Independence Day Special: Indian Olympians, their medals & the automotive closing ceremony

We bring you a list of 6 Indian cars that we think should be presented to the 6 Indians who made India proud at the 2012 London Olympics; plus, there is a consolation prize for others.

Drama, passion, joy, tears, bruises, fireworks, Spice Girls, hope… the Olympics have brought along so much and more. But now that the tents are being packed, the stadium is being vacuumed, the Olympians are on their respective flights back home and the torch is on its way to Rio de Janeiro, we at OnCars are hosting a closing ceremony of our own to celebrate two things – our victory at the recently concluded 2012 London Olympics and our country's 65th Independence Day.

 

And because, we are not that creative, nor cash rich, nor influential to get Spice Girls or George Michael and are blessed with the inability to pull off anything complicated like they did at the actual closing ceremony, we are going to keep things very simple. We briefly look at the profile of each Olympic medal winner from India and match them with the best Indian car there is.

And we do hope that someone from the government or the auto industry reads our suggestions and actually gifts the said automobile or even a better one to our skilled sportspersons. Afterall, our cricketeers are showered with cars as gifts every time they win a match. Case in point being, Hyundai presented a brand new Hyundai Verna to each member of the Indian cricket team after grabbing the World Cup 2011 title, while more recently Virat Kohli took home a Renault Duster SUV after clinching the 'Man of the Series' title in the Micromax Cup 2012 in Sri Lanka. So, we reckon its not too much to ask for, for our six Olympians.

 

For everyone else who went to the 2012 Olympics with the hope of brining back some heroic tales, proud moments and happy tears for the country, but were unfortunate, should not fret – because for them, we have a special consolation prize – a Tata Sumo Gold.

You see, what we did there?

Mary Kom

Mary Kom or more popularly known as 'Magnificent Mary' created history by becoming the first woman boxer to win a medal at the Olympics and is also the only woman boxer to have won five world titles consecutively. The world champ and mother of twin sons clinched a bronze in the 51kg category in London and has earned enormous respect not only in India but all over the world when it comes to women's boxing.

For the short, petite but with enough force to put 25 year old men to shame, we think that the Force One SUV would suit Mary Kom's personality well – it doesn't come across as a swanky package but has the mechanicals to deliver a hard-hitting punch. The Mercedes Benz engine also packs enough dough to tackle the highs and lows that the North East Indian geography has offer – so our boxing mum shouldn't have a problem taking her kids for spin day-in day-out.

Saina Nehwal 

For the Indian ace shutter, Saina Nehwal who has climbed up the world rank chart faster than any other Indian has proved her metal, times without number even before the Olympics. And was therefore, India's brightest medal hopeful. And the No. 4 seed Saina Nehwal did not disappoint, by snatching a bronze medal in the semi-final match against the No.2 seed Xin Wang of China.

If we could, we would present her with a DC Avanti – its a shining star in itself, comes from a designer who is an element of pride for our country, looks sporty and youthful and – a befitting 'designer wear' for the young 22-year old Saina.

Vijay Kumar  

Vijay Kumar followed suit and made the country proud as he bagged a silver medal in the 25m Rapid Fire Pistol event. No one knew who Vijay Kumar was until 3rd August when he shot silver in 25m Rapid Fire Pistol. From the Indian army, this diminutive shooter had gone under the radar as a medal hopeful. Vijay shot an incredible 32/40 ahead of Feng Ding from China but could not surpass the world record effort of gold medal winner Leuris Pupo from Cuba who shot 34/40.

Our selection for him is the Mahindra Xylo – not only because it has a highly fuel efficient diesel engine and the capacity to carry seven in comfort, but for the way the MPV handles. Yes, we are not big fans of the Xylo's boat-like driving dynamics, but think about it – if Vijay Kumar can manage to rapidly point and shoot the Xylo where he intends to, then he can rapidly point and shoot at any target, at any level of the sport!

Gagan Narang 

On just the second day of the events, ace shooter Gagan Narang or more popularly known as 'GaGun' clinched the bronze medal in the 10m air rifle event. A medal was indeed expected from this former world record holder and the world champ delivered to India it's first medal from the London Olympics, boosting morales of other Olympians at the event.

For GaGun, we choose the Hindustan Motors Ambassador – the car that has been holding its ground for decades together and still manages to go strong with its built-like-a-bullet construction and luxury sofa-like seating.

Yogeshwar Dutt

In the wrestling arena, Yogeshwar Dutt won India`s fifth medal and fourth bronze at London Olympics in Men`s 60kg freestyle category wrestling and unfortunately even injured his eye during one of the bouts in the semi-final match. The only reason the Haryana Police Officer Yogeshwar Dutt even took a flight to London was to win an Olympic medal. There were no two ways about it as before leaving he had said, “If I had won a medal in Beijing, I would have possibly quit by now. It is the desire to win an Olympic medal that has kept me going all these years.”

That statement of his and its underrated stature leaves us with no choice but to present him with a Tata Aria. The 4×4 crossover is underrated too, inspite of all its virtues and capabilities – but continues to perform with the same desire to excel with which it was born.

Sushil Kumar

Lastly, ending India's Olympic campaign was ace wrestler, Sushil Kumar who added another silver into India's medal tally. Sushil wrestled one better than Beijing Olympics to reach the finals of the men's 66Kg freestyle losing out to clinch the silver and becoming the first Indian to win back-to-back medals in Olympic games.

Our wrestling hero comes from Baprola, a proud village near the Delhi-Haryana border. Its a land that loves the open-air 'jeeps' so what better gift for Sushil Kumar than our beloved Mahindra Thar! Its the modern day representation of the classic open-air SUV and is as big and brawny as the wrestler himself.

 

But since he made India proud with not one, but two medals in his Olympic career so far, we would like to gift him another car for when he is not practicing in the 'akhada'. Our second car for him then, is a Mahindra XUV500 – a swanky SUV that Sushil Kumar can drive around in with his folks. Let's hope though that Mahindra doesn't make him wait until the next Olympics for the delivery of a bespoke XUV five double ooh.