Friday, July 23, 2021

Tokyo Olympics 2020, Day 0, LIVE Updates: Mary Kom, Manpreet Singh to be India's flag bearers at opening ceremony

15:30 (IST)

After being deferred by a year, the Olympic Games start today in the capital of Japan. But if you were to be in Tokyo right now, and weren't already aware that the Games begin today, you probably would never realise it judging by the complete lack of electric energy of a host city. Given the coronavirus situation, the organisers had to bar international fans from flying in to the country, and then prohibit the presence of local spectators too in stadia. Excluded by the very party they are playing host to, the city and their residents have decided to carry on with life as usual, more or less ignoring the giant carnival that has rolled into town. If that changes over the duration of these Games, only time will tell.

- Amit Kamath in Tokyo

15:18 (IST)

India's athletics contingent is now off to Tokyo. 

15:11 (IST)

Here's a glimpse of  Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, two hours before the start of the Opening Ceremony. 

14:57 (IST)

Did you know?

14:56 (IST)

The #Tokyo2020 hashtag in real life right here.

14:54 (IST)

Boxer Mary Kom looking very sharp in that blue India blazer.
 

14:53 (IST)

Less than an hour and a half to the opening ceremony. Indian athletes are decked up and ready to go.

14:21 (IST)

Algerian judoka pulls out from facing an Israeli opponent

Algerian judoka Fethi Nourine has withdrawn from the Tokyo Olympics before competing after the draw set him on course for a possible match-up against an Israeli opponent.

Nourine was set to face Sudanese judoka Mohamed Abdalrasool on Monday for his first bout, and would have taken on Israeli Tohar Butbul in the next round.

Speaking to an Algerian television station late Thursday, Nourine said his political support for the Palestinian cause made it impossible for him to compete against an Israeli.

"We worked a lot to reach the Olympics... but the Palestinian cause is bigger than all of this," he said, adding that his decision was "final". [Read more]

13:39 (IST)

Disappointing day for male archers

Debutant Pravin Jadhav finished ahead of the experienced Atanu Das and Tarundeep Rai as India managed ninth-place finishes in both the men's team and mixed team rankings of the Games archery competition at the Yumenoshima Park. [Report]

13:10 (IST)

Protests in Tokyo continue

About 50 protesters have gathered in Tokyo to demand the cancellation of the Olympics.

The protesters gathered outside the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building chanting “no to the Olympics” and “save people’s lives." They held up signs reading “cancel the Olympics."

The Games, largely without spectators and opposed by much of the host nation, are going ahead a year later than planned.

A day earlier, Tokyo hit another six-month high in new COVID-19 cases as worries grew of worsening infections during the Games. Still, the number of cases and deaths as a share of the population in Japan are much lower than in many other countries.

The opening ceremony, scheduled for 4.30 PM IST or 1100 GMT, will be held mostly without spectators to prevent the spread of coronavirus infections, although some officials, guests and media will attend.

12:33 (IST)

12:31 (IST)

Archery - Men's Ranking Round

Being the highest-seeded Indian and the only one above the 32 mark, Jadhav is also the only Indian who will begin his knockout campaign against a lower-seeded opponent. Jadhav could face second seed Brady Ellison very early on, in just the second round, and if he somehow manages to make it past the American, he will likely have a quarter-final match against Shaoxuan Wei. 

12:23 (IST)

Archery - Men's Ranking Round

Atanu Das will begin his knockout campaign with a very winnable fixture against Yu-Cheng Deng of Chinese Taipei, and right after that, he could have a serious challenge on his hands in the shape of former gold medallist Oh Jinhyek. 

12:18 (IST)

Archery - Men's Ranking Round

Oof, brutal draw for Tarundeep Rai, but that was to be expected. Rai begins 28th-seeded Ukrainian Oleksii Hunbin, and should he get past that first hurdle, he can look forward to matches against fifth-ranked Hiroki Muto in the second round and then a potential quarter-final against fourth ranked Kim Woo-jin. Tough to see Rai making his way out of this, but never say never. 

12:13 (IST)

Youngest athlete at Games Syria's Hend Zaza, 12, wants to become an Olympic champion

She is only 12 and will be representing Syria at Games. 

Civil war in her country almost put an end to her dreams of becoming an Olympian. 

Read her story here.

12:11 (IST)

News from elsewhere: Swiss athlete accepts ban

The Swiss Olympic team says 400-meter hurdler Kariem Hussein has accepted a nine-month ban after testing positive for a banned stimulant.

The 2014 European champion was entered in the event at the Tokyo Games. The heats start next Friday. It is unclear if Hussein will be replaced in the 40-athlete lineup.

The Swiss Olympic body’s tribunal backdated the ban by one week from the time Hussein was provisionally suspended. That suspension had not been disclosed.

