India At Paris Olympics Highlights: Bopanna-Balaji Exit In The First Round; Manu Bhaker Bags Historic Bronze

Shooting: July 28

10m Air Rifle Women's Qualification Round: 12:45 PM

10m Air Rifle Men's Qualification Round: 2:45 PM

10m Air Pistol Women's Final: 3:30 PM

Table Tennis: July 28

Women's Singles Round of 64: 2:15 PM (Sreeja Akula)

Men's Singles Round of 64: 3:00 PM (Achanta Sharath Kamal)

Women's Singles Round of 64: 4:30 PM (Manika Batra)

PV Sindhu will begin her Olympic campaign on Sunday, July 28th against world No. 111 Fathimath Nabaaha from Maldives. They last faced each other at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and the Indian won it with ease.

Tokyo Olympic gold medallist and India’s golden boy Neeraj Chopra said that he is excited to watch the Indian team in action at the ongoing 2024 Paris Olympic Games, and also wished the entire contingent luck for the events

India's star shuttler PV Sindhu will take the court in around half an hour for her Paris Olympics opener. She faces Maldives' Fathimath Nabaaha Abdul Razzaq in the Group M clash. Sindhu, as we all know, had garnered silver at Rio 2016 and bronze at Tokyo 2020 and is eyeing a third successive medal.

The shooting events resume with the women's 10m Air Rifle Qualification round at 12:45 PM Indian Standard Time.

Both Elavenil Valarivan and Ramita Jindal will be in action at the Range.

Both shooters get good starts and the shots rolling. Ramita starts with 10.5 and then backs it up with 10.9, while Elavenil on the other hand is third with 10.6 and 10.7 respectively.

After a promising start, Ramita’s form drastically dips from 10.9 to two 10s and a 10.2 and falls out of the top 20 on the list. She ends the first series with a tally of 104.3 and is 22nd. Not looking good.

India's PV Sindhu looks in the zone and means business as she races along to take a 14-4 lead in the first game. Momentum truly in favour of Sindhu as she goes on an nine-point winning streak.

Elavenil gets 105.8 after the first series and is fifth on the standings with some consistent game, while Ramita in her second series has come out firing fighting for every inch, and registed two perfect shots and two 10.7s to jump into the top 15.

PV Sindhu takes the first game with absolute ease as Fathimath is blindsided by the sheer brilliance. The quest for medal No.3 starts off with a 21-9 game.

This is brilliant from the Indians as Ramita fights back in the second and moves to eighth. While Elavenil jumps to first place after a cracking start to the third with three 10.6s. Game on!

And just like that Sindhu gets the job done in under 30 minutes and opens her Olympic campaign with a convincing 21-9, 21-6 victory over Fathimath.

India’s Balraj Panwar just misses to time his push as he finishes second place with (7:12:41 mins) which will grant him a quarter-final position in the men’s single sculls, and also becomes the fourth Indian to qualify.

Both the Indian shooters have the same score tally in the fourth, with it reading 105.3. However, on the standing, Ramitha is a little behind on tenth place. Is there one last press to come up the table?

Both the shooters again launch 105.3 in their last two series. Ramita, being down and out, comes back the ladder and jumps over Elavenil to take fifth spot.

This is stuff of dreams! How has Ramita pulled that off? At one point she was 22nd on the list, and now is an Olympic finalist. What's harder? Shooting or watching shooting? This is tenacity.

Before Manu Bhaker's all-important women's 10m air pistol final, we have some table tennis action coming our way. All four singles paddlers representing India - Manika Batra, Achanta Sharath Kamal, Harmeet Desai and Sreeja Akula will step into the TT arena today. First up, Sreeja takes on Christina Kallberg in the women's singles round of 64. Sharath Kamal will face Deni Kozul in the men's event around 3pm, followed by Manika Batra against Anna Hursey around 4pm. Harmeet Desai meets Felix Lebrun around 11:30pm.

