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India’s two more bronze medal hopes were crushed on Monday, August 5 after Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen and the mixed skeet team consisting of Anantjeet Singh Naruka and Maheshwari Chauhan lost their respective matches at the 2024 Paris Olympics. While Sen went down against his Malaysian opponent 21-12, 16-21, 11-21, Maheshwari and Anantjeet missed the medal by a whisker against their Chinese opponent.
In this article, we will go through all the big news that took place on Monday, August 5 at the Paris 2024.
Shooting
Anantjeet Singh Naruka and Maheshwari Chauhan lose bronze medal match in mixed skeet event
On Monday, August 5, Anantjeet Singh Naruka and Maheshwari Chauhan lost the bronze medal match in the mixed skeet event against China at the Paris Olympics 2024. At the Chateauroux Shooting Center, the Indian pair came perilously close to winning the medal, but Jianlin Yiu and Yiting Jiang managed to win the match with a scoreline of 44-43.
Manu Bhaker to be India’s flagbearer at Paris 2024 closing ceremony
Ace Indian shooter, Manu Bhaker, who became the first Indian athlete to win two Olympic medals in a single edition of the Summer Games, is set to be India’s flagbearer at the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics. An IOA official told PTI, “Yes, Manu has been chosen to the flag bearer. She has done exceptionally well and deserves the honour.”
Wrestling
Nisha Dahiya goes down fighting after getting injured in quarterfinals
Nisha Dahiya suffered a heartbreaking loss against Pak Sol Gum of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea after injuring her right arm in the quarterfinal of the women's 68kg wrestling event at the Paris Olympics 2024. Making her debut at the Summer Games, Dahiya completed a comeback 6-4 win over Ukraine’s Tetiana Sova Rizhko in the 1/8 elimination round.
Badminton
Lakshya Sen suffers 21-12, 16-21, 11-21 loss in bronze medal match
Indian Badminton star Lakshya Sen suffered a crushing 21-12, 16-21, 11-21 defeat against Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia and lost the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics 2024. In the semi-final, Sen suffered a crushing 22-20, 21-14 loss against defending Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark, after becoming the first Indian male shuttler to reach this stage.
Viktor Axelsen defends Olympic Gold in men's singles; joins Lin Dan in elite list
Denmark's Viktor Axelsen retained his Olympic badminton title on Monday, August 5 by demolishing Thailand's world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn in less than an hour in the men's singles final in Paris. The second-seeded Axelsen surged past his eighth-seeded opponent 21-11, 21-11 in 52 minutes at La Chapelle Arena. The Dane became the first man to retain his Olympic men's singles title since Chinese legend Lin Dan, who won in 2008 and 2012.
Athletics
Noah Lyles wins gold despite clocking same timing with Kishane Thompson in men’s 100m
World champion Noah Lyles cruised to victory despite clocking same timing of 9.79 seconds with Kishane Thompson in men’s 100m at Paris Olympics. Lyles registered the closest Olympic 100m finish in modern history as he bettered his opponent by just five thousandths of second. With this win, Noah Lyles became the first American to win an event since Justin Gatlin’s gold at 2004 Athens Games.
Table Tennis
Indian women’s team advance to quarterfinals after 3-2 win over Romania
After a decent campaign in the women’s singles competition in table tennis, Indian stars Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula returned to action in the women’s team event at the South Paris Arena in Paris Olympics 2024. The women's team consisting of Batra, Akula and Archana Kamath progressed in the quarterfinals, beating Romania by 3-2 margin in RO16.
Tennis
Rafael Nadal congratulates Djokovic; welcomes him in elite list
Djokovic won his maiden Olympic gold after beating Alcaraz in straight sets 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2). After his win, Rafael Nadal took to Instagram and wrote, “Congrats Novak on completing (Career) Golden Slam and being able to achieve what you wanted. Well done.” Djokovic become only fifth player after A. Agassi, Nadal, Steffi Graf and Serena Williams to win all four Grand Slam tournaments and Olympic singles gold.
Boxing
Bulgaria’s Svetlana Staneva makes X gesture after losing quarterfinal bout
On Sunday, August 4, another boxing match caught the limelight after Bulgaria’s Svetlana Staneva made an X gesture post her defeat against Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting in the women’s 57kg quarterfinals. Soon after her defeat, Staneva signalled X, which several have claimed to denote that she has XX (female) chromosomes.
Hockey
Amit Rohidas handed one-match ban; to miss men's hockey semi - final vs Germany
The Indian hockey team suffered a massive jolt after star player Amit Rohidas was handed a one-match ban. The 31-year-old was shown the red card during their quarterfinals match against Great Britain at the Paris Olympics 2024 and will not feature in India's semifinal clash against Germany, set to take place on Tuesday, August 6.
Others
Luana Alonso kicked out of Olympics for 'inappropriate' behaviour
Paraguayan swimmer Luana Alonso has been banned from the Paris Olympic Village during the 2024 Summer Games. Alonso was banned after as she was accused of creating an 'inappropriate environment'. The development was confirmed by the Paraguayan Olympic Committee via a statement. The 20-year-old also created a massive stir as she confirmed that she would be retiring from the sport.
