Since my childhood, it has always been my aspiration to experience the Summer Olympic Games in person. Yet, aligning a trip to the hosting city with the Olympics is an exceptionally rare occurrence. Primarily, Summer Olympics take place every four years over a span of 17 days. India has not yet had the opportunity to […]
Since my childhood, it has always been my aspiration to experience the Summer Olympic Games in person. Yet, aligning a trip to the hosting city with the Olympics is an exceptionally rare occurrence. Primarily, Summer Olympics take place every four years over a span of 17 days. India has not yet had the opportunity to host the Olympic Games. Therefore, managing to sync our travel plans with the Olympics overseas is indeed an extraordinary event. Fortunately, we found ourselves in Paris at the perfect time this year. I truly believe that when desires are genuine, the universe makes the necessary arrangements to fulfill them. My heartfelt gratitude goes to my wife Dr. Ajanta and my daughter Dr. Priyanka, a French citizen, for coordinating our stay, including a complimentary apartment in Paris thanks to her friend who sought refuge from the Olympic frenzy in the serene countryside.
The origins of the Olympic Games trace back to 776 BC, featuring competitions among elite athletes from the Greek city-states, restricted solely to Greek participants. Over time, Romans were included, but this grand sporting event eventually faded into obscurity, much like Greek civilization itself. The Modern Olympics were revived in 1894 with the founding of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, culminating in the inaugural Olympic Games held in Athens, Greece.
The 33rd Olympic Games in Paris refers to the 2024 Summer Olympics, also known as the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad. Here are some important details about the event: Dates: July 26, 2024 – August 11, 2024 Location: Paris, France. Participating countries: 206 nations across 32 sports, with 5 new sports introduced by the IOC: Breakdancing, Surfing, Skateboarding, Sport Climbing, and Karate. Venues: Competitions were hosted at various iconic sites in Paris and its surrounding areas, including the vicinity of the Eiffel Tower, Grand Palais, and Stade de France.
The emblem of the Olympics was a Phrygian cap, symbolizing the French Revolution, named “Phryge.”
The budget for Paris 2024 was $8.2 billion, showcasing the creativity and resourcefulness of the French to manage it efficiently. In contrast, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics had costs approximating $28 billion, while Rio 2016 incurred around $11.6 billion. France improved its existing facilities. This will mark Paris’s third time hosting the Olympics, following its previous events in 1900 and 1924. Unlike other countries hosting for the first time, they had no need to prove anything. Meanwhile, India has not yet been able to host the games and has no immediate plans to do so in the next decade.
The IOC provides a substantial portion of the funding required for the Games. For instance, they contributed $1.7 billion towards the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Ticket Availability: Tickets were offered on authorized resale platforms and the official Paris 2024 website. Regarding attendance, over 9.5 million out of 10 million tickets were sold, with 145,000 fans converging in designated fan zones during the Games. Additionally, almost one million spectators witnessed the Olympic road cycling events on August 3rd and 4th, and more than 6 million visitors attended celebration sites throughout France. Some events notably broke attendance records, including athletics, basketball, rugby sevens, handball, and beach volleyball, with broadcasts reaching over 6 billion viewers globally.
The Paris 2024 Olympics showcased 32 sports, incorporating five new additions: Breaking, Sport Climbing, Skateboarding, and Surfing. The complete list of sports encompasses: Aquatics: – Artistic Swimming, Diving, Marathon Swimming, Swimming, Water Polo; Combat Sports: Boxing, Breaking, Fencing, Judo, Karate, Taekwondo, Wrestling; Team Sports: Basketball, Basketball 3×3, Football, Handball, Hockey, Rugby Sevens, Volleyball, Beach Volleyball; Individual Sports: Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Canoe Slalom, Canoe Sprint, Cycling: BMX Freestyle, BMX Racing, Cycling Mountain Bike, Cycling Road, Cycling Track, Equestrian, Golf, Gymnastics, Modern Pentathlon, Rowing, Sailing, Shooting, Skateboarding, Sport Climbing, Surfing, Table Tennis, Tennis, Triathlon, Weightlifting.
These competitions took place at various landmark venues in Paris and its suburbs, such as Stade De France, the Eiffel Tower, and the Grand Palais. We witnessed the Cycling and numerous Athletics events at Stade De France. The entire city of Paris was adorned for the occasion, and the Seine river was cleared and closed off to navigation for around a month, hosting aquatic events on its waters.
We were fortunate enough to witness Neeraj Chopra’s Qualifying throw. It was a moment of pride as his name echoed throughout Stade De France, eliciting a roaring applause from the 100,000 spectators.
Numerous French acquaintances inquired why a nation of 1.4 billion struggles in sports; we could only respond with embarrassment, feeling inadequate. Sports serve as a reflection of a country’s strength, much like China, Japan, Australia, and France have exemplified. During the Cold War, the USSR pursued similar feats in the Moscow Olympics, as did Nazi Germany prior to World War II in Munich. The Indian delegation at the Paris 2024 Olympics comprised 117 athletes, with 70 men and 47 women competing across 16 sports disciplines, aiming for 95 medals. This reflects a slight decrease from 124 athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The Indian team was led by flag-bearers P.V. Sindhu and Sharath Kamal during the opening ceremony, while Manu Bhaker and P.R. Sreejesh carried the Indian flag at the closing ceremony. The contingent included competitors from various disciplines such as athletics, badminton, boxing, hockey, shooting, table tennis, and wrestling.
