Tokyo Olympics: Neeraj Chopra, Bajrang Punia, Lovlina Borgohain receive warm welcome in India; Watch videos – The Indian Contingent at the Tokyo Olympics have returned to the country on Monday, August 9. The athletes including medallists Neeraj Chopra and Bajrang Punia arrived at the Indira Gandhi International airport, Delhi today as the officials beefed up security as they welcome home India’s winners. Star Indian boxer Lovlina Borgohain also accompanied the duo. Notably, she had won the bronze medal in the welterweight category.
Fans and families arrived at the airport to welcome the athletes. The athletes were garlanded and presented with bouquets on arrival and were applauded by the airport staff as they made their way out to utter chaos due to the huge presence of supporters and media personnel. The huge gathering meant that social distancing norms went for a toss as people rushed in to catch a glimpse of the stars of the historic performance.
India recorded its best-ever haul at the Olympics with seven medals (one gold, two silver, and four bronze). Neeraj (gold), Bajrang (bronze), Mirabai Chanu (silver), PV Sindhu (bronze), Lovlina Borgohain (bronze), men’s hockey team ( bronze), and Ravi Kumar Dahiya (silver) won medals in the Tokyo Games.
Tokyo Olympics: Neeraj Chopra, Bajrang Punia, Lovlina Borgohain return to India; Follow Live Updates
@17:48:
Silver medallist wrestler Ravi Dahiya gets rousing reception on his arrival at Delhi airport from Japan pic.twitter.com/sAqpgzpdtD
— TOI Sports (@toisports) August 9, 2021
@17:23:
That’s the great Grand entry of #India‘s first track & field #Olympics Champion #NeerajChopra
Welcome home son of #India
What crazy scenes here at IGI airport pic.twitter.com/B3jR3FL54p
— Athletics Federation of India (@afiindia) August 9, 2021
@17:22: Supporters of Bajrang Punia and Ravi Dahiya also gathered around at the Delhi Airport as the grapplers came back home after winning a bronze and silver medal respectively at the Tokyo Games.
@17:13:
That’s Indian Hockey team that just arrived in #India from #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/FEir2wNqlS
— Athletics Federation of India (@afiindia) August 9, 2021
@17:08:
Family members & friends of #TokyoOlympics silver medalist wrestler Ravi Dahiya gather to welcome him at Delhi airport
“Residents of our village are very happy. Moments like this are very rare,” says Rakesh Dahiya, father of Ravi Dahiya pic.twitter.com/oW6E21PaJn
— ANI (@ANI) August 9, 2021
@17:02:
Some junior athletes from Haryana show off their dance moves in celebration at the Neeraj Chopra reception in New Delhi. The 23-year-old javelin star won a gold medal at the #Tokyo2020 #Olympics on August 7. pic.twitter.com/QrjzeZNYBk
— Express Sports (@IExpressSports) August 9, 2021
@16:58:
A crowd gathers at the New Delhi airport to welcome #TeamIndia‘s second-ever individual #Olympics gold medallist, Neeraj Chopra, back home. pic.twitter.com/4lPyjmUGTd
— Express Sports (@IExpressSports) August 9, 2021
@16:54:
@16:38:
Welcome home champions!
🇮🇳 Athletics Team is back from the #Tokyo2020 Olympics. Lets welcome them with joy and excitement and #Cheer4India.
Watch the video and send in your best wishes in the comments below 👇🏻@PMOIndia @ianuragthakur @NisithPramanik @afiindia @WeAreTeamIndia pic.twitter.com/9wJrvdzjPC
— SAIMedia (@Media_SAI) August 9, 2021
@16:35: We are just excited to meet him as soon as possible: Neeraj Chopra’s father.
“Feeling very good. We are just excited to meet him as soon as possible. I will congratulate him and will tell him ‘well done son, you did what you said you will’, “ Neeraj’s father Satish Kumar told ANI.
@16:21:
🇮🇳 Athletics team is back from #Tokyo2020
Let’s welcome them by sharing our #Cheer4India messages and encourage them for their future competitions. #Olympics #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/UOubtFBas2
— SAIMedia (@Media_SAI) August 9, 2021
@15:40: Indian athletes will arrive via Air India Flight which will land at 4:19 PM
Faster, Higher, Stronger, TOGETHER 😍#ClosingCeremony | #StrongerTogether | #UnitedByEmotion | #Olympics | #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/A2akb9VGg6
— #Tokyo2020 for India (@Tokyo2020hi) August 8, 2021
Tokyo Olympics: Delhi Police beef up security with athletes set to arrive
As per IANS, the airport officials have beefed up security sensing excitement among the Indian fans after the athletes came home having impressed one and all at the Summer Games. The athletes are expected to arrive at any time between 3 PM to 4 PM IST on Monday, and Airport officials have placed strict security at Terminal 2 and Terminal 3. Along with Delhi Police, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and dog squad teams have also been deployed to ensure the safety and security of the athletes.
The exit gate is set to be barricaded with no people allowed in and the athletes will board buses parked close to the exit gate. While gatherings are restricted in light of the pandemic, it is expected that crowds will gather to catch a glimpse of the athletes who made their nation proud at the Tokyo Olympics.
All medal winners are expected to be felicitated in an event at Hotel Ashoka. Reports suggest that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will speak to the athletes via a virtual video conference. The Tokyo Olympics marked India’s best finish at the Olympics, winning seven medals with Neeraj Chopra, Bajrang Punia, India men’s hockey team, Ravi Dahiya, PV Sindhu, Lovlina Borgohain and Mirabai Chanu bringing the country glory.
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(with ANI, PTI inputs)