Olympics 2024 Highlights | Saint Lucia's Alfred wins 100 metres gold; LaFond's triple jump gold brings Dominica first ever medal

PARIS GAMES | India's schedule on Day 8

Shooting

Women's Skeet Qualification (Day 1):

Raiza Dhillon and Maheshwari Chauhan -- 12.30 pm

Women's 25m Pistol (Medal round):

Manu Bhaker -- 1.00 pm

Archery

Women's Individual (1/8 Eliminations):

Deepika Kumari vs Michelle Kroppen (Germany) -- 1.52 pm

Women's Individual (1/8 Eliminations):

Bhajan Kaur vs Diananda Choirunisa (Indonesia) -- 2.05 pm

Women's Individual Quarter Final:

Deepika Kumari vs Nam Su-hyeon -- 4:56 pm

Sailing

Men's Dinghy Opening Series (Race 5):

Vishnu Saravanan -- 3.45 pm

Men's Dinghy Opening Series (Race 6):

Vishnu Saravanan -- 4.53 pm

Women's Dinghy Opening Series (Race 5):

Nethra Kumanan -- 5.55 pm

Women's Dinghy Opening Series (Race 6):

Nethra Kumanan -- 7.03 pm

Boxing

Men's Welterweight (Quarter-finals):

Nishant Dev vs Marco Verde (Mexico) -- 12.18 am (Sunday)

RECAP | A look at all the wins and losses on day 7

Manu Bhaker qualified for the women's 25 m pistol finals and will aim for her 3rd medal tomorrow. Slovakia swimmer Tamara Potocka is in medical care after collapsing after heats. Ankita-Dhiraj duo missed out on the bronze medal after they were beaten 6-2 by USA. The Indian hockey team beat Australia 3-2, their first victory over the kookaburras since 1972. Lakshya Sen beat Taiwan's Chou Tien-chen 2-1 to reach the semi finals of badminton men's individuals. Parul Chaudhary bowed out of Paris Olympics 2024 Women’s 5000m run. Two-time Asian Games gold-medallist shot-putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor could not qualify for the finals.

IBA to award prize money to Italy's Carini despite loss to Algeria's Khelif

The International Boxing Association (IBA) will award Italy's Angela Carini, who lost her welterweight round-of-16 bout against Algerian Imane Khelif at the Paris Olympics in 46 seconds on Thursday, $50,000 in prize money, it said on Friday.

Carini pulled out in the first round after the Algerian, who is at the heart of a gender row, pummelled the Italian with a barrage of punches.

The IBA, which was stripped of its international recognition by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) last year, said Carini would receive $50,000, her federation a further $25,000 and her coach an additional $25,000.

TENNIS | Czech duo Siniakova and Machac win mixed doubles gold

 Czech pair Katerina Siniakova and Tomas Machac won the Olympic mixed doubles gold medal with victory in the final against China's Wang Xinyu and Zhang Zhizhen on Friday.

Doubles specialist Siniakova and Machac, who are in a relationship off the court, combined superbly and held their nerve in a tense finale to win 6-2 5-7 10-8.

The Czechs hardly put a foot wrong in the first set but Zhang and Wang, the second Chinese pair to reach an Olympic doubles final, raised their level in the second, pushing the match into a superb tiebreak.

SWIMMING | Coach Bowman hails 'perfect' Marchand as Frenchman claims fourth gold

Leon Marchand's coach Bob Bowman said the French swimmer handled the pressure of performing and delivering on home turf in the Olympics perfectly after the 22-year-old sensationally swept the gold medals in all four events he entered at the Paris Games.

Marchand won the 400m individual medley, then the 200m butterfly and 200m breaststroke on the same night, and finally the 200m individual medley on Friday to earn hero status in France as he shot to the top of the medal charts among individual athletes.

"It's an incredible series of events. I feel like he did everything that we could possibly expect of him in this environment, in this sort of lead-up and preparation," Bowman told reporters.

