Paris Olympics 2024 India, Day 12 Highlights: Mirabai Chanu finishes 4th; Vinesh disqualified; Avinash Sable 11th in 3000m steeplechase final (2024)

Well, in case any of our Indian readers are wondering, the women’s 50kg final has taken place and USA’s Sarah Ann Hildebrandt has beaten Cuba’s Lopez, who lost to Vinesh last night but came in as the replacment.

After a best snatch lift of 88kg, Mirabai Chanu dropped her first clean and jerk attempt of 111 kg and looks at her palms with some confusion. Coach Vijay Sharma looks mildly troubled. But she's back immediately on the lifting podium for her second attempt. This time, she nails it. And her smile returns.

She's was still third in the standings at this stage. But immediately, after Mira, Thailand's Surodchana Khambao nails a lift of 112kg to move into second spot, thereby pushing Mira out of medal spots with one more lift left.

Mira returns to lift 114kg with her third lift, and fails to lift. She almost breaks into tears on the lifting platform, but controls herself, bows to the judges and walks off. Another heartbreak.

She has a best snatch attempt of 88kg and a clean and jerk of 111kg giving her a total of 199kg. Thailand's Surodchana Khambao ends with bronze medal on the night with a total of 200kg, so just one kilogram between Mirabai and a medal.

China's Zhihui Hou takes gold medal with her last attempt on the night which is an Olympic record lift of 117kg. She totals 206kg. Romania's Mihaela Valentina Cambei, who has a total of 203 kgs here with 93 in snatch and 110 kg in clean and jerk, was in top spot till the last lift of the night by Zhihui.

Praveen Chithravel has his first attempt in the men's triple jump event. And he's attempt is measured at 15.99m.
He has a personal best of 17.37m and a season best of 17.12m. So that's nowhere close to what he can do.

Remember, the Qualification Standard for the final is 17.10 metres. So far, in group A of qualification, Spain's
Jordan Alejandro Diaz Fortun (17.24m) and Hugues Fabrice Zango (17.16m) have hit the automatic qualification mark.
The second triple jumper in the fray, Abdulla Aboobacker, is in Group B.

Just for context, the World Record stands at 18.29m, which is held by Great Britain's Jonathan Edwards. The Olympic Record is at 18.09m, held by USA's Kenny Harrison.

There is still more than couple of hours for Avinash Sable’s final, but before that we have Men's Triple Jump Qualification. Abdulla Aboobacker, and Praveen Chitravel’s event will begin shortly.

Qualification Standard: 17.10m. All athletes meeting the Qualification Standard (Q) or at least 12 best performers (q) advance to Final.

Praveen has a season best of 17.12m and would be hoping to get to that mark, Abdulla has a SB of 17.00 but has a PB of 17.19.

Three attempts to try and reach the mark.

The Americans have proposed wholesale rule changes. The Greeks have pleaded with the world body to keep the weigh-in for just one day. The Nigerians suggest a 2-kg exemption. And the Turks can’t help but feel sorry for Vinesh Phogat.

On Tuesday, the Indian wrestler became the toast of the wrestling world by producing one of the upsets of the Paris Olympics, beating Japan’s Yui Susaki in the 50 kg category. The next morning, they turned out in force, supporting her in her hour of tragedy. The weigh-in rules were the biggest talking points on the day.

Olympic champions and legendary coaches empathised with Phogat, who got disqualified from the Games after she could not make the weight for Wednesday’s final, and implored the United World Wrestling (UWW) to consider rule changes that are less harsh on the wrestlers physically and mentally. (READ MORE)

Just three years and one day after his incredible gold medal at Tokyo 2020, Neeraj Chopra will be back to defend his title in Paris. This time around though the field promises to be packed with potential contenders for the podium, and the competition promises to be close.

Also a little over three years after their famous bronze in Tokyo, the Indian men’s hockey team will have to pick themselves back up after a semifinal heartbreak, to get ready for another 3rd-place battle. Spain stand in their way.

