Debutant boxer Lovlina Borgohain provided the spark that India’s Olympic campaign desperately needed with a medal-clinching quarterfinal win, while ace shuttler PV Sindhu re-asserted her status as one of the greats of the sport as the country’s athletes enjoyed a largely successful day 8 at the Tokyo Olympics on Friday. Borgohain, all of 23 and already two-time world championship medallist, took a big step in making her own space in the Indian women’s boxing’s landscape, which has been largely dominated by the iconic MC Mary Kom. The hockey teams had a good day too. Already assured of a quarterfinal berth, the men were clinical in their 5-3 thrashing of Japan in their final group match. They will face Great Britain in the last-eight stage. The women too kept their hopes of moving ahead alive with Navneet Kaur scoring a late winner against Ireland for a 1-0 win.

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