Day 14, Tokyo Olympics: Bajrang Loses S/F, GB Beat Women's Hockey Team
2021 Tokyo Olympics Day 14 LIVE Updates: Bajrang Punia lost 12-5 to Azerbaijan's Haji Aliyev in the SFs.
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Women's Hockey Team Aiming to Make History
The Indian women's hockey team will be looking to emulate the men's team and win their first-ever Bronze and overall medal at the Olympics. They will face Great Britain at 7 am IST. India had lost its semi-final match to Argentina 1-2, while Great Britain was decimated 5-1 by the Netherlands. However, the last time these two teams met was in the group stage, where India lost 1-4.
The 2018 Asian Games and Commonwealth Games Gold medallist Bajrang Punia will start his campaign against Kyrgyzstan's Ernazar Akmataliev in the men's freestyle 65kg round of 16 match after 8.49 am IST. The 27-year-old Bajrang has won six gold medals, three silver and one bronze in his last ten international tournaments. Seeded second, he will be participating in his very first Olympics. Meanwhile, Seema Bisla will be in action in the women's freestyle 50kg round of 16 match against Tunisia's Sarra Hamdi after 8.07 am IST.
Golfer Aditi Ashok, currently tied 2nd, and Diksha Dagar will be in action in round three of the women's individual finals 4 am IST onwards.
Gurpreet Singh will be in action in the Men's 50km walk final at 2 am IST. Later, Bhawna Jat and Priyanka Goswami will participate in Women's 20km walk final at 1 pm IST.
Arokia Rajiv, Muhammed Anas, Amoj Jacob, Noah Nirmal Tom, Naganathan Pandi will take part in the Men's 4x400m relay round one at 5.07 pm IST.
Very good morning to all! Welcome to The Quint's live coverage of Day 14 of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
After the men's hockey team's historic Bronze medal on Thursday, will the women's hockey team win theirs today?
Athletics Update: Gurpreet Singh failed to finish the Men's 50km walk final due to cramps. His race had started at 2 am IST. He dropped out of the race around the 35km mark. At the halfway point of 25km, Gurpreet was in 49th position with a time of 2:01:54.
Golf: Aditi Ashok is in action in round three of the women's individual finals. She is tied 2nd with a 2-under par through hole 4. She had carded a five-under 66 in the second round on Thursday. Diksha Dagar was tied-53rd and is yet to start round three.
Hockey: Right, then. It's time for the big one. India vs Great Britain. Bronze medal match. Out walk the umpires. And now it's time for the players. Time for the national anthems. Done with the toss. And now the customarty clash of sticks before the start of play. Team India in a huddle. High hopes from Vandana Katariya and Gurjit Kaur today. Hoping Savita does not have to do much today. She has been brilliant in this tournament.
Hockey: And the match begins. PC for Great Britain in the 2nd minute. Came off the foot of an Indian player. SAVED BY SAVITA! That drag-flick came at some force. Opportunity for India from the right. Free hit for GBR. Free hit for India just outside the attacking circle. Nothing comes out of it. Good work from Navneet Kaur from the right. Was searching for Rani Rampal, who deflects it wide. GBR have been defending well.
Hockey: Good start by India. GBR in India's D. Danger. Cleared out of it. Sharmila on the run from the right. Long corner for India. A run from the right by Lily Owsley. PC for GBR. Their 2nd of the game. They fail to trap it. India get away with it. Over 5 minutes left in Q1. GBR dominating possession. Sarah Jones in the striking circle. Shoots and Savita saves it once again. And Savita saves again. Not once but twice! Poor defending by India though.
Hockey: GBR have the ball once again. Shoot but an easy save by Savita. Indian defence being tested. Has been poor, to be honest. Need to communicate better. Hooter! End of Q1. 2 PCs for GBR. They have created better chances to score. Savita has been the star for India. Defence has been shambolic.
Hockey: Q2 begins. GBR start strongly. And they have scored. The cross from the right goes in from the stick of Deep Grace Ekka. She was trying to clear it but it gets deflected in the wrong direction. GBR go 1-0 up. Elena Rayer with the goal.
Hockey: And now GBR have a PC. Dominating at the moment. A slight variation. Attempted a deflection. It goes wide and hits the side board. Still 1-0 for GBR.
Great Chance for India. Lalremsiami with the tomahawk. But saved by Madeleine Hinch. Beautiful and vital save. And a PC for India. Trying a variation. Miss the opportunity to equalise. Slow work by the Indians. Easy for GBR to defend.
