Paris 2024 Olympics India schedule today, August 8: Neeraj Chopra in javelin throw final; hockey team to play for bronze
Star Indian athlete Neeraj Chopra will be looking for a successful defence of his Olympic title in the men’s javelin throw final at Paris 2024 on Thursday.
The javelin throw final starts at 11:55 PM IST and will be held at the Stade de France.
Neeraj won the gold medal with an 87.58m throw at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. He also became only the second individual gold medal winner from India after Abhinav Bindra and the first from independent India to win an Olympic medal in athletics.
Since then, he became a world champion, a Diamond League winner and successfully defended his Asian Games title. The 26-year-old will also feel confident about defending his Olympic title in Paris after outclassing the field and topping the qualification rounds with a monster 89.34m throw.
It was the second-best throw of his career and Neeraj will be looking to match or even better that performance in the final. He is expected to face a tough challenge from Julian Weber of Germany, Anderson Peters of Grenada, Jakub Vadljech of Czechia and Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the Indian hockey team will be looking to secure a second bronze medal in consecutive Olympics when they play Spain in the bronze medal match scheduled for 5:30 PM at the Yves du Manoir in Colombes today.
India suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to reigning world champions Germany in the semi-final but can still bring back their 13th Olympic medal in Paris.
India had previously blanked Spain 3-0 in the group stage of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics en route to the third-place finish.
Indian freestyle wrestlers Aman Sehrawat and Anshu Malik will begin their Paris 2024 campaigns. While Aman will compete in men’s 57kg, Anshu will be seen in action in the women’s 57kg category. Both their bouts are scheduled to start from 2:30 PM.
Jyothi Yarraji finished seventh in her women’s 100m hurdles Round 1 heat with 13.16s on Wednesday and she will get another chance to qualify in the repechage round on Thursday.
In the race, scheduled to begin at 2:05 PM, the national record holder needs to finish among the top two in her heat in order to make the semi-finals.
The action continues in women’s golf with Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar teeing up for round 2 at the Albatros course, Le Golf National just outside Paris. Aditi, who finished fourth at Tokyo 2020, is T13 after the first round.
Diksha is T7 and will look to push on in the second round which gets underway at 12:30 PM.
Paris 2024 Olympics India schedule today: 8 August, Thursday
All in Indian Standard Time (IST)
Athletics
- Women’s 100m hurdles repechage heat 1 - Jyothi Yarraji - 2:05 PM
- Men’s javelin throw final - Neeraj Chopra - 11:55 PM
Golf
- Women’s individual stroke play Round 2 - Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar - 12:30 PM onwards
Hockey
- Men’s bronze medal match - India vs Spain - 5:30 PM
Wrestling
- Men’s freestyle 57kg Round of 16 - Aman Sehrawat vs Vladimir Egorov (MKD) - 2:30 PM onwards
- Women’s freestyle 57kg Round of 16 - Anshu Malik vs Helen Maroulis (USA) - 2:30 PM onwards
- Men’s freestyle 57kg quarter-final (subject to qualification) - 4:20 PM onwards
- Women’s freestyle 57kg quarter-final (subject to qualification) - 4:20 PM onwards
- Men’s freestyle 57kg semi-final (subject to qualification) - 9:45 PM onwards
- Women’s freestyle 57kg semi-final (subject to qualification) - 10:25 PM onwards
Hockey
- Men’s bronze medal match - India vs Spain - 5:30 PM