Tokyo 2020 day 8 as it happened: Women’s hockey team, Kamalpreet Kaur shine on day of heartbreaks

07.10 pm: And that will be all us from today. Not the best of days for the Indian contingent, but it had a couple of great moments with Kamalpreet Kaur’s discus throw final and the women’s hockey team reaching quarterfinal. Then the great 100m women’s final to close things out. Now we move forward.

Meanwhile in badminton... Wang/Lee, the pair that Satwik-Chirag defeated in their opening game, are now the doubles champions.

Tokyo 2020, badminton: Satwiksairaj, Chirag Shetty and the bizarre emptiness of a win

Women’s hockey: Good news for Rani Rampal and Co!

Women’s 100m final:

10.61 – Elaine Thompson-Herah

10.62 – Florence Griffith Joyner

A Flo Jo record that had stood since the 1988 Olympics has fallen. Let that sink in.

Zenia D’Cunha: A Jamaican clean sweep of women’s 100m! Elaine Thompson-Herah defends her title – breaking Flo Jo’s 1988 #Olympics record! Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce wins silver but looks devastated & Shericka Jackson makes it a podium sweep. (Took me longer to type this than for them to win!)

Women’s 100m final: It is a Jamaican clean sweep of course!

Women’s 100m final: ELAINE THOMPSON-HERAH GOES BACK-TO-BACK! Oh wait, it is an Olympic record and she is now the fastest woman alive too. That is the second fastest time of all time going past Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce’s mark from earlier this year!!

Women’s 100m final: IT IS TIME! The women’s 100m final is upon us. No Sha’Carri Richardson, No Dina Asher-Smith but two all-time greats going head-to-head. Will it be the current champion Elaine Thompson-Herah or former champion and the fastest woman alive Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

Women’s hockey, pool A, GBR 2-0 IRE in Q3: GBR have another one. India can breathe little easier. Ireland asked for a referral but it didn’t help. The goal stands, here we go.

Athletics: An entetertaining men’s discus throw final comes to a close with a Swedish 1-2.

Speaking of discus... Watch: Kamalpreet Kaur’s superb effort to qualify for women’s discus throw final at Tokyo Olympics

Women’s hockey, pool A, GBR 1-0 IRE at half-time: Susannah Townsend’s 17th minute goal is keeping GBR in the lead at half time. Ireland need a really strong second half, India want GBR to keep the Irish at arm’s length.

Hopefully medal of a different colour: Reactions to PV Sindhu’s Tokyo 2020 semi-final loss

Athletics, women’s 100m: Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and defending champion Elaine Thompson-Herah set up an Olympic 100m showdown on Saturday, easily winning their heats to advance to the final. World champion Fraser-Pryce, chasing a third gold medal in the event, surged into the final at Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium with a time of 10.73sec, the fastest time of the semi-finals.

The 34-year-old was always in control, getting out of the blocks smoothly and taking the lead around the halfway mark to finish comfortably ahead of Switzerland’s Mujinga Kambundji in 10.96sec. Thompson-Herah, the 2016 Olympic 100m gold medallist, dominated her semi-final to advance in 10.76sec, the second-fastest time of the round behind Fraser-Pryce.

She eased up around 20m from home and sauntered across the line well clear of her nearest rival, Switzerland’s Ajla del Ponte in 11.01sec.

British hope Dina Asher-Smith, the world 200m champion, failed to qualify and later revealed she was pulling out of that sprint event at the Tokyo Olympics because of a hamstring injury.

Athletics: Not far away from the first of the blue ribbon events at the Games. Here’s the starting list for what promises to be a cracking 100m women’s final:

Women’s hockey, pool A, GBR 1-0 IRE in Q2: GOAL GBR! And Rani Rampal and Co will celebrate that.

Women’s hockey, pool A, GBR 0-0 IRE in Q2: The second quarter begins... looking so far so good for GBR and by extension, India.

Women’s hockey, pool A, GBR 0-0 IRE in Q1: For the next 40 minutes or so, we are all Great Britain fans! The 4-3 win in the morning put India into fourth place in the pool, but will have to wait until the end of today’s play before knowing if it is enough to progress, with fifth placed Ireland needing to defeat Olympic champions Great Britain to snatch quarter-final qualification away from the Indians.

