The Paris Olympics have reached the halfway point, and India has won only 3 medals so far. The total could have been 8 if not for the unfortunate near-misses, with five Indian athletes finishing 4th in their respective events, just one step away from the podium.
Lakshya Sen, Maheshwari Chauhan, and Anant Jeet Singh Naruka have joined the list of athletes who narrowly missed winning a medal, finishing just short of the podium. In this edition, Manu Bhaker, Arjun Babuta, and the duo of Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat also finished in 4th place in their respective events.
List of Indian athletes who have finished fourth at Paris Olympics
Athletes | Event |
Manu Bhaker | Women’s 25m pistol |
Arjun Babuta | Men’s 10m Air Rifle Shooting |
Dhiraj Bommadevara/ Ankita Bhakat | Mixed Team Archery |
Lakshya Sen | Men’s Singles Badminton |
Maheshwari Chauhan/ Anant Jeet Singh Naruka | Skeet mixed team |
List of Indian athletes who have finished fourth at Olympics
Athletes | Olympics | Event |
Randhir Shinde | Antwerp 1920 Olympics | men’s 54kg freestyle wrestling |
Keshav Mangave | Helsinki 1952 Olympics | men’s 62kg freestyle wrestling |
India | Melbourne 1956 Olympics | men’s football |
Milkha Singh | Rome 1960 Olympics | men’s 400m athletics |
Prem Nath | Rome 1972 Olympics | men’s 57kg freestyle wrestling |
Sudesh Kumar | Munich 1972 Olympics | men’s 52kg freestyle wrestling |
PT Usha | Los Angeles 1984 Olympics | women’s 400m hurdles athletics |
Rajinder Singh | Los Angeles 1984 Olympics | men’s 74kg freestyle wrestling |
Leander Paes/Mahesh Bhupati | Athens 2004 Olympics | men’s doubles tennis |
Kunjarani Devi | Athens 2004 Olympics | women’s 48kg weightlifting |
Joydeep Karmakar | London 2012 Olympics | men’s 50m rifle prone shooting |
Abhinav Bindra | Rio 2016 Olympics | men’s 10m air rifle shooting |
Sania Mirza/Rohan Bopanna | Rio 2016 Olympics | mixed doubles tennis |
Dipa Karmakar | Rio 2016 Olympics | women’s vault gymnastics |
Aditi Ashok | Tokyo 2020 Olympics | women’s golf |
India | Tokyo 2020 Olympics | women’s hockey |
Arjun Babuta | Paris 2024 Olympics | men’s 10m air rifle shooting |
Dhiraj Bommadevara/ Ankita Bhakat | Paris 2024 Olympics | mixed team archery |
Manu Bhaker | Paris 2024 Olympics | women’s 25m pistol |
Lakshya Sen | Paris 2024 Olympics | men’s Singles Badminton |
Maheshwari Chauhan/ Anant Jeet Singh Naruka | Paris 2024 Olympics | skeet mixed team |
Milkha Singh men’s 400m race, 1960 Rome Olympics
After a disappointing debut at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, Milkha Singh worked tirelessly towards the Rome Olympics. After advancing through the heats and semifinals, Milkha was ready for the final. Starting in lane five, he led the first 200 meters but a split-second decision to slow down at 250 meters proved costly. He missed a medal by micro sec to finish 4th in 1960.
Dipa Karmakar, gymnastics, Rio Olympics 2016
Though, Dipa Karmakar did not win a medal in Rio Olympics, but her fourth place finish was a achievement in India as she was the first first Indian women gymnast to compete in the Olympics.