An Olympics of firsts for India at Paris 2024

A 117-member Indian contingent participated in the 2024 Paris Olympics, representing their country at the highest level of sport.

Many athletes marked their debut Olympic appearance and some, like Rohan Bopana, Sharath Kamal, and PR Sreejesh, played in their final Olympics. Amidst all the sentiments and emotions, the fortnightly extravaganza was filled with action.

India secured six medals at the Paris Olympics, one short of the Tokyo tally, but agonizingly, the Paris Olympics also saw six fourth-placed finishes for India.

Apart from all this, Indian athletes witnessed a lot of firsts at the Paris Olympics. We at The Bridge bring you the list of firsts for India at the Paris Olympics.

Manu Bhaker

Where else to start? Manu Bhaker has delivered a plethora of firsts for India at the Olympics. She was the first Indian woman to win a shooting medal at the Olympics when she won bronze in the women's 10m air pistol.

She then became the first Indian woman to win two medals in one Olympic Games, when she won another bronze medal for India, this time in the 10m air pistol mixed team.

Added to that, she is the first Indian since independence to return home with two medals from one Olympics.

Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh: First Indian team to win an Olympic medal in shooting

Thanks to their bronze in the 10m air pistol mixed team event, Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh became the first Indian team to win an Olympic medal in shooting, defeating South Korea's Oh Ye Jin and Wonho Lee 16-10 in the bronze medal match.

Swapnil Singh Kusale: First Indian to win an Olympic medal in 50m air rifle (3 positions)

More good news came for India from shooting, this time thanks to Swapnil Singh Kusale. After becoming the first Indian to qualify for the final of the men's 50m air rifle (3 positions), he went on to win the bronze medal after a brilliant performance in the final.

After hovering in the 5th and 6th position during the kneeling and prone positions, Swapnil showed tremendous consistency in the standing round of shooting when others around him faltered. As a result, Swapnil finished third, becoming India's first Olympic medalist in the 50m air rifle (3 positions).

First semi-final appearance at the Olympics in archery

The overall showing from the Indian archery contingent at the Paris Olympics left little to be desired. Crumbling under pressure seemed to be the name of the game as the Indian archers, one after the other, succumbed under the weight of the circumstances.

Amongst them, the ones that withstood the pressure most and went farthest was the Indian pairing Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat. The duo qualified for the semifinals of the mixed-team event, the first for India in Olympic archery across all categories.

The duo eventually ended up finishing fourth, losing to the USA in the bronze medal match.

Lakshya Sen becomes first male badminton semifinalist

Lakshya Sen had an Olympic campaign to look back with pride. Coming into the Olympics with questionable form, he unlocked a new level in his game and cruised into the semi-finals, beating some big names along the way such as Chou Tien-Chen in the quarters, and Jonathan Christie in the group stages.

He became the first Indian male shuttler to qualify for the semifinals of the Olympics. Although he returns home empty-handed, the future is bright for the 22-year-old.

Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula taking Indian table tennis to new heights

The table tennis campaign at the Paris Olympics was one to remember for India. A lot of positives can be taken from the performances of the Indian paddlers, none more so than Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula.

The former became the first Indian paddler to qualify for the round of 16 in the Olympics, and 24 hours later, Sreeja Akula followed suit, becoming the second Indian paddler to qualify for the round of 16 in the Olympics.

Although they both lost their respective matches in the round of 16, the trajectory of Indian table tennis looks promising.

Vinesh Phogat, the first woman wrestling finalist for India

For Vinesh, the Paris Olympics has been a rollercoaster. After drawing Yui Susaki, the world no.1 in women's 50kg category in her first bout, Vinesh stunned everyone by defeating the Japanese 3-2.

She followed that up with two more wins and qualified for the finals, becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to qualify for the finals in the Olympics. Alas, a 100-gram overweight caused her to be disqualified from the competition.

Hockey: Back-to-back Olympic medals since 1972

The Indian Hockey team was a team on a mission this Olympics. They were grinding out results initially despite lackluster performances but grew into a rhythm as the tournament progressed. After a heartbreaking defeat against Germany in the semis, the Indian team faced Spain in the bronze medal match.

After going 1-0 down, the Indian team showed remarkable grit and fight, led by their captain Harmenpreet Singh, who scored twice to turn the tie around. Outgoing goalkeeper PR Sreejesh had his moments in the bronze medal game, pulling off outstanding saves.

A 2-1 win in the bronze medal match meant that India, for the first time since 1972, won back-to-back medals in hockey at the Olympics since 1972.

Another first for the Indian Hockey team at the Olympics was their victory over Australia, their first victory against them in the Olympics since 1972.

Neeraj Chopra, India’s first twin medalist in track and field since 1924

Any list of firsts would be incomplete without mentioning the golden boy, Neeraj Chopra.

However, the golden boy had to settle for a silver in the men’s javelin at Paris, thanks to an Olympic record-breaking 92.97m throw from Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem.

Neeraj, though, became India’s first athlete to win a gold and silver in the track and field at the Olympics.