Earlier, we would be happy with the Olympian tag, but now we target gold

Paris medallists PR Sreejesh, Sumit Antil, and Swapnil Kusale were in conversation with HT's national sports editor Ashish Magotra at an online session of the 22nd Hindustan Times Leadership Summit

- Ashish Magotra

India is gradually coming to level terms with European countries when it comes to sports data, technology and support, but is still lacking at the junior and grassroots levels as it aims to climb higher on the medals table at Olympic Games, according to three of the country's top sporting icons.

India sent a record 117-member squad to the 2024 Paris Olympics and won six medals (1 silver, 5 bronze), along with as many fourth-place finishes. Three years earlier at Tokyo, the country got seven podium finishes, including 1 gold and 2 silver medals. But scratch a little deeper, and India's growth story runs deeper than what the Paris tally suggests. In the Paralympics that followed, India grabbed 29 medals, the highest in the country's history.

Speaking at the 22nd Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, Paris medallists PR Sreejesh, Sumit Antil, and Swapnil Kusale reinforced the need to bolster grassroots development and talent-spotting for India to reach the next level, particularly at a time when India has thrown its hat in the ring to host the Olympics and Paralympics in 2036.