Revisiting India’s most successful Olympic Games campaign-Tokyo 2020
A good number of Indian athletes qualified for the Tokyo 2020, and they didn’t disappoint. Despite blank in shooting and archery, the majority of the other athletes played up to their reputation and brought medals. In addition, Indian women’s hockey team, Aditi Ashok, Fouaad Mirza, Bhavani Devi given neck to neck performance with the podium holders.
In the best of times, it takes the struggle of a lifetime to deliver the grail of an Olympic medal. As India over casted under the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. And yet, the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 conclude as the most successful in India’s 120-year history of competition.
- Neeraj Chopra didn’t compete on the international stage, between January 2020 and June 2021.
- Saikhom Mirabai Chanu went without competition from December 2019 to April 2021.
- Lovlina Borgohain used the money of Arjuna Award for the treatment of her mother’s kidney ailment.
- Bajrang Punia had to forfeit a match a month ago after injuring his knee, which would remain strapped through most of his contests in Tokyo.
- The Indian men’s hockey team had spent most of the last one and a half years locked down at a national training center in Bengaluru.
These seventeen champions have travelled far and wide to make that happen:
India’s most successful Olympic Games ever.
This is their stories to inspire the people in coming years.
Medal #1: Mirabai Chanu
Silver, women’s 49 kg weightlifting
For the first time ever, India won a medal on day one of an Olympic Games. It came from Mirabai Chanu – who scripted a remarkable redemption from Rio 2016.
Five years ago, on her Olympic debut, Mirabai stepped up for her last attempt (a 106 kg clean and jerk lift) with a bronze medal in sight – but couldn’t complete what was a regulation lift for her.
The journey towards mending a broken dream – and heart – began right away. Before the end of 2017, she was a world champion; one year later, she was a Commonwealth Games gold medalist.
Having established herself as one of the world’s top-five weightlifters in her 49 kg category, Mirabai entered Tokyo 2020 ranked third in the world, and as a genuine medal contender. She didn’t disappoint.
With an 87 kg lift in the snatch, and a 115 kg lift in the clean and jerk, she made the silver medal.
Medal #2: PV Sindhu
Bronze, women’s singles badminton
PV Sindhu’s bid to better, or match, her Rio 2016 silver was halted by silver medalist Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei in the semifinals. But that did not stop India’s serial winner from adding a historic second Olympic medal to her burgeoning trophy cabinet.
Shunning the disappointment of the defeat from 24 hours earlier, Sindhu secured the bronze medal with a 21-13, 21-15 win against HE Bing Jiao of the People’s Republic of China.
It gave her the distinction of becoming the only Indian female athlete to win multiple Olympic medals, and only the second Indian – female or male – to medal twice in individual events at the Olympic Games.
The 26-year-old has now won a combined seven medals at the Olympics and the world championships since 2013.
Medal #3: Lovlina Borgohain
Bronze, Boxing
Lovlina Borgohain wasn’t the most spoken about name in the nine-member Indian boxing contingent that made the trip to Tokyo.
But the 23-year-old welterweight boxer wasn’t short on credentials: she had medaled at the last two world championships, as well as at two Asian championships, including the most recent edition earlier this year.
At Tokyo 2020, she would emulate her and her country’s icon – joining Mary Kom as India’s second female boxer to win an Olympic medal.
Hard facts: Glory at Olympic games wasn’t witness easily and quickly for Indian sports fan. If one grew up with stories of the glorious golden days in hockey, the recent times were filled with more heartbreaks. After 1980, India waited till 1996 for a medal. There was again a single bronze in 2000, while the quality changed to silver in 2004 but the quantity couldn’t. Beijing 2008 allowed one of the greatest moments in Indian sporting history when Abhinav Bindra won the first-ever individual Olympic Games gold medal for India. First time, India finished the Games with more than two medals. The improvement continued four years later in London, a campaign that gave Indian sports fans an unprecedented six medals to celebrate. |
Medal #4: Men’s Hockey Team
Bronze
A huge weight. A long wait. The wait ended in sensational style.
When India last won an Olympic medal in hockey, no member of their present team had been born.
