Raising the Bar

Pragya Tiwari

Description

‘The Rio Olympics for India, regardless of its disappointments, became immensely significant. In the dynamics of Indian sports, its legacy could be far-reaching. Three women, in their maiden Olympics, had blazed a trail unforeseen. Dipa Karmakar became the first Indian to qualify for Olympics, and reach the finals. Her fourth-place finish would be a significant benchmark for upcoming gymnasts. Sakshi Malik became the first Indian woman wrestler to win an Olympic medal in a sport traditionally marked for men. PV Sindhu became the youngest Indian to win an Olympic medal and the first badminton player to win a silver.
‘The chances of these three women pioneers were once viewed at best quixotic. Through their exemplary performances, they have woken up the entire country. To dream.’

Sujets

• Sport
• Autour du sport
• Histoire du sport
• Sports
• Lettres et linguistique
• Lucha libre profesional
• Bádminton
• Raising the Bar
• Biography
• GOLD
• List of firsts in India
• Finals
• Medal
• Olympic Games
• Gymnastics
• Wrestling
• Silver
• Autobiography
• India
• Performance
• Tradition
• Bronze

Informations

• Publié par: Roli Books
• Date de parution: 31 mai 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9788193704929
• Langue: English

Extrait

RAISING THE BAR
 

 
ROLI BOOKS
This digital edition published in 2018
First published in 2017 by
The Lotus Collection
An Imprint of Roli Books Pvt. Ltd
M-75, Greater Kailash- II Market
New Delhi 110 048
Phone: ++91 (011) 40682000
Email: [e-mail]
Website: www.rolibooks.com
Copyright © Pragya Tiwari, 2017
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic, mechanical, print reproduction, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Roli Books. Any unauthorized distribution of this e-book may be considered a direct infringement of copyright and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
eISBN: 978-81-937049-2-9
All rights reserved.
This e-book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated, without the publisher’s prior consent, in any form or cover other than that in which it is published.
 
Contents

• Moment of Glory: Sakshi Malik
• Sensational Sindhu: PV Sindhu
• Flirting with Danger: Dipa Karmakar
 
Introduction

Three young women, and Olympic glory. In a country with skewed gender equation, it is a telling statement of success. The stories of PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik and Dipa Karmakar are a compelling concoction of self-belief and invincible spirit that mocked the prevalent conventions.
Neither of the three grew up with the idea of chasing Olympic medals. But from the beginning, they were possessed with a fierce desire to compete and be the best. A young Dipa wouldn’t rest till she had perfected a vault. As a sub-junior gymnast, she wanted to beat the senior girls. Sakshi was so engrossed with her wrestling that she would rarely socialize. A 10-year-old Sindhu wouldn’t complain at commuting 120 kilometres a day to the Gopichand Badminton Academy, having started her day at 4 am.
In the backdrop of a gloomy Indian run in the Olympic Games at Rio de Janeiro, they came together to create a glittering constellation of rare achievements. In the wake of receding Indian hopes, theirs was a beautifully orchestrated success.
Dipa represented the country in gymnastics, where India had no Olympic history. Her inclusion in the expanded India squad for the 2016 Games itself was viewed with awe and respect. She was already a winner in the public eye when she boarded the flight to Rio. But the 23-year-old was destined for bigger things when pitted against the gymnastic powerhouses. Her gritty performance hauled India out of a mournful trance. Dipa qualified for the final, an accomplishment in itself, and with her courageous execution of Produnova, the ‘vault of death’, she stirred the masses. In her first Olympic attempt, the diminutive Dipa, with a large heart, reintroduced gymnastics to India. She missed a medal by a whisker, but her effort was commendable. She understood the enormity of the loss only when she returned to her room. It gave way to bitter tears. Yet, without a medal, she returned home a victor. The warmth of the people stoked in her the desire of bigger Olympic success. It was her performance, imbued with unparalleled determination that inspired the bigger Indian feats.
The Olympic story of Sakshi commenced when Dipa’s ended. The 23-year-old wrestler from the small town of Rohtak in Haryana had fought against societal reservations for girls indulging in a contact sport like wrestling. Her state is notorious for its plummeting sex ratio. Her childhood coach, Ishwar Dahiya, faced protests when the girls in his academy trained with the boys. So, Sakshi was not unfamiliar to obstacles and adversities. It came handy at Rio, where she scripted thrilling comebacks. She lost in the quarterfinals before getting a new lease of life through repechage since her conqueror reached the final. Sakshi did not let go of that opportunity. On the back of strong performances, she barged into the bronze medal play-off. There she lagged for most part before forging a sensational counter-attack that blew the mind away. Her audacious performance got India its first medal in Rio Olympics. It sparked a mini-revolution of a kind which instantly emphasized the need to nurture and educate a girl child. Sakshi is now seen the face of such campaigns in Haryana.
While the country went berserk with celebrations, Sindhu deepened the joy by making it to the final of the women’s singles. It meant a gold or a silver, an upgrade on Sakshi’s bronze. In the dying stages of the competition, the Indian graph was rising. The tall and unassuming Sindhu, at 21, was the youngest to reach such heights. As she unleashed her new, aggressive facet on court, the world watched agog. The soft-natured Sindhu was not to be muzzled during her victory march. And though she faltered on the final hurdle, she won hearts by demonstrating her graceful side to the weeping winner Carolina Marin. Despite the practiced intimidation on court, the respect for the opponent wasn’t lost; the spirit of the sport wasn’t compromised. That it came from a youngster was reassuring for both the purists and non-conformists.
The Rio Olympics for India, regardless of its disappointments, became immensely significant. In the dynamics of Indian sports, its legacy could be far-reaching. Three women, in their maiden Olympics, had blazed a trail unforeseen. Dipa became the first Indian to qualify for Olympics, and to reach the final. Her fourth-place finish would be a significant benchmark for upcoming gymnasts. Sakshi became the first Indian woman wrestler to win an Olympic medal in a sport traditionally marked for men. Sindhu became the youngest Indian to win an Olympic medal and the first badminton player to win a silver.
The chances of these three women pioneers were once viewed at best quixotic. Through their exemplary performances, they have woken up the entire country. To dream.
 

