Indian athletes who disappointed at the Paris Olympics

The biggest sporting extravaganza in the world, the Olympic Games, officially concluded with the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics on Sunday.

The Indian team had a topsy-turvy campaign at the Games, finishing with six medals—one silver and five bronze—placing them 71st in the medal tally.

Although India won six medals, there were several disappointing results for the contingent, as quite a few medal favorites suffered early exits in the tournament.

Here, The Bridge is highlighting a few of the disappointing results from this quadrennial mega event in Paris:

Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty - Badminton

Former world No. 1 Indian men's doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, had a disappointing outing at the Paris Olympics. Entering the tournament as the third seed, the Indian duo started on a high note, topping their group with a dominant performance.

However, the Asian Games champion pairing bowed out in the quarterfinals, losing a close three-game match against Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik. This was the biggest disappointment for badminton fans.

Satwik and Chirag, who have medaled in most major tournaments, couldn't replicate their success at their second consecutive Olympics.

However, they will now focus on fine-tuning their skills as they begin another four-year cycle.

Nikhat Zareen - Boxing

Star Indian boxer Nikhat Zareen had a tough start to her Olympics journey, being knocked out in the round of 16 in the women's 50 kg category by the top-seeded Chinese boxer, Wu Yu.

As a two-time reigning world champion, Nikhat was expected to be one of India's biggest medal contenders.

Unfortunately, she drew a tough match against the eventual champion and top seed in the round of 16.

Though Nikhat faltered at these Games, her international track record demonstrates her exceptional skill in the sport.

This result is particularly heartbreaking for her, especially with boxing's future in the LA Olympics still uncertain.

Sift Kaur Samra - Shooting

Sift Kaur Samra was one of India’s biggest medal hopes in shooting, thanks to her outstanding performance last year, where she won the Asian Games gold medal and set a world record in the women's 50m 3P rifle event.

However, the Paris Olympics presented a stark contrast, as Sift had a disappointing outing, finishing second-last in the qualification round with a total score of 575.

It was not a great debut at the Olympics for Sift, but she will look to put this difficult performance behind her and focus on returning to winning form in future events.

Antim Panghal - Wrestling

The young prodigy, Antim Panghal, had a disappointing Olympic Games in Paris both on and off the mat. She exited in the first round of the women's 50 kg freestyle category, losing to a lower-ranked Turkish opponent.

Antim, the third seed and India's only reigning world medalist in the tournament, had a favorable draw, with the eventual champion, Akari Fujinami of Japan, in the opposite half of the bracket.

Despite missing a golden opportunity to make history with an illustrious medal, the 19-year-old will gain valuable experience from this event and aims to achieve success in future international competitions.

Indian Men's Archery Team - Archery

One of the most heartbreaking results of these Games came in the men's archery team competition, where the Indian team of Dhiraj Boomadevara, Pravin Jadhav, and Tarundeep Rai fell short, losing to Turkey in the quarterfinals.

India, in excellent form this year and entering the tournament as the world No. 2, had earlier made history by winning a World Cup title and upsetting the world No. 1 South Korean team.

The team started the tournament strongly, securing the best-ever seed in the ranking round.

However, they faltered in the knockout stages, missing the chance to win India’s first-ever archery medal at the Olympics.