Tokyo 2020 PV Sindhu vs Tai Tzu Ying semi-final as it happened: Tai wins in straight games

For Sindhu the dream of winning the Olympic gold will have to wait but she still has the massive chance to win back-to-back Olympic medals.

Badminton: Tai Tzu Ying is into the women’s singles final and has ensured she wins her first major medal.
The world No 1 beats PV Sindhu, reigning world champion and Rio silver medallist, in straight games 21-18, 21-12. It was a masterclass by the end.
The Indian, of course, still in line for a medal and will hope to get a bronze.

For more updates and analysis from the match, head over to detailed badminton live blog here.

Athletics: Long jumper Sreeshankar Murali finishes his third and final attempt, and it’s his lowest mark yet, just 7.43m. Nowhere close to his personal best of 8.26, which would have seen him qualify. Thus, his Olympics campaign comes to an end.

Badminton: Tai Tzu Ying has taken a very tight first game 21-18 in 21 minutes. She trailed PV Sindhu for most of the opening game but sneaked ahead towards the end with some cracking points. For more updates and analysis, head over to detailed badminton live blog here.

Athletics: Meanwhile, Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce has won her semifinal 3 of the women’s 100m in a stunning time of 10.73 while Elaine Thompson-Herah was just behind at 10.76. The final of the big race tonight is sure to be a thriller.
Here’s the final lineup:

Athletics: Long jumper Sreeshankar Murali marks a distance of 7.51 in his second attempt. The first was better at 7.69. The qualification mark is 8.15 or the best 12 performers.
He has one jump remaining and would want to get close to his personal best of 8.26m to be able to go ahead.

Badminton: It’s time for the big one folks – PV Sindhu vs Tai Tzu Ying in the semi-final!.
To follow the scores and analysis from the clash, head over to our detailed badminton live blog

Ashish Magotra: “A commanding performance from Li. Her guard was down for most part. She was randomly changing to South Paw stance too. In charge. Pooja outboxed by a better boxer. Li has such a good sense of distance. The Indian just couldn’t get in and the Chinese boxer just picked her off.”

Boxing: Pooja Rani is out of the Olympics in the quarter-final. Li Qian wins by an unanimous decision. The Chinese was the superior boxer, no doubt about that. She dominated the bout and landed her punches, and being aggressive didn’t help Pooja’s defence.

Boxing: Another unanimous decision and the second round goes to Li Qian too. A second straight Olympic medal for the Chinese boxer looks imminent.
The Indian’s coach shouting instructions and encouragement at her but she’s taking far too many punches to overturn the verdict.

Athletics: Long jumper Sreeshankar Murali gets a distance of 7.69m in his first attempt.
Earlier, Cuba’s Juan Miguel Echevarria jumped his season best of 8.50 to qualify on his his first attempt
A qualifying performance 8.15 (Q) or at least 12 best performers (q) advance to the Final as per the official rules.

Boxing: Pooja Rani trying to be aggressive in the first round, going for her punches but misses defence. Li Qian is too good and sweeps the first round unanimously. The Chinese boxer had it way too easy to land her punches.

Boxing: India’s Pooja Rani will be in action against World No 3 Li Qian of China in women’s middleweight category. Pooja will be assured of a medal if she wins win the quarter-final bout.
But won’t be an easy task... she is up against the second seed and former world champion, who also won a bronze at Rio.

Athletics: India’s Sreeshankar Murali is set to begin his campaign in long jump, in Group B.
There are 32 competitors and the top 12 performers in the qualifying round will advance to the final.

Boxing: India’s Pooja Rani will be in action against World No 3 Li Qian of China in women’s middleweight category. Pooja will be assured of a medal if she wins win the quarter-final bout.

Badminton: The first semi-final between Chen Yu Fei and He Bing Jiao is in its second game. PV Sindhu vs Tai Tzu Ying will be soon after. To follow that marquee match, head over to our detailed badminton live blog.

Tennis: No clash of world No 1s in Tokyo. After losing his singles bronze medal match, Djokovic has withdrawn from his mixed doubles match as well. Walkover and an Olympics bronze for Australia’s Ash Barty and John Peers.

Athletics: Long Jumper Sreeshankar Murali is set to begin his campaign soon too. He is in Qualification group B.

Sailing: India’s KC Ganapathy and Varun Thakkar finish their campaign in the men’s 49er at 17th place.
Total points: 174, Net points: 154. (Only the points from the best 9 races are counted.

