The Olympics and India, 2021
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
Contents
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Day-wise results: some notable days
24 July
Mirabai Chanu gives India a historic first-day medal
25 July
Graphic courtesy: [The Times of India]
India at the Tokyo Olympics on July 25, 2021
26 July
Graphic courtesy: [The Times of India]
See graphic:
India at the Tokyo Olympics on July 26, 2021
27 July
Graphic courtesy: [ The Times of India]
India at the Tokyo Olympics on July 27, 2021
28 July
Graphic courtesy: [ The Times of India]
India at the Tokyo Olympics on July 28, 2021
29 July
Graphic courtesy: [ The Times of India]
India at the Tokyo Olympics on July 29, 2021
1 Aug
From: August 1, 2021: The Times of India
From: Siddharth Saxena, August 2, 2021: The Times of India
See graphics:
India at the Tokyo Olympics on Aug 1, 2021- I
India at the Tokyo Olympics on Aug 1, 2021- II
2 Aug
Manuja Veerappa, August 3, 2021: The Times of India
From:
See graphic:
India at the Tokyo Olympics on August 2, 2021
3 Aug
From: August 4, 2021: The Times of India
See graphic:
India at the Tokyo Olympics on Aug 3, 2021
4 Aug
From: Sabi Hussain, August 5, 2021: The Times of India
See graphic:
India at the Tokyo Olympics on Aug 4, 2021
5 Aug
From: Manuja.Veerappa ,August 6, 2021: The Times of India
See graphic:
India at the Tokyo Olympics on Aug 5, 2021
6 Aug
From: August 7, 2021: The Times of India
See graphic:
India at the Tokyo Olympics on Aug 6, 2021
7 Aug
See graphic:
India at the Tokyo Olympics on Aug 7, 2021
The complete. detailed Indian results
The Indpaedia team has been updating this page regularly, often after every few jours, soon after an Indian sportsperson at Tokya achieves a result, negative or positive, so that all Indians—and people interested in India—have one place—that being India’s own national encyclopædia—where the complete results till then are available. (The results are arranged in the chronological order.)
And there have been some positive results, those leading to the quarter-, semi- and even the finals themselves, even if India has not got a medal so far.
Omissions, if any, may please be sent as messages to the Facebook community, Indpaedia.com. All information used will be gratefully acknowledged in your name.
Source: Mainly PTI (Press Trust of India), except for the first day's results, which have been sourced from The Times of India.
Archery
Archers dig their own grave, again
Archiman.Bhaduri@timesgroup.com
The mention of Korea appeared to weigh too much on the Indian archers as Pravin Jadhav and Deepika Kumari lost 2-6 to Kim Je Deok and An San in the quarterfinals of the mixed team event in Tokyo on Saturday.
In fact, the Indian archers presented the two Korean Olympic debutants the victory on a platter, although both sides were below par. The Korean duo went on to claim gold in the event that made its Olympic debut in Tokyo.
Archery’s powerhouse Korea won two sets despite scoring a low 35 out of a possible 40. This only showed how India allowed them to escape with victory.
There was little coordination among the Indian archers as they failed to boost each other after a poor shot.
India made a slow start with Jadhav hitting two 8s and Deepika not managing even a single 10 in the first set as the top-seeded Korean duo won 35-32.
In the second set, while Jadhav came back strongly with two 10s, it was Deepika who faltered hitting 8 and 9, thereby losing it narrowly 37-38. The tie could have been sealed in the third set itself as the Indians shot three 9s, but An San faltered with an 8 in the final arrow to hand India their only set with a 37-35 win.
However, the Indian duo failed to take advantage as Jadhav started off with a 6, which all but ended their campaign. The duo went down 33-36.
Deepika and Jadhav did not look comfortable as a team in their first match too, although they managed to come back from 1-3 down to beat the Chinese Taipei pair 5-3.
26 July
There was an all-too-familiar disappointment awaiting the archers when they squared off against the invincible Koreans.
Two days after the mixed team was knocked out by Korea in the quarterfinals, the men's trio of Pravin Jadhav, Atanu Das and Tarundeep Rai succumbed in straight sets against their formidable opponents in the same round of eight stage.
28 July
There was some cheer in archery before things went haywire to an extent.
Three-time Olympian Tarundeep Rai defeated Oleksii Hunbin of Ukraine but lost to Itay Shanny of Israel in a shoot-off in the second round.
As Rai faded, a new star rose on the horizon in Pravin Jadhav, the son of a daily wage labourer in Maharashtra's Satara, who stunned world number two Galsan Bazarzhapov of Russia 6-0 before expectedly going down to world number one Brady Ellison of the USA in the second round.
Deepika managed to stay on target in her clashes against Bhutan's Karma and American Jennifer Mucino-Fernandez to make the last-16, struggling in the windy conditions overall.
29 July
The biggest triumph of the day was without doubt Atanu.
Hardly anyone gave him a chance against two-time Olympic champion Oh Jin Hyek but he definitely knew what was needed to be done, displaying nerves of steel as his wife and fellow archer Deepika Kumari screamed her lungs out from the stands to support him.
Atanu is now in pre-quarters, just like Deepika, who made it the day before.
Atanu, who had lost his place to rookie Pravin Jadhav in the fancied mixed team event after slipping to 35th place in the ranking round last week, edged out the legendary Korean in a one-arrow shoot-off. An individual Olympic champion from London 2012 and a team gold medallist here, Oh started the shoot-off with a 9 but Das delivered a perfect 10, hitting the bull's eye to seal the issue 6-5 (10-9) in a manner that wasn't expected. He had earlier seen off a tough challenge from Chinese Taipei's Deng Yu-Cheng to win 6-4 after being locked 4-4.
30 July
archery was the heartbreak on the day.
World number one Deepika Kumaris quest for an Olympic medal ended in disappointment for the third time as she surrendered tamely to Korean top seed An San in straight sets in the quarterfinals.
It was all over in six minutes.
The fancied Indian misfired three 7s in a row, after drilling in as many 10s in succession, to snuff out any chance of a comeback after being 0-2 down in the opening set.
An, who had a perfect opening set of 30, closed it out despite shooting in the red-circle thrice in succession (7-8-9) in second and third sets.
Athletics
30 July
There was little to celebrate in athletics with Avinash Sable shattering his own 3000m steeplechase national record being the only bright moment.But he failed to qualify for the final, bad luck being a factor,
sprinter Dutee Chand produced a below-par performance to make an exit from the Games.
M P Jabir also brought up the rear in mens 400m hurdles while the mixed 4x400m relay team finished eighth and last in the second heat race as the Indians made a disappointing start to their athletics campaign.
The 26-year-old Sable failed to qualify for the final despite clocking a better time than the top three in another heat race.
He clocked 8 minutes 18.12 seconds in heat number 2 to finish seventh and better his earlier national record of 8:20.20 that he had set during the Federation Cup in March.
But he was unlucky to miss the finals cut as only the top-three finishers from each heat gain automatic entry. The top-three from heat number 3 ran in slower time than him.
Sable ended seventh next best across all the qualifying heats and 13th overall.
Dutee was nowhere near her best as she clocked 11.54 seconds in 100m, well outside her national record of 11.17 seconds -- also her seasons best -- to finish seventh in heat 5 and 45th overall out of 54 competitors.
31 July
Virender Sehwag fan Kamalpreet, who wants to play cricket some day, produced one of the best performances by an Indian track and field athlete in the Olympics
The 25-year-old, competing in qualification B, sent the discus to a distance of 64m in her third and final attempt to be one of the only two automatic qualifiers for the final round, the other being American Valarie Allman (66.42m)
The Indian ended ahead of defending gold-medallist Sandra Perkovic (63.75m) of Croatia and reigning world champion Yaime Perez (63.18) of Cuba. Perkovic qualified at third and Perez at seventh
2 Aug
athletics discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur finished a creditable sixth in her first Olympics in a rain-interrupted final today. The 25-year-old Kaur, who qualified for the final as second best, was never in the running for a medal in the eight rounds of competition which was interrupted by rain for more than an hour. Her best throw of 63.70m in the third round saw her finish sixth and equal 2010 Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Krishna Poonia’s performance in the 2012 London Olympics. The youngster, who was without her personal coach, looked nervous and short of confidence, perhaps due to lack of international exposure but she did hold her own in a field where the gold-medallist Valarie Allman produced a 68.98m throw.
Sprinter Dutee Chand, however, ended her campaign on a disappointing note by failing to qualify for the 200m semifinals.
3 Aug
In athletics, the two in action could not even perform close to their personal bests as they bowed out of reckoning tamely.
Shot-putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor, who holds the Asian record with a personal best of 21.49m, covered 19.99m in his only legitimate throw in the qualifiers. It was never going to be enough given that the automatic qualifying mark was set at 21.20m. Had he managed anything close to his personal best, it could have been a different story both for him and the country.
Similar was the fate of javelin thrower Annu Rani. She achieved a personal best of 63.24m only this year but at the biggest stage, all she could pull off was a poor 54.04m. She too failed to make the final cut.
4 Aug
Neeraj Chopra The Panipat lad etched his name in history books in the qualification round itself when he became the first javelin thrower to qualify for the Olympic finals and also the first to top the charts with an impressive 86.65m effort.
5 Aug
Away from the spotlight, Indias race walkers endured an expectedly ordinary outing.