The most successful nation in the history of the Olympic hockey competition had waited 41 years for a medal in the sport.
After being defeated 5-2 by Belgium in the semifinals, India’s medal hopes rested upon their bronze playoff against Germany. At 3-1 down with half-time approaching, the medal appeared to be eluding India again.
Four goals in the span of seven minutes, either side of the half-time hooter, and the dream was back on. The Germans – medalists at each of the last four editions of the Olympic Games – pulled one back at 5-4, and won a penalty corner with less than seven seconds left on the clock.
But goalkeeper PR Sreejesh stood his ground to deny an equalizer – and India had their 12th Olympic medal in men’s hockey.
Medal #5: Ravi Kumar Dahiya
Silver, men’s 57 kg wrestling
Speaking of dramatic turnarounds in medal-clinching contests…
With 90 seconds left to play in his semifinal clash with Nurislam Sanayev, Ravi Kumar Dahiya trailed 2-9.
The Kazakh wrestler, a medalist at the last two world championships, had the Indian right where we wanted him, on the mat. Or so he thought.
Dahiya – closed the gap to 5-9, and then turned things around – literally – to pin Sanayev and book himself a spot in the final.
But on his Olympic debut, Dahiya had become only the second Indian wrestler to win an Olympic silver medal.
Medal #6: Bajrang Punia
Bronze, men’s 65 kg wrestling
Bajrang Punia – named after the patron deity of ‘kushti’ in India – got himself a piece of the prize from the mat.
As the only Indian wrestler with three world championship medals to his name, Bajrang was a prime contender to be among the medals in Tokyo.
Bajrang up for a bronze medal match against Daulet Niyazbekov, the Kazakhstan grappler who he had lost to in the 2019 world championship semifinals.
Far from showing any of the lingering signs of worry from the first day of competition, the 27-year-old was at his dominant best in an 8-0 victory that delivered India its sixth wrestling medal at the Olympics since 2008.
India’s last act of Tokyo 2020; it made it India’s most successful Olympic Games ever.
Medal #7: Neeraj Chopra
Gold, men’s javelin throw
Medal number seven at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 was seventh sky for India.
Neeraj Chopra threw the javelin into the sky – and it sent a nation to the moon, as India won a gold medal at the Olympics for the first time.
Needed only a minute on his maiden Olympic outing to secure a spot in the final – which, in itself, was a first for India in this event – as he topped the qualification stage with his first throw of 86.65m.
In the final, Chopra was expected to be the closest challenger to the world-leading Johannes Vetter.
Chopra’s first attempt in the final was marked at 87.03m, and his second flew 87.58m long. It comfortably cleared the rest of the field.
It gave India only its second individual Olympic champion after Abhinav Bindra (2008, men’s air rifle 10m), and also ended a 121-year wait for an Olympic medal of any color in athletics.
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India at Tokyo 2020:Medal Tally
Below is the table which contains the sports, players, and medal type.
| Game | Athlete | Medal |
| Javelin throw | Neeraj Chopra | Gold |
| Wrestling (57 KG) | Ravi Kumar Dahiya | Silver |
| Weight Lifting (49 Kg Women) | Mirabai Chanu | Silver |
| Women’s Singles Badminton | PV Sindhu | Bronze |
| Women’s Welterweight Boxing | Lovlina Borgohain | Bronze |
| Hockey | Indian Hockey Team | Bronze |
| Wrestling (65 Kg) | Bajarang Punia | Bronze |
Things to know:
- 1st gold Medal in Olympic for India 2021 won by Neeraj Chopra in Men’s Javelin Throw at record 87.58 m in First Attempt.
- There is a total of 10 Gold Medals won by India so Far in Olympic Games History.
- India’s Neeraj Chopra became only the second individual Indian athlete after Abhinav Bindra to be crowned Olympic champion.
- Neeraj Chopra has created history by winning the first athletic medal for India in a century. Neeraj Chopra has won the Gold Medal at the Tokyo Olympics in the Javelin Throw event on Saturday. In doing so, he ended India’s century-long wait for an Olympic medal in athletics.
- The last Indian medal in athletics came in 1920.
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