Welcome to the live updates of the Day 8 of the Rio Olympics 2016. We have lots of sporting activities which involve Indians particularly in shooting, tennis and badminton. Entire nation would be watching the match between Sania Mirza-Rohan Bopanna and Venus Williams-Rajeev Ram with interest as India eyes for its first medal in this mega event.
It’s the final day of swimming at the Rio Olympics and four gold medals are up for grabs. There are 22 golds to be won on Day 8 of the Rio Games in 13 different sports.
Live updates (all times in IST)
2.30 hrs: Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna lose the mixed doubles semifinal from a position of strength to Americans Venus Williams and Rajeev Ram. >Read more
1.25 hrs: Tennis mixed doubles semifinals between Mirza/Bopanna and Villiams/Ram to begins.
1.15 hrs: Rafael Nadal fails to win men's singles semi-final against Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro.
22.02 hrs: Indian shooters’ dismal run in the Rio Olympics continued as Gurpreet Singh and Mairaj Ahmad Khan failed to progress to the finals of their respective events. >Read more
21:32 hrs: Jwala and Ashwini out of Rio as they fail to win final group match in Badminton against Thailand's Puttita and Sapsiree.
21:13 hrs: That's a jog in the park for Usain Bolt, as he ambles through in first place in Men's 100 metres Heat 7 with a time of 10.07 .
2102 hrs: Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa are making their final appearance in the Women's for this edition of the Olympics as they take on the Thai pair of Puttita Supajirakul and Sapsiree Taerattanachai.
2046 hrs:Usain Bolt will be running soon in Heat 7 of the Men's 100 metres , at 2112 hrs .
2025 hrs: Christopher Harting gets GOLD in Men's Discus . Piotr Malachowski graciously settles for silver.
2000 hrs: And that's the end of the line for the Indian women's hockey team at Rio Olympics 2016 . Knocked out after being utterly outmatched by Argentina, in a match that ended in a 5-goal difference.
1937 hrs: India unable to make any inroads into this match as the 3rd Quarter comes to a close. Argentina carrying its near-unassailable 5-0 lead into the last Q.
1936 hrs: Nirmala Sheoran fails to qualify in Women's 400 m event.
1909 hrs: 3 field goals for Argentina in that first half out of their 12 attempts. Amazing stat. None for India.
1907 hrs: And 5-0 as Martina Cavallero grabs her second goal of the match with a beautiful cross-D pass deflection off Delphina Merrino.
1904 hrs: Argentina scores yet again before halftime, and it's 4-0 . Agustina Albertarrio.
1902 hrs: Lalita Babar finishes Heat 2 of women's 3,000m steeplechase in 4th place.
1901 hrs: And it's 3-0 now to Argentina, courtesy Carla Rebecchi.
1857 hrs: Argentina strikes again. This time, a field goal, full with dribbling and coasting and whatnot, courtesy Maria Granatto. Savita Punia parried it but Granatto caught the ricochet and lobbed it back in.
1857 hrs: Gurpreet's ends his round of shooting in the 25m rapid fire pistol with a score of 581/600. He is ranked 8th at the moment, two spots worse than what he needs to be to go through.
1852 hrs: Argentina opens with the first goal, courtesy Martina Cavallero, and goes 1-0 up.
1845 hrs: Indian women are playing their final match, against Argentina. And it's 0-0 at the end of the 1st Quarter.
1810 hours: Variety of activities at the athletics field with women's triple jump has also started.
At 1830 hours, Indian women's hockey team will be facing their last league match against Argentina.
1805 hours: In the athletics, men's 100m heats have begun
1800 hours: Meanwhile India's Mairaj Ahmad Khan is competing in the skeet shooting event at the Rio Olympics
1757 hours : Excellent display from both the players but Jing Yi Tee of Malaysia defeated Czech Republic's Kristina Gavnholt in straight sets.
1752 hours: Another pulsating game on the cards between Tee and Gavnholt.
1751 hours: United States swimmer Ryan Lochte said that he wants his compatriot and rival, 22-time Olympic gold medallist Michael Phelps to keep performing and continue till the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. But Phelps said he does not intend to compete in another Olympics once the Rio Games get over.
