P V Sindhu became the country's first-ever woman silver medal winner in the Olympic Games after coming second best against world champion Carolina Marin of Spain in a pulsating clash for the gold in the badminton singles on day 14 of competition.
However, India continued to face setbacks on the athletics track and in men's wrestling in which Sandeep Tomar got eliminated in the first round after medal hope Narsingh Yadav was ejected from the Games Village without getting on the mat following the CAS ruling to ban him for four years for a doping violation back home in June.
Narsingh had been exonerated by the National Anti-Doping Agency after a hearing at home to put him on the flight to Rio but the World Anti-Doping Agency challenged the verdict in the Court of Arbitration for Sports, and a marathon four-hour hearing was held before he was thrown out of the Olympics.
It was heartbreak time for Sindhu whose dream to win what would have been only the second individual gold medal for India in Olympics history was dashed as she went down with guns blazing against the world no. 1 Spaniard in the final.
The 21-year-old Indian woman's gallant attempt to emulate the eight-year-old feat of shooter Abhinav Bindra and join him in the list of Olympic champions was foiled as the Indian world no. 10 crumbled under the tremendous pressure created by Marin to lose 21-19 12-21 15-21.
Sindhu thus became the fourth Indian to win a silver at the Olympics after shooters Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (2004, Athens) and Vijay Kumar (2012, London) and wrestler Sushil Kumar (2012, London).
The two-time World championship bronze medallist also became the fifth woman player from India to win a medal in Olympics history and the first to clinch a silver. She is also the youngest Indian to win a medal at the Olympics.
Weightlifter Karnam Malleshwari (2000, Sydney), boxer MC Mary Kom (2012, London), shuttler Saina Nehwal (2012, London) and wrestler Sakshi Malik (Rio, 2016) are the other women players from India to clinch a medal in the quadrennial sports spectacle.
Away from Sidhu's heroics, Tomar lost to two-time World Champion Victor Lebedev of Russia 3-7 in the 57 kg category and got ousted from the men's freestyle wrestling when Lebedev was beaten 1-6 in his next encounter against Sabzali Hassan Rahimi of Iran.
Had Lebedev progressed to the final, Tomar would have been given a fresh lease of life to fight for the bronze through repechage, but it was not to be and he got eliminated.
In athletics the Indians, a host of whom had taken the flight to this Brazilian city through the qualification process, continued to flounder in the face of quality of competition much beyond their reach.
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