India in Paris will be remembered for Vinesh Phogat. She won and lost in equal measure - there wasn't a medal to show for the 50 kg wrestler - but the brave Vinesh ensured that she will be one of India's most talked-about sportspersons of all time.
She was one of six Indian wrestlers who competed in Paris - Antim Panghal (53kg), Anshu Malik (57kg), Nisha Dahiya (68kg) and Reetika Hooda (76kg) in the women's category and Aman Sehrawat (57kg) in the male category. Their preparation going into Olympics wasn't the best due to reasons well-documented - there were no national camps - and at the end of the day, it was Aman, who trained at Chhatrasal Akhada under his personal coach till last Saturday, who won India a bronze.
Reetika, too, impressed in her debut Games but Antim and Anshu disappointed. Nisha's campaign ended abruptly after suffering a severe shoulder injury.
Experts, however, feel that the wrestlers should have brought two to three medals. "We can't say it was a disappointing performance but, yes, we should have won two more medals. There was no proper wrestling federation in place and the sport was managed by the SAI and IOA's adhoc body in which they clearly failed," said former India wrestler and coach Kripa Shankar Patel.
Jagbir Singh, international referee judge feels the absence of national camps and sparring partners led to such an underwhelming performance.
WRESTLING: ATHLETES: 6 | MEDAL: 1 BRONZE