Headed towards hat-trick, shooter Manu Bhaker to fight for Gold at 1:00 pm

Lakshya aims to dial-up 'Sen-mode' against Super Dane Axelsen in Olympic semis

India's Lakshya Sen will need to play out of his skin to keep his maiden gold medal hopes alive when he takes on the reigning Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen in the men's singles semifinals at the Paris Games here on Sunday.

Making his Olympics debut, Sen created history on Friday after becoming the first Indian individual male shuttler to reach the last four of the showpiece with a 19-21 21-15 21-12 win over Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien Chen in an intense quarterfinal match.

SHOOTING | Stage all set for Manu Bhaker as 25m pistol women's final to start shortly

Here is all you need to know about Shooting - Women's 25m Pistol (Final)

Manu Bhaker hopes to bag a third medal as she competes for Gold in Women's 25m Pistol (Final)

The finals will take place in two rounds and the second one will be the elimination round.

In the first round each shooter will play 3 series of 5 shots each and in the second stage, they will play 7 series of 5 shots each

SHOOTING | Manu drops to position 6 after the first series in the elimination round.

SHOOTING | Three shooters eliminated, Manu Bhaker moves to position 2

SHOOTING | Manu maintains position 2 as four shooters eliminated

SHOOTING | After a brief positioning at rank 1, Manu back at 2. 4 shooters in fray

SHOOTING | Shoot-off between Manu & Hungarian shooter for elimination round

SHOOTING | Heartbreak for India after Manu Bhaker bows out of final

ARCHERY | Victorious Deepika Kumari heads to QFs

Deepika Kumari defeated Michelle Kroppen in the round of 16 to book her place in the quarter-finals in the women's individual event.

ARCHERY | Bhajan loses the first set 28-29

ARCHERY | Bhajan Kaur at 2-2 in the second set

ARCHERY | Bhajan Kaur falls behind with 2-4 in the third set

ARCHERY | Bhajan Kaur now trailing 3-5

ARCHERY | Bhajan Kaur eliminated in pre-QF

Bhajan Kaur of India in action.

ROWING | Florijn wins women's single sculls gold for Netherlands

Dutch rower Karolien Florijn powered to victory in the women's single sculls Olympic final on Saturday in a time of 7:17.28, with Emma Twigg of New Zealand picking up silver and Lithuania's Viktorija Senkute bronze.

With the men's sculls final delayed due to Paris traffic, the women's eights final was won in dominant fashion by Romania, with Britain taking home the men's gold in the big boat with a tremendous performance form start to finish. (Reuters)

SHOOTING | South Korea's Yang wins women's 25m pistol gold

South Korea's Yang Ji-in won the gold in the women's 25 metres pistol event at the Paris Olympics on Saturday.

France's Camille Jedrzejewski won the silver, while Hungary's Veronika Major took bronze.

Yang and Jedrzejewski were tied on 37 points, forcing a shoot-off in which the Korean prevailed 4-1 at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre.

Major also won her bronze via shoot-off, denying India's Manu Bhaker a third medal at the Paris Games. (Reuters)

Taipei condmens removal of spectator from badminton arena for holding up Taiwan banner

A supporter holds a towel referencing Taiwan during a badminton match.

Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned the removal of a spectator from the badminton venue at the Paris Olympics for holding up a green banner reading "Taiwan go for it" during competition on Friday.

Green, the colour of Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party, is used by people who support Taiwan's separate identity from China and, often, Taiwan independence.

Two Reuters journalists saw the spectator being bodily removed up a staircase, shouting, while Taiwanese shuttler Chou Tien Chen was playing. (Reuters)

ROWING | Britain win gold in men's eights

Britain won the gold medal in the men's eights final at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium on Saturday.

Netherlands took the silver medal, with the United States picking up the bronze. (Reuters)

ROWING | Zeidler wins men's single sculls gold for Germany

Oliver Zeidler won gold for Germany in the men's single sculls event at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium on Saturday.