1744 hours: The Indian Olympic contingent suffered a Zika virus scare after Babita Kumari developed high fever but the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) today confirmed that the wrestler is on the road to recovery and has also started practicing for her event, scheduled next week. According to reports, Babita, who competes in women’s 53kg Freestyle, developed high fever and a severe body ache, and was immediately attended by the contingent doctors and the physiotherapists. After examining the 26-year-old grappler, the doctors gave her medicines, which helped in bringing the fever down. “Babita developed fever but now she is fine and has also started training,” WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar said. Babita takes the mat in her maiden Olympic Games on August 18. Other two women wrestlers in the fray are Babita’s cousin Vinesh Phogat (48kg) and Sakshi Malik (58kg). Babita was lucky to have acquired a berth at the Rio Games as Mongolia’s Sumiya Erdenechimeg, who had defeated her at the Asian Olympic qualifier, failed a dope test. That gave the Indian girl a golden chance to board the flight to Rio.
1740 hours : In the pulsating first game, Malaysia's Tee Jing Yi won the game by 22-20. What a game it was!!!
1734 hours: The men's 25m rapid fire pistol event has started in which India's Gurpreet Singh is aiming to qualify for the finals.
1731 hours: Tough first game between Jing Yi Tee and Kristina Gavnholt
1726 hours: In the golf event, India's SSP Chawrasia and Anirban Lahiri still trails.
Congratulations Ms. Rhode! 1st female and 2nd ever to medal in 6 straight Olympics. >https://t.co/U3s5VvA3A4
— Christian Straile (@ForLawNow) >August 13, 2016
1714 hours: Women's singles between Malaysia's Jing Yi Tee and Kristina Gavnholt of Czech Republic is set to begin in a few minutes
1710 hours: What a second game it was between Chinese Taipei and Austraia. Chinese Taipei pair of Tsai and Lee won a close second game and won the match 2-0 against Australia's Chau and Serasinghe.
1707 hours: South Korea's Lee and Chang won the first game against China's Tang and Yu in the women's doubles badminton in a Group D match.
Special volunteer taskforce formed to pick up all the gauntlets thrown down at Rio Olympics >#Rio2016>#volunteers>#cliche>#Brazil
— Kieran Blake (@kieranblake13) >August 13, 2016
1700 hours: The Chinese Taipei pair are widening their lead in the crucial second game.
1654 hours: Wiping off the early lead by the Australians, the Chinese Taipei pair are back into the lead.
Gurpreet Singh will take part in stage 2 of the 25m rapid fire pistol event and Mairaj Ahmad Khan will take part in the skeet shooting at 5:30 PM IST
1649 hours: In another women's doubles encounter, Japan's Takahashi and Matsutomo have won their first game agianst Netherlands' Piek and Muskens.
1646 hours: Chinese Taipei's Tsai and Lee win first game against Australia.
1645 hours: Excellent comeback from the Australian men's pair.
1637 hours : In women's doubles badminton event, China's Tang and Yu are playing against Lee and Chang.
1636 hours: In men's doubles badminton event, Chinese Taipei's Tsai and Lee are up against Australia's Chau and Serasinghe.
1617 hours: Can Anirban Lahiri and SSP Chawrasia bounce back as round three is in progress at the golf event? The final round will be held on Sunday, August 14, 2016.
1600 hours: A news from the golf event. Indians Anirban Lahiri and SSP Chawrasia are standing in 51st and 38th position respectively.
Rio Olympics 2016: How Team GB's horses deal with jet lag, leg room & passports >https://t.co/G2uA0HEqQI
— ponycurls (@ponycurls) >August 13, 2016
1538 hours: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has condemned athletes for the disrespectful attitude to each other during the Olympics, including towards Russian four—time world swimming champion Yulia Efimova, IOC’s communications director Mark Adams has said. “This is unacceptable, we would like to remind all participants of the Games about the Olympic values. Even after the event they still meet together, spend free time together, having dinner together, he said. “We believe that build bridges, not erect walls, but for many reasons, athletes are unable to shake hands with each other, it is shameful and unacceptable,” he said.
1518 hours: The last day of the Rio Olympics rowing competition could write another entry in the epic rivalry between Olympic singles champion Mahe Drysdale of New Zealand and world champion Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic. Either Drysdale or Synek has won gold at every world championship or Olympics since 2009. Four gold medals are waiting to be won Saturday as the smallest sculls (singles) and the largest (eights) take to the water. The U.S. women’s eight hope to extend their winning streak after dominating the qualifiers. Britain and Germany are the favorites in the men’s eight but could be challenged by the U.S. crew.
