As Tokyo Olympics concludes, here's a look at India's medalists

As the Tokyo Olympics came to a halt on Sunday, India crowned its Olympic journey with its finest performance ever, including a gold. Billions of people from India glued to their television sets and mobile phones cheered up for the 7 medals that the Nation's largest ever contingent grabbed during the last 16 days. 

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, India outstripped its previous record haul of 6 medals, clinched at the London Olympics in 2012.

With Neeraj Chopra's seizing gold in the men's men’s javelin throw on Saturday, many were left in tears and goosebumps watching the Indian sing the Indian National anthem representing billions on the podium in Tokyo. It was Mirabai Chanu who pulled off the cards for India in its greatest medal hunt in the Global games, ending with Chopra's on the fleek throw of the javelin, securing the best for India to be remembered for the times to come. Here's a list of the glory Indians managed in the biggest ever international multi-sport event.

Neeraj Chopra's Gold: 

It is said that the best is saved for the last and for India it became true at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra became the second Indian to win an individual gold in the Olympics after Abhinav Bindra marked the feat in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. India finally had its first track-and-field medal winner, 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. 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's Silver: 

The weightlifter from Manipur lifted the spirits of 1.3 billion 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. The 27-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. 

Ravi Dahiya's Silver: 

The 23-year-grappler born in Nahri village in Sonepat district in Haryana rushed to the finals of the men's 57kg freestyle event without any fuss. Although he earned a silver, his tremendous strength and stamina along with technical prowess impressed all who took a glance at him. He rose to fame only when he qualified for the Tokyo Games with a bronze medal-winning effort at the 2019 world championship. He has enhanced his game ever since, winning the Asian Championship in 2020 and then holding the title this year.

Lovlina Borgohain's Bronze: 

Fighting in her very first 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. Borgohain had contracted COVID a day before she was to leave with the Olympic-bound boxers group for a training camp to Europe. The virus, however, 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 Olympics.

PV Sindhu's Bronze:

Considered to be a sure-shot medal contender for the Tokyo Olympics, PV Sindhu fulfilled what was expected from her, this time by clinching a bronze. The 26-year-old carved her name among the all-time greats after winning the women's singles bronze medal to add to the silver she won at Rio de Janeiro five years back. 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.

Bajrang Punia's Bronze: 

The 27-year-old wrestler returned from the Tokyo Olympics making India shine 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.

Men's hockey team with the Bronze:

Making way for budding aspirants to partake in the sport in days to come, the Indian men's hockey team clinched the bronze, the country's 12th Olympic badge in the sport that appeared after a gap of 41 years. It wasn't gold, yet it was enough to begin 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 pandemic.

(With Inputs from PTI)