Badminton: The first women’s singles semi-final between Chen Yu Fei and He Bing Jiao, an all-Chinese affair, has begun.
Post that, it’s the big one for Indian fans – PV Sindhu vs Tai Tzu Ying.
It should begin roughly around 3.15 PM IST, stay tuned for updates in our more detailed live blog especially for that semi-final.

Tennis: Pablo Carreno Busta beats world No 1 Novak Djokovic to win the men’s singles bronze.
The Spaniard needed 6 match points, 5 in the final game, but he prevails in the gruelling battle 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3.
Two straight, three-set losses for the world No 1 in two days. He finishes fourth at the Olympics for the second time in singles, but still has hope for a medal in the mixed doubles bronze-match later today.

Shooting: Switzerland’s Nina Christen wins the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions with Olympic record! She finishes ahead of ROC’s Yulia Zykova with a score of 463.9 while ROC’s Yulia Karimova wins bronze.

1. Nina Christen (SWI)
2. Yulia Zykova (ROC)
3. Yulia Karimova (ROC)

Archery: The podium in the men’s individual archery competition looks like this:

1. Mete Gazoz (Turkey)
2. Mauro Nespoli (Italy)
3. Takaharu Furukawa (Japan)

No Koreans. Furukawa, who beat India’s Atanu Das, gets a bronze to add to his 2012 silver.

Archery: Mete Gazoz, the 22-year-old from Istanbul, has won the gold medal in the men’s individual archery competition. He finished it with a 10 against Mauro Nespoli of Italy.

Swimming: Katie Ledecky warned her rivals she could still be racing in 2028 after the American stormed to her third straight Olympic 800m freestyle gold and banked her fourth Tokyo medal.

The 24-year-old touched in 8min 12.57sec to outpace Australian arch-rival Ariarne Titmus, who clocked a personal best 8:13.83 to earn silver ahead of Italy’s Simona Quadarella (8:18.35).

Ledecky now has 10 Olympic medals – seven golds and three silvers. She was incredulous when asked if it might have been her last race.

“That was not my last swim,” Ledecky said. “I’m at least going to 2024, maybe 2028, we’ll see. I knew it would be my last swim here. You never take anything for granted, you just try to take it all in.”

Athletics: Did you catch Kamalpreet Kaur’s superb show earlier in the day?

Hockey: “This is team game, whole team works for goals. How can I claim credit for the goals today. Am happy we have won, not because I could score”

– Veteran Vandana Katariya after making a historic Olympic hat-trick today.

Badminton: The line-up for the men’s singles semi-finals is now set. Could anyone have predicted this?

Badminton: Chen Long, the Chinese veteran and reigning Olympic champ, is into the semi-finals. A quite superb performance against Tien-Chen Chou.

Archery: The top four have been decided in the men’s individual archery event.

Call it fate: Pole vault world record-holder Armand Duplantis has revealed how fate intervened to help him avoid a potentially ruinous meeting with Covid-positive rival Sam Kendricks at the Tokyo Olympics.

Duplantis, speaking after he sailed through qualification into the final, said he was “freaked out” by Kendricks’ positive test, and that he only missed a coffee appointment with the American because a conversation with his girlfriend overran.

Two-time world champion Kendricks and Argentina’s German Chiaraviglio were both withdrawn from the Games after testing positive.

Golf: India’s Anirban Lahiri is tied 24th with -6 in the third round currently. The other Indian golfer, Udayan Mane, is tied 54th with +1. He is yet to begin his third round.

Men’s archery: Hat-trick of golds averted. In fact, not a single medal in the men’s individual event for Korea for the first time since Athens 2004 as Kim Woojin is knocked out in the quarterfinal. (WHAT A MISSED CHANCE FOR ATANU DAS AND INDIA!)

11.32 am: A hockey recap...

India 4-3 South Africa
Three goals from Vandana Katariya helped India complete their Pool A campaign with an important win over South Africa, a result which keeps alive their dream of qualifying for the competition quarter-finals. The result puts India into fourth place in the pool, but will have to wait until the end of today’s play before knowing if it is enough to progress, with fifth placed Ireland needing to defeat Olympic champions Great Britain to snatch quarter-final qualification away from the Indians. 

In Pool B...

