Hundreds of cheering fans thronged the Indira GandhiInternational Airport to welcome Mary Kom at the airport. She was accompaniedby her husband Onler Kom and her mother Akham Kom. Mary had won a bronze in theflyweight division, becoming the first Indian woman boxer to clinch an Olympicmedal.
Similar was the scene on Monday night as hordes of fansgathered at IGI's terminal 3 to receive the wrestlers along with their familymembers. The fans, who came with garlands, bouquets and sweets, danced todeafening drum beats while they waited for the wrestlers to come out of theterminal.
Members of the Sports Authority of India were also there toreceive the duo.
While Sushil won a silver medal in the 66 kg freestylewrestling category, Yogeshwar clinched a bronze in the 60 kg category.
All hell broke loose when the fans first sighted the twowrestlers coming out. Police struggled to control the surging fans as theybroke barriers to reach out to their heroes.
The fans carried both Sushil and Yogeshwar on theirshoulders and welcomed them with a huge roar. Sushil was later ferried away inan open truck, while Yogeshwar left in a car.
Both the wrestlers waved at the crowd, acknowledging thetumultuous welcome. While Sushil did not speak to the waiting media, Yogeshwarsaid that he was "overwhelmed" by the reception.
Sushil recorded his name in the country's sports historyannals by becoming the first ever sportsperson to win back-to- back individualOlympic medals, having won a bronze at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Sports Authority of India and the Sports Ministry haveplanned a felicitation for all the medal winners and other members of theIndian contingent at the national stadium here on August 16, SAI officialssaid.
Mary Kom is over the moon after her exploits but bronze isnot the colour for the boxer, who feels she could have finished higher on thepodium had it not been for the "confusion" that gripped her duringthe semifinals.
'Magnificent Mary' as she is called by the InternationalBoxing Association, was the lone Indian in fray when women's boxing made itsOlympic debut in the just-concluded Games.
The five-time world champion ensured a piece of history forherself and the country by fetching a bronze in the 51kg division. But forsomeone who is more used to finishing at the top, bronze was less thansatisfactory.
"I am happy to be the first Indian woman boxer to get abronze medal but I am sad that I could not convert it into gold. I don't knowwhat happened during my semifinal bout.
"My body was not moving the way I would have liked andI felt as if I could not do anything. I was very much confused," the29-year-old told PTI in an interview.
Mary Kom lost 6-11 to England's two-time world champion NicolaAdams in the semifinals and reflecting on the bout, the diminutive Manipuri wasat a loss of words to explain what went wrong.
"I never get nervous before bouts but that day I don'tknow what was happening to me. I can't even explain it. I was not attacking asmuch and may be it was the crowd also which was cheering Nicola. I generallydon't get affected by how the crowd is behaving but probably in the semifinals,it affected me," she recalled.
The Indian conceded that Adams had the bout but was not quiteconvinced by the score-line which she felt was narrower than what the recordbooks show.
"I don't think it was that big a margin even though Iadmit that Nicola won it. At best, it could have been a difference of 2-3points but certainly not 6-11. Even though my body was not moving that well, Ithink I hit her hard and I should not have lost by that margin," sheinsisted.
"I don't think she hit me so many clear punches, herswas a touch-and-go game. I had already fought my toughest bout of thecompetition in the first round itself," she said.
