India at Paris 2024 Olympics, Day 14, as it happened: Aman Sehrawat bags wrestling bronze, Neeraj Chopra receives silver medal

For the first time at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Indian athletes secured medals on back-to-back days. While Thursday belonged to the Indian men’s hockey team and Neeraj Chopra, Aman Sehrawat’s successful surge to the podium was the headline act on Day 14.

Aman outclassed Puerto Rico’s Darian Cruz 13-5 in the men’s 57kg freestyle bronze medal match.

After securing India’s first wrestling podium finish in Paris, he became India’s youngest medallist in an individual event at the Olympics, aged 21 years and 24 days. Further, he also extended India’s medal tally to six - five bronze and one silver - at Paris 2024.

Neeraj Chopra, India’s most recent two-time Olympic medallist, received his silver medal in a podium ceremony held on Friday. The Tokyo 2020 champion was only denied a second title after an Olympic record-shattering throw by Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem.

India’s performance in golf and athletics, meanwhile, was underwhelming.

Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar tumbled down the women’s golf standings. Aditi and Diksha, tied for 14th place after the second round, are ranked T40 and T42, respectively, ahead of the final round.

In athletics, neither of the 4x400m teams advanced. The women’s team were way off the pace in the heats while the men’s team missed out on a spot in the final by three-tenths of a second.

India’s medals and records at Paris 2024 - so far

Medals

• Neeraj Chopra (athletics) - Silver
• Aman Sehrawat (wrestling) - Bronze
• Indian men’s hockey team - Bronze
• Swapnil Kusale (shooting) - Bronze
• Manu Bhaker-Sarabjot Singh (shooting) - Bronze
• Manu Bhaker (shooting) - Bronze

Records

• Aged 21 years and 24 days, Aman Sehrawat became India’s youngest medallist in an individual event at the Olympics.
• Neeraj Chopra became the first track and field athlete in independent India to win two medals at the Olympics.
• For the first time since Munich 1972, India bagged back-to-back Olympic medals in men’s hockey.
• Lakshya Sen was the first Indian male badminton player to reach the singles semi-finals at the Olympic Games.
• India beat Australia in men’s hockey at the Summer Games for the first time in 52 years.
• Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat finished fourth in the mixed team archery competition, securing India’s best result in the sport at the Olympics.
• Three medals in shooting at Paris 2024 resulted in India’s best tally in a sport in a single edition of the Summer Games.
• Manika Batra became the first Indian table tennis player to make the pre-quarterfinals in a singles event at the Olympics.
• Manu Bhaker became the first athlete from independent India to win two medals at one edition of the Olympic Games.
• Manu Bhaker-Sarabjot Singh bagged India’s first shooting team medal at the Olympics.
• Manu Bhaker, remarkably, became the first Indian female shooter to win a medal at the Olympics.

Wrestling: Aman Sehrawat bags bronze, India’s first in sport at Paris 2024

Indian wrestler Aman Sehrawat beat Puerto Rico’s Darian Cruz 13-5 in the men’s 57kg freestyle bronze medal bout on Friday. It was India’s fifth bronze, a sixth medal overall, at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

On his Olympic debut, Aman was India’s only male grappler and the country’s first wrestling medallist in Paris. At 21 years and 24 days, Aman is also the youngest Indian medallist in Olympic history.

Aman was the Asian champion and the Asian Games bronze medallist last year.

In the bronze medal bout, Aman took a 6-4 lead after a closely contested first period. However, the Indian wrestler was dominant on the mat in the second out-scoring Cruz by seven points.

Score: Aman Sehrawat (IND) beat Darian Cruz (PUR) 13-5 in the men’s freestyle 57kg bronze medal wrestling bout.

Wrestling: Aman Sehrawat vs Darian Cruz bronze medal match underway

Aman Sehrawat will look to open India’s medal tally in wrestling at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The 21-year-old Indian grappler, who won two bouts by technical superiority in previous rounds, has taken the mat against Puerto Rico’s Darian Cruz in the bronze medal match.

Cruz, who has previously represented the USA, is a Pan American Games bronze medal winner and a three-time Pan American Championships medallist.

He beat Egyptian wrestler Gamal Mohamed 4-1 in the round of 16 before going down to Japan’s Rei Higuchi, against whom Aman lost the semi-final. Since the Japanese wrestler received a bye in the round of 16, Cruz directly made the bronze medal match against Aman.

Neeraj Chopra receives Paris 2024 men's javelin throw silver medal

Indian athletics star Neeraj Chopra received his silver medal, which he won on Thursday in the men’s javelin throw final, at the presentation ceremony at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Chopra shared the podium with Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, the gold medallist and new Olympic record holder, and Grenada’s Anderson Peters.

