Paris Olympics 2024 Day 3 Highlights: Manika Batra becomes first ever Indian paddler to reach last 16 in Games history

Paris Olympics 2024 Day 3 Live Updates: Manika Batra on Monday became the first Indian table tennis player to reach the round of 16 in the Olympic Games singles competition after a 4-0 thrashing of higher-ranked Prithika Pavade of France in Paris.

The 29-year-old Manika, gold medallist at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, won 11-9 11-6 11-9 11-7 against her 19-year-opponent Pavade whose parents were originally from Puducherry before shifting to France in 2003.

In the Tokyo Olympics, Manika had become the first women's table tennis player from India to make it to the round of 32 in singles. She did one step better than that here on Monday.

Achanta Sharath Kamal had also reached the round of 32 in men's singles in the Tokyo Olympics.

Manika is currently ranked 28th in the world, 10 places lower than Pavade.

Manu Bhaker was poised to make more Olympic history as she positioned herself for an unprecedented second medal. Meanwhile, the men's hockey team managed an underwhelming draw, a fourth-place finish broke Indian hearts at the shooting range, and the archers capitulated.

For a second consecutive day, Bhaker was the standout for India, combining with Sarabjot Singh to reach the bronze medal match in the 10m air pistol mixed team competition at Chateauroux's shooting range. They will face the Korean pair of Oh Ye Jin and Lee Wonho, who shot 579, in the bronze-medal match. If successful, Bhaker will become the first Indian to win more than one medal in a single edition of the Games.

Another medal opportunity slipped away on Monday when debutant Arjun Babuta, despite a strong start, finished fourth in the 10m air rifle men's final. Bhaker, who had already made history by becoming the first Indian woman shooter to win an Olympic medal with her 10m air pistol individual bronze on Sunday, and Sarabjot, scored 580 to stay in the race for a third-place finish in the mixed team air pistol event.

In the 10m air rifle women's competition, Ramita Jindal finished seventh. Shotgun marksman Prithviraj Tondaiman ended 30th and last in the trap competition qualifications with a score of 68/75.

India was joint 23rd in the medal tally with one bronze, while China, Korea, and Australia occupied the top three positions.

Lakshya Sen triumphs on the badminton court

Forced to start afresh after his opening win was nullified, Lakshya Sen showcased his skill by defeating Belgium's Julien Carraggi in straight games in a men's singles group match. The 22-year-old Olympic debutant beat Carraggi 21-19, 21-14 in a 43-minute contest. Sen’s initial victory over Tokyo Olympics semifinalist Kevin Cordon was voided after the Guatemalan withdrew due to a left elbow injury. Sen will next face third seed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia, the reigning Asian champion, to determine who advances to the pre-quarters.

Hockey team escapes with a draw against Argentina

Captain Harmanpreet Singh converted a last-minute penalty corner to salvage a 1-1 draw for India against former champions Argentina in a Pool B match. The Indian team missed nine penalty corners before Harmanpreet scored. Argentina missed a penalty stroke by Maico Casella in the 36th minute, and Lucas Martinez scored a field goal in the 22nd minute to put Argentina ahead. Harmanpreet’s last-minute goal saved India from defeat.

Archery woes continue
Following a poor performance by Deepika Kumari and Ankita Bhakat's quarterfinal loss, the men's team also faltered. Veteran Tarundeep Rai, along with Dhiraj Bommadevara and Pravin Jadhav, were defeated 2-6 by a young Turkish team in the men's team event quarterfinals. The final score was 53-57, 52-55, 55-54, 54-58.

Bopanna retires from national duty

Veteran doubles specialist Rohan Bopanna announced his retirement from national duty after losing in the opening round of the men's doubles event in Paris. "This will definitely go down as my last event for the country. I totally understand where I am and now, I am just going to be enjoying the tennis circuit as long as that goes," Bopanna said, ruling himself out of the 2026 Asian Games in Japan.