The largest Australian Olympic Team to leave our shores will be in action from the tennis court to the swimming pool will medals up for grabs in Taekwondo, Shooting and Cycling.

Badminton

All four members of the Australian badminton team will take to the court at the Musashino Forest Sport Plaza. Victorian Gronya Somerville will be on double duty playing in the group play stage of both the Mixed and Women’s Doubles. Joining Somerville in the doubles, Simon Leung and Setyana Mapasa. Wendy Chen will make her second Olympic appearance in the Woman’s Singles. Australian badminton action begins at 12:40pm (AEST). 

Beach Volleyball

The Australian pairing of Chris McHugh and Damien Schumann will hit the sand in their Pool A match against world number one Norway at Shiokaze Park. Spain and the Russian Olympic Committee round out Pool A. McHugh and Schumann, both on Olmypic debut, will look to build upon the sustained success of Australian volleyballers at the Games. Australian Beach Volleyball action begins at 11:00pm (AEST).

Cycling

Fresh off the Tour de France, Richie Porte will lead teammates Luke Durbridge and Lucas Hamilton in the Men’s Road Race. Our riders will face the 244km course, including 4,865m of elevation, starting at Musashionomori Park and winding Past the picturesque Mt. Fuji. Australian cycling action begins at 12:00pm (AEST).

Equestrian

Mary Hanna, Simone Pearce and Kelly Layne are all in action on the first day in the Dressage events at Equestrian Park, the same venue to hold Equestrian at the Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games. Pearce, the youngest member of the Australian Equestrian team will make her debut on stallion Destano. Australian Equestrian action begins at 6:00pm (AEST).

Football

Fresh off their Wednesday night opening match victory over rival New Zealand, the Matildas will face Sweden at Saitama Stadium. Sweden comes into the Group G match with a fresh wave of confidence after downing the United States 3-0 at Tokyo Stadium. Australian Football action begins at 6:30pm (AEST).

Gymnastics

Tyson Bull will kick off Australia’s gymnastics competition at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre in a packed field of 98 gymnasts. Bull will look to secure his position in the top eight of his two apparatus, Horizontal Bar and Parallel Bars, to qualify for the individual apparatus finals. The Horizontal Bar specialist qualified for the Games after finishing 7th overall at the 2019 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. Australian gymnastics action begins at 3:30pm (AEST).

Hockey

The Kookaburras’ campaign to return to the Olympic podium begins with their Pool A match against host nation Japan at Oi Hockey Stadium. In their 26 meetings with Japan, the Kookaburras have come out on top a stunning 23 times. The number one ranked Aussies will no doubt look to improve that record to 24 wins in their 27th meetings. Australian Hockey action begins 10:30am (AEST).

Rowing

A large Australian rowing contingent will be taking to the water at Sea Forest Waterway. Aussie boats in the heats of the Men’s and Women’s Coxless Pair, Coxless Four, and Eight will all look to secure their position in the finals next week. Australian rowing action begins at 10:30am (AEST).

Shooting

Aussie shooters will have their eye on the podium at the Asaka Shooting Range in both the Women’s 10m Air Rifle and Men’s 10m Air Pistol. Daniel Repacholi headlines the three shooters in competition in his fifth Olympic Games appearance. Australian shooting action begins at 9:30am (AEST).

Softball

The Aussie Spirit are back in action as they face off against Canada in Yokohama. The Australians hold a record of one win and won loss from their first two matches on the Tokyo Games. Canada comes into the match with the same record. Australia Softball action begins at 11:00am (AEST).

Swimming

Heats will get underway at the Tokyo Aquatic Centre as the Australian Dolphins will look to put forward a show of dominance in the pool. Emma McKeon will take to the blocks in the Women’s 100m Butterfly with Matt Wilson diving into the Men’s 100m Breaststroke. Keep an eye out for the current world record holding Australians in the Women’s 100m Freestyle Relay. Australian Swimming action begins at 8:00pm (AEST).

Table Tennis

All six members of the Australian Table Tennis Team will be in action on the first day of competition. Leading the way, Jian Fang Lay will compete at her sixth Olympic Games. Heming Hu and Melissa Tapper will be the first Australian Table Tennis players to compete in the Mixed Doubles event, which makes its debut on the Table Tennis program in Tokyo. Australian action begins at 10:00am (AEST).

Taekwondo

Safwan Khalil will walk into competition and his third Olympic Games as the Taekwondo events commence at Makuhari Messe Event Hall. Khalil, who competes in the Men’s 58kg category, will come head-to-head with Thailand’s Ramnarong Sawekhiharee in his first bout in the round of 16. Australian Taekwondo action begins at 1:40pm (AEST).

Tennis

The Barty Party has come to Tokyo and the Ariake Tennis Park. Fresh off her Wimbledon victory Ash Barty will take to the court alongside Women’s Doubles partner Storm Sanders in their opening round match against Japan’s Nao Hibino and Makato Ninomiya. Australian Tennis action begins at 12:00pm (AEST).

Water Polo

The Australian Stingers will make history in their first Group A match against Canada at the Tatsumi Water Polo Centre with Bronwen Knox set to appear at her fourth Olympic Games. The 35-year-old Queenslander will become the first Australian female in the sport to do so. Leading the team will be three-time Olympian, and captain, Rowie Webster. Australian water polo action begins at 4:30pm (AEST).

Matthew Barnard