This gold is for the entire country: Neeraj
The Indian Olympic contingent was welcomed amid much fanfare at the New Delhi airport
NEW DELHI: India realised a huge sporting dream on Monday, finally able to welcome home one of their own Olympic medallist in athletics. Young javelin champion Neeraj Chopra was the cynosure of all eyes as the Tokyo Games gold medallist led most of India’s contingent back home.
Woman boxer Lovlina Borgohain, wrestlers Ravi Kumar Dahiya and Bajrang Punia, and the men’s hockey team were the other medallists who landed here by an Air India flight from Tokyo. They were received with drum beats and garlands at the airport by a crowd of fans and well-wishers. Only badminton player PV Sindhu and weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, who had returned home soon after their events got over, were not present.
Many of the other members, including the women’s hockey team that surpassed expectations before losing the bronze medal playoff to Great Britain, were also present at a felicitation function by the sports ministry with union sports minister Anurag Thakur and his predecessor Kiren Riijiju, the union law minister present. The medallists were honoured with a shawl and memento at the Ashok Hotel. “Tokyo 2020 was an Olympics of many firsts for India. The success of Team India is a reflection of how New India desires and aspires to dominate the world… even in sports,” Thakur said. “The Olympics showed us that with self-discipline and dedication we can be champions.”
The 23-year-old Chopra has won hearts with his mature comments following his Olympic triumph. He declared: “Thank you all for the support. This gold medal is not just mine but it is for the entire nation.”
He added to the applause: “I’ve been roaming around with the gold medal in my pocket. I haven’t been able to eat or sleep properly since the win but everything feels fine when I look at it.”
Chopra hurled the javelin to 87.58m to win by some distance. India’s newly minted Olympic champion gave sage advice to future medal aspirants: “The competition was really tough, but you should never get scared by looking at your opponents. Just give your 100% and don’t be scared of anybody. When I threw the javelin for the second time, I thought it would be my best attempt. My back and shoulders were paining after the event the next morning.”
Ravi Dahiya, who won silver in 57kg freestyle to emulate idol Sushil Kumar’s effort in the 2012 London Games, said: “We started from our village and then we came to Delhi. When I saw how Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt got medals in wrestling, I got inspired by that and wanted to do the same for my country,” said Dahiya, who is from the Chattrasal academy like them.
A beaming Lovlina Borgohain, who won bronze in the 69kg division, vowed to work for more success. “I feel really good after coming back. We knew people back home would be celebrating. We will keep trying and look to get more medals for India in the future. Before my bout, I was only thinking of getting gold for India. That is what I will be trying to win in the Paris Olympics.”
Goalkeeper, PR Sreejesh, lynchpin of the hockey team which ended a 41-year wait for an Olympic medal, hailed the women’s team. “We are all like a family, when we come back with the medals it is for the entire nation. I would like to call Savita Punia (women’s team goalkeeper) the Great Wall of India because she deserved the name for the saves she made. Unfortunately, they could not win the medal but they made the entire nation proud.”
Hockey team skipper, Manpreet Singh, said: “We had a mixture of youth and experience in our team and they showed (their calibre) that at Tokyo. I would like to thank SAI and IOA because they helped us during our difficult times. They told us to only focus on the Olympics and assured us of everything we needed.”