Tokyo Olympics: India’s Seven Star Shines In Olympics 2020

In the 2012 London Games, India had won six medals — two silver and four bronze. Until today, this was India’s highest tally at the Olympics. But that changed today with Chopra’s golden throw at the Tokyo Olympics.  With his gold today in men’s javelin throw, India’s medal tally has gone up to 7 — the highest so far in any Olympics. India now has one gold, two silver, and four bronze medals.

Paris Has Taken The Torch From Tokyo For The 2024 Summer Olympic Games. The French Aerial Patrol flies by the Eiffel Tower in Paris as part of the handover ceremony of Tokyo 2020 to Paris 2024, as Paris will be the next Summer Games host in 2024.

With 126 athletes across 18 sports disciplines, India had sent its biggest-ever contingent to Tokyo Olympics. Indian athletes participated in 69 cumulative events across, the highest ever for the country.

India’s medal  tally at  recent Olympics:

• 2016 Rio Olympics: 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
• 2012 London Olympics: 2 Silver, 4 Bronze
• 2008 Beijing Olympics: 1 Gold, 2 Bronze

India has won a total of 28 medals since 1900 – 11 from Hockey, five from Wrestling, four from Shooting, two each in Badminton, Boxing and Athletics, and one each in Tennis and Weightlifting.

List of Indian Athletes who won medals in Olympics 2021 :

Medal #1: Mirabai Chanu :

Silver Medalist, Women’s 49 kg weightlifting.

For the first time ever, India won a medal on day one of an Olympic Games. It came from Saikhom Mirabai Chanu – who scripted a remarkable redemption from Rio 2016. Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (born 8 August 1994) is an Indian weightlifter. She won the silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in Women’s 49 kg category. Mirabai Chanu has won the World Championships and multiple medals at the Commonwealth Games. She was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India for her contributions to the sport. She was awarded Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award by the Government of India in 2018.

Saikhom Mirabai Chanu was born on 8 August 1994 in Nongpok Kakching^[ about 30 km away from Imphal city, Manipur to a Meitei family. Her family identified her strength when she was just 12. She could easily carry a huge bundle of firewood home when her elder brother found it hard to even pick it up.

Awards

National :

• Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, highest sporting honour of India (2018)
• Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India (2018)

Rewards

For winning the silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics:

• 1 crore (US$140,000) rupees from BYJU’S
• 50 lakh (US$70,000) from the Government of India.
• 1 crore (US$140,000) from the Government of Manipur, and appointment as Additional Superintendent of Police (Sports) in the Manipur State Police.
• 2 crore (US$280,000) from the Ministry of Railways (India) and promotion in the Northeast Frontier Railway.
• 50 lakh (US$70,000) from the Board of Control for Cricket in India
• 40 lakh (US$56,000) from the Indian Olympic Association.

Other Rewards :

• 20 lakh (US$28,000) from the Government of Manipur for the gold medal in the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships.
• 10 lakh (US$14,000) from the Government of Manipur for qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.
• 25 lakh (US$35,000) from the Government of Manipur for participating in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.

Medal #2: PV Sindhu :

Bronze Medal in Women’s Singles Badminton.

Pusarla Venkata Sindhu (born 5 July 1995) is an Indian professional badminton player. Over the course of her career, Sindhu has won medals at multiple tournaments including the Olympics and on the BWF circuit including a gold at the 2019 World Championships. She is the first Indian to become the Badminton World Champion and only the second individual athlete from India to win two consecutive medals at the Olympic Games. She rose to a career-high world ranking of no. 2 in April 2017.

Awards

• Padma Bhushan, Third Highest Civilian Award of India (2020).
• Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, highest sporting honour of India (2016)
• Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India (2015)
• Arjuna Award (2013)

Medal #3: Indian Hockey Team :

Bronze Medal in Men’s Hockey.

The Indian men’s national field hockey team represents India in international Field hockey competitions and is governed by Hockey India. The team was formerly under the control of the Indian Hockey Federation. India was the first non-European team to be a part of the International Hockey Federation. In 1928, the team won its first Olympic gold medal and until 1960.

Indian Men’s Hockey team (current) Major achievements :

* Bronze in Tokyo Olympics
* Bronze in 2018 Jakarta Asian Games
* Silver in 2018 Breda Champions Trophy
* Gold in 2018 Muscat Asian Champions Trophy
* Gold in 2017 Dhaka Asia Cup
* Bronze in 2016-17 Bhubaneswar World League
* Silver in 2016 London Champions Trophy
* Silver in 2016 Guwahati South Asian Games
* Bronze in 2014-15 Raipur World League
* Gold in 2014 Incheon Asian Games
* Silver in 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games
* Silver in 2013 Ipoh Asia Cup
* Gold in 2011 Ordos City Asian Champions Trophy

The backroom boys in India’s hockey team :

The Squad:

Goalkeeper: PR Sreejesh

Defenders: Harmanpreet Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh, Surender Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Birendra Lakra

Midfielders: Hardik Singh, Manpreet Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Nilakanta Sharma, Sumit

Forwards: Shamsher Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Gurjant Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Mandeep Singh

Medal #4: Lovlina Borgohain :

Bronze Medal in Women’s Welterweight Boxing.

