Kolkata: Hope beckons, and the medal hunt for the Indian contingent at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics continues. Thursday, August 5 is special for Indians – wrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiya bags silver while the Indian men’s hockey team ends a 41-year drought by beating Germany to the bronze. Meanwhile grappler Vinesh Phogat raised promise only to be nipped on the mat at the quarters. So was Deepak Punia.
A couple of indelible moments – nerve-wracking yet cherishing. Well, the gold still remains evasive and enigmatic, but an Olympic medal means a billion.
Kudos to Ravi (57 kg) for putting up a gritty fight till the end before going down to Zavur Uguev. The anticipation of a gold medal may have been jolted, but Ravi deserves plaudits for doing the country proud – second silver after weightlifter Mirabai Chanu in Tokyo. We are proud of you Ravi.
So are we of our hockey stars – a gold would have been euohoric, but the guys staged an unexpected comeback to end up winning by 5-4 against the Germans. Their victory just sets up the momentum for the women’s side to eye the bronze and continue with the impressive run.
But will we finally bag a gold after Abhinav Bindra’s historical feat at the Beijing Olympics? Hold your breath – we still stand a chance if javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra pulls it off. Come on NC – the entire nation is looking to you.
By the way, Virat Kohli’s boys are no pushovers as they as of now dominate proceedings against England in the first Test at Nottingham. Game on!
