Introduction
A total of 117 Indian athletes made up the contingent that went on the hunt for medals and sporting immortality at Paris Olympics 2024 the which ran from July 26 to August 11.
In all, India won six medals – a silver and five bronze – at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Neeraj Chopra, Manu Bhaker, Sarabjot Singh, Swapnil Kusale, Aman Sehrawat, and the Indian hockey team contributed to the six medals, including a silver and five bronze, that India won in the Paris Olympics 2024 , ranking the country in the 71st place on the medals tally.
While the six medals gave many reasons to celebrate, India’s campaign at the Olympics was also filled with many near misses including that of Lakshya Sen in Badminton, Saikhom Mirabhai Chanu in Weightlifting, and vinesh phogat disqualification from the wrestling final.
Lists of winners of India’s 2024 Olympic Campaign
| No. | Athlete | Event | Sport | Medal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manu Bhaker | Women’s 10m air pistol | Shooting | Bronze |
| 2 | Manu Bhaker-Sarabjot Singh | Mixed team 10m air pistol | Shooting | Bronze |
| 3 | Swapnil Kusale | Men’s 50m rifle 3 positions | Shooting | Bronze |
| 4 | Team India | Men’s event | Hockey | Bronze |
| 5 | Neeraj Chopra | Men’s javelin throw | Athletics | Silver |
| 6 | Aman Sehrawat | Men’s freestyle 57kg | Wrestling | Bronze |
Manu Bhaker registered several firsts for Indian shooting, but most importantly, became the first Indian ever to win twin medals in a single edition of the Games. Manu Bhaker won her first bronze medal at the women’s 10m air pistol event, becoming the first Indian woman shooter to be on the Olympic podium. After qualifying for the final in third place, Manu hit the ground running. Of the 22 shots she took, just 7 were in the ‘9’ ring .She was never out of medal contention and was in silver medal place until her final shot of the competition where she was pipped by the narrowest of margins — 0.1 — by South Korea’s Kim Yeji.
She next won another bronze medal in the mixed 10m air pistol event with Sarabjot Singh, having beaten South Korea 16-10.
“I feel great. This medal was long due for India. It feels surreal,” said Manu Bhaker. The triumph opened the country’s account in the Paris Games and ended a 12-years wait for its much-hyped shooters.
2 . Sarabjot Singh : India’s Sharp Shooter
During his performances, Chopra has been careful about the injury he has been carrying for some time. He agreed that it affected his focus. “Despite that I performed well and got my season best throw.”
Following his performance, Chopra became the second male athlete post-independence to win two Olympic medals in an individual event. Chopra, who is yet to cross the 90m mark, wanted to improve the technical side of the game. “Javelin is a technical sport. You always have some scope for improvement.
India’s fourth bronze and 13th Olympic medal was a fitting farewell for goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh, who closed his glorious two-decade long international career and served India with distinction, and deserved every bit of the dream swansong.
In captivating action under the hot afternoon sun, India, which switched to coach Craig Fulton only three months prior to the Asian Games last year and adapted quickly to a defence-first style, rallied to pip a never-say-die Spain 2-1 in the bronze medal match. It last won back-to-back Olympic medals way back in 1972 in Munich.
The committed Indian fans broke into celebrations as the players stacked over a grounded Sreejesh paid their tribute to the legendary ‘God of Indian hockey. ”Our preparations for Los Angeles 2028 begins now. We will sit down and decide the course of action. We have to do well in the World Cup and Asian Games, which is the Olympic qualifier, as well,” said Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey.
5. Swapnil Kusale: A Breakthrough in Shooting
Swapnil Kusale clinched his first Olympic bronze and third medal for India in the 50m rifle 3 positions event, a highly demanding category that requires shooters to compete in three different positions across three stages — 20 shots each in kneeling, prone and standing positions.
Chateauroux was Kusale’s first ever Olympics. He had secured his Olympic quota by coming fourth in the World Championships held in Cairo.
The last time a 50m rifle shooter made it to the Olympic finals was in 2012 London when Joydeep Karmakar finished fourth in 50m rifle prone event, a discipline which has been discontinued at the Olympics.
After shaking off a loss in the semifinals, he went through the rigmarole of making the weight by losing 1.5kg before dominating Cruz for the bronze Aman, who is the U-23 world champion, was India’s lone male wrestler to qualify for the Paris Games. Indians have won medals in the wrestling competition at the Olympics since 2008 and the streak remains unbroken.
Aman has eyes set on the Olympic gold medal. “I would like to say to the people of India that I will definitely win a gold for you in 2028.Sushil pehlawan ji won two medals, I will win in 2028 and then in 2032 also,” he said There’s a difference between finishing seventh and fourth. Any athlete will tell you which is worse. When you are seventh, you really were not in contention for a medal. A fourth-place finish is a reminder that you are just the first of the guys outside the podium. For India, there were six such medals that were missed.
The Road Ahead
India’s showing in the recently concluded 2024 Paris Olympics also deserved appreciation but also painted the picture of lacunae that need to be ironed out. A medal of gold was however missing most probably, and as the country may anticipate some other competitions, it will be aiming at converting very near losses into golden finishes. The showings in Paris, however, are a proof that Indian sports are on the right path here having a combination of top talents such as Neeraj Chopra and young guns like Aman Sehrawat.
Conclusion
Paris Olympics 2024 might be memorable not for the number of medals gained, but for the experience shared, and the doors broken by Indian athletes. While India consolidates on such success stories, it is believed that in the successive Olympic attempt Indian will clinch higher victories and establish a strong position in world sports map.
