Bajrang Punia, India’s star wrestler, was eliminated in the semifinals and will compete for bronze. He started his campaign by narrowly defeating Ernazar Akmataliev of Kyrgyzstan in the men’s freestyle 65 kg category, then knocking off Iran’s Morteza Ghiasi by fall to get to the semifinals. Seema Bisla, however, bowed out in her maiden battle of the women’s freestyle 50kg category, signalling the end of the road for India’s female wrestlers.
The Indian women’s hockey team’s campaign at the Tokyo Olympics came to an end as they lost 3-4 to defending champions Great Britain in the bronze medal match. After the men’s team won a medal for the first time in 41 years, the Rani Rampal-led women’s team put in a good performance, even leading at one point before finishing in the best fourth place ever.
Priyanka Goswami was in the lead pack for the first half of the women’s 20-kilometer racewalk, placing first after 8 kilometres, but finally finishing 17th. Aditi Ashok, on the other hand, had another strong day, placing second in Round 3. Gurpreet Singh, an athlete, withdrew out of his 50-kilometer race walk early in the morning.
