Paris/Kolkata. India’s performance at the Paris Olympics was both good and bad, with young shooter Manu Bhaker winning two medals while javelin throw superstar Neeraj Chopra’s silver medal fell short of expectations, while Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification before the final was disappointing, with six players finishing fourth.
At the start of the Olympics, reaching a double medal in the medal tally seemed too ambitious, but the near misses of several athletes had a huge impact. It raised many ‘what if’ questions. What if badminton player Lakshya Sen had not lost suddenly in the bronze medal play-off, 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 kilogram more? 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 improve the colour of the medal it won in Tokyo, but the way it defeated Australia, played against Belgium and withstood pressure against Germany and Britain shows how mentally strong this Harmanpreet Singh-led team has become.
The Indian team went in as underdogs but played like champions. It was the perfect time to retire for goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, 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.
Vinesh’s heart-wrenching Olympics: Fate gave Sreejesh a grand farewell, but 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 match, 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 any Indian female wrestler 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 won 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 honour 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’s silver:
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 medals. The only Indian male wrestler in 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 expectations:
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 have the ability to perform well on the big stage.
Vinesh deserves at least a silver medal: Ganguly
Former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly on Sunday extended his support to wrestler Vinesh Phogat, saying she deserves at least a silver medal after making it to the 50kg freestyle final at the Paris Olympics. When asked about this on the sidelines of the ‘Kolkata Food Festival’ here, Ganguly said, “I don’t know the exact rule, but I think when she reached the final, she must have qualified properly. When you have made it to the final, you win a gold or silver medal. Whether she was wrongly disqualified or not, I don’t know, but she deserves at least a silver medal.”