Paris Olympics 2024 brought an exhilarating fortnight full of excitement, action, drama, and hope. But now it has come to an end with a tumultuous cadence.
The laughter is no longer lingering in the room, the tears have dried, and the pacing hearts have returned to normalcy, which means that it’s the best time to reflect on the Indian contingent's performance at the Paris Olympics.
The games started with the hope that India would surpass its previous best from Tokyo 2020. The contingent registered its best-ever international performance by clinching seven medals, including its first coveted gold after 2008.
However, things didn’t turn out that way in the 2024 games. This Olympic event repeatedly echoed the sentiment of heartbreak. While everyone celebrates the harbinger of glory, we will look at players who missed it by a bare minimum in this article.
Heartbreak for India at Olympics 2024
More than the six medals that India has accumulated in the games, it will be what could have been that has made more noise. That’s because it’s not once or twice that Indian athletes who performed brilliantly fell short of the podium.
Hence, it becomes important to celebrate whatever they achieved for the country. Their efforts and names shouldn’t disappear in vain.
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Avinash Sable
Whenever the Olympics are mentioned in India, the first thoughts go out to sports like Hockey, Wrestling, table tennis, boxing, and shooting. Courtesy of Neeraj Chopra’s golden run in the 2020 Olympics, we now talk about Javelin as well.
But only some would have heard of the 3000m steeplechase, a sport where Avinash Sable made his mark at the Olympics and reached the final. Sable recorded 8:15.43 in the qualifying round to secure fifth place and reach the penultimate final of the event.
Even though he lost in the finals, it was a great feeling to see an Indian athlete perform on the biggest stage of a track sport that African athletes dominate. Kenya, in particular, is royalty in this sport and has 11 gold medals on the trot and two podium sweeps in 1992 and 2004.
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Lakshya Sen
The second player has to be Lakshya Sen, the badminton player who gave it his all but fell short in the bronze medal match against Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia.
Had Sen won the game, he would have become the first Indian man to do so in Badminton at the Olympics. But since he fell short of the feat, all his hard work has been forgotten, and we tell you there was a lot of it.
The young boy's biggest feat was becoming the first Indian shuttler to reach the semifinals. He defeated Taiwan’s Chou Chen 9-21, 21-15, 21-12 in the quarterfinals to make history.
Although he lost his next two games, his spirit was never in question. Even in the bronze medal game, he registered victory in the first game. However, the Malaysian shuttler made a comeback in the second game, winning 9 points on the trot. That took the winds out of Sen’s sail, and he eventually succumbed in the match.
The country won’t forget his performance on the biggest stage, and he will be hoping for a medal at the LA Olympics 2028.
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Anantjeet Singh Nasuka – Maheshwari Chauhan
The curse of the 4th position first stuck India in the mixed team skeet event finals. Anantjeet Singh Nasuka – Maheshwari Chauhan of India, in the qualifying stage of the tournament, could only muster a total of 146 points, which was enough to see them go through the next stage, but only guaranteed a bronze medal match.
Little did they know that a cruel fate awaited them in the final match. They would come close to a podium finish and still miss it by a point.
That happened in the match, as they had to taste defeat against China’s Jiang Yiting and Lyu Jianlin by a solitary point when the match ended 44-43.
Naruka had missed two shots in his first eight attempts. And Chauhan missed just her final shot in the second round. But that’s how cruel the sport can be, as their small mistakes came back to haunt them as they lost by the barest of margins.
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Vinesh Phogat
One of the biggest heartbreaks for the Indian contingent came in the form of Vinesh Phogat. She was deemed unqualified to participate in the 50 Kg women’s wrestling final because she was 100 grams overweight.
This decision sent a ripple of shock and disbelief across the nation. People couldn’t believe that 100 could be the margin between a medal and no medal on the biggest sporting stage.
What made this decision hard to digest was the fact that Vinesh had done the hard yard to earn this opportunity. She had fought battles beyond the mat, for which the nation had never cheered or supported her.
