It was a day of near misses at the Paris Olympics, as Lakshya Sen wilted in the high-pressure men’s singles badminton bronze play-off, an unexpected skeet medal in shooting slipped away after a promising start and a podium hope in wrestling was left in tears.
Sen, hoping to become India's first male shuttler to win an Olympics medal, was expected to come out trumps against Malaysia's world No.7 Lee Zii Jia, but he lost 21-13, 16-21, 11-21.
Around the time the 22-year-old crumbled under pressure in Paris, some 300km away in Chateauroux's shooting range, Maheshwari Chauhan and Anant Jeet Singh Naruka lost by a solitary point to China in the Skeet Mixed Team event and had to settle for fourth place.
Maheshwari and Naruka shot 43 to finish fourth, behind China's Yiting Jiang and Jianlin Lyu (44) in a thrilling match for the bronze medal.
There was more agony in store for India when grappler Nisha Dahiya was left sobbing in acute pain after she lost her quarter-final bout to North Korea's Pak Sol Gum 8-10 in the women's 68 kg Freestyle category.
Leading 8-1 at one stage with just over 90 seconds left, Nisha sustained a serious injury on her right hand, which left her in agonising pain.
Following a medical break, she did not have any strength left in her right hand and it was a cakewalk for the North Korean, who got a leg-hold and nine straight points.
With 10 seconds left, the scoreline was 8-8 but the writing was on the wall as the Haryana woman surrendered in the dying moments.
Avinash Sable, the most decorated track and field athlete after Neeraj Chopra in the current contingent, though provided some cheer, becoming the first Indian man to qualify for the 3000m steeplechase final after finishing fifth in his heat.
He timed 8:15.43 seconds to finish fifth in the second heat and make it to the final round.
Quarter-miler Kiran Pahal failed to book an automatic semi-final berth in women's 400m following a seventh place finish in her heat.
Check out how India's athletes fared on Day 10, Monday, August 5, 2024:
ATHLETICS
Avinash Sable became the first Indian man to qualify for the 3000m steeplechase final after finishing fifth in his heat.
Quarter-miler Kiran Pahal though failed to book an automatic semi-final berth in women's 400m following a seventh place finish in her heat.
Sable timed 8:15.43s to finish fifth in the second heat and make it to the final round.
Earlier, Pahal, who turned 24 on Monday, clocked 52.51 seconds, which was well below her season's and personal best of 50.92 seconds.
BADMNTON
Lakshya Sen lost to Malaysia's world No.7 Lee Zii Jia 21-13, 16-21, 11-21 in the bronze medal play-off.
SHOOTING
The duo of Maheshwari Chauhan and Anant Jeet Singh Naruka shot 43 to finish fourth behind China's Yiting Jiang and Jianlin Lyu (44) in a thrilling match for the bronze medal.
Earlier, the Indians finished fourth in qualification after both teams were tied on 146 at the end of the three-round, 150-shot process, forcing a shoot-off.
In the qualification, Maheshwari shone with 50/50 in her final two rounds while Naruka notched scores of 25, 23 and 24 in the three rounds.
The result notwithstanding, India will return from the games with the biggest-ever haul of three medals -- all bronze through Manu Bhaker, Swapnil Kusale and Sarabjot Singh.
TABLE TENNIS
Women's team in quarter-finals
The team of Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula and Archana Kamath beat higher-ranked Romania to enter the quarter-finals.
Leading 2-0, India saw Romania fight back to draw level at 2-2 but in the decider, Manika delivered for her side.
Sreeja and Archana started the proceedings with a 11-9, 12-10, 11-7 win over Adina Diaconu and Elizabeta Samara in a doubles match.
Manika made short work of higher-ranked Bernadette Szocs in a 11-5, 11-7, 11-7 victory as India took a comfortable 2-0 lead in the tie against their fourth-seeded opponents. India are seeded 11th in the competition.
In the second singles match however, things did not go in India's way as Sreeja went down 2-3 (11-8, 4-11, 11-7, 6-11, 8-11) to European champion Samara after winning the first game.
Sreeja's defeat paved the way for a face-off between Archana and Bernadette, in which the latter prevailed.
Manika then blanked Adina 3-0 (11-5, 11-9, 11-9) to seal the tie.
WRESTLING
Nisha Dahiya was left sobbing in acute pain after losing her quarter-final bout to North Korea's Pak Sol Gum 8-10 in the women's 68 kg Freestyle category.
Leading 8-1 with just over 90 seconds left, Nisha sustained a serious injury on her right hand, which left her in agonising pain as she wept inconsolably.
Following a medical break, she did not have any strength left in her right hand and it became a cakewalk for the North Korean, who showed got a leg-hold and nine straight points.
Nisha may have a shot at repechage if her North Korean opponent reaches final, but whether she will be in a position to even take the mat is a bigger question as wept inconsolably after the bout.
Earlier, Nisha won her opening bout against Ukraine's Sova Rizhko 6-4.
Vinesh Phogat was handed a tough draw. She is set to open against reigning Olympic champion and four-time World Champion Yui Susaki.
Vinesh is appearing in her third Olympics.
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