Paris Olympics 2024, Day 1: It was a wonderful day for Indian fans across many sporting events at the Paris Olympics 2024, as Team India won convincingly in badminton, boxing, shooting, and hockey. Manu Bhaker became the country’s first shooter to qualify for the final, shooting in the Women’s 10m Air Pistol Event.

Manu Bhaker qualifies for the 10m Air pistol finals 🥳🎉

The 22-year-old finished 3rd in the qualifiers with a tally of 580 points 🔥#OlympicsonJioCinema #OlympicsonSports18 #JioCinemaSports #Cheer4Bharat #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/HoVBNpRgLD

— JioCinema (@JioCinema) July 27, 2024

India showed their dominance in badminton as well, with Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy winning in consecutive games to begin their group campaign on a high note.

🚨 Badminton – @satwiksairaj and @Shettychirag04 register a comfortable win in the first group stage match 👏🏽👏🏽 pic.twitter.com/Eb4usRfQxE

— Team India (@WeAreTeamIndia) July 27, 2024

On the first day of the group stage, hockey provided a tonne of entertainment as India pulled off a thrilling 3-2 victory over New Zealand to begin their campaign.

Congratulations #TeamIndia for the fantastic victory against New Zealand. Your hard work, dedication, and skill on the field have truly paid off.

Keep up the great momentum as you continue to make us proud.

#TeamIndia #OlympicHockey #proudmoment @TheHockeyIndia #Paris24… pic.twitter.com/ZQ2ChDUe7z

— Dilip Kumar Tirkey (@DilipTirkey) July 27, 2024

Preeti Pawar dominated her opponents in boxing, advancing to the Round of 16 following an overwhelming win in the Round of 32 on Saturday.

Punching her way into the next round! 🥊
Preeti advances into the next round after a convincing 5-0 win in the Women’s 54kgs Boxing Round of 32. 💪🏼#JeetKiAur #Cheer4Bharat pic.twitter.com/HTj5XfyVOe

— Team India (@WeAreTeamIndia) July 27, 2024

Here is the complete list of results of Team India on Day 1 of the Paris Olympics 2024:

Also Read: Huang Yuting’s Journey From A Young Athlete To An Olympic Champion

Former Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid joined the Indian cricket team as head coach in November 2021. His tenure will end with the closure of the T20 World Cup 2024.

As Dravid’s stint is set to end as India’s head coach, let us have a look at his achievements in office:

India’s Unbeaten Run In 2023 World Cup

The Indian Cricket Team had a dream run in the World Cup 2023 up until the final when they lost to Australia. The Rohit Sharma-led team remained unbeaten for 10 matches prior to the finale.

It was arguably one of the finest shows of dominance by the Indian team in recent years. Although India was deprived of the coveted ICC trophy, one could not ignore the control the team displayed throughout the tournament.

Asia Cup Victory

Team India won the 2023 Asia Cup in Sri Lanka under Dravid. India brought home a trophy after five years. With this they lifted their 8th Asia Cup title.

After a disappointing campaign at the 2022 Asia Cup, Dravid’s men went for a course correction and continued their brilliance till the 2023 World Cup.

Maiden Test Win in Cape Town

What Gaba was to Ravi Shastri, Cape Town is to Rahul Dravid. India under Dravid scripted history by winning its maiden Test at Cape Town. Indian batters showed grit to record a thumping win against host South Africa.

Also Read: India’s New Head Coach: The Race to Replace Dravid

Rahul Dravid’s Coaching Report Card

While these are some of the memories Rahul Dravid would leave behind, let us analyze as to how he fared as a coach in all the three formats of the game for India.

Test Matches

Under Dravid, India won 14 of the 27 Test matches they played while losing seven of them. They won six Test series including the home ones against Australia and England.

India reached the final of the ICC World Test Championship in 2023. However, they lost to Australia at The Oval.

India are currently ranked no. 2 in the ICC Test ranking.

One Day Internationals

A staggering 3-0 home series win against West Indies spelled a new chapter in the Indian cricket landscape. They defeated England in 2022.

India won 10 out of 13 bilateral series under the Dravid-Rohit combination. The team emerged victorious in 41 of 56 ODI matches.

Team India is currently ranked No. 1 in ICC ODI ranking.