Australia completed their Pool B campaign with a perfect record of five wins from five matches, beating Argentina 2-0 to set in stone their status as pool winners. Remarkably, it is the first time that the Hockeyroos, who are triple Olympic gold medallists, have finished the pool phase at an Olympic Games with a 100% win record. A 2-0 defeat proved costly for Las Leonas, who finished third in Pool B behind Spain – 4-1 winners against Japan earlier in the day – on goal difference. Despite losing against China, New Zealand finished fourth in Pool B and will take their place in the quarter-finals.

— via FIH

Shooting, Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions Qualification: And that would be that for another shooting event featuring the Indians. No finalists, Moudgil gave some hope before the final series but wasn’t to be. She finished with 1167-54x and the 8th was 1171-65x.

Shooting, Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions Qualification: 94 96 95 in the standing series so far for Moudgil, around the 11th spot with one series to go.

Badminton: Joy only for one Danish man today. Anders Antonsen knocked out in a thriller by Ginting.

STAT: Indian women have scored 4 in a match for the second time in their three Olympic Games campaigns, while Vandana scores the first ever hat-trick by an Indian woman.

Shooting, Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions Qualification: 94 and 96 from Anjum Moudgil and she has slipped outside the top 10. Oh dear. Really high scores all around her. This looks over.

Shooting, Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions Qualification: 94 from Sawant in the first standing series, but she is all but out (saying all but because I am not doing the math) of the final.

Shooting, Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions Qualification: Moudgil remains 8th for now and she has the advantage (slight) of knowing what she needs to score past the shooter at 7th right now.

Women’s Pool A: An Ireland draw / defeat needed for India. Match starts at 5.15 pm.

Hockey, women’s pool A, IND 4-3 RSA, Q4: FULL TIME! 4-3 India. Vandana brilliant. WHAT. A. MATCH. India have won two matches in their group stage and now have to wait for the result between Ireland and GBR later in the evening to know their fate.

Hockey, women’s pool A, IND 4-3 RSA, Q4: 40 seconds left and India ball!

Shooting, Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions Qualification: Anjum Moudgil, hovering around the 8th position now, has started her standing series. Ouch, her first shot is a 8. This series will be low-scoring mind you but a 8 could hurt.

Hockey, women’s pool A, IND 4-3 RSA, Q4: 150 seconds left and SA have a PC. Surely not? SURELY NOT? India are referring this because they can... Oh wow, it is a good review!!! FREE HIT INDIA.

Hockey, women’s pool A, IND 4-3 RSA, Q4: The RSA goalkeeper has been amazing, points out the commentator as Phumelela Luphumlo MBANDE prevents a goal from Sharmila’s lung-busting run. Three minutes left... India have another PC!

Hockey, women’s pool A, IND 4-3 RSA, Q4: India have to hold on to a lead (they haven’t done that today yet) for six minutes.

Zenia D’Cunha: Vandana Katariya!!! A hat-trick for her, almost having to score every time India have conceded. Don’t give her another chance, India!

Hockey, women’s pool A, IND 4-3 RSA, Q4: GOALLLLLL INDIA!!! Rampal’s referral pays off. HAT-TRICK FOR VANDANA! Deflected in again. Vandana Katariya with the final touch from the Gurjit drag flick. India move ahead again.

Hockey, women’s pool A, IND 3-3 RSA, Q4: India keep their referral and the PC is earned! But question is...

Hockey, women’s pool A, IND 3-3 RSA, Q4: Oh, a PC for India in the final quarter with 11 mins to go. And no, it is not converted after a scramble. Rampal is asking for a review for another, India might lose their referral if this doesn’t go their way.

Shooting, Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions Qualification: whisper but Moudgil has moved into the top 8 as other shooters around drop their average. Her Standing scores are yet to register .

Hockey, women’s pool A, IND 3-3 RSA, Q4: FINAL QUARTER BEGINS! “This could be the final 15 minutes these two sides play in Tokyo”: Commentator, that is not helping!

Hockey, women’s pool A, IND 3-3 RSA, end of Q3: Two green cards briefly for RSA but down to one as the hooter goes for Q3. This is quite incredible as another action-packed quarter comes to an end. Pressure piles on India.

Hockey, women’s pool A, IND 3-3 RSA, Q3: Green card for India, followed by Green card for RSA. Can India make something out of it? Oh dear a great 2-on-2 is not converted by Rani Rampal of all people. The Indians are looking rattled, tired at the moment.

