On Saturday, Sumit Nagal became the third Indian man to win singles at the Olympics and first in 25 years. Sumit Nagal won the game against Denis Istomin in a three-settler at the Tokyo Games.
Nagal faced Istomin on court 10 at the Ariake Tennis Centre and got the better of opponent 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-4 in two hours and 34 minutes. 23-year-old put up a solid fight and has booked a fight with World No. 2 Russian Daniil Medvedev in the second round.
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The first singles match was won by Zeeshan Ali at the 1988 Seoul Games, where he beat Victo Caballero from Paraguay. He was followed by the legendary Leander Paes at the 1996 Atlanta Games, in 1996 Leander Pace won bronze in men’s single, beating Brazil’s Fernando Meligeni.
After Paes, many players came and left but none of them managed to cross the first round hurdle. Nagal did not enter the Games in his best form but his victory was a pleasant surprise for the Indians. Sumit gave his best shot and won the match after a 3-set affair with a tie-breaker in the second round.
Now, all eyes would be on the Women’s double pair of Sania Mirza and Ankita Raina who would compete against the Kichenok sisters.
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- To date, India has named a silver medal in weightlifting. Mirabai Chanu won silver in the women's 49 kg category at the Tokyo Olympics 2020, earning the country's first medal.
- Mirabai Chanu won a silver medal in the 49kg division, ending India's 21-year thirst for an Olympic weightlifting medal, to open the country's account here on Saturday. The 26-year-old lifted a total of 202 kg (87 kg + 115 kg) to beat Karnam Malleswari's bronze medal from the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
- In table tennis women’s single, Manika Batra and Sutirtha Mukherjee have won the first round.
- In badminton, Satwik and Chirag started their journey in Tokyo Olympics 2020 with a win.
- In men’s hockey, the India team beat New Zealand 3-2.
- In Archery Mixed Team, Deepika and Pravin started well but lost to South Korea in the Quarterfinals.