National record holder Sandeep Kumar was going strong at second position till near the halfway mark but he faded to finish 23rd with a below-par timing.
The 35-year-old Kumar crossed the finish line in 1 hour 25 minute and 7 seconds, well outside his national record time of 1:20:16 which he had clocked in February to qualify for the Olympics during the National Open Race Walk Championships in Ranchi.
His two other compatriots, Rahul Rohilla (1:32:06) and K T Irfan (1:34:41) brought up the rear at 47th and 51st with disappointing performances under hot and humid conditions.
6 Aug
There was disappointment as usual in the athletics arena despite a creditable performance by the men's 4x400m relay team.
Muhammed Anas Yahiya, Tom Noah Nirmal, Rajiv Arokia and Amoj Jacob combined to break the Asian record after completing the race in 3:00.25sec to finish fourth in the second heat but it was not enough to earn them the final berth.
The earlier Asian record was in the name of Qatar which had clocked 3:00.56 while winning the gold in the 2018 Asian Games.
Earlier in the day, the race walkers failed to impress with below-par performances at Sapporo.
National record holder Priyanka Goswami was among the leading pack around the halfway mark but eventually finished 17th while compatriot Bhawna Jat ended at 32nd in the women's 20km race walk event.
In the men's 50km event, Gurpreet Singh pulled out after the 35km mark due to cramps under hot and humid conditions.
7 Aug
India Times- The Times of India Aug 7, 2021
For the first time since 2008, the Indian National Anthem was played out at the Olympics. And that's thanks to a 23 year old javelin thrower - Neeraj has also done something, technically not achieved by any Indian athlete since 1900 - win an Olympics athletics medal. Norman Pritchad had won two silver medals, representing India in the 1900 Paris Olympics in the 200m dash and 200m hurdles. IOC still credits these medals to India.
2021 Aug Olympics The 23 year old Neeraj began with a bang. His first throw was 87.03m. That was followed by a throw of 87.58m. His third attempt saw Neeraj throw the javelin 76.79m. With this he topped the standings out of 12 throwers and made the cut for the final 8, who threw thrice again.
Neeraj's fourth throw was a no throw. This was followed by another no throw, but he still held on to the lead. By the time he came out for his 6th throw, he already had the gold medal in the bag. He still took the throw and registered a distance of 84.24m.
The gold medal winning throw was his second throw of 87.58m. Though, no one else went past the 87m mark, which Neeraj had crossed with his first throw.
Badminton
Men
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag made a stunning Olympic debut, upsetting third seeds Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin of Chinese Taipei 21-16, 16-21, 27-25 in their Group A first-round encounter in Tokyo on Saturday.
However, B Sai Praneeth suffered a 17-21, 15-21 loss to Misha Zilberman of Israel.
The Satwik-Chirag pair has lived up to its billing of giant-killers. Wary of the Indians, Lee and Chin started cautiously in the first game, but the Indians won it 21-16. The world No.3 pair came back in style and dominated the Indians with their clever play.In the decider the third seeds were ahead at 13-11 and 16-13. Just when it looked like they would be closing it out comfortably, the Indians made a splendid comeback.
26 July
In badminton, the Indian men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty suffered a straight game loss to world number ones Marcus Gideon Fernaldi and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo of Indonesia in their second Group A match.
The world number 10 Indian duo could never find their rhythm and lost 13-21, 12-21 in 32 minutes against the top seeded team. It was their ninth defeat to the Indonesian pair in as many meetings.
27 July
In badminton, it was tough luck for the
debutant pairing of Chirag Shetty and
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy in the men's doubles.
They emerged victorious against the England
pair of Ben Lane and Sean Vendy in their final
Group A match but still missed out on
qualifying for the quarterfinals.
Ranked 10th in the world, the Indians beat world number 18 team 21-17, 21-19 in a 44-minute match at the Musashino Forest Plaza. However, they couldn't make it to the knockout stage as they finished third in the group behind top-ranked Indonesian team of Marcus Gideon Fernaldi and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and world number three Yang Lee and Chi-Lin Wang of Chinese Taipei.
28 July
B Sai Praneeth endured a miserable day, losing 14-21 14-21 to Mark Caljouw of Netherlands in 40 minutes for his second defeat in Group D. He later confessed that he struggle with his confidence.
The 13th seed Praneeth just could not bring his 'A' game to the table once again and was pushed out of contention from the knockout rounds.
Women
Sindhu cruises past Israel’s Polikarpova, faces Cheung next
Manne.Ratnakar@timesgroup.com
PV Sindhu hardly broke any sweat as she eased past Ksenia Polikarpova of Israel 21-7, 21-10 in her first Group J match in Tokyo on Sunday. The world champion was too good for the World No.58.
From 5-5, Sindhu won 14 straight points and closed the game at 21-7. In the second game the Indian got off to a 2-0 start, went into the break at 11-1. Though Polikarpova won 10 points it was only because the Indian was trying a few different things.
28 July
Sindhu did her thing in the badminton court, outwitting Hong Kong's N Y Cheung 21-9 21-16 to top her group and make the last-16.
There was minimum drama in that outing, the Indian going about her business like the world champion that she is.
29 July
badminton ace P V Sindhu set the tone for the day by advancing to the quarterfinals with a 21-15 21-13 win over Denmark's Mia Blichfeldt, expectedly topping her group in the process.
30 July
ace shuttler P V Sindhu did what she does with at big events, turn on the style and move ahead.
So she overcame a draining challenge from Japans Akane Yamaguchi to prevail in straight games, the scoreline not quite reflecting the remarkable duel the two ladies were engaged in.
"For me its time to go back, relax and get ready for the next match. Im happy but I need to prepare for the next match," was her typically business-like response to the 21-13 22-20 win.
31 July
Sindhu's loss Her hopes of securing India's first ever Olympic gold in badminton came crashing down as she slumped to a straight-game defeat against world no.1 Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei in the women's singles semifinals
The 26-year-old silver-medallist from the Rio Games One of the most consistent players, who has claimed medals in all big-ticket events in the last five years, Sindhu couldn't counter Tai Tzu's deception with her aggressive game and lost 18-21 12-21 in 40-minute clash here
2 Aug
Sindhu secured a bronze medal by beating world no.9 He Bing Jiao of China in the womens singles third place play-off, becoming only the second Indian and the countrys first woman to win two Olympic medals. She had won a silver medal at the Rio Games.
Boxing
Men
Veteran boxer Vikas Krishan, featuring in his third and probably final Olympics, was left bloodied in his comprehensive 0-5 loss to Japan’s Sewonrets Quincy Mensah Okazawa in the first round of the 69kg welterweight category on Saturday. Vikas was slow during the entire bout. Okazawa’s strategy was simple: open up Vikas with body punches and then land the head combinations. It worked like a charm. TNN
2
MANISH DISAPPOINTS
Manish Kaushik went down fighting to Great Britain’s Luke McCormack in a 63kg first-round encounter. Making his Olympic debut, Manish fought gallantly but lost an edge-of-the-seat clash 1-4 through split decision.
26 July
Another downer has been the men's boxing campaign. A third one bowed out on Monday in middleweight (75kg) Ashish Chaudhary, paying for an underwhelming start in his maiden Olympic appearance. He lost 0-5 to China's Erbieke Touheta in a bout, which could have been way closer had he turned it up a little bit earlier.
29 July
In the boxing ring, India's first super heavyweight (+91kg) to compete in the Olympics, Satish Kumar, eased into the quarterfinals of his debut Games, defeating Jamaica's Ricardo Brown in his opening bout. In the battle of the debutants, the 32-year-old Satish prevailed 4-1, a comfortable win for him despite the split verdict. However, he did end up sustaining two cuts -- one on his forehead and the other on his chin -- during the bout and is due to take on reigning world champion Bakhodir Jalolov of Uzebkistan.
31 July
it was a largely disappointing day with Panghal's pre-quarterfinal exit being the biggest low point
World number one flyweight boxer Amit Panghal was handed a stunning 1-4 loss by Rio Games silver-medallist Yuberjen Martinez. He was beaten by the Colombian's relentless attacks and pace in a draining pre-quarterfinal bout during which he looked exhausted after the opening round itself
2 Aug
boxer Satish Kumar, the first super heavyweight (+91kg) to qualify for the Olympics.
The 32-year-old entered the ring with 13 stitches on his face against reigning world champion Bakhodir Jalolov.
His cuts opened up but Satish didnt back off and though he lost the bout unanimously, he earned the respect of his opponent and the fans.
"Thats the whole idea of being a sportsperson. You dont give up, you never give up," he said.
Women
1
Boxing Legend Proves Too Strong For Hernandez
Hindol.Basu@timesgroup.com
India’s star boxer MC Mary Kom: first-round win in the 51kg category against Miguelina Hernandez of Dominican Republic
The win came via a 4-1 split decision, taking Mary to the pre-quarters
27 July
In the boxing ring, Assamese debutant Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) displayed what a calm mind can achieve. Borgohain, the lone Indian boxer in action on the day, prevailed 3-2 over German veteran Nadine Apetz in a closely-fought last-16 stage bout. Borgohain's rival was 12 years her senior but both the boxers were making their Games debut. The Indian became the first from her ninestrong team to make the quarterfinal stage. The 23-year-old showed great poise in a tense contest to triumph by the thinnest of margins. She claimed all the three rounds on split points.
