Wrestler Sakshi Malik, who won India’s first medal in the Rio Olympics, was on Sunday announced as the country’s flagbearer at the Summer Games Closing Ceremony.
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Later, it was the mixed doubles pair of Sania and Bopanna who lifted India’s medal hopes before losing to the Czech duo of Radek Stepanek and Lucie Hradecka in the bronze play-off.
Sakshi started the account for us and later Sindhu became the first Indian woman to win a silver medal.
India’s Sakshi Malik became the first Indian female wrestler to win a medal at the Olympics when she took bronze in the 58 kg category.
But these two medals are just a small band-aid of consolation for a nation that is forced to come to terms with its physical weakness once every four years. If Sakshi epitomised the never-say-die spirit, Sindhu was all grit and determination as she felled higher-ranked rivals en route her final showdown with Spain’s world No 1 Carolina Marin.
Beyond the silver medal, a first for an Indian sportswoman, Sindhu’s sporting approach is indicative of her distinct sporting background with both parents being sportspeople.
Phelps, who retired after the 2012 Olympics before returning to the sport two years later, entered the Rio Games as the most decorated Olympian in history, with 22 medals, including 18 golds, and added five golds and a silver during eight days of competition.
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India’s Sakshi Malik fights against Valeria Koblova of Russian Federation during the quarterfinal match of Women’s freestyle 58 kg at Summer Olympics 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Aug. 17. Down 0-5 at half-way stage, Sakshi pulled off a heist in the final moments of her bronze-medal bout.