Hockey: Less than 9 minutes left in Q2. Long corner for GBR. Slightly better defending by India. A green card for Nisha. Out for 2 minutes. Down to 10 players. GBR putting pressure on India. Now attacking from the right. And GBR go 2-0 up. What a tomahawk that was by Sarah Robertson.
And now a PC for India. Gurjit Kaur with the drag-flick. Hits Lily Owsley above the knee. Another PC for India.
Hockey: GOAL!!! GURJIT KAUR SCORES. 2-1. HAMMERS IT IN TO THE RIGHT of the keeper. Defender tries to save it but the force is just too strong for her.
Less than 5 minutes left in Q2. 10 circle penetrations so far for GBR. India on the counter-attack. Salima Tete on the run from the left. Another PC for India.
GOAL!!!! GURJIT KAUR AGAIN. INDIA DRAW LEVEL. 2-2. AGAIN TO THE RIGHT.
Hockey: WHAT A COMEBACK. 2-2 FROM 0-2. Gurjit's fourth goal of the tournament and 2nd in this game.
India on the run again. Sharmila Devi it is. Just the keeper to beat. Goes round her. But the shot is wide and lacks power. Superb play by India.
AGAIN IN THE D. ANOTHER GOAL FOR INDIA. 3-2 UP. Put in by Vandana Katariya. Umpire referral though. Navneet had missed the first attempt. The goal stands. 3-2 it is.
WHAT A COMEBACK! Fourth goal of the tournament for Vandana Katariya. A minute left in Q2. Salima Tete from the right. And the hooter goes off. India leading 3-2 at half-time.
Hockey: Q3 begins. 3 goals in 6 minutes for India in Q2. Can we please have a repeat of that show here, please?
And as we write this, GBR is into the striking circle. PC for GBR. 3rd for them. Deflection. Saved by Monika. Superb!
Brilliant ball across the goal. GBR were looking for a deflection. All it needed was a touch. Luckily for India, that did not happen.
Hockey: Has been all GBR in the last 5 minutes. WHAT A SAVE BY SAVITA! Another chance and GBR draw level. However, a review. An umpire referral. The goal stands. 3-3 it is. Hollie Pearne-Webb with the goal.
A powerful run by Sharmila. A PC for India now. The shot goes wide after a deflection from a GBR player. Another PC for India. Saved by the keeper.
GBR on the counter. Saved by Savita. Rebound deflected by Deep Grace Ekka. Now, a long corner for GBR. Indian defence under pressure. Rehydration break for the players because of the heat and humidity.
Hockey: 3-3. 7 minutes left. Good run by Salima Tete but comes to nothing. GBR looking to attack from the right.
Chance again for GBR. WHAT A SAVE BY SAVITA! She has kept India in the match. Chance for GBR. Another Save by Savita. Rebound saved by the defender. India on the counter.
India have asked for a referral. Will it be a PC for India.
Wrestling: Seema Bisla's in action in her women's freestyle 50kg round of 16 match against Tunisia's Sarra Hamdi. And she has lost her match 3-1.
Bajrang Punia's freestyle 65kg round of 16 match against Kyrgyzstan's Ernazar Akmataliev will start soon.
Hockey: PC for India. India keep the referral as well. Gurjit Kaur is not on the pitch though. Deep Grace Ekka goes for it. Hooter goes off. End of Q3.
Hockey: Last 15 minutes and all to play for. Savita has been brilliant in the match. Q4 begins. And GBR have a PC. A yellow card for Udita. Out for 5 minutes. India down to 10 women.
A body blow to Nisha. Brave defending. PC saved. Another chance for GBR. Defended well. GBR on the attack again. Another PC for GBR now. Hits Salima Tete's foot. Go for a variation.
Another PC for GBR. No.6 for them. And another PC. And they have scored. Go 4-3 up. Grace Balsdon with the drag-flick which went through Savita's legs.
Hockey: Over 12 minutes left. Yellow card still in play. GBR on the attack again. Saved by the Indian defence. 21 circle penetrations for GBR. 8 for India. India now back to full strength. And now a green card for India. Sharmila Devi it is. Down to 10 women for the next 2 minutes. 7 minutes in a row.
PC for India. GBR have asked for a referral. Still going on. PC stands. GBR lose their referral. The video umpire says there is no clear reason to change the decision. Gurjit Kaur is on the pitch. Saved and then goes to hit an Indian player's foot. 4-3.
Hockey: Free hit for India. India back to full strength now. And it's time for a rehydration break. Indian women in a huddle. Last 7 minutes of the game. India have improved their possession - 54%. But GBR keeping the ball now. Less than 4 minutes left. India trailing 3-4.
