Tokyo Olympics 2021

The Indians fought well, went 2-1 up in the first quarter but slack defending and conceding too many penalty corners did them in as Belgium fought back to level scores and then scored thrice in the fourth quarter to seal a place in the final. Belgium Alexander Hendrickx (19th, 49th and 53rd min) scored a hat-trick while Loick Fanny Luypaert (2nd min) and John John Dohmen (60th min) scored for Belgium.

World, European, and Pro League champions the Netherlands outplayed New Zealand 3-0 in the quarterfinals on Monday, thus getting a chance to avenge their 3-0 shootout defeat to Great Britain in the 2016 final. In the other semifinal on Wednesday, India will meet two-time silver-medallist Argentina, who defeated Germany 3-0 in the first match on Monday.

Valarie Allman of the USA won the gold medal with a throw of 68.90m in her very first attempt. Valarie's throw put her immediately on top of the competition, which proved not only to be enough for gold but more than 2.4 metres beyond anyone's throw at the Olympic Stadium. The 26-year-old was also one of the two athletes to have thrown beyond 70 metres in 2021 with a throw of 70.01m at the USA Trials in Eugene, Oregon in June.

So, will it be another super day for Indian hockey when the Indian men's team takes on Belgium in the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympic Games? While India would hope to win Tuesday's encounter and reach the final for the first time since 1980, when they won their eighth gold medal, the Belgian Red Lions on the other hand are looking to make it to their second successive final after finishing runners-up to Argentina five years ago in Rio de Janeiro.

After tying at 9-9, Axelsen reinforced his strong smashes to take a 21-15 lead. Chen failed to come back and Axelsen wrapped up the second set 21-12. In their previous encounter at Rio 2016, Chen had routed Axelsen 21-14, 21-15 in the semifinal before he beat Malaysia's legendary shuttler Lee Chong Wei to win his first Olympic gold, reports Xinhua.

"I am very proud of the players. We fought hard and sometimes that is what you have to do in final situations of a crunch game like the quarterfinal. You have to fight, bite and scratch. We were very lucky yesterday because they (Great Britain) created more opportunities than us but our PC defence and Sreejesh especially were magnificent last night. They saved us."

The Japanese defeated New Zealand in the quarterfinals, while Spain rode their luck before winning 5-2 after extra time against Cote d'Ivoire. Spain looked to be heading out of the tournament after Cote d'Ivoire went 2-1 ahead in injury-time, but a horrendous defensive mix-up allowed substitute Rafa Mir to equalise in the 93rd minute, reports Xinhua.

Indian shuttler PV Sandhu defeated China's He Bingjiao in straight games to win the bronze medal in badminton women's singles at the Tokyo Olympics. The win came a day after losing to Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei in the semi-finals. With the bronze at Tokyo, Sindhu became the first Indian women to win medals in successive Olympics after winning the silver medal in 2016 edition at Rio.

Indian Women's hockey team coach said that his mantra to the team before the match was to "stay in the moment". Underdogs India defeated Australia 1-0 to secure an unprecedented place in the semifinals, with many comparing the victory to the Indian men's cricket team's title triumph in the 1983 World Cup at Lord's. The Indian women's team will take on Argentina in the semifinal on August 4.

Tomar, the gold medallist in the event at the ISSF World Cup in New Delhi this year, finished 21st with a score of 1167 and 63 Xs, while Rajput was placed 32nd with a score of 1157 and 55 Xs at the Asaka Shooting Range. Sergey Kamenskiy of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) topped the qualification with a score of 1183 and 73 Xs. On the other hand, Rajput, the experienced shooter, never looked to qualify for the final.