Moment of Glory

Sakshi Malik

T he Rio Olympic Games had entered the last stretch. Three days from the closing ceremony to be precise. Miles away, a country of billion people was left starved of a medal. Every evening, the amphitheatre of chosen parks would be dotted with spectators – sports fans with strong nationalist fervour, some new converts, couples snuggled up in corners, a few star-struck fans. The vendors would tone down their voices. They too, between their flourishing business of selling potato chips, tea in neat, tiny paper cups, cold drinks pet bottles in flavours of cola, orange, lemon; perspiring mineral water bottles in green and blue labels, on the hot, damp monsoon days, would invariably steal a glance at the giant screens. With thousands gathered, their hearts swelled too; their hopes, too, dashed in an unwritten solidarity. Indian participation on a world stage tends to colour its people in the strikingly similar hue of patriotism.
The night of 18 August provided this repressed sentiment an expression. Sakshi Malik, till then a cherubic face unknown to the masses, took the stage for a bronze medal bout. She won her first two rounds (round of 32 and 16) but lost to her nemesis Valeria Koblova of Russia in the quarterfinals. But the girl from the small town of Rohtak in Haryana, some 77 kilometres from Delhi, was given a new lease of life when Koblova reached the final in the 58-kg weight category. In sporting parlance, it is called repêchage, a French word that simply means ‘another chance’. The idea is that a worthy competitor, who is clubbed with an equally worthy opponent, shouldn’t suffer at the hands of the draw. The method is used in just a handful of sports, wrestling being one of them. The only condition being the winning opponent should reach the final.
In a way Koblova had sprinkled fairy dust on Sakshi. It was a good sign. No Indian had ever lost in the repêchage round of the Olympics. Be it Sushil Kumar in Beijing in 2008 or Yogeshwar Dutt in London in 2012, both had returned with bronze medals. But then it had always happened in the men’s wrestling. An Indian female wrestler was yet to use this golden opportunity.
For the 23-year-old Sakshi it was her maiden Olympics. She had fought fate and favourites to reach this envious platform. In wrestling, the competition in a category is decided in one day which means a wrestler may have to fight four to five bouts in a matter of few hours.
For the bronze medal play-off, she needed to beat Pürevdorjiin Orkhon of Mongolia in her first bout, which Sakshi won with a commanding 12–3 verdict. Also, between her and history stood the reigning Asian champion Aisuluu Tynybekova of Kyrgyzstan. Sakshi had to play her later in the day. She needed nothing but her best. The Indian camp in Rio was expecting the world from her. The past few days for them had ushered in repeated disappointments; like repeated blows from a merciless pugilist.
Wearing her orange dress and complementing it with colourful beads between her mini braids, Sakshi was among the last hope to bring in some sporting sunshine. At least, she had created a crevice to sneak in the sunbeams. The tension was palpable. Aisuluu was never going to be easy. If Sakshi had strength, she had speed.
The start was far from ominious. Sakshi began by conceding a point for being over-defensive. Within minutes, Aisuluu had leapt on her leg to grab two more. In another attack from Aisuluu, she lost another two points, before separating for the break – hair disheveled, the beads scattered, breathing hard. Her coaches, fanning her with towel, barked instructions. She just nodded, her eyes betraying nothing, her face blank. But when she returned, her steps had a certain spring in them. The foreign commentators described her as a wrestler who could fight deficits. Down 0–5, it had precipitated to now or never for her.
A confident Aisuluu again attacked but this time Sakshi was ready with a strong counter-attack. She brilli