Paris Olympics 2024: Hit Or Miss? Dissecting India's Moments Of Glory And Heartbreaks

India’s performance at the Paris Olympics was a mix of achievements and disappointments. The country’s athletes have shown their resilience and determination but the medal tally did not meet expectations especially when compared to Tokyo 2020. 117 Athletes, 6 medals is definitely not the best outcome expected from Indian athletes. The medals have rather gone down from a count of 7 in Tokyo to 6 medals in Paris. 

India’s campaign at the Paris Olympics can be termed as disappointing, but ironically this is India’s third-best performance, with six fourth-placed finishes representing the narrow margin of the Paris Olympics. While some delivered an outstanding performance, others failed to meet expectations despite their past achievements and potential.

Athletes Did Not Meet the Expectations 

Well, no doubt Manu Bhaker, Aman Sehrawat, Neeraj Chopra, Swapnil Kusale, Sarabjot Singh, and the Indian hockey team have proved their worth but some of the big names that couldn't meet the expectations in Paris. There were high hopes for them after their performance in Tokyo 2020 and CWG 2022 but couldn't make it count. Tokyo Olympics Silver Medalist and CWG gold medalist Mirabai Chanu couldn't repeat her feat. With a total lift of 199 kg (88kg in snatch and 111 in clean and jerk), the 30-year-old finished fourth in the women’s 49 kg category and missed out on a spot in the top three. A gold winner from CWG 2022 where she lifted a total weight of 201 kg (88 kg snatch and 113 kg clean and jerk) but left empty-handed in Paris which made the fans disheartened. Along with Mirabai, Deepika Kumari, Antim Panghal, Nikhat Zareen, and Anshu Malik also failed to win any medals in their events despite being heavy favourites. 

Another Athlete, Tulika Mann exited after an opening-round loss to Cuban Ldalys Ortiz in the women’s +78kg judo event.

Surprisingly, the Indian badminton contingent did not win a single medal in Paris for the first time since 2008. Satwiksairaj Reddy and Chirag Shetty were expected to claim gold but walked out with nothing. Lakshya Sen and PV Sindhu also couldn't contribute to India's medal tally. 

Neeraj Chopra’s silver won hearts but was a disappointment for people expecting gold

With a distance of 87.58m, Neeraj managed to claim Gold at the Tokyo Olympics. But in Paris, Neeraj couldn't bring home the gold medal as he clinched silver despite a personal best throw of 89.45m in the Paris Games. He fell short of Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, whose throw distance was 92.97m (an Olympic record). 

Golfer Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar were tied for 29th and 49th. Aditi was fourth at the Tokyo Olympics. 

Vishnu Saravanan and Nethra Kumanan finished 18th and 21st respectively and failed to claim a medal in sailing whereas in rowing Balraj Panwar finished 23rd Overall.

In Table Tennis, Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula became the first Indian women to reach the quarterfinals but their dream to clinch an Olympic medal could not be fulfilled and in table tennis also Indian athletes were left empty-handed. 

Bottom Line

The performance of Indian Athletes in the Paris Olympics has been criticised a lot but the display of athletes Manu Bhaker, Aman Sehrawat, Sarabjot Singh, and the Indian Hockey team show that India is on the right track. The only thing that might be missing is the killer instinct that was reflected in the six fourth-placed finishes in Paris by Indian athletes. There can be criticism but an overall review of the athletes and coaches needs to be done to find the loopholes and prepare better for the LA Olympics 2028.