On Thursday, PM Modi commended Indian competitors for their six medals from the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, hosted the athletes from his nation’s Olympic squad in Paris in his New Delhi home. He complimented and applauded the Indian men’s hockey squad, Sarabjot Singh, Aman Sehrawat, and double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker for making the country proud.
Accolades to Indian Sportsmen
Earlier, Modi commended Indian athletes for their outstanding performance at the Paris Olympics in his speech to the nation on the 78th anniversary of Independence. India took home six medals in all, including five bronze and one silver in the sports of wrestling, shooting, hockey, and athletics.
“We have with us today the youth who raised the Indian flag so high at the Olympics,” Modi declared. I extend my congratulations to all of our athletes and players on behalf of 1.4 billion people. A sizable Indian squad will shortly depart for the Paralympics in Paris. Best wishes to all of our Paralympians.
On Thursday morning, a number of elite athletes, including members of the Indian hockey team and pistol shooter Manu Bhaker, who won two bronze medals in Paris, attended the Independence Day ceremony in the nation’s capital. Among them was the team’s bronze-winning goalie, P.R. Sreejesh, a rising star who recently announced his retirement.
India’s participation in the Paris Olympics wrapped up with a tally of six medals, comprising five bronze and one silver, positioning the country at 71st in the overall medal rankings. This outcome was below the bar set at the Tokyo Olympics, where India achieved a landmark total of seven medals—one gold, two silver, and four bronze.
While the result was underwhelming, India was on the verge of its best-ever performance, marked by several close calls. The team experienced six fourth-place finishes, with many athletes coming agonizingly close to clinching a podium position.
A notable instance of this was in the 10m Men’s Air Rifle final, where shooter Arjun Babuta narrowly missed out on a medal with a score of 208.4 points. The 25-year-old fell just short of bronze after a final shot of 9.5, missing the opportunity to break India’s 12-year medal drought in rifle shooting at the Olympics.