by winning seven of the last eight points. Sindhu smashes the shuttle into the net.

15-16: Into the lead now and Sindhu drags her return wide.

16-16: A great drop shot from Sindhu and despite being far back, Akane managed to get to the shot but ended up returning it into the net.

16-17: Another costly miss. She opened up the backhand court by forcing Akane to make a loopy return while going down on her knees. All Sindhu had to do was place it but she hit it wide.

16-18: Excellent defence from Sindhu. She goes crosscourt with her forehand smash and it is called wide. The Indian challenges but fails.

18-18: BACK LEVEL AGAIN! A perfect net shot from Sindhu. This time, she doesn't miss the backhand tap at the net.

18-19: Yamaguchi's down the line smash is returned into the net by Sindh.

18-20: Two game points for the Japanese with a sumptuous drop to Sindhu's backhand.

19-20: One saved. A beautiful smash down the line, past Akane's backhand, to win the point.

20-20: WHAT TREMENDOUS FOLLOW-UP. Saves both. Comes forward, plays the drops well, and then goes back for two thumping smashes. She draws level.

21-20: SHE HAS A MATCH POINT NOW. A scintillating down the line smash.

22-20: THAT'S IT! SINDHU ENTERS THE SEMIFINALS after 56 minutes

India's sailor Vishnu Saravanan, finishes 15th in the Men's One Person Dinghy Laser Race 10. He finished 3rd in Race 09. He finishes 27th in the overall standings.

Sindhu-Yamaguchi

0-1: Sindhu' forehand finds the net

1-1: She is off the mark with a heavy forehand smash past Akane's forehand.

1-2: A great drop shot from Akane, forces Sindhu to rush forward and dig deep with her forehand return. Akane then wins the point with a smash past Sindhu's backhand.

2-3: Clever from Yamaguchi. She goes two back-to-back parallel smashes. Sindhu returned one but failed to return the second off her backhand.

2-4: Sindhu looks for a flat, fast return but it finds the net.

3-5: Once again, Akane attacks down the line with her forehand and Sindhu's return is high and loose. Akane makes her pay with a sumptuous forehand drop shot to Sindhu's forehand.

4-5: Could have been nasty but Akane is okay. Her left ankle rolls lightly as Sindhu takes the point home.

5-6: A great comeback so far from Sindhu. She plays a beautiful drop shot and it's too far way from Akane to return on the backhand side.

6-6: Scores level! Sindhu makes a good judgement as she lets the shuttle fly long.

7-6: Sindhu takes the lead! Once again, Sindhu lets the shuttler over her fall, thinking it's long. Akane challenges and she fails. She has one challenge remaining in this game.

8-6: Sindhu increases he slender advantage

8-7: Oh, what a sad end to a great rally. Sindhu shows great anticipation and defense to stay in the rally and loses the point when she lets the shuttler over her land inside the court thinking it was going to shoot long.

9-7: Sindhu trusting her judgment and is standing her ground despite Yamaguchi taking the game to her. Once again, she lets go off a push from Akane and it falls long.

10-7: A great smash. Whenever it's short from her opponent, Sindhu more often than not punishes them with smash.

11-7: At the mid-game interval, Sindhu leads by 4. A thumping smash past Akane's backhand from the net.

11-8: BOOM! That's the only way to describe Akane's thumping overhead smash from the backline past Sindhu's backhand.

9-14: Sindhu stays ahead as Akane misses her return off Sindhu's slice.

14-10: This time, Sindhu smashes the shuttle into the net

14-11: Solid from Akane. Keeping all shots low and front towards the court, making Sindhu at bay. Eventually, she goes down the line with her smash and Sindhu returns the shuttle into the net.

15-11: Sindhu draws Akane forward with a net dribble and the Japanese nets the return.

17-11: What a rally. Yamaguchi makes a full-stretch dive near the right court to stay in the rally and Sindhu then punches the shuttle into open space for another point.

18-11: Akane's return drifts long.

18-12: GREAT REACTIONS! Sindhu and Akane meet at the net and Sindhu thinks she has the point with a flat, fast tap off her backhand but Akane somehow taps it over to the far court for another point.

18-13: Akane's backfoot tap flies over Sindhu, who lets it go. The shuttle is called in and Sindhu challenges but she is unsuccessful. She also has one challenge is remaining in the game.

19-13: A crosscourt smash from Akane. It's called and Sindhu, on her knees, challenges it and this time, she wins it. The point goes to the Indian.

20-13: A moment of indecision from Akane forces to make a loose return and then Sindhu wins the point with a smash at the net.

21-13: SINDHU WINS THE OPENING GAME as Akane pushes her return wide.

Yamaguchi, in all red, will serve first. Sindhu is in all blue. IT IS TIME AS THE WARM-UPS are done! Let's get going!

En route to this quarterfinal, Yamaguchi has won all her three matches in straight games. Both players are in form and you can expect this to be a pulsating, exhausting encounter

FINAL FOR KHACHANOV:

Russian Karen Khachanov set up an Olympic men's singles final against either Novak Djokovic or Alexander Zverev by overpowering Pablo Carreno Busta in the last four on Friday.

The 12th seed, a former top-10 player who has struggled for consistency in the last three seasons, produced an impressive display in Tokyo to dispatch Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-3.

Khachanov is bidding to become the first Russian champion in the men's singles since Yevgeny Kafelnikov struck gold in Sydney 21 years ago.

Sindhu is the only Indian remaining in the badminton fray. All eyes are glued to their screen as Sindhu takes on Yamaguchi. The pressure usually brings the best out of her. Can she deliver?

The 2016 Rio Olympics silver medallist Sindhu defeated Denmark's Mia Blichfeldt 21-15 21-13 in just 41 minutes.

Sindhu and Yamaguchi will make their way out anytime now. We are moments away from the big match.

Previous meeting: Sixth-seed Sindhu defeated the Japanese 16-21, 21-16, 21-19. in the All England Open quarterfinals in March earlier in 2021.

Yamaguchi is seeded fourth this Games

The Indian will take on Akane Yamaguchi in the quarterfinals.

In about 25 minutes, Sindhu takes on Yamaguchi, against whom, she leads the H2H record 11-7

A great first outing on Day 7 of the Olympics for India's Vishnu Saravanan, finishes 3rd in the Men's One Person Dinghy Laser Race 9.