Lanky goalkeeper from Kerala, PR Sreejesh, chose an opportune moment to say goodbye to competitive hockey. His heroics helped India to win back-to-back- bronze medals in Olympic hockey. For India, it was India’s fourth bronze medal of the games. Two contrasting retirements announced during the past two days have set in motion, animated debates in Indian sports circles. After the weighing-in fiasco in the 50 kg event in wrestling for women forced Vinesh Phogat to say goodbye to competitive sport, goalkeeper Sreejesh had declared that the Paris Olympic Games would be his last international outing. Vinesh Phogat left on a bitter note. For the year preceding the Olympic Games, she was out in the streets fighting for the dignity and honor of her fellow wrestlers and women grapplers. She faced the wrath of the police normally associated with its strong-arm tactics in handling peaceful demonstrations. Her pleas to the Union Government, including the Prime Minister, against the alleged “misconduct of the President of the Wrestling Federation of India”, went unheeded. The only outcome of the struggle led by Vinesh was a change in the leadership of the Federation. The “controversial” outgoing President got his nominee installed in his place. She could not compete in any international wrestling meet for the whole year. The Federation chose another wrestler in the weight category – 53 kg – she used to compete. Instead, she was offered a higher weight – 57 kg – category for the Paris Olympic Games. Vinesh chose a lower weight – 50 kg – category.
She put up a performance unprecedented by any woman wrestler of the past. In three bouts she participated in the Paris Olympic Games, she defeated world and defending Olympic champion Yui Sasuki of Japan besides Oksana Livach of Ukraine. In the semi-finals, she took on Guzman Lopez of Cuba. She majestically marched into the gold medal round where she had set up a summit clash with American Sarah Ann Hildebrandt.
Weighing-in ceremony on the day of her glory turned out to be her nightmare. Shocks were aplenty in store for her. She weighed 100 gm more than the maximum body weight permissible in the category. She was disqualified. She was also deprived of the credit for winning three bouts she had contested legitimately by adhering to the weighing-in norms.
She lost her battle. She tweeted “Mother wrestling you won, I lost.” It expressed her anguish as her struggle spanning over three Olympic Games ended in agony, despair, and humiliation. In Rio, she got injured and in the second Olympics in Tokyo, she got no respite, and Paris left no choice but to say goodbye to a sport she dedicated her entire life. She left the Olympic village disappointed, dejected, and tired. It came as a sad end to a career in a sport where women were made to fight for their dignity and honor while pursuing their future in sports.
Sreejesh, on the other hand, decided to say goodbye to a sport he remained associated with for more than two decades. Two bronze medals are no mean achievement in a sport where India won an Olympic medal after a gap of 41 years in Tokyo.
He played a stellar role in the just concluded hockey competition for men, performing consistently well throughout the tournament, executing several superb saves, including a couple in the penalty shootout in the quarterfinals against Great Britain.
India started its Olympic campaign with a bronze medal in shooting. Competing in her second Olympic Games, Manu Bhaker, a shooter from Jhajjar in Haryana, opened the country’s account with a podium finish in the 10 m Air Pistol event. three bronze medals in shooting, there was a hiatus in the hunt for medals.
Manu Bhaker emerged as the new sports icon of the country as she got her second bronze in the same games in the 10 m Air Pistol Mixed team event in partnership with Sarabjot Singh. She came close to winning her third successive medal in Paris as she finished a close fourth in her pet event of 25 m Air Pistol.
Swapnil Kusale became the first male athlete to win a medal for India in Paris. He finished third in the 50 m Air Rifle 3 positions. Other shooters came close but could not win a medal. Arjun Babuta was one of them. Expectations were high from the 117-member squad that had set a target of getting into double figures for its medal tally. The slogan “Iss bar, dusk ke paar” looked working at the start. But once the medal hunt in shooting came to a standstill, the Indian challenge started fizzling. Vinesh Phogat had raised hopes of first-ever silver or gold in women’s wrestling. But it was not to be. Rather, it left a bitter taste in the mouth. Quest for ascertaining the truth behind the unsavory controversy may continue for a while till one of the parties breaks the silence on the subject.
The Badminton squad also gave hopes of a couple of medals, including third in a row by women’s singles ace, PV Sindhu, and our world champion men’s doubles champion team of Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. After these medal hopes failed to cross the pre-quarterfinal hurdle, Lakshya Sen emerged as a strong contender for first-ever badminton medal in the men’s section. He, however, met his Waterloo in the defending champion Viktor Alexsen before losing the bronze medal hope to Malaysian Zii Jin. Bronze medal triumph in hockey warmed the cockles of hearts of ardent not only in the country but worldwide.