I have to give my best and also bring a medal for the country." Rajiv also remembered the time when he got an opportunity to meet the legendary Milkha Singh, who died recently. I’m the senior-most in the team, so I’ve more responsibilities. "We are going there as a team and we have to work together. We are working on our weak points and learning from the mistakes we committed in the past and improving them. "We lacked experience the last time around. "And again there was a break in 2020, but in 2021, we participated in a few competitions and clocked in good timings resulting in our qualification for Tokyo Olympics." The 30-year-old just doesn't want to stop at qualifying for the Olympics as he is determined to secure a medal. After a few months, AFI sent us to Patiala where we practised for a year to prepare for competitions." On qualifying for the Olympics, Rajiv said: "Though there weren't any competitions in 2018 the best performers in 2019 ensured a top 16 finish for us.
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We tried to keep ourselves fit with whatever exercises we could do at home. "But with Olympics being so close we were determined to get ourselves through a little trouble to get there. And who wins gold in Tokyo might not be certain until 2031
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And this time, as the race looks as though it could be heading to the wire, for both nations, given that neither of us are ever likely to end up at the top of the medal table, beating the other lot has become the most significant measure of Olympic success.Also read: Doping has become inevitable at the Olympics. Which means if you want to know how we have done, there is no sharper comparison.
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That is writ large across Tokyo: everywhere we think we have a chance they do too. Take the women’s canoe slalom here which turned into an Ashes battle with a paddle, in which the Aussie Jessica Fox beat the Briton Mallory Franklin to take gold. And in sailing, rowing, swimming and cycling they are always there, always challenging. Even the Germans, our traditional litmus test in football, are engaged in things like handball and volleyball in which we have no involvement.īut the Aussies don’t play softball or baseball either. No point sinking into introspection because the Japanese are ahead in the table, given their successes in artistic swimming, fencing and table tennis. There is no point making comparison with Belarus or Iran, whose Olympics is almost exclusively based on disciplines like Greco-Roman wrestling or water polo, which have no purchase in this country. And that is because we tend to compete at the same sports. The only surprise that year was that Britain managed to accumulate one.īut the two of us provide each other with a much more fundamental thing than simply bragging engagement: we are the other one's most significant indicator of success. And let’s not mention 1996, when Australia had a convincing victory over the old enemy 9-1. Will the United States hold onto its lead for the Summer Olympics or will another country close the. Before that, however, Australia had grown used to coming out on top. The United States similarly clutched first place in the 2012 London Games with 104 total medals. In 2012, in London, it was an even bigger win for GB, this time 29-8. In Rio five years ago, Britain finished with 27 gold medals, Australia just the eight.
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Over the last six Olympic cycles, the two old rivals have been miles apart. In truth it has not been this close for a while. This is proper competition, proper drama, proper fluctuations. It is tighter than the Sydney’s lockdown restrictions, more fraught than a kangaroo boxing bout, as tense as a Steve Smith press conference. The 30-year old Arjuna Awardee and 4×400 meter sprinter, Arokia Rajiv feels the adrenaline rush as the long-awaited Tokyo Olympics just lies a few days ahead. He is part of the relay squad that includes Muhammed Anas, Noah Nirmal Tom, and Amoj Jacob. Like who will come out on top in the scrap that really matters: Great Britain against Australia in the medal table.Īt the time of writing - and things change constantly in the Olympic fray at any moment the sounds of Advance Australia Fair might ring out across Tokyo as a sprint canoeist goes for gold - Australia are just ahead 15-14. Sprinter Akoria Rajiv, who will feature in the Men’s 4400m relay at the upcoming Games, feels that the Indian contingent will surpass their tally of record six medals achieved at the 2012 London Olympics. We are now at the business end of the Olympics, the point when the really important issues are decided. Why Team GB overhauling Australia in the medal table is the race that counts in Tokyoīoth nations view the other as the natural barometer of their sporting health - with inquests and introspection awaiting the losers