12:04 (IST)

'It's not going to be easy', India's medal hope PV Sindhu feeling pressure at Games

India's badminton superstar PV Sindhu admits that the pressure is on at the Tokyo Olympics and she will be in the firing line.

The 26-year-old world champion, who won silver at the Rio 2016 Games, begins her tilt at gold on Sunday against Israel's Ksenia Polikarpova.

With Rio champion Carolina Marin out of Tokyo with a serious knee injury, world number seven Sindhu is among the favourites in what looks to be an open field.

"There is definitely a lot of expectation. There are a lot more responsibilities and definitely there will be pressure," said the Indian, reflecting on her status as reigning world champion

Click here to read more quotes from the shuttler.

11:51 (IST)

News from elsewhere: Race walker banned for doping

South African race walker Lebogang Shange has been banned for four years for doping and will miss the Tokyo Olympics.

The former African champion was entered in the men’s 20-kilometer race on 5 August. The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled on the case in Tokyo.

The 30-year-old Shange tested positive for the anabolic steroid trenbolone and was provisionally suspended in December 2019. His ban will expire before the 2024 Paris Olympics.

11:39 (IST)

Archery - Men's Team

The Indian men's team rank ninth in the table.

11:37 (IST)

What a performance! Maturity beyond his years

11:36 (IST)

Archery - Mixed Team

An update on the mixed team event as well! 

Pravin Jadhav's performance in the men's ranking round means he will partner Deepika Kumari in the mixed team, and with a total score of 1319, the pair will be ranked 9th. 

11:32 (IST)

Archery - Men's Ranking Round

Alright then, the final end is done, and we have a clear picture of how the male archers performed! India's highest ranked archer for the knockouts will be Pravin Jadhav, who recorded a 54 (10 9 9 9 9 8) in the tenth end to put together a total of 656. Up next, rather surprisingly, is Atanu Das, whose 53 (X 9 9 9 8 8) in the final end sees him post 653. And finally, just a couple of places below Atanu is Tarundeep Rai, who started poorly but did well towards the end of the round, and finished with 652 thanks to a final end score of 55 (X X 10 9 9 7)

Towards the top of the rankings, South Korean pair of  former gold medallist Oh Jinyek and Olympic record holder Kim Woo-jin were both displaced thanks to a late surge from Brady Ellison of America, who finishes in second place. 17-year-old archer Kim je deok finishes in first, having spent most of this round in the lead.

11:21 (IST)

19 Indian athletes to attend opening ceremony after Sharath Kamal, Manika Batra opt out

Indian paddlers A Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra have decided against attending the Olympics opening ceremony on Friday as they open their mixed doubles campaign the following day.

The names of both the players were there in the list of participants at the opening ceremony but as it turns out, it was an error on the part of the Indian officials who compiled the list.

The Asian Games bronze-medallist play the mighty Chinese Taipei pairing of Lin Yun-Ju and Cheng I-Ching in the round of 16 match on Saturday.

Click here to read more of the report.

11:19 (IST)

Archery - Men's Ranking Round

With just the one end remaining, all three of India's male archers look primed for a mid-table finish. Pravin Jadhav is currently 28th, thanks to a 53 (10 9 9 9 8 8). Atanu Das looked like he was heading for a really good score in the penultimate end, but he really tailed off with that last shot to score 52 (X 10 9 9 9 5). Tarundeep Rai does well to get a 55 (X X 10 9 9 7).

11:12 (IST)

Archery - Men's Ranking Round

Great work from both Pravin Jadhav and Atanu Das! Both archers record a score of 56 (Pravin - 10 10 9 9 9 9, Atanu - X X 9 9 9 9) to move slightly upwards in the rankings. Tarundeep Rai slips down one spot into 38th place with a 54 (10 10 9 9 9 7)

Former leader Hiroki Muto has made a bit of a comeback, and with back to back 58s, is now in fifth place.

11:08 (IST)

If you're keen on watching the Indian contingent during the opening ceremony, make sure you have a handy guide on the Japanese alphabet beside you!

11:05 (IST)

Archery - Men's Ranking Round

Pravin Jadhav and Atanu Das keep going back and forth in their bid to end the ranking round as the highest-ranked Indian! This time around, it's Jadhav who edges into the lead thanks to his 55 (10 9 9 9 9 9), while Atanu Das falls back into 30th with a score of 52 (10 10 8 8 8 8). Tarundeep Rai has the best performance out of all the Indians in this end, recording a 56 (10 10 10 9 9 8) to move up into 37th place.

Shaoxuan Wei shoots a 52 to plummet down the rankings, while America's Brady Ellison now moves into top place in the pack that's chasing the three Korean archers. 

