PARIS: A contingent of 117 Indian athletes pursued medals and sporting glory at the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024, which concludes this Sunday.
India secured a total of six medals at the marquee event, including one silver and five bronze, according to Olympics.com.
Manu Bhaker clinched India’s first medal at these Games, earning bronze and becoming the first Indian woman to medal in Olympic shooting. She then made history by becoming the first Indian to win two medals in a single Olympic edition, following her mixed team 10m air pistol bronze with Sarabjot Singh.
Swapnil Kusale contributed a third medal in shooting, marking India’s largest haul in this sport at a single Olympics.
The Indian men’s hockey team repeated their Tokyo 2020 success by securing bronze in Paris. Neeraj Chopra further enhanced his Olympic legacy, claiming silver in the javelin throw and becoming the most successful individual Olympian from India.
Aman Sehrawat added to the tally, becoming India’s youngest Olympic medallist with a bronze in wrestling.
Despite these achievements, India faced significant disappointments in Paris 2024. The nation narrowly missed out on six potential medals, with athletes finishing fourth in their events, including Lakshya Sen, Mirabai Chanu, and Manu Bhaker, who was close to securing a third medal.
Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification just before a historic final also contributed to the nation’s woes.
Indian athletes participated in 69 medal events across 16 sports, including archery, athletics, badminton, boxing, equestrian, golf, hockey, judo, rowing, sailing, shooting, swimming, table tennis, and tennis.
Returning Olympic medallists in the Indian contingent included Neeraj Chopra, badminton star PV Sindhu, weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, boxer Lovlina Borgohain, and select members of the Harmanpreet Singh-led Indian men’s hockey team.
To date, India has won 41 Olympic medals. The nation’s Olympic journey began with Norman Pritchard’s two silver medals at Paris 1900. KD Jadhav earned India’s first individual medal from an independent nation with a wrestling bronze at Helsinki 1952. Karnam Malleswari became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal with her weightlifting bronze at Sydney 2000.
Abhinav Bindra was the first Indian to win an individual Olympic gold medal with his shooting triumph at Beijing 2008, a feat that remained unmatched until Neeraj Chopra’s javelin gold at Tokyo 2020.
Men’s hockey, with 13 medals including eight golds, has been the most successful sport for India, followed by wrestling with eight medals.
India’s best-ever Olympic performance came at Tokyo 2020, where the nation won seven medals, including one gold. (ANI)