Lovlina Borgohain (born 2 October 1997) is an Indian amateur boxer and an Olympic medal winner. She won a bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics (Tokyo) in the Women’s welterweight event, becoming only the third Indian boxer to win a medal at the Olympics, She also won a bronze medal at the 2018 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships and the 2019 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships. She won the gold medal at the 1st India Open International Boxing Tournament held in New Delhi and the silver medal at the 2nd India Open International Boxing Tournament held in Guwahati. Borgohain is the first female athlete and the second boxer from Assam to represent the state in the Olympics. In 2020, she became the sixth person from Assam to receive Arjuna Award.

Awards

National :

Arjuna Award, presented by President Ram Nath Kovind virtually for her outstanding performance in boxing.

Rewards

For winning the bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics –

• 25 lakh (US$35,000) from the Board of Control for Cricket in India
• 1 crore (US$140,000) from BYJU’S
• 1 crore (US$70,000) from the Government of Assam.
• 30 lakh (US$42,000) from the Government of India.
• 3 lakh (US$4,200) from the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee.

Medal #5: Ravi Kumar Dahiya :

Silver Medal in Men’s 57 kg Wrestling.

Ravi Kumar Dahiya, also known as Ravi Kumar, is an Indian freestyle wrestler who won a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the 57 kg category. He is also a bronze medalist from the 2019 World Wrestling Championships and a two-time Asian champion.

Dahiya was born in 1997 and hails from the village of Nahri in Sonipat district, Haryana. Since age 10, Dahiya was trained by Satpal Singh at the Chhatrasal Stadium in North Delhi. His father Rakesh Dahiya, a small farmer, would travel 8-10 km every day from their village to the Chhatrasal stadium to deliver fresh milk and fruits, which were part of his wrestling diet, for more than a decade.

Awards and recognition :

For winning the silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics :

• 50 lakh (US$70,000) from the Government of India.
• 4 crore (US$560,000) from the Government of Haryana.
• 50 lakh (US$70,000) from the Board of Control for Cricket in India
• 40 lakh (US$56,000) from the Indian Olympic Association.

Medal #6: Bajrang Punia :

Bronze Medal in Men’s Freestyle 65kg Wrestling.

Bajrang Punia (born 26 February 1994) is a freestyle wrestler and Olympian from India. He competes in the 65-kg weight category. He is the only Indian wrestler to win 3 medals at the World Wrestling Championships. 

Currently, he works in Indian Railways on the post of Gazetted officer OSD Sports. Punia enjoys seeking out knowledge of his village elders.

In 2020, Punia qualified for the Olympics in freestyle wrestling.

He is married to fellow wrestler Sangita Phogat, who is one of the famed Phogat sisters.

Awards

The President, Ram Nath Kovind presenting the Padma Shri Award to Punia at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi, 2019.

• Arjuna Award, 2015
• Padma Shri Award, 2019
• Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award, 2019
• FICCI India Sports Award 2020

Rewards

For winning the bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics :

• 30 lakh (US$42,000) from the Government of India.
• 2.5 crore (US$350,000) from the Government of Haryana.
• 25 lakh (US$35,000) from the Board of Control for Cricket in India
• 25 lakh (US$35,000) from the Indian Olympic Association

Medal #6: Neeraj Chopra :

Gold Medal in Men’s Javelin.

Neeraj Chopra VSM (born 24 December 1997) is an Indian track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. A Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) in the Indian Army, Chopra is the first track and field athlete to win an Olympic gold medal for India, winning the medal during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the men’s javelin throw.

He is one of only two Indians to have won an individual Olympic gold medal (alongside Abhinav Bindra) as well as the youngest-ever Indian gold medalist in an individual event and the only one to have won gold in his Olympic debut.

A country with such a mediocre history in athletics, suddenly woke up one morning, in 2016, when the news of a 19-year-old Indian Javelin thrower creating a world record flashed on social media and television. He threw the Javelin to a distance of 86.48m to win the World U-20 Championships, in Poland. This was a Junior World Record throw.

The man in the form took no time in becoming Asia’s best as he won the Asian Championships 2017, in Bhubaneswar, by throwing a distance of 85.23m. He also competed in the prestigious IAAF Diamond League Events for the first time in 2017 where he finished seventh.

