New Delhi: It started with a bang, tapered off in the middle and then ended spectacularly. India were quite literally on a roller-coaster during the Tokyo Olympics.
So, there was the first medal in track-and-field which also happened to be the first gold in 13 years. There was the first medal in hockey in 41 years, the first silver in weightlifting, the first boxing medal in nine years, the first woman with two Olympic medals, the most number of debutants ending up on the podium, and the most number of medals ever won. It all happened in one single Olympics for India.
Mighty impressive? No, it was way more than that.
India’s campaign at the Olympic Games was as much a story of human resilience as of sporting excellence and it came to the fore on the opening day of competitions itself starting with Mirabai Chanu.
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The Manipuri weightlifter stands a mere 4’11” but lifted 202kg (87+115) to fetch a silver and put India on the medals tally, showing the world why size doesn’t and shouldn’t matter.
In her moment of glory, the phenomenal weightlifter was a personification of perseverance. She had left the same stage in tears and dejection five years ago, failing to log a single legal lift. And there she was smiling ear to ear on July 24 becoming India’s first silver-medallist in weightlifting.
It was just the kind of start that the country needed but what followed was a lull simply because the shooting contingent failed to live up to expectations.
But along came PV Sindhu and put things back on track with her bronze. While she was at it, the two hockey teams also showed stomach for fight after early setbacks.
And in the boxing ring, an heir apparent to the iconic MC Mary Kom began to take shape in Lovlina Borgohain (69kg). The 23-year-old from Assam ended with a bronze on August 4 as women got down to the task of rebuilding momentum in the Indian camp. And it worked out quite spectacularly.
The very next day, Ravi Dahiya became only the second Indian wrestler to clinch a silver at the Games but the first to do so on debut. Hours before that came the long-awaited hockey medal, a bronze worth its weight and wait in gold.
There were tears, joy, nostalgia and above all a sense of renewed pride because hockey was India’s sport before it declined and cricket took over the mind space.
The stage seemed set for a grand finale and it was with Neeraj Chopra’s javelin striking gold that was the icing on the cake. Bajrang Punia’s resolve paid off for him with a bronze on the wrestling mat as the debutant grudgingly accepted the medal after falling out of the expected gold medal contention.
Then there were those who were hit by the curse of the fourth-place finish. Their agony was a story in itself as golfer Aditi Ashok and the women’s hockey team ended within touching distance of the podium but not quite there.
But they proved that one could bank on them in Paris.