Sunday, 22 September 2024
Sunday, 22 September 2024
India’s campaign at the Paris Olympics 2024 was a mix of unparalleled efforts and close finishes. In seven events, Indian athletes came close to winning a medal, but finished fourth. Facing fierce competition in a global sporting event like the Olympics, a slip up of a few seconds can cost a medal.
Let's take a look at the list of athletes who almost won the medal in Paris.
Vinesh Phogat and the disqualification
Billions dreamt of the first Olympic gold at the Paris Olympics on the night of Aug 6. It could have been the first ever gold medal by a wrestler from India. But the next morning the Haryana-born wrestler was disqualified after being found 100 grams overweight- equivalent to the weight of two eggs- ahead of the women’s 50 kg final.
Vinesh had scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the gold medal bout in her category. She had taken down defending champion, the undisputable Yui Susaki of Japan, en route to the finals, which left many to believe she is the champion to look forward to.
Arjun Babuta and the 1.4 points difference to glory
Indian shooter Arjun Babuta finished fourth in the men’s 10m air rifle final at the Paris 2024 Olympics. He came close to winning a medal in his maiden Olympics participation. Croatia’s Milan Maricic edged past him with a score of 209.8 while Babuta finished at 208.4 points.
Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat’s mixed team 4th finish
The pair fell to USA’s Brady Ellison and Casey Kaufhold 6-2 to miss out on a medal. Despite the loss, it was India’s best performance in archery in Paris.
Ankita Bhakat, 26, hailing from Calcutta and Dhiraj, 22 were the first Indian archers ever to play for a bronze medal. Earlier, the duo created history by becoming the first Indians to reach the semi-finals of an archery event at the Olympics.
Lakshya Sen, the inexperienced prodigy
The Indian ace shuttler fell short of Olympic glory on his debut. Sen had the nation's hopes on him throughout the tournament as he showed class and style in his play. Despite winning his first game in the bronze medal match, he lost the match 13-21, 21-16, 21-11.
Viktor Axelsen, the gold medallist, said after the semis that the experience made a difference. “I think Lakshya played better than I did in big parts of the game. So he could have won the match, but I won the match-up here,” he said as he pointing to his head.
Manu Bhaker and the incomplete hattrick
Bhaker became the first athlete from independent India to win two medals at a single edition of the Olympics. She became the first Indian woman shooter to win an Olympic medal. On a winning streak, Bhaker came close to winning a third, but fell short in the 25m pistol women’s final finishing fourth to Hungarian bronze medallist Veronika Major in the shoot-off.
Bhaker gave it her all and was placed No.1 among eight shooters for a brief period, but she could not maintain her consistency and finished fourth.
Mirabai Chanu and the difference of 1 KG
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics silver medallist missed out on winning another medal at the Paris Olympics 2024 and finished fourth. She lifted 199 Kg, while Surodchana Khambao from Thailand lifted 200 Kg and Chanu finished third. A faltered lift in her final attempt snatched away the bronze.
She became the sixth Indian to finish fourth at the Paris olympics.
The unexpected fourth finish
Maheshwari Chauhan and Anant Jeet Singh Naruka were on the verge of becoming the first Indian shotgun shooters in 20 years to bring home a medal. But lost the bronze medal playoff 43-44 to China's Yiting Jiang and Lyu Jianlin in the skeet mixed team event.
Maheshwari Chauhan already had two individual bronze medals at the 2017 and 2024 Asian Championships but fell short in the Paris Olympics in the mixed team event.
In the history of the olympic games several Indian athletes have stood fourth. Prominent athletes like Milkha Singh, PT Usha and Sania Mirza are a few who have finished fourth at the Olympics.
The 2024 Paris Olympics showed the Indian contingent one can prepare, work hard and even give their all but still fall short of glory on a particular day.
