It was a reality check of sorts but the dream is not over yet, not in hockey at least. That quite summed up India’s day 11 at the Olympic Games where there were disappointing results all across, the biggest one being the men’s hockey team’s 2-5 loss to world champion Belgium in the semifinals. In athletics, shot-putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor, who holds the Asian record with a personal best of 21.49m, covered 19.99m in his only legitimate throw in the qualifiers. Similar was the fate of javelin thrower Annu Rani. She achieved a personal best of 63.24m only this year but at the biggest stage, all she could pull off was a poor 54.04m. She too failed to make the final cut. On the wrestling mat as well, debutant Sonam Malik (62kg), 19, crashed out following an opening round loss to Mongolia’s Bolortuya Khurelkhuu, an Asian silver-medallist.
The crushing part, she lost the bout from a position of strength.