TOPIC – Golden arm
India took on a golden glow at Tokyo on Saturday as Neeraj Chopra hurled the javelin to fetch the country its first Olympics gold in track and field. Neeraj’s winning effort at 87.58m capped the finest ever performance by Indian sports persons in the quadrennial global stage. India won seven medals — one gold, two silvers and four bronzes — and cumulatively edged past the previous best of six at the 2012 London Games. For a country resigned to a meager yield or none at the Olympics since its debut in 1900, the latest edition was laden with riches. At 23, Neeraj has the world at his feet and the skies to aim for. The Indian Army man has grown in stature, and to supplant German Johannes Vetter, until now the world’s best javelin thrower, was no mean task. Neeraj’s golden tryst was special at many levels; it was India’s maiden gold in athletics at the Olympics while Norman Pritchard had won two silvers in 1900. It was also India’s second individual gold at the Games after shooter Abhinav Bindra hit bulls eye at Beijing in 2008. That Neeraj had previously won golds in the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games are all pointers to a journey that is on cruise mode while his coach Klaus Bartonietz keeps a close watch. Neeraj’s dash of magic seasoned in sweat and muscle, found mirror images within the Indian contingent. Wrestler Bajrang Punia won bronze in the men’s freestyle 65kg bout, pinning down Kazakhstan’s Daulet Niyazbekov. It also bolstered India’s medals’ kitty that had prior contributions from Mirabai Chanu, Lovlina Borgohain, Ravi Kumar Dahiya, P.V. Sindhu and the men’s hockey team. What stood out was the Indian contingent’s belief that they can compete on level terms with their fancied rivals. It showed in Aditi Ashok’s golfing endeavor as she came tantalizingly close to silver before a rain marred day out at the greens undid her rhythm and the Bangalore a finished at the fourth spot. When the curtains were lowered on the latest Olympics on Sunday, the India story was largely driven by Neeraj, hockey renaissance and women power while shooting proved underwhelming. Among the rest, it was status quo as the United States of America and China led the medals tally with host Japan and Great Britain following while India was placed 48th in the table. Usain Bolt’s stardust was missed but Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson Herah added zest while setting a new Olympic record of 10.61 seconds in the women’s 100m sprint. The pandemic delayed the Games by a year but it marches on unhindered while the fans look forward to the 2024 version at Paris.
WORDS AND MEANINGS
- Hurled(verb) – Throw with great force
Synonyms – Heaved, propelled, chucked, hefted, disgorged
Antonyms – Crept, Dawdled, moped, tarried, lagged
- Meager (adjective) –Deficient in amount
Synonyms – Scanty, paltry, exiguous, skimpy, scrawny
Antonyms – Ample, bounteous, extravagant, teeming, crammed
- Stature (noun) –High level of respect gained by impressive development
Synonyms – Eminence, cachet, caliber, elevation, notability
Antonyms – Quintessence, concentration, deflate, chasm, spirit
- Supplant (verb) –Take the place or move into the position of
Synonyms – Supersede, depose, dethrone, superseding, dislodge
Antonyms – Stick, lodge, refurbish, saddle, rehabilitate
- Tryst (noun) –An appointment to meet
Synonyms – Assignation, adultery, intrigue, amour, dalliance
Antonyms – Fidelity, allegiance, constancy, detachment, disfavor
- Contingent (noun) –A gathering of persons representative of some larger group
Synonyms – Fortuitous, corps, delegation, probable, squadron
Antonyms – Peremptory, unequivocal, arbitrary, authentic, coercive
- Bolstered (adjective) –Supported
Synonyms – Propped, braced, assisted, crutched, eternalized
Antonyms – Abate, demolish, debilitated, detracted, enervate
- Endeavor (verb) –Attempt by employing effort
Synonyms – Strive, seek, exertion, travail, aspire
Antonyms – Procrastinate, drift, laxity, delinquency, abstraction
- Tantalizingly (adverb) – In a teasing manner
Synonyms – Alluringly, excruciate, torment, fret, seductively
Antonyms – Scarcely, trivially, vaguely, scantily, barely
- Unhindered – Not slowed with
Synonyms – Unimpeded, unfettered, unbridled, unencumbered, liberal
Antonyms – Restrained, apprehend, boisterous, bustling, gusty
