Paris Olympics 2024 , India Total medals: India's performance at the Paris Olympics was both good and bad, in which while young shooter Manu Bhaker won two medals, javelin throw superstar Neeraj Chopra's silver medal was below expectations, while Vinesh Phogat's disqualification before the final was disappointing, in which the fourth place of six players was a sore point. At the beginning of the Olympics, reaching double medals in the medal tally seemed very ambitious, but the near miss of many players had a huge impact. Many questions of 'what would have happened' arose in this.

What if badminton player Lakshya Sen had not lost the bronze medal play-off by surprise, what if archer Deepika Kumari had not missed a shot against Korea in the quarter-finals, and what if Mirabai Chanu had lifted just one more kilogram? No one expected Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty to leave without a medal. No one expected Swapnil Kusale to end the wait for a skeet medal.

It is not ideal that the country's 117-member team won only six medals, but there were moments of happiness, hope, disappointment, and sadness for India during this period. India could not match the seven medals won in the Tokyo Olympics. If the six players who finished fourth had managed to win medals, the number of medals in the table could have doubled.

Happiness in hockey

There were questions over the men's hockey team's ability to win a second consecutive medal at the Olympics. The team could not better the color of the medal it won in Tokyo, but the way it beat Australia, played against Belgium, and withstood pressure against Germany and Britain shows how mentally strong this Harmanpreet Singh-led side has become. The Indian team entered as 'underdogs' but played like champions. It was the perfect time for goalkeeper PR Sreejesh to retire, who had played a key role in the revival of a sport that was struggling to find its identity before the Tokyo Bronze. Sreejesh was not the only player to end his career for India. The Paris Olympics were certainly the last Olympics for tennis player Rohan Bopanna and table tennis player Sharath Kamal. There is a possibility that star badminton player PV Sindhu may not compete in the 2028 Olympics.

The Olympics that shook Vines's heart

While fate gave Sreejesh a grand farewell, wrestler Vinesh Phogat left the stage with a never-healing wound on her soul. There can be both a minor defeat and a challenging defeat after a tough fight, but in her case, she lost despite winning. It was not a question of her ability or skill but the technical aspect that robbed her of the medal. If there was one Indian female wrestler who deserved an Olympic medal, it was Vinesh who proved her supremacy by winning titles and medals continuously throughout the year. Neither less preparation nor Yui Susaki could hinder her comeback, but her own 100-gram weight spoiled all this. Vinesh announced her retirement from the sport after this incident and is now awaiting a decision on her appeal against disqualification.

Shooters finally win medals

The performance of the shooters led by young Manu Bhaker was a relief for India as three of the six medals came from shooting. It would not be an exaggeration to say that 22-year-old Bhaker saved India's honor with her phenomenal performance. She won another bronze medal along with Sarabjot Singh in the mixed team 10m air pistol event. When even a single medal guarantees 'stardom', Bhaker's double medal has put her in a different category. Very few would have expected Kusale to win India's first medal in skeet shooting. But imagine where India would have been in the medal tally if the shooters had failed again.

Neeraj won the silver medal

Neeraj gave India another chance of gold by topping the qualification with a season's best effort of 89.45m. Neeraj was ready despite a thigh problem. But Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem literally killed the competition with a brilliant throw of 92.97m. Neeraj could not throw better than 89.34m. Such were the expectations from him that even a silver seemed like a defeat.

Boxers disappointed, Aman saves wrestling campaign

No boxer could reach the medal round but Nishant Dev's defeat will hurt the most. Another contender Nikhat Zareen also cried. However, wrestler Aman Sehrawat ensured that wrestling got a medal. The only Indian male wrestler on the team lived up to expectations. There was a reason behind replacing Ravi Dahiya in the 57 kg category and he proved it. Wrestling won a medal for the fifth consecutive Olympics. The most disappointing performance was by Anant Panghal and Anshu Malik. Their fitness was always under doubt.

Future hopes

Table tennis players Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula exceeded expectations by reaching the quarter-finals of individual events for the first time. Lakshya Sen may have missed out on a bronze medal in badminton and wrestler Ritika Hooda failed to reach the medal round but they showed that they can perform well on the big stage.