Tokyo Olympics: Medal for Lovlina Borgohain; P V Sindhu closes in

Debutant boxer Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) provided the spark that India’s Olympic campaign desperately needed with a medal-clinching quarterfinal win, while ace shuttler P V Sindhu reconfirmed her status as one of the greats of the sport as the country enjoyed a largely successful day 7 at the Games on Friday.

Borgohain, all of 23 and already a two-time world championship medallist, took a big step in making her own space in the Indian women’s boxing’s landscape, which has been largely dominated by the iconic M C Mary Kom.

She defeated former world champion Nien-Chin Chen of Chinese Taipei to become the first among nine Indian boxers in fray here to be assured of at least a bronze.

“Isi ladki se 4 baar haar chuki hun (I had lost to her four times earlier), all I wanted to do was prove a point to myself by being fearless against her. I was just looking for revenge,” she said with a wide grin after a fan­tastic win that triggered celebrations across India.

Later in the day, Sindhu overcame a draining challenge from Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi to prevail in straight games, the scoreline not quite reflecting the remarkable duel.

“For me it’s time to go back, relax and get ready for the next match. I’m happy but I need to prepare for the next match,” was her typically business-like response to the 21-13 22-20 win.

Another win will set her up for at least a silver, which she had also won in the 2016 edition. The hockey teams had a good day too. Already assured of a quarterfinal berth, the men were clinical in their 5-3 thrashing of Japan in their final group match. They will face Great Britain in the last-eight stage.

The women too kept their hopes of moving ahead alive with Navneet Kaur scoring a late winner against Ireland for a 1-0 win.

World number one Deepika Kumari’s quest for an Olympic medal ended in disappointment for the third time as she surrendered tamely to Korean top seed An San in straight sets in the quarterfinals. It was all over in six minutes.

There was little to celebrate in athletics as well with Avinash Sable shattering his own 3000m steeplechase national record being the only bright moment. But he failed to qualify for the final, while sprinter Dutee Chand produced a below-par performance — she clocked 11.54 seconds in 100m, well outside her national record of 11.17 seconds — to make an exit from the Games.

M P Jabir also brought up the rear in men’s 400m hurdles while the mi­xed 4x400m relay team finished ei­ghth and last in the second heat race.

The golf course was not a particu­l­arly happy place either as Anirban Lahiri end­u­red an erratic day and was even-par after 16 holes before the second round was suspended due to persistent thunderstorms over the east course of the Kas­u­migaseki Country Club. India’s other golfer, Udayan Mane (69), shot 2-under 69 with the help of three birdies on the back nine after being 1-over for the front nine. He is Tied-57th.

In shooting, Manu Bhaker and Rahi Sarnobat crashed out of the 25m pistol qualifications (rapid fire stage) finishing outside the top-8. The pistol shooters will return home empty-handed for the second straight time at the Olympics.