Shooting, Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions Qualification: Both Indians are done with their kneeling and prone rounds and Moudgil is propping up the top 10 now after a good set of 40 shots. Not bad, not bad. Can we now hope for someone else to slip up? Feels like Indian shooting fans deserve some cheer from somewhere.

Anjum Moudgil kneeling: 99 98 96 97
Anjum Moudgil prone: 98 100 98 99

Tejaswini Sawant, kneeling: 97 92 98 97
Tejaswini Sawant, prone: 99 98 99 98

Hockey, women’s pool A, IND 3-3 RSA, Q3: GOAL RSA! Are we stuck in a time loop? India take the lead and concede again. MARAIS Marizen SCORES! Some brilliant stick work inside the D, that but once again India’s defence split open out of the blue. South Africa have 3/4 for goals/shots. They had scored two goals before today in Tokyo!

Hockey, women’s pool A, IND 3-2 RSA, Q3: Indiscipline, India down to 10 players for a couple of minutes. And RSA almost make them pay.

Hockey, women’s pool A, IND 3-2 RSA, Q3: GOALLLLLLL INDIAA!! NEHA! Think they have figured out they can score from PC variations more than drag flicks. Rani’s shot seems to be an intended pass as Neha gets the decisive touch. India lead again

Shooting, Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions Qualification: There have been so many 100s in the field already, finally one from an Indian! Moudgil keeping herself in the top 15 but still ground to make up on top 8.

Shooting, Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions Qualification: An update from the prone rounds...

Anjum Moudgil kneeling: 99 98 96 97
Anjum Moudgil prone: 98 100

Tejaswini Sawant, kneeling: 97 92 98 97
Tejaswini Sawant, prone: 99 98

Hockey, women’s pool A, IND 2-2 RSA, HALF TIME: If ever numbers told you the story...

Hockey, women’s pool A, IND 2-2 RSA, Q2: OH DEAR! South Africa have a PC with seconds to go and they have equalised again! The ball loops up after the drag flick and the Indian defence cannot deal with it, HUNTER finishes from goalmouth. This is gutting.

From an interview with Scroll.in

Shooting, Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions Qualification: Prone series next, some shooters are already done with theirs but the Indians are yet to register a series

Hockey, women’s pool A, IND 2-1 RSA, Q2: Neha almost with a brilliant solo goal! Dribbles through the heart of the defence and gets a shot away and the RSA goalkeeper makes a brilliant save too.

Hockey, women’s pool A, IND 2-1 RSA Q2 GOALLLL INDIAA!!!! Vandana Katariya has scored her second of the day as a PC FINALLY RESULTS IN A GOAL! Just the 2nd time in more than 20 so far in the tournament. It was Deep’s drag flick but Vandana got the flick that took it in. Great awareness.

Shooting, Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions Qualification: Kneeling series is done for the Indians.

Anjum Moudgil kneeling: 99 98 96 97 (in top 15)

Tejaswini Sawant, kneeling: 97 92 98 97 (outside top 30)

Hockey, women’s pool A, IND 1-1 RSA end of Q1: India had three PCs, including one at the very end, none converted. Did take the lead. South Africa score with their FIRST SHOT on goal. One can only hope it doesn’t come back to bit them.

Hockey, women’s pool A, IND 1-1 RSA in Q1: GOAL, RSA! Oh dear, in the dying seconds of the quarter South Africa hit back. They have scored with their first shot on goal! GLASBY the scorer.

Shooting, Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions Qualification: Oh dear that is a horror round for Tejaswini! The experienced shooter has just dropped a 92 with just 3 10s in the second series. A 96 for Moudgil in the third series is not too great but keeps her in the mix

Anjum Moudgil kneeling: 99 98 96

Tejaswini Sawant, kneeling: 97 92

Shooting, Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions Qualification: Kneeling and Prone would typically see higher scores (because easier to shoot with support of course). Anjum has started well to be among the top 15. The veteran Tejaswini is well off the pace.

Anjum Moudgil kneeling: 99 98

Tejaswini Sawant, kneeling: 97

Hockey, women’s pool A, IND 1-0 RSA in Q1: GOALLL, INDIA!!!! All the pressure pays off. Great attacking play from India and it is a field goal (who needs PCs eh!). Vandana with the decisive touch, she has been one of the players of the tournament for India.