28 July
The boxing ring brought some good news for the Indians with Pooja Rani's progression to the last-eight stage.
The 30-year-old two-time Asian champion out-punched Algeria's Ichrak Chaib 5-0, thoroughly dominating a rival 10 years her junior.
29 July
A big, big heartbreak was boxing legend M C Mary Kom's pre-quarterfinal exit despite the fact that the London Olympic bronze-medallist had actually won two of the three rounds in her flyweight (51kg) bout against Colombia's Ingrit Valencia.
But how could one not celebrate the fact that the 38-year-old mother-of-four is still going strong and has promised not to stop just yet even though her Olympic journey has drawn to a close now.
30 July
Debutant boxer Lovlina Borgohain, all of 23 and already two-time world championship medallist, took a big step in making her own space in the Indian womens boxings landscape.
She defeated former world champion Nien-Chin Chen of Chinese Taipei to become the first among nine Indian boxers in fray here to be assured of at least a bronze.
"Isi ladki se 4 baar haar chuki hun (I had lost to her four times earlier), all I wanted to do was prove a point to myself by being fearless against her. I was just looking for revenge," she said with a wide grin after the fantastic win which has triggered celebrations across the country.
31 July
In fact, it was a thoroughly disappointing day for Indian boxing as Pooja Rani (75kg) joined Panghal (52kg) in exiting the Games after an underwhelming performance, going down 0-5 in her quarterfinal bout against China's Li Qian
Qian, who is a former world champion and a Rio Olympics bronze-medallist, thoroughly outpunched Rani in the quarterfinals, quite literally taking away her belief with a clinical performance
4 Aug
In the boxing ring Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) signed off with a bronze medal after her showdown against reigning world champion Busenaz Surmeneli of Turkey ended in a crushing 0-5 loss. Borgohain became the third Indian boxer to fetch a Games medal after Vijender Singh (2008) and M C Mary Kom (2012).
Equestrian
30 July
Fouaad Mirza was placed 7th after day 1 of Individual eventing dressage.
2 Aug
Fouaad Mirza , Indias only equestrian at the Olympics in over two decades, and his horse Seigneur Medicott, picked up 11.20 penalty points and was placed 22nd after the cross-country round.
2 Aug
Equestrian Fouaad Mirza, meanwhile, finished a creditable 23rd in eventing after he became the first Indian to reach the final of the event. Mirza and his equine Seigneur Medicott sneaked into the top-25 in the morning to make the jumping finals. In the final, Mirza incurred 12.40 penalty points for an overall 59.60 that included the points from the three rounds of qualifying events — dressage, cross country and jumping. It was a creditable performance for the 29-year-old Bengaluru rider, who was the first equestrian to qualify for the Olympics since Imtiaz Anees in Sydney 2000.
Fencing
26 July
Loss awaited India's first ever fencer in the Olympics, C A Bhavani Devi. But the two rounds she lasted, before being outwitted by world number three Manon Brunet in the women's individual sabre event, made for memorable moments in an otherwise deflating day.
The 27-year-old began her campaign with a confident 15-3 win against Tunisia's Nadia Ben Azizi but bumped into Rio Olympics semifinalist Frenchwoman Brunet in the next round, which she lost 7-15.
Golf
29 July
India started strongly in the golf competition with Anirban Lahiri, playing in his second Olympics, off to a solid start, carding a 4-under 67 in the first round to be placed tied 8th at the lightning storm-struck Kasumigaseki Country Club. The former Asian Tour No.1 had six birdies against two bogeys and shared the 8th spot with Paul Casey (Great Britain) Alex Noren (Sweden) and Sebastian Munoz (Mexico) at the end of the day.
The other Indian in fray, Udayan Mane, who made the field of 60 at a late stage, had a fine start at 2-under after eight holes. But he finished at 5-over 76 and was last on the leader-board.
30 July
The golf course was not a particularly happy place either as Anirban Lahiri endured an erratic day at the course and was even-par after 16 holes before the second round was suspended due to persistent thunderstorms over the east course of the Kasumigaseki Country Club.
Indias other player in the field, Udayan Mane (69), shot 2-under 69 with the help of three birdies on the back nine after being 1-over for the front nine. He is Tied-57th.
31 July
At the golf course, Anirban Lahiri salvaged his third round with a late birdie and an eagle to card a three-under 68 but it is unlikely to be enough for a podium finish going into the final round on Sunday
Lahiri, who returned early this morning to complete his second round had a bogey in one of the two remaining holes for a round of 1-over 72, which placed him T-24th at that stage. He ended Tied-28th after the third round with a total of 6-under 207
Udayan Mane carded a 70 for a share of 55th place on 2-over 215 as the third round
2 Aug
On the golf course, Anirban Lahiri ended his second Olympic campaign at Tied 42nd spot after carding a one-over 72 in the fourth and final round.
Lahiri, who began the week with a superb 67 and was inside Top-10, slid down the ladder thereafter with rounds of 72-68-72 over the next three days for a total of 5-under 283. He had finished 57th in 2016 Rio Olympics.
The other Indian in fray, Udayan Mane, who got into the field as a result of some withdrawals, also shot one-over 72 in the final round after earlier rounds of 76-69-70. He was 3-over for the week and ended 56th.
4 Aug
On the golf course, Aditi Ashok got off to a brilliant start, carding a four-under 67 in the opening round for a share of the second spot at the Kasumigaseki Country Club. India's other entrant in the field, Diksha Dagar (76), however, had a rough start in her maiden Olympics as she had five bogeys and no birdies to lie at the tied 56th spot.
5 Aug
There was plenty of good news coming in from the golf course where Aditi Ashok put herself in contention for a podium finish with a flawless five-under 66 in the second round hat left her tied second at the end of the day's play.
6 Aug
An unexpected medal contender on the day was Aditi, a 23-year-old Bengalurean whose mother Maheshwari is her caddie at the Games. The unheralded youngster placed herself sole second on the leaderboard and in line for a medal after carding a three-under 68 in the third round.
Aditi fired five birdies and two bogeys on the day. She was three-under after picking up shots on fourth, sixth and seventh holes before bogeys on ninth and 11th pulled her back.
However, she made amends with birdies on the 15th and 17th to keep herself in the hunt.
With a storm forecast for the next two days, there is every possibility that she might just clinch the first ever Olympic medal in golf for India if she holds on or play does not happen because of weather.
The event will become a 54-hole affair if storm prevents play on Saturday and Sunday.
7 Aug
The country also raised a toast to golfer Aditi Ashok, who came agonisingly close to a podium finish before ending fourth.
She pulled off the best performance by an Indian golfer in the Olympics but Aditi could not clinch the eagerly-anticipated medal despite spending a majority of the four rounds in contention for a podium finish.
The 23-year-old Bengalurean ended two strokes off the pace with a total of 15-under 269, which was just one stroke below the medal bracket. In the final round, she managed a 3-under 68.
It was a heartbreaking end to Aditi's campaign considering she started the day in sole second position.
But it was nonetheless a massive improvement as she had finished tied 41st in the 2016 edition where golf made a comeback to the Olympics after over 100 years.
Hockey
Men
Sreejesh Stands Tall, India Snatch Crucial Win Vs NZ
Manuja.Veerappa@timesgroup.com
At the Oi hockey stadium, during India’s 3-2 win against New Zealand in their opener: seasoned goalkeeper PR Sreejesh’s calm head and quick reflexes, which tilted the verdict in India’s favour. While they walked away with a morale-boosting win and three points in the Pool A contest, it exposed some chinks in the armour which need to be addressed before India take on Australia, who battled to a 5-3 win over hosts Japan in the opener, on Sunday.
2
Crush hour: Aussies annihilate India 7-1
Manuja.Veerappa@timesgroup.com
In the 42nd minute, a little after he accidentally tapped in Blake Govers’ flick off a penalty corner, goalkeeper PR Sreejesh sat briefly inside the goalpost, downcast and disappointed. Goalkeeping is a lonely position and the 35-year-old would have felt lonelier on Sunday. While it wasn’t his best day at the office, his teammates didn’t cover themselves with glory either.
Manpreet Singh & Co were humiliated by Australia, the best-ranked team in the world. The scoreline was a humbling 7-1 in their Pool A face-off.
This was India’s worst defeat at an Olympics against Australia, with the previous one being a 1-6 loss at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, a year in which many Indian players played on the artificial surface for the first time.
27 July
The Manpreet Singh-led side claimed a 3-0 triumph over Spain to inch closer to a quarterfinal berth. India produced a spirited performance against World No.9 Spain and scored through Simranjeet Singh (14th minute) and Rupinder Pal Singh (15th and 51st) to record a comfortable win in their third Pool A match at the Oi Hockey Stadium.
29 July
The Manpreet Singh-led men's team hammered defending champion Argentina 4-1 in its penultimate group match to storm into the quarterfinals.
30 July
The hockey teams had a good day. Already assured of a quarterfinal berth, the men were clinical in their 5-3 thrashing of Japan in their final group match. They will face Great Britain in the last-eight stage.
2 Aug
the hockey teams march into the last four : It was the end of a wait that has lasted 49 years. It last happened in the 1972 Munich Games.
Manpreet Singh and his men showed what resolve can do when they outplayed Great Britain 3-1 in the quarterfinal, at the end of which the determined men sobbed in jubilation, hugging each other tightly for they knew the enormity of this win.
