People Parties Places

2012 Olympics: Indian effort starting to shine through

India returned with its best-ever Olympics medal tally from the London Games. If there is anything missing, it is a gold and that has been somewhat made up by two silver medals out of a total of six. The performance of the Indians is indeed creditable as the expectations were also realistic.

While shooting and wrestling led the charge with two medals each (one silver and one bronze in each of the disciplines), two other finishes on the podium were from badminton and women’s boxing. India finished 55th on the medals table, 10 rungs higher than their count at Beijing, and having doubled the three-medal tally from 2008.

India began its medal account with 29-year-old Gagan Narang winning the bronze for shooting, and after just three unproductive days, luck again smiled on India as army shooter Vijay Kumar scooped up silver.

The Indians also achieved spectacular success on the mat at the Excel arena, with Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt getting a silver and bronze respectively.

On the badminton court, Saina Nehwal etched her name in India’s sporting history by winning the country’s maiden medal from the competition to become the second Indian woman to stand on the Olympic podium.

Women’s boxing saw Manipur’s M.C. Mary Kom scripting history by becoming the country’s first woman pugilist to win a medal at the Olympics when she finished with a bronze in the 51 kg event.

India’s medal winners

Vijay Kumar won Silver at Shooting Men’s 25m rapid fire pistol. Sushil Kumar won Silver for Wrestling Men’s 66kg freestyle.

Gagan Narang won Bronze at Shooting Men’s 10m air rifle. Saina Nehwal won Bronze at Badminton Women’s singles. Mary Kom won Bronze for Boxing Women’s 51kg

Yogeshwar Dutt won Bronze for Wrestling Men’s 60kg freestyle.

Although India won only six medals at the London Olympics, Indian sportspersons had done the country proud, President Pranab Mukherjee said recently.

“The number of trophies may not be too large but it is a remarkable improvement upon the last count,” Mukherjee said in his Independence Day-eve speech.

“Four years later, when I hope to address you again, I am sure we will celebrate a medals spring!”

Vijay shoots silver

Army shooter Vijay Kumar made India proud by winning a welcome silver medal at the London Olympics in the men’s 25 metre rapid fire pistol event.

Vijay Kumar, a junior commissioned officer (JCO) in the 16 Dogra Regiment, ensured a finish on the podium scoring 30 in the final. “There was lot of pressure on me but I stuck to my plans and came out well,” an elated Kumar said at the Royal Artillery Barracks. “This medal means such a lot to me. It has been my dream to win an Olympic medal. This is the highest you can get”.

He added, “I was focused like I normally am for other competitions. But this is the Olympic Games and it is very special. You can never blank out the fact that you are competing in the Olympic Games but I managed to remain focused. I knew I had to keep control over my nerves. This was my first Olympics, I knew I had to concentrate and never let that falter”.

For Vijay’s family, it was celebration time in the nondescript village of Badsar in Hamirpur district of Himachal Pradesh.

“Had the cable connection to our home not snapped at the last moment, I would have seen my son’s medal-winning moment in the comfort of my home with other family members also watching,” an upbeat Vijay’s father Subedar (Retd) Banku Ram said, whose mobile phone was continuously ringing with congratulatory calls.

Vijay’s house was bustling with villagers, relatives and officials of the district administration.

Elated mum Roshni said she got a call from London from Vijay immediately after the event. “He said he’s satisfied with his feat and his dream is fulfilled,” she revealed.

Vijay joined the army at the age of 16. Serving as a Subedar in the Indian army, he took up shooting in 2001 and his father said he never expected his son to reach such heights.

“I never thought he would reach this level. My happiness has no bounds,” he said.

Vijay had spoken to his father two hours before the event.

“He was quite confident about winning the medal,” said Ram.

He had no regrets that his son missed the gold. “No… not at all. I am very happy with silver. I think it’s no less than a gold for us.”

The Haryana state government has already announced a cash award of Rs.1 crore to the shooter.

Team Sushil celebrates Olympic silver

Sushil Kumar’s team celebrated the Olympic silver, hailing the wrestler for making endless sacrifices that made him the only Indian individual athlete to win back-toback Olympic medals.

Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) secretary-general Raj Singh, who is a part of the Indian team, said Sushil deserved the gold medal but added that the wrestler was not well going into the final bout.

“I think the semi-final bout that Sushil won was one of the best he has ever fought. Before the final bout, he was dehydrated and started vomiting. But that is not an excuse. Sushil gave his best in the final and luck was not with him today,” said Singh.

Sushil’s personal coach Yashvir Singh was also elated at his ward’s feat.

“This is a great feat for the sport in the country and I hope things will only get better from here on,” said Yashvir.

Sushil’s mentor and father in-law Satpal Singh, an Asian Games gold medallist, thanked the sports ministry for providing all the help for Delhi boy’s training.

“We are grateful to the sports ministry for providing Sushil with all facilities. Be it training at Colorado Springs in the US or at Minsk in Belarus, Sushil was provided with all the top facilities. I expected a gold medal from Sushil, but nevertheless a silver is also a great achievement,” he said.

Sushil’s wife Savi Singh was also ecstatic and said all the sacrifices that her husband had made in the last one year have finally paid off.

“We got married in 2010 and since then we had just two months for each other. Today all the sacrifices that he had made finally paid off. I am really happy for him. After the semi-final bout, he came to me, held my hand and said he would go for the gold. But I think luck was not with him today. But we are proud of him,” she said. It has been a roller-coaster ride, says Gagan Narang

Olympic bronze medallist, shooter Gagan Narang said his journey from the Beijing Games to the London Olympics had been a roller-coaster ride.

In Beijing, the rifle-shooter had failed to qualify for the final eight by a whisker, and Abhinav Bindra had gone on to win gold. But destiny had something in store for Gagan in London as he went on to clinch the bronze.

“I have achieved finally what I deserve,” said Gagan on landing in India. Gagan, however, said that his mother was not happy with the bronze.

“She wanted me to win the gold medal. I hope to fulfill her wish in the future,” he said.

The shooter, instead of going back to his hometown of Hyderabad, preferred to spend some time at his Gun for Glory

Academy in Pune where wild celebrations welcomed their hero.

Gagan was also felicitated at the academy by Maharashtra Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Padmakar Valvi.

“Pune has been a special place for me. I have trained here for the last four years. When you look back at all those years of training, winning an Olympic medal was very tough.”

“I learnt a lot from the people who believed in me, I learnt more from the people who did not believe in me. I particularly want to thank my coach Stanlius Lapidus, he has gone back for a vacation. I hope my effort inspires young kids to take up shooting,” he said.

Gagan was happy with India’s campaign at the Olympics.

“It is a gradual process. Sporting culture is needed where marks are given to students for sports in schools, jobs are assured for sportsperson and sponsors are willing to support them through rough times,” Gagan said.

“We have picked momentum and are moving in the right direction. It is an encouraging sign,” he added

Saina changes Beijing heartbreak into Olympic bronze

World No. 5 Saina Nehwal gave India its maiden Olympic medal in badminton. She won the women’s singles bronze after her opponent Xin Wang of China broke down with a knee injury after taking the opening game.

Wang retired after winning the first game 21-18.

Nehwal, ranked fifth in the world, became only the second Indian woman to win a medal in an individual Olympic sport.

From a heartbreak in Beijing to the bronze medal in London - the first for I ndia in Olympics badminton, shuttler Saina Nehwal has come a long way in four years.

The Saina of 2012 is a matured and feared opponent.

In fact her journey from Beijing to

London has been that of sheer hard work, grit and determination compared to ‘conquering’ the Great Wall of China. She worked hard on her game, especially the mental part, against the Chinese domination.

The 22-year-old Hyderabadi may be elated at getting the medal, but she did not get into any exaggerated celebration since the medal came in a way she never wanted to. But her smile on the Olympic podium summed up her feelings at winning the bronze.

Saina will receive a reward of Rs.1 crore from the Haryana government for her bronze.

