Year-Ender: Revisiting India's performance at 2024 Paris Olympics
The Paris Olympics was arguably the biggest sporting event in 2024. India's campaign in the prestigious tourney ended with wrestler Reetika Hooda's exit from the 76kg wrestling freestyle event. The Indian contingent, which included 117 athletes, won six medals —five bronze and one silver. As the year 2024 is approaching an end, let's revisit India's Paris Olympics campaign.
India couldn't top its Tokyo Games tally
India was expected to top its Tokyo Olympics tally. The nation won seven medals at the Tokyo Games. However, the Indian contingent could plunder six medals with no gold. Neeraj Chopra, who was touted to bring a second gold medal, was stopped by Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem. Shooter Manu Bhaker started well with two medals but none of them were gold.
Indian athletes competed in 69 medal events
The Indian contingent competed in 69 medal events at the Paris Games. Despite high hopes, many star athletes failed to finish on the podium. These included Lakshya Sen, Mirabai Chanu, Vinesh Phogat (disqualified ahead of final), and PV Sindhu. Bhaker, who won two medals, also had a shot at a third but finished fourth in the 25m pistol event.
Phogat's disqualification marked a significant disappointment
A huge blow for the Indian contingent was the disqualification of wrestler Vinesh Phogat ahead of her gold medal match. She had become the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the Olympic final but failed to meet the weight requirement for her 50kg final bout. Phogat failed the weigh-in by 100gm on August 7, resulting in her disqualification from the competition.
Three medals in shooting
The 2024 edition marked the first instance of India securing three medals in shooting at an Olympic Games. Manu opened India's account by winning bronze in the women's 10m air pistol final. The duo of Manu and Sarabjot then won the bronze medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event. Swapnil Kusale claimed the bronze medal after finishing third in the 50m Rifle 3 Positions men's final.
Silver for Chopra
India's solitary silver was secured by none other than Chopra, who walked away with gold in the 2020 Tokyo Games. Chopra achieved a throw of 89.45m, marking his second-best attempt at that time. However, he had to settle for the second place as Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem secured the gold medal with a record throw of 92.97m.
Other records scripted by Team India
Manu became India's first-ever female shooter with an Olympic medal. She also became India's first-ever athlete with multiple medals at an Olympics post independence. The India men's hockey team won consecutive Olympic medals for the first time since 1972. Chopra became the second Indian to win two individual medals in athletics at the Olympics Wrestler Aman Sehrawat was India's other medalist - clinching bronze in the men's freestyle 57 kg category.