1505 hours : Russia’s Olympic team has complained to Rio organizers after flags hanging in its Olympic village accommodation were allegedly desecrated. Synchronized swimmer Alexandra Patskevich told Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda that flags hanging inside Russia’s building were “torn down and tied in knots” on the floor on two occasions.
1415 hours: Record-breaker Michael Phelps will climb onto the blocks for the final race of his astonishing Olympic career on Saturday after proving once again in Rio that nobody does it better. A glorious career had threatened to end in public humiliation when Phelps was arrested for drunk driving two years ago, but the American has banished his demons in dramatic fashion to leave a Games legacy it is hard to imagine ever being eclipsed. Already the most decorated athlete in Olympic history, Phelps captured four more gold medals over the first six days in Rio to take his tally to a staggering 22 in his fifth and final Games. A shock defeat by Singapore's Joseph Schooling in the 100m butterfly on Friday ended a perfect Rio run for the 31-year-old. But he should finish with a fifth gold in Saturday's 4x100 medley relay -- an event the United States have never lost at the Olympics.
1345 hours: A potential Latin American grudge match is on tap at the Rio Olympics as Brazil takes on Colombia in the men’s soccer quarterfinals. The Brazilian men, booed by fans and squeaking by so far in the Olympic tournament, could get a chance to recapture their nation’s adoration in the match Saturday. There’s not too much warmth between the two sides since the 2014 World Cup, where Colombia’s Juan Camillo Zuniga kneed Brazilian star striker Neymar, fracturing his back. In other men’s soccer matches, Portugal takes on Germany, Nigeria goes up against Denmark and Korea faces Honduras. The Brazilian women, led by star Marta, are already in the Olympic quarterfinals after beating Australia on penalty kicks Friday night. Sweden also beat the U.S. women on penalty kicks, sending the favored U.S. team home without an Olympic medal for the first time.
1320 hours: Four years ago at the London Olympics, a roar was heard across the stadium, across the capital and across the nation as three British athletes won gold within an hour of each other. Long distance runner Mo Farah, heptathlete Jessica Ennis—Hill and long jumper Greg Rutherford are hoping to recreate that scenario Saturday in Rio. The men’s 10,000 kicks off with Farrah the dominant athlete. He has not lost a major race since the 2011 worlds, but Ethiopia’s Yigrem Demelash is hoping to restore his nation’s ownership of the race. In the men’s long jump finals, Rutherford, American Jarrion Lawson and Australia’s Fabrice Lapierre are the ones to watch. Over halfway home in the 7—event heptathlon, Ennis—Hill is where she wants to be on top. With a blistering 200 meters on Friday, the defending champion overtook early leader Nafissatou Thiam of Belgium to regain the momentum going into the final day of competition.
1300 hours: It’s the final day of swimming at the Rio Olympics and four gold medals are up for grabs. Saturday could be Michael Phelps’s last time in an Olympic competition. While the American team is not yet set, he could be swimming in the men’s 4x100 meter medley relay final. On Friday, he was upset in the 100 fly, taking the silver behind Joseph Schooling of Singapore. Simone Manuel, who became the first African—American woman to win a gold medal when she set an American and Olympic record in the 100 free on Thursday, is in the women’s 50 free finals Saturday. She is also likely to compete in the women’s 4x100 medley relay. Medals also will be awarded in the men’s 1500 meter freestyle but defending champion Sun Yang of China failed to qualify.
1235 hours: At least seven sprinters are in the mix to be crowned the fastest woman in the world as the 100 meter final takes place at Rio’s Olympic Stadium. Jamaican Shelly—Ann Fraser—Pryce, the two—time defending Olympic champion, had the fastest time in qualifiers Friday night. Others to watch include Elaine Thompson of Jamaica, Murielle Ahoure of the Ivory Coast, Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands and Americans English Gardner, Tianna Bartoletta and Tori Bowie. The fastest man in the world Usain Bolt, the two—time defending champion also appears on the Rio track for the first time Saturday for preliminary heats. The men’s 100 meter finals are on Sunday, and Bolt has told his parents he’s ready despite a sore hamstring. American Justin Gatlin is considered the best threat to stop him.
