Tag: Tokyo Olympics

Haryana to give Rs 50 lakh each to state’s 9 Olympic women’s hockey players

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Haryana government will honour the nine history-making women’s hockey players of the state with a cash reward of Rs 50 lakh each, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Friday. “Haryana government will award Rs 50 lakhs each to the nine members of the Olympic women’s hockey team who are from Haryana,” Khattar tweeted.

He congratulated the Indian women’s team for its best-ever performance at the ongoing Olympics, where it finished fourth after losing 3-4 to Great Britain in the bronze medal play-off match in Tokyo on Friday. The Indians played their hearts out and overcame a two-goal deficit to lead 3-2 at halftime. But a desperate Great Britain gave their everything in the second half and scored two goals to snatch the match from India’s hands.

Back in Haryana and Punjab, families of many players remained glued to their television sets to watch in anticipation of an Indian win. At the end of the game, skipper Rani’s father Rampal told the media at his Shahabad home in Kurukshetra that the Indian team played well and were unlucky to lose out on its maiden Olympic medal. He said the team’s performance at the Olympics will have a positive impact on the game and will encourage youngsters to take up the sport.

Goalkeeper Savita Punia’s father Mahender Punia said there was no need to feel dejected. “Match result may not be on their side, but they played really well,” he said. Neha Goyal’s mother Savitri turned emotional while watching the game. Notably, most of the women hockey players come from humble backgrounds.

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Tokyo Olympics: India lose to Great Britain in women’s hockey bronze medal match

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Indian women’s hockey team was defeated by Great Britain in the match for bronze medal at Tokyo Olympics on Friday. India lost 3-4 to Great Britain in the third-fourth place play-off match.

The bunch of 18 fearless and determined Indian women had already done the unthinkable when they stunned three-time champions Australia 1-0 on Monday to enter the Olympic semifinals for the first time. Coming into the match, the odds were totally against India but the side led by talismanic Rani Rampal and coached by master tactician Sjoerd Marijne exceeded expectations.

India’s best performance in the Olympics came way back in the 1980 Moscow Games where they finished fourth out of six teams. In that edition of the Games, women’s hockey made its debut in the Olympics and the sport was played in a round-robin format with top two teams qualifying for the final.

The Netherlands will play Argentina in the final on Friday.

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Tokyo Olympics 2020: Meet wrestler Ravi Dahiya, who said in 2019 no one can match his stamina

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Rahi Dahiya clinched a silver medal in the 57kg freestyle wrestling in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics on August 5. In the semi-final, the 23-year-old made one of the greatest comebacks in the history of wrestling.

In the final match, Dahiya faced Zaur Uguev, the defending two-time World Champion and the defending four-time Russian National Champion.

Dahiya, who was born in Nahari in Haryana’s Sonipat district to a family of a small farmer, joined the famed Chhatrasal Stadium in Delhi at a very young age. Under the tutelage of Satpal Singh, the coach for India’s other prodigious wrestlers like Yogeshwar Dutt, Sushil Kumar, Deepak Punia, and Amit Kumar Dahiya, he trained every day for years. His father would travel every day to the stadium carrying milk and dairy products from their village for Dahiya’s diet.

Dahiya’s village, Nahari, is also home to noted wrestler Amit Kumar Dahiya (unrelated) and many others who have represented India on the world stage. However, the village still lacks many basic amenities like a 24/7 electricity supply, a hospital and constant running drinking water.

“It’s like a tradition in the village,” Ravi Dahiya said. “Amit and so many others came to the stadium and now I am here with 30 other kids from my village. My brother is also there.”

The wrestler made his international debut at the 2015 World Junior Wrestling Championships where he won the silver medal. Four years later was his debut as a senior at the 2019 World Wrestling Championships, where he was bested by Uguev for the first time but he still managed to clinch bronze. Dahiya also competed at the 2019 Asian Wrestling Championships in Xi’an where he ranked 5th.

