Day 6 in Rio will see locals compete in swimming, sailing, hockey, basketball, water polo and rugby sevens

WHAT’S in store in Rio for you tonight and tomorrow? Well settle back and prepare to cheer on our athletes as they take to the water, the court, and rugby and hockey fields. Will more medals come our way?

Australia's Jake Lilley competes in the Finn Men sailing class on Marina da Gloria in Rio de Janeiro during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on August 9, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / WILLIAM WEST

AUSTRALIAN BOOMERS vs. USA — Thursday, 8am

THE Boomers will take on the toughest challenge in international basketball when they face the USA tomorrow morning.

But Australia will head into the clash with confidence, undefeated after two games, including victories over powerhouses Serbia in France.

But the USA have not lost an Olympic game since 2004 and boast a list of NBA superstars who will cause plenty of problems for the Boomers.

Chris Goulding. Pic: Michael Klein

Australia feature Brisbane athletes Chris Goulding, Brock Motum and Cameron Bairstow.

SAILING:

MATHEW Belcher and Will Ryan’s campaign to defend Australia’s 470 class sailing title from London in 2012 will start tomorrow morning.

The Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron (Manly) members will look to defend the title Belcher won with the now retired Malcolm Page for years ago. Ryan’s sister, Jamie, and sailing partner Carrie Smith will also be on the water tomorrow to start the women’s 470 event.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL — AUGUST 06: Mathew Belcher and Will Ryan of Australia in action on board their 470 class dinghy during training at Marina da Gloria on August 6, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

Bulimba resident and RQYS member Jake Lilley will look to improve on his 19th overall placing in race three and four of the Finn event tomorrow morning.

All three events will run from 2.05-4.20am (AEST)

Murrumba Downs resident and RQYS member Ashley Stoddart slipped back to 14th overall in the women’s laser radial event after day two of competition which will start at 2.15am tomorrow.

Australia's Jake Lilley competes in the Finn Men sailing class on Marina da Gloria in Rio de Janeiro during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on August 9, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / WILLIAM WEST

MEN’S RUGBY SEVENS:

A WIN is a must for the Australian men’s rugby sevens side when they take on South Africa in the early hours of Thursday morning.

The Aussies rebounded from an opening 31-14 loss to France by downing Spain 26-12 in their second group match this morning.

However, they need to win against South Africa to have any chance of progressing to the quarterfinals, with even a tight win not guaranteeing a spot in the last eight.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL — AUGUST 09: Terry Bouhraoua of France is tackled by James Stannard of Australia during the Men's Rugby Sevens Pool B match between Australia and France on Day 4 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at Deodoro Stadium on August 9, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Star playmaker Lewis Holland has been ruled out for the rest of the tournament for the Aussies after a hamstring tear — making life harder for Brisbane players James Stannard, Nick Malouf, Con Foley and the rest of the side against the World Series ranked number two South Africans at 12.30am AEST.

The quarterfinals will also be played Thursday morning, starting from 6am.

WATER POLO:

THE Australian men’s water polo team will look to take another step towards a place in the last eight when they take on Japan tonight.

The Sharks were defeated 8-7 by hosts Brazil in their opening pool game before finishing with a 9-9 draw against nine-time Olympic gold medallists Hungary in their second outing, courtesy of a John Cotterill goal with 26 seconds remaining.

Hungary's Denes Varga, right, takes a shot as Australia's Rhys Howden, left, defends during their men's water polo preliminary round match at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, Aug. 8, 2016. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

The draw placed Australia into fifth in their pool but they will want to go one step further against the Japanese tonight (10pm AEST) in their third of five group matches, with only the top four teams from each group progressing to the semi finals.

In a promising sign for the Sharks, Brisbane Barracudas and national team captain Rhys Howden challenged his team to be more physical after the loss to Brazil and they were just that against the Hungarians.

HOCKEY

AFTER dropping its opening two fixtures to Great Britain and USA, every game now shapes as must-win for a Hockeyroos side desperately out of form.

Without an Olympic medal since 2004, the Australians were expected to push hard to break the drought, but have struggled to find their groove in Rio.

A team including locals Madonna Blyth, Jodie Kenny, Gabi Nance and Karri McMahon will face India at midnight in a game the Hockeyroos cannot afford to lose.

With only the top two from each pool progressing to the semi finals, Australia will likely need to beat India, Argentina and Japan to make it out of the group stages.

Australia's Karri McMahon (L) controls the ball as the USA's Melissa Gonzalez chases during the womens's field hockey Australia vs. USA match of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Hockey Centre in Rio de Janeiro on August, 8 2016. / AFP PHOTO / MANAN VATSYAYANA

It is a similar story for the Kookaburras, who opened their campaign with a tight win over New Zealand before losses to Spain and Belgium.

Gold-medal favourites heading into the Games, they will face Great Britain at 9.30am on Thursday ahead of a final-round clash with host Brazil.

SWIMMING

THE moment every Australian swimming fan has been waiting for will arrive on Thursday morning when Commercial Swim Club’s Cate and Bronte Campbell launch their 100m freestyle assaults.

Cate, who set a new world record earlier this year with a blistering time of 52.06, will start in lane 4 of heat 5 at 2.14am, before little sister Bronte hits the water at 2.17am in heat 6.

Bronte, 22, is the second-fastest swimmer in the world this year after clocking 52.58 at nationals in April.

Australia's Cate Campbell and sister Bronte Campbell celebrate Gold Medal winning 4 x 100m relay team on Day 1 of the Swimming at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Picture. Phil Hillyard

If they progress as expected, they will swim the semi finals beginning at 11.12am, with the final at 12.18pm on Friday.

All eyes will also be on St Peters Western Swim Club’s Madeline Groves in the 200m butterfly final at 11.54am.

The 21-year-old is fastest qualifier for the final after winning the second semi final in a time of 2:05.66 — the fastest by an Australian at the Olympics.

“It’s very exciting going in fastest (but) a lane is a lane and I’m ready for a battle tomorrow night,” Groves said.

“My strength is definitely going out fast in the first 100 and trying to play a bit of ‘catch me if you can’.”

St Peters Western clubmate Mitch Larkin will be hoping to avenge his 100m backstroke disappointment when he competes in the 200m backstroke heats at 2.40am.

Fourth in the 100m event, he remains a strong medal contender for the 200m race, boasting the fastest time this year (1:53.90) and fourth-fastest of all time (1:53.17).

The semi finals begin at 11.28am.

Georgia Bohl (St Peters) and Taylor McKeown, from Bellmere, will square off in heat 3 of the women’s 200m breaststroke at 2.57am, with a spot in the semi finals, beginning at 12.11pm, on the line.

Australia's Georgia Bohl during the Women's 100m Breastroke Heats on Day 2 of the swimming at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Picture. Phil Hillyard

Bronte Barratt and Emma McKeon, both from St Peters, will attempt to get Australia’s quest for a 4x200m freestyle relay medal off to a good start when they swim in heat 1 at 3.31am.

The final is at 12.55pm.