Published By: Rohit Chatterjee

Year Ender 2024: India at the 33rd Summer Games – THESE Milestones Made Our 2024

Although India fell short by one medal compared to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, our athletes created several records and even touched other milestones

The Olympics Games 2024 was a bittersweet tournament for the Indian contingent, given our star man Neeraj Chopra missed out on a gold medal, and India also fell short of one medal compared to its Tokyo 2020 Olympics tally. However, India still grabbed six medals, leading to breaking old and creating new records and, on the way, touching new milestones.

As the year comes to an end, let us recall the records and milestones India achieved at the 33rd Summer Games.

Two medals in athletics

Neeraj Chopra may have had to settle for a silver, but he still made a new record in athletics for India. He is the only Indian athlete to have won two medals in the Summer Olympics. Across categories, he is the fifth Indian to win two medals in the Olympics after the likes of Norman Pritchard, Sushil Kumar, PV Sindhu and Manu Bhaker.

Manu’s many firsts

Manu Bhaker became the first Indian to win a medal in an Olympic shooting event, i.e., the women’s 10m air pistol event. She also became the first Indian woman to qualify for the final of a shooting event since Athens 2004. With bronze medals in the 10m air pistol event and the 10m air pistol mixed team, Manu became the first athlete of independent India to win two medals in a single edition of the Olympic Games.

Not to forget, Manu Bhaker, along with Sarabjot Singh, became the first Indian shooting pair to win a medal.

One sport supremacy

Apart from Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh’s achievements, Swapnil Kusale also won a bronze in the 50m rifle 3 positions. This achievement took India’s medal tally in shooting to three, the maximum and best-ever India record in a single sport.

Consecutive medals

By defeating Spain 2-1 and winning a bronze medal, the Indian men’s hockey team extended their medal tally to a record 13 at the Olympics. Not to mention, India also won back-to-back medals 52 years after Munich in 1972. The team won a bronze medal in Tokyo 2020, followed by another bronze in Paris 2024.

India also achieved a significant milestone, i.e., winning a game against Australia at the Olympics in Munich in 1972.

History in archery, badminton, and table tennis

The Indian duo of Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat had a near miss and finished fourth in an archery event. However, it was still a milestone for archery, given it was the first time Indian archery reached the semi-final of a Games.

Even in badminton, Lakshya Sen did not win a medal but became the first Indian to reach the semi-final of a men’s badminton event. Manika Batra, too, did not win a medal but became the first Indian player to reach the pre-quarterfinals of the table tennis event.

Youngest medal winner

Finally, India found a new youngest medal winner in the form of Aman Sehrawat, who won India’s only medal in wrestling in 2024 at the age of 21 years and 24 days. Earlier, PV Sindhu was India’s youngest medal winner in 2016.