NEW DELHI: India could not win a single gold medal during the Paris Olympic Games 2024. India, home to over 1.4 billion people, is the world’s most populous country but when it comes to the Olympics games, it hits below its weight. India won just six medals in Paris Olympic Games. The UU, with less than a quarter of India’s population, topped the lists with 126 medals while China claimed 91. India ranked 71st in the medal table, below countries with much smaller populations including Kazakhstan, Georgia, and North Korea.
Experts Ronojoy Sen said that India has been an underperformer in the Olympics as well as in global sports. “If you look at the population of India to medal ratio it is undoubtedly the worst, Ronojoy Sen remarked.
Javelin ace Neeraj Chopra just added silver to the gold he claimed at Tokyo 2020, and shooter Manu Bhaker clinched double bronze.
Vinesh Phogat, known for her high-profile and active role in anti-sexual harassment protests in India, became the first woman to qualify for a wrestling final in the women’s 50kg freestyle – only to be disqualified for failing to make her weight class. Similarly, her appeal for a silver medal was also rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Athletes in India often face difficulties such as insufficient funding and a lack of access to facilities, experts say.
Sports analyst Boria Majumdar said that 1.39 billion people of India don’t have access to sports facilities and proper training and strongly criticized Modi-led Indian government for this mess.
On the other hand, many sports experts and analysts lauded Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem for winning Gold medal during the games in Paris.
