Culture / Tokyo 2020: Neeraj Chopra Strikes Gold & Other Momentous Olympic Victories By South Asian Athletes

Tokyo 2020: Neeraj Chopra Strikes Gold & Other Momentous Olympic Victories By South Asian Athletes

Culture Aug 09, 2021

by Marriska Fernandes

South Asians were shining at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. There were more than 145 South Asian athletes who qualified for the competition, which began on July 23 and ended August 8. Check out our list of our South Asian Olympians who reached various milestones including who landed medals.

Tokyo 2020 which was delayed a year due to the pandemic, hosted athletes from over 206 countries including athletes from India (124 athletes), Pakistan (10 athletes), Bangladesh (9 athletes) and Nepal (5 athletes).

Here are the winners!

Neeraj Chopra

Country: India

Gold Medal

Tokyo 2020: Neeraj Chopra Strikes Gold & Other Momentous Olympic Victories By South Asians Athletes: India Men's Field Hockey team. — **Tokyo 2020: Neeraj Chopra Strikes Gold & Other Momentous Olympic Victories By South Asians Athletes: Neeraj Chopra.** Photo Credit: www.tribuneindia.com

Neeraj Chopra became India’s second individual Olympic champion with his men’s javelin throw gold at Tokyo 2020. It was India’s first track-and-field medal at any Olympic Games.

Lovlina Borgohain

Country: India

Bronze Medal

Lovlina Borgohain made her Olympics debut and won a bronze medal She had beaten Chinese Taipei’s Nien-Chin Chen in the quarter-finals to score the bronze.

Mirabai Chanu

Country: India

Silver Medal

**Tokyo 2020: Neeraj Chopra Strikes Gold & Other Momentous Olympic Victories By South Asians Athletes: Mirabai Chanu.** Photo Credit: www.news18.com

Mirabai was the only Indian weightlifter at the Tokyo Olympics, and was India’s best bet for a medal. She won the silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in women’s 49 kg category — her first medal at the Olympics.

Ravi Kumar Dahiya

Country: India

Silver Medal

Ravi Kumar Dahiya scored a silver medal in men’s 57kg freestyle wrestling, making this India’s ninth silver medal in Olympic history and a second silver medal in wrestling.

PV Sindhu

Country: India

Bronze Medal

Badminton champ PV Sindhu became the first Indian woman and only the second Indian athlete — after Sushil Kumar — to win two individual Olympic medals. PV Sindhu beat China’s He Bing Jiao 21-13, 21-15 to win the bronze medal in the women’s singles.

Field Hockey

Country: India

Bronze Medal

Tokyo 2020: Neeraj Chopra Strikes Gold & Other Momentous Olympic Victories By South Asians Athletes: Ravi Kumar Dahiya. Photo Credit: www.firstpost.com — **Tokyo 2020: Neeraj Chopra Strikes Gold & Other Momentous Olympic Victories By South Asians Athletes: India Men’s Field Hockey team.** Photo Credit: www.twitter.com

After a 41-year wait, the Indian men’s field hockey team finally earned an Olympic medal since the gold at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. It is their third Olympic bronze medal – after the 1968 and 1972 Games – and their 12th Olympic medal overall.

Bajrang Punia

Country: India

Bronze Medal

Tokyo 2020: Neeraj Chopra Strikes Gold & Other Momentous Olympic Victories By South Asians Athletes: India Men's Field Hockey team. Photo Credit: www.twitter.com — **Tokyo 2020: Neeraj Chopra Strikes Gold & Other Momentous Olympic Victories By South Asians Athletes: Bajran Punia.** Photo Credit: www.outlookindia.com

Bajrang Punia won a bronze medal in men’s 65kg wrestling and became the third Indian debutant to win a medal at Tokyo 2020.

Honorable Mentions:

Talha Talib: This Pakistani weightlifter entered the competition without a coach, supported only by family and friends after training without standard Olympic-level equipment. The Gujranwala athlete held the gold medal spot in the 67 kg category until the final round, where he finished in fifth place.

Saurabh Chaudhary & Manu Bhaker: At the 10m air pistol mixed event, Saurabh who is ranked World No.2 in men’s 10m air pistol discipline, was paired with Manu Bhaker. They held the current world record for the qualification score in the event with a score of 586. In the individual event Saurabh topped the qualifications round but ranked 7th out of 8 shooters. Manu Bhaker, who had a pistol malfunction during her individual event, finished 12th in the qualification round.

Abhishek Verma and Yashaswini Singh: They are the world No.1’s in their respective individual events of the 10m air pistol, managed to rank in the 17th place and 13th position, respectively, in the qualification rounds.

Deepika Kumari: India’s sole representation in women’s archery lost her quarterfinal match in the women’s individual event, but this was her first quarter final appearance.

Elavenil Valarivan and Apurvi Chandela: In their first Olympics, they didn’t qualify for the finals of the women’s 10m air rifle finals event.

Najma Parveen: Pakistan’s fastest woman entered the qualifying heats for the 200m women’s race but didn’t make it to the finals.

Regardless of the outcome, we are all incredibly proud of our South Asian athletes and look forward to their next Olympics in Paris in 2025.

Main Image Photo Credit: www.twitter.com

Marriska Fernandes

Author

Marriska (@marriska.fernandes) is an entertainment expert who has been creating celebrity, movies and pop culture content for digital outlets for over ten years. From reporting headline-grabbing celebrity news to reviewing movies to interviewing Hollywood and Bollywood’s finest actors and industry...

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Tokyo 2020: Neeraj Chopra Strikes Gold & Other Momentous Olympic Victories By South Asian Athletes

by Marriska Fernandes

Marriska Fernandes

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