Dahiya then won gold at both the 2020 Asian Wrestling Championships and the 2021 Asian Wrestling Championships and became the first Indian wrestler to qualify for Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Confident of his ability even in 2019, Dahiya had told the Scroll in an interview, “I don’t think anyone can match me in stamina. It’s not just about qualification for Olympics alone, I think I can win a medal.”

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Ravi Dahiya wins silver in 53 kg freestyle wrestling finals for India at Tokyo Olympics 2020; ROC’s Zavur Uguev bags gold

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Ravi Dahiya won India its second Silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics in the 57 kilograms freestyle wrestling on Thursday. Dahiya faced the Russian Olympic Committee’s Zavur Uguev in the finals and despite a valiant effort found the challenge tough to overcome in his debut Olympics.

Dahiya’s second-place finish is the second time an Indian wrestler has won Silver in any form of wrestling after Sushil Kumar’s medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Earlier, weightlifter Chanu Saikhom Mirabai had won India its first medal — a silver in the 49 kg category.

Earlier, the young Indian wrestler entered finals in the 57kg freestyle wrestling sensationally defeating Kazakhstan’s Nurislam Sanayev in the semi-finals, pinning him in the last few minutes.

The fourth-seeded Dahiya trailed 2-9 after Sanayev effected a few ‘fitley’ (leg lace) but as the clocked ticked away, Dahiya regrouped and got hold of his rival with a double leg attack that resulted in a ‘victory by fall’.

Dahiya endured a painful bite on his biceps from opponent Nurislam Sanayev during the Tokyo Olympics semifinal.

After Ravi Dahiya scripted one of the greatest comebacks on the mat, the pictures revealed the deep bite mark on his right bicep.

“It was paining when Ravi returned from the mat but he was given an ice-pack and he is fine. The pain has subsided. He is fit for final, no problem at all,” PTI quoted a member of the Indian wrestling team’s support staff as saying.

Former Team India opener Virender Sehwag also tweeted about the biting incident.

How unfair is this , couldn’t hit our #RaviDahiya ‘s spirit, so bit his hand. Disgraceful Kazakh looser Nurislam Sanayev.
Ghazab Ravi , bahut seena chaunda kiya aapne #Wrestling pic.twitter.com/KAVn1Akj7F

— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) August 4, 2021

Ravi won by fall after trailing 2-9.

Dahiya is only the second Indian wrestler to qualify for the title clash at the Olympic Games, when he sensationally turned around the 57kg semifinal bout by pinning Kazakhstan’s Nurislam Sanayev but Deepak Punia was left to fight for a bronze medal after he lost his semifinal, here on Wednesday.

Before Dahiya, a son of a farmer from Haryana, Sushil Kumar was the only Indian to make the gold medal bout at the 2012 Olympics in London where he had settled for a silver.

Overall, so far India has won five medals at the Tokyo Olympics, including a Bronze for the men’s hockey team on Thursday after 41 years. The Indian team defeated Germany 5-4, ending the medal drought after more than four decades.

ALSO READ | Tokyo Olympics: India men’s hockey team beats Germany to win bronze

Indian women’s hockey team is also set to play for the bronze medal against Great Britain on Friday morning, 7 am IST, waiting on the verge of making history.

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India women look to emulate men’s feat in Olympic bronze medal clash against Great Britain

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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They have already surpassed all expectations and the Indian women’s hockey team will now look to go a little further and notch up its maiden podium finish at the Olympics when it takes on Great Britain in the bronze medal play-off on Friday. The men’s team rewrote history on Thursday as it claimed an Olympic medal after 41 years, defeating Germany 5-4 to win the bronze in an edge-of-the-seat play-off match. And having already recorded their best-ever Olympic performance, the Indian women would look to double the nation’s joy on Friday.

But it would be easier said than done for the Indians as they were thrashed 1-4 by Great Britain, who were the defending champions, in the pool stages. Having failed to emulate their gold-winning performance in Rio five years back, Great Britain would be desperate to at least sign off their campaign with a podium finish from here.