Hockey, women’s pool A, IND 0-0 RSA in Q1: PCs and referrals all around in quite an extraordinary start to the match but the bottom line is no score yet and India still have their review.

Shooting, Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions Qualification

A quick note on how the 50m rifle 3positions works. The event consists of athletes shooting from, as the name suggests, THREE POSITIONS – kneeling, prone, (lying on the ground) and standing, in that order. 

In qualification, there are 4 series of 10 shots each in all 3 positions, that has to be completed within a total of 2 hours and 45 minutes. This is for a total of 1200 points, with scoring in full numerals with a maximum of 10 for each shot. The top eight competitors reach the final, where decimal system comes in. (More on that later)

Hockey, women’s pool A, IND 0-0 RSA in Q1: Gurjit takes the first PC, and it is saved well! Better from India there, at least testing the goalie. India might soon have another PC. Referral going on

Shooting 50m Rifle 3 Positions Women Qualification: Anjum Moudgil begins her first series kneeling series with a 99! Tejaswini Sawant starts with a 97.

Hockey, women’s pool A, IND 0-0 RSA in Q1: National anthems done (love that about hockey!) and we are underway. Wow. Early PC for India, they struggled with conversion so far.

Hockey, women’s pool A: INDIA vs SOUTH AFRICA

HUGE GAME coming up for Rani Rampal & Co to wrap up their group stage campaign.

Shooting: India’s campaign, in its final leg, resumes shortly, with the women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions qualification Veteran Tejaswini Sawant and the promising Anjum Moudgil will be in action for India

QUICK RECAP: 

• Athletics: Kamalpreet Kaur throws a superb 64.00 to qualify for women’s discus final. Second best throw overall in qualification round.
• Boxing: Top seed Amit Panghal stunned in the first round of men’s flyweight. HUGE UPSET. 
• Archery: Atanu Das bows out in the round of 16 against London 2012 silver medallist.
• Badminton: A fairytale in men’s singles as Guatemala’s Kevin Cordon is through to the semifinal. 

Athletics Women’s Discus Throw: Seema Punia finished with 60.57 and the last thrower to qualify had 61.52 The Indian veteran must be disappointed with that. A spot in the final was there for the taking for her too. Kamalpreet Kaur’s final, Monday 430 PM IST.

Athletics Women’s Discus Throw Qualification - Group B: KAUR IN FINAL!

Qualification mark for final: 64.00m ,KAMALPREET KAUR’S 3rd attempt: 64.00m. Precision, eh!? Only the second thrower to reach that mark this morning. She is happy, points to the “India” on the jersey and is all smiles. Through to the final scheduled for Monday.

A good morning to you all from Zenia D’Cunha: In a span of 15 minutes, archer Atanu Das & boxer Amit Panghal have been knocked out Tokyo 2020. Das, out in pre-quarters in a draw that looks increasingly open. Panghal out in his opener, as top seed & a big favourite, going strangely out of focus. <she adds an inverted face emoji>

Athletics Women’s Discus Throw Qualification - Group B: Meanwhile, Seema Punia is officially out of contention for the final. Kamalpreet at least giving some spark to Sadness Saturday so far for India.

Athletics Women’s Discus Throw Qualification - Group B: Kamalpreet comfortably sitting in the top two. Worth noting that London and Rio gold medallist finished Group A on top with 63.75, and Kamalpreet has gone better than here. But throwers do tend to conserve in qualification.

Athletics Women’s Discus Throw Qualification - Group B: OHHH! Almost an automatic qualification throw by Kamalpreet Kaur... 63.97m JUST SHORT of 64.00m. Should be enough for the final. Second longest throw of the morning so far.

Kamalpreet Kaur, qualification attempts: 60.29 63.97

Seema Punia, qualification attempts: X 60.57 58.93

Ashish Magotra: Gone. Amit Panghal, one of India’s top medal hopes in boxing, has been knocked out. Seemed to run out of energy in the last round. What just happened here? Such a strange fight.

Boxing, men’s flyweight round of 16: The commentator kept going on about how Amit fell off a cliff after the first round and it reflected on the scorecard. THAT IS SUCH A HUGE SHOCK FOR THE INDIAN CONTINGENT! Panghal was more than just a medal hope, he was supposed to be a sureshot finalist and face his toughest there against Shakhobidin Zoirov. Not even close.

