India beat South Africa 4-3 in hockey; Kamalpreet Kaur qualifies for discus throw final

Vanada Katariya scored a hat-trick against South Africa. AP

Preview Day 8: Friday was an eventful day for India at Tokyo Olympics 2020, with ace shuttler PV Sindhu and boxer Lovlina Borgohain booking semi-finals places in their respective sports. Borgohain not only advanced to the women’s welterweight semis, but also assured India a second medal, after Mirabai Chanu’s silver in weightlifting.

Meanwhile, Sindhu overcame home favourite Akane Yamaguchi 21-13, 22-20 in the quarter-finals, and she will face Chinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu Ying in her last-four clash. It will take place  at 3.20 pm IST. Tai Tzu Ying had beaten Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon in the other quarter-final.

In hockey, striker Gurjant Singh scored twice as India defeated Japan 5-3 in their final Pool A game before their quarter-final clash. The Indian men will face Great Britain in their last eight clash on Sunday.

India women’s hockey team returned to winning ways to keep their quarter-final hopes alive, as Navneet Kaur scored a late winner in India’s 1-0 win over Ireland.

India had suffered three consecutive losses prior to this, so this will surely come as a morale-boosting result.

In archery, Deepika Kumari suffered a heart-breaking 0-6 loss to Korea’s An San in the women’s individual quarter-finals, while in golf, Anirban Lahiri finished round two tied at 20^th place.

Boxer Amit Panghal faces Yurberjen Herney Martinez Rivas of Colombia in the men’s 52 kg round of 16 bout.

Boxer Pooja Rani faces China’s Li Qian in the women’s middleweight quarter-final bout on Saturday. Li Qian is an Olympic bronze medalist and two-time Asian champion.

It will be a crucial day for the women’s hockey team, who will hope for a crucial victory in their bid to reach the quarters. They face South Africa at 8.45 am IST. You can check the complete Day 8 schedule here.