Olympics day 9 early wrap: Algeria’s Nemour makes history for Africa with gymnastics gold

There were more medals won in the early action of Sunday's day 9 at the Paris Olympics:

Gymnastics: Algeria's Nemour makes history for Africa with gold on asymmetric bars

Algeria's Kaylia Nemour became the first African gymnast to win an Olympic medal when she secured the gold with a breathtaking routine on the asymmetric bars at the Paris Games on Sunday that wowed the crowd in Bercy Arena.

The 17-year-old's fast-paced routine featuring a number of complex release-and-catch manoeuvres delighted the crowd who came to support a gymnast who had previously represented France.

Fans roared and jumped to their feet as soon as Nemour completed her dismount. She immediately broke down in tears as she handed Algeria their first medal of the Paris Olympics, with her performance scoring a staggering 15.700 points.

China's Qiu Qiyuan, the 2023 world champion, took silver after trailing Nemour by only 0.2 of a point. US gymnast Sunisa Lee claimed a second successive Olympic bronze on the apparatus with 14.800 points.

Nina Derwael of Belgium, the champion at the Tokyo Games, finished 0.034 of a point off the podium. 

Hockey: Spain upset defending champions Belgium, India beat Britain in shoot-out

Eighth-ranked Spain upset reigning champions Belgium 3-2 in the men's hockey quarterfinals at the Paris Olympics on Sunday as skipper Marc Miralles netted a crucial third goal with three minutes to go before the defence stifled an attempted comeback.

Earlier, India beat Britain 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw. Spain will face either Netherlands or Australia in the semis, while India will play Germany or Argentina.

Spain had not made it past the last eight since Beijing 2008, while Belgium reached the last two Olympic finals, with several of their players holding gold and silver medals from the Tokyo and Rio Games respectively.

Forward Jose Maria Basterra opened the scoring in the 40th minute by converting a goalkeeper deflection off a blistering pass from defender Jordi Bonastre but the lead did not last long as Belgium's Arthur de Sloover equalised a minute later.

Forward Marc Reyne put Spain back in front after 55 minutes with a strike from the field and Miralles stretched the lead before Alexander Hendrickx pulled a goal back.

“I think today is the best day of my life,” Basterra said.

“We had pointed to this day in our calendar, and now we are so happy. We have to enjoy today and tomorrow we will see (face) our opponents and we will see how to beat them.”

In the earlier game, India beat Britain after playing with 10 men for most of the match after a red card for a reckless high stick by defender Amit Rohidas in the 17th minute.

The final penalty score by substitute Raj Kumar Pal put the once dominant side in the semifinals for the second Olympics in a row, after they won bronze in Tokyo, as they look to recapture the gold medal that has eluded them since 1980.

Going a man down seemed to galvanise rather than discourage India and they pressed forward and forced a penalty corner five minutes later, with skipper Harmanpreet Singh capitalising on the chance to give India their only score.

Britain equalised through Lee Morton after 27 minutes but India held on to prevail in the shoot-out.

“We were pretty angry about the card, man,” Harmanpreet said. “Angry, but it is what it is. We can't run from that.

“We had to manage and the mindset was there. We needed to defend quicker and make sure the diagonal balls, the overhead balls should be in our hands.”

Table tennis: China's Fan wins men's singles gold, French teenager Lebrun takes bronze

China's Fan Zhendong beat Sweden's Truls Moregard in the Olympic men's table tennis singles final on Sunday to make up for the gold he missed out on three years ago in Tokyo.

Fan's 4-1 victory adds to China's gold-medal sweep in the sport so far at the Paris Olympics, after his teammates' triumphs in the women's singles and mixed doubles.

The nail-biting final seemed like it could go either way in the first three games. Moregard was proactive in his attacks from the beginning, consistently landing the ball at tricky angles that prevented Fan from using his forceful forehand.

World champion Fan, determined to contribute to China's gold dominance and win the title he lost to teammate Ma Long in Tokyo, lost the first game 11-7 but held his ground in the second and third games, winning both 11-9.

“He put a lot of pressure on me,” Fan said of Moregard. “Had I had one bad serve, today's outcome could be different.

“I can see I've grown and progressed with the confidence to deal with a situation like this,” added Fan, whose coach Wang Hao, twice an Olympic silver medallist himself, lifted him up high in celebration after the win.

Moregard, who came to Paris thinking his journey would finish in the second round but ended up being the runner-up, became the first Swede to get on to the Olympic podium since 2000, having knocked out Fan's teammate and world number one Wang Chuqin.

“He's just really showed he's the best player in the tournament”, Moregard said of Fan.

Fan, arguably possessing the best backhand in the world, faced a resilient Moregard who played with good variety. However, the Swede's inconsistent use of the chop block cost him valuable points and he lost the last two games 11-8.

In the bronze match, 17-year-old Lebrun beat Brazilian Hugo Calderano to win France's first table tennis medal since 2000 to delight the home nation.

He avenged the defeat suffered by his older brother, Alexis, who lost in the round of 16 to Calderano, by winning 4-0.

“It's incredible, this is the first time that I cry for joy. Normally, I'm not very emotional but it's true that it's a dream since I was a little boy. It's a moment I will remember my whole life,” said Lebrun, who danced in celebration with his brother and teammates. 

Archery: Kim completes South Korean titles sweep with individual men's gold

Kim Woo-jin completed a South Korean sweep of the Paris Olympic archery titles when he won the individual men's gold on Sunday in a shoot-off against American Brady Ellison.

South Korea cemented their status as archery supremos with their fifth Paris gold medal, adding to the women's individual title and the three team golds — in men's, women's and mixed.

Ellison had to settle for the silver in the individual men's event and South Korea's Lee Woo-seok won the bronze.

Kim and Ellison took turns winning the first four sets. With the fifth set at 4-4 the crowd were on the edge of their seats as the pair got perfect scores to force a shoot-off.

Both men fired their arrows into the middle of the target but Kim's was closer to the centre and won the gold.

The two archers, who have a long history of competing against each other, expressed their deep mutual respect.

“If (Lionel) Messi and (Cristiano) Ronaldo are the best in football, then maybe we are the duo in archery,” Kim said.