Boxing, men’s flyweight round of 16: Wow. Top seed Amit Panghal has been knocked out in the first round.

Discus: Kamalpreet started with a 60.29 in her first attempt. More details to come.

Boxing, men’s flyweight round of 16: “He’s trying to do just enough, that’s a high risk strategy by Amit”

Boxing, men’s flyweight round of 16: Panghal was smooth in the round 1, but pressure seems to have gotten to him, says the commentator. The third round has not gone well so far either as he needs some medical attention.

Boxing, men’s flyweight round of 16: WOW the Colombian has come storming back! The round goes to him 4-1 but overall, the card is level with one judge each favouring one boxer and the other three are tied. Amit needs a big final round or he is in danger of getting knocked out!

Kamalpreet Kaur’s Group B is going to start...

Boxing, men’s flyweight round of 16: The commentator reckons the Colombian is making this really hard for Amit and the Indian is in trouble in the second round.

Boxing, men’s flyweight round of 16: AMIT PANGHAL’s CAMPAIGN IS UNDERWAY! The Indian took the first round 4-1.

Archery, men’s individual round of 16: IND 4-6 JPN

India’s wait for the first Archery medal at the Olympics will extend till Paris at the very least.

Archery, men’s individual round of 16: IND 4-6 JPN

Set 5: OOh a 8-ish 9 by Atanu and then JPN with 9. Oh dear, Atanu with a 8!!! FURUKAWA 10!! This is done then. He finishes with a 9, Furukawa needs a 8 to win and he JUST GETS IT! IT WAS NOT THE BEST, BUT IT IS ENOUGH FOR JPN! Atanu Das is out.

Archery, men’s individual round of 16: IND 4-4 JPN

Set 5: A winner takes all set! Atanu will start.

Archery, men’s individual round of 16: IND 4-4 JPN

Set 4: Two good 9s from both to start. Atanu follows that with a 10, and so does Furukawa! Long hold Atanu.... and it is a 9! JPN can win the set with 10 but it is a 9 and ANOTHER SPLIT SET. WOW!

Archery, men’s individual round of 16: IND 3-3 JPN

Set 4: Atanu is still the one playing catch up and he will start again

Archery, men’s individual round of 16: IND 3-3 JPN

Set 3: A 10 to start by Atanu! 8 from JPN and this is advantage Atanu here after he nails another 10. Just needs to finish well. Oh dear 8 and keeps the door open... another split set? NO IT IS A 9 BY A WHISKER FROM FURUKAWA. SET, INDIA.

Archery, men’s individual round of 16: IND 1-3 JPN

Set 3: Atanu still trailing, will start again.

Archery, men’s individual round of 16: IND 1-3 JPN

Set 2: 10 to start by Atanu! 9 from JPN. Second arrow is 9 too from Atanu and then a 9 again. Good stuff from the Japanese though who nails a 10 and splits the set. TIED SET!

Archery, men’s individual round of 16: IND 0-2 JPN

Set 2: Trailing early, Das will shoot first again

Archery, men’s individual round of 16: IND 0-2 JPN

Set 1: Ouch. Two near identical 8s from Atanu and he has a rueful smile. First JPN comfortably. 27-25

Archery, men’s individual round of 16: IND VS JPN

Set 1: Atanu Das to start... and he starts with a 9.

Archery, men’s individual round of 16: IND VS JPN

WE ARE ALL SET FOLKS! India No 1 Atanu Das vs London 2012 silver medallist Takaharu Furukawa

Archery, men’s individual round of 16: Apologies for the confusion earlier, these are the round of 16 matches! We have made the corrections.

Meanwhile, an update about Simone Biles:

From the archive:

Interview: Discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur on her journey to Olympics, dream to play cricket and more

Reminder from Ashish Magotra: Kamalpreet Kaur, the new National Record holder, is in Group B of the Discus Throw qualification round. Her SB is 66.59. She gets that today and she is straight into the final.

Archery, men’s individual round of 16: A reminder that the men’s archery event is wide open. Seeds 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 are already out. Atanu does have to first overcome the London 2012 sliver medallist.

Archery, men’s individual round of 16:: The top half is done and largely per script. Kim Woojin remains the favourite, Unruh (the man who stunned the top seed) is through as well.

Coming up soon: Atanu Das vs Takaharu Furukawa - 1/8 Eliminations Round The match is scheduled to begin at 7.18 am.

