India gets its first Rio2016 Olympic medal

Wrestler Sakshi Malik secures bronze for the country

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News - India & You

August 19, 2016

/ By / Kolkata



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India finally secured a medal at Rio 2016

India finally secured a medal at Rio 2016

Indian wrestler Sakshi Malik attained a bronze medal yesterday in the women’s 58kg category by winning against Aisuluu Tynybekova from Kyrgyzstan, sealing the first Olympic medal for her country at Rio 2016.

The country held its breath until the last moment of the match as Sakshi put up a strong fight, pulling herself up from 0-5 against her opponent. In the final seconds, Sakshi produced a move that resulted in a three point gain, sealing the deal for her by putting her at 8-5 with Aisuluu. This win has brought home the first medal for India from this year’s Olympics, resulting in widespread cheer.

Sakhshi, a 23 year old from Rohtak, in the northern Indian state of Haryana, has created history by becoming the first female wrestler to win a medal from India.

Everyone from the Prime Minister of the country to movie stars took to Twitter to congratulate Sakshi-

Pusarla Venkata Sindhu, a shuttler from India, will be adding to the medal count of the country. Whether it will be a silver or a glittering gold is to be determined today at the Women’s singles finals. Sindhu stunned audiences across the globe with her performance in the semi-finals.

However,India has so far had a dismal performance at the Rio Olympics 2016 in terms of gaining medals. Some star performers have also missed medals by very narrow margins. Shooter Abhinav Bindra who previously won a Gold medal in the Beijing Olympics 2008, had exit at number four this year,  missing the Bronze by just 0.1 points. Dipa Karmakar, the first ever female gymnast representing the country in the Olympics, has also narrowly missed a medal, by securing the fourth place.She had displayed her skills at Produnava, considered to be a tricky and difficult maneouver of gymnastics, and had qualified for the finals.

Disadvantaged Indian athletes

Poor infrastructure, lack of funds, limited access to training and other such problems often serve as a disadvantage for Indian athletes. A majority of the participants at Rio 2016 are reportedly from low socio-economic backgrounds and have had to face many financial problems to reach Rio. Despite attempts from the government and private agencies, infrastructure for sports training remains poor.

Nonetheless, India is looking forward to creating an impact in the Olympic arena despite a poor performance so far. The strong, determined women from India have renewed India’s hopes for medals, even if it is only a handful.

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