So Close Yet So Far

The heartbreaking Indian fourth place finishes at Paris 2024

- Taruka Srivastav

Olympics are the pinnacle of all sporting events and the culmination of dreams, hopes and rewards for the athletes as the games are the biggest platform athletes get to showcase their lifetime of hard work. While the dedication, determination and grit it takes to reach the Olympics make every athlete a winner in their own right, not everyone ends up with the medal. What hurts the most is the fourth place finishes where you lose out by a single point, a few seconds, a kg or a few centimeters. India had seven fourth positions - talk about being too close yet too far. We spoke with the members of the Indian contingent who had to suffer this heartbreak.

Arjun Babuta finished fourth, in the men's air rifle Paris Olympics final, after being in medal contention throughout the final. However, one shot - 9.5-on-the-bronze-medal-deciding shot - cost him that medal. But he remains positive.

"Initially, for a few days, I had trouble emotionally coming to terms with my fourth finish as it took years of hard work to reach there. I was busy trying to figure out and analyse what went wrong but I realised I can't change the result. I just have to accept it and move on as there are other important tournaments I need to prepare for. Preparation for the next Olympic cycle has begun and I am ready to focus and work hard again and not think about the result. One thing I know is that I am one of the best in the world and my next aim is to perform well at the World Championship and ultimately win a medal at the LA28," he said.

Indian shooters Anantjeet Singh Naruka and Maheshwari Chauhan settled for fourth place in the skeet mixed team shooting event at the Paris Olympics after losing the bronze medal match to the People's Republic of China. This was the first time that female skeet shooters had qualified for the Olympics and Maheshwari Chauhan, along with Raiza Dhillon, led the way.