The 2020 Olympics concluded as the most successful games in India’s 120-year history in the competition. India registered its best-ever Olympic medal tally at Tokyo 2020 with 7 medals in the bag including one gold, two silvers, and four bronze. Let’s have a look at the top five Indian performers at the Olympics.
1. PV SINDHU
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A medal in badminton is something India is getting used to and a lot of that credit goes to India’s badminton ace PV Sindhu who brought home another Olympic medal for India in the women’s singles event. Sindhu won the bronze medal after defeating China’s He Bing Jiao 21-13, 21-15 and after bringing home Silver from Rio five years earlier, the 26-year-old became the first Indian woman to win two individual Olympic medals.
2. LOVLINA BORGOHAIN
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Vijender Singh and Mary Kom had already left a mark in the world of Boxing at the Olympics when they won bronze at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic games respectively, but at Tokyo 2020, a new gritty fighter emerged onto the boxing scene. Lovlina Borgohain won India’s third Olympic medal in boxing after securing the bronze in the Women’s Welterweight division with her victory over 2018 World Champion Chen Nien-Chin in the quarterfinals and already has her sights set on greater things at Paris in 2024.
3. RAVI DAHIYA
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Speaking of dramatic turnarounds in the Tokyo Olympics, one needs to mention Indian wrestler Ravi Dahiya who produced an inspiring comeback in the semi-finals of the Men’s freestyle 57kg category. With 90 seconds left in the semi-final, Dahiya was trailing 1-9 on points but the 23-year-old kept pushing and produced a sensational move to pin Kazakh wrestler Nurislam Sanayev to move to the final. After this stunning comeback, Ravi Dahiya lost the final to reigning world champion Zavur Uguev but the Haryana native made the nation proud after becoming only the 2nd Indian wrestler after Sushil Kumar to win silver at the Olympics.
4. MIRABAI CHANU
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Saikom Mirabai Chanu lived up to the nation’s expectations and kicked off India’s 2020 Olympic campaign with a bang after winning a silver medal in the Women’s 49kg weightlifting category with her total lift of 202kg. Chanu ended India’s 21-year wait for an Olympic medal in Weightlifting and the 27-year-old broke an Olympic record with her successful 115 kg lift in the clean and jerk segment.
5. NEERAJ CHOPRA
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The man with the golden arm, Neeraj Chopra, made history at Tokyo 2020 after securing the Gold Medal in the Men’s Javelin Throw with his 87.58m throw in the final. The 23-year-old from Panipat is only the 2nd Indian to win an individual Olympic Gold Medal after Abhinav Bindra in Beijing 2008 and is now also the only Indian athlete in history to win a medal and of course be an Olympic Champion in a track and field event.
6. INDIAN HOCKEY
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India’s women’s hockey team finished 12th out of 12 sides at the Rio Olympics in 2016 and lost 1-6 to Australia. Four years later with Australia still topping their group, India put away the horrors of Rio Olympics 2016 as the girls pulled off the unthinkable with Gurjit slotting home and Savita between the posts making 9 saves to hold off the Aussie charge. Unfortunately, the girls lost their Semi-Final and returned without a medal but they also won millions of hearts and revived the spirit of Hockey in India.
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The Men meanwhile were just as special. Manpreet’s men made it to an Olympic semi-final and then came back from behind to beat Germany and win an Olympic medal for the first time in 41 years. The last time India’s Hockey team won a medal was way back in 1980 at the Moscow Olympics!
[Image Credit: Ravi Shastri]
Shashank Iyer