Editor’s Desk: We take pride in boasting of India’s best-ever show at the Olympics, as the country has won 6 medals for the first time. Well, we agree, but disagree with the figures, which can hardly make us smile.
We, a nation
of 1.2 billion are just second only to China in the world in terms of population. But look at the Olympics medal tally. China is No. 2 in the world with 38 gold medals, while we finished 56th with no gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze medals.
While all other countries progressed, we took a backward step with every passing day. Gone are the days when we won 8 gold medals at Olympics Hockey. Today, we finished 12th in the pool of 12 countries with no-win record at London 2012. Gosh! We lost to Belgium too. We can’t go worse than this – as it was the ultimate humiliation.
Our so-called Tennis stars had a big fight, altercations and ego clashes before the London Olympics. They had their way in the end with the promise that they would sweep the Olympics medals. And, the results said that none of them could even reach the semifinals, forget about winning a medal.
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The archers disappointed a lot. Even World No. 1 archer Deepika Kumari crashed out in the first round. No miracle could be seen in Athletics, Table Tennis, Rowing etc. The shooters saved the day for India with one silver (Vijay Kumar) and one bronze (Gagan Narang).
All top male boxers, including Vijender Singh, had to bite the dust. However, woman boxer Mary Kom made the country proud by winning a bronze medal. Despite an average show in the knockout stages, Saina Nehwal was lucky enough to win a bronze medal in Badminton after her Chinese opponent retired hurt in the middle of the game.
Wrestling brought smiles to the faces of millions of the Indians on the final day of London 2012. Amit Kumar and Narasingh Yadav had lost earlier. But, Yogeshwar Dutt won a bronze medal with great resolve and superb skill set. Sushil Kumar, the Beijing 2008 bronze medalist and India’s flag bearer at London 2012, defied all odds to win a silver medal in Wrestling. He also became the first India to become the double Olympic medalist.
In the end, we celebrate those six medals with great joy and enthusiasm. It should be done, as the sportspersons tried hard to achieve the milestone. However, the government, sports ministry, sports bodies and all other eminent people should wonder and find an answer to the question: why India returned from London 2012 with no gold medal?