Rio Olympics: The 16th and final day of Rio Olympics 2016 summed up India’s campaign in Brazil – as former Olympic medallist and medal prospect Yogeshwar Dutt was ousted in the first round.
Here’s how India fared on the last day of Rio Olympics 2016.
Wrestling
Yogeshwar Dutt lost his men’s freestyle 65 kg qualification match 0-3 against Mongolia’s Ganzorigiin Mandakhnaran.
Yogeshwar, the 2012 bronze medallist in the 60kg category, was on the backfoot right from the initial stages and lost on technical points.
Two-time World Wrestling Championships bronze medallist Ganzorigiin’s aggressive intent was too much for Yogeshwar, who was nearly pushed out of the wrestling zone early on.
The Indian was able to avert that danger, but the 33-year-old was soon cautioned while trying to grab his opponent’s legs. Yogeshwar’s troubles grew further as he conceded a point for a successful tackle by Ganzorigiin, who led by the solitary point on Period 1.
Ganzorigiin upped the pressure in the next period and toppled Yogeshwar to lead 3-0. It was always going to be difficult for the Indian to mount a comeback from there and with the clock ticking down, Ganzorigiin held on to win.
Later, the Haryana wrestler’s chances of going for the bronze medal in a repechage also came to an end as Ganzorigiin lost 0-6 to Soslan Ramonov of Russia in the quarter-finals.
Athletics
Meanwhile, India’s Thonakal Gopi and Ram Kheta clocked personal best timings to finish 25th and 26th, respectively, in the men’s marathon event.
Gopi clocked a timing of 2 hours 15 minutes and 25 seconds. Kheta clocked 2:15:26. India’s third runner in the eventNitendra Nagar finished 84th with a timing of 2:22:52.
A total of 140 runners completed the race while 15 did not finish.
Closing Ceremony
Meanwhile, Sakshi Malik, who opened India’s account at the Rio Olympics with a bronze medal in the women’s 58kg freestyle category, was the flag bearer at the closing ceremony. Amid a riot of colour combining tradition with modernity, Brazil showcased its cultural variety, paying tributes to the country’s music maestros, arts and dance forms, as the curtains came down on the 31st Olympic Games.
In the presence of over 60,000 spectators and over 11,000 athletes from across the globe at the historic Maracana, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach officially declared the Games closed, urging the youths of the world to assemble in Tokyo in 2020 for the next edition of the quadrennial showpiece.