Wrestling: Aman Sehrawat and Darian Cruz - Paris 2024 results so far

Aman Sehrawat

Round of 16: Won 10-0 vs Vladimir Egorov (MKD)

Quarter-finals: Won 12-0 vs Zelimkhan Abakarov (ALB)

Semi-finals: Lost 0-10 vs Rei Higuchi (JPN)

Darian Cruz

Round of 16: Won 4-1 vs Gamal Mohamed (EGY)

Quarter-finals: Lost 2-12 vs Rei Higuchi (JPN)

Breaking: Snoop Dogg performs opening brigadier ceremony

Snoop Dogg, a USA-based rapper, has been a popular figure at the Paris 2024 Olympics. He was a part of the Olympic Torch Relay ahead of the Opening Ceremony and has featured at many events too.

On Friday, Snoop Dogg performed the opening brigadier ceremony, kicking off the inaugural breaking competition at the Olympics.

USA men’s basketball player Bam Adebayo was also present at the La Concorde.

Golf: Aditi Ashok, Diksha Dagar tumble down standings after third round

India’s Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar had an underwhelming outing in the third round of the women’s golf tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Friday.

Aditi Ashok, who started the day at T14, carded 7-over par in the third round and slipped down to T40 in the standings with a total of 6-over 222.

Diksha Dagar, similarly, dived down from T14 to T42 with a total of 7-over 223 in the rankings, following an 8-over par performance today at the Le Golf National.

The Indian duo will have to turn over a gap of over 15 in the fourth round tomorrow (Saturday) to come back in medal contention in the women’s golf tournament.

Switzerland's Morgane Metraux, who was atop the standings after the second round, shares the gold medal spot with New Zealand's Ko Lydia, a two-time Olympic medallist, after the third round.

Score: Aditi Ashok (IND) is T40 and Diksha Dagar (IND) is T42 after three rounds in the women’s golf tournament.

Who is Aman Sehrawat

Aman Sehrawat is an Indian wrestler, grappling in the 57kg freestyle category. He hails from Haryana, a state considered the wrestling capital of India.

Emerging from the famous akhada at the Chhatrasal Stadium in Delhi, he follows in the footsteps of Olympic medallists Sushil Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt, Ravi Kumar Dahiya and Bajrang Punia.

At the Paris 2024 Olympics, Aman came into the limelight after back-to-back wins on technical superiority en route to making the semi-finals. He out-wrestled Vladimir Egorov in the round of 16 and former world champion Zelimkhan Abakarov in the quarter-final.

Aman, however, was defeated by Rei Higuchi, a Rio 2016 silver medallist, in the semi-final. Tonight, Aman will feature in the bronze medal match against Darian Cruz of Puerto Rico.

Aged 21, Aman is already an Asian Champion and an Asian Games bronze medallist in the men’s 57kg freestyle category.

He has also won two Grand Prix titles - Almaty 2022 and Zagreb 2024. At the Zagreb Open, Aman outclassed all his opponents by technical superiority.

Notably, he was the first Indian to win a gold medal at the U23 World Championships at Pontevedra 2022. Aman is also a U23 and cadets champion in Asia.

Watch: India’s TT and wrestling stars welcomed back home

India’s two-time Olympic medallists in individual events

• Sushil Kumar (Wrestling) - bronze at Beijing 2008 and silver at London 2012
• PV Sindhu (Badminton) - silver at Rio 2016 and bronze at Tokyo 2020
• Manu Bhaker (Shooting) - two bronze at Paris 2024
• Neeraj Chopra (Athletics) - gold at Tokyo 2020, silver at Paris 2024

Note: Athletes from independent India only.

Golf: Aditi Ashok, Diksha Dagar falter in third round

Indian golfers Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar are competing in the third round of the women’s golf tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The Indian duo had carded a total of 1-under 143 by the end of the second round on Thursday. However, on Friday, both golfers have slipped down the standings.

At the end of hole 14, Aditi Ashok has carded 6-over 62, including six bogeys and one double bogey. Diksha Dagar, meanwhile, has notched five bogeys, taking her score today to 5-over 61.

There are four more holes to play for the duo in the third round today.

Click here and know about golf scoring, rules and regulations at the Olympics.

Athletics: Men’s javelin medal ceremony tonight, Neeraj Chopra to receive silver

India’s Neeraj Chopra, now a two-time Olympic medallist, will be felicitated with his Paris 2024 silver medal tonight. The men’s javelin throw medal ceremony will begin at 10 PM IST.

Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who set the new Olympic record, is the gold medallist while Anderson Peters of Grenada bagged bronze.

This is the first time in Olympic history that no European athlete will feature on the podium. Czechia’s Jakub Vadlejch missed the bronze medal spot by 0.04m to finish fourth at the Stade-de-France on Thursday.