Yauheni Zalaty, the individual neutral athlete from Belarus brought home the silver medal, while Simon van Dorp took the bronze for the Netherlands. (Reuters)

Glimpses of action from Day 8

SWIMMING | Sweden's Sjostrom has 50m freestyle record in sight

Sweden's Sarah Sjostrom had her own 50 metres freestyle world record in mind after setting the fastest time in the heats at the Paris Olympics on Saturday.

The silver medallist in 2021 touched out in 23.85 seconds, just 0.04 slower than the Olympic record set by Australian Emma McKeon in Tokyo.

The world record of 23.61 was set by Sjostrom at the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, last year. (Reuters)

ARCHERY | India's Deepika Kumari to face off against Korea's Nam Su-hyeon shortly for a spot in the semi-final

Earlier in the day, Kumari had defeated Germany's Michelle Kroppen in the 1/8 elimination round.

The Indian defeated her German rival 6-4 in the elimination round after recording a score of 27-24 in the first set to garner two points. The two then shot 27-27 in the second set to share the points. Deepika won the third set 26-25 for two more points.

In the fourth set, the German took two points with a 29-27 win but Deepika was already ahead by two points heading into the final set.

In the fifth set, the rivals were tied at 27-all and split the points, but Deepika walked away with a 6-4 win to make it to the quarterfinals.

ATHLETICS | Germany's Neugebauer leads with three events to go in decathlon

Germany's Leo Neugebauer is the leader in the men's decathlon at the Paris Olympics with three events to go, reclaiming top spot with a solid discus throw after briefly dropping to third after Saturday's opening 110-metres hurdles race.

The 24-year-old who has the world's best score this season, set in winning his second consecutive NCAA title for the University of Texas, has 6,500 points after seven events.

Canada's reigning Olympic champion Damian Warner, who briefly led after a solid hurdles race, is second with 6,428, while 22-year-old Norwegian Sander Skotheim is third (6,326).

The remaining events are the pole vault, javelin and 1,500m. (Reuters)

SAILING | India's Nethra Kumanan currently positioned at 19 after the fourth race in women's dinghy event

There are six races left until the finalists are decided. The top 10 sailors after the completion of 10 races will compete in the medal event.

ATHLETICS | Britain's Hinchliffe dampens the Lyles show in 100 metre heats

Britain’s surprise package Louie Hinchliffe claimed a qualifying edge on 100 metres favourite Noah Lyles as he led home the world champion in 9.98 seconds in Saturday’s first-round heats.

Coached by Carl Lewis and the first European to win the NCAA title in the United States, Hinchliffe finished strongly and Lyles, not exactly easing up, took second in 10.04 to also go through safely.

Lyles is targeting a possible four golds in Paris, in the 100m, his favourite 200m, the 4x100m relay and, possibly, the 4x400m relay. (Reuters)

ATHLETICS | Pole vault champion Duplantis sails through to final

Pole vault king Armand Duplantis comfortably sailed through the qualifiers on Saturday at the Stade de France, cementing his status as clear favourite to win his second Olympic gold at the Paris Games.

The 24-year-old defending champion, who goes by "Mondo" Duplantis, has set the world record eight times, most recently breaking his own record in April in Xiamen with a 6.24-metre jump. (Reuters)

ARCHERY | Deepika Kumari in action against Korea's Nam as archery QFs begin

ARCHERY | Deepika goes 2-0 up after taking the first set 28-26

ARCHERY | Deepika tied 2-2 with Korea's Nam after first two sets

ARCHERY | Deepika leading 4-2 against Korea's Nam after winning third set

ARCHERY | Deepika loses fourth set to Nam; scores tied 4-4

ARCHERY | Deepika Kumari loses 4-6 to Nam Su-hyeon as Korean heads to semi-final

Veteran archer Deepika Kumari crumbed under pressure once again, suffering a 4-6 loss to Korea's Suhyeon Nam in the women's individual event quarterfinals to bring down curtains on India's campaign at the Paris Olympics here on Saturday.

