#ParisOlympics2024: Manu Bhaker , Neeraj Chopra Shine In Otherwise Hugely Disappointing Indian Performance

*Manu Bhaker Two Bronze Medals  (women’s 10m air pistol, 10m air pistol mixed team ( with Sarabjot Singh). Narrowly missed a hat-trick  with 4th position in the 25-meter pistol final.

* Indian Men’s Hockey team win Bronze beating Spain 2-1

* Swapnil Kusale (men’s 50m rifle 3 positions): Kusale won a bronze medal for India with a total score of 45

* Aman Sehrawat (men’s freestyle 57 kg): Aman beats Darian Cruz of Puerto Rico to win a bronze medal for India.

*Neeraj Chopra won a silver medal after touching a distance of 89.45 m in his second throw.

When the  Indian team that left for  Paris Olympics 2024  with  117 athletes and a strong support staff of 140 and total of 257 as contingent there were expectations the squad with better it’s Tokyo 2020 Olympics medal Tally of 7 ( 1 Gold, 2 Silver , 4 Bronze)   . But the team  huffed and puffed to bag  only 6  medals  .

Moreover, a possible 7th medal could be on the cards if  wrestler Vinesh Phogat ( disqualified before the 50 kg freestyle wrestling final due to 100 gram extra weight) wins her case in CAS .   Incidentally, Vinesh made two appeals in front of CAS — one regarding her ineligibility for the final of the tournament and the second one was to be considered for joint-silver medal.

It may be recalled Vinesh was the face of the protest against Brij Bhushan Singh Saran ( accused of sexual harassment by several women’s wrestlers)  and her showing in Paris was nothing short of a grit and determination. That she was along with her fellow wrestler’s were dragged on the streets of Delhi Police at Jantar Mantar ( site of protest)  made her performance all the more powerful. She battled against all odds.

And look at the brazen audacity as to who all tweeted in her support when she was disqualified . Smriti Irani ( Former minister Women and Child Development) , Irani lost Amethi Lok Sabha 2024 elections to K L Sharma of the Congress. Irani  was a mute  spectator and   chose to remain mum during the wrestler’s protest  and stayed silent on charges against Brij Bhushan Singh Saran ( Godi media too did not dare or muster the spine  to question her ) . Other union minister’s too tweeted in support of Vinesh but received severe backlash for backing Brij Bhushan Singh Saran .

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A nation roots for her champion ..@Phogat_Vinesh you inspire with your resilience and fortitude. Carry on Champ , your country and admirers around the world are with you. Godspeed !

— Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) August 7, 2024

Shooter  Manu Bhaker gave India  the dream start bagging Two Bronze medals ( women’s 10m air pistol, 10m air pistol mixed team ( with Sarabjot Singh).  And narrowly missed a hat-trick  with 4th position in the 25-meter pistol final. It gave India  hope.

But medals proved elusive .Yes its the ultimate sporting event and dream for any athlete be it any sport they are competing  to win an Olympic medal. And on the big stage one has to deliver it is now or never.  India are ruing that there were as many  as six heartbreaking  fourth-place finishes . If only they had converted . But  unfortunately if’s  do not count. Then matters.  It is here Indian athletes were found wanting.

Talented Badminton star Lakshya Sen, was  on  the cusp of badminton history, faltered in the Bronze medal match against  Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia brought an end to India’s hopes of securing a badminton medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Despite winning the first game, Sen was unable to maintain his momentum, ultimately losing the match 13-21, 21-16, 21-11.  Lakshya Sen would only improve from here on. Paris  show should  be seen as an eye opener what he needs to do to conquer the world stage  mentally , physically and where his game stands.

India’s men’s hockey team gave the nation the moment to cheer as they  clinched a second successive Bronze medal at the Olympics for the first time in 52 years after a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Spain, giving veteran goalkeeper P R Sreejesh a fitting farewell in Paris . The last time India won back-to-back Olympic medals was in 1968 (bronze) and 1972 editions (bronze).  Tokyo and and Paris show means Indian men’s hockey is back in business and can only do better ahead. Chak de India !

Aman Sehrawat, Swapnil Kusale with their showing in respective sports  give us hope for the future . But the talent needs to be supported well and handled with care. Otherwise a one event wonder  tag will haunt always .

Paris Olympic 2024 is wake-up call for Indian sports. The mess of the Wrestling Federation of India , Brij Bhushan  Saran Singh case shows our federations in poor light. The situation was such that wrestler’s contemplated throwing away their hard won Olympic medals in river ganga. It was the lowest sight for India sports ever since.  One hopes such a scenario does not arise in future.  Then Sports Minister Anurag Thakur  did not care of the wrestler’s protest and subsequently lost his  place in the union  cabinet in NDA 3.0. Yet there is no regret of his inept handling of the issue. Like Irani , Thakur pressed the mute button on the Brij Bhushan  Saran  Singh issue . It is time to put federations  in order as early as possible. Catchy slogan like Khelo India make no sense if player’s  wishes and pressing issues are not addressed and not met timely.

A glance at the medals tally is reality check for India where it stands and  is no where near its dream of becoming a sorting super power. India’s ranking in the Paris Olympics  2024 stood  at a  dismal 71 .  USA  topping the tally with   126 medals ( 4 0 Gold, 44 Silver 42 Bronze). China second  with 91 ( 40 Gold, 27 Silver 24 Bronze). Japan third with an impressive  45 ( 20 Gold, 12 Silver, 13 Bronze). Australia fourth  53 ( 18 Gold, 19 Silver , 16 Bronze) .  Host nation France finished in to five with  64 ( 16 Gold  , 26 Silver, 22 Bronze).

Adding salt to India’s wounds is that Pakistan thanks to the historic  Javeline throw by Arshad Nadeem finished higher than India in the medals tally at 62 . Nadeem set Olympic record for his country’s maiden individual gold at the showpiece. Nadeem cleared an astonishing 92.97 metres in his second attempt to set the bar well-high for the rest of the field. Naddem stunned India’s defending Champion   Neeraj Chopra, who  became the first Indian track-and-field athlete to win two successive Olympic medals after a silver in the men’s Javelin Throw .

Some would say there were near medal misses but one cannot in any way brush under the  carpet the overall performance. It was hugely disappointing performance by India .  Mind you , Manipur a state , ravaged by violence  gave us medals in weightlifting but the centre’s i do not care  attitude also meant lifters were not in the right motivation to perform. Hence the dip in medals tally.

The Modi government boasts of having the fifth largest economy and aspires to become third in the coming year’s. It is high time they also aim to be in the top five in the Olympics  medals tally as well. This guarantee  iam sure is not going to be easy cake walk .  India  moreover hopes to bid for  2036 Olympics in Gandhinagar. And to be serious contender one needs to  have  medals  in double digits that would justify as deserving hosts . Bidding without  impressive medals in kitty would open butt of jokes and memes in social media surely.

Support players, bring accountability in Federations , inculcate sporting culture should be the  top focus.  As  Badminton star Saina Nehwal ( 2012 London Olympics Bronze medal winner)  so rightly pointed out what needs to be done to end the medal drought  when she recent was quoted as saying ” if every other sport was given the same support and facilities as cricket, athletes would excel at the global level and win more medals in the Olympics”. Hosting viewers  at this time needs to take a back- seat..