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sports India’s unprecedented six-medal haul in the London Olympics, the retirement of some old guards from cricket and the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC’s) suspension of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), and the issues related to the implementation of the contentious Sports Code of the Government dominated the Indian sports scene in the year gone by. Wrestler Sushil Kumar created Olympic history when he lifted a silver in the London Olympics to add to the bronze he had won four years ago in Beijing. Shooter Vijay Kumar also hit the bull’s eye for a silver as the country earned two silver medals and four bronze in an Olympics for the first time ever. But the Olympic honeymoon turned sour pretty soon when a new team of office-bearers, headed by Abhay Singh Chautala ascended the throne in the IOA, which the IOC felt was in violation of the Olympic Charter as the IOA included the Sports Code in the election process. The IOA was forced to compromise on the code issue following a Delhi High Court directive, which was objected to by the IOC, leading to IOA’s suspension from the Olympic family. The wrangling over power by the officials also resulted in the government cracking the whip on the Indian Amateur Boxing Association (IABF), the Athletics Federation of India and the Archery Association of India for "procedural lapses" in the election of their office-bearers. The boxing federation was also suspended by its international counterpart for lapses in the conduct of its elections. Perhaps, the recent turmoil in Indian sports bodies will be a great opportunity to clean up the mess and bring in more sportspersons to govern sports associations in the country.
India’s best Olympics India’s medal count in the London Olympics would not amaze any European or American country, but it was the country’s best haul ever at the Olympics. And it should be seen in the context of the fruitless decades the country had endured in the recent past, now that the hockey dream is over. Indians used to go to the Olympics with hopes only in hockey, but have returned empty-handed for the last eight Games.
This time too, hopes lay in sports other than hockey: Shooting, boxing, wrestling and badminton. India was disappointed with the total of six medals they won, for with a bit of luck for the male boxers, the total could have been eight. It’s good that the targets have been pegged higher from the measly one India desperately hoped from hockey in the distant past. Gagan Narang finally won an Olympics medal, a bronze, in the final of the 10m pistol event with a total of 701.1 out of a maximum possible of 709. Abhinav Bindra had won a gold in this event four years ago. This time, shooting a bit slowly, he was bothered by the noise in the stands, as the others finished — the rules have been changed to allow cheering and shouting by the spectators, and this had come as a surprise to the Indians in London. Vijay Kumar added a silver to the tally, in the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol event. It was a difficult event, contested over two days . Saina Nehwal, who came close to winning a badminton medal four years ago at age 18, had probably her last realistic shot at a medal. Four years ago, she lost a close contest in the quarterfinals. She went to London as a weaker prospect, as her year had been disappointing before she won titles in Singapore and Thailand. Three Chinese girls were ranked above her in London.
Saina lost to Wang Yihan, the world No. 1, in the semis, and then faced Wang Xin in the bronze medal match. Saina started well, leading 3-0 and then 5-2, before Wang raised her game and went up 14-6 in the first game. Saina fought back hard, took 12 of the last 19 points. Then Wang fell to the ground and had her left knee bandaged. She returned to win the game, but was in pain and pulled out in the second game, to give Saina a medal on a platter. Saina said she would have preferred to fight it out to her medal, but added: "I was confident, I was coming back strongly and she was tiring." India’s only boxing medal came not from the male boxers but from a diminutive lady, MC Mary Kom. She had easily reached the semi-final and assured herself of a bronze at least. In the semis, Nicola Adams, who eventually won the gold, was too good for Mary, but Mary’s bronze took India’s tally to four medals. It was further improved by medals from wrestlers Yogeshwar Dutt and Sushil Kumar. Dutt had lost to Besik Kudukhov of Russia in the pre-quarterfinals of 60kg. When Kudukhov entered the final, Dutt got a chance to fight for bronze. To win it, he had to win three repechage bouts in 58 minutes. He did that, stunning North Korea’s Jong Myong Ri in the bronze medal match with a twisting move around the mat. Sushil won India’s second silver on August 12, the last day of competition. His two medals in consecutive Games make Sushil arguably India’s greatest living sportsperson. He reached the final of 66kg freestyle with tough wins, but was outclassed by Japan’s Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu in the final. The six medals from London helped forget, at least momentarily, the drama leading to the selection of the tennis team when Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna refused to team up with Leander Paes in the double, and Sania Mirza also expressed reservation in opting for Leander by deserting her regular partner Mahesh. In the end, this unsavoury wrangling put a spoke in India’s medal chase in tennis as they returned home empty-handed. Cricketing disaster The year also witnessed a lot of cricketing drama, culminating in the retirement of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman from international cricket, and Sachin Tendulkar calling its quits from ODI cricket. The Indian cricket team started with a disaster in Australia, losing 0-4 in the Test series, before minor wins at home. And it’s ended the year on the same note, getting thrashed by England, this time at home. India failed at yet another Twenty20 World Cup, and were knocked out of the Asia Cup by Bangladesh. MS Dhoni’s leadership is under pressure. Grand Prix grandeur India’s rendezvous with big ticket sport/entertainment, the Indian F1 Grand Prix at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida, was won by Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull. The German went on to win the F1 world championship for the third time in a row, the youngest driver to achieve this feat. His compatriot Michael Schumacher finally retired. Starry lights Usain Bolt: The giant Jamaican won both the 100m and 200m sprints at the London Olympics, beating Yohan Blake to silver in both. Serena Williams: The American great won three Grand Slams, the singles gold at the Olympic Games and also the doubles gold with sister Venus. Andy Murray: It was a breakthrough win for the Scot when he won the Olympic Games gold by beating Roger Federer in the final, and then won the US Open. Yuvraj Singh: The Indian cricketer underwent treatment for a rare cancer early in the year, worked hard on his recovery and was back in the national team after excellent performances in domestic cricket. Spain: The world champions crushed Italy 4-0 in the European Championship final on Sunday, extending their reign as the best team in world football. Europe: The European golf team came back from a seemingly impossible position, trailing 4-10 at the start of the final day, to equal the biggest last day comeback in the event’s history and retained the trophy.
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