It was a historic Sunday for India at Tokyo 2020, with first Sindhu and then the Manpreet Singh-led hockey team. Sindhu won bronze by defeating her Chinese opponent in straight sets. She made history by becoming the first Indian woman to win two Olympic medals, bringing India’s medal count at the Tokyo Games to three. For the first time since 1980, the hockey team made it to the semifinals by defeating Great Britain 3-1.
Officially, we are calling it Tokyo Olympics 2020, even though the prestigious event is happening this year. Due to the pandemic, the Olympic games was shifted to 2021!
With a silver medal in the women’s 49kg category, Mirabai Chanu became India’s first medalist at Tokyo 2020. It was India’s second Olympic weightlifting medal, following Karnam Malleswari’s bronze in Sydney in 2000.
Chanu had won silver in the women’s 48 kg weight class at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and then went on to win gold in the 2018 version of the event in Gold Coast, breaking the game’s record in the process. Her most outstanding achievement before the 2020 Summer Olympics was in 2017 when she won the gold medal at the World Weightlifting Championships in California.
For the Indian team, Tokyo seemed to be another forgettable Olympic Games performance.
Lovlina Borgohain had raised the country’s morale by ensuring herself of a bronze medal by Friday mid-day. For the tenacious combatant, the sky is the limit now. The odds were stacked firmly against Lovlina when she was pitted against Chen Nien-chin of Chinese Taipei, a previous world champion. But she demonstrated that boxing isn’t only about strength; it’s also about brains.
Also Read: Emerging & Thriving Career Opportunities in the Sports Industry
Dr. Harish Kumar, MBAESG Sports Management professor, opined that Lovlina Borgohain is a potential contender playing semifinals on August 4.
PV Sindhu, the Indian badminton queen, became the first Indian woman and only the second Indian athlete to win two individual Olympic medals, following Sushil Kumar.
PV Sindhu won the bronze medal in the women’s singles event, defeating China’s HHe Bing Jiao 21-13, 21-15.
It’s India’s third confirmed medal at Tokyo 2020, one more than one at Rio 2016.
Also Read: Incubating Leaders of Tomorrow: MBAESG India Student Innovator Series
The country erupted in joy as badminton ace P V Sindhu’s second Olympic medal has been hailed by the sporting community, with President Ram Nath Kovind praising her for “creating a new bar of consistency, dedication, and excellence.” Sindhu won bronze after a straight-game triumph over the world no. 9 on Sunday, becoming only the second Indian and first woman to win two Olympic medals. China’s He Bing Jiao won the third-place play-off in the women’s singles event in Tokyo.
On Sunday, the Indian men’s hockey team overcame Great Britain 3-1 in a quarterfinal match to reach the Olympics semifinals for the first time in 49 years.
Even though India’s last eight Olympic gold medals came in the 1980 Moscow Games, there were no semifinals in that edition because only six teams competed. India previously competed in the Olympics semifinals in 1972 at Munich, where they were defeated 0-2 by arch-rival Pakistan. On Tuesday, India will face world champions Belgium in the semifinals.
Also Read: 5 Social Media Growth-Hacks For Your Sports Brand
Harish says that the Indian men’s Hockey team are strong contenders at the Olympics! “They have about 66% chances of winning a medal,” he beams.
India’s Kamalpreet Kaur qualified for the women’s discus throw final with a solid performance on Saturday. With a throw of 64 meters, Kamalpreet was only the second of 31 athletes to qualify for the finals via automatic qualification. All discus players were given three attempts, and those who threw 64 meters or the best 12 in Group A and B advanced to the final. Apart from Kamalpreet, Valarie Allman of the United States broke the 64m barrier with a throw of 66.42m.
MC Mary Kom, a six-time world champion, criticized the International Olympic Committee’s Boxing Task Force on Thursday for “poor judgment” in her pre-quarterfinal at the Tokyo Olympics, which she lost despite winning two of the three rounds.
The 38-year-old Asian champion, who was aiming for her second Olympic medal after a bronze at the 2012 London Games, said the news of her loss did not hit even after she had taken her dope test in the evening.
Despite her Olympic saga coming to an end with the Tokyo edition, the veteran is in no mood to retire. Boxers over the age of 40 are currently ineligible to compete in the Games.
Also Read: French Culture And The Role Of Sports
According to the official Olympics website, India has won 30 medals from the 1900 Games, with the Indian Hockey Team winning 11 of them until the 1980 Games. From 1980 through 2000, India had a dismal performance at the Olympics, with just Leander Peas winning bronze in 1996.
In 1900, India won its first Olympic medal in the Paris Games. In the Men’s 200 meters, Norman Pritchard earned a silver medal representing British India. The Indian hockey team won the first Olympic medal in independent India in the 1948 London Olympics. Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav won the first individual Olympic medal in wrestling at the 1952 Helsinki Games. The actual narrative begins with the Sydney Olympics in 2000. India has won 15 medals since 2000, all of which have come in individual events.
Here’s to wishing for more medals from the Indian contingent at the Tokyo Olympics!
Check out the link below for the upcoming schedule of our Indian players!
https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/en/results/all-sports/noc-schedule-india.htm
