India @ Paris Olympics 2024

With a strong contingent of 117 athletes, the Indian team competed in the 33rd Olympic Games in Paris, France, from July 26 to August 11, 2024. The Games spanned a total of 19 days, with handball, football, and rugby events starting on July 24.

India's Olympic journey has been one of gradual progress. Since its debut in 1900 with lone athlete Norman Pritchard (silver, 200m and 200m hurdles), India's participation in the Games has evolved significantly. 

As the first Asian country to win an Olympic medal, India has amassed a total of 41 medals to date. The 2024 Paris Olympics highlighted India’s strengths in shooting and field hockey.

Although India achieved its highest-ever medal tally with seven medals, including one gold, this was a decrease compared to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where the nation secured six medals but no gold.

Despite the success of these six medals, India's campaign was also marked by several near misses, including Lakshya Sen’s narrow loss in badminton, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu’s close call in weightlifting, and Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification from the wrestling final.

Let's look at India's Olympic Journey in Paris 2024 in details. Highligting major events, medal winners, participants etc for competitive exams such as PSC, UPSC, IBPS, and others. 

We strongly recommend reviewing this detailed summary of the Paris Olympics for the GK segment, as several questions may appear in various competitive tests.

Basic Facts

• India's Rank – 71st.
• Total Number of Medals – 6 (1 Silver, 5 Bronze).
• No. of Olympics editions in which India failed to win a single medal – 4. 
• 1976 Montreal, 1984 Los Angeles, 1988 Seoul & 1992 (Barcelona) Olympics.
• Total Number of Athletes – 117
• No. of Male Athletes – 70.
• No. of Female Athletes – 47.
• The Indian State with Most Athletes – Haryana (22).
• India's second biggest contingent at an Olympic games after the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
• No. of Sports Participated – 16 (69 medal events).
• Torchbearer – Abhinav Bindra.
• Flag-bearers – 
• Opening Ceremony – 
• P. V. Sindhu (Badminton) & Sharath Kamal (Table Tennis).
• Closing Ceremony – 
• Manu Bhaker (Shooting) & P. R. Sreejesh (Hockey).

• India's position in Opening ceremony parade – 84.
• Chef de Mission for Paris Olympics 2024 – Gagan Narang.
• Official Partner of the Indian Olympic Team – Aditya Birla Capital.
• Principal Sponsors for the Indian Contingent – Adani Group.
• Other Sponsors – Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), Reliance Foundation, Adani & Aditya Birla Capital.
• Campaign – DeshkaGeetAtOlympics.
• The Indian who was re-elected as the member of International Olympic Committee (IOC) – Nita Ambani.
• Recipient of the Olympic Order – Abhinav Bhindra.
• The first Indian to receive the Olympic Order – Indira Gandhi (1983).
• The first individual Olympic Gold medalist from India – Abhinav Bhindra (10m air rifle, 2008 Beijing Olympics).
• The Second Vice-Chair of the IOC Athletes' Commission – Abhinav Bhindra.
• The First Indian Male Wrestler to Qualify for Paris 2024 – Aman Sehrawat.
• The First Indian to Secure a Rowing Quota for Paris Olympics – Balraj Panwar.
• The First Indian Jury Member at Paris 2024 – Bilquis Mir.
• The Only Indian Weightlifter to Qualify for Paris 2024 – Mirabai Chanu.
• 
  The First Indian Woman to Reach Olympic Finals in Wrestling – Vinesh Phogat.
• The Indian Wrestler (from Haryana) Disqualified from Women's 50kg Final – Vinesh Phoghat (reason: found 100gm overweight).
• The Indian Advocate Representing IOA in Vinesh Phogat’s Disqualification Case – Harish Salve.
• The Indian Wrestler who announced Retirement After Disqualification – Vinesh Phogat.

• The First Indian to Reach the Semi-Finals in Men's Badminton at the Olympics – Lakshya Sen.
• The Youngest Contender in the Indian Team for Paris 2024 – Dhinidhi Desinghu (Swimming, 14 years old).
• The Oldest Contender in the Indian Team for Paris 2024 – Rohan Bopanna (Tennis, 44 years old).
• The department which recently released four commemorative limited-edition postage stamps depicting five Olympic sports - Javelin Throw, Field Hockey, Sailing & Table Tennis - to celebrate the Paris Olympics 2024 – Department of Posts (Under Union Ministry of Communication).

Medal Winners of Paris Olympics 2024 (India)

India won six medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics, including one silver and five bronze which  placed India 71st on the medals tally. Here are the medalists:

Athlete	Event	Medal
Neeraj Chopra	Javelin throw (Athletics. 89.45m)	Silver
Manu Bhaker	Women’s 10m air pistol (Shooting)	Bronze
Manu Bhaker & Sarabjot Singh	Mixed team 10m air pistol (Shooting)	Bronze
Swapnil Kusal	Men’s 50m rifle 3 positions (Shooting)	Bronze
Indian Men's Hockey team	Field Hockey	Bronze
Aman Sehrawat	Men’s freestyle 57 Kg (Wrestling)	Bronze

Notable Achievements:

• The Youngest Indian to Win an Individual Olympic Medal – Aman Sehrawat (21 years, 24 days)
• Defeated Darian Cruz of Peurto Rico.
• Previous Record Holder – P.V. Sindhu (22 years).

