India's PV Sindhu
Credit: PTI photo
Paris/Chateauroux: There were no medals won or secured on Wednesday but Indian sporting heavyweights such as P V Sindhu, Lovlina Borgohain and Lakshya Sen remained firmly on course for historic podium finishes in the Olympics, where a new shooting star also emerged for the country at the far off ranges in Chateauroux.
On the medals table, India occupied the joint 38th position courtesy the two bronze medals in shooting.
Sindhu was not alone in setting the badminton court ablaze as Sen too turned on the style against old foe Jonatan Christie to win a knockout group game and join her in the pre-quarterfinals.
While Sen is chasing a Games medal on debut, Sindhu is in pursuit of her third medal in as many Olympic appearances.
Sindhu did not have to toil much before getting past Kristin Kuuba of Estonia 21-5 21-10 in her second and last Group M match.
Sen, on the other hand, was simply sensational in his 21-18 21-12 thrashing of Indonesia's world number 4 Christie, the reigning All England and Asian champion.
"I was just trying to build up for a good event and I'm really pumped up to fight every match and every point," the world number 22 Sen said after the match, one of the highlights of it being a jaw-dropping behind-the-back return by the Indian, which went viral on social media.
Sindhu did not display any of this flamboyance but got the job done with the mechanical precision that has become the hallmark of her game over the years.
Swapnil in 50m rifle 3 positions final
In Chateauroux, some 300km away from bustling Paris, Swapnil Kusale became the first Indian to qualify for the finals of the 50m rifle 3 positions event after finishing seventh in the qualification round.
Kusale shot 198 (99, 99) in kneeling position, 197 (98, 99) in prone and 195 (98, 97) in standing position as the top eight shooters in a field of 44 made it to the final round.
Kusale finished with an overall score of 590 (38x).
The 29-year-old from Kambalwadi village near Kolhapur in Maharashtra has been competing in international events since 2012 but had to wait 12 years to realise his Olympic dream. His father and brother are teachers in a district school while mother is the sarpanch of Kambalwadi village.
However, the more established Aishwary Tomar missed out after ending 11th with a score of 589 (33x) with shots of 197 (98, 99) in kneeling position, 199 (100, 990) in prone and 193 (95, 98) in standing position.
In women's trap, Rajeshwari Kumari and Shreyasi Singh shot 113 to finish 22nd and 23rd respectively.
Lovlina breezes into quarters
The boxing ring has thrown up mixed results for India so far, including the shock first-round exit of the fancied Amit Panghal in the men's competition. But chasing her second successive Olympic medal, Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) showed just why she is among the strongest Indian medal contenders.
Borgohain made easy work of Norewegian rival Sunniva Hofstad to claim a 5-0 win in the pre-quarters. She is now just one win away from adding to her Tokyo bronze, which was claimed in the 69kg category, and achieve a feat that is unprecedented in Indian boxing.
But her path is not an easy one as she will take on top-seeded Chinese Li Qian in the last-eight stage on August 4. A win in this bout would ensure at least a bronze medal for the Indian.
Her performance on the day was an assured one. While her rival seemed keen to draw her into a slugfest, Borgohain kept her composure and distance to land clean blows on counter-attack.
Sreeja Akula sparkles in TT
Sreeja Akula rallied to enter the pre-quarterfinals after a hard-fought 4-2 win over Singapore's Jian Zeng in a women's singles round of 32 match as Indian table tennis continued to make history at the Games.
It was a perfect birthday for Games debutant Sreeja, who turned 26 on Wednesday, as she won the match 9-11 12-10 11-4 11-5 10-12 12-10 to become the second Indian paddler after Manika Batra to enter the ongoing edition's pre-quarterfinals.
The performance is an unparalleled feat for Indian table tennis.
Batra's journey, however, ended in the last-16 stage after she went down 1-4 to eighth-seeded Japanese Miu Hirano. Batra was seeded 18th in the competition, which was her second Olympic outing.
Deepika finds form, finally
After being a complete letdown in the team competition, Deepika Kumari finally struck some form and entered the pre-quarterfinals of the women's individual event with back-to-back wins.
The former world number one first defeated Reena Parnat of Estonia 6-5 in a shoot-off before beating Quinty Roeffen of the Netherlands 6-2.
She will face Michelle Kroppen of Germany in the pre-quarterfinals on Saturday.
Equestrian Agarwalla exits
Asian Games medallist Anush Agarwalla crashed out of the equestrian event, finishing a below-par ninth in his group in the individual dressage category.
Agarwalla, who won a gold and a bronze medal in team and individual dressage events in the Hangzhou Asian Games, scored a below-par 66.444 with his partner Sir Caramello Old. It was not enough to ensure a place in the medal round.
Athletics and golf set to start
Neeraj Chopra's broad shoulders will carry a weight of massive expectations when his fabled consistency is put through a trial by fire, while the lesser known names in India's 29-strong contingent will aim to emulate some of his success when the athletics competition gets underway in Paris on Thursday.
The men's and women's 20km race walk will open the blue-riband event. For India, Akshdeep Singh, Vikash Singh and Paramjeet Singh Bisht will compete in the men's event while Priyanka Goswami will feature in the women's event.
On the golf course, the men's competition will get underway and Indian hopes will rest on the seasoned professionals Shubhankar Sharma and Gaganjeet Bhullar.