Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal gave India its first-ever medal in Olympic Games badminton when her Chinese opponent withdrew from the bronze medal play-off after injuring her knee. In London yesterday, World no. 2 Xin Wang was leading by a game and 1-0 when she withdrew from the bronze medal contest.
In Men's Boxing, Laishram Devendro Singh stunned 2008 Beijing Games silver medallist Serdamba Purevdorj of Mongolia 16-11 to storm into the quarter-finals of the Men's Light-fly weight category. In the light heavy weight category, 26-year-old Manoj Kumar made a controversial exit from the Olympics, losing a thrilling pre-quarterfinal bout to Thomas Stalker of Great Britain 16-20.
In Tennis, India's campaign ended as Leander Paes and Sania Mirza lost to the top seeded pair of Max Mirnyi and Victoria Azarenka from Belarus in straight sets 5-7, 6-7 in the last eight stage match.
3000 metre steeplechaser Sudha Singh finished 13th out of 15 runners in the first of three semi-final heats.
In the Men's 20 kilometre race walk competition, India's K.T. Irfan finished a creditable 10th with a new national record. He clocked One Hour, 20 minutes, 21 seconds in the race participated by 56 walkers. The other two walkers in the fray – Gurmeet Singh and Baljinder Singh – failed to make much of an impression.
On the ninth day of competition today, India will be figuring in three events:
In Women's Boxing, M.C. Mary Kom will begin her campaign in the 51 kg category. Women's Boxing has been introduced in the Olympic Games for the first time.
In Shooting, Manavjit Singh Sandhu will be seen in action in the Men's trap event.
In Men's Hockey, India will take on South Korea in their fourth Group B match. After defeats in their earlier three matches, India are out of reckoning for a medal in the event.
The United States are leading the medals table in the London Olympics. At the end of the Eighth Day of competitions yesterday, they had a haul of 26 Gold, 13 Silver and 15 Bronze. China held the second spot with 25 Gold, 16 Silver and 12 Bronze. Hosts Great Britain occupy the third position with a tally of 14 Gold, 7 Silver and 8 Bronze. With One Silver and Two Bronze, India are in the 39th place.
