India’s last 4 Olympic medal winners (and a prospective one) are as following:
PV Sindhu – Silver/Badminton/2016
Sakshi Malik – Bronze/Wrestling/2016
Mirabai Chanu – Silver/Weightlifting/2021
PV Sindhu – Bronze/Badminton/2021
Lovlina Borgohain – TBD/Boxing/2021
When you look at the list, things become quite obvious, but let me state them because they need to be stated: Every Olympic medal that has come back to India in the last Olympics and this one (till now) has been won by a woman.
Why is it important to state this? Because these women had to work harder than their male counterparts solely because of their gender.
To add to that, and sadly enough, they will have it harder in the future too. For there is no medal that can provide you immunity against sexism when sexism has made its way to the very core of society.
Having introspected that bit, let us look at the achievements of these women and other amazing participants.
When PV Sindhu stepped on the court in the final of women’s Badminton singles at the Rio Olympics, she was aiming to do something that had never been done before.
She was aiming for gold, and while that dream still remains elusive, she did create history by becoming the first badminton player from the country to win a silver medal at the Olympics.
And then 4 years later, she clinched a bronze, becoming the first woman athlete from the country to win two Olympic medals.
Her achievement was ably complemented by that of Sakshi Malik, who became the first Indian woman wrestler to win a medal at the Games.
Fast forward 2021, and Mirabai Chanu wins a silver medal on the first day of the Olympics, hence giving the perfect beginning to India’s campaign.
And a few days later Lovlina Borgohain from Assam books a spot on the podium with a quarterfinal victory in boxing.
As I write this article, our women’s Hockey team is prepping for its first semifinal at the Olympics, and what an achievement it is.
It’s the result of decades of hardwork and relentless effort made by our athletes, something we take immense pride in.
Relentless reminds me of Mary Kom, the Indian GOAT who went down fighting in possibly her last appearance at the Olympics.
The 38-year-old performed in a way that we have rarely witnessed before.
And while we are on the topic, it would be remiss to not talk about India’s sole newcomer at the Games this time: Fencer Bhavani Devi.
She couldn’t make it past the Round of 32, but that should not take away from what she has achieved.
Then you have the likes of Kamalpreet Kaur, who has made it to the final of discus throw and finished 6th after a valiant effort.
Medal winners or not, our women have made a huge mark in the sporting scene and put India on the world map with their performances. It gives us chills to think about the impact of this on young girls watching TV at their houses and thinking that maybe they can represent India too.
In the list of accomplishments, I’d put this on top.