At the London Games, some Indian athletes gave the country much to be proud about but others left us sorely disappointed. We look the good, bad and downright ugly performances of the Indian Olympians, starting off with the cream of the crop.
Source : PTI
Good: Sushil KumarIndia's last hopes for gold were pinned on wrestler Sushil Kumar but Japanese competitor Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu proved a tough nut to crack. In the end, Sushil had to settle with silver and in turn became the first Indian to bag back-to-back medals at the Olympics. Sushil had won the bronze at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
Source : PTI
Good: Yogeshwar DuttLike a bolt out of the blue, Haryana wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt bagged a bronze medal to make a tally of 6 medals for India - which is twice the haul from Beijing. Dutt battled 3 rounds with a swollen eye for the podium finish.
Source : Getty Images
Good: Gagan Narang Hopes were pinned on Abhinav Bindra to retain his the glory of gold won at Beijing but it was Gagan Narang who stole the limelight. Narang won India its first medal (bronze) in the 10m air rifle event and it was also the first for India at the London Games
Source : PTI
Good: Parupalli Kashyap India's sole representative in the men's singles badminton event, Parupalli Kashyap, exceeded everybody's expectations. He became the first Indian man to reach the quarter finals of a badminton event at the Olympics. Though he lost to world number 2 Lee Chong Wei in the quarters, Kashyap enthralled everybody with his display.
Source : PTI
Good: Vijay Kumar An army man scored India its first silver medal at the London Olympics. Vijay Kumar impressive display in 25m rapid fire pistol earned him second place. Prior to this, Kumar had won bronze at the last Asian Games and also three gold medals in the Commonwealth Games at New Delhi.
Source : PTI
Good: MC Mary Kom Indian women's boxing received a huge boost when 29-year-old Manipuri MC Mary Kom won India a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics. Even though she lost the match to Britain's Nicola Adams, Mary won the hearts of many and even apologized for not winning a silver or gold. Now that's humility right there!
Source : PTI
Good: Devendro Singh India's last hope of a medal in the men's boxing event went up in smoke with the ouster of Devendro Singh in the quarter finals. However, the 20-year-old fought courageously, and we expect to see fireworks from him in Rio.
Source : PTI
Good: Saina Nehwal She went in shouldering great expectations and achieved a first for the Indian contingent - a medal in badminton. Saina Nehwal defeated Xin Wang of China to clinch a bronze. The 22-year old Hyderabadi, coached by P. Gopichand, has raised the bar and all eyes will now follow her to Rio in 2016.
Don't forget to come back tomorrow to see who figured on our Bad list!
