Kidambi Srikanth qualifires for quarters in Rio 2016. File Pic[/caption]Internet Desk: Kidambi Srikanth kept India’s hopes of a medal at the Rio Olympics alive on Monday, defeating Denmark’s Jan Jorgensen 21-19, 21-19 to enter the quarterfinals of the men’s singles event.
He thus joined Parupalli Kashyap, who was the first Indian men's singles player to reach the quarter-finals of the Olympics at London Games in 2012. Srikanth, who is playing in his first Olympics, is ranked world No. 11. He had beaten Lin to win the China Open title in 2014.
Srikanth did well to beat the higher-ranked Jorgensen and will next face two times China’s Lin Dan, the reigning Olympic champion, on Wednesday. Srikanth, who is playing in his first Olympics, is ranked world No. 11. He had beaten Lin to win the China Open title in 2014.
In a battle between equals, Jorgensen moved to a 3-1 lead before Srikanth turned the tables reaching 4-3. The duo engaged in a fierce battle of supremacy and moved neck and neck before Srikanth managed to enter the break with a 11-9 advantage.
Srikanth opened up a narrow 17-14 lead at one stage. His sharp returns earned him a lot of points even as the Dane kept breathing down his neck with some angled strokes which the Indian found difficult to negotiate.
At 18-17, an aggressive rally ended with Srikanth placing the shuttle away from Jorgensen but he hit long next before moving into the game point with a cross court smash, which Jorgensen could not reach.
Jorgensen saved one when Srikanth made a bad judgement and left the shuttle. However, he sealed it next with another powerful cross court smash.
Srikanth carried on the momentum into the second game and dictated the tempo of the fast-paced rallies to reach 8-4 at one stage. The Indian, however, lost a few points with his backhand returns going to the net.
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Lalita Babar finished 10th in 3000m Steeplechase final. File Pic[/caption]On the other hand, Lalita Babar finished a respectable 10th in the final of the 3000m steeplechase, with a time of 9:22.74. Lalita was satisfied with her effort. She said, "It was a bit hot but not something that is unusual for us. I tried my best. I am satisfied by finishing in the top 10. I had struck my knee on a hurdle yesterday but that didn't affect me."
Srabani Nanda finished fifth in Heat 5 of the women’s 200m, failing to advance. Ravinder Khatri lost his 85 kg Greco-Roman wrestling bout to Hungary’s Viktor Lorincz.
In the men’s triple jump, Renjith Maheshwary finished a disappointing 30th to crash out of the qualification round of men's triple jump at the Rio Olympics.
Competing in his second Olympics, Maheshwary found himself at the 11th spot in the qualifiers, after an effort of 15.80 metres in his first attempt, which was way short of the qualification mark.
In the second attempt, the Indian jumped 16.13m, which still was short of the qualification mark of 16.95m. Placed at the 23rd spot, he was under pressure to hit the qualification mark in the final attempt
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