Rio Olympics 2016: 10 most glorious moments of the Games
From the time, the elegant figure of Gustavo Kuerten carried the Olympic torch to the Maracana, to the time the cauldron was lit off and the flame ceased to glisten the metal rings encircling it, the biggest sporting festival of the world lived up to its billing as the most decorated event to transcend human emotions.
Each day churned new stories. Some stories began from where they were earlier left off, while some were newly scripted, others were rewritten in emphatic style. Each dream was lived if not fulfilled.
Here’s an attempt to live some of the moments.
10) The Olympic refugee team
One of the loudest cheers of the opening night was reserved for the Olympic refugee team and rightly so. The flag stood as a symbol of hope in the times of despair for millions around the world. They had crossed many borders and swam many miles to reach Rio and no medal, not even a gold, would be good enough to garland their unmatched spirit.
9) Djokovic vs Del Potro
At the centre of the court, two shoulders drooped as the two athletes hugged each other in tears in a moment of sporting excellence; one in the disappointment of the loss and the other in disbelief of his victory. At that one moment, it was Sport that was the winner.
World No 1, Novak Djokovic had come to win gold for Serbia, but then he ran into a resurgent Argentine, in Juan Martin Del Potro in the 1st round.
8) Brazilian gymnasts shine the floor
They could hardly believe what they had achieved, they could hardly wait any longer to celebrate. Tears had begun to roll like a river even before a silver and a bronze was affirmed. The two Brazilian floor gymnasts, Diego Hypolito and Arthur Mariano, lived a dream.
The whole emotional saga ran for so long that the gold medallist, Max Whitlock from Britain, took a backstage amidst all this.
7) Fu Yuanhui breaks the shackles
If one has to break shackles then no stage is bigger than the Olympics to do it. In one such daring moment, the Chinese swimmer, Fu Yuanhui, so openly celebrated her womanhood that the world was taken aback when she put out that her menstrual cycle had prevented her from giving the best.
Though it is about speaking the obvious it takes tremendous amount of courage and Fu had it in her.
6) The wait is finally over
The Samba boys had never done it before and they didn’t look likely to achieve the feet even this time around with the kind of start they had. It seemed the expectation would once again submerge the dream of an entire nation. But then destiny smiled.
It was all left to the golden boy’s golden foot. Could Brazil overcome the Germans at the Maracana? Neymar nets it to the right top corner and the whole of Brazil turns into a sea of joy!