Countrywide celebration across India; Tokyo Olympic Village exults over victory
Indian hockey retrieved its glory and grandeur after 41 years when India’s men won a hard-fought battle for an Olympic bronze at the Tokyo Olympics. They beat Germany 5-4 in a nerve-wracking playoff Indeed, the see-saw battle had everyone on the edge of their seats right to the very end on Thursday.
What makes this achievement so stupendous is their physical toughness and mental resilience.
It has been a remarkably amazing bounce-back from a 1-7 defeat to Australia in the league phase and a 1-3 semi-final loss to Belgium – to finally the most India dramatic and historic win.
It has been a remarkably amazing bounce-back from a 1-7 defeat to Australia in the league phase and a 1-3 semi-final loss to Belgium – to finally the most India dramatic and historic win
An exultant chief coach, Australian Graham Reid says, India’s mental resilience was the key to the Tokyo journey. “The best is yet to come”.
Reid was all praise for forward Simranjeet Singh, who was in the original squad of 16. He went on to score twice for India.
This is India’s 12th Olympic medal in hockey, which is in itself a games record. But the most extraordinary fact about this match is that it is the first medal after India’s gold medal at the 1980 Moscow medal.
An exultant chief coach, Australian Graham Reid says, India’s mental resilience was the key to the Tokyo journey. “The best is yet to come”.
Skipper Manpreet Singh’s men have demonstrated with irrevocable finality that they can compete with the best on the world stage.
WRESTLING: Ravi Kumar Dahiya picked up a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympic, losing in the finals 7-4 to World Champion Zaur Uguev.
It was a keenly fought bout for the 23-year-old from the Sonepat district of Haryana in the 57kg freestyle wrestling.
After receiving the silver medal, Ravi expressed his disappointment. He said: “I didn’t get what I came for. After I qualified, my target was gold.”
Meanwhile, top-seeded woman wrestler Vinesh Phogat lost her 57 kg quarter-final bout to Belarusian Vanesa Kaladzinkaya by a fall.
This was Phogat’s second shot at an Olympic medal after Rio, where she had to pull out due to a knee injury.
BOXING: Lovelina Borgohain, Double World Championship bronze medallist, settles for a bronze at the Tokyo Olympic. Despite a spirited and gutsy performance, she lost 0-5 in her welterweight bout (69Kg) against an extremely aggressive fighter, Bulsenaz Surmeneli of Turkey in the women’s boxing semi-finals.
A bitterly disappointed Lovelina said: “I’ve just lost and I’m not really happy about it. I’ve had to be content with bronze medals throughout my career”.
Later sounding somewhat cheerful, the 23-year-old Arjuna awardee said: “However, a medal is a medal”.
Lovelina now becomes the third person to win an Olympic medal in boxing after Vijender Singh, and Mary Kom.
BADMINTON: India’s Badminton ‘Wonder Woman’ PV Sindhu and bronze medal winner at the Tokyo Olympics –her second consecutive Olympic medal after Rio – received a rousing and tumultuous welcome at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad, on Wednesday.
Telangana Sports Minister V. Srinivas Goud along with a large gathering of sports officials and admirer cheered and greeted and cheered Sindhu and her team – South Korean coach Park Tae-Sang, chief fitness trainer Srikanth Varma and physio Evangeline.
A beaming Sindhu thanked everyone for their love and support and said that nothing in the world compares with this feeling of coming home.
She particularly appreciated Coach Park’s dedication for being away from his family for more than a year so that he could completely focus on her training.
Later in the evening at a media press conference Sindhu said: “This is just the beginning. Many more laurels will follow. After a short break I will start my preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
She added: “Although my target was gold, getting a bronze does give me a special feeling, especially after how the Pandemic completely disrupted the whole world as well as all the tournament schedules”.
ATHLETICS: Twenty-three-old Asian Games Javelin champion Neeraj, marked his appearance in the Tokyo Olympics in style. His javelin throw of 86.65 m, far beyond the Olympic qualifying standard of 83.50 m, got him a direct entry in the final of the event at the Tokyo Games.
He is the first Indian javelin thrower to enter an Olympic final and the first to top in the qualification round.