3 Aug
The men's hockey team's 2-5 loss to world champion Belgium in the semifinals. That defeat ruled out what would have been an emotional return to the finals for the eight-time gold-medallist after over four decades
5 Aug
Manpreet Singh and his men outran, outwitted, outpaced and to an extent outplayed an aggressive German team 5- 4 to win the Hockey bronze medal.
Simranjeet Singh (17th, 34th minutes) scored a brace, while Hardik Singh (27th), Harmanpreet Singh (29th) and Rupinder Pal Singh (31st) also sounded the board to immortalise themselves and the team.
Women
26 July
A better fight came from the women's hockey team but poor execution proved to be its undoing, leading to a 0-2 defeat at the hands of Germany.
After the 1-5 drubbing at the hands of world no.1 Netherlands, the Indians lifted their game but it was not enough to get past world no.3 and Rio Games bronze-medallists Germany in their second Pool A match at the Oi Hockey Stadium.’
28 July
Rani Rampal's women's hockey team took a 1-4 hammering from Britain, thoroughly punished for not grabbing its chances in the crucial match, which has now severely dented the side's quarterfinal prospects.
30 July
The women kept their hopes of moving ahead alive with Navneet Kaur scoring a late winner against Ireland for a 1-0 win.
31 July
the women's hockey team Outplayed in their first three games, Rani Rampal's team hung in there by beating South Africa 4-3 in their final group engagement and their prayers for a favourable result in the other group match were answered when defending champions Great Britain defeated Ireland 2-0
That result left India fourth in the group, and set them up for a clash against Australia on Monday. The Indian women last made the quarters of an Olympics in 1980 Moscow edition, where it finished fourth. In the 2016 Rio edition, the team had ended 12th
The Indian women’s hockey team finished their Pool A proceedings in the fourth place with six points, riding on back-to-back wins over Ireland and South Africa. The top four teams from each pool made it to the knockout stage.
The Indian women hockey teams best finish at the Olympics came on debut in Moscow back in 1980 when it ended up at the fourth position among six teams.
In that edition, only six teams participated out of which India finished fourth in a round-robin format competition with no classification or elimination matches.
The Rani-led forward line has been impressive throughout the the pool stages but the likes of Sharmila Devi, Lalremsiami and Rani herself have squandered many chances.
The Indians have also been below-par with penalty corner conversions so far with star drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur looking a pale shadow of herself.
The team secured 33 penalty corners so far from five pool matches out of which it managed to utilise just four chances with all the goals coming through variations.
On the other hand, India have conceded 14 goals and scored only seven, and will have to be careful against the Australians, who have scored the joint-second highest number of goals in the group stages, behind only the Netherlands.
2 Aug
On Monday, in sunny Tokyo, an Indian women’s hockey team, low in prominence, but high on belief, shocked the mighty Australian women’s team – so good they have a name, Hockeyroos – to move in to the semifinals of the Olympics. A Gurjit Kaur penalty corner conversion and nine saves by goalkeeper Savita Punia meant Rani Rampal’s team were handing the Aussie women an upset of epic proportions, 1-0. (The Times of India )
4 Aug
The Rani Rampal-led hockey team lost 1-2 to Argentina in the semifinals but stayed in the hunt for a medal. The Indians fought valiantly and gave Argentina a run for their money by taking the lead in the second minute through a penalty corner conversion by Gurjit Kaur. But the Las Leonas bounced back strongly with skipper Maria Barrionuevo's (18th, 36th minutes) twin strikes from penalty corners to secure the hard-fought win.
6 Aug
The medal proved elusive but the Indian women's hockey team earned plenty of respect with a momentous fourth-place finish in the Olympic Games Up against 2016 Games gold-medallists Great Britain in the bronze play-off, India ended 3-4 but managed to give the more fancied team quite a run for its money and in the process earning some more appreciation from the country as well as their opponents.
Rani Rampal and her gutsy teammates cried long after the final hooter had gone off but one thing was clear, history had been scripted by a team that finished last in the previous Games and from whom nobody expected anything.
'I said to the girls, 'Listen, I can't take away your tears. No words will help for that. We didn't win the medal, but I think we achieved something bigger, and it's inspiring a country and make the country proud',' the team's Dutch coach Sjoerd Marijne, whose four-year stint with the side also came to an end on Friday, said.
Rowing
Rowers Arvind & Arjun make history
Duo Qualifies For Semifinals
Kumaraswamy.K@timesgroup.com
Arvind Singh and Arjun Lal produced a tactically brilliant race to give Indian rowing its best ever result at the Olympics so far, reaching the semifinals of the men’s lightweight doubles sculls at the Sea Forest Waterway in Tokyo on Sunday.
Singh and Lal finished third in 6 minutes 51.36 seconds behind teams from Poland (6:43.44) and Spain (6:45.71) in the second repechage race to qualify for Semifinals A/B.
It is the first time that the tricolour will have representation at this stage of the Olympics in rowing. The previous best overall by an Indian rower was the 13th place finish by Dattu Bokanal in men’s single scull at 2016 Rio.
28 July
Another expected result came in rowing where Arjun Lal Jat and Arvind Singh failed to qualify for the men's lightweight double sculls final after finishing sixth and last in the second semifinal.
Arjun and Arvind clocked 6:24.41 in the six-team semifinal 2 at the Sea Forest Waterway.
The top three pairs in each of the two semifinals qualify for the final.
Arjun and Arvind have, however, produced the best-ever Olympic performance by Indian rowers by reaching the semifinals. They will finish at least at the 12th spot.
29 July
Indian rowers Arjun Lal Jat and Arvind Singh ended their campaign in 11th position in the men's lightweight double sculls event, the best ever result for the country in the Olympics. The pair clocked 6:29.66 to finish fifth in the Final B, which was not a medal round, and end at 11th overall at the Sea Forest Waterway.
Sailing
27 July
Indian sailors Vishnu Saravanan and Nethra Kumanan finished way behind the leaders as they ended at 22nd and 33rd spot in the respective events after six races. Saravanan finished 23rd and 22nd in the fifth and sixth race in the men's laser event while Kumanan was 32nd and 38th in the two races of the women's laser radial event held at Enoshima Yacht Harbour.
28 July
There were no surprises in sailing with K Ganapathy and Varun Thakkar languishing at 18th after four races in the men's skiff 49er event.
Shooting
Top gun Saurabh misfires, misses medal in air pistol
Tushar.Dutt@timesgroup.com
Saurabh Chaudhary the Meerut lad, India’s biggest medal hope in shooting, finished 7th in the men’s 10m air pistol final at the Tokyo Olympics.
While Saurabh, 19, faltered in the medal round, his compatriot
Abhishek Verma (17th) failed to enter the 8-man final. Women 10m air rifle shooters Elavenil Valarivan and Apurvi Chandela too could not make the final.
After a shaky start and 95 in the first of the six series, Saurabh fought back brilliantly to top the qualifications with 586/600 and reach the final. Abhishek shot 575, his lowest qualification score at the international level.
On Saturday, Foroughi (244.8 OR), Damir (237.9) and Wei (217.6) won gold, silver and bronze, respectively even as Saurabh looked the weakest shooter among the eight finalists for the first time in the last four years. Saurabh’s 48.7 after the first five shots, 96.8 after 10 shots and 137.4 after 14 rounds were his lowest in a final. A slip-up like this at the Olympics is suicidal.
Saurabh started with a 10.1 in the final and was troubled by 9.4, 9.0, 9.5 and 9.7. In a 24-shot final, where eliminations start after the 12th shot, it is never easy to recover after such shots. To make things worse, an 8.8 and 9.9 in his eight and ninth shots made his comeback impossible.
While Saurabh’s rare fall in the final looked like a poor show, it needs to be acknowledged that the Youth Olympics Games gold medallist became India’s youngest finalist at the Olympics across all sports.
Earlier, Elavenil shot 626.5 to finish 16th and Apurvi could score only 621.9 for a forgettable show at the Games
2
Shooters endure another bad day
Tushar.Dutt@timesgroup.com
There was a sense of emptiness among the Indian shooters at the Asaka Shooting Range in Tokyo on Saturday. It wasn’t just about missing the finals, the helplessness lay in their failure to figure out what went wrong.
While in the women’s 10m air pistol event, favourite Manu Bhaker’s pistol malfunctioned, which saw her finish at 12th position with 575, world No. 1 Yashaswini Deswal finished 13th with 574. The eighth shooter qualified with a score of 577 . The scores that Indian air rifle men shot in the qualification, couldn’t justify the stature they enjoyed during the build-up.
For instance,
World No. 1 Divyansh Singh Panwar’s 622.8 (placed 32nd) and
Deepak Kumar’s 624.7 (26th) were were lower than the cut-off at the Rio Games five years ago. The cut-off in the men’s event was 629.2.
Double trap shooter Ronjan Singh Sodhi, who went to the London Games as World No. 2, had a forgettable outing.
Coach Ronak Pandit said Manu lost over 15 minutes on Sunday and had to shoot 44 shots in 38 minutes. “The cocking lever, which is used to load pellets broke. We had to get it fixed. The bags are kept outside the range, so I had to go out and get the parts. The whole process took 15-17 minutes.”
26 July
The skeet shooters made quiet exits. Angad Vir Singh Bajwa finished 18th while his senior compatriot Mairaj Ahmad Khan ended 25th in the men's skeet event, failing to make the six-man finals by some distance.
