India rest hopes on ‘Golden Boy’ Neeraj Chopra to bring joy to dismal campaign at Paris Olympics

New Delhi: It’s been exactly a week since Maharashtra shooter Swapnil Kusale claimed a bronze medal in the Paris 2024 Olympics. With Kusale following in the footsteps of Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh, the feeling of euphoria in the Indian camp reached a fever pitch after witnessing three bronze medals in the space of four days. The success of the shooters was the perfect potion to ignite the fire in the bellies of the rest of the athletes.

However, Kusale remains the last Indian athlete to stand on the podium. Since the bronze in men’s 50m rifle 3 positions, it’s been a story of so near yet so far for India.

The closest India came to winning a medal was in women’s 50kg wrestling on Wednesday but the chance was snatched away dramatically when Vinesh Phogat was disqualified on the morning of her gold medal bout after she was found 150 grams overweight in her category.

Vinesh retired from wrestling earlier this morning in the gut-wrenching aftermath of the Olympic heartbreak.

A story of near misses

While fate and circumstances led to Vinesh’s disqualification, several Indian athletes missed a golden chance to win a medal after failing to cross the final hurdle. Manu Bhaker (25m pistol), Mixed skeet team, Arjun Babuta (10m air rifle), Lakshya Sen (Badminton), Mixed Team Archery and Mirabai Chanu (weightlifting) all finished in fourth place and missed out on a medal by a whisker.

Can Neeraj turn gloom into joy?

With so many near misses and heartbreaks, India now rest hopes on their ‘Golden Boy’ Neeraj Chopra, who will compete in the men’s javelin final on Thursday (today). Chopra finished on the top in th qualification with a massive throw of 89.34m, his season-best and the second-best throw of all time to cruise into the final. The ace Indian athlete needed just one throw to clear the automatic qualification mark of 84m – a great sign for India ahead of the final tonight.

The reigning Olympic gold medallist and world champion heads into the final in great form, looking good to defend his title and become the first Indian to win two individual Olympic gold medals.

Neeraj etched his name in history books three years ago at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 by becoming the first Indian to bag a gold medal in athletics. He now stands on the cusp of history, just one throw away from reaching the immeasurable height of success.

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