But India can take heart from the fact that contrary to the final score-line, it was a close match against Great Britain in the pool stages. The Indian women’s hockey team wasted several chances in that match and could have made a closer match of it had they showed better finishing skills.

The difference between the two teams was that India had the better share of chances but Great Britain utilised more opportunities that came their way. India secured as many as eight penalty corners in the match but converted just one. Great Britain too didn’t have a great success rate from set pieces as they found the net just once from the six they earned.

The Indians would take a lot of confidence from their spirited performance against world no.2 Argentina in the semifinals even though they lost the match 1-2. The Indians fought valiantly and gave Argentina a run for their money but were guilty of conceding penalty corners at crucial junctures of the match which eventually proved costly.

With nothing to lose from here on, world no.7 India would fancy their chances against world no.4 Great Britain. There is no pressure on them as the 18 fearless and determined women had already done the unthinkable when they stunned three-time champions Australia 1-0 to enter the Olympic semifinals for the first time.

India’s best performance in the Olympics came way back in the 1980 Moscow Games where they finished fourth out of six teams. In that edition of the Games, women’s hockey made its debut in the Olympics and the sport was played in a round-robin format with the top two teams qualifying for the final.

Despite the heart-breaking loss against Argentina, India’s chief coach Sjoerd Marijne is focused on the job ahead. “We came here to win a medal and still there’s one (available). It’s now about recovery, about the mindset. The good thing is, it’s not always good that we lost a lot in the past but we also have learned to deal with the losses,” Marijne had said.

The Dutchman feels the need of the hour is to grab the opportunities that come their way. “In these matches, it is about taking your opportunities.” Captain Rani Rampal too said the competition is not yet over for the Indians.

“The tournament is not over yet. We still have a chance to win a bronze medal. An Olympic medal is a medal. If you win gold that is nice but still bronze is a medal, so we will fight for that medal and we will focus on the next match,” she said.

The Netherlands will play Argentina in the final on Friday.

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‘Historic!’, says PM Modi on India winning bronze in men’s hockey at Tokyo Olympics; here’s who said what

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Indian men’s hockey team rewrote history as it claimed an Olympic medal after 41 years, beating Germany 5-4 to claim the bronze in an edge-of-the-seat play-off match of the ongoing Games on Thursday. The eight-time former gold-winners, who battled a heartbreaking slump in the last four decades, made the resurgence of the last couple of years count in the best way possible with an Olympic medal.

Celebrations started across the country as the men in blue clinched the bronze medal at the Games. Congratulatory messages started pouring in from the who’s who of the country.

Here is who said what:

Narendra Modi, Prime Minister: Historic! A day that will be etched in the memory of every Indian.

Congratulations to our Men’s Hockey Team for bringing home the Bronze. With this feat, they have captured the imagination of the entire nation, especially our youth. India is proud of our Hockey team.

Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister: Congratulations Team India on winning the bronze. You played with grit. Delivered a thriller. After decades of wait!

Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister: After 41 years wait..! Golden moment for Indian Hockey and Indian Sports! Finally, a long wait is over as India defeated Germany to win Hockey Men’s Olympic Bronze medal at Tokyo Olympics. India is in a complete celebration mood! Congratulations to our Hockey players.

Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP: Congratulations to Indian Men’s Hockey Team! This is a big moment- the whole country is proud of your achievement. Well-deserved victory!

Virender Sehwag, former cricket player: Chak De Fattey ! Burraaah

A landmark day for Hockey India. After being down 3-1, INDIA fights back to win the bronze medal match 5-3, a first Olympic medal in Hockey after 40 years. Mazaa aa gaya.

