After a good show at the Tokyo Olympics, the Indian contingent of 117 athletes were expected to do much better in Paris and double the digit number of medal haul in Paris.
However, the ride wasn’t smooth one as our athletes had their moments of misses and close finishes resulting in contingent finishing with 6 medals (5 bronze and 1 silver). As the Paris Olympics finally come to an end let’s take a detour of Indian contingent performance at the games.
Hits
Shooters Shine
The shooting contingent had the most number of medals with Manu Bhaker leading the way with 2 bronze medals to her name. She also became the first Indian ever to win two medals at a single edition of the Olympics after bagging alongside Sarabjot Singh in mixed team 10m air pistol bronze.
Swapnil Kusale bagged bronze medal in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions. The medal marked India’s biggest haul in a sport in a single edition of the Games.
When our champs came back home members of the NRAI family were there to welcome them.#Paris2024 #ShootingStars #WelcomeBack #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/qzuKS5ESxn
— NRAI (@OfficialNRAI) August 8, 2024
Fitting farewell for PR Sreejesh
Indian men’s hockey team retained their Bronze medal won at the Tokyo Olympics after beating Spain 2-1 in the third-place face-off. It was also for the first time in 52 years India bagged back-to-back medals in men’s hockey. For PR Sreejesh it was an emotional and fairytail ending as he played his last match for the Indian Men’s Hockey team.
Neeraj Chopra’s historic silver
Neeraj Chopra failed to defend his Olympic crown and had to settle for silver but he did make history by becoming India’s first track-and-field athlete to win consecutive medals at the Olympics. He also became the fifth Indian athlete with at least two medals at the Games and the third to win in back-to-back editions.
ओलंपिक खेलों में भारत के लिए एक और पदक जीतके बहुत अच्छा लगा। इस बार पेरिस में हमारा National Anthem नहीं बज पाया, लेकिन आगे की मेहनत उसी पल के लिए होगी।
Very proud to be on the podium for India once again at the Olympic Games. Thank you for the love and support. Jai Hind! … pic.twitter.com/b2DoatANPn
— Neeraj Chopra (@Neeraj_chopra1) August 10, 2024
Youngster Aman Sehrawat shines on the world stage
Aman Sehrawat ended India’s campaign in some style by clinching the bronze in men’s 57kg freestyle wrestling. Courtesy of the medal he went on to become the nation’s youngest Olympic medallist.
Aman Sehrawat ended India’s campaign in some style by clinching the bronze in men’s 57kg freestyle wrestling. Courtesy of the medal he went on to become the nation’s youngest Olympic medallist.
AMAN SEHRAWAT – Remember the name!
Catch all the Olympics action LIVE on #Sports18 & stream FREE on #JioCinema.#OlympicsOnJioCinema #OlympicsOnSports18 #JioCinemaSports #Olympics #Paris2024 #Wrestling pic.twitter.com/V8vUfA3qRv
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) August 9, 2024 Paris 2024 Olympics: When And Where To Watch Closing Ceremony In India?
Misses
4th-place finishes hamper India’s Medal chances
India had the chance to add more medals to it’s tally had it not been for near misses. At least six athletes came close to standing up on the podium and had that happened India would have crossed the double-digit mark.
Arjun Babuta finished fourth in the men’s 10m air rifle individual final, while Maheshwari Chauhan and Anant Jeet Singh Naruka lost by a single point against China in skeet mixed team. Ankita Bhakat and Dhiraj Bommadevara lost their bronze medal playoff clash against United States of America’s Braddy Ellison and Casey Khaufhold.
Bhaker could have won her third Olympic medal when she reached the final of the women’s 25m Rapid Air Pistol event. However the 22-year-old fell short after losing the shoot-off for third spot to Hungarian Veronika Major.
Lakshya Sen shines, other shuttlers fail to impress
India came close to winning another Olympic medal in badminton courtesy of Lakshya Sen. The youngster showed heart in the bronze medal match against Malaysia’s Jia Zii Lee despite injuring his elbow. He lost the match 13-21 21-16 21-11 finishing fourth in his maiden Olympics.
Lakshya Sen fought hard but it wasn’t to be !
Watch the Olympics LIVE on #Sports18 & stream FREE in Tamil on #JioCinema.#Cheer4Bharat #OlympicsonJioCinema #OlympicsonSports18 #JioCinemaSports #Badminton #Olympics pic.twitter.com/gvhJK5eAt9
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) August 5, 2024
PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy failed to advance past the quarterfinal stage in the singles event, while Tanisha Castro and Ashwini Ponappa’s campaign ended at the group stage in the women’s doubles event.
Indian men’s doubles pair of Satwik and Chirag were considered favourites to win gold. However, after easing past the group stage they faltered in the knockouts to return home empty-handed.
Mirabai Chanu Misses podium
Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Mirabai Chanu was expected to finish on the podium for the second consecutive time. However, she failed to do so managing a fourth-place finish in 49kg women’s weightlifting with an aggregate of 199kg which came as a major shock.
Snaps of our star weightlifter♀ Mirabai Chanu returning home from the #ParisOlympics2024.
Mira’s valiant efforts to seal her 2⃣nd podium finish at #Paris2024 will be talked about for a long time.
You did all you could, Mira!! We are proud❤️
Show your support for our… pic.twitter.com/IQ4rC7h7eI
— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) August 10, 2024
Nisha Dahiya’s Olympic medal dream shattered by injuries
Wrestler Nisha Dahiya started her campaign on a winning note and qualified for the quarterfinals of the women’s 68kg freestyle wrestling event. She was close to winning her quarterfinal bout after taking an 8-1 lead. However with less than 60 seconds left on the clock. She suffered injuries in her right-hand fingers and arm allowing her opponent to capitalise and pick a 10-8 win
Heartbreak for Nisha as an injury derails her strong lead
Keep watching the Olympics LIVE on #Sports18. Stream for FREE on #JioCinema! #OlympicsOnJioCinema #OlympicsOnSports18 #JioCinemaSports #Cheer4Bharat #Paris2024 #Wrestling pic.twitter.com/OLYOT3w3Uy
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) August 5, 2024
Disappointing show by Boxers
The Indian boxing team were expected to deliver more than one medal. However, the contingent returned empty-handed. Only Nishant Dev and Lovlina Borgohain came close to a medal by reaching the quarterfinals. But, both of them lost their quarterfinal match after winning round 1. For two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen, the campaign ended in the pre quarterfinal stage.
Vinesh Phogat waits for Silver
Vinesh Phogat became the first Indian woman wrestler to qualify for the final at an Olympics. En-route to the final, Vinesh defeated defeated Yui Susaki of Japan in her opening match of the women’s 50kg freestyle event. However, the Indian was found overweight by 100 grams during the weigh-in before her final resulting in disqualification ending her and country’s medal hope.
माँ कुश्ती मेरे से जीत गई मैं हार गई माफ़ करना आपका सपना मेरी हिम्मत सब टूट चुके इससे ज़्यादा ताक़त नहीं रही अब।
अलविदा कुश्ती 2001-2024
आप सबकी हमेशा ऋणी रहूँगी माफी
— Vinesh Phogat (@Phogat_Vinesh) August 7, 2024
Following the heartbreaking news, Vinesh appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for a joint silver medal. Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who had lost to Vinesh in the semi-final was promoted to the final as a replacement in her place. The CAS accepted Vinesh’s appeal and the final decision will be made on August 13.