India’s numero uno singles table tennis player Sreeja Akula has made it to the round of 32 with a comprehensive 4-0 win over Sweden’s Christina Kallberg. Sreeja, who had scripted history by becoming the first Indian paddler to win a WTT Contender singles title, notched up a 11-4, 11-9, 11-7, 11-8 victory in just 30 minutes over the Swede. Next up, we have India's flag-bearer Achanta Sharath Kamal facing Deni Kozul.

Lots happening elsewhere too. The Manu Bhaker 10m air pistol final is coming up at 3:30pm, and so is 14-year-old swimmer Dhinidhi Desinghu's 200m heat. Stay tuned!

She has done it. Manu Bhaker, the 22-year-old shooter from Jhajjar, has clinched India's first medal at Paris 2024. She also becomes the first Indian woman shooter to bag an Olympic medal. The youngster shoots a score of 221.7 to take home the bronze at the women's 10m air pistol event. This is India's first shooting medal in 12 years, as the last one was earned by current chef de mission Gagan Narang at London 2012.

India's star paddler Manika Batra stutters a bit before advancing to the women's singles round of 32 in Paris. She seemed to be cruising to a straight-games win when her opponent Anna Hursey wrested back some initiative. Manika regains her rhythm and completes a 4-1 win to proceed to the next round.

Her compatriot Achanta Sharath Kamal, however, slumps to a shock loss against Slovenia's Deni Kozul.

French player Corentin Moutet defeated India's Sumit Nagal 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 in tennis men's singles first round. However, India's tennis hopes now rely on Rohan Bopanna and N Sriram Balaji who will take on French pair Gael Monfils and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the first round of men’s doubles.

Indian women's archery team endured a forgettable outing as they went down 0-6 to the Netherlands in the quarterfinals at the Paris Olympics on Sunday. Indian trio of Ankita Bhakat, Bhajan Kaur and Deepika Kumari lost 51-52, 49-54, 48-53 to the Dutch team in what was a disastrous performance.

Paris Olympics organizers apologized Sunday to anyone who was offended by a tableau that evoked Leonardo da Vinci's “The Last Supper” during the glamorous opening ceremony.

Da Vinci's painting depicts the moment when Jesus Christ declared that an apostle would betray him. The scene during Friday's ceremony featured DJ and producer Barbara Butch — an LGBTQ+ icon — flanked by drag artists and dancers.

HS Prannoy's badminton singles match against Fabian Roth gets underway.

IND's HS Prannoy takes the first game against GER's Fabian Roth 21-18 in what was a closely fought affair.

The 32-year-old from Kerala, who was down with chikungunya for almost two weeks ahead of the Paris Games, gave a good display of fitness and showed his mettle during the 21-18 21-12 win over Roth in a 45-minute match of Group K. Prannoy will next face Le Duc Phat of Vietnam on Wednesday in the second and final group match.

To know the updated medal tally from the ongoing Paris Olympic Games 2024, you can get right HERE

Australia leads the table with six medals (4 Gold, 2 Silver and 0 bronze). South Korea sits second with 3 Gold, 2 Silver and 1 bronze. India is at 25 with Manu Bhaker's historic bronze today.

Locked In! Rafael Nadal's 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 over Marton Fucsovics sets up a mouth-watering clash against Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros. It will be their 60th matchup, more than any other two men have played against each other in the Open era, which began in 1968. Djokovic leads the head-to-head series 30-29.

"Many, many congratulations to you, Manu. Since hearing the news of your win, the whole country is basking in the glory of your success," PM Modi said during his telephonic interaction with the 22-year-old shooter.

"You missed out on a silver by the smallest of margins but still you have made the country proud. You deserve credit on two counts - one for winning a bronze medal and another for becoming the first Indian woman to win a medal in shooting," the PM added.

"Manu's efforts and Jaspal's blessings and the sports ministry's assistance, it all helped in her success, which ended India's 12-year drought at the Games," Ram Kishan, Manu's father, told PTI Videos.

