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With the conclusion of the Paris Olympics 2024 on Sunday, August 11, India will honor the athletes who secured six medals in this edition of the games. Although India ended their campaign in Paris with six medals, they did not win any gold.
Neeraj Chopra came the closest to winning gold for India, ultimately settling for silver. Many Indian athletes were near medal victories but fell short of securing a bronze. Notably, six Indian athletes or teams finished in fourth place, and if each of these fourth-place finishes had converted to a bronze medal, India would have celebrated their best-ever Olympic performance with a total of 12 medals.
Among those who narrowly missed bronze were Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Mirabai Chanu, shuttler Lakshya Sen, Paris Olympics dual bronze medal winner Manu Bhaker, shooters Maheshwari Chauhan and Anant Jeet Singh Naruka, archers Ankita Bhakat and Dhiraj Bommadevara, and shooter Arjun Babuta.
Mirabai Chanu, who had previously won silver in Tokyo, narrowly missed bronze this time. She lifted a total of 199 kg (88 kg + 111 kg) but missed the medal as the bronze medalist lifted 200 kg. Similarly, Lakshya Sen lost out on bronze despite leading in the first game against Malaysia's Jia Zii Lee. Sen won the first set 21-13 but ultimately lost the remaining sets, 16-21 and 11-21.
Maheshwari Chauhan and Anant Jeet Singh Naruka lost the skeet mixed team event bronze medal match by just one point. The Indian pair scored 43, while the Chinese pair scored 44. Manu Bhaker, who won two bronze medals in Paris—one in the mixed team 10m air pistol event with Sarabjot Singh and the other in the 25m pistol event—narrowly missed out on another bronze in the latter event, losing in a shoot-off to Veronika Major.
Archers Ankita Bhakat and Dhiraj Bommadevara fell short against Braddy Ellison and Casey Khaufhold, while Arjun Babuta also narrowly missed a medal by finishing in fourth place. If all these athletes had secured a bronze medal, India would have concluded the Paris Olympics with 12 medals, marking their most successful Olympic performance ever.
Additionally, the outcome of Vinesh Phogat’s appeal for a joint-silver medal could potentially add another medal to India's tally, bringing the total to seven and matching their best-ever Olympic performance.