Grand welcome for bronze heroes Vijender, Sushil

After their resounding success in the Beijing Olympics, India's bronze medallists duo of wrestler Sushil Kumar and boxer Vijender Singh returned home to a rapturous welcome from thousands of ecstatic fans at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here in the wee hours on Tuesday.

The new heroes of Indian sports, Sushil and Vijender, along with the rest of the Indian contingent touched down at the airport at 00:30 hrs. However, it was only after 00:55 hrs that the first glimpses of the contingent was seen.

Finally home after scripting history by winning as many as three medals including one gold and two bronze, the Indian contingent was received at the airport with love and affection by the wildly cheering fans.

Some hugged them, while others coaxed for autographs and even gave them a ride on their shoulders.

Hordes of supporters from Sushil's homeland in Bapraula village of Najafgarh and Vijender's native place in Bhiwani district of Haryana thronged the airport carrying drums and fire crackers.

A musical band continued beating drums and blowing trumpets and enthusiastic fans broke into dance as the whole ambience submerged into a celebration mood.

The tricolour fluttered in the air and so were the banners of Indian Boxing Federation and Indian Olympic Association. There were also specially made banners and placards to welcome the Olympic heroes, reading "East or West, Vijender is the best".

Fans also showered rose petals and offered bouquets to their Olympic heroes.

It was a historic welcome not only for the medal winners, but also for other two quarter-finalist boxers Akhil Kumar and Jitender Kumar who seemed to have moved by the reception.

"When I returned, the emigration officer asked me for an autograph, it was for the first time that something of this sort happened. I am delighted and overwhelmed at the response," said an emotional Akhil, who defeated World bantamweight champion Sergey Vodopyanov at the quadrennial event's pre-quarterfinals.

An ecstatic Sport Minister M S Gill, who received the contingent, said he was proud of the nation's best-ever performance at the Olympics.

"I am very proud of their achievements. They have made the country proud. This is just the beginning, and from here on we all must work harder to achieve greater results in future," Gill said, patting the two bronze medallists on their shoulders.

Many top officials of Sport Authority of India (SAI) were also present at the airport, including Director General of SAI Shyan Chatterjee.

A large posse of media persons and cameramen were also present to catch the first hand reaction of India's most successful Olympic team.

Such was the craze that Vijender was literally escorted out of the place without any intervention, however, Sushil was more than obliged to answer the media.

The wrestler, who won the bronze medal in the 66 kg freestyle event, said he was confident of winning a gold in 2012 London Olympics.

"I cannot explain how happy I am to see so many people turning up to receive me. This reception is motivational enough for me to work with renewed vigour to win gold in the forthcoming Asian and Commonwealth Games and in the London Olympics in 2012," a jubilant Suhil said.

Earlier, there was a small skirmish between the Delhi Police and Vijender's family, who were initially not allowed to enter the VIP enclosure.

Vijender's father Mahipal Singh Beniwal, uncle Ramesh Singh and brother Manoj Singh were barred from entering the enclosure as Delhi Police failed to recognise them, but later on they were allowed to enter the premises.

Officials of the IOA, including President Suresh Kalmadi, Secretary-General Randhir Singh also arrived by the same flight.

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Vijender loses in semis, wins bronze

Vijender could not be the alchemist and turn his bronze into gold but on Friday's semifinal defeat could not deny him the honour of being India's first Olympic medal winning boxer.

Cuban Emilio Correa Bayeaux simply outsmarted the Indian 8-5 to win the 75kg category semifinal in a comprehensive manner and the outcome meant Vijender had to be content with the bronze, which he was already assured of.

The Cuban negated Vijender's height and reach advantages by playing from a distance. He simply did not allow Vijender land a single blow in the first, third and fourth rounds.

Even two penalty points in the final round could not make any difference for the Cuban had tilted the game in his favour a long away.

Surprisingly, barring the second round, Vijender held himself back throughout the bout and mostly sprayed his punches.