Breaking to make its Olympic debut today

Breakdancing, professionally known as Breaking, will be contested for the first time at the Olympics today. It will be conducted across the B-Boys and B-Girls categories.

Breaking made its entry into the Olympic programme after a successful run at the 2018 Youth Olympics. The sport, however, is currently not a part of Los Angeles 2028.

At Paris 2024, breaking will be a two-day competition. The event will start with a pre-qualifier battle, followed by round-robin, quarter-finals, semi-finals and medal matches for both B-Boys and B-Girls.

There is no Indian representation in the sport at the ongoing Summer Games. Incidentally, an 18-year-old B-Girl named India Sardjoe will feature in Paris.

Wrestling: Reetika Hooda to make Olympic debut tomorrow, draw announced

Indian wrestler Reetika Hooda will grapple in the women’s 76kg freestyle category at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Saturday.

Like the other freestyle categories, this event will also begin in the round of 16, followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals and medal matches. Wrestlers losing to the finalists will get a second chance for bronze medals via the repechage rounds.

Reetika will take on eighth-seeded Bernadett Nagy of Hungary, who is a U23 European champion, in the round of 16.

If Reetika wins, she is likely to face Kyrgyzstan’s Aiperi Medet Kyzy, top-seeded in this weight class. Aiperi Medet Kyzy was a semi-finalist at Tokyo 2020 and won the Asian Games title last year.

Romania’s Catalina Axente, seeded fourth, and fifth-seeded Milaimy Marin of Cuba, meanwhile, could be Reetika’s potential semi-finalists.

Notably, Japanese wrestler Yuka Kagami, seeded second, is in the other half of the draw. Kagami was the world champion last year and a bronze medallist from the 2018 Youth Olympics.

Golf: Aditi Ashok on even par through hole 6 in third round

India’s Aditi Ashok has carded an even par 24 after six holes in the third round of the women’s golf competition at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Aditi, who narrowly missed out on the Tokyo 2020 podium, has registered two birdies and two bogeys so far on Friday.

Diksha Dagar, at the same stage, scored 1-over 25 with a bogey at the Le Golf National.

A bogey is a score of one-over par for a hole. A birdie, on the other hand, is a score of one-under-par for a hole.

To know more about golf rules and regulations, click here.

“Not happy with my performance” - Paris 2024 silver medallist Neeraj Chopra

India’s javelin throw ace Neeraj Chopra won the silver medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics with an 89.45m effort on Thursday. It was the second-best throw of his career to date.

Chopra was pipped for the first time in a senior international event by Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who registered a mammoth 92.97m throw, to clinch the title and shatter the Olympic record.

“It was a good throw but I’m not that happy with my performance today,” Chopra mentioned after the men's javelin throw final. “My technique and runway was not that good. (I managed) only one throw, the rest I fouled."

“(For my) second throw I believed in myself to think I can also throw that far. But in javelin, if your run is not so good, you can’t throw very far.

“The last two or three years were not so good for me. I’m always injured. I really tried hard, but I have to work on my injury (staying injury-free) and technique,” Chopra added.

PR Sreejesh named India’s flag-bearer with Manu Bhaker for Paris 2024 Closing Ceremony

PR Sreejesh, Indian men’s hockey team goalkeeper, will be India’s flag-bearer alongside shooting sensation Manu Bhaker for the Closing Ceremony at the Paris 2024 Olympics, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) announced on Friday.

Sreejesh was one of the standout performers from the Indian team that bagged the men’s hockey bronze medal at the Summer Games. It was his second Olympic bronze, adding to the success of Tokyo 2020. The 36-year-old shot-stopper retired from international hockey after the bronze medal match on Thursday.

“Sreejesh has served Indian hockey in particular and Indian sport in general admirably through more than two decades,” IOA President Dr. PT Usha stated.

“I spoke with Neeraj Chopra and appreciate the spontaneity and grace with which he agreed that Sreejesh should be the flagbearer at the Closing Ceremony,” she added.

Earlier, the IOA had announced Manu Bhaker as the female flag-bearer. The Indian shooter broke multiple records and won two bronze medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Athletics: Campaign ends as India fall short of men’s 4x400m relay final

The Indian men’s 4x400m relay team clocked 3:00.58, their season best, in round 1 to finish fourth in heat 2 and 10th overall at the Stade-de-France on Friday. Hence, they could not make the final at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Amoj Jacob, Rajesh Ramesh, Muhammed Ajmal and Muhammed Anas ran for the team while Santhosh Kumar Tamilarasan sat out. Ajmal was the quickest Indian runner, timed at 44.60.

France (2:59.53), Belgium (2:59.84) and Italy (3:00.26) outpaced the Indians and advanced to the final from heat 2. South Africa (3:03.19) also advanced to the final by the referee's verdict after Nigeria were disqualified.

