Sania in sizzling form as she and Bopanna reach SF in Rio Olypmics mixed doubles tennis; Vikas Krishnan 1 win away from medal in middle weight boxing as he reaches QF; Atanu Das loses a thriller in pre quarters archery; Jwala-Ponnappa crash out as they lose a close match; Nadal -Del Potro Murray-Nishikori SF lineup in Mens tennis;Phelps in a league of his own as he became first swimmer to win a event in 4 consecutive Olympics;Bhuvi five-fer gives India an outside chance of a famous win in WI; Classy centuries by Asad and Younis give Pakistan the edge over England and more..:-)
<p>Day started with Atanu Das playing against Seungyun Lee . Korean took the first set with 3 10s. Atanu then scored 3 10s to win 2nd set. In third set, Atanu had a chance to win the set. He needed a 9 to win th eset but scored a 8. Set was tied. Korean won the fourth and final set was tied. Korean won 6-4. If Atanu had made that 9 in 3rd set, he could have won it. Again another Indian came close to winning but ended up losing. Chain Singh and Gagan disappointed as they did not even qualify for finals of 50m rifle prone event. Gagan had his moments and was in top 8 for brief time but had poor shots towards the end. India's Manpreet Kaur did not qualify for finals in shot put. Jwala Dutta-Ponnappa had to win the second league match to stay in the tournament. First set went close till 8-8 before dutch pair raced ahead to take 7 pt lead. They eventually won it 21-16. Indians bounved back to win second by similar margin. Third set was close till 8-8 again. Dutch again took lead as they reaced ahead 16-10. Indians bounced back to reduce the margin. But that initial margin came back to haunt them as they ended up losing 21 -17. It was a close match. Indians had their moments but did not capitalize. Story of Rio Olympics for India. Nobody is giving a hammerblow when under pressure. </p>
<p>It definetly does not look like Indian will win as many medal as in London 2012 Olympics. Sania-Bopanna, Saina,hockey and wrestling only seem to be genuine chance of winning some medal. India had won 6 medals in 2012 Olympics, 2 silver and 4 bronze. It looks very unlikely. AT the max , India might win 3 medals.</p>
<p>India drew with Canada 2-2 in a inconsequential match. Had India won they would have been third placed.Now they need to wait for ARgentina's match . India might face SPain or Belgium in QF.India lead twice in the match only for Canada to come back via penalty corner.Nail biting match.India were not at its best in this match.</p>
<p>Sania-Bopanna had a task in their hands as they faced dangerious Murray-Watson. Murray had won mixed doubles silver in London. But Sania-Bopanna won it 6-4 6-4. Indians's server was never broken. Sania was in sublime form as she put pressure not only on Watson but also on Murray's serve. Sania's serve is yet to be broken in 2 matches in mixed doubles Olympics. She is sizlling form now.Murray looked tired after winning singles match. Not that Indians were complaining about it. India have therefore moved to SF and will have 2 shot at medal. If they win SF, they are assured of a gold or silver, else they need to play bronze playoff. Bhupathi-Paes also reached SF in Athen but lost both. Hope there is no repeat of history. They might meet US team of Venus-Ram in SF. </p>
<p>Vikas Krishnan had a close encounter with Turkey's Sipal but won all the 3 rounds as he reacheed Mens middleweight (75 kg) boxing WF. He will face Uzbekistan's Melikuziev in QF. Vikas is assured of a medal with win in QF. Very impressive win for Vikas.Melikuziev is a amateur boxer and this Vikas's best chance to emulate Vijendra 's feat of go even further. </p>
<p>Michael Phelps won gold in 200m medley as well. It is his 22nd gold. He became first swimmer to win a event in 4 consecutive games. Only Carl Lewis has done in other sport(long jump). Nadal won his 3rd round match against Simom and came back to win doubles as well. He has reached doubles finals. He withdrew from mixed doubles. Murray won his singles match against Fognini and also won mixed doubles match.</p>
<p>In Mens tennis, Nadal beat local favorite Bellucci in tough 3 setter to reach SF. He won 2-6 6-4 6-2. Murray joined him in SF. Murray won it in 3rd set tie breaker against Steve Johnson. Johnson was up 4-3 in final set including a break. Murray would face Nishikori in SF. Nadal would have a shot against Del Potro who stunned Djokovic in first round.</p>
<p>Pakistan started 2nd day well as Yasir Shah and Azhar had agood 2nd wicket stand. Nightwatchman Yasir defended well. Englnad didnt help themselves by dropping few chances.They had a 49 run stand. Azad then joined Azhar and rebuild Pakistan innings. They had a 75 run stand when Azhar was dismissed of unusual circumstances. England went to 3rd umpire for LBW but was given out caught behind as he had gloved it. Azhar played well for his 49.Younis and Asad then had a 150 run stand which gave Pakistan the edge.Asad scored his 9th test ton and might be his most crucial one. England bounced back after that. From 277-3, Pakistan were erduced to 320-6. Younis scored his 32nd ton and had Sarfaraz for company as Pakistan ended the day at 340-6. They need to take a lead of 100+ and put pressure on England.</p>
<p>WI started well but Bravo was bounced out again by Ishant. It was after 87 overs since 2nd test that Indian bowlers grabbed a wicket. Score was 129-2 . It might have been a no ball. Bravo was not given benefit of doubt by 3rd umpire. Samuels joined Braithwaite. Ashwin dismissed Brathwaite soo after. Blackwood who had a impressive series so far joined Samuels and they put on a 67 run stand. Just when it looked like match was heading towards a draw in post lunch session, Bhuvis spell turned the match on its head.From 202-3, WI got all out for 225. STunning comeback. Bhuvi picked his 3rd five-fer. It was immaculate swing bowling. In 16 overs, match came alive. Kohli's decision to bring Buvi instead of Umesh on this pitch was a masterstroke. India had a lead of 128. India then played in ODI style as they went for runs. Though Rahul, Dhawan and Kohli got out in quick sucession, quick fire unbstean stand of 85 runs by Rohit-Rahane gave India a chance to push for victory on 5th day. India lead by 285 at end of Day 4. They might bat for an hour and put WI in.</p>