Wrestling action continues with Aman Sehrawat and Anshu Malik, while golfers Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar will look to keep themselves in the mix in golf. (READ TO FIND OUT FULL SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY)

The biggest lesson from today is that Vinesh Phogat went to the Paris Olympics as a hero. And she will come back a bigger one, Priya Ramani writes in her column in The Indian Express.

In 2021, I won a prolonged court battle against a former minister in the Narendra Modi government. This week, when Vinesh Phogat started acing her matches, I felt like I had won again. That her success was vindication for everything this country puts its women through. Vinesh Phogat and I share the same legal team, led by lawyer Rebecca John, but Vinesh Phogat’s joy and grief is personal for many of us. The language women used to share how they felt after the news of Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification broke was intimate — “painful”, “heartbreaking”, “angry”, “weepy”, “shattering”.

Vinesh Phogat had the collective prayers and “you go girl” cheers of Indian women for whom sexual harassment is a daily reality. And their anger. She channelled this rage of women to barrel through to the final. I recognised the emotion from nearly 8,000 km away. After her disqualification, our feelings of pride in Phogat and anger against a system that didn’t care enough have only increased. More than ever, Vinesh is the hero we need.

Why Vinesh Phogat is the hero we need

After their heart-break 2-3 loss against reigning World Champions Germany in a thrilling Semi-Final that went down to the wire, the Indian Men's Hockey Team will shift their focus on Spain against whom they will vie for the Bronze medal. Spain, meanwhile, had lost to the Netherlands 0-4 in the Semi-Final on Tuesday after they registered a mega upset win against Belgium in the Quarter-Final match.

"We are extremely disappointed that our dream of playing in the Olympic Games Final has not been realized. The team gave their absolute best, and I am proud of how we played. At no point did we give up; we fought valiantly until the last second," expressed Captain Harmanpreet Singh.

BRONZE MEDAL MATCH: 5.30 pm IST

(via Hockey India)

Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu faced significant setbacks due to multiple injuries over the past 18 months, culminating in a complete training halt after the Asian Games. Her issues limited her lifting capacity, and she required extensive rehabilitation to regain strength and endurance. But if she is at ideal witnes levels, she and her coach hope Mirabai will be in medal contention. Gold is perhaps out of the question, with China so far ahead, silver might be tough to repeat, but a bronze perhaps is within the realms of possibility.

Read more from Mihir Vasavda here.

India's ace weightlifter will have a chance to, pardon the pun, lift India's spirits later in the night as she attempts for back-to-back Olympic medals. But it is going to be a tough road for her given all the physical battles she has fought since Tokyo.

Entry list: China's Hou is comfortably the favourite here, and she has an entry weight listed as 210kg total. There is one lifter with 205 and Mira is among three athletes with 200kg entry total.

Vinesh Phogat's Olympic dream was shattered just hours before a potential gold medal victory in Paris. The Indian wrestler, known for her perseverance through years of adversity, faced yet another setback in her arduous sporting journey.

Read more by Mihir Vasavda in Paris.

Diksha Dagar too was sitting high up on the leaderboard with couple of holes left in Round 1... and then a couple of bogeys. ? Still a decent 1 under Par round for her, but slips to tied-6th.

Proposed Immediate Rule Changes for UWW:

1.) 1kg second Day Weight Allowance.

2.) Weigh-ins pushed from 8:30am to 10:30am.

3.) Forfeit will occur in future finals if opposing finalist misses weight.

4.) After a semifinal victory, both finalists’ medals are secured even if…

— Jordan Burroughs (@alliseeisgold) August 7, 2024

Diksha Dagar seems to be in good touch as she is now Tied-2nd. Still two holes left for her in Round 1.

