Asia

Year 2021: From Neeraj’s historic gold to Sreejesh’s worthy smile at Tokyo Olympics to frenzy

December 25, 2021
Henry Club

In sport, as in life, there are events within events. Moments that shape a moment of glory. Moments that are more immortal and indestructible than numbers. As a breathless game year comes to an end, and another restless sporting year prepares to unfold, Indian Express The game brings to the gallery the moments of the year captured by soaking up a variety of emotions. Some moments that made us cry and cry, some made us giggle with joy and some plunged us into pain, some that brought laughter like children, and some that made us think like a philosopher .

Neeraj Chopra trolling everyone with his ad after Olympics

In August, Neeraj Chopra became an overnight sensation with his historic Olympic gold in athletics – India’s first in track and field. This will be the most historic medal tally in India’s Olympic history. The most significant in the country’s sporting history, Beijing matches the only other attempt by an Indian, Abhinav Bindra, to win a gold medal in 2008.

Not that the buzz around him had waned, but Chopra delivered another sensational performance the following month. This time with his acting. He captured the fan and media frenzy surrounding his stardom and the country’s newfound love for him and the javelin throw program in an out-of-the-box ad for Creed.

“Give this guy an Oscar already,” a user commented after showing Chopra the ad in various avatars aimed at capitalizing on the frenzy around him. He’s a brand manager in a boardroom meeting discussing an SEO-friendly tagline. A reporter with a goat is asking personal questions. The cashier with the mustache informs him about the gold price of the day. A filmmaker is planning to make biopics titled ‘Neeraj Hua Maddham’ and ‘Medal Le Chuke Samaan’. And a normal javelin thrower.

Bajrang removes knee strap, all out in bronze medal playoff

Realizing the need for more training before the big event, Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia skipped the Poland Open and moved to Russia, where he injured his right knee, opting to compete in a local event – the Ali Alive Tournament. . This meant no training at all before Tokyo.

“I could not do mat training for about 25 days. I was not able to walk properly even after the injury. It is also not good to miss a day’s training before a tournament like the Olympics.

Bajrang was off-colour in his first three matches in Tokyo, but played his usual tactical and aggressive game in the do-or-die bronze medal bout and comfortably defeated Kazakhstan’s Daulat Niyazbekov to secure a podium finish on his Olympic debut.

“My coach and physio wanted me to continue playing on my knee in the bronze match. But I don’t feel comfortable. Looks like someone has tied my leg, so I told him that even if I get hurt, I can take rest later but if I don’t win a medal now, then all the work will be done, so I am all out Gone.

Dance Mirabai Chanu after winning silver

26-year-old Mirabai Chanu lifted a total of 202 kg (87 kg in snatch + 115 kg in clean and jerk) to win the silver medal on the opening day of the Games. She finished behind China’s Hou Zhihui, who set an Olympic record by lifting 210 kg (94 + 116).

Moments after the results were formalized, Chanu was on a video call with her teammates from Patiala. He sang and danced until he had to be taken out for the medal ceremony.

After the medal ceremony ended, Chanu resumed dancing in the mixed arena, an area next to the playground where athletes and the media interact, breaking into an impromptu jig.

Bite at your own risk: Silver medalist Ravi Kumar responds to opponent’s bite with double leg takedown and chest wrap

Wrestler Ravi Dahiya made the biggest comeback on the mat in the semifinals. Down 9-2 with less than two minutes to go in the semi-finals of the 57kg weight category, the Indian grabbed the left leg of Kazakh wrestler Nurislam Sanayev and pinned him down in one of the most surprising takedowns ever. rolled on the mat. These games had seen so far.

Ravi won the match in the fall but later, photos and videos showed a deep bite mark on Ravi’s right biceps. Sanayev’s bite recalls the incident when Sushil Kumar was accused of biting the ear of his Kazakhstan rival Akhjurek Tanatarov during the 2012 London Olympic semi-finals.

Aditi Ashok’s put game and one of India’s most memorable fourth places

“Can’t believe India woke up at 4 a.m. to cheer me up!”

Aditi Ashok said this after putting up the best ever performance by an Indian in the showpiece.

Golf returned to the Olympics in 2016 after a hiatus of 100 years and Aditi participated in that edition, finishing 41st. Five years later, World No. 200 went head-to-head with World No. 1 Nelly Korda of the USA and former World No. 1 Lydia Ko of New Zealand.