1215 hours: ’For the first time since 1968’ how cool does that sound? Katie Ledecky capped off one of the greatest performances in Olympic history on Friday night, winning her fourth gold medal and posting her second world record, shattering her own mark in the 800—meter freestyle. The 19—year—old American says “I just wanted to lay it all out there.” Ledecky and Debbie Meyer are now the only female swimmers to sweep the three longest freestyle races. Meyer took the 200, 400 and 800 meter free at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968. "I try not to think about the history much,” Ledecky said. “But joining Debbie in that history is incredible.”
1145 hours: Russia’s Olympic team has complained to Rio organizers after flags hanging in its Olympic village accommodation were allegedly desecrated. Synchronized swimmer Alexandra Patskevich told Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda that flags hanging inside Russia’s building were “torn down and tied in knots” on the floor on two occasions. The head of the Russian delegation, Igor Kazikov, says in video posted online that he is investigating and has raised the issue with the Rio organizing committee. Kazikov says only one flag was involved and perhaps it was “the fault of a cleaner” rather than an anti—Russian conspiracy.
>Read: Focus on Sania-Bopanna pair on Day 8
The Indian contingent’s schedule on Saturday
(All times IST)
ATHLETICS:
Women’s 3000m steeplechase — 1835
Women’s 400m — 1930
Men’s 400m semis — 0500
Women’s 100m semis — 0530
BADMINTON:
Women’s doubles group stage — 1915
Men’s doubles — 0415
GOLF:
Anirban Lahiri/SSP Chawrasia in third round — 1600
HOCKEY:
Women’s Pool B Argentina v India — 1830
SHOOTING:
Skeet — 1800
25m rapid fire pistol — 1730
TENNIS:
Mixed doubles bronze/final.
Day 8 of the Rio Games features medal action in swimming, track and field, tennis, fencing, track cycling and more. Here are some things to watch (all times Brazil time)
SWIMMING
The final day of swimming at the games will likely give us our last look at all—time record medalist Michael Phelps in an Olympic competition. While the team is not yet set, plan to see him swim in the mens’ 4x100 meter medley relay final at 11-04 p.m. He took silver in the 100 fly Friday night.
We’ll also get another chance to see Simone Manuel , who on Thursday became the first African—American woman to win a gold when she set an American and Olympic record in the 100 free. She’ll likely compete in the 4x100 medley relay at 10-49 p.m. with the potential to grow her new fan base . And she’ll swim at 10-44 p.m. in the women’s 50 free finals, for which she qualified Friday.
Medals also will be awarded in the 1500 free, which won’t include defending champion Sun Yang of China, who failed to qualify Friday.
TRACK AND FIELD
We’ll finally get our chance to see the fastest man in the world. Usain Bolt, the two—time defending champion in the 100—meter sprint, takes to the track for his first heat of the games at 12 p.m. The Jamaican athlete (and self—described entertainer) set the world record in 2009 and the Olympic record in 2012 (London) breaking his previous record set in Beijing in 2008.
The finals are on Sunday night, and Bolt has told his parents he’s ready for them despite nursing a sore hamstring.
Justin Gatlin, the sprinter considered the best threat to stop Bolt, won gold at the 2004 Olympics. He’s been caught using banned substances twice (the first was later ruled as taken for attention deficit disorder) but the second brought a four—year ban for excessive testosterone. He told AP that he’s not paying attention to what people are saying about him, and is not concerned with those who think he doesn’t belong here.
Medals will go to the fastest women in the world after their 100 finals at 10-37 p.m. Semifinals start at 9 p.m.
There are six sprinters to watch - Elaine Thompson of Jamaica, Murielle Ahoure of the Ivory Coast, Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands and Americans English Gardner, Tianna Bartoletta and Tori Bowie. Jamaican Shelly—Ann Fraser—Pryce, the two—time defending Olympic champion, had the fastest time in qualifiers Friday night.
Also, at 9-27 p.m., the men’s 10,000 kicks off, with Britain’s Mo Farrah the dominant athlete in the sport. He has not lost a major race since taking silver in the 10,000 at the 2011 worlds, but Ethiopia’s Yigrem Demelash is hoping to renew his nation’s ownership of the race.
Farah, heptathlete Jessica Ennis—Hill and long jumper Greg Rutherford won gold medals within an hour of each other at the 2012 London Games, creating one of the biggest roars in Olympic history. All three will be competing for gold during Saturday evening.