"This is the start, she has two more matches. She talks to us for a few minutes every day, she is composed and happy," he said, and added that she could have been successful at the Tokyo Olympics as well three years back but for the pistol malfunction.

He added, "Her Tokyo disappointment was because the pistol malfunctioned; her performance wasn't bad. As a sportsperson, she knew Tokyo was not a disappointment."

Guatemalan men’s singles player Kevin Cordon has withdrawn from the Olympic Games Paris 2024 due to a left elbow injury. He had lost to Lakshya Sen of India in the first match. Sen's group now effectively turns into a three-man group as Cordon's match against the Indian shuttler does not bear any result.

Men's 100m Breaststroke, Men's 400m Individual Medley, Women's 100m Butterfly, Fencing Men's Epee, Women's Foil

India's Harmeet Desai has been knocked out from the Paris 2024 Olympics men’s singles table tennis event after losing 11-8, 11-8, 11-6, 11-8 to world number three Felix Lebrun (France). The 31-year-old from Surat couldn't settle into a rhythm to go down against the 17-year-old local hopeful in 28 minutes, which brought the curtains down on India's campaign in men's singles competitions.

FRA's Leon Marchand sets a new Olympic Record of 4:02.95 in men's 400m individual medley.

Tennis action awaits as Rohan Bopanna and Sriram Balaji will be in action later as they take on Gael Monfils and Edouard Roger Vasselin of France in their men’s doubles first round match.

The Matildas found themselves 4-2 down to Zambia in their women's football tie but staged a comeback to win 6-5. Astonishing scoreline!

Indian sporting legend and T20 World Cup winning coach Rahul Dravid graced the inaugural India House as part of a panel discussion on cricket's inclusion at the Olympics that was organized by Dream Sports. Dravid congratulated Manu Bhaker and also spoke about his love for the Olympics and his desire to be at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 in some capacity.

Rohan Bopanna and Sriram Balaji’s doubles match has started as they face French pair of Gael Monfils and Edouard Roger-Vasselin.

The USA's Nic Fink ties for silver in the men's 100-meter breaststroke alongside Great Britain's Adam Peaty. Italy's Nicolo Martinenghi takes gold.

T20 WC winning coach Rahul Dravid is in the stands for the men's doubles match involving Rohan Bopanna and Sriram Balaji against Gael Monfils- Edouard Roger-Vasselin.

The Indian pair trail 3-4 in the first set and are looking confident despite the French pair in the driver's seat.

Japanese Koki Kano is up against Yannick Borel, the Frenchman who's looking to win the host country's fourth gold medal. A little while ago, Mohamed El-Sayed of Egypt survived an over-time, protracted battle against Hungarian Tibor Andrasfi to win the African nation's first medal in these Games.

After tying it to 5-5, the Indian pair come up short to Monfils and Vasselin as the later lead 6-5.

What a game we're having! Gael Monfils and his partner Edouard Roger-Vasselin have taken the first set 6-5. A raucous atmosphere at the court.

Kano wins gold in men's epee, fourth for the country and the Land of Rising Sun retires Day 2 in France on perch, one more medal than Australia -- a bronze

The Indian pair look lost for ideas in the second set. They are 1-4 down to the French doubles pairing. Writing is on the wall for Bopanna and Balaji unless they do the unthinkable.

Game, set and match! Rohan Bopanna and N. Sriram Balaji have exited the first round of the men's doubles with a 7-5, 6-2 defeat to Gael Monfils and Edouard Roger-Vasselin.

