Understanding India’s Performance at Paris Olympics 2024 | UPSC

Introduction

• As the Paris Olympics concluded recently, Indian fans had mixed feelings about the country’s performance at the coveted Summer Games.
• India won six medals and had six fourth-place finishes.
• India slid from 48th to 71st (based on the tally of 1 silver and 5 bronze). 
• India did not win a single gold medal. However, when compared to past Olympic Games, the Paris results are not too disheartening.

India’s First Olympic Medal

• KD Jadhav was the first individual athlete from independent India to win an Olympic medal, securing a bronze in wrestling at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.
• Norman Gilbert Pritchard (23 June 1875 – 30 October 1929), also known by his stage name Norman Trevor, was an Indian athlete and actor who became the first Indian and a Asian-born athlete to win an Olympic medal when he won two silver medals in athletics at the 1900 Paris Olympics representing India.
  • • • Pritchard was born in then Calcutta in 1875 and died in Los Angeles in 1929.
      • While the International Olympic Committee (IOC) lists him as an Indian, World Athletics (formerly IAAF) credits his Olympic medals to Britain.
• Karnam Malleswari became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal with her weightlifting bronze at Sydney 2000

Introduction to the Paris Olympics 2024

• The Paris Olympics 2024 was an international multi-sport event held from 24 July to 11 August 2024 in Paris, France.
• The official motto was “Games Wide Open.”
• The event featured 10,714 athletes from 206 nations, competing in 329 events across 32 sports.
• Breaking made its debut as an Olympic sport.

Top Performing Nations

• The United States and China topped the medal table with 40 gold medals each. The USA led with a total of 126 medals, while China had 91 m edals. This was the first tie in gold medals at the top of the Summer Olympic table.
• Japan finished third with 20 gold medals and sixth in the overall medal count.

India’s Performance: A Mixed Bag

Hits

Back-to-Back Medal in Athletics: 

• • • Neeraj Chopra won a silver medal in the men’s javelin throw, becoming the third Indian to win two consecutive individual medals.

Spirited Performance in Shooting:

• • • Shooters Manu Bhaker (25m sports pistol), Swapnil Kusale (50m rifle 3-position), and the mixed team pair of Sarabjot Singh and Manu Bhaker (10m air pistol) each won bronze medals.

Bankable Wrestling:

• • • Wrestler Aman Sehrawat secured a bronze medal, continuing India’s streak of winning at least one medal in wrestling since 2008.

Rise of Indian Hockey:

• • • The Indian men’s hockey team won a bronze medal, marking two consecutive Olympic medals for the team.

Misses

Lack of Gold Medal:

• • • Despite securing six medals (one silver and five bronze), India did not win a gold medal, a major disappointment compared to Pakistan’s higher finish with a gold medal.

Disqualification of Vinesh Phogat:

• • • Vinesh Phogat’s unexpected disqualification after reaching the women’s 50kg wrestling final denied India a potential gold or silver medal.

Six 4th Place Finishes:

• • • Six athletes narrowly missed bronze medals, including shooters Arjun Babuta (10m air rifle) and the mixed team pair of Anantjeet Singh Naruka and Maheshwari Chauhan (skeet), among others.

Disappointing Performances in Badminton, Boxing, and Archery:

• • • Boxers Nishant Dev and Lovlina Borgohain lost in the quarterfinals, and badminton, which has been a strong suit since 2012, yielded no medals. Archery also continued to disappoint.

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Reasons Behind India’s Grim Performance at the Paris Olympics 2024

Mismanagement of Athletes:

• • • The disqualification of Vinesh Phogat after reaching the women’s 50kg wrestling final underscores systemic failures in athlete management and support.
    •  Such incidents reveal inadequate preparation and oversight.

Lack of Consistency and Performance Pressure:

• • • The six 4th place finishes, including shooters Arjun Babuta (10m air rifle) and the mixed team pair of Anantjeet Singh Naruka and Maheshwari Chauhan (skeet), highlight the athletes’ inability to handle performance pressure and maintain consistency. 
    • These near-misses indicate a need for better mental conditioning programs.

Issues with Sports Federations:

• • • Indian sports federations have been plagued by politicization, favoritism, and corruption. 
    • For instance, the confusion surrounding Vinesh Phogat’s weight category and Nikhat Zareen’s lack of match-day training highlight inefficiencies and mismanagement within the federations.

Inadequate Infrastructure and Training Facilities:

• • • Despite some improvements, many athletes still lack access to high-quality coaching, training programs, and competitive exposure. 
    • In sports like archery, athletes such as Deepika Kumari often train in subpar facilities compared to their international counterparts, affecting their performance.
    • Boxer Lovlina Borgohain has spoken about the lack of adequate training facilities and competitive exposure, which hampers her preparation and performance. 

