Tokyo Olympics which was declared ‘open’ on Friday with a toned-down Opening Ceremony, will see the spotlight shift to sporting activities and the second day of the Games is one of the biggest for the Indian contingent.
Saturday can indeed prove to be one of the most rewarding days for the county at the Olympics. The day possibly holds the prospect of winning six medals. Mirabai Chanu who is the sole Indian representative in weightlifting will kickstart her campaign on Saturday. Competing in the 49kg category, her real challenge lies in China’s Zhihui Hou, but looking at the recent form of the Manipur-based lifter, it is safe to say that Chanu can indeed come back with a medal.
The mixed pair competition of archery will also get underway on Saturday and after the ranking matches on Friday, Pravin Jadhav and Deepika Kumari would be paired alongside each other. Deepika might have practised with Atanu Das heading into the tournament, but who knows the pair of Deepika and Pravin might just emerge as the darkhorse.
The qualification matches will kickstart at 6 am on Saturday and it will be followed by the medal matches at 10:45 am.
In shooting, men’s 10m air pistol and women’s 10m air pistol events will be held. Apurvi Chandela and Elavenil Valarivan are the two Indian shooters who have emerged as the frontrunners in the women’s 10m air pistol events after having a good showing in the events this year.
Saurabh Chaudhary is someone who everyone has put their money on to bring back gold in the men’s 10m air pistol event. South Korea’s Jin Jong-Oh is expected to be a thorn in Chaudhary’s way, but looking at the recent form, it is safe to expect the Indian youngster to emerge as the winner of gold.
On Saturday, shuttler Sai Praneeth will start his men’s singles campaign while the doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy will also open their campaign. The matches will showcase the form these three shuttlers have been in, and one will be able to gauge how far the badminton contingent can go in the Games.
Both men’s and women’s hockey teams will start their bid to win gold at the Games on Saturday. While the women’s team clashes against the formidable Netherlands, the men’s lock horns against darkhorse New Zealand.
India will also make its presence felt in tennis, judo and rowing on Saturday, hence the very second day of the Games will help the fans gauge whether the nation can come back with medals in double digits or not.
Meanwhile, ace sprinter Hima Das on Friday wished all the best to the Indian athletes who are going to feature in the ongoing Tokyo Olympics.
Earlier this month, Hima Das sustained a hamstring injury while running in the 100m heats during the National Inter-State Athletics Championships. The ace Indian sprinter said she will watch all the games and will cheer for athletes. Hima is also confident that Indian athletes will script history in the ongoing Games.
“Indian athletes will script history this time. Unfortunately, I got injured at the last moment, never mind I’ll watch the Games and will cheer for our athletes. I just want to say everyone should cheer for our athletes as it will provide them extra motivation,” Hima Das told ANI.
Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) along with fellow boxers will feature in Tokyo Olympics. The men’s boxing side comprises number one and Asian Games champion Panghal (52kg), Manish Kaushik (63kg), Vikas Krishan (69kg), Ashish Kumar (75kg), and Satish Kumar (+91kg).
The women’s squad includes Mary Kom (51kg), Simranjit Kaur (60kg), Lovlina (69kg), and Pooja Rani (75kg).
“It’s an honour for Assam that Lovlina Borgohain will compete in the Tokyo Olympics. She is my old friend and I’m sure she will bring a medal for India and Assam,” said Hima Das. ANI