“We must celebrate all our Olympians irrespective of results”: Gagan Narang

Paris [France], August 3 (ANI): Former Indian Olympic medalist shooter and country’s chef-de-mission at Paris Olympics Gagan Narang has urged people to celebrate all athletes representing India at the mega sporting event, saying that while medals are important, it is equally important to acknowledge athletes’ efforts for their years of hard work and sacrifice.

The Indian contingent at the Paris Olympics has delivered a mixed performance so with shooting accounting for three medals won so far.

Though Manu Bhaker narrowly missed out on adding a third medal to her kitty as she finished fourth in the 25m pistol shooting on Saturday, she will return home as the only Indian to have won two medals at the same Olympic Games.

Manu secured a medal in the women’s 10 m air pistol event and followed it up with another bronze win along with Sarabjot Singh in the 10m air pistol mixed-team event.

While Manu’s solo medal was India’s first-ever shooting medal by a woman, the medal won along with Sarabjot was India’s first-ever medal in team shooting.

Swapnil’s stunning bronze medal-winning performance in the 50m Rifle 3 Positions event also gave Indian sporting fans something to celebrate.

In table tennis, Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula created history by reaching the Round of 16.

Indian Men’s Hockey Team defeated Australia in a Group stage match, their first win at the Olympics against the former Champions since the 1972 Olympics in Munich. They will take on Great Britain in the quarterfinal on Sunday.

India’s Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat finished fourth in the mixed team event at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Friday to secure India’s best result in archery at the Summer Games. In the bronze medal match against USA’s Brady Ellison and Casey Kaufhold, Bommadevara and Bhakat lost 6-2 and missed a historic podium finish.

India’s top medal prospects in badminton – two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and the dynamic pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty – bowed out of the tournament on Thursday after hard-fought battles.

Promising boxer Preeti Sai Panwar was eliminated after losing in the women’s 54 kg Round of 16 against Colombia’s Yeni Marcela Arias Castaneda. Twenty-year-old shooter Ramita also became only the second Indian female shooter after Suma Shirur to reach the final in the Rifle event, but missed out on a medal.

Narang said he is delighted to see the country’s athletes rising up to the occasion and delivering such outstanding performances.

“My heartiest congratulations to all the medal winners so far and all the major achievers in Paris so far. Their performances have shown how much India has grown as a sporting nation over the past decade. I am confident that we are going to win more medals in Paris,” Narang said, according to a press release.

“As an athlete, it is everyone’s dream to compete at the Olympics, but only a few earn the opportunity after years of hard work. The margins in the Olympics are so less that there is no difference in preparation between the 1st place and 8th place. While winning medals is important, it is equally important to acknowledge our athletes’ efforts for their years of hard work and sacrifice. As a nation, we must celebrate all our Olympians irrespective of the results,” he added.

Gagan said the athletes will be motivated to scale higher after their results in Paris.

“I have had my fair share of disappointments in major tournaments. But every time I was unable to achieve the result I desired, I was motivated to do even better and I worked hard for it. All the athletes who were unable to win a medal will have a fire burning brighter in them and they will learn from their opponents and will be inspired to perform even better,” he said.

“I am confident all our Indians athletes are capable of winning medals. They already have made the nation proud reaching so far in their careers, and have sparked a sporting revolution in the country, helping the upcoming generation of athletes to weave golden dreams of their own,” he added.