27 July
Considered the team's best bet for a podium finish, the duo of Saurabh Chaudhary and Manu Bhaker caved in under pressure and failed to qualify for the final of the 10m air pistol mixed team event. Thy finished seventh in Qualification 2 after topping the first phase with 582. Both the 19- year-old shooters lost the plot completely when the top eight teams battled it out in the second phase.
The other Indian team in the event, Abhishek Verma and Yashaswini Singh Deswal, failed to clear Qualification 1 and finished in 17th place, having totalled 564 across six series (three each for one member).
The team of Chaudhary and Bhaker totalled 380 across two series each in the second phase of the qualification.
Later in the day, both the Indian pairs participating in the 10m air rifle mixed team event, crashed out in the first qualifications stage, missing out on yet another final after an outing that left a lot to be desired.
The duo of Elavenil Valarivan and Divyansh Singh Panwar finished 12th with a total of 626.5 across three series each, while Anjum Moudgil and Deepak Kumar ended 18th out of 29 pairs with an aggregate score of 623.8.
29 July
There was some decent news from the shooting range after continuous disappointment. Manu Bhaker and Rahi Sarnobat were placed 5th and 25th respectively in the women's 25m pistol qualification (precision).
In a field of 44 shooters, Bhaker scored 292 after 30 shots on target in the precision round while compatriot Sarnobat aggregated 287 in the qualifications at the Asaka Shooting Range.
30 July
There was no end to misery in shooting and Manu Bhaker and Rahi Sarnobat crashed out of the 25m pistol qualifications (rapid fire stage) finishing outside the top-8.
The pistol shooters will return home empty-handed for the second straight time at the Olympics.
31 July
Things continued to go from bad to worse at the shooting range as Anjum Moudgil and Tejaswini Sawant failed to make the finals of the women's 50m rifle 3 positions event, settling for the 15th and 33rd position respectively
World Championship silver-medallist Moudgil finished with 1167 and 54 inner 10s, while the veteran Sawant scored 1154 over the three series of standing kneeling and prone at the Asaka Shooting Range
2 Aug
It was finally an end to their misery as Indian shooters ended their campaign at the Games. Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and Sanjeev Rajput failed to qualify for the finals of the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions event , finishing 21st and 32nd respectively at the Asaka Shooting Range. The Indian shooting team will be returning without a medal for the second straight time at the Olympics.
Swimming
26 July
There were no suprises in swimming with Sajan Prakash failing to qualify for the men's 200m butterfly semifinals finishing fourth in Heat 2. Prakash, who clocked a personal best of 1:56:38 in Italy last month to breach the A mark for Olympic qualification, could only manage 1:57.22 to finish 24th among 38 swimmers. The top-16 progressed to the semifinals.
29 July
The country's swimming challenge drew to a close with Sajan Prakash failing to make the semifinals of the 100m butterfly event. He finished second in his Heat but that was not enough to advance as he attained that position in the second-slowest heat with a time of 53.45s. The cut was placed at 51.74s.
Table tennis
Men
Sathiyan succumbs to pressure against little known HK paddler
Prasad.RS@timesgroup.com
It was not an Olympics debut paddler G Sathiyan would want to remember. The 28-year-old went down 3-4 (7-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-5, 9-11, 10-12, 6-11) to Hong Kong’s Lam Siu Hang in the second round at the Tokyo Games on Sunday. The 26th seeded Sathiyan, who received a bye in the first round, lost the opening game 7-11 but quickly regrouped to win the next three games 11-7, 11-4, 11-5. Sathiyan’s defence was sturdy and Lam was feeling the heat by the time the clash entered the fifth game.
26 July
The 39-year-old A Sharath Kamal defeated world bronze medallist Tiago Polonia of Portugal, prevailing 2- 11, 11-8, 11-5, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9 in 49 minutes
27 July
The table tennis veteran A Sharath Kamal. The 39-year-old took a game off the reigning Olympic and World champion Ma Long of China. It wasn't enough to fetch him a victory as he bowed out in the men's singles third round but it did show the tremendous athlete that Sharath has been for several years. "It was the best three games and probably the best match and best tournament I ever played," Sharath told PTI.
Women
India’s table tennis star Manika Batra on Saturday refused to take advice of national coach Soumyadeep Roy during her first round match at the Tokyo Olympics after her personal coach was not granted on-court access.
World No. 62 Manika won the match against 94thranked Tin-Tin Ho of Britain 4-0 but no one was sitting in the coach’s corner and that attracted a lot of attention on social media.
Sutirtha Mukherjee too advanced, making a strong impression on her Olympics debut with a come-from-behind 4-3 (11-13, 9-11, 11-3, 11-9, 11-5) win against 78th-ranked Linda Bergstrom of Sweden. Manika’s personal coach Sanmay Paranjape was controversially cleared to travel with her to Tokyo but is not allowed to stay at the Games Village with the national team. He is staying in a hotel and is allowed access only for training sessions.
2
Denied Field Of Play Access To Personal Coach, Batra Answers Detractors With A Stunning Win
Sabi.Hussain@timesgroup.com
Manika rose above all the chatter and negative talk, scripting a sensational, come-from-behind victory against World No. 32 Ukrainian Margaryta Pesotska in a seven-game thriller.
The 26-year-old Delhi girl, ranked 30 places below Pesotska at World No. 62, came back from two games down to upset the Ukrainian 4-11, 4-11, 11-7, 12-10, 8-11, 11-5, 11-6 in her women’s singles second-round match, which lasted a pulsating, excruciating 56 minutes.
Manika had already created history en route her 4-0 victory against Ho on Saturday, when she became the first Indian woman paddler to win a table-tennis match in 29 years since the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
India’s last women’s singles win in T-T came when Niyati Roy-Shah defeated Cuba’s Marisel Ramirez in Barcelona during the preliminary stage.
26 July
The women's singles campaign came to an end with both Manika Batra and Sutirtha Mukherjee losing their respective preliminary round matches.
Tennis
Men
Sumit Nagal beat veteran Uzbek Denis Istomin 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 6-4 in the near three-hour, first-round outing.
26 July
On the tennis court, Sumit Nagal was blown away by world number two Daniil Medvedev in the men's singles second round as India's tennis challenge all but ended at the Games. The Russian did not even need his 'A' game as he cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 win in just 66 minutes against 160th ranked Nagal at court 1 of the Ariake Tennis Centre.
Mixed
27 July
The Indian tennis team's campaign ended as Sania Mirza and Sumit Nagal could not make the cut for the mixed doubles event due to their low combined ranking of 153.
Women
Sania-Ankita pair stumbles at the doorstep of victory
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Sania Mirza and Ankita Raina had all but wrapped up their first-round match against Ukraine’s Kichenok twins – Lyudmyla and Nadiia – at the Ariake Tennis Park on Sunday. They had won the first set 6-0 in 21 minutes and were serving for the match at 5-3 in the second without having faced a break point until that ninth game. Broken at 30-40 in the ninth, it unravelled quickly for Mirza and Raina, who then crashed to a 6-0, 6-7 (0-7), 8-10 loss in an hour and 35 minutes.
The Indians, who lost three successive games from 5-2 in the second set, saw the Ukrainians draw level at 5-all. Raina then held at love in the 11th game, stalling the meltdown. Mirza and Raina lost 17 successive points from the 12th game of the second set.
After failing to win a point in the second set tie-break, the Indian duo trailed 0-8 in the super tie-break, they might have raised hopes by pulling even at 8-8, but the Kichenoks sealed the match, winning the last two points.
Weightlifting
Mirabai Chanu, Saikhom gave India a historic Olympic silver medal in the 49kg women’s weightlifting contest.
Wrestling
Men
4 Aug
Ravi Dahiya's charge into the final assured India of a fourth Olympic medal as wrestlers sent the country's hopes soaring, while javelin thrower turned on the style to script history in qualification itself on a day when most things went spectacularly well for the contingent save for the heartbreak in hockey and boxing.
But it was another 23-year-old, Dahiya, who emerged as the undisputed star of the day. The son of a farmer from Haryana's Nahri village, who is competing in his maiden Olympic Games in the 57kg category, first outclassed Colombia's Tigreros Urbano (13-2) in his opener and then outwitted Bulgaria's Georgi Valentinov Vangelov (14-4).
In his semifinal clash against Kazakhstan's Nurislam Sanayev, he conceded the lead but bounced back like a seasoned professional to march into the finals, becoming only the second wrestler after double Olympic-medallist Sushil Kumar to achieve the feat. He will be up against reigning world champion Zavur Uguev of Russia to whom he lost in the 2019 World Championship semifinals.
Others in medal contention are Deepak Punia (86kg) and Anshu Malik (women's 57kg). While Punia lost in the semifinals to get a direct entry into the bronze-medal playoffs, Malik has made the repechage round after European champion Irina Kurachikina, who beat her in the opening round, made the finals.
5 Aug
Indias newest wrestling star Ravi Dahiya picked up an impressive silver in the mens 57kg division on his Olympic debut He lost the final to reigning world champion Zavur Uguev of Russian Olympic Committee to sign off with a silver, which was only the second ever by an Indian wrestler.
The 19-year-old Deepak Punia (86kg) came close to a bronze medal but conceded the winning lead to San Marinos Myles Nazem Amine with just a few seconds left in the bout.
