Welcome to the live updates of Day 7 of the Rio Olympics 2016. The day features medal action in swimming, track and field, track cycling, fencing, judo and more. Athletes are vying for 25 gold medals in 13 different sports.
Having been defeated in the first round of the women’s doubles badminton match, Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa will begin the proceedings for India. Archer Atanu Das will aim to put a creditable show and enter the semifinals after the dismal performance of the women archers on Thursday.
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Live updates (all times IST)
0404 hrs: Boxer Vikas Krishan beats Turkey’s Onder Sipal to enter men’s middleweight (75kg) quarter finals
0345 hrs: Sania Mirza-Rohan Bopanna beat Andy Murray-Heather Watson 6-4, 6-4 to enter mixed doubles semi finals.2229 hrs: David Carter saves a crucial last-minute bid from India. And it’s the end of the road for Canada as the game ends in a draw 2-2. Good thing India had already sealed its Quarterfinal spot. Now, depending on the Ireland vs. Argentina clash, it might finish the Prelims on 3rd or 4th spot.
2225 hrs: Sreejesh is taken out now, and V Raghunath is Kicking Back. What is Coach Oltmans up to now?
2221 hrs: A Canadian strike from Sukhith Panesar goes inches wide off the goalpost with less than six minutes on the clock.
2220 hrs: And immediately, Canada score off the penalty corner. It’s 2-2 with 9 minutes to go.
2219 hrs: Nikkin can do wrong, it seems. He is yellow-carded as he rams into the legs of a forward. And has to go off.
2217 hrs: Canada wins a referall and a penalty corner. Can’t score as Sreejesh blocks it and a defenders passes it away.
2202 hrs: India make it 2-1 with an insane field goal. Raghunath Vokkaliga shoots a torpedo from behind the D that cuts through the defence and past the goalie in a straight diagonal that never deviated like a heatseeker, until Ramandeep Singh deflected it in.
2157 hrs: Canada wants a referall as a goal comes off the forward’s foot, but referee rules no goal for obstruction. No goal, it is.
2154 hrs: And now Canada strikes back too, courtesy captain Scott Tupper with a penalty strike that trickles into the goal below P. Sreejesh.
2152 hrs: And Akashdeep Singh opens India’s account with a field goal in the 34th minute. India leads 1-0.
2138 hrs: And the first half comes to a close with the scoreline at 0-0.
2135 hrs: And Canada could have got the zaniest of field goals there, as a player in white slid across the D to deflect a cross-pass goalwards, but it goes wide.
2129 hrs: Nikkin Thimmaiah misses a straightforward field goal strike. A while later, Rupinder Singh deflects a Canadian field goal attempt away as it goes away from goalie Sreejesh.
2128 hrs: S.V. Sunil is injured, goes off the field on a stretcher.
2030 hrs: Vikas Gowda fails to qualify through from the Discus Prelims, throwing a 58.7.
2013 hrs: It’s a Gold for Ethiopia as Almaz Ayana is the new world-record holder with 29:17:45 in the Women’s 10k marathon. This is her first Olympics appearance. And the third straight Gold for Ethiopia in the Olympics 10k marathon. Bronze went to another Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba. Read more
2000 hrs: Manpreet Kaur failed to qualify for the next round, finishing with a throw of 17.06 ranked 13th in the women’s Shot-put qualification round.
1950 hrs: The Sumeeth Reddy–Manu Athri Badminton men’s singles Group D encounter with China’s B Chai–W Hong has been delayed.1928 hrs: India loses a couple of points to lack of patience. Three matchpoints to the Dutch, and they take it (21-16 | 16-21 | 21-17). And it’s all over for Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa. Olympics is a tough stage that tolerates nothing but the best; silly mistakes will be punished brutally, as the Indian women found out just now and Atanu Das discovered a earlier today.
1923 hrs: Gutta is delivering some powerful outside-in smashes, as India is clawing their way back into the match, trailing 15-16 now.
1918 hrs: Gutta and Ponnappa are mildly losing composure here, unable to receive the Dutch smashes with as much conviction as before. Trailing 8-11 at the timeout here.
1915 hrs: The Indian women are moving really well here. Ponnappa hopping and weaving with nimble feet and smashing with even nimbler shoulder-rotations. Scores are neck-and-neck in this deciding game, 8-8.
1906 hrs: Four game-points for India. And they take the second game 21-16, with a low smash courtesy Ponnappa.
1904 hrs: Indians staying on top of the rallies, Ponnappa moving dynamically at the back-court, smashing with conviction as Gutta flicks and dabs into empty spaces, forcing errors. India leads second game 19-16.
1857 hrs: Indian women playing strategically here. Serving to the back corner to push the Dutch back, then smashing low and down the middle. At the timeout, Gutta-Ponnappa lead 11-8.
1851 hrs: Dutch women mixing it up here, dropping the shuttlecock with delicate dabs, lead 5-4 in the second game.
1846 hrs: Siek-Muskens have taken the opening game 21-16. The Indian women seemed to be exerting themselves too much with too little effectiveness past the halfway mark in that game.
1840 hrs: The Dutch women are extending their lead here, 16-11.
1836 hrs: The women are playing long tough rallies here. Netherlands has taken the lead 12-8 at the Timeout.
1829 hrs: In case you’re wondering, the Badminton group A women’s singles was delayed. But it has begun now. Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa are leading 7-4 against the Dutch pair Selena Piek and Eefje Muskens.
[Source: The Hindu]
