Olympic heroes return home to tumultous welcome

New Delhi, Aug 25 (UNI) Olympic heroes Vijender Singh and Sushil Kumar returned home to a boisterous welcome today alongwith the other members of the Indian contingent.

The trio of Akhil Kumar, Jitender Kumar and Vijender Kumar were greeted by their family members and well wishers, many of whom had come all the way from Bhiwani.

Local hero Sushil Kumar, who is the first Indian wrestler to win an Olympic medal after Kasaba Jadhav way back in 1956, also had his fair share of admirers.

The boxers in particular were in high spirits after their commendable performance at Beijing.

The man who cornered the most attention was Vijender Kumar, who became the first Indian pugilist to reach the semifinals at the Olympics.

The strapping Jat from Haryana did not disappoint the crowd, posing for photos with the tri-colour draped around his sturdy shoulders.

The other menbers of the Olympic contingent - the athletes, archers and the tennis duo of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi were also there.

The Beijing Olympics have been the most successful in the history of Indian sports. Apart from the bronze medals by Vijender and Sushil, the country also won the first ever individual gold medal through ace shooter Abhinav Bindra.

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