6 Aug
After just about making it to the semifinals following two close wins, the second seeded Punia was outmaneuvered by Azerbaijan's Haji Aliev in the last-four stage, leaving him with a bronze to fight for on Saturday.
7 Aug
On the wrestling mat, Punia pulled off a bronze medal on Olympic debut after outwitting Daulet Niyazbekov in the men's freestyle 65kg play-off.
The medal-winning performance saved the 27-year-old and the Indian wrestling contingent from embarrassment since the wrestlers had entered Tokyo with high expectations.
Women
3 Aug
On the wrestling mat as well, debutant Sonam Malik (62kg), 19, crashed out following an opening round loss to Mongolia's Bolortuya Khurelkhuu, an Asian silver-medallist. The crushing part, she lost the bout from a position of strength. Leading 2-0, Malik ended up being tied 2-2 and the Mongol clinched it on the basis of criteria, which awards the bout to the one who scores the last point.
5 Aug
There were plenty of disappointments, the biggest one being star wrestler Vinesh Phogat. After a good win in the opening round, she lost to Belarus Vanesa Kaladzinskaya in the quarterfinals. Her medal hopes were d=The stars= Tokyo Olympics 2020: The stars of India's best ever Olympic performance / Aug 8, 2021/ PTI
India capped off its best-ever performance in the Olympics with a haul of seven medals, including a gold. As the Tokyo Olympics come to a close, PTI takes a look at the medallists and those who came within touching distance of glory but couldn't quite make it to the podium.
The stars
Tokyo Olympics 2020: The stars of India's best ever Olympic performance / Aug 8, 2021/ PTI
India capped off its best-ever performance in the Olympics with a haul of seven medals, including a gold. As the Tokyo Olympics come to a close, PTI takes a look at the medallists and those who came within touching distance of glory but couldn't quite make it to the podium.
Neeraj Chopra: Gold
Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra became only the second Indian to win an individual gold in the Olympics. thanks to Chopra's throw of 87.58m.
Interestingly, Chopra, the son of a farmer from Khandra village near Panipat in Haryana, took to athletics to lose weight.
One day, his uncle took him to Shiva ji Stadium in Panipat for some running. But Chopra wasn't interested in it and almost instantly fell in love with javelin throw when he saw a few seniors practising at the stadium.
The 23-year-old, a Subedar with 4 Rajputana Rifles in the Indian Army, has been a consistent performer since bursting into the scene with a historic gold in the junior world championships in 2016 with an Under-20 world record of 86.48m which still stands.
His other achievements include gold medals in the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games, besides the top finish in the 2017 Asian Championships.
Mirabai Chanu, Saikhom: Silver
The pint-sized weightlifter from Manipuri lifted the spirits of the entire nation as she ended a 21-year wait for a medal in weightlifting, clinching a silver medal in the 49kg category to open India's account on the very first day of competitions on July 24.
Wearing gold earrings shaped like the Olympic rings, which were a gift from her mother who sold her own jewellery for them five years ago, the 26-year-old lifted a total of 202kg (87kg+115kg), finally exorcising the ghosts of her disastrous outing in the 2016 Rio Games where she had failed to log a single legitimate lift.
Born to a poor family in Nongpok Kakching village about 20 kilometres from Imphal, Chanu's childhood was spent cutting and collecting wood from the nearby hills, hauling them up by herself, and fetching water from nearby ponds in milk powder cans.
The 2017 world champion had initially wanted to be an archer but fate had different plans, and reading about fellow Manipuri the legendary N.Kunjarani Devi's exploits in the weightlifting arena all over the world, inspired Chanu to take up the sport.
Ravi Dahiya: Silver
The 23-year-grappler born in the Nahri village of the Sonepat district in Haryana stormed to the final of the men's 57kg freestyle event without any fuss. Although, he fetched a silver, his immense strength and stamina along with technical prowess impressed one and all.
Born to a farming family, Dahiya is a product of the national capital's Chhatrasal Stadium, which has already given India two Olympic medallists -- Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt.
He rose to prominence only when he qualified for the Tokyo Games with a bronze medal-winning effort at the 2019 world championship. He has steadily gown in stature ever since, winning the Asian Championship in 2020 and then defending the title this year.
His father, Rakesh Kumar, would himself carry milk and butter to Chhatrasal Stadium, about 60km away from his home, every single day without fail to ensure that his son got the best diet.
PV Sindhu: Bronze
One of the strongest medal contenders heading to the Tokyo Olympics, PV Sindhu delivered once again. This time snatching a bronze.
The 26-year-old etched her name among the all-time greats after winning women's singles bronze medal to add to the silver she won at Rio de Janeiro five years back. She became the first Indian woman and second overall from the country to achieve the feat.
Such was her dominance at the Tokyo Games that she dropped only two games, both in the semifinal loss to Tai Tzu Ying, in six matches.
The Hyderabad shuttler rose to fame at the international level in 2014 when she won bronze medals in the world championship, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and Asian Championships.
One of the most consistent performers, Sindhu has returned with medals from each one of the big-ticket events she has participated in.
Men's hockey team: Bronze
Four decades of pain and disappointment was washed away as the Indian men's hockey team clinched the bronze, the country's 12th Olympic medal in the sport that came after a gap of 41 years.
It wasn't gold but it was enough to spearhead the revival of the sport in a country that attaches so much sentimental value to it.
After the initial hiccup which saw the team being steam-rolled 1-7 by Australia in their second game, Manpreet Singh and his men made a strong comeback only losing to eventual champions Belgium.
While Manpreet inspired the team with his leadership, goalkeeper PR Sreejesh had a phenomenal tournament, standing like a wall when the opposition mounted an attack.
It seemed the team was destined to win. How else could one explain the addition of Simranjeet Singh, who scored a brace in the crucial bronze playoff, when he wasn't even a part of the original squad and had been added following the International Olympic Committee's decision to allow "alternate athletes" in team events because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lovlina Borgohain: Bronze
Competing in her maiden Olympics, Borgohain carved a niche for herself in the history of Indian women's boxing by clinching a bronze -- India's lone boxing medal at the Tokyo Games.
The 23-year-old, who was brought up in Baro Mukhia village of Assam's Golaghat district, used to be a kickboxer, like her two elder sisters, before she turned to boxing.
A day before she was to leave with the Olympic-bound boxers group for a training camp to Europe, Borgohain had contracted COVID-19. But the missed opportunity couldn't stop her from having a remarkable campaign in which she upstaged former world champion Nien-Chin Chen of Chinese Taipei in the 69kg category.
With the feat, she became only the third Indian boxer ever, after Vijender Singh and MC Mary Kom, to finish on the podium at the quadrennial showpiece.
Bajrang Punia: Bronze
A favourite heading into the Games, Bajrang didn't quite live up to the sky-high expectations of becoming the first Indian wrestler to win the gold, but the 27-year-old did return from Tokyo with a bronze medal, an impressive feat in a nation starved for success at the grandest sporting spectacle.
Bajrang has been passionate about wrestling since childhood, and why not, the sport runs in his blood. His father and elder brother, too, were ardent practitioners of the sport.
As a kid all he wanted was to wrestle. Once at a Dangal, when he was about 34kg, Bajrang insisted that he be allowed to wrestle but the competition was meant for those who weighed about 60kg and to the amazement of everyone, he pinned his opponent, giving a glimpse of his determination.
Those who were so close yet so far:
Women's hockey team
From a bottom-place finish at Rio 2016, the Indian women's team capped a remarkable journey at Tokyo Olympics, finishing a creditable fourth.
Although the team's dream of securing its maiden Olympic medal remained unfulfilled as it lost 3-4 to Great Britain in the closely contested bronze medal play-off, the side recorded its best ever finish at the Games.
After three losses on the trot, everyone had written them off. But a moment of brilliance by skipper Rani Rampal that led to a late strike by Navneet Kaur in the game against Ireland kept the team's quarterfinal hopes alive.
A win against South Africa, that saw Vandana Kataria strike a hat-trick, and a favourable result helped ensure India's passage to the quarterfinal, where drag flick specialist Gurjit Kaur rose to the occasion when it mattered the most, converting a PC against the mighty Australians.
With the odds stacked firmly against them a brave and determined women's team etched its name in the history books by entering its maiden Olympic semifinals.
Deepak Punia
After an impressive campaign that saw him race to the semifinals, Deepak Punia was only 10 seconds away from a medal, but the 22-year-old debutant ended up conceding a take-down in the 86kg freestyle bronze medal play-off.
Wrestling was just a route that Deepak hoped would find him a good job to help sustain his family. He was offered the post of a sepoy in the Indian Army back in 2016 but was told to dream big and not settle for little things.
He took the advice of two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar seriously and has gradually made his mark. He became a World Cadet champion in 2016 and in 2019 won the junior World title, only the fourth Indian ever to do so.
Aditi Ashok
Aditi Ashok captured the imagination of the entire country as sports lovers turned on their tv sets in the wee hours to watch golf, trying their hardest to understand the concepts of the game.
Ranked 200 in the world, the 23-year-old from Bengaluru competed toe-to-toe against the best golfers in the world. But, alas it wasn't meant to be as after coming agonisingly close, Aditi finished fourth.
Aditi started playing golf at the age of five. At the Rio Olympics, where she finished 41st, Aditi was the youngest player.
She had her father as caddie in Rio while it was her mother joining her in Tokyo. ashed when Kaladzinskaya failed to make the finals.
