Tokyo Olympics 2020 has witnessed a significant gender diversity compared to the previous years and this has specifically worked in favour in India this time. Out of the 127 athletes from India who qualified for the Olympics, 56 were females which is the largest female contingent to the event this year. On the international front, keeping up with the gender equality theme of the Olympics this year, many countries like the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Australia declared contingents with more female contingents than males.
Indian Women in Olympics and Their Performance
The summer Olympics in Tokyo not only witnessed India gain the highest number of medals in its history to date but also outstanding performances by female athletes specifically. Out of the seven medals in total won by India, three were by female athletes in individual segments. This is the highest number of accomplishments in the Olympics by female athletes from India. Mirabai Chanu secured a silver medal in the 49 kg category of weightlifting which is also the second Olympic medal in the sport for India in 21 years after Karman Malleshwari. P.V. Sindhu achieved a bronze medal in Women’s Badminton Singles and this is her second Olympic win. She is also the first Indian woman to win a medal twice in Olympics. Lovlina Borgohain also secured bronze in Boxing.
But besides the ones who won, one cannot ignore the long way that our female athletes have come and the remarkable performance they gave during the event. Even though they did not win, the Indian female hockey team reached the semi-finals for the first time in history and ended up in fourth place in the world ranking. Deepika Kumari also gave a notable performance though she did not win the event. Another unexpected but positive turn of event for Indian women in the Olympics is Kamalpreet Kaur finishing in 6th position out of the 12 finalists for the discus throw. In short, the women in the Olympics have bagged some historic moments by their skill and virtue in Tokyo Olympics, paving the way for hope and inspiration for more female athletes of the country.
One can rightly say that patriarchal differentiations in sports in India received a heavy and liberating effect as our women let their performance talk in the Olympics.
Gender Neutrality in Tokyo Olympics
As we speak of women in Olympics, we cannot ignore the theme of the year which was gender neutrality. Tokyo Olympics witnessed several revolutionary breakthroughs in terms of gender equality, marking it as one of the most memorable Olympics in many years. Almost 49% of the participants were women, making it the first gender-balanced game in history. Moreover, measures to ensure equal visibility of men’s and women’s events are taken and there are a greater number of mixed events in the Tokyo Olympics 2021. It is also made mandatory for all the 206 National Olympic Committee (NOC) to have at least one female and one male athlete.
The abilities of women have been long underestimated when it came to competing in the Olympics. After the founding of the modern Olympic movement at the end of the 19th century, women were deliberately excluded. According to the game’s patriarch, Baron Pierre De Coubertin, an Olympiad with women was “impractical, uninteresting, unesthetic and improper”. Though women’s participation was allowed eventually, the regressive approach to women in Olympics remained for decades to come. In 1900 there were only 22 female competitors for 5 events namely, tennis, croquet, sailing, equestrian and golf. We have come a long way since then and Tokyo Olympics has set an example offering more than 300 events and more mixed-gender sports too. For the first time, there was a 1500 m freestyle swimming event for women where earlier, 900m was the maximum.
In short, the significant visibility and regards shown to women in Olympics this year is a sign of the changing times. For India specifically, the Olympics held this year was a turning point marked by the incredible achievements of our women. Their feats in the respective sports make them the torch-bearers for the next generation of girls to aspire to sports. At Aditya School of Sports, we strive to hone this aspiration and bring out the best among future generations.
