India’s second day at the Paris Olympics 2024 started on a high note with shooting sensation Manu Bhaker making history by winning a bronze medal in the women’s 10m pistol event, marking the nation's first medal of the games.
While many athletes excelled in the early rounds of their events, a few faced heartbreaks as their campaigns came to an end.
Before Day 3 kicks off, let's dive into a comprehensive wrap-up of all the action and highlights involving Indian athletes on the second day of the quadrennial event:
Shooting
Manu Bhaker secured a historic bronze in the women’s 10m pistol event with a score of 221.7 in the final, becoming the first Indian woman shooter to win a medal at the Olympics.
Meanwhile, Ramita Jindal advanced to the women's 10m Air Rifle final after finishing fifth in the qualification round. Initially the second-best Indian shooter until the fifth series, Ramita surged ahead in the final series to surpass teammate Elavenil Valarivan and secure her spot in the final with a total score of 631.5. Elavenil, however, narrowly missed the final, finishing tenth with a score of 630.7.
In the Men's 10m Air Rifle event, Arjun Babuta qualified for the final by finishing seventh in the qualification round with a score of 630.1 points. His teammate, Sandeep Singh, did not progress further, ending in 12th position with 629.3 points.
Archery
The Indian women's archery team, consisting of Ankita Bhakat, Bhajan Kaur, and Deepika Kumari, saw their campaign come to a disappointing end as they were defeated by the Netherlands in the quarterfinals.
The team fell short with scores of 51-52, 49-54, and 48-53 against their Dutch opponents.
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Tennis
India’s top tennis player, Sumit Nagal, exited the 2024 Olympics in the opening round after a hard-fought match against France’s Corentin Moutet. Nagal was defeated 2-6, 6-2, 5-7 in a grueling two-hour and 28-minute battle on Court 7.
This defeat extends Nagal’s disappointing Olympic run, following his second-round exit at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics against Daniil Medvedev.
Table Tennis
India experienced a mixed day in the Olympic Games table tennis competition as Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula advanced to the next round in women's singles, while top male paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal was defeated in the opening round of men's singles.
Manika, began her campaign with a commanding 4-1 victory (11-8, 12-10, 11-9, 9-11, 11-5) over Great Britain’s Anna Hursey in the Round of 64 in women's singles.
On the men's side, veteran paddler Sharath Kamal faced a setback, losing to Slovenia’s Deni Kozul 2-4 (12-10, 9-11, 6-11, 7-11, 11-8, 10-12) in a Round of 64 match that lasted 53 minutes. In women's singles, 2022 Commonwealth Games medalist Sreeja Akula also advanced to the Round of 32 with a decisive 4-0 win, defeating Sweden's Christina Kallberg 11-4, 11-9, 11-7, 11-8 in the Round of 64.
India's campaign in men's singles came to an end when Harmeet Desai went down fighting against and world number 5 – French prodigy Felix Lebrun. Harmeet lost the match in straight sets, but the scoreline of 0-4 does not do him justice, as he did put up a fight in an 8-11, 8-11, 6-11, 8-11 defeat.
Boxing
Nikhat Zareen achieved a dominant 5-0 unanimous victory over Germany's Maxi Carina Kloetzer in the Round of 32 in the women’s 50kg category in what was her Olympics debut.
The bout highlighted Zareen's tactical brilliance. From the opening bell, she displayed exceptional footwork, precise jabs, and impeccable timing, leaving her opponent struggling to keep pace. The judges unanimously awarded Zareen the win with a 5-0 decision.
Rowing
Balraj Panwar advanced to the quarterfinals of the men's single sculls after securing second place in the repechage round.
Panwar completed the race in 7:12.41, earning his spot in the quarterfinals. He will now compete in Quarterfinal 4, where the top three rowers will qualify for the semifinals.
Swimming
India's swimming campaign at the 2024 Olympics came to an end as Srihari Nataraj and Dhinidhi Desinghu were eliminated in the heats of the men’s 100m backstroke and women’s 200m freestyle events, respectively.
At the Paris La Defense Arena, Srihari Nataraj clocked 55.01 seconds, finishing second in heat 2 and 33rd overall out of 46 competitors.
Dhinidhi Desinghu, the youngest member of India’s contingent at just 14 years old, clocked 2:06.96 to top heat 1. Despite her strong performance, she finished 23rd out of 30 swimmers across four heats and did not advance.
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Badminton
Ace shuttler PV Sindhu kicked off her campaign with a straightforward 21-9, 21-6 victory over Maldives' Fathimath Nabaaha Abdul Razzaq in the women's singles Group M opener at La Chapelle Arena.
The two-time Olympic medallist is set to face Estonia's Kristin Kuuba in her second group stage match on Wednesday.
In the men's singles Group K opener, HS Prannoy triumphed over Germany’s Fabian Roth with a convincing 21-18, 21-12 victory.
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