The good, the bad & the ugly: India's Olympics 2021 campaign summed up
India finished its Tokyo Olympics 2021 campaign with one gold, two silver, and four bronze in its kitty. India's sojourn kickstarted with Mirabai Chanu's silver in weightlifting on the first day and concluded with Neeraj Chopra's gold in javelin throw on the penultimate day.
There were five other medal-winning performances in between. Lovlina Borgohain won a bronze medal in boxing while PV Sindhu earned another in women's singles badminton. The men's hockey team returned with its first Olympic medal in 41 years. Wrestlers Ravi Kumar and Bajrang Punia won silver and bronze respectively.
With seven medals overall, Tokyo 2021 was India's best-ever Olympic campaign. It also stood out for two historic firsts. PV Sindhu became the first Indian woman to clinch multiple medals at the Olympics as she followed her Rio silver with a bronze in Tokyo. Neeraj Chopra etched his name in the history books with a gold in the men's javelin throw, the country's first medal from athletics.
Medal-winning moments aside, India had other highs as well. No Olympic story is ever complete without tales of near-misses, heartbreaks and moments of disbelief.
With the event coming to a close, it is time to reflect on the good, the bad and the ugly of India's Tokyo campaign. These moments don't include India's medal wins, as they can be discussed separately.
The Good of India's Tokyo Olympics campaign
To witness India's women's hockey team finishing in the top four was surreal. On the brink of elimination after three straight losses in the pool stage, the team orchestrated a comeback to qualify for the quarterfinals. In the quarters, they shocked the three-time Olympic Champions Australia. Though they lost the semifinal clash against Argentina, they nearly stunned Great Britain in the bronze medal match before losing 3-4. After many years, Indian women's hockey looks promising.
In the wee hours of the penultimate day of the Tokyo Olympics, India became obsessed with golf. Thanks to 23-year-old Aditi Ashok, India almost had a medal in the sport. Aditi finished fourth in women's individual stroke play and missed out on a medal by a whisker. However, she pushed New Zealand's Lydia Ko to the limits and made India learn the basics of golf. It was good to see India hope for a medal from a sport that does not enjoy any fervent following in the country.
Fencing is another sport Indians seem to have picked up on during the Tokyo Olympics. The credit goes to Bhavani Devi, India's first fencer to qualify for the Games. She did well to win India's first ever fencing match at the event. Bhavani Devi was eventually knocked out, but not before she set new benchmarks for the sport in the country.
Barring Neeraj Chopra's gold standards, three pieces of good news trickled in from the track and field events, delivered by Avinash Sable, Kamalpreet Kaur and the men's 4x400m relay team. Avinash Sable failed to qualify for the final of the men's 3000m steeplechase but clocked 8:18.12 in the qualifier to better his own record of 8:20.20. Kamalpreet Kaur qualified for the final of the women's discus throw and finished sixth. The men's 4x400m relay team comprising of Anas Muhammed, Nirmal Noah, Arokia Rajiv and Amoj Jacob set a new Asian record with a time of 3:00.25 during their qualifying heat.
The Bad of India's Tokyo Olympics campaign
The archery team's total failure caused a furore. Of the four archers who represented India, one was an Olympic debutant while another was an aging veteran who had postponed his retirement to compete in Tokyo. The only realistic chance of a medal was from Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das, who went down fighting against better opponents.
Pugilist Amit Panghal, the World No.1 in his weight category, was lackluster in his only bout at the Olympics. With his talent, he could have done much better. India hoped that Mary Kom would win a medal from what could be her last Olympics, but she lost to a younger and superior opponent in the semifinal. Although India sent a contingent of nine boxers, only one of them returned with a medal. It's safe to say that the world did not feel the power in the punches of our boxers in Tokyo.
Wrestler Bajrang Punia left Indians shocked as he failed to qualify for the final, but he more or less made up for it with a bronze medal later.
The Ugly of India's Tokyo Olympics campaign
India's inability to bag a medal from the shooting events was perhaps its biggest disappointment in Tokyo, and tops the list of 'ugly' moments. India has now failed to win a medal in shooting for two successive Olympic campaigns.
Much was expected from the shooting contingent. Fifteen shooters represented the country across ten events in Tokyo. The squad was a good mix of youth and experience, with Youth Olympic champions, multiple World Cup champions, Junior World Cup winners, Asian Games medalists, a World No. 1, and Commonwealth Games medalists in the fray. One can argue that the Olympics is the most competitive event, but medals at World Cups and other multi-sport events don't come easily either. Though the team did not lack in talent or experience, the shooters' failures, along with controversies in and around the shooting camp, were a bitter pill to digest. Serious introspection and action are needed over the course of the next three years before sending the shooting team to the Paris Olympics.
Wrestler Vinesh Phogat's journey from Rio to Tokyo was awe inspiring, but not seeing it culminate with a medal was unpleasant.
Beyond the debacles, there were a few controversies that did not paint a pretty picture.
Athletic Federation of India threatening action against long jumper Sreeshankar and race walker KT Irfan for potential non-performance was an unpleasant distraction that preceded the event. A war of words erupted between Rohan Bopanna and the All India Tennis Association. There was also controversy around Manika Batra's personal coach Sanmay Paranjape. Murad Gaidarov, Deepak Punia's foreign coach, attacked a referee, leaving the Wrestling Federation of India embarrassed. These squabbles and altercations could have been handled better.
But the Olympics is now behind us. As Abhinav Bindra sums up in his tweet:
"The uniqueness of an Olympic cycle becomes evident. One ends & a fresh one starts. 1079 days to Paris 2024"