Paris 2024: From Sakshi winning a wrestling medal to Neeraj clinching gold, Olympic sports have come a long way in India
An individual Olympic medal had been a distant dream for Indian sport till Leander Paes won the tennis bronze in Atlanta in 1996. It was only the second individual Olympic medal for independent India then, after the wrestling bronze won by K. D. Jadhav in Helsinki in 1952.
Thereafter, India has not returned from any Olympics without a medal. The women have been exceptional in taking Indian sports forward, especially in Rio in 2016 when India’s medals were the silver by badminton ace P. V. Sindhu and the wrestling bronze by the indomitable wrestler Sakshi Malik.
“There was a time when people believed that girls could not wrestle. Today, it has changed. For the first time, five girls are going to the Olympics in wrestling, and only one boy”, said Sakshi, as she highlighted the woman power in a panel discussion organised by JSW Sports, Asia Society India Centre and the Consulate General of France, on Friday.
“After my medal in Rio, no one enters wrestling merely to secure a job. They now start with the goal of winning an Olympic medal. The shift in mindset is incredibly inspiring”, said Sakshi.
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The daring gymnast Dipa Karmakar, whose fourth place in Rio Olympics broke the entire nation’s heart, stressed that fourth place was the ‘worst’ for an athlete.
“Not just for me, any athlete who finishes fourth can never sleep”, Dipa said. Her fourth place in Olympics did change the perspective of people towards gymnastics.
“After the 2016 Olympics, a lot of things has changed in Tripura. The foam pit has been added and a lot of infrastructure has also come up for gymnastics.
“A lot of people’s mindset has changed, and now every gymnast wants to go to the Olympics”, said Dipa.
The ace gymnast thanked JSW Group for the support, especially for the focus at the grass root level.
“If this had been done earlier, our Olympic medal count would have been in double digits. It is going to happen in the Paris Olympics.
“I wish them all the best. Perform well and keep moving forward. The next generation will get inspired by them”, Dipa said.
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Athlete Priya Mohan stressed that Neeraj Chopra’s javelin gold medal in Tokyo Olympics has been a ‘game changer’ for Indian sports.
“That gold has transformed our mindset”, said Priya.
The Founder of JSW Sports, Parth Jindal emphasised on the current state of robust public-private partnership, lauding the government for the exceptional support through many schemes like Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS).
“The private sector adds esential elements like sports science, nutrition, technology in enhancing government’s efforts”, said Parth.
He pointed out that the country needed 20 facilities like the Inspire Institute run by JSW Sports, across the country, ‘to truly elevate Indian sports’.
Parth revealed the focus of JSW Sports on Neeraj Chopra and Bajrang Punia over the years and how they proved the faith with the Olympic medals in Tokyo.