• The First Olympics Medal for India in Paris 2024 – Manu Bhaker (Bronze, Women’s 10m Air Pistol).
• The First Indian Woman to Win a Shooting Medal at the Olympics – Manu Bhaker (Bronze, Women’s 10m Air Pistol).
• The First Indian to Win Multiple Medals in a Single Olympic Games – Manu Bhaker.
• The First Indian to make history by winning multiple medals at a single Olympic Games in the pre-independence era – Norman Pritchard (2 Silvers in Athletics @ 1900 Olympics)
• The First Indian Shooter to Win an Olympic Medal in Men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions – Swapnil Kusale.
• The First Indian to Win Gold Medal in Athletics – Neeraj Chopra (Javelin throw, Haryana).
• Youngest Indian to Win an Olympic Gold – Neeraj Chopra (23 years old).
• August 7 – Javelin Throw Day; Honoring Neeraj Chopra (By Athletics Federation of India)
• The Men's Hockey team won the Bronze medal ie., the 13th Olympic medal in Field Hockey.
• Against Spain in the Semifinals (2-1).
• Hockey Team Captain – Harmanpreet Singh.
• Coach – Craig Fulton.
• India won 8 Gold medals & 4 Bronze medals so far in Olympic history.
• Winners of Gold & Silver medals in Hockey @ Paris Olympics 2024 – Netherlands & Germany.
• India's first field hockey gold medal in Olympics was at – 1928 Amsterdam.
• Hockey Team Captain – Jaipal Singh Munda.
• The sport in which India has won most of its Olympic medals after field hockey – Wrestling (7).
• Shooting in the third place with 4 medals.

Kerala Athletes in Paris Olympics 2024

• No. of Keralites participated in Paris Olympics – 7.

Name	Event
P.R. Sreejesh	Hockey  (Goal Keeper)
Muhammed Anas Yahiya	Athletics (4x400m relay)
Muhammed Ajmal	Athletics (4x400m relay)
Mijo Chacko Kurian	Athletics (4x400m relay)
Amoj Jacob	Athletics (4x400m relay)
Abdulla Aboobacker	Athletics (Men's triple jump)
H.S. Prannoy	Badminton

• The Three-time Olympian Hockey Player from Kerala who won Bronze Medal for the second consecutive time in the Olympic games –  P. R. Sreejesh. 
• P. R. Sreejesh – Parattu Raveendran Sreejesh.
• Jersey No. – 16.
• Nickname – Wall of India.
• Goalkeeper and former captain of the Indian national team.
• Second Malayali to Win Olympic Medal – P. R. Sreejesh (Bronze, Hockey).
  
• First Malayali to Win an Olympic Medal – Manuel Fredericks (Hockey, Bronze, Munich 1972).
• Achievements – 
• Secured the Gold Medal at the Incheon Asian Games (2014).
• Won the Silver Medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. 
• Won the Bronze Medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. 
• Clinched the Bronze Medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics,
• Awards – Arjuna Award (2015), Padmasri (2019), Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2021, World Games Athlete of the Year 2021.
• Brand Ambassador of Adventure Tourism in Kerala – P. R. Sreejesh. 
• New Head Coach of India’s Junior Men’s Hockey Team – P. R. Sreejesh. 
• The Malayali Athlete Known as the 'Nilamel Express' – Muhammed Anas Yahiya.
• The First Malayali to win medal in World Badminton Championships – H.S. Prannoy.

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📝SideNotes:

• International Olympic Day – June 23.
• International Olympic Committee –
• Headquarters – Lausanne, Switzerland.
• Head – Thomas Bach.
• IOC Athletes’ Commission –
• Established in – 1981.
• Chairperson – Emma Terho (Ice Hockey, Finland).
• Vice chairs of IOC Athletes’ Commission – Maja Włoszczowska (Cycling, Poland) & Abhinav Bindra.
• Term – until the 2026 Winter Olympics.
• Indian Olympic Committee  – 
• Established in – 1927.
• First President of Indian Olympic Committee – Sir Dorabji Tata.
• Current President of Indian Olympic Committee – P. T. Usha.
• First Malayali athlete to qualify for the 400m hurdles in Olympics – P.T. Usha.
• Queen of Indian track and field – P.T. Usha.
• The first Indian woman to participate in a track and field event – Nilima Ghose (1952 Helsinki Olympics)
• Flagbearer (opening ceremony) of the first Olympic Games after India became an independent nation – Dr. Talimeren Ao (London 1948 Olympics).
• India's first football team captain.
• First and only Indian female wrestler to win a medal at the Olympics – Sakshi Malik.
• Indian Athlete with Most Olympic Appearances – Leander Paes (7 times; 1992 to 2016).
• Venue of Kerala School Olympics 2024 – Kochi.
• Union Minister for Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports – Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya.
• Headquarters – Shastri Bhawan, ‎New Delhi.
• First Indian Woman Flagbearer – Shyni Willson (Barcelona, 1992).
• Olympic Order –
• Established in – 1975.
• The highest award of the Olympic Movement.
• awarded to individuals for their distinguished contributions to the Olympic Movement.
• Notable recipients – Indira Gandhi, Nelson Mandela.
• Gold Medal Winner in Javelin (Athletics) at Paris Olympics 2024 – Arshad Nadeem (Pakistan).
• Olympic record of 92.97m.
• Bronze – Anderson Peters (Grenada, 88.54m).
• Youngest Para Swimmer to Cross the English Channel – Jiya Rai (16 years old).

Thanks for reading!!!