India celebrates National Sports Day every year on 29 August, the birth anniversary of Dhyan Chand, the hockey wizard who won gold medals in three successive Olympic Games, in 1928, 1932 and 1936.
This year’s celebration will be even more fitting after India’s best-ever Olympics performance at Tokyo 2020. The athletes have won seven medals, including one gold, two silver, and four bronze medals, topping the previous best of two silvers and four bronzes won at the London Olympics in 2012. More importantly, the medals came in a range of sporting disciplines, including track and field, badminton, wrestling, and boxing.
Summary of Medals Won in Tokyo 2020
Neeraj Chopra won the men’s javelin throw gold medal, becoming the first Indian to win an Olympic medal in a track and field event.
Mirabai Chanu won a silver medal in the 49kg weightlifting category, becoming the second Indian to win a weightlifting medal after Karnam Malleswari won a bronze medal in 2000. Wrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiya won a silver medal after he entered the 57kg finals by beating Nurislam Sanayev of Kazakhstan.
PV Sindhu beat world number nine, He Bing Jiao of China, to win a bronze medal in women’s badminton. In the process, she became the first Indian woman athlete to win two Olympic medals, by adding to the silver medal she won at Rio in 2016. Wrestler Bajrang Punia won a bronze medal in the men’s freestyle 65kg category by beating Daulet Niyazbekov of Kazakhstan. Boxer Lovlina Borgohain won a bronze medal in the 69kg weight category with a quarter-final win over NC Chen of Chinese Taipei. She became the second Indian woman and the third boxer to win an Olympic boxing medal. The Indian hockey team won a bronze medal after entering the semi-finals for the first time in 41 years.
Cricket Continues to Remain Most Popular
As everyone knows, cricket is the most popular sport in India, with the national team excelling in all three formats. India have won the ODI world cup twice and the T20I world cup on one occasion. They recently played in the final of the inaugural World Test Championship, in which they lost to New Zealand. The team has been going from strength to strength on the watch of Virat Kohli.
Revival of Indian Hockey
The best news coming from the performance in the Olympics is the revival of Indian hockey, where India won a medal after 41 years. India dominated the sport until the end of the seventies. Thereafter, the game underwent several changes, including the introduction of artificial turf that diluted India’s traditional strength of stick work of which Dhyan Chand is considered the greatest exponent ever. The women’s hockey team The Indian women’s hockey team entered the semi-finals for the first ever time by beating Australia. The state government of Orissa has consented to become a commercial sponsor of Indian hockey for a period of 10 years.
Kabaddi on the World Map
Kabaddi has been put on the world map with games telecast by global broadcasters such as Star Sports. With India a leader in the sport, such increase in global popularity of kabaddi can only add to India’s sporting glory in the foreseeable future.
Summary
Sports other than cricket have begun to attract commercial sponsors, allowing sportspersons to benefit from the presence of the world’s best coaches. With India on the upswing in the sporting arena, Indian bettors can celebrate and take advantage of the bet365 bonus code, Betway bonus code India, 1xbet bonus code, and ComeOn bonus code to enhance their betting experience, while adding to their earnings.
