Kiren Rijiju Hails India's "Historic" Performance In Tokyo Olympics

Union Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju on Monday said India's performance at the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics was "historic" as athletes from the country won seven medals, including a gold in the track and field event. Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra bagged a gold medal for India on Saturday and as a result, India registered its first-ever gold in athletics at the Games. Bajrang Punia (bronze), Mirabai Chanu (silver), PV Sindhu (bronze), Lovlina Borgohain (bronze), the men's hockey team ( bronze), and Ravi Kumar Dahiya (silver) also won medals in the Tokyo Games.

"The Tokyo Olympics is historic for two-three reasons. Our contingent was of 127 players, who participated in it, this is a record. We won the seven medals including the gold medal," Rijiju, who served as the Union Sports Minister from May 2019 to July 2021, told reporters in New Delhi.

"We won a gold medal in athletics for the first time. The Tokyo 2020 has been historic for India and today all players will get a grand welcome," he added.

This year the Games were held with COVID-19 induced restrictions and all sports were played behind closed doors.

About 11,000 athletes from over 200 countries competed in Tokyo Olympics. India recorded its best-ever haul at the Olympics with seven medals (one gold, two silver, and four bronze), bettering the previous best of six medals at the London Games in 2012.

The Tokyo Olympic Games came to an end after a stunning closing ceremony at the Tokyo Olympic Stadium on Sunday. Once the Games were declared as closed, the Olympic flame was extinguished.

Topics mentioned in this article

Olympics 2020 India Olympics India PV Sindhu Lovlina Borgohain Neeraj Chopra Mirabai Chanu Bajrang Punia Ravi Dahiya