Thursday will be D-Day for javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and the men’s hockey team as they will be fighting for medals while wrestlers Aman Sherawat and Anshu will be launching their campaigns at the Paris Olympics.
The entire nation will probably be glued to the television as Neeraj Chopra tries to recreate the magic that made him the first Indian athlete to win a gold medal at the Olympics in Tokyo. Chopra has already given a glimpse of that with a monster throw on his first turn in the qualifying round, reaching 89.34 metres, a season-best for the 26-year-old from Haryana.
Neeraj will once again hope to kill the opposition with his first throw in the final, which starts at 23:55 IST.
Neeraj looks the favourite to become the first Indian to win back-to-back gold medals in an individual event.
The men’s hockey team will also be hoping to win a back-t0-back bronze medal for the first time since 1972 when it takes on Spain in the Bronze medal match at 17:30 IST.
The team had caused some big upsets but fell short against World Champions Germany despite a loin-hearted effort.
Besides these two events, the Indian fans will also be keeping a close watch on the wrestling area where India’s lone male wrestler Aman Sehrawat will be getting onto the mat in the men’s 57 kg freestyle at 14:05 IST.
Woman wrestler Anshu will be taking to the mat at around 14:30 IST in the women’s 57 kg freestyle, hoping to win an elusive medal for India. With wrestling in the spotlight following Vinesh Phogat’s sensational performance and subsequent disqualification, both wrestlers will hope to bring smiles back to Indian wrestling.
Full schedule:
India’s schedule for August 8:
12:30 IST – Golf, Women’s Individual Stroke Play Round 2 (Aditi Ashok, Diksha Dagar)
14:05 IST – Athletics, Women’s 100m Repechage Round (Jyothi Yarraji)
14:30 IST – Wrestling, Men’s Freestyle 57kg Pre-quarterfinal (Aman Sehrawat v Vladimir Egorov – MKD)
14:30 IST – Wrestling – Women’s 57 kg freestyle – pre-quarterfinals (Anshu Malik v Helen Louise Maroulis – USA)
17:30 IST 0 Hockey, Men’s Bronze Medal Match (India v Spain)
23:55 IST – Athletics – Men’s Javelin Throw Final (Neeraj Chopra).