On the final day of Rio Olympics 2016, three of India’s army men gave one last shot at getting their motherland another medal before the year’s campaign ended. They did not succeed in doing so but certainly surprised everyone with their spectacular performance. Thonnakkal Gopi, Kheta Ram and Nitendra Singh Rawat represented India in Athletics in the Men’s Marathon today and while Rawat finished 83rd, Thonnakkal Gopi and Kheta Ram finished 25th and 26th respectively. This is quite a commendable performance by the Indians and will encourage more Indians to take running seriously.
The final time for India’s runners was:
Kheta Ram – 2:15:26
Gopi Thankal – 2:15:25
Nitendra Singh Rawat: – 2:22:52
For India on the concluding day, the Army trio were the last in the fray after London 2012 Olympics bronze medallist Yogeshwar Dutt made a first round exit in wrestling. 28-year-old Kerala lad Gopi, who had largely remained under the shadows of Rawat and Kheta Ram, ran the race of his career when he improved from being 70 at 10km mark to 55th at halfway before finishing with his personal best timing.
The final time for the top three was:
1. Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya) – 2:08:44 – Gold
2. Fesiya Lilesa (Ethiopia) – 2:09:54 – Silver
3. Galen Rupp (USA) – 2:10:05 – Bronze
India, thus, concluded their campaign with a just two medals — PV Sindhu’s silver in women’s badminton singles and Sakshi Malik’s bronze in female wrestling.
