How Did India’s Largest Contingents – Shooting and Athletics – Fared at the Paris Olympics?

Expectations were certainly at their highest after it was announced that as many as 117 members would be part of the Indian contingent that would be taking part in the Paris Olympics 2024.

At the end of the quadrennial event, India will return with a total of six medals, making it one short of their best-ever tally of seven medals which came during the Tokyo 2020 games.

India’s medals came from three sporting disciplines, shooting, athletics and wrestling. The biggest highlight is the fact that the Indian shooters have set a new record for their best medal haul in a single edition of the Olympics.

Let us take a look at how India’s Athletics and Shooting Contingent performed during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games: 

Indian Shooters at the Paris 2024 Olympics

Arguably the biggest positive from the Indian contingent has to be the performance of the Indian shooters as a collective that managed to bring in four medals at the Parisian Games.

Manu Bhaker stood out as she began India’s medal haul by bagging the bronze medal at the Women’s 10m Air Pistol final event. She was right up there against the very best in South Korea’s Yeji Kim and Ye Jin Oh up until the final stretch of the event. Despite being knocked out in the eliminator series, she still brought glory to the country by becoming the first Indian female shooter to win a medal at the Olympic Games.

Bhaker was in the race for her second medal and this time she was paired up with Sarabjot Singh in the mixed-team 10m Pistol final. Once again South Korea was her opponent but this time, there was a much better performance as the Indian duo managed to win four sets from the second to the fifth shots to give them the platform. Despite South Korea’s fightback, the Indian duo clutched up some crucial set points to take the win and secure Bhaker’s second bronze medal in Paris and Sarabjot’s first major honour at the Olympics.

While the spotlight was on Manu Bhaker, creeping his way up to the final was India’s 50m Rifle marksman, Swapnil Kusale. During the 50m Rifle 3 Positions final, Kusale had the tough task of being up against the World Record holder, Yukun Liu from China along with Ukraine’s Serhiy Kulish. Swapnil never looked to be out of reach from the top spot as he made his way to the final stretch but was eliminated. However, he was still able to take home the bronze and bring up India’s third medal of its tally.

Many other shooters had taken part in the Olympics 2024, but none of them were able to put in a big enough fight. The only exception would be Arjun Babuta who took part in the Men’s 10m Air Rifle final where the Indian shooter was just 1.4 points away from being able to secure a medal. Babuta finished with a score of 208.4 while Croatia’s Miran Maricic did better with a score of 209.8.

India’s Track & Field Athletes at the Paris 2024 Olympics

India’s javelin star and the face of Indian athletics, Neeraj Chopra was in the spotlight as many expected him to bring home the gold once again. He certainly did make a massive statement considering that it only took him one throw to secure his qualification for the big finale. However, his physical condition was not at its best for the finale as he struggled to hit his best form and also to keep himself within the limits of the throwing line. He was able to hit only one of these throws which nevertheless ensured that he got a silver medal. It took Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem to break the Olympic record and the 90m barrier to dethrone the champion, Neeraj Chopra.

Among the other notable track and field athletes was none other than Avinash Sable for the Men’s 3000m Steeplechase final. He created history by becoming the first Indian to take part in the final event for the steeplechase. He finished 11th in the final with a time of 8:14:18.

But there needs to be some serious questions asked on why the Indian track and field contingent has not been able to perform on the biggest stage. A repetitive theme that has been on show is that of the Indian athletes being able to perform in Pan-Asian events like the Asian Games but failing to go up a level when it comes to an international competition like the Olympics.

At the end of the Olympics 2024, Neeraj Chopra ends up as the only medal-winner in the athletics contingent with his silver during the Men’s Javelin throw final.

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