Vijender Singh produced a strong display in the boxing ring while rower Swaran Singh won his repechage to enter the single sculls quarterfinals, but India continued to misfire in archery in the London Olympic Games, today.
Vijender, who has vowed to improve upon his showing in Beijing four years ago when he won a bronze medal – the first by a fist-fighter in India’s history — started his quest on a perfect note in the middleweight (75kg) pre-quarterfinals with a comfortable 14-10 win over Kazakhstan’s Danabek Sukhanov in a late night bout yesterday.
“I am delighted to make it through to the next round, he was a tough opponent and now it’s onto the next challenge,” said the 26-year-old Haryana star.
“I want to go home with a different coloured medal this time,” he added.Vijender will take on Terrell Gausha of USA in the pre-quarters on August 2.
Rower Swarn Singh held off a late challenge from his South Korean rival Kim Dongyong to win the single sculls repechage round and book a berth in the last eight.
Swran, who had to compete in the repechage round after finishing fourth in the heats yesterday, clocked 7:00.49 to complete the 2-km distance, winning the five-man race by more than a boat length, at the Eton Dorney Rowing Centre.
The 23-year-old from Punjab had clocked 6:54.04 in the heats yesterday. Kim, who clocked 7:03.91 to finish second, also made it to the quarterfinals which will be held on Tuesday.
Swarn led the five-rower race from the start itself and only Kim gave him competition while the others fell behind.
In the last 500m, Kim made a last-ditch effort to catch up with Swarn, but the Indian not only held off the challenge but also stretched the lead to win the race by one-and-a-half boat length.
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