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Indian shooter Manu Bhaker who became the first Indian female to win two medals in the same edition of the Olympics by winning two bronze medals has qualified for yet another final. Bhaker made it to the final of the women’s 25m air pistol by finishing second in the qualifying round of her pet event. She will shoot for her third medal on August 3. Apart from her, the Indian men’s hockey team defeated Australia for the first time in 52 years. Lakshya Sen, on the other hand, moved to semifinal of the men’s singles event at Paris Olympics 2024 and became the first Indian shuttler to do so.
In this article, we will go through all the big news that took place at the Paris Olympics 2024 on Friday, August 2.
Archery
Indian mixed archery team suffer 2-6 loss against USA in bronze medal match
Indian mixed archery team of Ankita Bhakat and Dhiraj Bommadevara suffered a 6-2 loss against Brady Ellison and Casey Kaufhold of the USA. Before this bronze medal match, India lost to the South Korean pair of Lim Si-Hyeon and Kim Woo-jin in the semis an d defeated Elia Canales and Pablo Acha Gonzalez of Spain in the quarterfinal. Starting the bronze medal match, India lost Set 1 38-37 as Ankita Bhakat hit a seven. This poor form continued for Bhakat as she hit another seven leading to the USA taking a 4-0 lead. Set 3 saw India retaliate with a 38-34 win to make the score 2-4. In the fourth set, India started with a 17 which the USA cut down with their 19-point score. In the second attempt, the USA combined to score 37 to India's 35 and clinched the bronze.
Shooting
Manu Bhaker qualifies for women's 25m air pistol final; Esha Singh bows out
Two-time Paris Olympics 2024 bronze medallist Manu Bhaker secured her spot in the women's 25m air pistol final on Friday, August 2. However, another Indian, Esha Singh, competing in the same event bowed out of the competition. Bhaker finished at second position with a total of 590 points in the qualifiers of her pet event while Esha missed qualification with 581 points and finishing at 18th spot. Manu Bhaker has already scripted history as she became the first athlete in Independent India to win two medals in a single Olympics edition. After clinching a bronze in the women’s 10m air pistol, Manu won bronze along with Sarabjot Singh in the 10m air pistol mixed team event. This will be Manu's third final at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Badminton
Lakshya Sen beats Chou Tien Chen 19-21, 21-15, 21-12, qualifies for semi-final
Playing at the Aréna Porte de La Chapelle, Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen registered a monumental win over Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien Chen 19-21, 21-15, 21-12 at the Paris Olympics 2024. Before this quarterfinal clash, Sen took down fellow Indian HS Pranoy in the Round of 16 clash with a 21-18, 21-19 victory. Sen scripted history to win Game 3 21-12 and become the first Indian to reach the semi-finals of the Men's Singles event at an Olympics.
HS Prannoy posts emotional message after crashing out of Paris Olympics 2024
India’s top-ranked men’s singles shuttler HS Prannoy shared an emotional message after his journey at the Paris Olympics 2024 came to an unfortunate end. After his heartbreaking exit, Prannoy took to X to share an emotional message with fans and stated that he wanted to finish on the podium. The 32-year-old went on to say that it was his dream to represent India at the biggest sporting event. On X, Prannoy shared, “I was not sure what to expect coming into these Olympic Games, with so many uncertainties. But then, that’s how sport works. I still wanted to be on that podium, but sometimes the journey teaches you more than the destination.”
Will take time to accept, but will come terms to it: PV Sindhu pens emotional note after Paris Olympics 2024 exit
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu penned an emotional note after what she described ‘one of the hardest losses’. Sindhu crashed out of Paris Olympics 2024 on August 1, in a hard-fought R16 round against China's He Bing Jiao. T he Chinese counterpart defeated Sindhu 21-19, 21-14 nearly an hour long clash at the La Chapelle Arena on Thursday, putting an end to Sindhu’s medal hattrick run. On X, Sindhu wrote, “This loss is one of the hardest of my career. It will take time to accept, but as life moves forward, I know I will come to terms with it. The journey to Paris 2024 was a battle, marked by two years of injuries and long periods away from the game. Despite these challenges, standing here and representing my wonderful country at a third Olympics makes me feel truly blessed.”
Hockey
India register famous 3-2 win over Australia
On Friday, August 2, the Indian men’s hockey team defeated Australia 3-2 at the Paris Olympics 2024, to give themselves the best chance to finish in second place in Pool B. At the Stade Yves-du-Manoir, India and Australia played some enterprising hockey, mixed with sustained attack and defence before their respective quarter-final matches. In the first quarter, India and Australia made continuous circle penetrations in each other’s half, to put the defences under some pressure. In the 12th minute, Abhishek turned and flicked the ball past the Australian goalkeeper, Andrew Charter, on the counterattack to put India in a 1-0 lead. In the quarterfinal, India will play Great Britain on August 4, in a rematch of Tokyo 2020.
Tennis
Unforgettable experience with you: Rafael Nadal thanks Carlos Alcaraz after Paris Olympics 2024 exit
Legendary tennis player Rafael Nadal thanked compatriot and his doubles partner Carlos Alcaraz after they made an early exit from the Paris Olympics 2024 . The Spanish men’s duo lost the doubles quarterfinal match with a scoreline of 6-2, 6-4 to the USA’s Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram at the Court Philippe-Chatrier. The American duo was fourth-seeded for the tournament. After an early end to the campaign, Nadal took to Instagram and shared a heartfelt post, thanking Alcaraz for the memorable time. He wrote, “Thank you @carlitosalcarazz for these days that have been fantastic in many ways. Unforgettable experience with you and the entire team. And, now, the most important thing; Let's go Carlos for the medal, you are closer after today's victory, you can get it. We are all with you!”
Never even liked tennis anyway: Andy Murray retires from tennis with defeat at Paris Olympics 2024
British tennis icon Andy Murray put an end to his tennis career with a loss at the Paris Olympics 2024. Murray and his doubles partner Dan Evans suffered a 6-2, 6-4 defeat against America’s Talylor Fritz and Tommy Paul in the quarterfinals on Thursday, August 1. The former world number one and a winner of three Grand Slam titles called time on his career at the age of 37, at Roland Garros. A few hours after his exit, Murray took to X and shared a cheeky post stating he never liked tennis. He tweeted, “Never even liked tennis anyway.”
