Shooters on target; badminton, boxing falter: Where does Paris Olympics campaign rank among India's all-time shows?
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After a record-scripting show in Tokyo three years back, India, whose contingent comprised 117 athletes, was expected to put on a better show, and even go the distance of registering a double-digit figure on the medals tally for the first time in history at the Paris Olympics 2024. While India had its moment in the sun, there were few heartbreaks and underwhelming shows, leaving the contingent to return to six medals - a silver and five bronze- amid the decision pending on wrestler Vinesh Phogat's plea for a silver medal.
Who were India's medal winners at Paris Olympics 2024?
Manu Bhaker was India's first medallist at the Paris Games after she clinched the bronze medal in the women's 10m air pistol event to become the first markswoman from the country to bag a podium finish. It also ended India's 12-year wait for a medal in shooting. A few days later, she created history yet again by becoming the first Indian ever to win two medals at a single edition of the Olympics when she finished third alongside Sarabjot Singh in mixed team 10m air pistol bronze.
Swapnil Kusale bagged India's third medal, which also came in shooting, after he won the 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.
Indian men's hockey team matched their Tokyo Olympics feat as they beat Spain 2-1 in the third-place face-off to win the bronze, yet again. It was also for the first time in 52 years India bagged back-to-back medals in men's hockey. Neeraj Chopra, meanwhile, became India's first track-and-field athlete to win consecutive medals at the Olympics as he followed his historic gold in Tokyo with a silver in Paris. He also became the fifth Indian athlete with at least two medals at the games and third to win in back-to-back editions.
India's campaign eventually ended with Aman Sehrawat clinching the bronze in men's 57kg freestyle wrestling to become the nation's youngest Olympic medallist.
India's six fourth-place heartbreaks at 2024 Paris Olympics
The contingent could have probably added six more medals to the list to take the tally to a historic 12, but it was sheer misfortune that led to those six athletes missing out on a podium finish by a whisker.
Amid a sensational start from the shooters at the Paris Games, Arjun Babuta came close to adding a fourth medal to the list, but 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 hoped to revive a forgettable campaign for the archers, but the pair lost their bronze medal playoff clash against United State of America's Braddy Ellison and Casey Khaufhold.
Bhaker stood on the verge of becoming the first-ever Indian to win three Olympic medals when she reached the final of the women's 25m Rapid Air Pistol event. But the 22-year-old fell agonisingly short of a bronze medal when she lost the shoot-off for third spot to Hungarian Veronika Major.
India also came close to clinching a first-ever medal in men's singles badminton, but Lakshya Sen conceded the opportunity not once, but twice during his campaign. In the semifinal match against Viktor Axelsen, the Indian had soared to a seven-point lead after losing the opening game, but the eventual gold-medallist scripted a stunning comeback to make the finals. A day later, in the bronze-medal face-off, he won the opening game against Malaysia's Jia Zii Lee, but lost the next two games to lose 13-21 21-16 21-11 win in the 71-minute clash, thus registering a fourth-place finish, which nonetheless remains India's best show in the discipline.
India's biggest heartbreak was, however, when weightlifter Mirabai Chanu came tantalisingly close to clinching a second Olympic medal but fell short of a podium finish by just one kilo as she registered a fourth-place finish in the women's 49kg event.
India awaits Vinesh Phogat's appeal
On Tuesday, Vinesh Phogat became the first Indian woman wrestler to qualify for the final at an Olympics. En route, she beat world no.1 and Tokyo Games gold medallist Yui Susaki of Japan in the women's 50kg freestyle opener. However, the Indian was found overweight by 100 grams during the weigh-in on Wednesday morning and, hence, was disqualified and subsequently denied a medal.
Following the heartbreaking news, Vinesh appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for a joint silver medal with Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who had lost to the Indian but was later promoted to the final as a replacement for the 29-year-old. The CAS ad-hoc division set up, especially for dispute resolution during the Games, accepted Vinesh's appeal, and the Indian virtually attended the hearing on Friday. Vinesh now awaits the final verdict from the committee which will take place on August 13.
How did India perform in Paris Olympics?
India participated in 69 medal events across 16 sports at the Paris Games. Neeraj, PV Sindhu, Mirabai, boxer Lovlina Borgohain and the men's hockey team were among the returning Olympic medallists from the contingent to Paris. However, only two of those aforementioned, in addition to three new medallists, added to India's tally in the 2024 Olympics.
While Bhaker bounced back remarkably from the horror show in Tokyo where she was reduced to tears following a pistol malfunction, it was sheer disappointment from the badminton and boxing contingent in particular. Sindhu, a double Olympic medallist, incurred a round of 16 exit, while the men's doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, who were touted for the gold medal, lost in the quarters. India, hence, did not return with a single medal in badminton at the Games for the first time since 2008.
In boxing, the Indian contingent, which comprised the likes of Tokyo 2020 Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina, two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen and reigning Commonwealth champion Amit Panghal, failed to win a single medal from Paris.
Where does Paris Olympics campaign rank among India's all-time performances?
India may have fallen short of the Tokyo Olympics tally by just one medal, but the campaign in Paris was their third-best outing at the Summer Games after Tokyo 2020 and London 2012.
Here's India's best medal hauls in Olympics from 1900 to 2024
Tokyo 2020: 7 Medals (1 Gold, 2 Silver, 3 Bronze)
London 2012: 6 Medals (2 Silver, 4 Bronze)
Paris 2024: 6 Medals (1 Silver, 5 Bronze)
Beijing 2008: 3 Medals (1 Gold, 2 Bronze)
Helsinki 1952: 2 Medals (1 Gold, 1 Bronze)
Paris 1900: 2 Medals (2 Silver)
Rio 2016: 2 Medals (1 Silver, 1 Bronze)
Amsterdam 1928: 1 Medal (1 Gold)
Amsterdam 1928: 1 Medal (1 Gold)
Los Angeles 1932: 1 Medal (1 Gold)
Berlin 1936: 1 Medal (1 Gold)
London 1948: 1 Medal (1 Gold)
Melbourne 1956: 1 Medal (1 Gold)
Tokyo 1964: 1 Medal (1 Gold)
Moscow 1980: 1 Medal (1 Gold)
Rome 1960: 1 Medal (1 Silver)
Athens 2004: 1 Medal (1 Silver)
Munich 1972: 1 Medal (1 Bronze)
Atlanta 1996: 1 Medal (1 Bronze)
Sydney 2000: 1 Medal (1 Bronze)
