Tokyo 2020: Women continue to lead India’s front at the Olympics
So far, all of India's 3 medals in Tokyo 2020 have been bagged by women.
From Mirabai Chanu bagging a Silver on the first day of the Tokyo 2020 Games itself, PV Sindhu’s historic second medal, Lovlina Borgohain’s Bronze, to the Indian Women’s Hockey team qualifying into the semi-finals for the first time ever – women athletes have continued the trend of leading India’s fight at the Summer Games. So far, all of India’s 3 medals in Tokyo 2020 have been bagged by women.
When 26-year-old Mirabai Chanu won the Silver in Weightlifting, she not only opened India’s medal tally at the Tokyo 2020 Games but also made a mark for herself by becoming the first-ever Indian weightlifter to win a silver at the Olympics.
Following Chanu’s win, PV Sindhu further raised the bar as she became the first Indian woman to win Olympic medals in two different editions. Despite suffering an unfortunate loss against Tai Tzu-Ying in the semifinal, Sindhu was back on court, battling it out for bronze.
Adeptly beating He Bingjiao of China 21-13, 21-15 to take the final spot on the podium, she became the only second Indian athlete, after Sushil Kumar, to win two Olympic medals in an individual sport. Sindhu went into the Tokyo Games as India’s biggest medal hope and handled the pressure just as deftly as a drop from her opponent.
Following this jumpstart came a series of disappointments for India at the Olympics, culminated by MC Mary Kom’s heartbreaking exit from the stage. The baton was passed to boxer Lovlina Borgohain, who assured the country of a Bronze medal and finally bagged it today, on Day 12.
With this, India also bettered its overall medal tally from the 2016 Rio Olympics, when the country won two medals (one silver, one bronze).
While India’s wait for an Olympic medal from track and field continues, Kamalpreet Kaur raised a glimmer of hope as she came second after the qualifying round of the women’s discus throw.
Another noteworthy mention includes India’s Women’s Hockey team, who despite suffering a 1-2 defeat, did the unthinkable when they stunned three-time champions Australia and entered the semi-finals for the first time. And it’s not yet over yet, India still has a chance to make history by winning the bronze.
As we head into the second week of the 2020 Olympics, a number of women athletes are currently leading the trends in social media. As per the statistics shared by Twitter, a tweet by Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu has been the most retweeted tweet of the Olympic Games by the Indian audience so far. Meanwhile, badminton player P.V. Sindhu is the athlete with the most India mentions during the games.
What makes these wins even more inspiring is the fact that all of these determined women athletes have had to face social or financial odds at some point or the other. However, despite the challenges faced by women in sports in the country, the Olympics have clearly proved their prowess by bringing representing India in front of the world and bringing laurels to the country.
