Yesterday, PV Sindhu scripted history by becoming country’s first shuttler to hand India an Olympic silver medal on Friday. The only drawback is Sindhu is an exception rather than the rule for not even Sakshi Malik, the wrestler who won bronze in another breakthrough achievement, is a talent that has gone on to shine because of the system.
Advertisement
World no. 1 tennis player, Sania Mirza also came very near bagging her first Olympic medal as she and Rohan Bopanna lost to American pair of Venus Williams and Rajeev Ram.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday congratulated the Indian contingent, which participated in the Rio Olympics, and expressed gratitude to Brazil for hosting people from across the world and organising “a memorable Olympic Games”. Gagan Narang was another shooter who is as experienced as Bindra given their similar age and participations at the Games.
Nehwal, who played with a knee injury throughout Rio Olympics, made a shocking group stage exit after suffering straight-game defeat at the hands of Ukrain’s Marija Ulitina.
Jitu Rai was one of the most impressive debutants for the nation in Rio, the shooter qualified for the final round of his 10m air pistol event however he saw himself finish at the 8 and last spot in the finals.
An 18-year-old golfer Aditi Ashok slipped away from being in top-10 at the end of second round to finish 41st with an overall score of seven-over 291. They should learn something about sportsmanship from our athletes.
Among other countries, Team USA topped the Medals Tally with 121 medals followed by Great Britain (67) and China (70).
Two personalities stood out at Rio: US swimmer Michael Phelps and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt.
“But we need to start preparing for Tokyo 2020 from now and I am expecting over 200 athletes to qualify from India in the next Olympics”, he added.
Advertisement
Sports, though, is about contexts, and the two medals we did get were in absolutely breathtaking fashion, won by two young Olympians who are ready to become the faces of Indian sports in the years to come.
