Although India were unable to add to their tally of one silver on Day 7 of Olympics 2021, the country's athletes produced some marvelous individual performances that will help clinch more medals in the coming days.
The biggest source of joy came in the morning when pugilist Lovlina Borgohain assured herself of a medal by reaching the semifinals in the welterweight category. Deepika Kumari's failure to get past the quarterfinals of the women's individual archery event may have dampened the mood. But, the Indian men's hockey team and PV Sindhu ensured that was not to be as the day wore on.
So, how did the Indian athletes perform on Day 7 of Olympics 2021? Let's find out.
Anirban Lahiri in T20 position, Udayan Mane in 57th position as rain halts golf's round 2
Anirban Lahiri was tied-20th going into the 17th hole in the second round of men's golf. However, turbulent weather conditions at the Kasumigaseki Country Club East Course halted play. Lahiri was tied-eighth after the first round on Thursday. The other Indian in action, Udayan Mane, managed to finish his second round. He shot a two-under 69 to improve his position to tied-57th on the 60-player leaderboard.
Manu Bhaker finishes 15th in women's 25m pistol qualification
Manu Bhaker was fifth after the precision round of women's 25m pistol qualification but stumbled to 15th at the end of the rapid stage. She had a combined score of 582. India's other shooter in the event, Rahi Sarnobat, finished 32nd overall. Only the top eight shooters qualified for the finals.
Simranjit Kaur stumbles in R16, Lovlina Borgohain books semifinal berth
Simranjit Kaur was outclassed by her opponent from Thailand, Sudaporn Seesondee, in the round of 16 women's lightweight category at Olympics 2021. The five judges scored her 9-10 in the three rounds.
A couple of bouts later, Lovlina Borgohain was in action in the women's welterweight category. Having lost her previous four bouts to Chinese Taipei's Chen Nien-chin, Lovlina got her revenge at the biggest stage. She won the contest by a 4-1 split decision.
Also Read: Busenaz Surmenali - All you need to know about Lovlina Borgohain's semi-final opponent
Avinash Sable breaks national record as Indian athletes stumble in heats
The athletics contingent's action started with Avinash Sable in the men's 3000m steeplechase. He set a national record of 8:18.12 minutes but finished seventh in heat two.
Only the top three finishers in each of the three heats, followed by six non-automatic qualifiers, make the final. Though Sable ranked 13th overall, three athletes with slower times topped their heat to make it through. MP Jabir finished last in his men's 400m heats, clocking 50.77 seconds. USA's Rai Benjamin finished first in his heats.
In the women's 100m, Dutee Chand clocked 11.54 seconds and finished seventh in her heat. Out of a total of 36 competitors, Dutee ended in 33rd position. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce came first in her heat.
India's quartet of Alex Antony, Sarthak Bhambri, Revathi Veeramani and Subha Venkatesan finished eighth in their mixed 4x400 relay heats. They clocked a season's best of 3:19.33 minutes but failed to progress to the finals.
Deepika Kumari loses to South Korean in quarterfinals
Deepika Kumari began the day by defeating Russia's Ksenia Perova in a shoot-off in the round of 16 women's individual archery event. However, her valiant show went in vain as she proved no match for 20-year-old An San in the quarterfinal, going down 6-0. The South Korean went on to win the gold medal.
Indian women's hockey team edges Ireland 1-0; men beat Japan 5-3 in their final group match
The women's hockey team edged past Ireland 1-0 in their group match at Olympics 2021. Navneet Kaur's goal helped the team keep their slim hopes of progressing to the quarterfinals.
Having already assured themselves a spot in the quarterfinals, the Indian men's team beat Japan 5-3 in their final group match.
While Harmanpreet Singh, Shamsher Singh and Nilakanta Shanglakpam each scored once, Gurjant Singh struck a brace in India's victory.
PV Sindhu storms into semifinals of Olympics 2021
PV Sindhu won her quarterfinal match against Japan's Akane Yamaguchi 21-13, 22-20 to reach the last-four of the Olympics 2021 women's badminton singles competition. Sindhu made light work of her opponent in the first set but had to save two game points before securing victory.
Also Read: Tai Tzu-Ying - All you need to know about PV Sindhu's Olympics 2021 semi-final opponent
Fouaad Mirza in seventh position after two sessions of dressage
Fouaad Mirza ended the country's 20-year-long wait when he took the field in the men's individual eventing category of equestrian. After two rounds of dressage, he occupies seventh position with 28 penalty points. There will be another round of dressage followed by cross country and jumping.
Vishnu Saravanan finishes 3rd in men's laser race 9
Ganapathy Kelapanda and Varun Thakkar finished 17th in the men's 49er class race 7 and followed it up with 11th and 15th place finishes in race 8 and 9.
Nethra Kumanan ended in 37th position in women's laser radial race 9 before dropping down another place in race 10. In race 9 of men's laser class, Vishnu Saravanan finished 3rd, before slipping to 15th spot in race 10.
While Vishnu finished 20th overall, Nethra occupied 35th position. Both failed to qualify for the finals in their events.
India at Olympics Day 7 Medal Tally and Standings
With just one silver, India dropped to 51st position in the medal tally of Olympics 2021 after Day 7. They are tied with Bulgaria, Jordan, North Macedonia, Poland, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
Also Read: India at Olympics 2021 Day 6 Results: Medal Tally and Standings after 30th July