Sunday, July 28

ARCHERY

WOMEN’S TEAM

Gold: South Korea

Silver: China

Bronze: Mexico

CANOE SLALOM

WOMEN’S KAYAK SINGLE

Gold: Jessica Fox, Australia

Silver: Klaudia Zwolinska, Poland

Bronze: Kimberley Woods, Britain

CYCLING MOUNTAIN BIKE

WOMEN’S CROSS-COUNTRY

Gold: Pauline Ferrand-Prevot, France

Silver: Haley Batten, United States

Bronze: Jenny Rissveds, Sweden

JUDO

WOMEN’S 52KG

Gold: Diyora Keldiyorova, Uzbekistan

Silver: Distria Krasniqi, Kosovo

Bronze: Larissa Pimenta, Brazil and Amandine Buchard, France

MEN’S 66KG

Gold: Hifumi Abe, Japan

Silver: Willian Lima, Brazil

Bronze: Gusman Kyrgyzbayev, Kazakhstan and Denis Vieru, Moldova

SHOOTING

MEN’S 10M AIR PISTOL

Gold: Xie Yu, China

Silver: Federico Nilo Maldini, Italy

Bronze: Paolo Monna, Italy

SWIMMING

MEN’S 400M INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY

Gold: Léon Marchand, France

Silver: Tomoyuki Matsushita, Japan

Bronze: Carson Foster, United States

WOMEN’S 100M BUTTERFLY

Gold: Torri Huske, United States

Silver: Gretchen Walsh, United States

Bronze: Zhang Yufei, China

WOMEN’S 10M AIR PISTOL

Gold: Oh Ye-jin, South Korea

Silver: Kim Ye-ji, South Korea

Bronze: Manu Bhaker, India

SKATEBOARDING

WOMEN’S STREET

Gold: Coco Yoshizawa, Japan

Silver: Liz Akama, Japan

Bronze: Rayssa Leal, Brazil

Saturday, July 27

CYCLING

MEN’S INDIVIDUAL TIME TRIAL

Gold: Remco Evenepoel, Belgium

Silver: Filippo Ganna, Italy

Bronze: Wout van Aert, Belgium

WOMEN’S INDIVIDUAL TIME TRIAL

Gold: Grace Brown, Australia

Silver: Anna Henderson, Britain

Bronze: Chloe Dygert, United States

DIVING

WOMEN’S SYNCHRONISED 3M SPRINGBOARD

Gold: Chang Yani and Chen Yiwen, China

Silver: Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook, United States

Bronze: Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen, Britain

FENCING

WOMEN’S EPEE INDIVIDUAL

Gold: Vivian Kong, Hong Kong

Silver: Auriane Mallo-Breton, France

Bronze: Eszter Muhari, Hungary

MEN’S SABER INDIVIDUAL

Bronze: Luigi Samele, Italy

JUDO

WOMEN 48KG

Gold: Natsumi Tsunoda, Japan

Silver: Baasankhuu Bavuudori, Mongolia

Bronze: Shirine Boukli, France, and Tara Babulfath, Sweden

MEN 60KG

Gold: Yeldos Smetov, Kazakhstan

Silver: Luka Mkheidze, France

Bronze: Ryuju Nagayama, Japan and Francisco Garrigos, Spain

RUGBY SEVENS

Gold: France

Silver: Fiji

Bronze: South Africa

SHOOTING

10M AIR RIFLE MIXED TEAM

Gold: Huang Yuting and Sheng Lihao, China

Silver: Keum Ji-hyeon and Park Ha-jun, South Korea

Bronze: Alexandra Le and Islam Satpayev, Kazakhstan

SWIMMING

MEN’S 400M FREESTYLE

Gold: Lukas Maertens, Germany

Silver: Elijah Winnington, Australia

Bronze: Kim Woo-min, South Korea

MEN’S 4X100M FREESTYLE RELAY

Gold: United States

Silver: Australia

Bronze: Italy

WOMEN’S 400M FREESTYLE

Gold: Ariarne Titmus, Australia

Silver: Summer McIntosh, Canada

Bronze: Katie Ledecky, United States

WOMEN’S 4X100M FREESTYLE RELAY

Gold: Australia

Silver: United States

Bronze: China

For the medal tally table, you can get it right HERE

Manu Bhaker's feat would be remembered for a long, long time. Till then, we bid adieu as we look forward to day 3 at the Paris Olympic Games 2024. Goodnight!

For all the updates and coverage, you can check it HERE