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- Published: August 9, 2021 14:49
New Delhi: With seven Olympic medals in India’s kitty including 1 gold, 2 silver & 4 bronze, the nation has achieved its highest medals tally in the biggest sports extravaganza. Tokyo Olympics has been best so far, as far as India’s medals haul is concerned. Niraj Chopra’s gold medal propelled India from 68th to 47th position.
Previous biggest tally for India was in 2012 London Olympics, when Indian wrestlers & contingent won 6 medals.
Today, the champions who won medals for India and brought glory to the nation are returning home.
Red carpet welcome for Olympic heroes
Government has rolled out the red carpet to give a grand welcome for the Olympic heroes. The medallists will be felicitated at Ashoka Hotel in the capital at 6.30 PM today. According to reports, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also interact with these players via video conferencing. PM Modi has also invited these players to attend the Independence Day celebrations at Red Fort.
What an #Olympics it has been for #TeamIndia
A journey full of emotions, victories, excitement and learnings. We want to thank all the athletes for giving us the best performances and the fans for being loyal and supportive during our coverage.#Tokyo2020 #Cheer4India pic.twitter.com/5Ox8w3iYdr
— SAIMedia (@Media_SAI) August 9, 2021
TV channels report that gold medallist Neeraj Chopra’s parents are coming from Patiala to Delhi to welcome their son and India’s sole gold medallist in the capital.
Return schedule & welcome ceremony
Sports Authority of India (SAI) has organised the event at Ashoka hotel to honour the athletes & wrestlers. Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur is likely to welcome the players, with several former Olympic athletes and government officials in attendance.
Players are arriving in 2 flights and they likely to arrive at the IGI airport at 3.15 pm and 5.15 pm respectively. From there, the medallists will be taken to Ashoka Hotel for felicitation ceremony.
India’s medal winners at Tokyo Olympics
#Tokyo2020
An OLYMPIC GAMES of MANY FIRSTS#TeamIndia gave it’s best ever performance. We made our debut in numerous games and we fought like champions.We excelled & we inspired.
We cheered & we celebrated.Thankyou Japan ??
for being a wonderful host. pic.twitter.com/1InTWy5k3G— Anurag Thakur (@ianuragthakur) August 8, 2021
Neeraj Chopra won gold medal in Javelin throw, Mirabai Chanu bagged silver in weightlifting, PV Sindhu in badminton, Ravi Dahiya and Bajrang Punia won silver & bronze in wrestling bout respectively while Lovlina Borgobain got bronze in boxing and Indian men’s hockey team recreated history by winning medal in Olympics after a gap of 40 years.