At first, she didn’t know what was happening, not even the fact that she had struck silver. With her unassuming grace and Manipuri charm, she told reporters shyly: “I didn’t even think I had won a silver medal.
PRAVASISAMWAD.COM
The first two days of the Tokyo Olympics – July 24 and 25 = may be counted as days of mixed fortunes.
On the first day of the Olympics (Saturday, July 24), India picked up its first medal of the Games. It was truly in every sense of the word, a ‘silver lining’ for the country when Mirabai Chanu (26) picked up a silver medal in weightlifting (Snatch Category), with lifts of 84 and 87 Kgs. She failed in her third lift of 97 kg, which could’ve been a personal best.
Nevertheless, her two lifts were enough to assure her a podium finish – and an Olympic silver medal. Mirabai was jubilant when she learnt what her performance had earned her – a place for posterity in Olympic history.
She becomes the first Indian lifter to win a silver medal at the Games and the second to win an Olympic medal after Karnam Malleshwari (Andhra Pradesh), who won a bronze medal at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. With her victory, Karnam completely changed the landscape for women lifters in India.
At first, she didn’t know what was happening, not even the fact that she had struck silver. With her unassuming grace and Manipuri charm, she told reporters shyly: “I didn’t even think I had won a silver medal. I just finished my lifts and was walking away. It was only when I heard my name over the public address system, did I know that something had happened. But I still couldn’t believe my ears even after hearing the announcement and even after the silver medal was placed around my neck. It’s so incredible; it’s a dream come true”!
Among her many awards are the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian honour.
Chinese lifter Hou Zhihui won the gold with a
new Olympic record of 94kg
The next day (Sunday), Manika Batra played a fast and hard-hitting game to breeze into the third round of the Women’s Single Table Tennis. She beat 20th seeded Ukrainian Mararyta Pesotska and who ranks 43 places above her, 4-11, 4-11, 11-7, 12-10, 8-11, 11-5 and 11-7.
Her steely grit and fighting tenacity were very much in evidence when she bounced back after losing the first two games to convincingly win the next two games, then lose the next game and finally clinch the contest with her last two games.
On the badminton court, PV Sindhu made short work of the group J match with Israeli opponent Ksenia Polikarpova. In her opening round, group J match , she beat her opponent in 29 minutes. Sindhu is a silver medallist from the 2016 Olympic Games at Rio De Janeiro.
In matters of commercial endorsements, she is ranked 2nd after Virat Kohli. She is also the recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award and the Padma Shri. Earlier she was also awarded the Padma Vibhushan.
But the worst heartbreak of the day (Sunday), was the dismal performance of the Indian Hockey team (men) in their Pool A match. They were simply steamrollered and wiped out by an attacking Australian side 7-1.
In the boxing ring, Mary held her ground against a gutsy fighter 15 years younger than her. The bronze medalist from the 2012 London Olympic beat back a strong challenge from Dominican Republic contender Miguliena Garcia to record a 4-1 win.
With this victory, Mary Kom has moved into the women’s 51 kg pre-quarterfinal round.
But dark clouds soon cast a gloom over India’s hopes. Like they say: After the sunshine comes the clouds and the rain.
In their first-round match (Sunday), Sania Mirza and Ankita Raina were completely overwhelmed by Ukrainian pair of Lyudmila and Nadia Victorivna Kichenok. 0-6, 7-6 and 10-8 in one hour and 33 minutes.
Nineteen-year-old Manu Bhaker became the victim of a freak accident and was unable to qualify for the finals of the 10 metere air pistol event. She was doing fine but in the second round, the cocking device of the gun’s trigger completely shattered the chances of a heartbroken Manu.
The worst heartbreak of the day (Sunday), was the dismal performance of the Indian Hockey team (men) in their Pool A match. They were simply steamrollered and wiped out by an attacking Australian side 7-1.