Shuttlers Kidambi Srikanth and P V Sindhu kept India's medal hopes alive by entering the quarter-finals of their respective categories as boxer Vikas Krishan Yadav crashed out while the athletes continued to cut a sorry figure at the Rio Olympics.
World No.11 Srikanth continued his rollicking form to register a 21-19, 21-19 triumph in 42 minutes over world No.5 Jan O Jorgensen in the men's singles pre-quarter-finals at the Rio Centrio on Monday. Srikanth had to work hard to overcome Jorgensen. In a hard fought first game, both shuttlers started on an attacking note but it was Srikanth who managed to maintain the lead with some bodyline smashes.
Jorgensen, bronze medallist in the 2014 World Championships, gave a tough fight at the end but it was the Guntur lad who proved superior to clinch the first game 21-19. In the second game, the Denmark player upped the ante and played a disciplined game to maintain the lead from the start. But with some swift court movements, the Indian diminished the lead to stay at 17-17 and then took a one-point lead to make it 19-18 before wrapping up the game to advance into the quarter-finals.
Srikanth had entered the pre-quarterfinals after topping Group H. In quarters, he will face the tough task of beating two-time defending champion and five-time world champion Lin Dan of China.
Sindhu entered the last eight stage of the women's singles event by defeating Tai Tzu-ying of Chinese Taipei in straight games. Sindhu dominated right from the start to defeat her highly rated opponent 21-13, 21-15 within 40 minutes in the pre-quarter-final clash at Court 2 of the Riocentro Pavilion 4 on Monday.
Before Monday's match, Tzu-ying enjoyed a 4-2 advantage in head to head encounters against Sindhu. But the 21-year-old from Hyderabad was in superb form and dominated her opponent throughout the match. But Sindhu is expected to face a much tougher challenge in last eight stage as she will now face World No.2 Wang Yihan of China. The 21-year-old from Hyderabad admitted that Wang Yihan will be a difficult opponent, but is confident of creating an upset.
Later in the day, Vikas had an opportunity to bag India's first medal at the Rio Olympics when he faced Bektemir Melikuziev of Uzbekistan in the quarter-finals of the men's Middleweight (75kg) category. The Haryana boxer needed to reach the semi-finals to make sure of a bronze, but he was no match for the 20-year-old Uzbek, going down 27-30, 26-30, 26-30 against the silver medallist of the 2015 World Championships. Vikas' exit brought the Indian challenge to an end. Shiva Thapa (56kg) and Manoj Kumar (64kg) had earlier crashed out of their respective weight categories.
Meanwhile, it was heartbreak for the athletes who endured another dismal day at the Games. Lalita Babbar, competing in an individual track event for the first time since P T Usha in 1984, finished 10th in the final of the women's 3,000 metre steeplechase. Lalita clocked nine minutes and 22.74 seconds -- nearly three seconds behind her national record timing in the water and barrier race - at the Olympic Stadium.
The Maharashtra athlete was inside the top eight competitors midway but was not able to push as much as she would have liked to towards the closing laps.
More disappointment was in store from the track and field events as Srabani Nanda failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the women's 200 metres after finishing 55th among 72 athletes in Round 1.
Dipa Karmakar wins hearts
India's search for a medal at the 2016 Rio continues following the defeat of the mixed doubles' tennis pair of Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna in the bronze medal play-off match, the men's hockey team's loss to Belgium in the quarter-finals and the surprise exit of Saina Nehwal on Sunday. India can raise a toast, however, to 22-year-old gymnast Dipa Karmakar who finished fourth in the vault final with a score of 15.006 - well past her previous best - and missed a bronze medal by 0.150 points. Dipa was at second place after her second attempt at the Produnova but slipped to fourth after the final contestant, American Simone Biles, put in an outstanding performance to win gold with a score of 15.966. To go where no Indian had gone before is a story in itself, and no one can begrudge Dipa her result.
