On a bittersweet day for India, big boxing controversy erupts in Paris | Olympic Tales, Ep 07
Pune-born Swapnil Kusale secured India's first-ever Olympic medal in the 50m rifle three positions event on a day when four strong podium contenders from the country, including PV Sindhu and Satwik-Chirag, were knocked out of the Games.
While Swapnil won the bronze medal, Anjum Moudgil and Samra failed to qualify for the final of the women's 50m rifle three positions event. In-form Lakshya Sen continued his pursuit of a maiden Olympic medal, while Satwik and Chirag's hopes were dashed following a heartbreaking three-game loss in the men's doubles quarterfinals.
Two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen's Olympic debut ended in a heartbreak after she lost to China's Wu Yu in the women's 50kg division. Even Sindhu's pursuit of an unparalleled third Olympic medal ended in heartbreak as she lost to China's He Bing Jiao. India's athletics campaign was off to a poor start as 20km race walkers failed to put up creditable performances.
But, the biggest highlight of August 1 was the boxing controversy. Italy's Angela Carini abandoned her bout against Algerian boxer Imane Khelif after just 46 seconds, saying that one punch from Khelif "hurt too much" to continue. It was enough for her to withdraw from the fight and fuelled debate on social media about the fairness of the contest as many started to label Imane Khelif as "biologically male" and a "transgender".
However, the International Olympic Committee defended its decision to allow two female boxers to compete at the Paris Olympics despite an ongoing gender row, saying the pair were facing 'aggression' because of an arbitrary decision.
Produced by Anna Priyadarshini
Sound mix by Kapil Dev Singh
Information
- Show
- Channel
- FrequencyUpdated Weekly
- PublishedAugust 2, 2024 at 10:07 AM UTC
- Length17 min
- RatingClean