India’s Olympic Journey: The country made its first Olympic appearance in 1900, establishing itself as the first Asian nation to do so. This was a pivotal moment, marking India’s entry into the modern Olympic movement. Interestingly, Norman Pritchard was vacationing in France when he chose to participate, competing in five athletics events – the 60m, 100m, 200m, 110m hurdles, and 200m hurdles. He secured two silver medals, becoming the first Asian-born athlete to reach this milestone.
Total Olympic medals for India across all Games stand at 41, comprising 10 gold, 10 silver, and 21 bronze, awarded solely in the Summer Games. India’s most notable performance occurred at the 2020 Olympics, where they garnered seven medals, including 1 gold, 2 silver, and 4 bronze. Neeraj Chopra’s gold medal in the men’s javelin throw marked a historic achievement for India in athletics. India’s Top Olympians: – Neeraj Chopra: Gold medal in men’s javelin throw (2020) and silver medal (2024). Sushil Kumar: Silver medal in men’s freestyle wrestling (2012) and bronze medal (2008). Leander Paes: Bronze medal in men’s singles tennis (1996), having participated in six Olympic Games.
Nevertheless, it’s important to highlight that India sent its first official Olympic contingent to the 1920 Antwerp Olympics, consisting of five athletes. This marked the commencement of India’s formal Olympic participation. However, India’s performance remained dismal due to several factors: lack of strategy, ineffective talent scouting, poorly structured grassroots training, improper selections, insufficient training, inadequate sports management, favoritism, and insufficient infrastructure and resources. In contrast, other Asian nations like China, Japan, and Korea have witnessed remarkable success through careful planning and execution.
The Paris 2024 Olympics attracted an impressive number of participants and onlookers, with around 10,500 athletes representing over 206 National Olympic Committees and the IOC Refugee Olympic Team.
Significant Attendance Figures: Women’s Rugby: 66,000 at Stade de France; Women’s Basketball: 27,000 in Lille; Women’s Handball: 26,500
India’s performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics was disappointing, achieving a total of 6 medals: 1 silver and 5 bronze, placing India 71st among the 206 participating countries. Additionally, there was an unfortunate incident involving Vignesh Phogat’s disqualification for exceeding weight limits in her category.
Medal Overview:
Silver: Neeraj Chopra secured the silver medal in the men’s javelin throw;
Bronze: Manu Bhaker achieved two bronze medals in shooting—one in the women’s 10m air pistol and another in the mixed 10m air pistol team event, Swapnil Kusale earned a bronze in the men’s 50m rifle three-positions event, the Indian men’s hockey team won bronze, and Aman Sehrawat claimed bronze in the men’s freestyle 57kg wrestling.
Contingent Overview: India sent 117 athletes to the Paris 2024 Olympics, comprising 110 competitors and 7 alternates across 16 sports.
Countries Ranked by Total Medals:
Rank 1. United States: 40 gold, 44 silver, 42 bronze = 126 total
Rank 2. China: 40 gold, 27 silver, 24 bronze = 91 total
Rank 3. Japan: 20 gold, 12 silver, 13 bronze = 45 total
Rank 5. France: 16 gold, 26 silver, 22 bronze = 64 total
Rank 71. India: No gold, 1 silver, 5 bronze = 6 total
India must adopt a strategic approach if it desires to earn respect as a sporting nation. Sports also serve as an indicator of a country’s overall health, youth vibrancy, and agility. I believe India should focus on specific sports based on regional or ethnic strengths. My recommended focus includes:
Aquatics: Artistic Swimming, Diving, Marathon Swimming, Swimming, Water Polo – focusing on coastal regions, river valleys in North India, Bengal, and Assam.
Combat Sports: Boxing, Breaking, Fencing, Judo, Karate, Taekwondo, Wrestling – emphasis on states like Haryana, North India, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, the Northeast, and Ladakh.
Team Sports: Basketball, Basketball 3×3, Handball, Hockey, Volleyball, Beach Volleyball – targeting regions with taller populations, such as Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana.
Individual Sports: Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Canoe Slalom, Canoe Sprint – traditional archers from Assam and Santhal regions exhibit potential. Athletics requires categorization, with strategic planning for specific events; for example, spear throwing talent among Konyak Nagas could produce champion javelin throwers.
Cycling: BMX Freestyle, BMX Racing, Cycling Mountain Bike, Cycling Road, Cycling Track – there has been a surge of interest in cycling, revealing a large talent pool.
Other sports such as Equestrian, Golf, Gymnastics, Modern Pentathlon, Rowing, Sailing, Shooting, Skateboarding, Sport Climbing, Table Tennis, Tennis, and Weightlifting are feasible but necessitate talent identification, training, and development efforts.
Aiming for ambitious goals, such as 25 medals in 2028, 50 in 2032, 75 in 2036, and 100 in 2040, should be correlated with budget, infrastructure, organization, processes, and execution. Only then can a movement take shape, enabling India to achieve what is expected from the most populous country on Earth.
