After the highs of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, much was expected from the Indian contingent at the Paris Olympics. There were even murmurs of the country going past 10 medals in Paris with medals expected in athletics, archery, boxing, hockey, shooting, weightlifting and wrestling.
That, however, did not come to pass. After a whirlwind fortnight which had its fair share of heartbreaks and moments of joy, India finished with six medals in Paris. There were more fourth-placed finishes than medals as India come back from Paris with a feeling of what could have been around them.
Here’s a look at the medallists from India’s contingent in Paris.
Neeraj Chopra: Silver
Even on his off day, Neeraj Chopra delivered for India. Five foul throws out of six throws? No worries. He hurled the javelin a massive 89.45m on his only legitimate throw to still come back with a silver medal.
Chopra struggled with a recurrent groin injury in Paris which cause him to step out the stopping line multiple times during the final. As he would say after the event, it was only his arm that was 100% fit to throw the javelin beyond 89m.
The 26-year-old Indian Army Subedar cut a disappointed figure as he watched his good friend, Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, clinch gold with an Olympic Record throw. The celebrations were muted with Chopra barely cracking a smile after the final.
He has now finished on the podium at 24 consecutive events across national and international meets, going back to September 2018. This is nothing short of an insane record.
And yet, it was the missed gold medal that was on Chopra’s mind later on. The only time he cracked a smile was when he got onto the podium a day later.
Neeraj Chopra continues to build on his great sporting legacy in Paris
Manu Bhaker: Bronze
Three years ago in Tokyo, Manu Bhaker became the unwitting poster girl for the Indian shooting contingent’s failure to win a medal. The sight of her tear-streaked face after a gun malfunction ended her campaign became synonymous with India’s inability to win a shooting medal in Tokyo.
In Paris, Bhaker was once again the face of the Indian shooting contingent. This time for becoming the first woman to win a shooting medal for India at the Olympics.
Since bursting onto to the scene back in 2018, Bhaker has been under constant scrutiny. Given her mercurial talent, anything other than a podium finish was considered a failure. After Tokyo, Bhaker even contemplated walking away from the sport.
However, she rekindled her love for the sport shooting and ahead of the Paris Olympics, decided to work with her former coach Jaspal Rana once again.
In Paris, she was one of four Indian shooters who had competed in Tokyo and the pressure on her was weighed by the burden of a 12-year wait. Moreover, she was the only shooter to compete in three events.
A more mature Bhaker was not letting a medal slip past her this time. In a tense 10m air pistol final, Bhaker won India’s first shooting medal since the 2012 Olympics. History had been written.
Manu Bhaker gets ‘monkey off her back’ to create history in Paris
Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh: Bronze
Before the Paris Olympics, India only had three individual athletes who had won multiple Olympic medals – Norman Pritchard, Sushil Kumar and PV Sindhu. Manu Bhaker added her name to the exclusive list when she won her second medal of the Paris Games in the mixed team 10m air pistol event.
At Tokyo 2020, a lot was expected from Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary in the mixed team event. However, the duo failed to deliver on the promise and crashed out without a medal.
In Paris, Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh exorcised the ghosts of Tokyo and won a thrilling bronze medal match to win India’s second medal in Paris.
Manu Bhaker, Sarabjot Singh combine to win India’s second medal in Paris
Swapnil Kusale: Bronze
Many expected India to win a medal in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions event in Paris. However, not many expected the medal to come from Swapnil Kusale, with the highly fancied Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar competing.
Kusale, on his Olympic debut, just made it into the final in the qualification round by virtue of shooting more shots into the inner 10 ring.
Kusale has had to bide his time to get a shot at glory. At 28, he was one of the oldest shooters in the Indian contingent. Back in 2015, he took up a job as a ticket collector in the Indian Railways to support his dreams.
Even as younger shooters took the spotlight with their performances at the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games, Kusale was patiently toiling away in the background.
But his patience finally paid off as he won India’s third medal in Paris.
Men’s Hockey Team: Bronze
If Tokyo 2020 marked the end of four decades of hurt for Indian hockey, Paris 2024 signals the dawn of a new era.
Despite winning back to back medals at the Olympics for the first time in over half a century, the men’s hockey team came back from Paris with a feeling of what could have been.
They started the tournament cautiously but grew from strength to strength once they found their groove. They boasted one of the best defences in Paris and in the retiring PR Sreejesh, the best goalkeeper at the Games.
The wins against Australia and Great Britain were tactically perfect with the defence-first tactics of coach Craig Fulton being wholeheartedly accepted by his team.
India were unlucky to be without Amit Rohidas for the semi-final where Germany triumphed 3-2 with two goals coming from penalty corners. Rohidas is one of the best rushers in the global game and his presence could have made all the difference against Germany.
India recovered from the heartbreak and beat Spain in another closely-fought battle to secure a much-deserved bronze medal.
Aman Sehrawat: Bronze
Wrestling has been India’s most successful individual sport at the Olympic Games with wrestlers winning seven medals over the years.
In Paris, wrestling would end up providing India the biggest heartbreaks. Nisha Dahiya, just minutes away from reaching the semi-final when an arm injury gave her opponent the opportunity to steal the win away from a tearful Dahiya.
Vinesh Phogat put up one of the greatest performance by an Indian wrestler when she beat the undefeated defending champion Yui Susaki on the way to becoming the first Indian woman to reach an Olympic final in the sport. Tragically, being 100g overweight would snatch that away from Phogat.
Just as it looked like India would not win a wrestling medal at the Olympics for the first time in 16 years, Aman Sehrawat stepped up and delivered.
Sehrawat was the only Indian male wrestler to have qualified for Paris. The pressure was on the 21-year-old wrestler to give India something to cheer for after days of heartbreak.
And he did just that by winning bronze in the men’s 57kg event to keep India’s streak at the Olympics alive.
In the process, he became the youngest-ever Indian to medal in an individual event at the Olympics.
Aman Sehrawat writes the first chapter of his long journey ahead
