Olympics 2024 Heartbreaks: Three Times India Missed Out Medal by Whisker in Paris Olympic Games

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The Indian contingent has so far won three medals at the Paris Olympics 2024, but there have been occasions when India missed out on finishing on the podium following defeats by fine margins.

The shooting contingent has won all the three medals - 3 bronze - at the ongoing games with Manu Bhaker winning two of them. First she won the women's 10m air pistol bronze followed by a bronze in 10m pistol mixed team event alongside Sarabjot Singh. Swapnil Kusale also won a historic bronze in the men's 50m rifle 3 position event.

With a double bronze, Bhaker became the first athlete to win two medals for India in the same Olympic event post-independence. The 22-year-old had a chance to create further history by winning a third medal in Paris, but it wasn't meant to be for the young Indian shooter.

This was not the first instance when India missed out on a medal at the Paris Games by a whisker as there were two other times that Indian athletes fell agonizingly short of a medal. Here is a look at the three times when India missed out an a medal by fine margins:

Three times India missed out on a medal by a whisker in Paris Olympics 2024

Manu Bhaker (Shooting - 25m Pistol Final): Bhaker, who was on-course to finish on the podium, faltered in the closing moments to share the third position with Hungary's Veronika Major, who held the nerve to win the shot-off with the points tied at 28 as the Indian settled for fourth place.

Arjun Babuta (Shooting - 10m Air Rifle Final): Babuta also came close to a medal in the men's 10m air rifle event, but had to settle for fourth after a lapse in the closing stages. Babuta shot a total of 208.4. A 9.5 in response to Croatia's Miran Maricic's 10.7 put paid to his hopes of finishing on the podium.

Dhiraj Bommaradeva & Ankita Bhakat (Archery - Mixed Team Bronze Medal Match): The Indian pair, who could have created history, finished fourth after losing the bronze medal match in the mixed team event against USA's Brady Ellison and Casey Kaufhold.

Apart from these three events, there have been several other instances when Indians failed to reach the final or finish on the podium as Ramita Jindal finished seventh in the women's 10m air rifle event, while Sarabjot Singh missed out on reaching the 10m air pistol event final despite being tied on the same points as the eighth placed shooter.

Also, the medal hopefuls Nikhat Zareen, PV Sindhu and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty bowed out in the earlier knock out rounds, causing huge heartbreaks for the nation.