At the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024, a team of 117 Indian athletes has been striving for medals and national pride, with the event set to conclude this Sunday. India has secured a total of six medals, including one silver and five bronze, according to Olympics.com.
Manu Bhaker kicked off India’s medal count with a bronze, becoming the first Indian woman to medal in Olympic shooting. She made history by securing two medals in a single Olympic edition, adding a bronze in the mixed team 10m air pistol event alongside Sarabjot Singh.
Swapnil Kusale added to India’s success in shooting, earning the third medal and marking the nation’s best-ever performance in the sport at a single Olympics.
The Indian men’s hockey team repeated their Tokyo 2020 achievement by clinching bronze in Paris. Neeraj Chopra continued to shine, winning silver in the javelin throw, solidifying his status as India’s most successful individual Olympian. Aman Sehrawat also contributed to India’s medal haul, becoming the youngest Indian to win an Olympic medal with his bronze in wrestling.
However, the Paris 2024 Games were not without disappointments for India. The nation narrowly missed out on six additional medals, with athletes like Lakshya Sen, Mirabai Chanu, and Manu Bhaker finishing just shy of the podium.
Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification before a potential historic final further added to India’s setbacks. 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 Indian contingent featured returning Olympic medalists such as Neeraj Chopra, badminton star PV Sindhu, weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, boxer Lovlina Borgohain, and members of the Harmanpreet Singh-led Indian men’s hockey team.
India’s Olympic journey, which began with Norman Pritchard’s two silver medals at Paris 1900, has now reached a total of 41 Olympic medals. KD Jadhav earned India’s first individual medal as an independent nation with a bronze in wrestling at Helsinki 1952, while Karnam Malleswari became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal with her bronze in weightlifting at Sydney 2000. Abhinav Bindra was the first Indian to win an individual Olympic gold with his shooting victory at Beijing 2008, a feat only matched by Neeraj Chopra’s javelin gold at Tokyo 2020.
Men’s hockey remains India’s most successful sport at the Olympics, with 13 medals, including eight golds, followed by wrestling with eight medals. India’s best Olympic performance to date was at Tokyo 2020, where the nation won seven medals, including one gold.