On a day when not many Indians created an impact on the medals tally, Gymnast Dipa Karmakar, the first ever woman gymanast from India to qualify for the Olympics, kept her hopes of clinching an unprecedented medal alive by qualifying for the Vault Final in women's artistic gymnastics. The 22-year-old has clinched the eighth and last qualifying place for the vault final and could become the first Indian to win an Olympic gymnastics medal. "That I have reached the final is an amazing achievement. My coach is very happy because I executed what he had taught me to do," added Karmakar, who last year became the first Indian to compete in an apparatus final at the world championships. The Indian women's hockey team put up a brave face as it came back from a two-goal deficit to hold Japan 2-2 in its opening pool encounter.

 

The last time India featured in women's hockey at the Olympics was back in 1980 Moscow. The Indian women's archery team comprising Deepika Kumari, Laishram Bombayla Devi and Laxmirani Majhi raised hopes of India's first medal by reaching the quarter-finals but crashed out after losing to Russia. Heena Sidhu missed out in the race to the women's 10 metres Air Pistol finals, while trap shooters Manavjit Singh Sandhu and Kynan Chenai were a poor 17th and 19th respectively on the first day of the men's trap qualifying. World number one Novak Djokovic was dumped out of the Rio Games in the first round on Sunday by Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro, a shock result that reduced the Serbian to tears as he left the court. Michael Phelps won his 19th Olympic gold medal as the United States won the 4x100 relay at the Olympics on Sunday.