Of Sakshi Malik
There were very good reasons for us to interrupt our planned training.
I was sure that both Bajrang Punia and Neeraj Chopra would come back with medals and lift India’s record above the previous Best of Six in London in 2012. My confidence in Bajrang came from the fact that he had recently defeated the Kazakh wrestler. And I believed that from the start of the medal fight he would be more aggressive.
Many people have said that Bajrang sent a message by not wearing a knee brace when he went on the mat for the bronze medal game. I don’t think he had any fitness problems at all. I think he was very confident of winning the medal and he only wore it when he came to wrestle.
I could see that he had survived the night of waiting for the medal game well. If he was scared, it wasn’t obvious. If there was pressure he was exposed to all night, he would do well not to show it on his face when he was the focus. There was just a sense of calm assurance and awareness of what had to be done to get the bronze.
Bajrang won quite comfortably and the excitement in our Akhara only increased with his lead. All the boys stopped exercising and watched the fight, ready to win Bajrang. His victory, which led to India’s second medal in wrestling after Ravi Kumar Dahiya won silver, was welcome.
Even before the thunderous applause for Bajrang ended, our attention turned to Neeraj Chopra’s final in the javelin event. His first litter was accompanied by a roar from my surroundings. And already after the first round it was clear that a medal was certain for Neeraj. When he threw longer, there was louder cheers and soon the celebrations began.
PTI photo
For the first time, you will not regret having to cancel a training long before it is finished. Bajrang Punia and Neeraj Chopra had sparked celebrations across the country and it was inevitable that we would give up all training plans and bask in the magic of the golden hour with the people of India.
It would have been nice if golfer Aditi Ashok could have won a medal earlier in the day. I’ll admit that I don’t know the sport, let alone play it, but I have to say that she did a wonderful job of getting someone in 200th to work with the best in the business and give them a hard run for their money. To her credit, she made us all follow her through the mornings and wish her all the best.
The Olympic Games are over. And India comes home with seven medals, with some very good performances from some of our athletes. Of course, I would have loved to see us cross the 10 medal mark and move up the medal standings, but there were also some disappointments. Overall, we’ve made progress and will get better, but let’s celebrate first.
(Wrestler Sakshi Malik is bronze medalist of the 2016 Rio Olympia)