Deepika had qualified for the quarterfinals after defeating Germany's Michelle Kroppen 6-4 earlier in the day.

Deepika had defeated the 19-year-old Nam in straight sets in the semifinal at the Shanghai World Cup in April en route winning a silver medal, but on Saturday the Indian stalwart could not repeat that performance.

The two archers were tied 4-4 after four sets but Nam was rewarded for her consistency as she claimed the fifth set to enter the semifinals. (PTI)

SAILING | Vishnu Saravanan currently at 23 after fifth race in men's dinghy event

There are five races left until the finalists are decided. The top 10 sailors after the completion of 10 races will compete in the medal event.

SWIMMING | Ledecky in line for record-equalling ninth gold medal

Katie Ledecky will target a record-equalling ninth gold medal for female Olympians and an unprecedented fourth 800 metres freestyle title in the same swoop on Saturday but her US teammates may struggle to emulate her success in the relays.

Top seed for the evening session's final of her pet event, victory for Ledecky at La Defense Arena will see her draw level with former Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina's nine golds, the most for women in any Olympic sport. (Reuters)

FOOTBALL | France coach Henry criticises his players after win over Argentina ends in brawl

France coach Thierry Henry called the behaviour of some of his players unacceptable after their 1-0 Olympic quarter-final victory over Argentina in Bordeaux ended in a brawl and a red card for midfielder Enzo Millot.

Hosts France knocked out Argentina on Friday to avenge the country's defeat in the last World Cup final in a bitter rivalry recently fuelled by a video of Argentine players directing chants labelled as racist at French players.

But the triumph, courtesy of a fifth-minute goal by Jean-Philippe Mateta, was tarnished moments after the final whistle when French celebrations in front of Argentine players led to a brief brawl in which Millot was shown a red card. (Reuters)

SAILING | Italy's Maggetti rallies to win gold in women's windsurfing

Italy's Marta Maggetti won Olympic gold in the women's windsurfing final on Saturday.

Israel's Sharon Kantor won silver and Britain's Emma Wilson landed bronze. (Reuters)

TENNIS | Australians Ebden and Peers win men's doubles gold

Australian duo Matthew Ebden and John Peers won the gold medal in the Olympic tennis men's doubles as they beat American pair Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram 6-7(6) 7-6(1) 10-8 on Saturday.

The bronze medal match will be between Americans Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul and Czech duo Tomas Machac and Adam Pavlasek later at Roland Garros. (Reuters)

SAILING | Israel's Reuveny wins gold in men's windsurfing final

Israel's Tom Reuveny won Olympic gold in the men's windsurfing final on Saturday.

Australia's Grae Morris won silver and Luuc van Opzeeland of the Netherlands landed bronze. (Reuters)

ARCHERY | South Korea's Lim wins gold in women's individual event

South Korea's Lim Sihyeon won gold in the women's individual archery event at the Paris Olympics on Saturday.

Korea's Nam Suhyeon took silver and France's Lisa Barbelin received the bronze medal. (Reuters)

ATHLETICS | Warner's quest to defend decathlon title over

Canadian Damian Warner's defence of his Olympic decathlon title came to a crashing halt on Saturday with a disastrous pole vault event.

The 34-year-old sat second behind Germany's Leo Neugebauer heading into the pole vault, which is the eighth of 10 events, but fouled on all three attempts at 4.60 metres, leaving him with zero points for that discipline.

Warner passed at four previous lower heights before his first attempt at 4.60.

Neugebauer, who has the world's best decathlon score this season, remains on pace for gold after safely clearing 4.70m on his second attempt in the pole vault which is still going on.

The decathlon wraps up with the javelin and 1,500 metres on Saturday. (Reuters)

EQUESTRIAN | Germany win dressage team gold ahead of Denmark and Britain

German riders Isabell Werth, Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and Frederic Wandres won Olympic team gold in dressage on Saturday, beating their main contenders Denmark and Britain in a closely fought battle.