She's holding up okay, this photo seems to suggest.
Credit: Indian Olympic Association #vinesh pic.twitter.com/dNcn6XgFoJ

— Mihir Vasavda (@mihirsv) August 7, 2024

Aditi Ashok was going quite well early in the day but a double bogey on a 5-Par Hole No 18 has pulled her down to Tied-13th at the end of her first Round. Diksha Dagar however is going well in her first round (which is not done yet) and is tied-3rd at the moment.

"The calculation from the nutritionist which is done is athlete specific. Vinesh’s nutritionist felt that the usual amount that she takes is 1.5 Kg – throughout the day – which gives her enough energy for the bouts. Sometimes there’s also the factor of rebound weight gained following competition. Vinesh had three bouts, and to prevent dehydration, some amount of water had to be given to prevent dehydration.

"Her post-participation weight was found to be increased. The coach initiated the normal process of weight cut that he has always employed with Vinesh for a long time and felt confident that it would be achieved. However, Vinesh was found to be 100 grams over her 50kg weight category, hence, she was disqualified. We had tried all the drastic weight-cut measures through the night including cutting her hair, shortening her clothes, despite all of this we couldn't make the 50kg category."

Here's how the table tennis team match between India and Germany panned out as Manika Batra and Co were knocked out. That's the end of India's table tennis campaign.

"Weight cut karna sabse bada struggle hota hai" ?

Hear from @SakshiMalik as she discusses Vinesh's disqualification from the medal bout. ?#OlympicsOnJioCinema #OlympicsOnSports18 #JioCinemaSports #Paris2024 #Wrestling pic.twitter.com/D0lexevVsZ

— Sports18 (@Sports18) August 7, 2024

Nikhat Zareen's social media message:

I’m deeply heartbroken after learning about my friend Vinesh. It’s a cruel twist of fate, and no one can truly understand the depth of her suffering right now. After losing my own Olympic bout, I thought that was the hardest experience an athlete could face, but seeing what Vinesh is going through makes my pain seem insignificant. My heart is aching. Just last night, I was in tears watching her win the semifinals and eagerly anticipating seeing her on the Olympic podium. But this morning, everything was shattered overnight. Vinesh, you’ve always been an inspiration and a true champion. Stay strong. I believe in you, and I’m here for you every step of the way

Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala, Chief Medical Officer of the Indian Contingent in Paris, spoke of the all-night race that the medical team and Vinesh had run to help her make the weight cut, which included desperate measures like her hair being chopped, her clothes shortened, and tiring sauna procedures.

Here's what he had to say:

#Paris2024 #Olympics #Wrestling

?? Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala, Chief Medical Officer of the Indian Contingent in Paris, provides an explanation for Vinesh Phogat's disqualification after not making the weight cut. ??

? SAI pic.twitter.com/WLLLK49DWz

— Express Sports (@IExpressSports) August 7, 2024

OH DEAR: The Turkish wrestler who defeated Antim 10-0, was leading against her German opponent 5-2 in the quarterfinal and looking strong to reach the semifinal... …and then the German wrestler Wendle produces a moment of brilliance to pin Turkey’s Yetgil and win the bout BY FALL. Yetgil is stunned. And with that ANTIM PANGHAL IS OUT. No repechage.

IT'S OVER. Indian women are knocked out of the Olympics, losing to Germany 3-1. The star of the match was undoubtedly 18-year-old Annett Kaufmann who beat both Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula in her singles matches. This was some unbelievable table tennis from the Germans. They were the underdogs, despite being higher seeds because they didn't have their top player in this match, but nothing of that mattered in this quarterfinal.

Anil Dias

This day just keeps getting bad to worse (or is there another degree left to describe it?) Antim Panghal, seeded 4th and with a decent draw, has been blown away in the opening round by Yetgil, who closes out to the bout within 2 minutes. A 10-0 win, the Turkish wrestler wins via technical superiority.

Tears for Antim... this day feels like a week already. (She will now have to hope the Turkish athlete reaches the final for a chance to get through repechage)

Germany a game away from winning the tie as Kaufmann takes the second game 11-7. Sreeja is struggling against Kaufmann just like Manika did. If India lose this, it will be a huge upset. Mind you, Germany didn't even have their best player!

