Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has made history in Tokyo, becoming the first Indian to win gold in athletics at the Olympics. Yesterday, Neeraj realised the dream that even Milkha Singh and PT Usha could not realise in athletics. Neeraj has been India's Olympic hope since winning gold with a record at the 2016 World Under-20 Championships. The 23-year-old was fulfilling the expectations of the country which had given him the opportunity to compete and train regularly abroad. Neeraj became the first Indian to win individual gold at the Olympics after Abhinav Bindra in 2008.

Bajrang Poonia also bagged a bronze medal in wrestling on Friday, making Tokyo the venue for the best performance in India's Olympic history. We won seven medals at the Olympics, including one gold, two silver and four bronze. The silver medals of Meerabhai Chanu and Ravi Kumar and the bronzes of PV Sindhu, Lovelina Borgohain and the men's hockey team are as bright as gold. After 41 years, India won a medal in hockey. The women's hockey team, which lost the medal by a slight margin, and golfer Aditi Ashok made a good performance in Tokyo. After a gap of 49 years, an Olympic medalist has emerged from Kerala, which has always written brilliant chapters in the history of Indian sports. Through P R Sreejesh, Kerala's sports scene has also shone. May the energy from this excitement pave the way for future athleticism!

August 7 marks the end of 32nd Olympics in Tokyo. The successful finale of Olympics that knits the whole world together should be hailed as the victory in the fight against the Covid epidemic, the greatest challenge of this era.

The modern Olympics, which began in Athens, Greece in 1896, have a history of being cancelled during the World Wars. But it could never be postponed. It is that history which has been rewritten in Tokyo. The Olympics, which were supposed to start in July 2020, have been on the verge of cancellation since it was postponed for a year due to the epidemic. With tens of thousands of athletes and officials from 206 world teams lined up, it is not at all a small feat to be held without disruption. That is why even a section of the people in Japan opposed the Olympics.

But the International Olympic Committee and the Japanese organizers, who bravely faced all the challenges, made the dream of the Tokyo Olympics a reality. For the first time in history, the organizers had a lot of restrictions, including the need to exclude spectators. That is why Olympics this time is a great victory in the war against Covid that has prevailed for a year and a half.