Germany got a total score of 235.79 points, ahead of Denmark with 235.67 and Britain with 232.49. (Reuters)

JUDO | France's progress to mixed team final makes the stands shake

Individual champion Teddy Riner led France into the judo mixed team final at the Paris Olympics on Saturday, causing such excitement among the home crowd that officials at the venue had to ask fans to stop stamping their feet and making the stands shake.

The announcer at the Champs de Mars Arena asked spectators to stop celebrating France's progress by stamping their feet "for security reasons".

The temporary arena, which seats 6,900, erupted each time defending champions France advanced through the qualifiers, beating Israel in the round of 16, South Korea in the quarter-finals and Italy in the semi-finals.

Japan also advanced and two sides will face each other again in the final later on Saturday, three years after France beat Japan 4-1 in the gold-medal decider at the Tokyo Olympics. (Reuters)

GYMNASTICS | Philippines' Yulo wins men's floor exercise gold medal

The Philippines' Carlos Edriel Yulo won the gold medal in the men's gymnastics floor exercise at the Paris Olympics on Saturday.

Israel's Artem Dolgopyat won the silver medal and Britain's Jake Jarman took the bronze. (Reuters)

TABLE TENNIS | China's Chen wins women's singles gold, teammate Sun takes silver

China's Chen Meng won the gold medal in the women's table tennis singles final at the Paris Olympics on Saturday, with her teammate Sun Yingsha taking silver.

Japan's Hina Hayata secured bronze. (Reuters)

CYCLING | Evenepoel claims brilliant road double

Belgium's Remco Evenepoel claimed gold in the men's road race in dramatic fashion at the Olympics on Saturday to become the first male rider to achieve the double after also winning the time trial.

Evenepoel suffered a mechanical less than four kilometres from the finish, on the Carousel du Louvre, raising his arm for assistance before clapping and waving at his team to deliver a new bike in a scene of sheer panic.

The change was made swiftly, however, and he powered to the line after he had made the decisive move 15km from the finish, in the run-in to the second of three punishing ascents of the Butte Montmartre.

His brutal attack left Valentin Madouas, who was hovering 1:15 behind when Evenepoel's incident occurred, gasping for air but the Frenchman hung on to take silver after 273km.

Evenepoel raised his arm again in the final kilometre but this time it was a pre-celebration before stepping off his bike as he crossed the line for a photo with the Eiffel Tower in the background. (Reuters)

GYMNASTICS | Simone Biles soars to third gold medal with vault triumph

Simone Biles won the vault final on Saturday to clinch her third gold medal of the Paris Games, dominating the competition with her signature Biles II vault to beat Brazilian silver medallist Rebeca Andrade with American Jade Carey taking bronze.

Biles soared high into the air as she performed her explosive Yurchenko double pike for a massive score of 15.700.

The American also impressed with her second effort. She powered down the runway and launched into the Cheng vault, which incorporates a round-off, half-on entry with a one-and-a-half twisting flip to finish. She earned 14.900.

The 27-year-old claimed a comfortable victory at the Bercy Arena with an average of 15.300 points.

Biles arrived in Paris as the world's most decorated gymnast and she has reached new heights by claiming gold medals in all three women's events contested so far in Paris. She now has 10 Olympic medals overall, with seven of them being gold. (Reuters)

FOOTBALL | US women's team reach semis after 1-0 win over Japan in extra time

Four-time gold medallists United States reached the semi-finals of the Olympic women's football with a 1-0 win over Japan courtesy of a Trinity Rodman strike in extra time in Paris on Saturday.

A huge crowd at the Parc des Princes, with former Ballon d'Or winner Megan Rapinoe and rapper Snoop Dogg among those in the stands, witnessed a hard-fought contest in a long-established women's football rivalry.

