Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu gave India its first medal in Tokyo 2020 as she won the silver medal in the women’s 49kg category as China’s Zhihu Hou took gold. China’s Zhihu lifted 94kg to create an Olympic record while a new Olympic record was registered by Mirabai Chanu with a successful lift of 115kg in clean and jerk. Indian shooters, however, disappointed as Saurabh Chaudhary finished seventh in men’s 10m Air Pistol final. Elavenil Valarivan finished at 16th while Apurvi Chandela finished 36th and therefore failed to qualify in the 10m air rifle women’s qualification round.
Meanwhile, badminton player Sai Praneeth lost to Misha Ziberman of Israel in the men’s singles Group Stage. In men’s hockey, India beat New Zealand 3-2 in the Pool A match as they recovered from a bad start early in the match. Indian women’s hockey team will also be kick-starting their campaign on Day 2. In Archery, India’s Deepika Kumari and Pravin Jadhav lost to South Korea’s An San and Kim Je Deok in the quarterfinal.
Surjitt Sahani