If anything, people had written her off ahead of the Paris Olympics 2024. But she proved everything and everyone wrong in every fresh step she took in the buildup to the competition.
Having been forced to play under a different weight category of 50kgs, leaving behind her natural 53kgs category, Vinesh faced her biggest challenge in the form of Japan’s Yui Susaki.
The Japanese wrestler was the favorite coming into the game. The reason behind this superiority was her undefeated streak in the international arena. Susaki had just never lost. She boasted a record of 82-0. However, it would change soon, thanks to Vinesh Phogat, who showed the world how one can overcome anything with grit and determination.
Having beaten Susaki in the first round, Vinesh defeated Livach in the quarterfinals and Guzman in the semis. None of them posed any threat to Vinesh’s ambition of winning gold. That was until fate left her side, and the Indian wrestler couldn’t do anything about it.
Vinesh Phogat appealed against the ruling not going in her favor, but to no avail. She was robbed of an opportunity to fight in the final and complete her redemption arc.
Yet, this takes away nothing from her. The nation cheered for her on the mat and cried after the heartbreaking verdict. She is and will always remain a champion in the hearts of millions of Indians.
Medal winners at the Paris Olympics for India
India’s journey at the Paris 2024 Olympics saw the nation clinch six medals, three of which were bronze, all emerging from the shooting events.
The nation’s athletes stood tall on the global stage, showcasing their grit and determination across various disciplines, including shooting, wrestling, javelin throw, and field hockey.
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Manu Bhaker:
She made history as the first Indian woman shooter to win an Olympic medal, securing bronze in the 10-metre air pistol event with a score of 221.7 points, finishing behind Republic of Korea’s Oh Ye Jin and Yeji Kim.
Not stopping there, Bhaker added another bronze to her tally in the 10-meter air pistol mixed event, partnering with Sarabjot Singh. This achievement marked India’s first-ever Olympic team medal in shooting and made Bhaker the first athlete from independent India to win two medals in a single Olympics. Although she narrowly missed a third medal in the 25-meter event, her performance remains a standout.
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Sarabjot Singh:
Bhaker’s partner in the mixed event, Sarabjot Singh, faced immense pressure after a challenging run in the singles category. Despite this, he delivered an outstanding performance, helping secure India’s bronze with a 16-10 victory over the Korean team of Lee Wonho and Oh Ye Jin.
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Swapnil Kusale:
He also etched his name in history by winning bronze in the 50-meter rifle three-position event, becoming the first Indian to do so. His remarkable comeback, especially after qualifying seventh for the finals, culminated in a score of 451.4 points.
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Indian Field Hockey Team:
The Hockey team continued its legacy, claiming their second consecutive Olympic bronze by defeating Spain 2-1. Despite an earlier defeat to Germany, the team, led by Harmanpreet Singh and supported by veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, displayed relentless determination to bring home a historic medal.
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Neeraj Chopra:
India’s golden boy, Neeraj Chopra, won a silver medal at the Paris Olympics 2024 with a throw of 89.45m after claiming gold in the previous edition. Despite the change in medal color, Chopra remains a champion in the eyes of Indians. He made history as the fifth Indian to win two Olympic medals. He became only the third athlete to earn medals at consecutive Summer Olympics, joining legends Sushil Kumar and PV Sindhu.
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Aman Sehrawat
Aman Sehrawat won bronze in the men’s freestyle 57kg wrestling at Paris 2024, becoming India’s youngest Olympic medalist at 21. He defeated former European champion Vladimir Egorov in the round of 16 and former world champion Zelimkhan Abakarov in the quarter-finals.
Though he lost to Rio 2016 silver medallist Rei Higuchi in the semi-finals, Aman secured victory over Puerto Rico’s Darian Cruz with a 13-5 scoreline to claim India’s first wrestling medal at these Games.
India’s Paris Olympics 2024 journey blended triumph and heartbreak. With six hard-earned medals in shooting, wrestling, and more, the nation witnessed historic moments alongside near-misses. The games highlighted the athletes' resilience, reminding us that while medals matter, the spirit and determination behind each effort are what truly define success.