The Indian contingent
July 16, 2021: The Times of India
Here's the complete list of the contingent:
ARCHERY
Men's recurve individual and team event:
Tarundeep Rai
Atanu Das
Pravin Jadhav
Women's recurve individual: Deepika Kumari
Coach: Mim Bahadur Gurung
Physiotherapist: Chinmay Shrirang Bhide
ATHLETICS
Neeraj Chopra - men's javelin throw
Shivpal Singh - men's javelin throw
Bhawna Jat - women's 20 km race-walk
KT Irfan Thodi - men's 20 km race-walk
Gurpreet Singh - men's 50km race-walk
Avinash Sable - men's 3000m steeplechase
Sandeep Kumar - men's 20 km race-walk
Priyanka Goswami - women's 20 km race-walk
Rahul Rohilla- men's 20 km race-walk
M Sreeshankar - men's long jump
Kamalpreet Kaur - women's discus throw
Tajinderpal Singh Toor - men's shot-put
Seema Punia - women's discus throw
Dutee Chand - women's 100m and 200m
MP Jabir - men's 400m hurdles
Annu Rani - women's javelin throw
Amol Jacob, Rajiv Arokia, Muhammaed Anas, Naganathan Pandi, Noah Nirmal Tom - Men's 4x400m relay team
Sarthak Bhambri, Alex Antony, Revathi Veeramani, Subha Venkatesan, Dhanlakshmi Sekhar - Mixed 4x400m relay team
Coaches: Radhakrishnan Prabhakaran, Mohinder Singh Dhillon, Klaus Bartonietz, Galina Bukharina, Rajmohan, Uew Hohn, M Sivasankaran, Amrish Kumar, Ramesh Nagapuri, Alexander Artsybashev, Physiotherapist: Abhishek Pandey, Ishaan Marwaha, Alexander Sinitsyn, Ketan Hulawale, Simoni Shah, Pawan Kumar
Masseur: Elmira Kiseleva, Chandrej Kumar
Team Doctor: Brajesh Koushle
Medical Staff: Andrei Filimonau
Manager: Madhukant Pathak
BADMINTON
PV Sindhu - women's singles
B Sai Praneeth - men's singles
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty - men's doubles
Coaches: Tae Seng Park, Mathias Boe
Physiotherapist: Evangeline Baddam, Sumansh Sivalanka, Dwi Santosa Agus
BOXING
Satish Kumar - men's 91+ kg
Ashish Kumar - men's 75 kg
Lovlina Borgohain - women's 69 kg
Vikas Krishan - men's 69 kg
Pooja Rani - women's 75 kg
Amit Panghal - men's 52 kg
Mary Kom - women's 51 kg
Simranjit Kaur - women's 60 kg
Manish Kaushik - men's 63 kg
Coach: Santiago Nieva, Raffaele Bergamasco, CA Kuttappa, Mohammad Ali Qamar, Chhote Lal
Physiotherapist: Aayush Yekhande
Doctor: Karanjeet Singh
EQUESTRIAN
Fouaad Mirza - men's individual eventing
Veterinary Doctor: Grigorios Maleas
Groom: Johanna Pohjonen
Physiotherapist: Veronia Sinz
FENCING
Bhavani Devi - women's sabre
Coach: Nicola Zanotti
Psychologist: Angelo Carnemolla
Manager: Ramani Sundhararaman
GOLF
Anirban Lahiri
Aditi Ashok
Udayan Mane
Coach: Ashok Pandit
Caddies: C Seenappa, Rupesh Pardeshi, Maheshwari Bhuyar
GYMNASTICS
Pranati Nayak - women's artistic
Coach: Lakhan Sharma
HOCKEY
Men's team (19 players, including two alternate players and one reserve goalkeeper)
Women's team (19 players, including two alternate players and one reserve goalkeeper)
Coaches: Graham Reid, Sjoerd Marijne, Shivendra Singh, Gregg Clark, Johanna Schopman, Ankitha Suresh, Piyush Dubey
Scientific Advisors: Robin Arkell, Wayne Lombard
Masseur/Masseuse: Arup Naskar, Radhika Chaudhari
Physiotherapists: Kannan Bose, Nivedita Chopra
Video Analysts: Ashok Kumar, A Perumal
JUDO
Sushila Devi
Coach: Jiwan Sharma
ROWING
Arjun Lal Jat and Arvind Singh - men's lightweight double sculls
Coach: Ismail Baig
SAILING
Nethra Kumanan - women's laser radial
Vishnu Saravanan - men's laser standard
KC Ganapathy and Varun Thakkar - men's skiff 49er
Coaches: Ian Warren, Alexandr Denisiuc
Official: Malav Shroff
SHOOTING
Individual Events:
Anjum Moudgil - women's 50m rifle 3-position
Tejaswini Sawant - women's 50m rifle 3-position
Apurvi Chandela - women's 10m air rifle
Elavenil Valarivan - women's 10m air rifle
Manu Bhaker - women's 10m air pistol, women's 25m pistol
Yashaswini Deswal - women's 10m air pistol
Rahi Sarnobat - women's 25m pistol
Divyansh Panwar - men's 10m air rifle
Sanjeev Rajput - men's 50m rifle 3-position
Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar - men's 50m rifle 3-position
Saurabh Chaudhary - men's 10m air pistol
Abhishek Verma - men's 10m air pistol
Deepak Kumar - men's 10m air rifle
Angad Veer Singh Bajwa - men's skeet
Mairaj Ahmad Khan - men's skeet
Mixed Team Events
10m air rifle - Divyansh Singh Panwar and Elavenil Valarivan; Deepak Kumar and Anjum Moudgil
10m air pistol - Saurabh Chaudhary and Manu Bhaker; Abhishek Verma and Yashaswini Singh Deswal.
Reserves
Men's 10m air rifle - Sandeep Singh and Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar
Men's 50m rifle 3-position - Swapnil Kusale and Chain Singh
Men's 10m air pistol - Shahzar Rizvi and Om Prakash Mitharval
Men's skeet - Gurjoat Singh Khangura and Sheeraz Sheikh
Women's 10m air rifle - Anjum Moudgil and Shreya Agrawal
Women's 50m rifle 3-position - Sunidhi Chauhan and Gaayathri Nithyanandam
Women's 10m air pistol - P Shri Nivetha and Shweta Singh
Women's 25m pistol - Chinki Yadav and Abhidnya Patil
(Names mentioned under 'Reserves' are not counted in the tally of athletes who have qualified/are selected)
Coaches: Suma Shirur, Deepali Deshpande, Oleg Mikhailov, Pavel Smirnov, Samaresh Jung, Ronak Pandit, Mansher Singh
Physiotherapist: Zeinia Samar
SWIMMING
Sajan Prakash - men's 200m butterfly
Srihari Nataraj - men's 100m backstroke
Maana Patel - women's 100m backstroke
Coach: Pradeep Kumar, Nihar Ameen
TABLE TENNIS
Achanta Sharath Kamal - men's singles
Sathiyan Gnanasekaran - men's singles
Manika Batra - women's singles
Sutirtha Mukherjee - women's singles
Achanta Sharath Kamal & Manika Batra - mixed doubles
Coach: Soumyadeep Roy, Sanmay Paranjape
Manager: Mahinder Pal Singh
TENNIS
Sania Mirza and Ankita Raina - women's doubles
Sumit Nagal - men's singles
Physiotherapist: Anand Kumar
WEIGHTLIFTING
Saikhom Mirabai Chanu - women's 48kg
Coaches: Vijay Sharma, Pramod Sharma, Sandip Kumar
Physiotherapist: Aalap Javadekar
WRESTLING
Ravi Dahiya - men's 57 kg freestyle
Bajrang Punia - men's 65 kg freestyle
Deepak Punia - men's 86 kg freestyle
Vinesh Phogat - women's 53 kg freestyle
Anshu Malik - women's 57 kg freestyle
Sonam Malik - women's 62 kg freestyle
Seema Bisla - women's 50 kg freestyle
Coaches: Jagmander Singh, Kuldeep Singh, Anil Maan, Rajeev Tomar, Kamal Malikov, Gaidarov Murad, Emzarios Bentinidis, Wollar Akos
Team Leader: Vinod Tomar
CONTINGENT OFFICIALS
Birendra Baishya, Prem Verma, Kumar Bhowmik, Arun Mathew, Binay Sinha, George Mathew, Puskar Negi, Abhishek Goel
India’s medal hopes
Team TOI Plus, July 12, 2021: The Times of India
Inputs: Jaspreet Sahni and Amit Kumar
Here is a list of some of India’s medal hopes.
SHOOTING
Medal prospects: 4
1. Elavenil Valarivan, 21
Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu
Air rifle, 10m
Elavenil Valarivan is ranked No. 1 in the Tokyo Olympics rankings and 12th in the world in 2021 rankings. She won gold medals at the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Cup at Rio and Putian in 2019.
2. Saurabh Chaudhary, 19
Meerut, Uttar Pradesh
10m air pistol and mixed team 10m air pistol
Saurabh won a bronze at the 2021 ISSF World Cup in Osijek, Croatia.
“He is never satisfied by the score. He comes back and says these were the problems and asks can we sort them out. He has that desire to improve," says his coach Samaresh Jung.
Chaudhary will also partner Manu Bhaker in the 10m air pistol mixed team event. Bhaker herself is an individual medal prospect.
