A challenging and resilient Games successfully draws to a close

The Japanese capital, which will now hold the Paralympic Games from August 24, officially hands over the baton to the 2024 host Paris

Updated - November 22, 2021 09:50 pm IST - Tokyo

Spectacular finish: Fireworks light up the Tokyo sky during the closing ceremony on August 8, 2021. (right) Bajrang Punia carries the tri-colour.

Spectacular finish: Fireworks light up the Tokyo sky during the closing ceremony on August 8, 2021. (right) Bajrang Punia carries the tri-colour.

...and scene! The Tokyo Olympics, held during a raging pandemic, drew the curtains down on Sunday. The host nation finished third with 27 golds and a total of 58 medals, a vast improvement from its 12 golds and 41 medals in 2016. But it will take greater pride that its bio-bubble largely were intact.

Clean show

The Games were held under intense scrutiny and amid constant pressure from locals, but the organisers managed to pull off a clean show.

Scores of people gathered around the Tokyo Olympic Stadium hours before the closing ceremony to witness the spectacle from the perimeters.

Among the horde of people gathered in the narrow by-lane outside the stadium was

Santosh from Pune, who has lived in Tokyo for three years. He brought his wife and his child on a stroller to watch the fireworks. But they were not able to catch a glimpse of Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia who carried the Indian flag for the Closing Ceremony.

The Olympic torch and cauldron are seen as thank you messages are displayed during the closing ceremony, in Tokyo on August 8, 2021.

The Olympic torch and cauldron are seen as thank you messages are displayed during the closing ceremony, in Tokyo on August 8, 2021.

 

It was a carnival on the streets. People turned up in cosplay suits, one came in a Wonderwoman costume and was accompanied by an elderly citizen donning a Superman t-shirt. They were ready for a party but were confined to a morose evening on the sidewalks. The entry to the stadium was restricted to athletes, officials, VIP guests and members of the media.

The policemen circling the stadium were watchful to sniff out any untoward incident. A group of stray cyclists took a wrong turn, and they were onto them in a split-second to redirect them. A few hundred protesters turned up with placards that read “Abolish Olympics” and “#GetOutBach”, but it ended peacefully.

On the other side of the road, under the magnificent wooden roof of the stadium, International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach thanked the Japanese authorities for their support.

“These were unprecedented Olympic Games. It took us, the IOC and our Japanese partners and friends, an equally unprecedented effort to make them happen. This is why I would like to thank the Japanese authorities at all levels, in particular Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide and Governor Koike Yuriko, for their steadfast commitment. Thank you for staying with us on the side of the athletes, who were longing so much for these Olympic Games,” he said.

“Our deep gratitude and appreciation go to the Organising Committee. Nobody has ever organised postponed Olympic Games before.”

Tokyo, which will now host the Paralympic Games from August 24, officially handed the baton to Paris. And now we wait for three more years, in the hope that India, which won an unprecedented seven medals here, can script history yet again.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.