Neeraj Chopra Awards :

• Gold medal at the National Junior Championships(under 16) in Lucknow in 2012.
• Silver medal at the National Youth Championship in 2013.
• 3World junior record holding javelin thrower at the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
• Silver medal in 2016 Asian Junior Championships.
• Gold medal in the 2017Asian Athletics Championship.
• Gold glory for the champion in Asian Games in 2018.
• The young prodigy is already felicitated with the Arjuna Award (2018).
• He was also nominated for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.

Rewards by various organisations for winning the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics:

• 75 lakh (US$110,000) from the Government of India.
• 6 crore (US$840,000) from the Government of Haryana, a Class-I state government appointment and a plot of land for an athletics centre.
• 2 crore (US$280,000) from BYJU’S.
• 2 crore (US$280,000) from Government of Punjab.
• 1 crore (US$140,000) from Government of Manipur.
• 1 crore (US$140,000) from Board of Control for Cricket in India.
• 1 crore (US$140,000) from Chennai Super Kings and a personalised jersey.
• 25 lakh (US$35,000) from the Elan realty group, Gurugram.
• 75 lakh (US$110,000) from the Indian Olympic Association.

Here our special mention to the players who did their best :

India women’s National Hockey team :

India women’s hockey team although miss out on the bronze medal, lose against Great Britain but still gives a tough fight which should be acknowledged.

Indian women’s national field hockey team (nicknamed the Nabhvarna) represents India in international field hockey and is governed by Hockey India. Nabhvarna is currently ranked 7th in the FIH World Rankings and is ranked as the best team in Asia. They have won the gold medals at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and 1982 Asian Games.  India at the 2020 Summer Olympics for the first time ever, reached the semi-final in the Women’s Hockey Olympic event but failed to bag any medal after they lost to Argentina in the semifinal and then to Great Britain in the Bronze medal match.

Sjoerd Marijne’s team can take pride in the fact that they finished fourth in Tokyo Games, their best-ever finish in Olympic history. It was a dream run for the Indian team who defied all expectations playing only in their third Olympics. While coach Sjoerd Marijne’s team got off to a poor start to the tournament, losing their first three games, they found their rhythm and form just at the right team. With wins over Ireland and South Africa in the group stage, India women’s team booked a ride to the quarterfinals, where they shocked Australia to earn their first-ever semifinals berth, but could not reach the final as they went down to Argentina 1-2.

Here’s a brief profile of The Magnificent 16:

Rani Rampal – Forward and captain 

Savita Punia – Goalkeeper and vice-captain

Sushila Chanu – Midfielder

Vandana Katariya – Forward

Nikki Pradhan – Defender

Deep Grace Ekka – Defender

Neha Goyal – Midfielder

Salima Tete – Midfielder

Navneet Kaur – Forward

Udita Duhan – Defender

Nisha Warsi – Midfielder

Lalremsiami – Forward

Monika Malik – Midfielder

Sharmila Devi – Forward

Gurjit Kaur – Defender

Navjot Kaur – Midfielder

Aditi Ashok-Golfer :

India’s Aditi Ashok missed a medal narrowly as she signed off 4th in the Olympic Games’ golf competition after carding a three-under 68 in the weather-hit final round here on Saturday, August 7, 2021. It was a heartbreaking end to Aditi’s campaign considering she started the day at 2nd. But it was nonetheless a major improvement as she had finished tied 41st in the 2016 edition where golf made a comeback to the Olympics.

                       Aditi Ashok (born 29 March 1998) is a professional golfer of India. She is from the Karnataka state of India. She plays on the Ladies European Tour and LPGA Tour. She is the first-ever golfer, to represent India at the Olympics. She made her Olympic Games debut at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, representing India in golf, and finished 4th in the games.

Conclusion :

This Olympic2020 Has been very well going for India with its tally stand to 7 medals which is the highest on the part of India since the 1900s. With 126 athletes across 18 sports disciplines, India had sent its biggest-ever contingent to Tokyo Olympics. Indian athletes participated in 69 cumulative events across, the highest ever for the country. This is the highest India has seen 126 athletes for the Olympics. The next Olympic which is to be held in  Paris Has Taken The Torch From Tokyo For The 2024 Summer Olympic Games. The French Aerial Patrol flies by the Eiffel Tower in Paris as part of the handover ceremony of Tokyo 2020 to Paris 2024, as Paris will be the next Summer Games host in 2024.

But let’s hope that the next Olympics in Paris2024 brings more than a double number of Olympic medals than Tokyo OLYMPIC2020 for INDIA. For this, the country needs to focus more on SPORTS. From the Childhood days itself, the children should make involved in Sports and should add SPORTS in the school curriculum(yes its already have)but give more importance to it besides the studies. Then only we can EXPECT more athletes and medal in not only in OLYMPICS but in every world championships and the Government should also give every possible help and established sports academy in most of the states and their districts so this Every budding athlete can get a  good opportunity in every world sports  Championships and rise the NATION FLAG of our country.