The unparalleled feat

 The Indian campaign in the 2020 Summer Olympics has officially come to an end. With 4 bronze, 2 silver and 1 gold medal, India won 7 medals in total, better than the performance in the London and Rio Olympics in the year 2012 and 2016 respectively. We have raised the bar higher with our great performance and hope we continue to do so and bag more medals in the 2024 Summer Olympics. Tears, sweat, determination, mental prowess during these tough times and oodles of confidence in oneself has helped us achieve this magnificent feat. Several players even tested positive for COVID, but they battled it, fought like a tiger and gifted the prestigious Olympic medals to the country.

This year's Olympics is not special just because the country's medal tally rose. It is special because we made history in all the fields. Hockey's lost glory was back as Indian Hockey team won a bronze after 41 years, Ravi Kumar Dahiya won a silver in wrestling after 9 years, Mirabai Chanu won a medal in weight lifting after 20 years, and most importantly, Neeraj Chopra became the youngest player to win a gold in javelin throw, thus giving a stylish finish to the Indian campaign, ending the 121 year wait for the first athletics medal. Milkha Singh's wish to see India win a gold in athletics  and the entire nation's desire to hear the national anthem play and resonate in the stadium was finally fulfilled.

This year for the first time ever, India competed in the sport of fencing; a sport which many weren't aware of. 

PV Sindhu became the only Indian to win two successive medals in the Olympics. Lovlina Boroghain became the third Indian to win a bronze medal in boxing. Kamalpreet Kaur-despite not winning a medal- holds the record of the best discus throw; higher than the qualification mark (Neeraj Chopra too crossed the qualification mark in javelin, thus sealing a direct spot in the finals). Bajrang Punia won a bronze in wrestling thus helping India to equal the 2012 tally of 6 medals. The women's hockey team and Aditi Ashok- both missed bronze by a whisker- but they have become an inspiration for several people across the country. 

This year is also special for another reason. Most Indians, who didn't really show much interest in sports other than cricket, have started to watch all the Olympic matches due to the spectacular performances of our athletes. No offence to the former sport as it has brought us a lot of glory and produced many stars, but it is important to give all the sports equal respect and importance because laurels won in any field only increases the glory of the country. Many people have understood this fact and have placed other sports too on the same pedestal as cricket. 

  Even though we may not know the technicalities of a sport, we truly enjoyed watching all our fellow Indian players making us proud. There may be a few people who will compare the number of medals won and may point fingers at us, but one thing what I am sure of is that this is just a beginning to a glorious start. We have made records this year and we will continue to do so. There will surely be a rise in the tally due to increase in the acceptance of all the sports as game-changers and as something that will take our country to the pinnacle.

With my head high and my heart thumping with patriotism, I salute all our athletes who made our country proud. I thank them for opening my eyes, for making me look beyond only one sport. Once again, I wish them good luck and pray that they outdo themselves next time.

With utmost respect and regards,

Anusha Sridhar

(An interesting fact:  7th August 2021- the day when the Indian National Anthem was played in Tokyo to honour the country's historic win- was the 80th death anniversary of its creator Rabindranath Tagore! Don't know if it is a mere coincidence, but this is something very special which will forever be remembered. Couldn't be more prouder!)

(P.S As a DAVian, I am really proud and super happy that our gold-winning champion Neeraj Chopra and hockey player Hardik Singh are alumni of DAV! You have become an inspiration for the entire nation and of course, all the young DAVians wanting to pursue a career in sports.