Introduction
After 03 years since the Tokyo 2020 edition, the Olympics are back, this time in the city of love – Paris! The latest edition of the games began on 26 July 2024 with a grand opening ceremony over the Seine River. The Paris Olympics brings hopes of India clinching many medals, as the country has sent its largest contingent ever.
Paris Olympics- A Lot of Firsts
The latest edition of the games organised in Paris for the third time, was inaugurated with a grand opening ceremony. It was the first time in Olympic history that the opening ceremony was organized in an open-air setting. The ceremony of the Paris Olympics included athletes from the different participating countries travelling on a boat over the Seine River.
Before the launch of the games and the opening ceremony, a torch relay took place with the different countries being represented by the torchbearers belonging to different walks of life- from medal-winning Olympians to local citizens selected from the public including disabled people- the torchbearers traveled across various locations. Some of the prominent personalities among the selected 11,000 torchbearers were Olympic gold medalist shooter Abhinav Bindra, actor Halle Berry, and singer Kim Seokjin of the group BTS.
The Paris Olympics also introduced “Break-dancing” as an Olympic Sort for the first time. The Paris Olympics also claim to be the first Olympics with equal participation of male and female participants. The total number of participants is 10,714. The opening ceremony began on 26 July 2024, with a boat parade of athletes over the Seine River, with the theme of love and shared humanity.
Various cultural segments were organised at different landmarks along the route. Some of the performers at the ceremony were American musician Lady Gaga, soprano Marina Viotti, and Canadian singer Celine Dion. The Paris Olympics was officially inaugurated by the French President Emmanuel Macron.
India’s Contingent and Its Performance
India sent its largest ever contingent for the Paris Olympics, comprising 110 athletes-70 men and 47 women- participating in 16 of the 32 Olympic sports. The contingent also includes athletes who gave a podium finish in the previous editions of the games like Neeraj Chopra, PV Sindhu, Mirabai Chanu, and the hockey men’s team. The flag bearers representing the country were badminton “ace” player PV Sindhu and table tennis player Achantha Sharath Kamal. As per the data provided by the Sports Authority of India (SAI), almost 20% of all the participants in the Paris Olympics contingent are from Haryana.
As of August 02, India has clinched 03 bronze medals, all in shooting. Manu Bhaker, in the 10m air pistol, clinched the bronze medal. It was India’s first medal in shooting since 2012, and Manu Bhaker became the first Indian woman to bag a medal in shooting. Following this, India got its second medal in 10m air pistol mixed team shooting, with shooter duo Manu Bhaker and Sarbjot Singh showcasing an excellent performance to bag the bronze medal. This victory made Manu Bhaker the first athlete from independent India to get multiple medals in a single Olympics edition. The third medal was earned by Swapnil Kusale on July 30, in the 50m rifle 3 positions event.
After a great show in other rounds, badminton player PV Sindhu lost the match against China’s He Bing Jiao in the Round of 16 match as well as her chance to earn her third consecutive medal in the Olympics. The Satwik-Chirag duo also lost their match and exited the games. Lakshya Sen and H.S. Prannoy advanced to the Round of 16 in the men’s single badminton match, only for these compatriots to compete against each other. Lakshya Sen defeated HS Prannoy 21-12, 21-6 to enter the quarter-finals.
The men’s hockey team showcased a brilliant performance but suffered a narrow defeat from defending Champions Belgium although they have reached the quarter finals. Manika Batra became the first Indian table tennis player to qualify for singles pre-quarterfinals but unfortunately lost the match, ending her run.
On Day7 of the Paris Olympics (August 02), Manu Bhaker qualified for the 25m air pistol women’s finals, while India’s archery mixed team duo- Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat defeated Spain in the quarterfinals to reach the semifinals. The duo faced South Korea in the semifinals but lost the match 2-4. The team that played in the bronze medal match against the United States of America lost 2-6.
The hockey men’s team won their last pool match against Australia 3-2. The Indian team which secured a bronze medal in the Tokyo edition defeated the Tokyo silver medallist Australia after a long wait of 52 years. The last time the Indian team beat Australia was at the 1972 games.
Paris Olympics- Controversies and Protests
Though some may say that the Paris Olympics had a great opening ceremony, some might disagree. The Paris Olympics are the talk of the town not just because of the splendid performances of the athletes but also because of controversies.
The first-time organization of the open-air opening ceremony was criticized as the viewers were drenched by rain. A performance from the ceremony featuring drag queens believed to be a parody of “The Last Supper” was criticized across the world for being disrespectful to Christianity. Another instance that irked people was how South Korea was announced by the name Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, i.e. North Korea. Similarly, the national anthem of Sudan was played for the South Sudan team.
Other than the mistakes made by the organizers, France’s railway network was sabotaged on the day of the opening ceremony as the railway lines suffered arson attacks. There were also protests from the dancers performing for the opening ceremony as well as the French airport workers asking for bonuses for working during this busy period ahead of the Olympics. Activists also criticized the French National Olympics and Sports Committee’s decision barring French athletes from wearing religious symbols like hijab.
Conclusion
Despite concerns and controversies looming over the latest edition of the games, the Olympic spirit hasn’t wavered. With fans across the world cheering for their home teams, and the athletes making their countries and compatriots proud, let’s celebrate and cheer for our country’s athletes. In a country where cricket is given utmost importance over other sports, athletes playing other sports wait for such opportunities to shine and finally get recognition.
Instead of praising the Olympians once every 4 years, the country should work on providing better facilities to the players, help in promoting sports among the youngsters, and find talented players, so that India, the most populous country in the world with a lot of potential, can dominate the Olympic medal charts as well.
-SHIVANGI NAIR
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