Those who subscribe to the former view dwell on such things as the fact that a country of this size, the second-most populous in the world, could only bring in a haul of seven medals, of which only one was gold. Moreover, India ranked a poor 48th among the competing nations and was bested by tiny countries such as Cuba, New Zealand, Belgium, and Ecuador. Others choose to see the sunnier side, taking heart from India’s best-ever performance in decades. They celebrate sweet and small triumphs such as the brave and heart-winning performance of the women’s hockey team; our return to the medal pace in men’s hockey, after a drought of 41 years; or even the astonishing ‘failure’ of the lowly-ranked Aditi Ashok, who challenged the best women golfers in the world with her stunning short game, before being pushed to a fourth place.