Year Ender 2024: Paris Olympics Rewind - India's Success Stories In Manu Bhaker, Harmanpreet Singh and Co, Neeraj Chopra and Aman Sehrawat

After the highs of the Tokyo Olympics 2020, the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris brought in a lot of anticipation from Indian fans, who waited with bated breath for their beloved sports athletes to win medals in the XXXIII Olympiad. A total of 117 sportsmen and women participated from India, which comprised 16 disciplines, where athletes could win up to 69 medals for the nation. 'Manu Bhaker Applied for Khel Ratna 2024 But Overlooked' Claims Sources.

The Rise and Rise Of Manu Bhaker

Shooting has always produced medal-winners for India, and Paris 2024 witnessed the same, with Manu Bhaker bringing the nation its first medal. After a disappointing event in Tokyo, Bhaker became the first female from India to stand on an Olympic podium while collecting her bronze medal in 10M Air Pistol. The 22-year-old followed her stellar show again, clinching a second bronze in a mixed 10m air pistol event with Sarabjot Singh, to become the only Indian athlete to win two medals in a single Olympics. Bhaker narrowly missed her third medal, finishing just outside the medal mark, coming fourth in 25m pistol shooting.

Winning 2 Bronze Medals is A Dream Come True

India won their third medal in shooting when Swapnil Kusale claimed a bronze in 50m Rifle 3 Positions.

Aman Sehrawat Creates History In Wrestling

Wrestling is a brutal sport, and winning a medal is also about grabbing hold of that one chance, but for Aman Sehrawat, it was about showcasing patience again and again. India's only male participant in Paris 2024 wrestling, Sehrawat wrestled in the men's 57 kg category, bringing home a bronze medal for his nation. Aged 21 years and 24 days, Sehrawat became India's youngest Olympic medal winner. Harmanpreet Singh, Praveen Kumar Recommended; Manu Bhaker Not Nominated For Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna 2024 Award: Report.

Aman Sehrawat With Paris 2024 Medal

Neeraj Chopra Bags Second Successive Olympic Medal

India's biggest medal hope Neeraj Chopra was touted to win back-to-back gold in the Olympics. But sporting gods had a different plan as his close rival Arshad Nadeem, blew the Javelin competition away, and surpassed the Olympic record. An injured, Chopra unfazed pushed past his limits, and managed to grab a silver medal, leaving all others behind him, cementing his place as one of the best track-and-field athletes in India's sporting history.

Proud To Stand On Olympic Podium

India Men's Hockey National Team

Once an unmovable force in hockey, India looked to clinch a gold medal in Paris 2024, having won a bronze in the Tokyo edition. The Harmanpreet Singh-led side was India's last medal hope in the Paris 2024 edition, and lived up to the expectations of the country, winning yet another bronze medal, which was the first for the national hockey side after the 1972 Munich Olympics, that the team won successive medals. Year Ender 2024: From Paralympic Success to Youngest World Chess Champion, a Landmark Year for Indian Sports.

India Win Bronze In Paris

While these individual successes gave joy to the millions of Indians across the globe, the overall tally of medals for India suffered, compared to seven in Toyko, the contingent managed only six, vastly underperforming in several disciplines, where many Indian sportsmen and women were favoured.

Here's hoping that the upcoming Los Angeles 2028 or LA28 Summer Olympics edition betters the tally from the 2020 and 2024 editions and India finds new superstars, and icons to celebrate and cherish.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 23, 2024 07:58 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).