Though Saina lives in Hyderabad, she has got the reward under the category of sportspersons from Haryana since her family hails from there.

“I still can’t believe that I have won a medal,” Saina Nehwal said after the match. “I never believed that India could win a medal in badminton because the competition is so tough. It is a dream come true for me”.

“I had trained hard and there was a lot of expectation. I initially thought that Wang was just taking rest as she was tiring out, but then I realised she was injured. It’s sad that she got injured, but I was confident of beating her as I was coming into rhythm”.

“I had never won a match like this before. May be, the medal was written for me. I have always wanted an Olympic medal and to see India’s national flag going up at the podium,” she said with emotion.

Saina is also a recipient of the country’s highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award which she won in 2010. Apart from being honoured with the Arjuna Award in 2009, she was also conferred India’s fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri.

Mary Kom wins a historic bronze

India’s M.C. Mary Kom scripted history by becoming the country’s first woman boxer to win a medal at the Olympics when she finished with a bronze in the 51kg event at the London Games.

Mary reached the semi-finals, but went down fighting in her pre-summit bout against local favourite Nicola Adams.

Losing 6-11, Mary Kom became only the second Indian boxer ever win an Olympic medal, sharing the bronze with US’s Marlen Esparza. Women’s boxing made its Olympic debut in London, and both semi-finals losers were awarded bronze medals.

A happy Mary Kom said she was satisfied with her effort.

“It has been a tough journey. I carried on with the support of family and friends. I want to continue playing the game. Despite the loss today, I am satisfied with the way I performed.”

Speaking at a felicitation ceremony after her return, the 29-year-old said she faced problems while facing the taller and bigger opponents in the 51kg.

“I won the medal and I am really happy. But I did not play well throughout the tournament,” said the candid Mary Kom, who won her five World Championship titles in 48, 46 and 45kg class.

The mother of two had earlier hinted of retirement after the Olympics. But after her memorable feat, she has put those thoughts on the backburner. The bronze medal has motivated her to carry on till the 2016 Olympics.

“The planning for Rio has already started. The good thing is the weight categories could be increased to six categories there and I can go back to the 48kg class. If that happens, I have a great chance of winning gold.”

Asked about the women’s boxing future, Mary Kom said there was enough talent in India, capable of performing at the big stage.

“If we have good facilities, good infrastructure, we can hope to win more medals at the Olympics. My medal is just the beginning and things can only get better. There are a lot of women boxers at sub-junior and junior level. If you want them to do well internationally, you have to prepare and plan from now onwards,” said

Mary Kom, who runs a boxing academy in Manipur and has plans to extend it in the whole of northeast India.

I was hungry for this medal: Yogeshwar

Olympic bronze medallist Yogeshwar Dutt said recently that he was desperate to win an Olympic medal after a disappointing Beijing Games. Yogeshwar won the bronze in the men’s 60 kg freestyle wrestling.

“I’m happy to have completed my dream. This is what I have always wanted and I was hungry for this medal,” he said.

“I want to thank my family and people who gave me their blessings. I also want to thank God without whom this would not have been possible,” said the elated 29-yearold.

Dutt had been plagued by injuries but overcame them to win the country its third ever wrestling medal. “After 2008, I thought of preparing for the London Games. I had many injuries. In this sport injuries are a part of the game. I concentrated on the idea of winning and not on injuries, and this medal is a result of it.”

The wrestler always believed that it was “now or never” for him at the London Games, perhaps his last Olympics, with expectations high for a good performance.

In the last four years, Yogeshwar has had a tough run. After the heartbreak in Beijing and narrowly missing a medal, he had to undergo two career-threatening knee surgeries in 2009. All these setbacks, he said, made his resolve to get back stronger.

Gold medals in the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the 2012 Asian Championships only reinforced Yogeshwar’s belief that he was destined for better things in London. Experience of the past Olympics made him a mature wrestler.

Training stints at the US Olympic Centre in Colorado Springs and Stayki Wrestling Complex, in Minsk, Belarus, ahead of the London Games, also helped Yogeshwar to fine-tune his skills. IANS