Athletics Women’s Discus Throw Qualification - Group A: First round for the first group is over. Seema Punia is 6th as of now. Qualifying performance 64.00 (Q) or at least 12 best performers (q) advance to the Final. No one has made the automatic mark from Group A. Kamalpreet Kaur and Co at 7.25 am.

Archery, men’s individual round of 16: The last 16 is underway folks! Atanu Das to come soon. The top half matches are underway.

Athletics Women’s Discus Throw Qualification - Group A: The third attempt from Punia is worse than her second but she has kept herself in the mix for now if 12 throwers don’t go past the 64 mark. (None yet in Group A)

Seema Punia, qualification attempts: X 60.57 58.93

Badminton: Kevin Cordon, folks. KEVIN CORDON!

World number 59 Cordon, appearing in his fourth Olympics, beat world number nine Ng Ka Long Angus in the group stage, booking his place in the knockout round. And then be beat All England semifinalist Mark Caljouw. 

The 34-year-old has gone past quarterfinals for the first time (of course!) 

Cordon grew up playing football like most kids in Guatemala, but took up badminton and was offered a scholarship in the capital, Guatemala City. He decided to take it with the aim of one day reaching the Olympics, and he now represents the Central American nation with pride.

Cordon’s football-mad father named him after former England striker Kevin Keegan, and the shuttler brings the same relentless energy to the court.

“In the beginning, I wanted to be a football player, and then badminton just came into my life,” he said.

“Badminton in Guatemala is not like football. But I didn’t think about that. I was like, OK, I qualified for the Olympics, I will train hard and do my best in every point in every match. I had a chance to be in the Olympics, and also an opportunity to help my family.”

“The reason I chose to train or play badminton was because of the Olympic Games,” he had said. “I had my dream in Beijing, and now my fourth is still the same dream. I’m enjoying it more than before.”

— via AFP

BADMINTON: WOW! Kevin Cordon has done it! The 34-year-old from Guatemala, playing his fourth Olympics, is into the semi-finals. HE IS NOT IN THE TOP 50! Some terrific commentary that went like this (not verbatim): ‘Photograph this moment and show it to everyone, for they’ll not believe you... 34 yrs old, four-time Olympian, outside the top 50, Kevin Cordon is an Olympic semifinalist. This is pure Fantasy yet it is reality’

Athletics Women’s Discus Throw Qualification - Group A: The second attempt is a valid one from Punia and she gets on the board. She gets 60.57 and is temporarily third. Only two throwers went past 60 (and below 64) in the first round.

Seema Punia, qualification attempts: X 60.57

Athletics Women’s Discus Throw Qualification - Group A: The Indian veteran, who qualified at the very last possible instant for the Games, starts with a foul throw. It was out of bounds. Two more attempts left. Punia’s Season Best is 63.72 and Personal Best is 64.84, and she could use with a mark closer to the second one.

Seema Punia, qualification attempts: X

Athletics Women’s Discus Throw Qualification - Group A: SEEMA PUNIA IN ACTION RIGHT AWAY. She is the first to get going among the 15 athletes in this group. Qualifying performance 64.00 (Q) or at least 12 best performers (q) advance to the Final.

06.00 am: Golf action resumed early today in Round 2 after interruptions on Friday... and track and field events are underway. Seema Punia is about to get going. But we take a moment to acknowledge a big result unfolding..

Guatemala’s Kevin Cordon is on the brink of semi-final... is leading by a game and 10-5 in the men’s singles quarterfinal! Wow, just wow.

05.55 am: Hello all and welcome to the live blog of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and we are into the second weekend! Friday saw India confirm their second medal (not won yet), will Saturday add more?

Here’s quick look back before we look forward...

Tokyo 2020, badminton: PV Sindhu showcased her transformation in superb win over Akane Yamaguchi

Tokyo 2020, Sindhu vs Yamaguchi as it happened: Indian star clinches brilliant win to reach semis

Tokyo 2020 day 7 as it happened: Sindhu in semis, Borgohain assures medal, both hockey teams win

Note: Apart from India’s events and what not, the big event of Saturday... the highly-anticipated women’s 100m final! At 6.20 pm, just after the first ever mixed team relay medals are decided.

Scroll across the table or swipe right to view all columns in tables. Screenshots of scores via Tokyo2020.