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Tokyo Olympics: Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat loses women’s 53kg quarterfinals

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Vinesh Phogat suffered a massive upset defeat at the Olympic Games after being pinned by Belarus’ Vanesa Kaladzinskaya in the 53kg quarterfinals to not only go out of the gold medal race but also face the risk of getting eliminated, on Thursday. Vinesh had no answer to the supreme defence of Vanesa, who got her revenge from the Indian at the biggest stage after suffering a similar embarrassing defeat ‘by fall’ earlier this year in Ukraine.

Vanesa, the reigning European champion, executed her strategy perfectly as Vinesh could not find a way to wriggle out of Vanesa’s headlocks. That crippled and rattled the top seed Vinesh, who is one of the strongest wrestlers in her category.

Even when Vinesh got behind Vansea, she could not push her down on the knees from a favourable position with the Belarusian showing immense strength to keep her legs straight. Vinesh used all her might but Vanesa’s defence would not crumble. Even the famous double-leg attack that Vinesh has used to get herself into position to pin her rivals, did not result in points.

Now if the Belarusian does not make the final, Vinesh’s Olympic campaign will end in another heart-breaking exit. She had suffered a quarterfinal defeat against China’s Sun in Rio Games, where she also endured a leg injury and was stretchered out of the mat. Before this bout, Vinesh had knocked out Rio Olympics bronze-winner and six-time world medalist Sofia Mattsson with a commanding 7-1 win.

Vinesh had beaten the Swede at the 2019 World Championship as well. Every time Mattsson initiated a right-leg attack, Vinesh produced a splendid counter to score points. Showing her immense power, Vinesh turned the Swede from a difficult position on the edge of the mat when she could have conceded a point.

The Indian maintained the intensity throughout and even got herself into a position for a pin but the Swede escaped the embarrassment.

Young Anshu Malik bowed out of the 57kg competition after losing her repechage round 1-5 to Russia’s Valeria Koblova, the Rio Olympics silver medallist.

Anshu never looked intimidated by a stronger opponent and was leading the bout at one stage on criteria but towards the end, the Russian pulled off a two-pointer to nose ahead. The 19-year-old Indian had lost her opener to European champion Irina Kurachikina but after the Belarusian progressed to the final, she bounced back to be in contention.

Ravi Dahiya (57kg) and Deepak Punia (86kg) will fight for gold and bronze medal respectively, in the evening session.

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India takes Great Leap Forward in men’s hockey; wins medal after 41 years

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Indian men’s hockey team won the bronze medal at Tokyo Olympics after defeating Rio Games bronze-winner Germany by 5-4 in the third-fourth place play-off match on Thursday. Indian men’s hockey team rewrote history as it secured an Olympic medal after 41 years.

India’s last of the eight Olympic golds came way back in the 1980 Moscow Games.

Simranjeet Singh (17th, 34th minutes) scored a brace, while Hardik Singh (27th), Harmanpreet Singh (29th) and Rupinder Pal Singh (31st) were the other goal-getters for India. Germany’s goals were scored by Timur Oruz (2nd), Niklas Wellen (24th), Benedikt Furk (25th) and Lukas Windfeder (48th).

Also Read | ‘Historic!’, says PM Modi as India wins bronze in men’s hockey at Tokyo Olympics; here’s who said what

The clash between India and Germany would be a repeat of the bronze medal clash of the 2017 Hockey World League Finals. Back then, the Indians triumphed 2-1 against a vastly depleted German team. Having failed to secure the gold medal after two successive yellow metals in the 2008 and 2012 Games, the Germans had to settle for a bronze in Rio 2016 and they would be determined to at least return with a podium finish from here.

Germany is the most successful hockey nation in the Olympics after India with four gold medals. Striker Lukas Wendfeder is in great form, having scored six goals in the tournament so far.

In the Olympics, both sides have faced each other 11 times recording four wins each and three matches ending in draws. Recently, India toured Germany in March this year during which they defeated the hosts 6-1 and drew a match 1-1. India captain Manpreet Singh has already said that he is in no mood to dwell on the semifinal result.