The men’s long jump finals will begin at 8-53 p.m. Rutherford, American Jarrion Lawson and Australia’s Fabrice Lapierre are the ones to watch. The Olympic record is still held by Bob Beaman, who set it in 1968, though Mike Powell eclipsed it in 1991.
The final event of the heptathlon, the 800, starts at 11-18 p.m.
Earlier, at 11 a.m., the women begin their heats in the 400.
Allyson Felix , who won’t get a chance to repeat for gold in the 200, takes to the track after winning the U.S. trials over Phyllis Frances. Felix has been to three Olympics and picked up six medals.
Medals will also be awarded in the men’s discus. Finals are at 10-50 a.m. and Piotr Malachowski, of Poland, Philip Milanov, Belgium, and Christoph Harting, Germany, are favorites to medal.
SOCCER
Men’s quarterfinals are underway a day after Sweden’s striking upset against the U.S. women in penalty kicks.
At the top of the bill is at 10 p.m., with Brazil vs. Colombia. It’s a potential grudge match following the 2014 World Cup quarters between the two in which Colombia’s Juan Camillo Zuniga kneed Neymar, fracturing his back.
Brazil’s fortunate to be in the field. The host nation needed a 4—0 win over Denmark on Wednesday to stave off elimination.
Other matches have Portugal take on Germany at 1 p.m.; Nigeria against Denmark at 4 p.m. and Korea vs. Honduras at 7 p.m.
TENNIS
The women’s gold medal singles match at 3 p.m. features Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig against Germany’s Angelique Kerber. Puig is looking for her nation’s first gold in any sport in Olympic history.
The bronze medal round sees American Madison Keys play two—time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic. Keys lost 6—3, 7—5 to Kerber on Friday.
Earlier, men’s singles semifinals will be held starting with a 12 p.m. match between Britain’s Andy Murray and Japan’s Kei Nishikori. The winner will play in the Sunday finals against the victor of Spain’s Rafael Nadal and Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro, who knocked out No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the first round. The Nadal—del Potro match immediately follows Murray’s.
BEACH VOLLEYBALL
The round of 16 continues for both men and women the day after defending champions Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross took on Marta Menegatti and Laura Giombini of Italy in the late match.
Canada has a number of matches to watch.
At 12 p.m., Sarah Pavan and Heather Bansley take on countrywomen Jamie Broder and Kristina Valjas. And at 7 p.m., Chaim Schalk and Ben Saxton play the Netherlands’ Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen.
Although Canada has won only one medal in the sport since it joined the Olympic program in 1996, this contingent is hoping it can change that.
In the late match, at 11-59 p.m., Americans Philip Delhausser and Nick Lecena vs Austria’s Robin Seidl and Alexander Huber.
GOLF
The third round of the men’s tournament tees off at 7-30 a.m. Marcus Fraser of Australia shot a 2—under 69 Friday for the 36—hole lead in the first Olympic golf competition since 1904. He had a one—shot lead over Thomas Pieters of Belgium, a former NCAA champion who closed with three straight birdies.
Swede Henrik Stenson , the British Open champ, is in the mix thanks to the longer put in his career- a 108—footer for par.
FENCING
The women’s team sabre finals is at 6-15 p.m. after quarterfinals that start at 9 a.m. It’s U.S. fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad’s last chance to medal. Earlier in the games, she became the first American to compete while wearing a hajib.
VOLLEYBALL
Defending men’s gold medal champions Russia take on 2014 world champions Poland at 3 p.m. And, at 10-35 p.m., Brazil faces Italy. Brazil won silver in London while Italy took bronze.
BOXING
The men’s heavyweight semifinals start at 12-45 p.m. with Evegeny Tishchenko of Russia vs Rustam Tulaganov of Uzbekistan. They continue at 6-45 p.m. with Kazakstan’s Vassiliy Levit taking on Erislandy Savon of Cuba.
TRACK CYCLING
The women’s team pursuit finals are held at 5-14 p.m. Olympic champion Britain and world champion U.S. are likely to meet for gold in the velodrome, provided both win semifinals starting at 11-17 a.m. as expected. Austria took the men’s title on Friday night.
ROWING
The event wraps up with men’s single sculls finals (10-32 a.m.); women’s singles (10-45 a.m.); the women’s eights (11-06 a.m.) and men’s eights at 11-27 a.m.