Emma Hayes's side will next face the winner of the quarter-final between defending champions Canada and Germany in Marseille later on Saturday. (Reuters)

BOXING | Algeria's Khelif wins quarter-final to ensure medal amid gender row

Imane Khelif beat Hungary's Luca Anna Hamori by unanimous decision in a welterweight quarter-final fight at the Paris Games on Saturday to ensure Algeria's first Olympic boxing medal since 2000.

Khelif, a silver medallist at the 2022 worlds, and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting have been in the spotlight in recent days as part of a gender row that has dominated headlines and been the subject of much discussion on social media platforms.

Both boxers were disqualified at the 2023 World Championships in New Delhi after failing the International Boxing Association's (IBA) eligibility rules preventing athletes with male XY chromosomes competing in women's events.

The boxing tournament in Paris is being organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which stripped the IBA of international recognition in 2023 over governance and finance issues.

The IOC has said the women have every right to compete in Paris. (Reuters)

TENNIS | Zheng wins women's singles gold for China

China's Zheng Qinwen won the women's singles gold medal in the Olympic tennis competition on Saturday, beating Croatia's Donna Vekic in the final at Roland Garros.

Sixth seed Zheng produced a dominant display to win 6-2 6-3 on a packed Court Philippe Chatrier and become the first Chinese Olympic singles champion. (Reuters)

GYMNASTICS | Ireland's McClenaghan wins men's pommel horse gold medal

Rhys McClenaghan earned Ireland their first ever Olympic medal in gymnastics when he struck gold on the pommel horse with a smooth performance at the Paris Games on Saturday.

Nariman Kurbanov of Kazakhstan took silver, while Stephen Nedoroscik of the US captured bronze. (Reuters)

JUDO | Riner wins team event for French record-equalling fifth gold medal

Teddy Riner won the decisive bout to give France the judo mixed team title at the Paris Games on Saturday, earning a national record-equalling fifth Olympic gold medal.

He joined biathlete Martin Fourcade, who won his titles at the Sochi and Pyeongchang Winter Games in 2014 and 2018, at the top of the list of most decorated French Olympians.

Fencers Philippe Cattiau and Roger Ducret won fewer golds but had eight podium finishes in the 1920 and 30s. Riner and Fourcade have won seven medals each. (Reuters)

ATHLETICS | US pole vaulter Kendricks 'broken' from Tokyo Covid-19 saga

American pole vaulter Sam Kendricks said he is still "broken" from the positive Covid-19 test that shattered his Tokyo Olympic dreams three years ago, as he hopes to write a new story for himself at the Paris Games.

The Rio bronze medallist was one of the favourites in Tokyo after winning two world titles but was ruled out when he turned up a positive test for Covid-19, one of several athletes forced to withdraw under health protocols.

"It was a positive test (for Covid at Tokyo 2020) that sealed my fate, not that I was sick at all. I’m still broken because of it, and also damaged goods in the eyes of every brand," Kendricks told reporters on Saturday.

"I can’t go back and change it, and that is how sports are written."

Kendricks, 31, got through the opening stage of the pole vault competition with a leap of 5.75 metres on Saturday but nearly did not come to the Games.

He told reporters at the US trials he was considering staying home.

"The Olympics screwed me - everybody at Team USA left me behind," he said.

But Kendricks, who will bid for gold on Monday, was clearly inspired by the fans inside the Stade de France.

"There is no greater joy than being in the Olympic stadium and being welcomed in front of a crowd that is loving and supporting," he said. "I have missed it, I really have. I never want to be without it for any reason ever again." (Reuters)

BOXING | China's Yang progresses to final as Wu wins first medal of competition

The first medal of the boxing competition at the Paris Games was decided on Saturday after China's Yang Wenlu beat Wu Shih Yi to progress to the lightweight final, while the Taiwanese boxer took home the competition's first bronze medal.

Asian Games champion Yang put on a masterful display at the North Paris Arena to completely dismantle her opponent and score a unanimous win.

She next faces either defending champion Kellie Harrington of Ireland or Tokyo silver medallist Beatriz Ferreira of Brazil.

