With Summer Olympic kicking off on August 5, it has been a week of historic moments and medals amid heartbreak for as contingents continue to show grit. Here are the highlights from the week that was at Rio.
Fiji defeats New Zealand to enter Rugby sevens semi-finals
In a thrilling and tight game, Fiji men’s team defeated New Zealand in the Rugby sevens quarter final by 12-7 on Thursday, August 11.
After scoring first, Fiji was led by New Zealand at half time by 7-5 but quickly picking up after half-time, Fiji managed to overtake in the final few minutes and finishes 12-7.
At the time of printing, Fiji was still to face Japan in the semi-finals on Friday, August 12.
Gymnast Dipa creates history by entering Olympic final
Dipa Karmakar created history by becoming the first Indian gymnast to enter the Olympic finals at the Rio Olympic Centre.
The 22-year-old qualified for the final round in the individual vault final of artistic gymnastics after finishing eighth on the standings on Sunday, August 7.
Competing in the third sub-division, Dipa had an average score of 51.665.
She managed to perform her much-vaunted 'Produnova' vault cleanly to score 14.850 on the vault, 11.666 on the uneven bars 12.866 in balance beam and 12.033 in floor exercises.
The Tripura gymnast scored executed the 'Produnova' in her first attempt on the vault to 15.100 with 8.1 for execution and 7.00 for difficulty. She scored 14.6 on her second attempt with 8.6 for execution and 6.00 for difficulty.
In uneven bars, Deepa scored 7.166 for execution and 4.5 for difficulty. In balance beam, she scored 7.566 for execution and 5.3 for difficulty while in floor exercises her scores read 7.133 for execution and 5.2 for difficulty with a penalty of 0.3.
By the time she finished, Deepa was sixth in vaults and 27th overall and had to endure a nervous wait of five hours for the other two sub-divisions to finish. With no other competitor managing to surpass her score in the individual vault, Dipa managed to enter individual vault final and grab a piece of history.
Deepa will compete in the finals on August 14.
NZ's Rooney earns the first medal
Natalie Rooney claimed a silver medal in women’s trap shooting on August 8, making it the first medal for New Zealand at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.
In the final against Australian Catherine Skinner, she led 4–2 and still level-pegging at 5–5, 6–6, 7–7 and 8–8. However, as Rooney faltered, the Australian made her way to win a thrilling 12–11.
Rooney, 28, is the second New Zealand shooter, after 1968 bronze medallist Ian Ballinger, to win an Olympic medal.
“I’m stoked. It’s an incredible feeling,” she said. “Of course I’d like to have the gold, but to come away with the silver still feels great.”
In the past, Rooney has scored fourth and fifth places at the last two Commonwealth Games. In the 2012 Olympic Games, New Zealand had qualified only one shooter and Ryan Taylor represented the country.
“I haven’t had the best of luck in the past and to finally crack it at the Olympics is awesome,” she said.
Sevens women claim a silver
The New Zealand women’s rugby team lost to Australia in the final, to settle for a silver on August 9.
The team had defeated Great Britain in the semi-finals with a final score of 25–7 and headed into the finals with high hopes of earning a gold medal. However, the Australian team dominated possession in the finals and scored 24 consecutive points.
“We came out here to win a gold medal and we are bringing back a silver. But silver’s still good in New Zealand’s eyes and we hope we have done them good,” said New Zealand captain Sarah Gross.
“It’s a medal. It’s getting on to the podium. We came out here to grow a women’s legacy. To get more women and more children playing rugby and I hope we did that around the world and hopefully next time we come to the Olympics there’s a lot more women playing rugby.”
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