Day 6: Sania-Bopanna enter mixed doubles quarterfinals
Welcome to the live updates on Day 6 of the Rio Olympics 2016. On Thursday, the Indians are participating in events like archery, badminton, golf, boxing and hockey. Women archers Bombalya Devi and Deepika Kumari will be fighting it out for a place in the quarterfinal. The Indian men’s Hockey team will be up against the Netherlands while the women will be facing USA. Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna will open their campaign in the mixed doubles. Anirban Lahiri and SSP Chawarasia will begin their campaign in golf.
A total of 21 gold medals are up for grabs in 11 sports.
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All times in IST
0346 hrs: Sania Mirza-Rohan Bopanna pair enters quarterfinals after beating Stosur-Peers 7-5, 6-4 in first round.
0137 hrs: Indian men’s hockey team qualified for quarterfinals after Germany-Argentina match ends in a draw.
0030 hrs: In golf men’s individual round 1, India’s Anirban Lahiri ends the day at +3 over par and S.S.P. Chawrasia ends at even par.
2145 hrs: Meanwhile, Rio Olympics Committee officials have written to Vijay Goel warning not to flout accreditation norms.
2132 hrs: And that’s one more on the board for India on Day 6, as Saina wins her first match in straight sets (21-17, 21-17).
2128 hrs: Saina is continuing her dominance. Leading the second game 17-13, just four points away from a trounce.
2122 hrs: Saina takes a break, leading 11-5 in the second game. This is looking like another straight-set win for Indian women’s badminton.
2113 hrs: Saina has taken the first game 21-17 with a final surge.
2109 hrs: But Vicente has drawn level in the first game, currently at 16-16.
2104 hrs: Saina Nehwal leads 12-11 in the first game in her opening match, against Lohaynny Vicente.
2058 hrs: After PV Sindhu’s victory in women’s singles earlier in the day, her compatriot Saina Nehwal takes on Brazil’s Lohaynny Vicente in her group G women’s singles preliminaries Badminton match. 2018 hrs: Ramirez wins 30-25, 27-30, 27-30. Shiva Thapa, unable to challenge the gold-medal favourite, crashes out of Rio Olympics 2016.
2013 hrs: Ramirez has taken the first two rounds. Doesn’t look good for Shiva Thapa.
2008 hrs: Shiva Thapa is clashing against Cuba’s Robeisy Ramirez in the Bantam Boxing (56kg) event. Currently trailing 27-30 points.
2001 hrs: And PV Sindhu has won her match convincingly against Hungarian Laura Sarosi in straight sets (21-8, 21-8). She will play Canadian Michelle Li next, on Sunday.
PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal the only hope
1957 hrs: India gets another penalty corner in the final minute. Heart-stopping stuff. Can they equalise? India has had 5 penalty chances so far, converting just the one. And no cigar for India, as it goes wide right. And another penalty corner. Unconverted. Another penalty corner. And no good as Stockmann’s left foot flashes like lightning to stop the Indian drag-flick. The Dutch prevail 2-1.
1955 hrs: PV Sindhu comes from the back to take the lead in the 2nd game, currently leads 11-6.
1949 hrs: India get a penalty corner, smartly injecting an additional defender in the D. Can they convert? Nope. Holland still lead 2-1.
1944 hrs: And Holland have taken the lead 2-1 in men’s Hockey with a powerful penalty conversion. 7 minutes left in the game. Can India respond in kind?
1943 hrs: PV Sindhu looks the opposite of the earlier Indian shuttlers so far. She has taken the first game 21-8.
1939 hrs: Meanwhile Indian shuttler PV Sindhu has made a bright start to her campaign, taking an early lead, currently 14-6 in the first game against Hungarian Laura Sarosi.
1935 hrs: Holland earn a penalty corner. Sreejesh saves the drag-flick yet again. And then yet another save, Sreejesh’s 14th this tournament.
1930 hrs: Raghunath, caught obstructing a tackle with his hand, and SP Sunil are yellow-carded. Crucial blow to India, this. Can they hold their own agains the formidable Dutch whittled down to 9 men?
1922 hrs: The Dutch goalie Japp Stockman made a brilliant one-handed save just earlier. This time, Raghunath Vokkaliga drag-flicks it past the Dutch goalie to equalise for India. 1-1 after 38 minutes.
1918 hrs: Meanwhile in Golf…
1915 hrs: Roger Hoffman breaks through for Holland with the first goal of the match in the 2nd minute of the 3rd Quarter. They found the penalty corner, and converted.
Meanwhile, people have other concerns…
1903 hrs: Scores not troubled even at halftime in Men’s Hockey. Still 0-0 between India and Holland. While the Indians were unable to create any chances, the Dutch were unable to convert one field goal attempt.
1855 hrs: And the Indian men too lose their Badminton opener in straight sets. The Indonesians take the match 18-21, 13-21.
1853 hrs: Reddy and Athri are trailing the Indonesians in the second game too. 8-14 so far.
1846 hrs: The men’s hockey has not thrown up any excitement in the first Quarter, as neither the Indians nor the Dutch managed to threaten each other’s goals.
1843 hrs: The Indian Badminton duo has lost the first game 18-21 to the Indonesians.
1830 hrs: Meanwhile, Sumeeth Reddy and Manu Athri are launching their Rio medal bid against the Indonesian pair of Hendtra Setiawan and Mohammad Ahsan in a group D clash in the Men’s Badminton preliminaries.
1830 hrs: Indian Men take on the Netherlands in the group B preliminaries of Field Hockey. SK Uthappa is playing his 100th International game.
