India has come a long way from competing at the Olympics for the first time during 1900 in Paris to now witnessing the Tokyo Olympics. Over the course of 100 years and more, India has won 35 medals at the Olympics, including two silver medals from Norman Pritchard, who was the first Asian to win a medal. In Tokyo Olympics, India finished at 48th on the medal tally. This is India's best-ever performance in Olympics since 1980; the Blue Army won 7 medals at the Tokyo 2020.
1 gold, 2 silver, 4 bronze - India produced its finest-ever medal haul and all-time best performance at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Here are the men and women in blue who made India proud and made us something to cheer about during this pandemic.
NEERAJ CHOPRA:
Neeraj Chopra ended India's 100-years wait for a medal in track and field events in Olympics after he came up with the best throw of 87.58m in the Tokyo Olympics 2020. The 23-year-old had kicked off the fourth-best gold-medal winning throw since 2000.
"I didn't think about gold, but to be honest, your world ranking doesn't matter once you reach Olympics. I used to believe that it's completely dependent upon what kind of a day you are having, and now I am even firmer in that belief," Neeraj said.
With his golden throw, millions of us became emotional on hearing the national anthem at the Olympics for the first time since Beijing 2008.
RAVI KUMAR DAHIYA
Ravi Kumar Dahiya is a 23-year-old wrestler from Nahri village in Sonipat, Haryana.
The Indian wrestled his heart out in the closing seconds but could not stop Zavur Uguev from achieving the rare honor of being a World and Olympic champion. He is only the fifth Indian wrestler after KD Jadhav, Sushil Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt, and Sakshi Malik to get a medal in Olympics. He bagged the silver medal in the final of men's 57kg freestyle category.
Before this medal in Tokyo, Ravi's biggest career achievement was a bronze medal at the World Championships in the same weight category (57kg) in 2019.
SAIKHOM MIRABAI CHANU
A confident smile never leaving her face, Mirabai Chanu ended India's two-decade-long wait for a weightlifting medal at the Olympics, clinching the 49kg category silver medal.
She had a disappointing show at the Rio Olympics, but she nicely silenced everyone by winning the gold in the 2017 World Championships and even at the Commonwealth Games afterward. In the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Mirabai lifted 170kg to win a silver. She then went on to win gold in the 2016 Senior Nationals...
Mirabai Chanu’s story is one of grit in the face of poverty, lack of any support over the years, and so much more.
MEN'S HOCKEY TEAM
Field hockey, a sport of which India has such a rich history and tradition. A sport that has given us 11 Olympic medals has reignited its love affair with India. The last time India had won a hockey medal at the Olympics was back in 1980. At Tokyo 2020, the 16-member Indian team was led by midfielder Manpreet Singh. It was a stunning victory for us, and this team holds the promise of many more wins to come.
LOVLINA BORGOHAIN
Even as big names fell, 23-year-old Lovlina Borgohain rose to bring home the country’s third boxing medal from the Olympics. From the remote Bara Mukhiya Village in Assam's to cornering glory at the Tokyo Olympics, it was a huge display of courage from her. The 23-year-old boxer bagged the bronze medal in the women's 69kg welter-weight category and made all of us proud.
PV SINDHU
BAJRANG PUNIA
Bajrang Punia is an Indian freestyle wrestler from Haryana who won the bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He defeated his opponent 8-0 in the play-off to secure his first Olympic medal. He had a knee injury going into the match, but his story tells another tale of courage and the proudness we all feel.
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