India’s medalists in the Paris Olympics 2024 (PC:X)

S.Kannan in Paris

As the curtains come down on the Paris 2024 Olympics tonight, pessimists in India will say winning just six medals is below par. After all, winning 10 medals was a realistic expectation. Truth to tell, the tally is just one below from what was achieved in Tokyo three years ago. If one takes into account more than half a dozen fourth place finishes this time, it is clear, Indian could have won more medals.

The point is, at one stage, the first three medals came only from shooting, with pistol prodigy Manu Bhaker herself featuring in two of them. Two others who crowned themselves in glory were Sarabjot Singh and Swapnil Kushale. After the two disastrous campaigns in Rio 2016 and Tokyo, three years ago, Indian shooting has made amends. A lot more can be achieved, provided the stakeholders come on the same page and importance is given to focusing, again, on the junior development programme.

Shooting has taught us, focus on individual athletes and personalised coaching is vital, which is why the names of Jaspal Rana, Abhishek Rana and Deepali Deshpande now ring a bell. The very concept of having national coaches and foreign coaches in bulk is a meaningless exercise. Indeed, one cannot gloat over these medals. Potential to win more medals is high, and the shooting federation (NRAI) and the Sports Authority of India have to work towards improvement in the next Olympic cycle.

It is well known, just a few months after the euphoria, shooters and all other athletes have to begin work on the next Asian Games in Japan 2026, which is a stepping stone for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. If shooting has seen light at the end of the tunnel, so has hockey.

After all, winning back-to-back bronze medals in two Olympics is no mean feat. For those “babus” who think spending so much money in one medal is a waste, ignore them. Hockey is our national sport and every effort should be made to promote it. RevSportz has carried enough interviews to reflect on the glory of one bronze medal from the Paris Olympics.

India Men’s Hockey Team (PC: X)

Problem areas are many today. Whenever the national sports federations which failed to deliver a medal will sit down and recalibrate, there is plenty of data to analyse. For Indian badminton, weightlifting and boxing to win zero medals is the biggest failure. Badminton needs to come together and identify what is the talent pool.  PV Sindhu has played her last Olympics and she did as well as she could. Sat-Chi in doubles may be doubtful for LA 2028. Yet, if just one or two names will be touted as medal hopes, like Lakshya Sen and one odd more, that would be a mistake.

Between the two power centres of P.Gopichand and Prakash Padukone in Hyderabad and Bengaluru, come most of the medal hopes. In addition, a high-performance centre set up in Guwahati also needs to throw up talent. To even do well in the Asian Games is a big deal and how that will happen will be interesting to watch.

Boxing was a disaster and to blame the referee for just one bout featuring Nishant Dev is wrong. Inside the Boxing Federation of India, there has to be churning. This is a sport which brought India glory from the 2008 Olympics till the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Definitely, pugilists qualifying late for Paris 2024 was an alarm bell which rang loudly. Add to it, a change at the top with the high-performance director also messing it up, India was lucky a few qualified, finally. Fans expect medals from Indian boxing and a lot of work has to be done. To forget the ghosts of Paris will not be easy.

The boxing federation has failed and the SAI has acted high and mighty with many NSFs – national sports federations. It is well-known, in several sports disciplines, SAI not sanctioning national camps and wanting ‘to run’ sports was a failure. The SAI top command has messed with a lack of training camps, and wrestling is a prime example, Lessons learnt from Paris are important. National camps and what NSFs think cannot be treated as gibberish. The SAI cannot assume more power as it did this time and now keep quiet.

Look at weightlifting, all the money was spent on one athlete, Mirabai Chanu. The girl from Manipur has featured in three Olympics. Do not expect her to head to LA 2028. Is talent identification being done for this sport? No, because SAI and the federation president Sahdev Yadav have no clue. To finish Achinta Sheuli and Jeremy Lalrinnunga on “disciplinary charges” means the cupboard is bare. Sahdev and the SAI need to tell fans of this sport who will be the next medal hopeful from Japan in 2026. Indeed, the future looks bleak.

One medal in wrestling through Aman Sehrawat brings into focus how the Chhattrasal Stadium in New Delhi works wonders. Allow the federation to function, let national camps happen from junior to senior stage. The SAI cannot balk it, for that’s the only way talent spotting can be done and built upon.

Hockey India, despite its turmoil within, can take credit India won two medals, back to back – Tokyo and Paris. At the same time, they are conscious of how important it is to promote junior talent where coaches like PR Sreejesh and even former India captain Sardara Singh are hands on. Not many would know, Sardara Singh has also been working quietly with the boys. For all the hype, new women’s coach Harendra Singh, hired at a phenomenal salary, needs to deliver results. For the Indian women’s team to come a cropper in the Hangzhou Asian Games and not qualify for Paris 2024 was sad.

One can forget Indian tennis, the future looks so bleak. This is one sport where individual efforts from players worked, be it Leander Paes, Rohan Bopanna, Sania Mirza or Sumit Nagal.

Once all the athletes return to India and the celebrations overlap with August 15, Independence Day, there can be merriment. Returning back to the drawing boards will also be vital after that. For the record, the role played by the Indian Olympic Association President PT Usha this time is well known. Her personal touch made a big difference. She means well for the sports and has harped on how personalised attention is important in the Olympic journey.

Do not heap scorn on just six medals won in Paris 2024. This is no mean feat, please.