Oly medalists honoured again

Super six meet PM Manmohan Singh, UPA leader Sonia Gandhi

It was another hectic day for the India’s Olympic medal winners to bask in glory. On Friday, they were honoured by Samsung and Indian Olympic Association (IOA) where they warmly shared the thrill of their achievement.

Sushil Kumar (wrestling, silver),  Vijay Kumar (shooting, silver), Gagan Narang (shooting, bronze), MC Mary Kom (boxing bronze), Yogeshwar Dutt (wrestling, bronze) and Saina Nehwal (badminton, bronze) were lauded for their performance by IOA secretary general Randhir Singh and acting-president VK Malhotra.

After dealing with a long spell of pressure ahead of the Olympics, the players looked much at ease as they spoke about their victory and ambitions. Saina said her medal would motivate her to strive for further glory. “The year has been great for me. I won three titles and then came the Olympic bronze. It is a big motivation for me, "said Saina.
“I remember the Beijing Olympics when I lost after leading 11-3. I could not sleep for many nights.  But I told myself that I will win it the next time. In 2016, I will like to do even better.”

Rifleman Narang hoped to improve his medal colour in the 2016 edition at Rio de Janeiro. “I will do my best to change the colour of the medal in the next Olympics. I had my own demons to fight after the Beijing Olympic. In sports, after the physical barrier ends, the challenge becomes a mental one. I am glad I hung there and delivered,” he said.
“The next target is Commonwealth Games and Asian Games and the Olympics at Rio... hopefully, I will make everyone hear the national anthem.”

Yogeshwar, whose eye was still swollen after the bout in Olympics, said the injury mattered little as compared to his desire to win a medal. "It doesn't matter if I hurt my eye or legs or any other part of my body. It was miserable after not winning in a medal in two outings. This injury would have healed but I would not have been able to live with the feeling that I could not win an Olympic medal," he said.

Mary Kom said if a woman has will power and support, she can be successful even after marriage and kids. “I told Saina the same thing,” she said. The silver medallists were awarded Rs 15 lakh and bronze winners Rs 10 lakh each. The six medallists later met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur, and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.