Closing ceremony Tokyo Olympics: In 7th heaven with 7 stars

New Delhi: It started with a bang, tapered off in the middle and then ended with the kind of spectacular fireworks that make historic events grand. India was quite literally on a roller-coaster during the Tokyo Olympics.

So, there was the first medal in track-and-field which also happened to be the first gold in 13 years, the first medal in hockey in 41 years, the first silver in weightlifting, the first boxing medal in nine years, the first woman with two Olympic medals, the most number of debutants ending up on the podium, and the most number of medals ever won, it all happened in Tokyo Olympics for India.

India's campaign at the Olympic Games was as much a story of human resilience as of sporting excellence and it came to the fore on the opening day of competitions itself starting with Mirabai Chanu.

The Manipuri weightlifter stands a mere 4'11" but lifted 202kg (87+115) to fetch a silver and put India on the medals tally, showing the world why size doesn't and shouldn't matter. It was just the kind of start that the country needed but what followed was a lull. After some disappointments, P V Sindhu came along and put things back on track with her bronze.

And in the boxing ring, an heir apparent to the iconic M C Mary Kom began to take shape in Lovlina Borgohain (69kg). The 23-year-old from Assam ended with a bronze on August 4 as women got down to the task of rebuilding momentum in the Indian camp. And it worked out quite spectacularly.

The very next day, Ravi Kumar Dahiya became only the second Indian wrestler to clinch a silver at the Games but the first to do so on debut.

Manpreet Singh and his inspired teammates scripted a comeback to remember against Germany in the play-off to sow the seeds of hockey's resurgence in the country for a generation that grew up hearing tales of greatness while watching a painful slump in the sport.

There were tears, joy, nostalgia and above all a sense of renewed pride because hockey was India's sport before it declined and cricket took over the mind space. The stage seemed set for a grand finale and it was with Neeraj Chopra's javelin striking gold, India's first in 13 years overall and the first in athletics.

Bajrang Punia's resolve paid off for him with a bronze on the wrestling mat as the debutant grudgingly accepted the medal after falling out of the expected gold medal contention.