Rio Olypics 2016

The 2016 Summer Olympics concluded on 21 August 2016 at ceremony held at the Maracana Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil  witnessed more than 11000 athletes from 207 National Olympic Committees. A total of 117 athletes participated from India. India bagged a total of two medals, one silver and one bronze; both the medals won by women in their respective games.

P.V. Sindhu

Sakshi Mallik

Badminton player P V Sindhu won historic silver medal in women’s singles badminton event. With this, she became the first Indian woman to clinch a silver medal in Olympics. On the other hand, Wrestler Sakshi Malik secured a bronze in the 58 kg category to become India's first female wrestler to win an Olympic medal.

Not to forget, India was able to qualify one artistic gymnast into the Olympic competition for the first time since 1964. Dipa Karmakar became the first Indian female ever to book an Olympic spot in the apparatus events and all-around event at the Olympic Test Event. Unfortunately, she narrowly missed out in the bronze medal, finishing 4th in the finals of the event with a score of 15.066.

Moreover, Indian long distance runner Lalita Babar scored a time of 9:19.76 in her heat, qualifying to the final. With this, she became the first Indian in 32 years to enter a final in any track event. At the final, she finished 10th with a time of 9:22.74.

Despite the fact that these all sportswomen belonged from families with low income, still they managed to gather all their confidence and achieve what they aspire to be. This empowerment of women by encouraging them to participate in sports has opened up many new and exciting avenues for them in the world of sports.

The 2020 Summer Olympics will be held in Tokyo, Japan.