10:58 (IST)

Archery - Men's Ranking Round

After a couple of ends in which they were on level footing, Atanu Das leapfrog compatriot Pravin Jadhav to move into 26th place. Das fires off a cool 56 (10 10 10 9 9 8) while Jadhav's 54 (X 10 9 9 8 8) sees him drop into 30th. Tarundeep Rai also moves up a little to 41 with a score of 55 (10 10 10 9 9 7).

The Koreans continue their dominance atop the leaderboard, while China's Shaoxuan Wei stays on their tail.

10:48 (IST)

Archery - Men's Ranking Round

Pravin Jadhav and Atanu Das continue to be in lockstep, with both shooting 55 (Pravin - 10 10 10 9 8 8, Atanu - 10 10 9 9 9 8) to move up into 27th and 28th place respectively. Tarundeep Rai's position remains unchanged at 45 after he records a score of 54 (10 10 9 9 8 8)

It's all South Korea at the top, as Oh Jinyek moves into third place behind Kim je deok and Kim Woo-jin.  

10:34 (IST)

Archery - Women's Ranking Round

Russian archer Svetlana Gomboeva lost consciousness during a competition at the Tokyo Olympics in intense heat.

Coach Stanislav Popov says in comments via the Russian Olympic Committee that Gomboeva collapsed shortly after completing the qualifying round Friday.

Popov says “she couldn’t stand it, a whole day in the heat” and adds that humidity made the problem worse. Temperatures in Tokyo were above 30 degrees Celsius.

The heat in Tokyo’s summer months already prompted organizers to move the marathons and race-walking events to the cooler city of Sapporo.

Brutal conditions out there.

10:32 (IST)

News from elsewhere: Naomi Osaka's opening match delayed

Naomi Osaka’s opening match in the Olympic tennis tournament has been pushed back from Saturday to Sunday.

Organizers did not immediately provide a reason for the switch. They said only that the move came from the tournament referee.

Osaka was originally scheduled to play 52nd-ranked Zheng Saisai of China in the very first contest of the Games on center court Saturday morning.

One reason for the move could be that Osaka might have a role in the opening ceremony Friday night. That wouldn’t leave her much time to rest before a Saturday morning match.

Osaka is returning to competition for the first time in nearly two months after she withdrew from the French Open following the first round to take a mental health break.

10:31 (IST)

Atanu Das breaks down the craft of recurve archery

Eight hundred arrows. That’s the daily cost an archer pays for perfection. It may not seem like too big a deal, but as any archer will tell you, it’s 800 arrows shot under all sorts of weather conditions, with as much as 30kg of force applied to send the arrow across 70 metres. And then there’s the small matter of the arrows hitting the bulls-eye as well.

This is the world Atanu Das inhabits. India’s only male archer to have competed at the Rio Olympics four years ago has set his sights on the now-deferred Tokyo Olympics next year.

Here's another fun little read for you as we wait for updates from Tokyo!

10:25 (IST)

Tarundeep Rai - I need to win a medal at Tokyo Olympics so I can meet my son's gaze

There is a tiny voice inside my head that has been growing louder and more reassuring every day. It tells me, with authority, that Indian archers will win a medal at the Tokyo Olympics next year. Pakka! This is not the empty sense of bravado that an athlete usually feels going into an Olympic year. I cannot predict which event the medal will come in. It could be the men’s team or the women’s team. Or an individual medal. But I know it is there. I know it with such certainty that I have been telling Atanu (Das) and Pravin (Jadhav) this for months. I believe that the men’s team has the best chance to win that medal at what will be my last Olympics.

As we take a breather between halves in the Archery men's Ranking Round, click here to read this fascinating account of Tarundeep Rai's fitness journey and his motivations for Tokyo 2020.

10:22 (IST)

Archery - Men's Ranking Round

At the halfway stage, Pravin Jadhav (54 - 9 9 9 9 9 9) and Atanu Das (54 - 10 10 10 8 8 8) are neck and neck, tied at a total of 329! Both have 12 Xs to their name, but Jadhav has two more 10s. Tarundeep Rai is a bit further down at #45, having shot 10 9 9 9 8 7 for a score of 52 in the sixth end. 

10:17 (IST)

Archery - Men's Ranking Round

At the very top of the rankings, South Korean Kim je deok displaces his compatriot Kim Woo-jin with a perfect score of 60!

10:15 (IST)

Archery - Men's Ranking Round

After the fifth end, we now have a new Indian leader! Pravin Jadhav is now the highest scoring Indian after shooting a 56 (X 10 10 9 9 8) to move up into 25th place. Atanu stays firm in 29th place with a 55 (10 10 9 9 9 8) and Tarundeep Rai moves up a few places to 39th with a strong score of 57 (10 10 10 9 9 9)

10:07 (IST)

Archery - Men's Ranking Round

Meanwhile, we have a new leader in Kim Woojin after Hiroki Muto's 54!