Earlier, in heat 1, Botswana (2:57.76), Great Britain (2:58.88), the USA (2:59.15), Japan (2:59.48) and Zambia (3:00.08) booked their slots in the final.

With the result, India’s athletics campaign also ended at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Neeraj Chopra, who won the men’s javelin throw silver medal, was the only Indian track and field athlete to stand on the Olympic podium.

Score: The Indian men’s 4x400m relay team ranked fourth with a time of 3:00.58 in heat 2 in the first round and did not secure a berth in the final.

Athletics: India rank eighth in women’s 4x400m relay round 1

The Indian quartet of Jyothika Sri Dandi, Machettira Raju Poovamma, Vithya Ramraj and Subha Venkatesan clocked 3:32.51 in the first round of the women’s 4x400m relay event at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The time, however, was good enough only for eighth place in the heat and 15th overall. As a result, they did not make the final. Jyothika was the fastest among the four Indian runners with a time of 51.30s.

From heat 2, Jamaica (3:24.92), the Netherlands (3:25.03), Ireland (3:25.05) and Canada (3:25.77) advanced to the medal race while the USA (3:21.44), Great Britain (3:24.72), France (3:24.73) and Belgium (3:24.92) joined them from heat 1.

Score: The Indian women’s 4x400m relay team finished eighth with a time of 3:32.51 in heat 2 in the first round. They did not make the final.

Athletics: India’s 4x400m relay teams gear up for round 1

The Indian men’s and women’s 4x400m relay teams will take the field today in the first round at the Paris 2024 Olympics, scheduled for 2:10 PM IST.

Jyothika Sri Dandi, Machettira Raju Poovamma, Vithya Ramraj and Subha Venkatesan are the four who will race in the women’s event today. India are placed in heat 2 alongside strong contenders like Germany and Jamaica.

For the men’s 4x400m event, India will field national record holders Amoj Jacob, Rajesh Ramesh, Muhammed Ajmal and Muhammed Anas. Placed in heat 2, the Indian team, incidentally, has the lowest season best time. India will face the challenge of Belgium, France and Nigeria in their men’s 4x400m heat.

The two heats have eight teams each in both the men’s and women’s events. The three fastest teams in each heat along with the next two quickest overall will advance to the final.

Golf: Aditi Ashok, Diksha Dagar tee off in third round

India’s Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar will be in action in the third round of the women’s golf tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

After the end of two rounds, both Indian golfers are tied for 14th place and carded 1-under 143 at the Le Golf National. While Aditi notched an even par in the first round, Diksha replicated the score in the second.

The third and penultimate round will be contested today, followed by the final round tomorrow (August 10). The top three golfers after the fourth round will stand on the Olympic podium.

As it stands, Switzerland’s Morgane Metraux, a two-time winner on the Ladies European Tour, is in the gold medal spot with a score of 8-under 136. Yin Ruoning of the People’s Republic of China and Ko Lydia of New Zealand, a two-time Olympic medallist, are in the silver and bronze medal positions, respectively.

Where to watch Paris 2024 Olympics live in India

You can watch Aman Sehrawat vs Darian Cruz wrestling bronze medal bout and other Indian athletes live.

Live streaming of the Paris 2024 Olympics will be available for free on Jio Cinema in India. Live telecast of Paris 2024 will be on the Sports 18 Network TV channel in India.

India at Paris 2024 Olympics live: Welcome to the blog!

We are back with live coverage of all things India on Day 14 at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Wrestler Aman Sehrawat will feature in India’s only medal event today, starting at 9:45 PM IST. The 21-year-old will face Puerto Rico’s Darian Cruz, a Pan American Games bronze medallist, in the men’s 57kg freestyle bronze medal match.

Aman, an Asian champion, upstaged North Macedonia’s Vladimir Egorov in the round of 16 and former world champion Zelimkhan Abakarov in the quarter-final, both by technical superiority. He then lost 10-0 to Rio 2016 silver medallist Rei Higuchi of Japan in the semi-final to make the bronze match.

In track and field, the Indian 4x400m relay teams will race in their respective first rounds today from 2:10 PM IST.

The women’s team includes Jyothika Sri Dandi, Kiran Pahal, Machettira Raju Poovamma, Vithya Ramraj and Subha Venkatesan. Only four, however, will run on Friday.

Four out of Amoj Jacob, Rajesh Ramesh, Santhosh Kumar Tamilarasan, Muhammed Ajmal and Muhammed Anas will take the track in the men’s event. Notably, they boast the national record of 2:59.05.

Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar, meanwhile, will kickstart India’s day in the third round of the women’s golf competition at 12:30 PM IST.