1802 hrs: And now Set 4 is Valencia’s (25-23) and Bombayla Devi Laishram’s Rio-2016 journey too has come to an end. The Manipuri began with quite an unfortunate 6. And she is out too. Not too happy of a day for the Indian contingent so far.
1800 hrs: Bombayla begins with a 10, is matched by Valencia. The Mexican then ends with a bulls-eye to take Set 3 28-27.
1759 hrs: And the second Set goes to Bombayla 26-23.
1757 hrs: Valencia has taken the first Set 26-18.
1756 hrs: Bombayla Devi Laishram is now looking to secure a QF place, taking on Mexico’s Alejandra Valencia.
1735 hrs: The Taipei archer is formidable. Three 10s, a perfect score to finish. And Deepika Kumari loses the match 0-3 (27-28 | 26-29 | 27-30) is out of the Rio Olympics.
1733 hrs: And the second one too, 26-29.
1730 hrs: Deepika Kumari has lost the first set 27-28 to Tan Ya-Ting.
Next up for India is Round of 16 Women’s Archery, where Deepika Kumari locks bows with Tan Ya-ting (1730 hrs) and Bombayla Devi Laishram takes on Mexico’s Alejandra Valencia (1756 hrs).
The Japanese girls were too gud 4 Jwala-Ashwini
1712 hrs: And it’s an easy-peasy win for Japan, who take the match 2-0 (21-15, 20-10). Gutta and Ponnappa have some preparation to do before they meet Holland tomorrow in the first of their two must-win games.
1707 hrs: It is now 15-7 in favour of the Japanese. Appears that Ponnappa is being targetted, ahving to frequently receive low dipping smashes at that awkward chest height. Indians finding it tough to match the Japanese women’s dynamic style of play, as they shuffle their smash angles, and soft lobs.
1702 hrs: After being 5-1 down at one point, the Indians have tried to claw their way back to 6-3, before the Japanese reprised some attacking smashing down the net. The Japanese are now leading the 2nd game 10-6.
1653 hrs: And the Japanese have taken the first game comfortably 21-15.
1647 hrs: The Indian pair Jwala Gutta – Ashwini Ponnappa are well into the first game against the Japanese Misaki Matsutoma and Ayaka Takahashi. Gutta looks in good nick, slice-scooping with the backhand and smashing confidently. But the Japanese are leading the game 15-12.
1628 hours: Threatened with disqualification for not wearing vests bearing their country’s name, Indian boxers at the ongoing Olympics have got their kits replaced as required by the International Boxing Association (AIBA) and will now compete without any hindrance. Read more
1605 hours: Former Olympic race walking champion Alex Schwazer is banned for eight years after losing another doping case days before he hoped to compete in Rio de Janeiro. The Court of Arbitration for Sport said Thursday it has imposed an eight-year ban on the 31-year-old Italian in a fast-track case after an appeal hearing held Monday. Schwazer, the 2008 Olympic champion in the 50—kilometer walk, now misses a second straight Summer Games for doping. Days after Schwazer won the world championship in Rome in May, he tested positive for a steroid in further analysis of a sample given in January. Schwazer briefly returned to competition after serving a three-year, nine-month ban for using EPO before the 2012 Olympics.
1551 hours: Ethiopian swimmer Robel Kiros Habte has won hearts in Rio but faced a vitriolic reaction at home on Thursday due to accusations that nepotism is the only reason he is at the Olympics. The 24-year-old son of the country’s swimming boss ranked 59th out of 59 competitors in the men’s 100m freestyle heats on Tuesday, posting a time of 1:04.95 — half a lap behind anyone else.
1420 hours: A total of 21 gold medals are up for grabs in 11 sports at the Rio Olympics, with high-powered performances expected from American stars Michael Phelps and Simone Biles. Phelps, competing Thursday evening in the 200-meter individual medley, is looking for his 22nd Olympic gold medal. Gymnast Biles hopes to add an individual all-around gold to her collection of three world championship titles and a team Rio gold. In rugby sevens, Fiji goes against surprising Japan and South Africa faces Great Britain, all trying to get to the evening’s gold-medal match. Cycling moves indoors for the men’s sprint team finals and gear junkies will love seeing the high-tech equipment that helps athletes shave seconds off the clock. Rowing, cancelled for two days due to high winds, will hand out six golds and the king of spin will be crowned in the men’s table tennis singles. Medals will also be awarded in fencing, judo, archery, canoe slalom and shooting.
1320 hours: Gold is on his mind as Michael Phelps looks for his 22nd Olympic medal of that color in the 200—meter individual medley at the Rio Olympics. Phelps, the top qualifier, will be seeking his fourth straight 200—meter IM Olympic title, swimming Thursday evening next to longtime rival and U.S. teammate Ryan Lochte. Before that showdown, Phelps swims in the qualifiers for the 100 meter butterfly, an event in which he holds the world record. Medals also will be awarded in the women’s 200 meter breaststroke, the women’s 100 meter freestyle and in the men’s 200 meter backstroke. The seemingly unstoppable American Katie Ledecky is also back in the pool, this time to qualify for the 800 meter freestyle. She earned her third gold of the Rio games on Wednesday in the 4×200—meter freestyle relay.
1300 hours: Golf tees off for the first time at the Olympics since 1904 as the men start their first round of play at the Olympic Golf Course although the top four players in the world won’t be competing because of Zika fears. The links-style layout stretches 7,128 yards (6,515 meters) and was built in the hopes it can both challenge some of the world’s best in Rio de Janeiro and then grow the game in Brazil. The first tee shot will be struck by Brazilian Adilson da Silva, who learned to play using tree branches for clubs. The professionals competing at the Rio Olympics include Henrik Stenson of Sweden, Rickie Fowler and Bubba Watson of the United States and Martin Kaymer of Germany.
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