Determined to clinch a medal, the Indians made one of the most memorable comebacks in the history of the game, fighting back from a two-goal deficit to turn the match in their favour. There were tears and hugs on the field as the Indians led by Manpreet Singh and coached by Australian Graham Reid savoured the historic moment.

It is India’s third hockey bronze medal in the history of the Olympics. The other two came in 1968 Mexico City and the 1972 Munich Games.

In the men’s hockey final, Australia will face Belgium later on Thursday.

With inputs from PTI

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Tokyo Olympics 2021: India lose 1-2 against Argentina in women’s hockey semis, to play for bronze

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A brave Indian women’s hockey team put up a gritty performance but it was not enough to secure a maiden Olympic final berth as it lost 1-2 to world no.2 Argentina in a hard-fought semifinal of the ongoing Games here on Wednesday.

India still have a chance to win the bronze medal as they will take on Great Britain in the third-fourth place play-off match on Friday.

The Indians fought valiantly and gave Argentina a run for their money by taking the lead in the second minute through a penalty corner conversion by Gurjit Kaur. But the Las Leonas bounced back strongly with skipper Maria Barrionuevo’s (18th, 36th minutes) twin strikes from penalty corners to secure the hard-fought win.

The bunch of 18 fearless and determined Indian women had already done the unthinkable when they stunned three-time champions Australia 1-0 on Monday to enter the Olympic semifinals for the first time.

Coming into the match, the odds were totally against India but the side led by talismanic Rani Rampal and coached by master tactician Sjoerd Marijne exceeded expectations.

India’s best performance in the Olympics came way back in the 1980 Moscow Games where they finished fourth out of six teams. In that edition of the Games, women’s hockey made its debut in the Olympics and the sport was played in a round-robin format with top two teams qualifying for the final.

The Netherlands will play Argentina in the final on Friday. Even though Argentina dominated in terms of possession, it was India who got the all-important lead.

Despite penetrating their opponent’s circle on numerous occasions, Argentina failed to create a clear cut chance in the first quarter as the Indians defended stoutly. It was India who grabbed with both hands, the first opportunity that came their way.

India secured a penalty corner with their first circle penetration and it was perfectly converted by Gurjit with a powerful drag-flick to hand her side an unexpected lead. Thereafter it was all Argentina, which exerted tremendous pressure on the Indian defence with relentless attacks but somehow India managed to keep the ball away from the net.

Most of Argentina’s attacks came from the left flank and they kept up the pressure on the Indian defence in the second quarter. Minutes into the second quarter, Argentina secured two penalty corners in quick time, the second of which was converted by skipper Barrionuevo to level the scores.

India got two more penalty corners in the second quarter but wasted both. Three minutes from half time, Argentina earned their fourth penalty corner of the match, again from an attack from the left flank, but this time the Indian defence was upto the task.

Argentina continued in the same vein after the change of ends and attacked the Indian goal, securing two more penalty corners soon and once again Barrionuevo was bang on target. Barrionuevo’s flick crashed into the board after getting a deflection of Sushila Chanu’s legs as Argentina took a 2-1 lead.

The difference between the two sides was the battle in the mid-field which the Argentines won hands down. The Indians were also guilty of sitting back and defending and not forcing the pace after taking the lead.

Trailing by a goal, the Indians showed intent in the fourth quarter and put the Argentine defence under pressure in search of the equaliser. This is something which they needed to do after taking the lead.

India put continuous pressure in the last 15 minutes and secured their fourth and final penalty corner in the 51st minute but experienced Argentina goalkeeper Maria Succi made a brilliant save to deny Gurjit.

Seventeen seconds from the final hooter, Succi came to her side’s rescue again when she brilliantly kept out Navneet Kaur’s deflection from Udita’s hit from outside the circle. The Indians immediately asked for a referral for dangerous ball but the TV umpire rejected it, breaking the hearts of the courageous lot, who can hold their heads high in pride.

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