Sports

Paris Olympics 2024 Day 1: Manu Bhaker Advances to Women’s Pistol Final Amid Shooting Setbacks

Start the Games now! The 33rd Olympic Games in Paris have officially begun following a star-studded, enthralling, and somewhat unusual opening ceremony. And for those who favor India, there hasn’t been a more thrilling and energetic beginning to the Summer Games than this one. Hundreds of Indian athletes are competing in sports such as boxing, hockey, badminton, shooting, and tennis on the first day of the Paris Olympics 2024. Rower Balraj Panwar gave it everything he had in the first heat of the Sculls men’s singles, placing fourth and securing a repechage berth. In contrast, two Indian teams—who were also among the favorites to place in the top four—performed poorly in the 10m air rifle mixed team qualification event.

However, they were incredibly disappointing as they were eliminated after finishing outside of the top four spots. In the qualification event, Elavenil Valarivan and Sandeep Singh finished in 12th place, while Ramita Ramita and Arjun Babuta finished in sixth place. In the meantime, Sarabjot Singh and Arjun Singh Cheema failed to place in the top eight of the men’s 10m air pistol qualification round.

There will be a lot of mix and match in the second half of the day, despite the first half being dominated by shooting. Men’s hockey team and shuttlers HS Prannoy and Satwiksairaj Reddy’s doubles team, among others, will try to give Indian badminton an early advantage. In addition, in their men’s doubles first round match, India’s oldest Olympian, Rohan Bopanna, together with his partner N Sriram Balaji, take on Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Fabien Reboul of France.

Shooting has historically been seen as an Olympic sport where India does poorly overall. India’s last medal win in shooting was in London in 2012, and this is as good a place as any to make a fresh start, just like in Paris.

The audience is ecstatic as the men’s hockey team plays their opening game of Pool B versus New Zealand. Lakshya’s badminton group match is against Kevin Cordon in men’s singles, and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s doubles match is against France’s Lucas Corvee and Ronan Labar. Also competing against So Yeong and Kong Hee Yon of Korea are Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto.

In her 54kg opening round boxing match, Preeti Pawar will be looking to use his uppercuts and jabs against Thi Kim anh Vo of Vietnam. Panwar Balraj will also be representing India in the men’s single sculls.

With 117 athletes, India is seeking to improve on their 7 medals at the Tokyo Olympics. Among India’s greatest medal prospects are Neeraj Chopra, Manu Bhaker, Lakshya Sen, PV Sindhu, men’s hockey team, Vinesh Phogat, and Nikhat Zareen. A lot is also anticipated of weightlifter Mirabai Chanu and boxer Lovlina Borgohain, who are expected to replicate their Tokyo performance and win their second consecutive medal, joining PV Sindhu as the only other Indian to win back-to-back Olympic medals.

Since the 2012 London Games, badminton has been the only sport in which India has consistently won medals. Another excellent Olympic sport for India has been wrestling. Although it has won more Olympic medals for India than hockey, the sport is suffering due to the unrest it faces off the field. Sakshi Malik, for example, is only allowed to provide commentary and is not even a member of the contingent.

Here is what India’s schedule looks like on Day 1 of the 2024 Paris Olympics:

Shooting

Manu Bhaker qualified for the final by placing third in the women’s 10m pistol qualifier.

In the mixed team 10m air rifle final, China defeated Korea 16–12 to win the first gold medal of the Paris Games.

Badminton

Men’s Singles Group L: Lakshya Sen vs. Kevin Cordon – 7:10 PM – Eastern Eagle vs. Central American Challenger

French Force vs. Indian Dynamic Duo: Men’s Doubles Group C – Lucas & Ronan vs. Satwik & Chirag – 8:00 PM

Tanisha & Ashwini vs. Kim & Kong, Women’s Doubles Group C, Indian Pair vs. Korean Rivals, 11:50 PM

Tennis

Indian Veterans vs. French Duo: Men’s Doubles Round 1 – Reboul & Roger-Vasselin vs. Sriram & Bopanna – 3:30 PM

Table Tennis

Indian Challenge: Men’s Singles Round 1: Zaid Abo Yaman vs. Harmeet Desai – 7:15 PM

Hockey

India vs New Zealand: Pool B Clash – 9:00 PM

Boxing

Indian Challenge: Zaid Abo Yaman vs. Harmeet Desai, Men’s Singles, Round 1 – 7:15 PM

RESULTS-

Rowing

Balraj Panwar places fourth in the men’s singles Sculls heat 1 and advances to the next round.

Also Read: Suryakumar Yadav Reflects on Special Bond with Gautam Gambhir Following BCCI’s Captaincy U-Turn on Hardik Pandya

Shooting

Elavenil Valarivan and Sandeep Singh place 12th in the air rifle 10m mixed team qualification event, while Ramita Ramita and Arjun Babuta finish in sixth place. Neither squad makes it to the playoffs.

In the men’s 10m air pistol qualification round, Sarabjot Singh places ninth, while Arjun Cheema places eighth. They are both ineligible.