Emilio, son of 1972 Munich Games gold medallist Emilio Correa Vaillant, was precise with his blows. He did not resort to wild arm swinging or uppercuts but relied mostly on straight punches, which paid him rich dividends.

Clearly the faster of the two, Emilio led 3-0 early in the second round and though a desperate Vijender managed to reduce the gap to 4-3 by the end of the round, the Cuban proved his superiority again in the lop-sided third round that virtually sealed the fate of the bout."

Once he went 3-0 ahead, a comeback was always difficult. I tried my best and reduced the gap in the second round but could not really pull it off," a dejected Vijender said after the bout.

"I'm very upset and want to say sorry to all for I could not win the bout. But I promise to come back in 2012 Olympics and beat this guy and win gold," Vijender added."I had prepared well for his right punches but his left proved equally strong and I often had no answer to that," Vijender said of his opponent, whose tactical superiority was evident as he hit the Indian before backpedaling fast.

Vijender could not score any point in the first and third rounds and even in the final phase, he got two penalty points after the Cuban had pushed him.

The Haryana lad was still happy to have won India's first boxing medal and said, "I believe, boxing will see better days in India. We made good progress in the sport and it showed here."

Coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu was not too unhappy either."

I'm happy that at least we finished with an Olympic medal, it was a breakthrough for us. For the first time, three Indian boxers reached the quarterfinals. We have shown what we are capable of and the whole world is now watching us," Sandhu added.

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Wrestler Sushil Kumar wins 2nd medal for India, a bronze

While Indians were resting their medal hopes on the boxers and shooters, wrestler Sushil Kumar sprung a pleasant surprise by clinching the bronze in the 66kg freestyle event at the Beijing Olympics.




Grappler Sushil Kumar provided an unexpected boost to India's Olympic campaign by clinching bronze medal after beating Kazakhstan's Leonid Spiridonov in the repechage match of the men's freestyle wrestling 66kg class in Beijing on Wednesday.


Sushil also thwarted the challenge from American Doug Schwab and Belarrussian Albert Batyrov in the first two repechage rounds after losing his opening round bout earlier in the day. Down in the dumps after his opening round defeat, Sushil came up with an incredible show, beating Doug Schwab (USA), Albert Batyrov (Belarus) and finally the losing semifinalist Leonid Spiridonov (Kazakhstan) in the repechage rounds to earn his slice of history.


Sushil is only the second Indian wrestler to win the wrestling bronze after Kashabha Jadhav had returned with the medal in 1952 Helsinki Games.


This will be after 56 years that an Indian contingent will return with more than one Olympic medal as shooter Abhinav Bindra has won first-ever Games gold medal for the country earlier at the Beijing Games.Sushil had lost to far superior Ukrainian Andriy Stadnik in his first round bout.

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Phelps Makes History With 8th Gold Medal

Michael Phelps Owns The Record For Most Golds In A Single Olympics

Cheering from the pool deck, Michael Phelps won his record eighth gold medal of the Beijing Games on Sunday to become the grandest of Olympic champions.

Jason Lezak held on to the lead Phelps gave him, anchoring the United States to a world record in the 400-meter medley relay against an Australian team that did its best to spoil history.

But Phelps, with a big hand from three teammates, would not be denied. He eclipsed Mark Spitz's seven-gold performance at the 1972 Munich Games, an iconic performance that was surpassed by a swimmer fitting of this generation: a 23-year-old from Baltimore who loves hip-hop music and texting with his buddies.

"I don't even know what to feel right now," Phelps said. "There's so much emotions going through my head and so much excitement. I kind of just want to see my mom."

Debbie Phelps was sitting in the stands at the Water Cube, tears streaming down her cheeks, her two daughters sitting with her.

Even though the Americans have never lost the medley relay at the Olympics, the latest gold was hardly a breeze. When Phelps dived into the water for the butterfly - the third of four legs - the Americans were third behind Japan and Australia.