Anil Dias

WRESTLIN Women's Freestyle 53kg: 2.30 pm (R16 through to SF on the same day)

Antim Panghal Another one of India's wrestling medal hopefuls enters the fray as Antim gets her campaign underway with a bout against Turkey's Yetgil Zeynep. Fitness permitting, she's expected to go far. She is the 4th seed here.

Women's Freestyle 53kg R16: Antima vs Zeynep Yetgil

Match 4: Annett Kaufmann is just unbeatable today. She beats Sreeja 11-6 to give Germany a big edge in this match.
Sreeja's backhand pimples aren't working on Kaufmann who's just countering it with pace. That's the disadvantage of pimples and Sreeja will have to really elevate her game to keep India in the match.

Anil Dias

If India do manage to win this, Archana Kamath deserves a world of praise. She was up against a player ranked more than 80 places higher than her. She lost the third game 1-11. But somehow kept fighting back. There was nothing stopping her today.

Anil Dias

Match 4 has begun.

According to Dr Sanjay Gupta, an internal medicine expert at Delhi’s Maharaja Agrasen Hospital, losing 2-3 kilograms of weight overnight is not only next to impossible but also “dangerous.” Another internal medicine expert, Dr Manjeeta Nath Das, agreed with his assessment, adding that it can also be “fatal.”

Read more here.

World No. 22 Sreeja Akula next for India and she takes on Annett Kaufman who beat Manika Batra in the first singles. This is going to be tough and Sreeja has to win this to send the game to the decider.

Anil Dias

KAMATH DELIVERS! India are back in this quarterfinal as Archana Kamath fights back from 1-5 down to win the game and the match against Shan.

India are back 1-2 in this tie and need to win the next two matches to advance to the quarterfinal.

Anil Dias

Aditi Ashok makes her first bogey of the day on the par 3 eighth hole and is currently placed tied- sixth. Celina Borge of Norway with a score of three under after seven holes sits atop the leaderboard. Ashok needs to ensure that she does not fall further to have a chance in the next three rounds to recover. Still early days but Ashok would want to finish today’s round with an under-par score.

Nitin Sharma

Archana comes back in some style. She led 8-1 at one stage and wins the game 11-5. Archana is one win away from bringing India back into this tie but the way this match is panning out, it's difficult to predict which way this will go.
Archana is looking strong when she's taking the initiative!

Anil Dias

Aditi Ashok is at the second spot on the leaderboard in the first round of the women’s golf. She has carded one under after the first seven holes to be at the tied second spot with three other golfers. The second Indian golfer in the field, Diksha Dagar is placed tied sixth after making a par each on the first two holes.

Nitin Sharma

If the first game was a marathon, the second was a sprint as Shan thumps Archana 11-1. She was 9-0 up and Archana just about managed to get a point. The Indian will have to quickly forget this game to get back in the match.

Anil Dias

Match 2: Like Djokovic would say: what a loooooooong game. Archana prevails in a marathon of a game, winning 19-17, yes you heard that right. The Indian youngsters did fabulously to save two game points to take it into the tiebreakers and both players refused to relent. Finally Archana nails her backhand to take a 1-0 lead in this must-win match for India.

Anil Dias

• Marathon Race Walk Relay Mixed (Medal event): Did No Finish (Suraj/Priyanka)

  Men's High Jump Qualification (Sarvesh Anil Kushare): 2.15m (Three misses at 2.20, out of contention)

  Women's 100m Hurdles Round 1 (Jyothi Yarraji): 13.16sec in Heat 5 (Through to repechage)

  Women's Javelin Throw Qualification (Annu Rani): 55.81 (Out of contention)

Annu Rani's campaign is over as well. She finishes with a best of 55.81m. She is already out of the top 12, with one more group left.