Also Read: “We are not forcing him…” Indian Cricket Team Coach Rahul Dravid’s Blunt Message to Ishan Kishan

T20 Internationals

Under Dravid’s coaching India emerged victorious in 14 of the 17 bilateral series. The away series win against England and New Zealand in 2022 and the home win against Australia in 2023 are the remarkable ones.

India is presently the undisputed World No.1 in T20 Internationals. They have a win-loss ratio of 2.82, well above Australia who is at distant second with 1.75.

In a major development, Aditya Birla Capital Limited has entered into a partnership with the Indian Olympic Association as the official sponsor of Team India going for the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024.

With this, the Aditya Birla Capital plans to launch a comprehensive marketing campaign showcasing some of India’s top athletes. This campaign by Aditya Birla Capital will highlight the stories of remarkable athletic achievements, their journey to moments of national pride, and resilience in overcoming difficulties. They will utilize platforms like digital, OTT, print, outdoor, and social media for their campaign.

Additionally, the campaign will incorporate brand activations aimed at fostering nationwide support for the Indian Olympic team.

Speaking about the partnership, the CEO of Aditya Birla Capital – Vishakha Mulye said:

“The beauty of sports lies in its power to transcend boundaries, unite people, and demonstrate the extraordinary limits of human potential and resilience. The Olympics is one of the greatest sporting events across the world. We are excited to partner with the IOA and show our support for the Indian contingent at the Paris Olympics. We are proud to support our athletes in their journey to athletic excellence and wish Team India all the very best for an incredible performance at the Paris Olympics.”

Expressing gratitude, IOA president PT Usha stated, Dr. P.T. Usha, said:

“We extend our sincere gratitude to Aditya Birla Capital for their support and belief in the potential of Indian athletes and in the shared commitment to nurturing sporting talent and cultivating role models for India. The growing support from brands and corporate India who understand the pivotal role sports play in our nation’s development, is truly heartening and encouraging at the same time. We look forward to further strengthening our association, as we strive to achieve our collective goals in the journey ahead.”

This partnership underscores Aditya Birla Capital’s dedication to empowering individuals and communities, aligning with its core value proposition of ‘Enriching Lives. Winning as One’.

As India takes on Ireland in its first group match of the ICC T20 World Cup being held in the USA and the West Indies, the buzz that is doing rounds is who should be the wicketkeeper-batsman to be included in the playing 11. India has options in Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson, both of who have had a remarkable stint in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL).

Pant played some dashing innings in the IPL for Delhi Capitals scoring 446 runs at the strike rate of 155.50 and an average of 40.54 in 13 matches.

On the other hand, Samson, who was the fifth highest run scorer in IPL 2024, smashed 532 runs, with an average of 48 at the strike rate of 153.46 in 16 games.

However, their T20 campaigns in Indian jerseys have been far from splendid. While Pant has an average of 22.43 in 66 matches for India, Samson sits at a dismal 19 in 25 games.

After the warm-up game against Bangladesh, in which both Pant and Sanju took to the pitch, many felt Pant should be the first choice. He scored 53 (32) before getting retired-out. While Sanju did keep the wickets in that match, he scored only a single in the 6 balls he faced.

Also Read: Check List: Most T20 centuries by these cricketers 

Speaking after the warm-up game, former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar remarked that Pant has an edge over Samson for his wicket-keeping mettle. He said that it was not just about the batting but also wicket-keeping and Pant was a better wicketkeeper.

I think simply because if you compare the wicket-keeping abilities then Rishabh Pant is a better wicket keeper than Samson. We’re not talking about batting here, the batting aspect also comes into play. But, Rishabh Pant in the last few matches has batted really well. On the other hand, Sanju Samson started the IPL season superbly, scored runs at will, hitting the ball to all corners of the ground,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.

Also Read: Check List: Top 10 most expensive bats

Both Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson have been included in the Indian cricket squad for a big stage after a long time. While Pant returns to the global stage after over more than a year of recovering from a deadly road accident, Samson took a flight for an ICC World Cup tournament for the first time.

India hasn’t brought home an ICC trophy since 2013 when they won the Champions Trophy. And after coming so close to winning the 2023 World Cup, Team India is on a mission to win the coveted silverware. And to this end, the playing 11 must be selected with utmost care and some bold decisions need to be taken by the captain and the coach.  

India has been bracketed alongside Ireland, the USA, Canada and Pakistan in Group A. India will clash with arch-rival Pakistan on June 09 in its second group match.