Little-known shooter Swapnil Kusale did well to hold his nerve despite a racing heartbeat to secure India's first-ever Olympic medal in the men's 50m Rifle 3 Positions event, on a day when four strong podium contenders from the country were knocked out of the Games.
Kusale shot an aggregate of 451.4 in the eight-shooter final to finish third, after being placed sixth at one stage.
It swelled the country's overall medal tally to three, all bronze in shooting, and placed India 42nd on the table.
Kusale, whose father and brother are teachers in a district school, and his mother the sarpanch of Kambalwadi village near Kolhapur in Maharashtra, finished behind China's Yukun Liu (463.6) and Ukraine's Serhiy Kulish (461.3) in that order.
His brilliant performance was followed by a spate of disappointments, as two-time World champion boxer Nikhat Zareen (50kg), badminton's celebrated men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, two-time Olympics medallist P V Sindhu and rifle shooter Sift Kaur Samra bowed out the Games.
Lakshya Sen was the lone bright spot. He advanced to the quarter-finals at the expense of compatriot H S Prannoy in the men's singles badminton event, holding out hope for a medal from the racquet sport.
ATHLETICS
Racewalkers bring up the rear
India's athletics campaign was off to a poor start as the 20km race walkers failed badly.
National record holder Priyanka Goswami finished a poor 41st in the women's 20km competition while Vikash Singh and Paramjeet Singh finished a lowly 30th and 37th respectively in the men's event.
BADMINTON
Sen on course, Satwik-Chirag shocked
The in-form Lakshya Sen stayed on course for a maiden Olympics medal, but Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s hopes were dashed after a heartbreaking three-game defeat in the men's doubles quarter-finals.
One of the favourites for the gold medal, the reigning Asian and Commonwealth Games champions squandered the advantage of winning the first game and went down 21-13, 14-21, 16-21 to the world No. 3 pair of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia.
Sen brought some cheer back in the Indian camp with a comfortable 21-12, 21-6 win over a visibly tired HS Prannoy in an all-Indian pre-quarter-final contest to become only the third male player ever from the country to reach the last eight stage of the Olympics badminton competition.
The 22-year-old from Almora joined Parupalli Kashyap and Kidambi Srikanth, who reached the quarter-finals at the London and Rio edition of the Olympics in 2012 and 2016 respectively.
Currently ranked 22, Sen will face 12th seed Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien Chen next.
The biggest heartbreak of the day was P V Sindhu's exit. In pursuit of an unparalleled third Olympic medal, she lost 19-21, 14-21 to China's He Bing Jiao.
BOXING
Nikhat Zareen exits in tears
It was a tearful end to two-time World champion Nikhat Zareen's Olympics debut as she was out-punched 0-5 by China's Wu Yu in the women's 50kg division.
India’s medal hope was unseeded for the Games, as the International Olympic Committee, which conducts the boxing competition, does not recognise the International Boxing Association (IBA), which conducts the World Championships.
"Sorry guys," said an emotional Nikhat, after the defeat.
"She was faster. I will analyse this bout once I am home. I had worked hard, prepared myself physically and mentally for this Olympics. I will come back strong."
HOCKEY
Belgium had India first defeat
Chasing a second successive medal, the hockey team suffered its first loss of the Games, going down 1-2 to defending champions Belgium after letting slip a one-goal lead in their pool match.
Abhishek gave India the lead in the 18th minute before Belgium made a strong comeback after half-time to score through Thibeau Stockbroekx (33rd) and John-John Dohmen (44th) to extend their unbeaten run in the in the tournament.
Both India and Belgium have already qualified for the quarter-finals from Pool B.
India are hoping to better the bronze medal win at the Tokyo edition.
SHOOTING
Swapnil Kusale brought cheer in the Indian camp with a bronze from the 50m Rifle 3 Positions event.
His podium finish comes close on the heels of the stunning performance of Manu Bhaker, who clinched the women's 10m Air Pistol and the mixed team 10m Air Pistol bronze alongside Sarabjot Singh.
Their combined effort ensured that India, for the first time in its Olympic history, has a haul of three medals from one single sport.
However, Anjum Moudgil and Samra failed to qualify for the final of the women's 50m Rifle 3 Positions event, finishing 18th and 31st respectively in the qualifications round.
