India secures six medals at Paris 2024 Olympics
A contingent of 117 Indian athletes has wrapped up their campaign at the Paris 2024 Olympics, which concludes this Sunday, bringing home a total of six medals, including one silver and five bronze.
Manu Bhaker set the tone for India’s success by winning the country’s first medal at these Games. She clinched a bronze in shooting, becoming the first Indian woman to medal in Olympic shooting. Bhaker further made history by winning a second medal, this time in the mixed team 10m air pistol event alongside Sarabjot Singh. This achievement makes her the first Indian to win two medals in a single Olympic edition.
Swapnil Kusale also contributed to India’s shooting success, securing a bronze and marking India’s largest haul in shooting at a single Olympics.
The Indian men’s hockey team repeated their Tokyo 2020 success by winning bronze, while javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra claimed silver, further cementing his status as the most successful individual Olympian from India. Wrestler Aman Sehrawat added to the tally with a bronze, becoming India’s youngest Olympic medallist.
Despite these commendable achievements, India faced several disappointments, narrowly missing out on six potential medals with fourth-place finishes from athletes like Lakshya Sen, Mirabai Chanu, and Manu Bhaker, who was close to a third medal. Additionally, Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification just before a historic final added to the nation’s woes.
Indian athletes competed in 69 medal events across 16 sports, including archery, athletics, badminton, boxing, equestrian, golf, hockey, judo, rowing, sailing, shooting, swimming, table tennis, and tennis.
The contingent featured returning Olympic medallists such as Neeraj Chopra, badminton star PV Sindhu, weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, boxer Lovlina Borgohain, and members of the Harmanpreet Singh-led men’s hockey team.
India’s Olympic journey began with Norman Pritchard’s two silver medals at the Paris 1900 Games. The nation earned its first individual medal post-independence with KD Jadhav’s wrestling bronze at Helsinki 1952. Karnam Malleswari became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal with a bronze in weightlifting at Sydney 2000. Abhinav Bindra’s shooting gold at Beijing 2008 was followed by Neeraj Chopra’s javelin gold at Tokyo 2020.
Men’s hockey remains India’s most successful sport with 13 medals, including eight golds, followed by wrestling with eight medals. India’s best-ever Olympic performance came at Tokyo 2020 with seven medals, including one gold.