Yang's compatriot Wu Yu, the Asian Games and world champion, also won in the flyweight division, dispatching Thailand's Chuthamat Raksat with ease.

Earlier on Saturday, Philippines' Carlo Paalam, a silver medallist in Tokyo three years ago, was eliminated from the featherweight category by Australia's Charlie Senior after a split-decision win.

"This feels amazing. It’s a dream come true. I’m just grateful I could do it in front of all my fans and family who were here to support me," Senior said after assuring a medal for Australia.

"I thought I'd won. I knew the rounds were close and going into the third I knew it was all down to that round.

"But finishing the third I knew I could box cleaner, get out of the way and score the points. It’s not about hitting as hard as you can, it’s about boxing, getting it done and winning the fight."

Uzbek duo Abdumalik Khalokov (featherweight) and Asadkhuja Muydinkhujaev (welterweight) clinched 5-0 wins in their respective quarter-finals to progress to the last four and add two medals to the country's tally.

"Every sportsman has their goals. I achieved one of my dreams when I became the world champion," Muydinkhujaev said.

"It is also my dream to be an Olympic champion. My parents are praying for me to be an Olympic champion. And I will be one."  (Reuters)

ATHLETICS | Fraser-Pryce withdraws from 100m semis

Jamaican double champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce pulled out of the women's Olympic 100 metres semi-finals shortly before the first of three heats on Saturday.

Fraser-Pryce, competing at her fifth Games at the age of 37 and the winner of two golds, a silver and a bronze over 100m, had been due to run in the second heat but appeared as a "did not start" in the official start lists. (Reuters)

FENCING | Ukraine win gold in women's sabre team event

Ukraine won the gold medal in the Olympic women's sabre team fencing event in Paris on Saturday.

South Korea took silver and Japan claimed the bronze medal. (Reuters)

TENNIS | Croatia's Vekic calls silver medal 'incredible' after series of mishaps

Croatia's Donna Vekic had so many misadventures on her way to the Olympics, including "pain everywhere", a plane delay and illness, that she said walking away with the Olympic tennis women's singles silver medal on Saturday was "incredible".

The 21st-ranked Vekic, who reached the Wimbledon semi-finals, lost 6-2 6-3 to China's Zheng Qinwen in a tense final.

Vekic, who had knee surgery in 2021, was so disillusioned before this year's French Open that she nearly quit the sport and then considered pulling out of the Olympics.

"After the Wimbledon semi-finals, I had so much pain everywhere that I was debating going to the Olympics because I thought 'in these conditions, there is no way I can win a medal'," Vekic told reporters.

"I had pain in my arm, pain in my ankle. I was sick. Everything was happening all at once, and when we came here, first our flight was cancelled. We arrived late. Everything was going wrong," the 28-year-old Croat added.

"When we had our first practice, I told my coach I was coughing so bad I couldn't hit two shots in a row. One week later, we have a medal. So it's been absolutely, absolutely incredible," she said.

The motivation came from trying to get on the podium for her country, she said.

Zheng and Vekic were bidding to bring home their country's first tennis singles gold medal.

"When you play for your country, it's definitely a little bit more special. It's completely giving it 200 percent," Vekic said.

The Croat had lost in the singles third round in her first Olympic appearance in Tokyo. (Reuters)

SWIMMING | Milak wins men's 100 metres butterfly gold

Hungarian powerhouse Kristof Milak stormed to a second Olympic gold with victory in the men's 100 metres butterfly on Saturday, while adding to the silver medal he won in the 200m event at the Paris Games.

Three years after claiming the 200m gold at Tokyo, the 24-year-old secured the shorter of the two Olympic butterfly titles by touching the wall in 49.90, 0.09 seconds ahead of Canada's Olympic silver medallist Josh Liendo.

Bronze medallist Ilya Kharun also won a medal for Canada.

