Indus Valley Times

NEW DELHI, AUG 15 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi honored the Indian athletes who participated in the Paris Olympics at his residence in New Delhi on Independence Day. PM Modi praised the Indian men’s hockey team, double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker, Sarabjot Singh, and Aman Sehrawat, amongst others, for their outstanding achievements. The Indian men’s hockey team presented a signed jersey to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a gift during their meeting at his official residence.

The Indian athletes secured a total of six medals during their campaign at the Paris Olympics, with medals won by Manu Bhaker, Sarabjot Singh, Swapnil Kusale, the Indian men’s hockey team, and Neeraj Chopra. “My dear countrymen, today we have the youngsters who raised our tricolor at the Paris Olympics. I would like to congratulate all our athletes on behalf of 140 crore Indians. We will move ahead with new dreams and resolutions and achieve them with our constant efforts. In a few days our para-athletes will also be flying to Paris for the Paralympics, I extend by best wishes to them as well,” said PM Modi during his speech.

Several top athletes, including pistol shooter Manu Bhaker, who won two bronze medals in Paris, and members of the Indian hockey team, attended the Independence Day event in the national capital on Thursday morning. Among them was star goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh, who recently retired after the team’s bronze-winning performance.

India’s campaign at the Paris Olympics concluded with a total of six medals—five bronze and one silver—placing the nation 71st in the overall medal tally. This result fell short of the expectations set by the previous Olympics in Tokyo, where Indian athletes achieved a historic tally of seven medals, including one gold, two silver, and four bronze.

Despite the disappointment, India was on the brink of its best-ever performance at the Games, with a series of near-misses. The contingent recorded six fourth-place finishes, with several athletes comng agonizingly close to securing a podium spot.

One such heartbreak occurred in the 10m Men’s Air Rifle final, where shooter Arjun Babuta finished just shy of a medal with 208.4 points. The 25-year-old missed out on the bronze after a final shot of 9.5, narrowly missing the chance to end India’s 12-year drought for a medal in rifle shooting at the Olympics.

-PTI