India first participated at the Olympic Games in 1900, with a lone athlete (Norman Pritchard) winning two medals in athletics. However, India has won only 20 Olympic medals until the 2008 Beijing Games - 9 gold, 4 silver and 7 bronze. Here's looking at some of the most memorable moments for India in the Summer Olympics.
Abhinav Bindra's gold medal at Beijing: At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Abhinav Bindra won the gold for the Men's 10m Air Rifle final after shooting a total of 700.5. He scored 596 (fourth) in the qualifying round and out-scored all other shooters in the finals with a round of 104.5. By winning the gold, Bindra became the first Indian to win an individual gold medal at the Olympic Games. It was also India's first gold medal since 1980, when the Men's Field Hockey Team won the gold.
Paes wins bronze at Atlanta: Leander Paes beat Fernando Meligeni to win the bronze medal to become the first Indian to win an individual medal since KD Jadhav won bronze at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics more than four decades earlier. Paes cited the match as one of his greatest performances on the court, in part because his wrist was severely injured. In the semi-finals, Paes lost 6-7, 3-6 to eventual gold medallist Andre Agassi.
Indian men's hockey team gold tally: In 1928, the team won its first Olympic gold medal and until 1956, the Indian men's team remained unbeaten in the Olympics, winning six gold medals in a row. In total, the Indian field hockey team has won eight Olympics gold medals — the highest among all national teams. The team won silver at the 1960 Rome Games and the bronze at the 1968 and 1972 Games.
Karnam Malleswari's bronze: She won a bronze medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics at Sydney lifting 110 kg in the Snatch and 130 kg in the Clean and Jerk for a total of 240 kg, which made her the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal.
Milkha Singh finishing fourth in 400m: At the 1960 Olympics in Rome, 'The Flying Sikh' finished second in all of his 400m races prior to the final, improving his time on each occasion. In the final event he set off strongly to the fore but was overhauled by the field and finished in fourth place, this being a decision that required a photo-finish.
PT Usha finishing fourth in 400m hurdles: "The queen of Indian track and field" finished first in the semi-finals of the 400 metres hurdles in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, but faltered in the finals. In almost a repeat of Milkha Singh's 1960 feat, there was a nail-biting photo finish for the third place. Usha lost the bronze by 1/100th of a second. She became the first Indian woman (and the fifth Indian) to reach the final of an Olympic event by winning her 400 m hurdles Semi-final.
Rajyavardhan Rathore's silver medal: He won the silver medal in Men's Double Trap at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Rathore is the first Indian (post independence) to win an individual silver, after Norman Pritchard, a British citizen, who won two silver medals at the 1900 Paris Olympics. Rathore's silver medal win was a turning point in the history of Indian Olympic Sports.
Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav's bronze: The 'Pocket Dynamo' was independent India's first individual Olympic medallist when he won the freestyle wrestling bronze medal at the 1952 Helsinki Games. For nearly half a century, his would remain the only individual medal for India at the Olympics until Leander Paes won a bronze in 1996. In the 1948 London Olympics, he had participated in the flyweight category where he finished sixth.
Sushil Kumar's bronze: He lost to Andriy Stadnik from Ukraine in the first round of the 66 kg freestyle wrestling event, leaving his medal hopes at the 2008 Beijing Games hinging on the repechage. Kumar defeated American Doug Schwab in the first repechage round and Belarusian Albert Batyrov in the second repechage round; before beating Leonid Spiridonov of Kazakhstan to win the bronze.
Vijender Singh's bronze: At the 2008 Summer Olympics, he defeated Badou Jack of Gambia 13–2 in the round of 32. In the round of 16, Singh defeated Angkhan Chomphuphuang of Thailand 13–3 to reach the Middleweight Boxing Quarterfinals. Singh beat southpaw Carlos Gongora of Ecuador 9–4 in the quarterfinals which guaranteed him a medal, the first ever Olympic medal for an Indian boxer. He lost 5–8 to Cuba's Emilio Correa in the semi-finals and shared a bronze medal with Ireland's Darren Sutherland.
Devendra Jhajharia, a one-armed javelin thrower from Rajasthan, is India's only gold medallist at the Paralympics. He won gold medal in the javelin throw at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens.
The 1948 London Olympics was India's first major international tournament in football, where a predominately barefooted Indian team lost 2–1 to France, failing to convert two penalties. The Indian team was greeted and appreciated by the crowd for their sporting manner.
No comments:
Post a Comment