The competition was tight until the very last shot. India’s Abhinav Bindra was level with his closest rival going into the final round of the men’s 10-meter air rifle at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Then, with a near-perfect shot, Bindra won India’s first-ever individual Olympic gold.
It was a historic achievement that many in India hoped could prove a turning point for the giant country following many decades of underperformance at the Olympics.
But 16 years, four Summer Games and just one additional gold medal later, those dreams have largely failed to materialize.
India, home to more than 1.4 billion people, is the world’s most populous country, according to the United Nations. In 2022, India surpassed Britain as the world’s fifth largest economy, and last year became one of just four countries to successfully land a spacecraft on the moon. And it’s led by an ambitious prime minister who has widespread influence on the global stage.
But when it comes to the Olympics, India punches below its weight.
India won just six medals in Paris, falling short of its record haul of seven at Tokyo in 2021.
The United States, with less than a quarter of India’s population, topped the charts with 126 medals followed by China with 91.
India ranked 71st in the medal table, below nations with much smaller populations including Georgia, Kazakhstan and North Korea.
India has now won just 41 Olympic medals in total since its debut in 1900, all at the Summer Games.
“There is no doubt that India has been an underperformer in the Olympics and generally in global sports,” said Ronojoy Sen, author of “Nation at Play: A History of Sport in India.”
“If you look at the population to medal ratio it is probably the worst.”
Among the bright spots for India in Paris, javelin ace Neeraj Chopra added silver to the gold he won at Tokyo 2020, and shooter Manu Bhaker clinched double bronze to become the first Indian woman to win two medals at the same Games.
Vinesh Phogat, known for her high-profile role in anti-sexual harassment protests, became the first Indian woman to qualify for a wrestling final in the women’s 50kg freestyle – only to be disqualified for failing to make her weight class. On Wednesday, her appeal for a silver medal was rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
CNN reached out to the Indian Olympic Association for comment on the team’s performance in Paris.
