PM Modi honors India’s Paris Olympians, praises medalists like Manu Bhaker, while athletes reflect on near-miss moments in an overall challenging campaign.
New Delhi: Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, from his official residence in New Delhi, felicitated the athletes who went to the Paris Olympics. In it, he mentioned the strong performance of the Indian Men’s Hockey team, Manu Bhaker—who is a double Olympic medalist—along with Sarabjot Singh and Aman Sehrawate, among a few others. The Indian Men’s Hockey team presented a signed jersey to honour the Prime Minister of India during their visit.
Bhaker, who scripted history by becoming the first Indian athlete ever to win two Olympic medals in a single edition, said she had a word with Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the pistol on which she clinched two bronze medals in Paris: in the 10m air pistol and 10m air pistol mixed events. PM Modi interacted with a number of athletes in the Indian contingent, including shuttler Lakshya Sen. Joining them, meanwhile, were Tokyo Olympics medalists Lovlina Borgohain (boxing) and Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, who were able to be presented to the Prime Minister in Paris, with Sports Minister Mandaviya and PT Usha, who is at the head of the Indian Olympic Association, also present.
The Indian athletes had a wonderful total of six medals from the Paris Olympics campaign. Among the medalists were Manu Bhaker, Sarabjot Singh, Swapnil Kusale, the Indian men’s hockey team, and Neeraj Chopra. “My dear countrymen, today we have the youngsters who raised our tricolor at the Paris Olympics. I would like to congratulate all our athletes on behalf of 140 crore Indians. We will move ahead with new dreams and resolutions and achieve them with our constant efforts. In a few days our para-athletes will also be flying to Paris for the Paralympics, I extend by best wishes to them as well,” said PM Modi during his speech.
VIDEO | PM Modi (@narendramodi) meets Indian Olympic contingent at his residence in Delhi.
(Source: Third Party) pic.twitter.com/K2Gb5dzaCL
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 15, 2024
Many a top athlete, including two-time bronze medallist in Paris, pistol shooter Manu Bhaker, and bronze medalist member of the Indian hockey squad, arrived in the national capital on Thursday morning to join the conclusion of the Independence Day celebrations. It was also the first opportunity for many to see the recently retired star custodian P.R. Sreejesh, who had played a critical role in the team’s bronze-winning performance.
As India finished its Paris Olympics campaign with a deplorable overall medal tally of six—five bronze and one silver—finishing at 71st in the overall count, there was no comparing the campaign with the last Olympics in Tokyo. Indian athletes brought home a record seven medals—an unprecedented haul of one gold, two silver, and four bronze.
Even with the disappointment, India were within touching distance of the best-ever performance at the Games. As many as six athletes ended up in 4th place. End of story.
Among the most painful near-misses was the 10m Men’s Air Rifle final, wherein shooter Arjun Babuta finished a score of 208.4 points, just outside the medal positions. A final 9.5 shot made by the 25-year-old denied him a bronze medal, and it meant India’s 12-year-old medal drought in rifle shooting at the Olympics would continue.