International Olympics Day: Athletes who made India proud

“The hard days are the best because that’s where champions are made” – Gabby Douglas (Artistic Gymnastic)

“Citius, Altius, Fortius”

(“Faster, Higher, Stronger”) you must have heard about this if you are an athlete or sports nerd.

This Motto of the Olympics stands the testament of time.

The International Olympics Day is observed on the 23rd of June every year to celebrate the well-being of athletes and spreading awareness to make sport an integral part of life. It was first introduced in 1948 to commemorate the birth of the modern Olympic Games on 23 June 1894 by Baron Pierre de Coubertinat at Sorbonne in Paris. This day aims at promoting sports and spreads the message based on the three pillars –

“move”, “learn” and “discover” – to promote participation in sports across the globe regardless of age, and gender, or athletic ability

Do you know? “The creation of the modern-day Olympic Games is inspired by the ancient Olympic Games held in Olympia, Greece, from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD”.

This year’s Summer Olympics is scheduled from the 23rd of July to August 8, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan.

Let’s take a look back at the athletes who represented India in the Olympics and made us proud.

1. Dutee Chand: Track and Field

Dutee is an Indian professional sprinter from Jaipur and currently holds the title of National champion in the women’s 100 meters at the Summer Olympic Games, Dutee Chand is the third Indian woman to ever qualify for the Women’s 100 meters event. She recently became the first Indian woman track and field athlete to clinch a gold medal at the 30th Summer University Games. In 2019, she became the first Indian sprinter to win gold at the. She had clocked 11.23 in the 100m event to clinch the gold medal.

2. Devendra Jharjaria: Javelin

Devendra is an Indian Paralympic Javelin thrower from the Churu district of Rajasthan. He was 8 years old when he had his arm amputated due to an electric shock, despite that today he is India’s most successful Paralympic Games athlete. He is the first Indian Paralympic athlete to win two gold medals at the Paralympics, in the years 2004 and 2016. The one-armed Indian Paralympic athlete was even honored with the Padma Shri in 2012.

3. Pooja Rani: Boxer

Pooja Rani is an Indian middleweight boxer from Haryana. She won a silver medal at the Asian Boxing Championships 2012 and the Arafura Games held in Australia in 2012, making her one of the top contenders to qualify for Rio Olympics 2016.

She won the bronze medal at the 2014 Asian Games in the 75 kg category, gold medal in South Asian Games 2016, Silver and Bronze in Asian Championship 75 kg weight categories. She will also be participating in the Olympics in Tokyo this year

And was the first Indian to qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Here’s wishing her Good luck !!

4. Neeraj Chopra: Javelin, Track, and Field

The 23-year-old Naib Subedar Neeraj Chopra is an Indian track and field athlete from Haryana. He is also a Junior Commissioned Officer in Indian Army who is also a javelin thrower. He holds the Indian national record of 88.07 m for the event.

Neeraj has won gold medals for India at the 2018 Asian Games and 2018 Commonwealth Games. He also managed a distance of 80.96 meters for the win at the Folksam Grand Prix in Karlstad, Sweden.

He also broke his national record in March with a throw of 88.07m in Patiala in the Indian Grand Prix and will be a part of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

The ultimate test for the athletes is near, and time and again they have proved themselves with sheer confidence and made us very proud.

We wish all the participants of the 2020 Summer Olympics Safe and competitive game.

And to all of you a Happy International Olympics Day.