India At the Tokyo Olympics: Medals We Have Won, Upcoming Matches, and More

The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 commenced on 23rd July 2021 and will be ending on 8th August 2021. This year, India is being represented by its largest-ever contingent of over 120 athletes, which also includes the highest female representation of 56 sportspersons! From 27-year-old Bhavani Devi who was the first-ever Indian fencer to qualify for the games to boxing champion Mary Kom who shut down retirement rumours after bowing out of the ongoing Olympics, the country's athletes are doing us proud. 

According to statistics, India has currently won two medals—in the Women's 49 kg Weightlifting category and in the Women's Singles Badminton category—and sits at the 63rd position in comparison to other countries. China leads the table with 32 gold medals, 20 silver medals, and 16 bronze medals in their possession. On the other hand, Nigeria finds itself at the bottom with solely 1 bronze medal. 

 

Medals Won

 

On 1st August, Pusarla Venkata Sindhu made history as she became the first Indian woman and the second Indian to win two individual medals at the Olympics. Defeating China's He Bing Jiao in straight sets of 21-13 and 21-15, she secured a bronze medal for herself post the 53-minute match. PV Sindhu is only the fourth player to win two consecutive medals in Women’s Badminton Singles across Olympic History. At the Olympic Games Rio 2016, the athlete had won her first Olympic silver medal. 

 

On just day 2 of the games, India's Chanu Saikhom Mirabai bagged a silver medal at the Women's 49kg·Weightlifting event. She became the first Indian weightlifter to win a silver medal at the Olympics, ending India's 21-year wait for a weightlifting medal at the games. Chanu lifted a total of 202 kg (87 kg in snatch and 115 kg in clean and jerk) during her four successful attempts across the competition. China's Zhihui Hou won the gold with a total of 210 kg, creating an Olympic record, while Indonesia's Windy Cantika Aisah grabbed the bronze medal with a total of 194 kg.

 

Match Schedule

 

While the Indian men's hockey team lost their semifinal match to Belgium with a score of 2-5, they will now be fighting it out for the bronze medal on 5th August, where they will face the loser of the second semifinal between Australia and Germany. The Indian men's team defeated Great Britain 3-1 in the quarterfinals to qualify for the semi's of the Olympics Games after 49 years! India scored three field goals through Dilpreet Singh, Gurjant Singh, and Hardik Singh to seal the win.

On the other hand, the Indian Women’s hockey team will be facing Argentina in the semifinal match on 4th August, at the Oi Hockey Stadium North Pitch in Tokyo. India sealed its spot in the semis after defeating Australia by 1-0 on 2nd August 2021, with a winning goal by Gurjit Kaur. This happens to be the first time in history that the Indian Women’s hockey team has reached this level at the Olympics!

In today's matches, Annu Rani—an Indian javelin thrower from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh—finished 14th amongst the 15 throwers, with her best throw being 54.04 m in the qualification round. However, the athlete has failed to qualify for the final round due to three poor throws in the Group A qualification round. Tajinderpal Singh Toor—2018 Asian Games gold medalist—has also failed to qualify for the final round of the Men's Shot Put, after his first throw covered a distance of 19.99 m, and the remaining two were considered invalid. 

India's wrestling campaign at the Tokyo Olympics began on a disappointing note as 19-year-old Sonam Malik lost her opening bout against Bolortuya Khurelkhuu in the Women's Freestyle 62kg 1/8 final. However, the female wrestler will get a chance to compete in the repechage round if Bolortuya reaches the final in this weight category.

Besides the Indian Women’s hockey semi-final, on 4th August, Indian athletes will be playing in the following events as well: Dagar Diksha and Aditi Ashok in the Women's Individual Stroke Play Round 1 and Neeraj Chopra and Shivpal Singh in the Men's Javelin Throw Qualification - Group A and Group B. India's Lovlina Borgohain will also be facing Turkish boxer Busenaz Sürmeneli at the Women's Welter (64-69kg) Semifinal 1. The Men's Freestyle 57 kg 1/8 final, Men's Freestyle 86 kg 1/8 final, and Women's Freestyle 57 kg 1/8 final will also be taking place. On 5th August, apart from the Men's Hockey match for the bronze medal, round 2 of the Women's Individual Stroke Play will be taking place with Indian athletes Dagar Diksha and Aditi Ashok.