The Indian men’s hockey team cruised into the Olympic Games quarterfinal with a comprehensive 3-1 victory over defending champions Argentina in its penultimate pool match today.
After goalless first two quarters, India broke the deadlock in the 43rd minute through Varun Kumar before Vivek Sagar Prasad (58th) and Harmanpreet Singh (59th) struck in the closing minutes of the match to seal the contest. Argentina’s lone goal came from a penalty corner conversion by Schuth Casella in the 48th minute.
By virtue of this win, India have consolidated their position in the second spot of Pool A with three wins and one loss out of four games, behind Australia.
Argentina are struggling at the fifth spot in the six-team pool and need to beat New Zealand in their final preliminary match on Friday to stay in the hunt for a quarterfinal berth.
The top-four make the last-eight stage from each group. India will play hosts Japan in their final pool match on Friday.
Badminton
Reigning World Champion P.V. Sindhu sailed into the Women’s Singles quarterfinals after beating Denmark’s Mia Blichfeldt in straight games at the Tokyo Olympics Badminton competition this morning.
The 26-year-old Indian, who won a silver in the 2016 Rio Olympics, notched up a 21-15 21-13 win over 13th seed Blichfeldt in a 41-minute match.
Sindhu will next face Akane Yamaguchi of Japan tomorrow at 12 noon (IST).
Now, Sindhu is the lone Indian badminton hope left in fray.
BOXING
Indian boxer Satish Kumar (+91kg) eased into the quarterfinals of his debut Olympic Games, defeating Jamaica’s Ricardo Brown in his opening bout here today. In the battle of two debutants, Satish prevailed 4-1, a comfortable win for him despite the split verdict.
The 32-year-old 2-time Asian Championships bronze-winner Indian was helped by Brown’s poor footwork throughout the bout though he did end up sustaining a cut on his forehead.
Next up for Satish is Uzebkistan’s Bakhodir Jalolov, reigning World and Asian Champion. The match is scheduled for Aug. 1 at 9.36 am (IST).
This post was published on July 29, 2021 5:02 pm