Picture Credit: Twitter
It was an eventful as well as fruitful day for India on Day 5 and Day 6 also looks good so far at the Tokyo Olympics. India's star shuttler PV Sindhu and boxer Satish Kumar stormed into the quarterfinals of their respective disciplines while shooter Manu Bhaker is placed 5th in the women's 25m pistol qualification (precision).
On Thursday, PV Sindhu defeated Denmark's Mia Blichfeldt in the Round of 16 match of women's individual event to advance into the quarterfinals. Sindhu defeated Mia Blichfeldt in two straight sets with a score of 21-15, 21-13. Sindhu was trailing 0-2 in the first set but quickly came back to take a lead of 11-6 going into the mid-game interval. Sindhu carried her momentum through to the second set and took the game 21-13 to progress into the quarterfinals. Sindhu will now face Japan's 4th seed Akane Yamaguchi in the last 8.
While Sindhu showed her experience on the badminton court, Satish Kumar showed his grit in the boxing ring. Kumar progressed into the quarterfinals of the men's super heavyweight (+91 kg) category. He defeated Ricardo Brown of Jamaica in the Round of 16 clash by a split decision of 4-1 on Thursday. Kumar was all clean from the first round as he took a comprehensive lead after all judges voted in his favour. He carried on in the second round and thrashed Brown with some quality right hook and body shots. Satish Kumar did not take any chances and bagged the match with some smart defence in the third round.
Manu Bhaker placed 5th in women's 25m pistol precision
After looking at neat performances from Sindhu and Satish Kumar, the focus now shifts to Manu Bhaker. India's ace shooter Manu is currently placed 5th in the women's 25m pistol qualification (precision). Bhaker amassed 292 points at an average of 9.733 after shooting 30 shots on the target in the precision round. The second stage of the qualification- the rapid round, will take place on Friday. The top 8 players will go to the final. Manu had a very good start in the third relay as she shot back to back 97 in the first two series. With just two 9's in the third round, Bhaker accumulated 98 points to climb into the top 5.