But Phelps, swimming the same distance and stroke that he used to win his seventh gold a day earlier, powered back to the front on his return lap, passing off to Lezak with the Americans in front.

Australia's Eamon Sullivan tried to chase Lezak down and appeared to be gaining as they came to the wall. But Lezak touched in 3 minutes, 29.34 seconds - Phelps' seventh world record in his personal Great Haul of China.

The Aussies took silver in 3:30.04, also under the old world record, while Japan held on for the bronze.

"Nothing is impossible," Phelps said. "With so many people saying it couldn't be done, all it takes is an imagination, and that's something I learned and something that helped me."

Phelps patted breaststroker Brendan Hansen on the head and threw his arms in the air after Lezak finished, though the Americans still had to wait a couple of tantalizing minutes for the official results to be posted. Aaron Peirsol swam the leadoff leg for the Americans.

Finally, it flashed on the board.

World record.

Gold medal No. 8.

On deck, a beaming Phelps slapped hands with his teammates and thrust his arms toward the Water Cube roof. The winning swimmers locked arms as if they were in a football huddle about to break for a play.

Phelps, meanwhile, couldn't stop smiling.

"Without the help of my teammates this isn't possible," said Phelps, who won five individual races and three relays in Beijing.

"I was able to be a part of three relays and we were able to put up a solid team effort and we came together as one unit," he said. "For the three Olympics I've been a part of, this is by far the closest men's team that we've ever had. I didn't know everybody coming into this Olympics, but I feel going out I know every single person very well. The team that we had is the difference."

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India welcomes golden boy Bindra

India's first individual Olympic gold medal winner Abhinav Bindra returned from Beijing Thursday to be immediately engulfed by an adoring crowd, followed by a series of meeting with dignitaries.

President Pratibha Patil invited the ace shooter to Rashtrapati Bhavan within hours of his arrival. Similar meetings with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance Sonia Gandhi were scheduled later on Thursday.

Before his meeting with the president late on Thursday morning, the winner in the 10-metre Air Rifle competition went with his parents Babli and AS Bindra to meet sports minister MS Gill amid huge media presence.

"I am overwhelmed and honoured that I have got a chance to meet these people. It is a proud moment for me," Bindra told reporters after meeting the sports minister.

"It is a grand welcome and I am very happy."

Bindra returned in the early hours of Thursday, to be greeted by a huge gathering at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International airport that was present to receive the star shooter.

A band played and people danced the Bhangra as Bindra stepped out of the airport looking surprised by the grand reception.

A large number of sports buffs and officials of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) were present.

"It's a huge honour. I never expected such a welcome," Bindra told the media at the airport after arriving by an Air China flight from Beijing three days after his medal win.

Asked what he would do for sports, now that he is an icon in India, Bindra replied: "I will do something".

Policemen were deployed at the airport in strength and the shooter was whisked away in a small motorcade of three cars.

The country's latest sports icon was received by his parents, relatives and friends, as some in the crowd kept shouting his praise.

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India Wins Gold Medal in Olympics

Abhinav Bindra indian shooter have won the Gold Medal in Beijing Olympics 2008 in in the Men’s 10m Air Rifle.

This youngster prove his performance in Olympics for India by winning the gold medal at 10m air rifle shooting final.
Beijing's 2008 Olympic Abhinav Bindra won the gold for men's 10m air rifle shooting final, after a total of 700.5, thus becoming the first person in the Indian Olympic gold medal winner. He scored 596 (fourth) scored in the qualifying round and all other outside shooters in the final round of a 104.5.h
Abhinav Bindra the world championship gold, the first for the country in the shooting, air rifle with an impressive performance in the final on Monday. Beijing's 2008 Olympic Abhinav Bindra won the gold for men's 10m air rifle shooting final, after a total of 700.5, thus becoming the first person in the Indian Olympic gold medal winner. What do you think that the best way to honour the game, the young and talented person. What the government. India's Padma Vibhushan award with him.

Ref: Gold Medal for Abhinav Bindra in Olympics -2008