Stunning reverse hit by Navjot Kaur. Good run by Salima Tete now. And a GBR player is hit on the face by her own player's stick.
Hockey: India ask for a referral for dangerous play. A sideline free-hit to India. Lose their referral. 90 seconds left. GBR on the counter. 60 seconds left now. India trailing 3-4. A hit out for GBR. 10 seconds now. And the hooter goes off. India have lost the bronze medal match 3-4.
Rani Rampal, Savita, Gurjit Kaur, all are in tears now. Heartbreaking. A lot of dejected shoulders. Meanwhile, the GBR players have tears of joy. It was a fairytale run for the Indian women's team. They were superb throughout the tournament.
Indian women finish 4th. Bronze for Great Britain.
Wrestling: Bajrang Punia's freestyle 65kg round of 16 match against Kyrgyzstan's Ernazar Akmataliev begins.
Punia in blue. Looking for a clean hold. Passivity rule in play. 30 seconds given to Ernazar. If he is unable to score then a point will be awarded to Punia. And Punia goes 1-0 up.
A point for Ernazar. Pushes Punia out of bounds. 1-1. Bajrang manages a takedown just before the end of the first period. 3-1.
Wrestling: 2nd period begins. Punia looking for the single-leg takedown. Has been denied so far. Gets a single leg hold. Solid defending by Ernazar. Hold is broken as both go into the safety zone.
Ernazar goes for a takedown. Superb defending by Punia. A point for Ernazar as he pushes Bajrang Punia out of bounds. 10 seconds to go. 3-2. Another point for Ernazar. 3-3. Hooter goes off.
Bajrang Punia wins. 3-3. Declared the winner because of his high-scoring maneuver earlier.
Wrestling: Sarra Hamdi, Seema Bisla's victor in the round of 16, loses in the quarter-finals. This means it's the end of the road for Seema Bisla. Won't get another shot in the repechage round.
Wrestling: Bajrang Punia will take on Iran's Morteza Ghiasi Cheka in the quarter-finals of the men's 65kg freestyle wrestling. Punia wasn't at his best in his round of 16 match. His QF is just 2 matches away.
Wrestling: Bajrang Punia's quarter-final match in the men's 65kg freestyle category against Iran's Morteza Ghiasi Cheka begins.
A warning for Punia for passivity. Passive count has come in to play. 30 seconds for Punia to score a point. Otherwise Ghiasi gets a point. Ghiasi gets a point. Goes 1-0 up. Bajrang is very defensive at the moment. Ghiasi goes for the single-leg takedown but good defence by Bajrang. Was going for his weak right knee. End of the first period. Ghiasi leading 1-0.
Wrestling: Second period begins. Good leg hold by Ghiasi. Well defended. Ghiasi attacking his right knee. Passivity charge against Punia. Again 30 seconds for him to score or a point goes to Ghiasi.
First two points by Bajrang via takedown. Gets the counter and the fall. What a comeback. Wins the match 2-1. He was trailing by a point.
Wrestling: Second seed Bajrang Punia, making his Olympic debut, will now face Azerbaijan's Haji Aliyev, a three-time world champion, in the men's freestyle 65kg semi-finals in the afternoon.
Golf update: Aditi Ashok finishes round three with a three-under and an overall 12-under. She is currently in 2nd position.
Aditi has a two-stroke lead over Lydia Ko (-10) of New Zealand, while USA's Nelly Korda enjoys a three-stroke (-15) lead over Aditi.
Round 4 has been rescheduled to Saturday, 7 August, 3 am IST.
Meanwhile, Diksha Dagar finished round three with a one-over and is tied-51st with an overall 7-over.
Khel Ratna Award Named After Major Dhyan Chand
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced in a tweet that the Khel Ratna Award, India’s highest sporting award, will, from now on, be called the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, respecting the sentiments of citizens across the country. Earlier, the award was named after former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Rs 50 Lakh Award Announced for Each Player from Haryana in Women's Hockey Team
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday announced a cash prize of Rs 50 lakhs for each of the nine women's hockey team members from the state, who were a part of the Olympic squad, reported ANI.
Athletics: India's Bhawna Jat and Priyanka Goswami are currently in action in the Women's 20km walk final.
Priyanka, the current national record holder, is at 17th position after the 2km mark, with a time of 9:26. Meanwhile, Bhawana, the previous national record holder, is 34th with a time of 9:28.
