It was two Olympics ago, back in 2012 that India had had a creditable showing at the Olympics with two silver medals and four bronze medals. This time around at the one-year-late 2020 Tokyo Olympics India bettered that by a gold medal. Neeraj Chopra won a gold medal at the javelin throw event to realise many dreams:
The first day of the Tokyo Olympics saw Mirabai Chanu winning a silver medal for weight lifting. The last day saw Neeraj Chopra winning a gold medal at javelin. This ended a decades-long wait for a podium finish for India in track and field athletics.
Milkha Singh, who recently passed away was one of India’s fastest athletes who missed a medal by a whisker. It was similar for P T Usha. The 4th place finishes of both are recompensed in some measure now – Usha herself called up to say thanks to Neeraj Chopra.
A lot!
The recent trend has been of politicians congratulating athletes by putting up pictures of themselves; trying to get credit and political mileage. Many of these images were circulating.
When women do well in sport, some men put up pictures of their athletic prowess along with them in the kitchen saying ‘marry her if she can do both’. Some decided that turn around was fair play.
The Indian women's hockey team reached the semifinals for the first time ever and they gave a good fight. This is the huge and positive takeaway, not that they lost 4-5.
When Ravi Kumar Dahiya reached the finals overcoming great odds including a biting opponent, he was assured at least a silver medal. Movingly, he dedicated this to healthcare professionals.
Deepak Punia also managed to reach the semifinal but couldn’t win a medal. However, another Punia did.
He was always a medal hope and he managed to win a bronze medal. Both Punias are from Jhajjar district of Haryana and products of the famed Chhatrasal Stadium in New Delhi.
Many commented on the remarkable similarity between Ravi Kumar Dahiya who won silver in the 57 kg category and Bajrang Punia who claimed bronze in the 65kg category.
With one gold medal, two silver medals and four bronze medals, this was India’s best-ever Olympic performance. The 2016 Olympics saw Indian athletes winning just one silver and one bronze.
It is well known that when Indian athletes earn international medals, they do this not because of but in spite of the system. They do so in spite of bureaucratic apathy and corruption, red tape, poor funding and abysmal sporting facilities. So yes, many Indians performed brilliantly well in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but so many more Indians could have as well, given the opportunity. Here's looking at Paris 2024!
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