Gulte Special: India’s glorious run at Tokyo Olympics!

The historic Tokyo Olympics 2020 will be concluded today. The Indian contingent has completed its campaign as well and it has been by far the best Olympic campaign of the country.

India has won seven medals, which is the personal highest total in any Olympics we have participated in. Our previous highest total was six medals, which we won in the 2012 London Olympics.

This time, the victory is even sweeter as we won a gold medal as well. Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian athlete to win a medal and that too gold in track and field sports.

Ravi Kumar Dahiya and Meerabai Chanu won the Silver for the country.

PV Sindhu, Bajrang Punia, Lovlina Borgohain, and Indian Men’s Hockey team have bagged the bronze medals.

Neeraj Chopra:

There were a lot of hopes for this star athlete before the start of the Olympics. His previous records are the reason for those expectations. The 23-year-old Neeraj won a gold medal in Javelin Throw in World Junior Championships, Asian Games, Common Wealth Games, and South Asian Championships, before entering his first Olympics this year. Realizing the expectations, he now grabbed the gold medal in the Olympics as well.

Mirabai Chanu:

India had never won a medal on the first day of the Olympics before. The dream has been fulfilled in this edition, all thanks to weightlifter Mirabai Chanu who grabbed a Silver medal on the first day of the Olympics. She is the second Indian woman weightlifter who got an Olympic Medal. Karnam Malleshwari is the first one to achieve the feat.

Ravi Kumar Dahiya:

The star wrestler has been dominant throughout his campaign. But unfortunately, he had to bow down to a better opponent in the finals. However, he continued India’s tradition of winning a medal in wrestling.

PV Sindhu:

Sindhu won a Silver medal in Rio Olympics 2016. There were heavy expectations on her to win Gold this year. However, she lost to a better opponent in the semifinals. Sindhu then came back stronger in the bronze medal match and won it with a dominating performance.

Bajrang Punia:

Another wrestler who started his campaign with many expectations surrounding him is Bajrang Punia. Bajrang’s performance was not up to the mark in the semifinals which resulted in a defeat. However, he fought back hard and achieved a dominating win in the bronze medal match. Thus, India got its second medal in wrestling.

Lovlina Borgohain:

An underdog who started her campaign with no expectations. But the 23-year-old Assamese boxer stunned everyone by qualifying for the semifinals with dominating victories. Alas, she lost in the semis and ended her campaign with a bronze.

Indian Men’s Hockey Team:

Indian Hockey team used to be the most dominating team at the Olympics until the 1970s. However, we haven’t won a single Olympic medal in the same sport for the last four decades. Now, history has been rewritten by the present Hockey players who paved a path for Hockey’s new glory in India.

Not only the players who won medals but the players who haven’t won medals had also won our hearts with their gutsy performances.

Aditi Ashok, who is the 200th ranked golfer, remained in the fourth position and missed a podium finish by a whisker.

The same is the case with the Indian Women’s Hockey team who lost in the semifinals. India has also shined in the relay race and fencing.

All these performances gave us a ray of hope for our future in the Olympics. It encourages the youngsters to pick up various sports, apart from cricket. It encourages parents and teachers to nurture children in whatever sport they want to play.

Olympics is not just about medals. It is about building the next generation. With India shining in multiple sports, our future is definitely brighter.

Chak De India!