Tokyo Olympics 2020 was the most successful in Indian sports history as the nation bagged up 7 medals at this year’s Olympics. India finished 48th on the medal tally in Tokyo, it’s highest ranking in over four decades, the previous best was in 2008 Beijing when the country finished 51st after Abhinav Bindra won gold. 1 gold, 2 silvers, and 4 bronze made India’s richest ever medal haul. In this article, we look at the 7 Indians who won a medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2020:
Gold
Neeraj Chopra
Even though bigger and more experienced names represented the nation at the Olympics, the 23-year-old from Haryana didn’t crumble under pressure and won the country its first-ever gold medal in athletics. Following his golden throw, Neeraj made millions emotional back at home as they heard the national anthem in Olympics for the first time since Beijing 2008.
Neeraj overcame an injury to provide Indian athletics its greatest moment on the world’s biggest sporting, even as he etched his name in the books of Indians sports history forever. After winning the medal, Neeraj dedicated this medal to the late Milkha Singh and PT Usha.
Silver
Mirabai Chanu
India danced with joy as Mirabai Chanu gave the country its first medal on the very first day of the Olympic Games, as she won a silver in the women’s 49 kg weightlifting.
Mirabai also created an Olympic record with a successful lift of 115 kg in clean and jerk. With this, she became only the second Indian to win a medal in weightlifting at the Olympics. Ranked number four in the world, Chanu also holds the world record in the 118 kg clean and jerk. Redemption had never been sweeter and satisfying for the woman who used to pick up logs to gather winter fuel for her family as a child.
Ravi Kumar Dahiya
Even though he was ranked world number four, not many had heard Ravi’s name in the build-up to the Olympics. Unbothered by the attention, Ravi put out an amazing performance in the semis as he clinched a win in the remaining seconds of the bout.
Dahiya fought hard in the finals but couldn’t come out on top and eventually won a silver, becoming the second Indian wrestler to win a silver in the Olympics after Sushil Kumar. A determined athlete, Ravi will be looking to improve the colour of his medal in 2024.
Bronze
PV Sindhu
Sindhu looked far from perfect in the initial stages of the tournament but gradually picked up her world-class form in the knockout stages as she reached the semi-finals of the Olympics.
Hunting for the second and consecutive medal, Sindhu was a major medal prospect for the country going into the Olympics, as she won a silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Pusarla Venkata Sindhu created history as she became the first Indian woman to win two individual medals at the Olympics, that too consecutively.
Bajrang Punia
The 27-year-old wrestler from Haryana produced a fantastic silver medal-winning performance against Kazakthan’s Daulet Niyazbekov. Daulet had beaten him earlier, but Bajrang came out on top as he grabbed a silver.
Bajrang was carrying a knee injury and the opponents knew it, they continuously attacked his knee but Punia remained determined as he scripted a winner’s story. With this, Punia became the second wrestler to win a medal for the country at the Olympics after Ravi Kumar Dahiya.
Men’s Hockey team
The men’s hockey team created history as the country won its first medal in the sport after 41 long years. After a morale-sapping 7-1 loss against Australia in the group stages, the team’s never-give-up attitude is what won them a medal as they etched their names in the history books.
The men in blue made a tremendous comeback after being 3-1 down as captain Manpreet Singh’s team ended the nation’s 41-year drought.
Lovlina Borgohain
Covid acted as an obstacle in Lovlina’s preparation for the Olympics, but the five feet nine inches boxer hailing from Assam did not give up at all. Lovlina lifted LPG cylinders, worked in fields to keep fit and in Tokyo, Lovlina showed the world how capable she was as she signed off with a bronze medal.
And even though Borgohain lost her semi-final bout, she walked off with her head held high and a shining medal as she became only the third Indian boxer to win a medal at the Olympics after Mary Kom and Vijender Singh