Athletics: Priyanka moves to 4th position after the 4km mark, with a time of 18:32. Bhawana too moves up six places to 28th with a time of 18:36.
Athletics: Priyanka moves to 3th position after the 6km mark, with a time of 27:37. Bhawana drops down places to 33rd with a time of 27:58. A 21-second gap between the two.
Athletics: Priyanka moves to 1st place after the 8km mark, with a time of 36:49. Bhawana remains 33rd with a time of 37:39.
Athletics: Priyanka drops down to 9th place after the 10km mark, with a time of 45:47. However, the top 11, all have the same time. Bhawana too drops two places to 35th with a time of 47:31. A minute and 34 seconds behind. 10kms left.
Athletics: End of the 12km mark. Priyanka is 10th with 55:02, just a second behind the top eight. Bhawna is 33rd with 57:17.
Athletics: Priyanka has dropped down five places to 15th at the end of the 14km mark. Bhawna still at 33rd.
Athletics: Priyanka drops to 17th at the end of 16kms with 1:13:49. A minute and four seconds behind the leaders. Bhawna at 31st with 1:17:19. 4:34 behind the leaders. Just 4kms left. Italy's Antonella Palmisano is in the lead. Has completed 16kms in 1 hour 12 minutes and 45 seconds.
Athletics: Priyanka still at 17th at the end of 18kms. Two minutes, 25 seconds behind the leader at 1:23:25. Italy's Antonella Palmisano still in the lead. Bhawna drops one place to 32nd. 6:32 behind Palmisano at 1:27:31.
Athletics: Italy's Antonella Palmisano finishes first with a time of 1:29:12. Colombia's Sandra Arenas comes second with 1:29:37. China's Hong Liu finishes third with 1:29:57.
Priyanka finishes 17th, 3:24 behind the leaders. Bhawna Jat finishes 32nd, 8:26 behind Palmisano.
Up Next
Wrestling: Bajrang Punia's men's freestyle 65kg semi-final match against Haji Aliyev of Azerbaijan after 2.52 pm IST.
The first semi-final between Russia's Gadzhimurad Rashidov and Japan's Takuto Otoguro is currently going on. Second period going on. Otoguro leading 3-0. Less than a minute left. One point for Rashidov. 3-1. Second warning for Rashidov. 3-2. And the hooter goes off. Otoguro wins 3-2. Is in the final.
Wrestling: It's time for Bajrang Punia's match against Rio Olympic Bronze medallist Haji Aliyev of Azerbaijan. The winner will face Japan's Takuto Otoguro in the final. Match begins.
Punia trying to push Aliyev out of bounds. A passivity warning for Aliyev. Needs to score in 30 seconds or a point for Punia. 1-0.
2 points for Aliyev for a takedown. Another takedown and another 2 points for Aliyev. 4-1. Hooter goes off. End of the first period. Aliyev leading 4-1.
Wrestling: 2nd period begins. Another takedown and 2 points for Aliyev. Goes for the legs. Rolls Punia. 2 more. Leading 8-1. Another attack. Bajrang holds on. A 10 point difference means the match will be over.
Punia manages a takedown. 8-3. Five point difference. Punia was trying to push Aliyev out of bounds but Aliyev turned it around and gets the point. 9-3.
Another takedown by Bajrang. 9-5. Another 2 for Aliyev via takedown. 11-5. 2.8 seconds left. A challenge by Bajrang Punia though. Challenge lost. Another point due to that unsuccessful challenge. And Bajrang gives up with just two seconds left. He loses the match 5-12.
Wrestling: Bajrang Punia will now be fighting for Bronze tomorrow against the winner of the Niyazbekov vs Diatta bout, who will compete in the repechage round tomorrow as well. The Bronze medal match will be held after 3:55 pm IST on 7 August.
Athletics:
In the Men's 4x400m relay heat, India's Arokia Rajiv, Muhammed Anas, Amoj Jacob, Noah Nirmal Tom, Naganathan Pandi finished fourth in their heat and missed out on the final.
The Indians clocked 3:00:25 which is an Asian Record.
Wrestling: Bajrang Punia's loses semi-final match 12-5, Bronze medal match tomorrow ater 3:55 pm IST
Golf: Aditi Ashok finished round three in second position
Hockey: Women's hockey team lose 3 - 4 to GBR, finish 4th
Athletics: Gurpreet Singh fails to finish Men's 50km race walk
Wrestling: Seema Bisla loses to Sarra Hamdi in round-of-16
Women's 20km walk final: Priyanka Goswami finishes 17th, Bhawna Jat 32nd.
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