Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met and greeted the Indian athletes and medal winners of the recently concluded Paris Olympics at his residence 7, Lok Kalyan Marg in the national capital on August 15.
PM Modi shook hands with players and prasied India’s youngest Olympic medallist Aman Sehrawat, shooters Manu Bhaker, Sarabjot Singh and Swapnil Kusale and members of the Indian men’s hockey team among others.
He also clicked pictures with the athletes during the event. Hockey veteran PR Sreejesh, captain Harmanpreet Singh and Aman gifted India jerseys and hockey to the PM Modi during their meeting.
A total of 117 Indian athletes participated across 16 sports at the Paris Games: archery, athletics, badminton, boxing, equestrian, golf, hockey, judo, rowing, sailing, shooting, swimming, wrestling, table tennis, and tennis.
India clinched six medals at the Paris Olympics, one silver and five bronze. Although hopes were high for a historic performance, the country fell just short of surpassing its previous best at the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics in 2021, when they secured seven medals (1 gold, 2 silver, and 4 bronze) and ranked 48th. Athletics led the way for India with a robust 29-member squad, while the country also fielded its largest-ever contingent of 21 shooters in the shooting events.
Beyond the pursuit of medals, Indian athletes made history by setting new records at the Games along with some near misses on medals after finishing fourth in six events. Manu became the first Indian woman to win a shooting medal at the Olympics. Moreover, she became the first Indian athlete in the post-Independence era to win multiple medals in a single edition of the Games.
Later, Manu, partnering with Sarabjot Singh, became the first Indian shooting pair to win an Olympic medal in shooting. Overall, it was India’s sixth Olympic medal in shooting.
