Paris 2024: From Olympics Near-Misses To Paralympians Power-Show

The year is coming to an end but the heartbreaks India witnessed in the Paris Olympics 2024 continue to haunt. It’s been months since an excruciating campaign for India came to an end in Paris, fetching the Indian contingent a total of 6 medals. After the golden glory in the Olympics back in the Tokyo Games, India failed to fetch a single yellow metal in the Paris Games, with ‘Golden Boy’ Neeraj Chopra also settling for a silver medal. If one is to sum up the country’s 2024 Paris Olympics campaign, it wouldn’t conclude without highlighting the ‘near-misses’ the country witnessed.

India’s marquee shooter Manu Bhaker did manage to fetch two medals in the Paris Games, a record for an athlete from the country, but it could’ve been a hat-trick of medals for her. Here we take a look at some similar ‘near-misses’ for India in the 2024 Paris Olympics:

Arjun Babuta: Shooting remained India’s most promising sport in the Paris Games and Arjun Babuta could’ve earned India more glory in the men’s 10m air rifle event. He stood second after the 12th shot in the final, but a few unexpected errors in the final stages pushed him to fourth place, hence missing out on a bronze.

Maheshwari Chauhan and Anantjeet Singh Naruka: In what was another near-miss for India in shooting, the pair of Maheshwari Chauhan and Anantjeet Singh Naruka lost to China in the bronze medal match. The difference between the two duos at the end was just one point.

Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat: Archery has been one of India’s biggest pain points in the  Olympics. This year was no different The duo of Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat delivered India’s best-ever Olympic performance in the event, yet they fell short in the bronze medal match.

Mirabai Chanu: A legend in the country’s sporting spectrum, Mirabai Chanu was expected to fight for gold in the women’s 49kg weightlifting event but ended up empty-handed. She finished in fourth place with a final score of 199 kg to her name.

Lakshya Sen: In what was a shocking year for India in badminton, Lakshya Sen emerged as India’s biggest medal hope. He ought valiantly through the rounds but eventually only finished 4th, hence missing out on a podium spot.

Manu Bhaker: Despite earning two bronze medals, Manu Bhaker would always rue the opportunity to miss out on her hat-trick of medals. She came 4th best in the women’s 25m pistol final, losing to Hungary’s Veronika Major in a shoot-off.

Vinesh Phogat: In unarguably the biggest heart-breaking moment for India from the Paris Games, Vinesh was disqualified from the 50kg women’s freestyle wrestling final. She was found 100 grams overweight in the mandator weigh-in ahead of the title match and was deemed ineligible for the bout.

Pralympians Ease India’s Olympics Pain

While the Paris Olympics Games was largely a disappointment, India did make up for the heartbreak in the following Paris Paralympics. Securing its best-ever 18th spot in the medals tally, India fetched a total of 29 medals at the event – 7 gold, 9 silver and 13 bronze. In the Tokyo Games, India had only claimed 19 medals.

India enjoyed a never-seen-before golden rush in the Paris Paralympics. The list of standout performers included the names of Avani Lekhara, Nitesh Kumar, Sumit Antil, Harvinder Singh, Dharambir, Praveen Kumar and Navdeep Singh. They all bagged the top podium spots in their respective events.

The record haul helped India cross the 50-medal mark cumulatively in its Paralympics history.