Kim Woojin (KOR) is the 72-arrow Olympic record holder, having shot a score of 700 in the men's individual ranking round at Rio 2016.

10:05 (IST)

Archery - Men's Ranking Round

Massive slip-up from Atanu Das in the fourth end, his score of 52 (9 9 9 9 8 8) sees him plummet down the ranks into 29th place. Just behind him is Pravin Jadhav, who after a poor start, is gradually climbing his way up the ranks. Jadhav gets a 56 (X 10 10 9 9 8) this time. Tarundeep Rai also drops down from 45th into 48th place with a 53 (10 9 9 9 8 8).

09:57 (IST)

Archery - Men's Ranking Round

Excellent work from Atanu in the third end to shoot a 56 and move up a little into the 11th spot. His total at the moment is 168, which is not that far off leader Hiroki Muto's 171, so this isn't settled, not by a longshot. Meanwhile, Pravin Jadhav leapfrogs Tarundeep Rai with a 55 (X X 10 9 8 7), and he's in 35th place. Rai managed only a 52 (10 9 9 8 8 8), meaning he is now 45th. 

09:48 (IST)

Archery - Men's Ranking Round

Not a great round from Atanu, as he slips down a few places after firing in 10 9 9 9 9 8 for 54. Tarundeep Rai also has 54, thanks to shots of X 10 10 9 8 7, and that sees him slip down three places to 34th. Pravin Jadhav, on the other hand, moves up a bit with 55 (10 9 9 9 9 9)

09:41 (IST)

Archery - Men's Ranking Round

Alright, so after the first end, India's best archer is Atanu Das, who is currently in fifth place. Tarundeep Rai is down in 31st place after shooting X 9 9 9 9 9, while Pravin Jadhav is #40 with 10 10 9 9 8 8!

09:33 (IST)

Archery - Men's Ranking Round

Atanu Das will be on target 20A, with Pravin Jadhav being just one over at 22A, and Tarundeep Rai being just another target over on 24A

09:31 (IST)

It's almost time for the men's archery ranking round!

via GIPHY

09:18 (IST)

Archery - Women's Ranking Round

Here's what Deepika Kumari's Olympic knockout draw looks like!

A quarter-final meeting against South Korean record-setter An San could be in the making, but before that, she'll have to overcome a couple of tough opponents, like eighth-ranked Russian Ksenia Perova

09:13 (IST)

Tokyo 2020 curtain raiser

While we wait for the men's archery ranking round to get underway, why not get the mood of things in Tokyo? Our correspondent Amit Kamath has gone through numerous coronavirus tests and is in Tokyo. He has his ear to the ground (not literally, obviously) and brings us the feel of things in the Japanese capital. [Read]

09:03 (IST)

Rowing - Women's Quadruple Sculls

Utter domination from the Chinese quartet of Yunxia Chen, Ling Zhang, Yang Lyu and Xiaotong Cui as they top the leaderboards with a time of 6:14.32! For perspective on just how incredible their performance was, the next best timing, registered by the German team, was 6:18.22, a full four seconds slower.  

08:39 (IST)

Rowing - Men's Quadruple Sculls

The Polish quartet of Dominik Czaja, Wiktor Chabel, Szymon Posnik and Fabian Baranski record the fastest time of the heats with 5:39.25, just ahead of the Italians with 5:39.28 and the Dutch with 5:39.80.

08:33 (IST)

A day to remember for An San!

08:29 (IST)

Deepika Kumari finishes ninth in ranking round; South Korea's An San shatters Olympic record

Star Indian archer Deepika Kumari finished ninth in the women's individual ranking round as the country's Olympic campaign kickstarted at the Yumenoshima Park on Friday.

The world No.1 finished with 663 points, while talented 20-year-old Korean prodigy An San (680) topped the qualification round with an Olympic record score of 680. The performances will determine the seedings for the elimination rounds.

Click here to read more of the report!

08:21 (IST)

A refresher on how Deepika Kumari got to the Tokyo Olympics!

If you're excited about Deepika Kumari's performance in the Olympic ranking round, but don't quite know how she qualified for the Olympics, click here to check out our form guide, which has detailed information on Deepika's build-up to the Olympics.

Day 0 Preview: The Tokyo Olympics 2020 will begin in earnest on 24 July, after the lavish opening ceremony on 23 July, but there is already sporting action to look forward to.

India's archery squad will be in action on Friday morning in the ranking round, where the likes of Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das will be hoping to get off to a good start and set themselves up for a potential medal finish.

Rowing will be another of the sports that has an early start in the tournament, with many of the initial heats across all disciplines taking place on Friday.

Of course, the main event of the day will be the opening ceremony, which is expected to begin at around 4.30 pm IST later on in the day.



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