A lone 2 overnight, she finished fourth in the final round with a three-under 68, which left her 15-under 269 overall, while Korda won the gold medal with four rounds of 17-under 267.

Sreejesh’s 21 years of hard work brought India a historic bronze

“It’s a rebirth, that’s it,” PR Sreejesh made the most important save of his career, leaving behind Germany’s penalty corner to ensure India’s podium finish at the Olympics after 41 years. Sreejesh was an impenetrable force for India. It was a team effort, but Sreejesh’s valor was unparalleled, as the men in blue finished on the podium at the Olympics after an arduous wait.

He made 40 saves during the tournament and intercepted countless shots throughout his career. But one of them has a special place in his heart.

Seven seconds to go for the final hooter and India secured a penalty corner against Germany in the bronze medal playoff match. Lucas Windfeeder’s drag-flick swooped through defense but Sreejesh made sure the white ball didn’t go past him.

He later climbed to the goal post to celebrate, even to the cries of his teammates and hugging each other. For the former captain, it was a moment to savor – an Olympic medal at the end of 21 years of hard work while painting in the national colour.

Rivals on Court, Away from Its Supporters

,PV Sindhu Hug me and said I know you are sick but you did great but today was not your day. She took me in her arms and said that she knew it all. That sincere encouragement made me cry,” wrote Tai Tzu-ying in an Instagram post. It was an emotional moment for the world No. 1 player, who was competing in her third Olympics but lost in the final to Chen Yu Fei of China.

Sindhu had emerged as the second best player at the Rio Olympics five years ago as she suffered a three-game loss to Spain’s Carolina Marin and the Indian knew how the Chinese Taipei player was feeling.

Reel-Inspire-Real Moment: From ‘Ex Coach Kabir Khan’ to ‘Real Coach’ Sjoerd Marin

Like in the movie ‘Chak De India’, the Indian women’s hockey team defeated Australia to enter the semi-finals of the real-life Olympics. Excited after the win, India coach Sjoerd Marin posted a picture of himself with the team members inside a bus on Twitter.

“Sorry family, I’m coming back later,” Koch wrote in the caption. Hours later, Shah Rukh Khan replied that the coach could take his time to come back home but return with gold for “a billion members of the family”.

“Thank you for all your support and love. We will give everything again. From: The Real Coach,” replied Marijne. The medal proved elusive but the Indian women’s hockey team earned a lot of respect with a significant fourth-place finish.

One of the most exciting Paralympic high jump finals

Amid heavy rain in Tokyo, India’s T Mariyappan, Sharad Kumar is engaged in an intense battle with American Sam Grave for a podium finish.

The Indian pair jumped 1.83m effortlessly without fail. With the medals confirmed, the Indian pair saw their first red flag of the day at the 1.86m mark. Mariyappan and Sam Grave struggled to cover 1.88m twice after covering a distance of 1.86m. An intense fight for the podium finish followed, but the American rose above the mark in the final attempt to claim the gold, while the Indian could not. Meanwhile, Sharad Kumar won the bronze medal by achieving his season-best height of 1.83 metres.

It’s all about the competition, but also about sportsmanship

It seemed that the fierce battle for one of them would end in tears. Round by round, Qatar’s high jumper Mutaz Essa Bershim and Italy’s Gianmarco Tambri competed against each other for the high jump gold medal, but failed to outdo each other – an official told them. The next step was a ‘jump-off’. See who can just outlast the other.

The two decided to share the high jump gold instead of continuing with the jump-off at Tokyo 2020 – in one of the most emotional and heartwarming moments in Olympic history. The rare combined Olympic championship became the talk of the tournament.

Putting Mental Health First: Simone Biles

Simone Biles arrived in Tokyo as the star of the American Olympic movement and perhaps the Games themselves. He reassured himself that he was ready for the pressure – that he was ready to bear the burden of great expectations.

Only, as the women’s gymnastics team neared the final, the American star withdrew from competition from five of her six events to protect her mental health. This opened the door for a team of Russian athletes to win gold for the first time in nearly three decades.

“We have to take care of ourselves too, because at the end of the day we are human too,” Biles said. “Therefore, we have to protect our minds and our bodies, not just go out there and do what the world wants us to do.”

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