Celebrity-Driven Sports Funding:

• • • Funding often focuses on high-profile athletes without ensuring accountability for their performance. 
    • Despite substantial investments, high-profile athletes like PV Sindhu did not deliver their season’s best or personal best performances at the Paris Olympics. 
    • Neeraj Chopra, although winning a silver medal, did not achieve his personal best throw, indicating the need for more balanced and accountable funding. 

Cultural and Systemic Barriers:

• • • The cultural emphasis on academic success over sports continues to limit the pool of athletes pursuing sports as a career.  Athletes like Hima Das have often highlighted the societal pressure to prioritize academics over sports, affecting their career choices and development. 
    • This societal attitude is slowly changing, but it still impacts the overall development of sports talent in India.

Inconsistent Government Support:

• • •  While there have been improvements in sports funding and support, inconsistencies remain. 
    • For instance, the inconsistent prioritization of sports education and infrastructure development compared to other pressing social issues hinders the growth of a robust sports culture. Despite initiatives like the Khelo India Scheme, long-term investment in sports development is still lacking.

Government Initiatives to Improve Performance

Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS): 

• • • Launched in September 2014 and revamped in April 2018, TOPS provides comprehensive support to elite athletes, including stipends, training camps, international competitions, and equipment.

Mission Olympic Cell (MOC):

• • • This body oversees the implementation of TOPS, regularly evaluating athletes’ progress and needs.

Khelo India Scheme:

• • • Introduced to promote sports at the grassroots level, this scheme focuses on infrastructure development, talent identification, and coaching.

International Exposure and Training Camps:

• • • Athletes are provided opportunities for foreign training and competition to gain experience and improve performance.

Women’s Participation in Sports in India: Statistics and Overview

Current Participation Rates:

National Level Competitions:

• • • Approximately 35-40% of participants in national-level sports competitions are women, according to various sports federations.

School and College Level:

• • • Participation rates for girls in school and college-level sports vary widely, but on average, around 30-35% of participants are female.

Grassroots Programs:

• • • In initiatives like the Khelo India Games, which focus on grassroots sports development, the participation of girls has been reported to be around 40%.

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International Representation:

Olympic Games:

• • • At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, out of the 120 athletes India sent, 54 were women, which is approximately 45%.
    • The participation of women in the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics is expected to be around the same percentage, with several women athletes qualifying in various sports.

Commonwealth Games and Asian Games:

• • • Women athletes have consistently made up about 40-45% of the Indian contingent in recent Commonwealth and Asian Games.

Way Forward to Improve India’s Performance at the Olympics

Broad-Basing into Other Sports:

• • • India should aim to send a larger pool of athletes in sports like swimming and athletics, while maintaining excellence in traditionally strong sports such as badminton, weightlifting, wrestling, and boxing.
    • The increased focus on athletics has seen rising stars like long jumper Murali Sreeshankar, who has shown potential in international competitions, indicating the importance of broad-basing.

Ending Bureaucratic Dominance and Corruption:

• • • Establishing professionalism in sports federations will help in the proper identification and grooming of talent.
    • The reform in the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) led to better support for wrestlers like Bajrang Punia, resulting in improved performances on the international stage.

Mental Conditioning:

• • • Employing more mental conditioning coaches to help athletes handle pressure and convert leads into victories.
    •  Shooters like Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary have benefited from mental conditioning programs, which helped them perform better under pressure in international competitions.

Collaborative Effort:

• • • Collaboration among federations, the Sports Authority of India (SAI), the Sports Ministry, and NGOs is essential for sustained success in Olympic events.
    • The Khelo India Youth Games is a successful collaborative effort that has helped identify and nurture young talent across various sports disciplines.

Integration of Sports in the Curriculum:

• • •  Incorporating sports and physical education into school curricula from an early age, as highlighted in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, is crucial.
    • Schools implementing NEP 2020 have started integrating sports more effectively into their curricula, promoting a balanced development of academics and physical fitness.

Establishment of a National Sports Education Board:

• • • Creating a National Sports Education Board to standardize sports education and oversee the development and implementation of a national sports curriculum.
    • Similar to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) standardizing academics, a National Sports Education Board can ensure consistent sports training across the country.

Promotion of a Sports Culture:

• • • Shifting societal attitudes to view sports as a legitimate career path through community engagement, media campaigns, and school initiatives.
    • Campaigns like “Hum Fit Toh India Fit” and media coverage of athletes’ journeys, such as that of Mirabai Chanu, have started changing public perception towards sports careers.