Now boasting four Olympic medals, Milak gave Hungary a second gold in the Paris meet following Hubert Kos's 200m backstroke title. (Reuters)

ATHLETICS | American Crouser wins shot put gold again

American Ryan Crouser became the first man to "three-peat" in the Olympic shot put on Saturday, adding another gold medal to his packed trophy cabinet with a mighty throw of 22.90 metres.

His compatriot Joe Kovacs won silver and Jamaica's Rajindra Campbell took bronze.

The world record holder battled with a nerve issue in his elbow this year but had no issues at the Stade de France as he produced his best throw of the season on his third attempt and clapped with satisfaction.

The win underlined the United States' total dominance of the event as they have now won 20 men's Olympic shot put gold medals. The next closest country is Poland with three. (Reuters)

ATHLETICS | Bol leads Dutch to mixed 4x400m relay glory

Femke Bol ran a stunning last lap to lead the Netherlands to victory in the Olympic 4x400 metres mixed relay on Saturday, crossing the line in a time of three minutes 7.43 seconds.

The United States, who set a world record in the heats, took the silver medal and Britain claimed the bronze. (Reuters)

SWIMMING | Sweden's Sjostrom sets 50m freestyle Olympic record in semis

Sweden's Sarah Sjostrom set an Olympic record in the 50 metres freestyle semi-finals at the Paris Games on Saturday, to add to the world mark that she set last year.

The silver medallist in 2021 had touched out in 23.85 seconds in the morning heats and then clocked 23.66 in her semi-final to smash the Olympic record of 23.81 set by Australia's Emma McKeon in Tokyo.

Sjostrom set the world record of 23.61 at the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, last year and that now looks under threat in Sunday's final in Paris. (Reuters)

Nishant Dev bows out after quarterfinal loss

Debutant Nishant Dev (71kg) bowed out of the Olympic Games following a heartbreaking defeat to Mexico's Marco Verde Alvarez in the men's 71kg quarterfinal here on Saturday.

The 23-year-old world championship bronze medallist Indian lost by a 1-4 split verdict to his second seed Mexican opponent in the quarterfinal at the North Paris Arena.

Nishant is the fifth Indian boxer to exit the Olympic Games. (PTI)

SWIMMING |McIntosh completes medley double with 200 gold

Canada's Summer McIntosh won the women's 200 metres individual medley on Saturday in an Olympic record time for her third swimming gold of the Paris Games and fourth medal overall.

Kate Douglass of the United States won the silver and Australian Kaylee McKeown the bronze after U.S. swimmer Alex Walsh was disqualified.

The gold completed a medley double for the 17-year-old McIntosh, who won the 400 IM last Monday. She also won the 200 butterfly on Thursday and took silver in the 400 freestyle on the opening Saturday.

Australia's Ella Ramsey did not start the final after the team reported she had tested positive for Covid. (Reuters)

ATHLETICS | Saint Lucia's Alfred wins 100 metres gold

Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia won the women's Olympic 100 metres gold medal on Saturday.

Sha'Carri Richardson of the United States took the silver and American Melissa Jefferson claimed bronze. (Reuters)

SWIMMING | Ledecky wins record-equalling ninth gold medal

Katie Ledecky won a record-equalling career ninth gold medal at the Paris Olympics by claiming an unprecedented fourth women's 800 metres freestyle title on Saturday.

The American great touched the wall in 8:11.04 at La Defense Arena, 1.25 seconds ahead of Australian silver medallist Ariarne Titmus.

Paige Madden took bronze for the United States.

Ledecky's ninth gold from four Games gives her a share of the all-time record for female Olympians with former Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina.

She also joined fellow American great Michael Phelps as the only swimmer to win four Olympic golds in the same event. (Reuters)

ATHLETICS | LaFond wins triple jump gold to bring Dominica first ever Olympic medal

Dominica's Thea LaFond won gold in the triple jump at the Paris Olympics, bringing the Caribbean island its first ever Olympic medal with a 15.02 metre jump on Saturday.

Jamaica's Shanieka Ricketts won silver and the United States' Jasmine Moore claimed bronze. (Reuters)