The Indian contingent finished their Paris Olympics with 6 medals to their name. In what has been a tough watch for the fans, the Indian contingent returns with 5 bronze medals and one silver, falling just short of their best-ever medal tally - which came at the previous Olympics in Tokyo.
India's performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics has been marked by a mix of achievements and disappointments. The country's athletes have shown resilience and determination, but the overall medal tally has not quite lived up to the expectations set by the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. It was expected that India might break the barrier of 10 medals in this Olympics, but with multiple athletes finishing fourth, it did not quite happen.
List of medal winners
NEERAJ CHOPRA (javelin)
Neeraj Chopra added an Olympic silver to his decorated trophy cabinet. It was not one of his best competition days, yet, he won India its first silver medal at the Paris Olympics. The Tokyo Olympic champion became only the fifth Indian athlete to win multiple medals at the Olympics. However, his thunder was stolen by Arshad Nadeem, the son of a Pakistani construction worker. "It was probably the day for a 90m throw. It was needed as well. I haven't thought about it (90m throw) that much. But, it is coming to my mind now. I gave it my all," Neeraj said after missing the top step of the podium. "When Arshad threw 92.97m, I believed in my mind that I would be able to do it (90m) today. It didn't happen today. Let's see when it will happen. But the competition was very intense and exciting. Winning a medal for my country makes me happy," he added.
MANU BHAKER (10m air pistol)
The young shooter from India won two medals in total, becoming independent India's only second female athlete to win two medals. Bhaker matched PV Sindhu's feat by winning a bronze in the women's 10m air pistol event and then clinching the bronze medal once again in the mixed team event of the same discipline alongside Sarabjot Singh. Bhaker, who qualified as one of the favourites to finish at the podium did not disappoint. She would have won the third medal of this Olympics as well, but finished fourth in an intense shootout at women's 25m pistol event.
SARABJOT SINGH (10m air pistol mix team)
Sarabjot Singh secured India's second medal at Paris alongside Manu Bhaker in the 10m air pistol mixed team event. The duo won bronze after beating South Korea by just one point. Sarabjot Singh was not happy with the result and said that he would try to bring a gold medal from the next Olympics, set to be held at Los Angeles in 2028.
SWAPNIL KUSHALE (50m rifle 3P)
Shooter Swapnil Kusale scripted history, by becoming the first Indian shooter to bag a medal in the 50m Rifle 3P event. Kusale delivered an exceptional performance amid intense competition, earning third place with a score of 451.4 points in the final. This marked the first time that the Indian shooting contingent have won three medals in a single edition of any Olympics.
AMAN SEHRAWAT (Wrestling)
With an aggressive and attacking performance, Aman Sehrawat bagged a bronze medal in men’s 57 kg freestyle category. Sehrawat scored a dominating 13-5 win over Puerto Rico’s Darian Cruz to revive what could only be described as a heartbreaking campaign for Indian wrestlers. In the process, Sehrawat became the youngest ever individual Olympic medallist from India at 21 years 0 months and 24 days. He betters PV Sindhu’s record, who was 21 years 1 month and 14 days old when she won silver at the Rio Olympics 2016. Just when it looked like Indian wrestlers would return empty-handed from the Olympics for the first time since 2008, Sehrawat gave the contingent a lot to cheer for as he bagged the bronze medal.
INDIAN HOCKEY TEAM
India gave PR Sreejesh the perfect farewell as they defeated Spain 2-1 to claim the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics. This was the first time India won back-to-back medals for the first time since 1972. Harmanpreet Singh scored a brace after India were behind in the contest to claim the win as they got their record-extending 13th hockey medal at the Olympics.
It needs to be noted that India can still finish with their best ever medal tally of 7. Vinesh Phogat is currently fighting her case at the Court of Arbitration of Sports where the wrestler has pleaded that she be given a joint silver medal for the women's 50 kg competition. Vinesh was disqualified from the finals of the competition after she weighed-in at 50.100 kgs, which was 100 grams over the permissible amount.
