The 2024 Paris Olympics kick off today with a thrilling lineup of events. Medals will be awarded in aquatics, cycling, fencing, judo, rugby sevens, shooting, and skateboarding.
Shooting:
India’s shooting contingent will be eager to make a mark after disappointing performances in the last two Olympics. Sandeep Singh and Elavenil Valarivan will compete in the 10m air rifle mixed team final, while Arjun Babuta and Ramita will also be in action. Sarabjot Singh and Arjun Singh Cheema will participate in the 10m air pistol men’s qualification.
Hockey:
India, the Tokyo Games bronze medallists, will begin their campaign against New Zealand. Harmanpreet Singh’s team will aim to give a fitting farewell to veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, who is competing in his fourth Olympics.
Badminton:
Badminton, which has brought India three medals in recent editions, will also commence on Saturday. Lakshya Sen, the 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist, will face Kevin Cordon of Guatemala. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will take on French shuttlers Lucas Corvee and Ronan Labar. Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto will compete against former All England champions Kim So-yeong and Kong Hee-yong of South Korea.
Swimming:
An epic rivalry will resume in the women’s 400m freestyle, where Australian Ariarne Titmus and American Katie Ledecky will battle for gold. Canada’s Summer McIntosh and New Zealand’s Erika Fairweather are also contenders in this highly anticipated event.
Rugby 7s:
The men’s rugby sevens event will conclude with back-to-back Olympic champions Fiji facing Australia and South Africa taking on hosts France in the semi-finals. The bronze and gold medal matches will take place later on Saturday evening.
Other Events:
Cycling, fencing, and judo will also feature on the first day of the Olympics. Skateboarding will make its Olympic debut, with medals awarded in the men’s and women’s street events.
