 "Rewind 2024: India’s eventful Paris Olympics 2024 campaign left a bitter taste in the mouth")
India had an eventful, yet a mixed run of results at the 2024 Paris Olympics in July-August. As far as India were concerned, the Paris Olympics was a combination of memorable victories, heartbreaks, the “should have beens” and the “could have beens”. In terms of number of medals won, this was India’s second-best Olympics, after the country’s seven-medal haul at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics three years ago. But it did not feel that way. Why?
Despite the high expectations this time around as well, a gold medal eluded India. If only Vinesh Phogat had been eligible to play the women’s 50kg wrestling final. If only Neeraj Chopra was fully fit enough to match the level of eventual gold medallist, Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan.
However, the lack of a gold medal and a wrestling controversy involving Phogat wasn’t the only reason why India endured a bittersweet outing in Paris. Those were also due to the fourth-place finishes — six fourth-place finishes in total. Had those fourth-place finishes been converted into medals, India would have finished with a dozen Olympic medals, if not more. Once again, yet another “if only” moment.
Arjun Babuta, Mirabai Chanu and the archery mixed team pair of Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat were among those who finished in that unfortunate fourth place but nothing will hurt more than shuttler Lakshya Sen missing out on a bronze medal. Because the 23-year-old from Almora had displayed excellent form throughout his campaign in Paris only to falter in the end. Sen also had the chance to create history by becoming the first Indian men’s shuttler to win an Olympic medal. But his loss to Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia was disheartening, and an elbow injury he picked up during the game further diminished his chances.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsIt’s not just Sen who endured a disappointing outing among Indian shuttlers. PV Sindhu was a medal hopeful before the tournament but lost in the Round of 16, whereas the men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were knocked out in the quarter-finals. There were several players who were genuine medal contenders, but this was a tale of missed opportunities for Indian shuttlers.
A thousand reasons to celebrate for Manu Bhaker, Indian hockey team wins another bronze
Not everything was gloom and doom for India in Paris. Shooter Manu Bhaker , who had suffered a pistol malfunction at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, had a thousand reasons to celebrate in Paris . By winning bronze medal in women’s 10m air pistol event, Manu ended a 12-year wait as she became the first Indian shooter since 2012 to win a medal at the Olympics.
She later added another bronze, this time in the mixed team 10m air pistol event after partnering with Sarabjot Singh.
The India men’s hockey team, led by Harmanpreet Singh, too had several reasons to celebrate. While Harmanpreet and Co would have wanted to give outgoing goalkeeper PR Sreejesh a golden farewell , their bronze medal win, a second consecutive third-place finish for them in the Olympics, was no mean feat. After all, India even managed to edge past Tokyo Olympics silver medallists Australia 3-2, beating the Aussies at the Olympics for the first time since 1972.
Vinesh Phogat’s dream campaign turns into heartbreak
Wrestler Phogat had everything in her to win an elusive Olympic gold medal for her country. The year 2023 was a difficult one off the mat, with the wrestlers’ protest against the then-Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. And while Phogat would have been ready for even tougher challenges on the mat this year, nothing would have prepared for what was to come in Paris.
Yes, she did the unthinkable by reaching the final of the women’s 50 kg wrestling category. But, as it turns out, even being 100 grams overweight on the day of the final can become a crime of sorts, so much so that she was disqualified. And even an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for a possible joint-silver medal could not help Phogat, who announced her retirement from the sport in the aftermath of controversy. This was another one of those “what if” moments for India in Paris.
There was still something for India to smile about in wrestling, with Aman Sehrawat winning a bronze medal in men’s freestyle wrestling category (57 kg).
Silver lining for Neeraj Chopra
Neeraj Chopra was the only medallist for India in track and field events. A gold, however, was not meant to be for the Tokyo Olympics champion, who had been suffering from a recurring groin injury. That injury was evident from Neeraj’s throws and having said that, he managed to clear just one legal throw, that of 89.45m throughout the final round. Yet, that was enough for the Haryana-based athlete to clinch a silver medal .
"That is massive from Arshad Nadeem!" 💪
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) August 20, 2024
Check out the highlights from the epic men's javelin battle between Arshad Nadeem and Neeraj Chopra, as the athlete from Pakistan won gold with an Olympic record throw of 92.97m. 🤯#Paris2024 @Paris2024 @WorldAthletics @NOCPakistan pic.twitter.com/YBeLAcl0Al
Chopra was at the receiving end of things this time around, as he had to watch Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem set a new Olympic record with a throw of 92.97m and finish on top of the podium in the process.
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