3. Manu Bhaker, 19
Jhajjar, Haryana
10m air pistol, 25m pistol and mixed team 10m air pistol
Bhaker won an individual gold and mixed team gold at the 2019 World Cup Final. She also bagged two golds at the 2019 Asian Championship.
4. Abhishek Verma, 31
Hisar, Haryana
Verma won two individual ISSF World Cup golds in 2019, securing the Tokyo 2020 quota in the process. At the 2019 Asian Championships, he won an individual silver and is currently ranked world No. 2 in the ISSF rankings.
WEIGHTLIFTING
Medal prospect: 1
1. Mirabai Chanu, 26
Imphal, Manipur
Mirabai Chanu, who set the world record in clean and jerk as recently as in April with a lift of 119kg to win the bronze at the Asian Weightlifting Championships, will compete in the 49kg category. Chanu will look to erase the memories of Rio when she failed to record a valid lift.
ARCHERY Medal prospects: 2
1. Atanu Das, 29
Baranagar, West Bengal
Men’s recurve individual and team
While he crashed to a round of 16 defeat in Rio, top podium finish at the 2021 Archery World Cup in Guatemala City has proved to be a confidence boost. Apart from the individual event, he is also a part of the men’s team event with Tarundeep Rai and Pravin Jadhav. Atanu is married to two-time World Championship silver medallist Deepika Kumari.
2. Deepika Kumari, 27
Ranchi, Jharkhand
Deepika Kumari regained the world No. 1 ranking this year after winning three gold medals at the World Cup stage 3 in Paris. She now has nine gold, 12 silver, and seven bronze World Cup medals.
BOXING
Medal prospects: 2
1. Amit Panghal, 25
Rohtak, Haryana
Amit Panghal is ranked No.1 in men’s 52kg in the latest International Boxing Association world rankings. His is also a World Championships silver medalist.
2. M C Mary Kom, 38
Kangathei, Churachandpur, Manipur
The legendary boxer is India's biggest hope to secure a podium finish. She is the only woman to win the World Amateur Boxing Championships six times and the only boxer (male or female) to win eight World Championships medals.
WRESTLING
Medal prospects: 2
1. Vinesh Phogat, 26
Haryana
Vinesh Phogat is the current world No. 1 in 53kg freestyle category. The 26-year-old wrestler clinched her Olympic spot at the 2019 world wrestling championships in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, winning the bronze at the event. The grappler won bronze at the 2020 Asian championships and her maiden gold in the 2021 edition in Almaty, Kazakhstan. She also won the gold at the Matteo Pellicone tournament in Rome in March this year.
2. Bajrang Punia, 27
Jhajjar, Haryana
One of India’s most experienced wrestlers, Punia will represent India in the men's freestyle 65kg category. Punia has won three medals for India at the World Wrestling Championships and this will be his best chance to bring home an Olympic medal.
BADMINTON
Medal prospect: 1
1. P V Sindhu, 26
Hyderabad, Telangana
Five years after her Rio silver, P V Sindhu will be eyeing the Olympic gold in Tokyo. Since Rio, she has gone on to become the first Indian to win a Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Championships title, bagged her maiden BWF World Tour Finals crown in the inaugural edition in 2018 and achieved a career-best ranking of world No. 2. Currently ranked seventh on BWF’s rankings, Sindhu will have to be at her best in Tokyo.
HOCKEY
Tokyo is India’s chance to regain its past glory. Ranked fifth in the world, Indian men have put in some good performances against the world’s top teams. According to pundits, the Indians have it in them to reach the semi-finals. After that, anything is possible.
The stars in the squad include Manpreet Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh, P R Sreejesh and Birendra Lakra. The team also has 10 Olympic debutants.
TRACK AND FIELD
Medal prospect: 1
Flying Sikh Milkha Singh died carrying an unfulfilled dream. He wanted to see someone win an Olympic medal from India in a track and field event. Could it be javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra?
1. Neeraj Chopra, 23
Panipat, Haryana
He threw 87.86m at the first event he competed at after recovering from an elbow injury. The throw won him a qualification for Tokyo. Chopra has been a junior world champion and an Asian Games gold medalist. He recently hit the 88.07m mark, fourth highest in the world in 2021 and his career best. If he touches 90m, he will be in the contention.
2020/ 2021
Indians who qualified
From: March 28, 2020: The Times of India
See graphic:
Indians who qualified for the Tokyo Olympics 2020
Pooja, Lovlina, Vikas, Ashish Seal Olympic Berths
Hindol Basu, March 9, 2020: The Times of India
Pooja, Lovlina, Vikas, Ashish Seal Tokyo Oly Berths
It was an outstanding day for Indian boxing as four pugilists secured Olympic quota spots at the ongoing Asia-Oceania Olympic Qualifiers in Amman, Jordan. Pooja Rani was the first followed by Vikas Krishan, while Lovlina Borgohain and Ashish Kumar brought further joy late in the day.
Last year, Vikas returned to the amateur fold after having turned professional in November 2018. His only goal was to win a medal for India at the Tokyo Olympics. Vikas took the first step towards that by winning his quarterfinal bout against Japan’s Sewonrets Okazawa 5-0.
Krishan had to slog hard against his opponent in the 69kg category. However, in the end, the five judges ruled in his favour. This will be Krishan’s third successive appearance at the quadrennial showpiece.
Pooja Rani was far more dominant versus Thailand’s Pornnipa Chutee in the 75kg category quarterfinal encounter, returning with a 5-0 verdict in her favour to ensure her ticket to Tokyo. Lovlina Borgohain also pulled off a convincing 5-0 win over Uzbekistan’s Maftunakhon Melieva in her 69kg quarterfinal bout, giving India its third Olympic quota of the day. Ashish Kumar defeated Indonesia’s Maikhel Roberrd Muskita in the 75kg quarterfinal bout, giving India its fourth Olympic quota in boxing. The Indian boxer also posted a 5-0 unanimous victory.
Taking full advantage of her longer reach, Pooja outpunched the inexperienced Chutee. Pooja will next face reigning world and Asian champion Li Qian of China, who has the top billing in this weight class.
“I had never fought against this girl from Thailand before; and honestly, I was a bit scared. I had told my coaches about it before the bout. They instilled confidence in me and I could pull off a one-sided result. I am happy,” the 29-year-old Pooja told TOI after entering the semifinals. “Before the tournament, I worked on my shortcomings and that has helped me so far.” Pooja has always been identified as a boxer with a “lot of potential” by national coaches, but her prospects of winning big tournaments always faced obstacles due to fitness and mental issues. That’s when Pune-based Lakshya Institute came to her help.
Before the Olympic qualifiers, Pooja underwent the special Volume of Oxygen Max (VO2 Max) training. This helps an athlete maximise the amount of oxygen a person can utilize while playing a high-intensity sport. It also determines an athlete’s cardiovascular fitness and performance capacity, which in case of Pooja was quite low when she started training five months back.
Under the watchful eyes of Dr Nikhil Latey, who has also worked closely with MC Mary Kom in the past, Pooja started producing results during her practice bouts in the lead-up to the Olympic qualifiers.
A controlled dietary regimen was followed to keep her weight in check. In the last couple of days before her flight to Jordan, Pooja also worked on her mental aspect.
Sachin Kumar’s tight 2-3 loss against the experienced Daxaing Chen of China in the 81kg category came as a disappointment for India. Sachin’s Olympic dreams are not over yet, as he will get another chance to qualify – through a boxoff – if Chen enters the final.
2021
Hindol Basu, July 21, 2021: The Times of India
From: Hindol Basu, July 21, 2021: The Times of India
See graphic:
Members of India’s 2021 Olympic contingent from various states, vis-à-vis the population of that state: the best and worst states
Athletes from Haryana and Punjab are once again leading the way for the country at the Olympics. The two states, with just 4.4% share of India’s population, have together sent 50 athletes to the Tokyo Games, accounting for 40% of the Indian contingent.
Haryana has 31 athletes in the contingent, nearly 25% of the total, while Punjab has 19. Tamil Nadu comes next, having sent 11 athletes to Tokyo, 8.7% of the contingent. Others in the top five are Kerala and UP – each with 8 athletes.
Uttar Pradesh, which is nearly 17% of India’s total population, is contributing 6.3% of the country’s Tokyo Olympics contingent, while Kerala with a population share of 2.6% percent has a representation of 6.3% in the Olympics squad.
For Haryana, nine of 19 women hockey players, seven wrestlers (four women, three men), four boxers (three men, one woman) and four shooters (two women, two men) make up most of the numbers.
11 hockey players boost Punjab’s Olympic count
While for Punjab, 11 out of India’s19-member men’s hockey squad swell the tally. Two shooters (a man and woman), three from athletics (two men, one woman), two women’s hockey team members, and one boxer make up the total.
Tamil Nadu has five from athletics, three from sailing, two table tennis players and one from fencing making up the numbers. Kerala, known for its legacy in athletics, has six in track and field events out of the eight it is sending to Tokyo. One each is in swimming and the men’s hockey team.
With a total of 127 athletes, India is sending its largest-ever contingent to the Olympic Games and will take part in 18 disciplines: archery, athletics, boxing, badminton, equestrian, fencing, golf, gymnastics, hockey, judo, rowing, shooting, sailing, swimming, table tennis, tennis, weightlifting and wrestling.
See also
The Olympics: India (1900-2016)
The Olympics and India, 2021
