It is typically mentioned that ending fourth within the Olympics is peak agony.
If coming final carries the sting of embarrassment, securing the fourth place inflicts the ache of being so close to but to this point, one thing that may both drive an athlete to future glory or depart them utterly crushed.
India’s affair with close to misses at sport’s grandest stage has been a long-standing one, starting approach again in 1956.
Additionally learn: Paris Olympics day 3 LIVE
Here’s a take a look at the situations when Indian athletes got here shut however ended at simply that.
1956, Melbourne
The Indian soccer workforce made the semifinals after beating hosts Australia 4-2 within the quarterfinals, with Neville D’Souza changing into the primary Asian to attain a hat-trick on the Video games.
By giving his workforce the lead, Neville seemed like doing an encore within the last-four conflict towards Yugoslavia. However the Yugoslavians got here again strongly within the second half to seal the competition of their favour.
Within the bronze medal classification match, India misplaced to Bulgaria 0-3, drawing to an in depth an eventful few days which the good P Okay Banerjee would typically reminisce with a touch of comprehensible anguish.
1960, Rome
The legendary Milkha Singh missed out on a bronze by the narrowest of margins.
The official picture end of the 400m closing on the Olympic Video games in Rome on September 06, 1960. It exhibits Otis Davis of the U.S. (nearer, proper) turning his head as Carl Kaufmann of Germany lunges on the tape together with his head. This trick, which gave Lee Calhoun of the U.S. the excessive hurdles title, didn’t work for Kaufmann. The judges awarded the race to Davis however gave each athletes the world report smashing time of 44.9s. Malcolm Spence of South Africa is third in 45.5 and India’s Milkha Singh fourth in 45.6.
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The Hindu Archives
Competing within the 400m closing and touted as a medal contender, the ‘Flying Sikh’ fell quick by a mere 1/tenth of a second after slowing right down to steal a look at his fellow rivals, an error that he would remorse for the remainder of his life.
This is able to go down as his worst reminiscence after dropping his mother and father within the aftermath of the partition.
Milkha virtually gave up the game after this loss and it required lots of persuasion for him to hit the observe once more and win two gold medals within the 1962 Asian Video games.
1980, Moscow
With prime hockey nations such because the Netherlands, Australia and Nice Britain boycotting the Moscow Video games over the us’s invasion of Afghanistan, the Indian ladies’s hockey workforce had an awesome likelihood to complete on the rostrum in its first try itself.
Indian girl hockey participant Rekha Mundapan and Natella Krasnikova (USSR) earlier than a hockey match.
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The Hindu Archives
However the workforce endured the agony of narrowly lacking out on a medal, dropping its final match to erstwhile USSR 1-3 to complete behind Zimbabwe, Czechoslovakia and the hosts.
1984, Los Angeles
Los Angeles Olympics introduced again recollections of Milkha in Rome when PT Usha missed the 400m hurdles bronze by 1/a centesimal of a second, making it the closest-ever miss for an Indian athlete in any competitors.
P.T. Usha and different Kerala athletes obtained a rousing welcome on their return from the Los Angeles Olympics.
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The Hindu Archives
Generally known as the ‘Payyoli Categorical’, she ended fourth behind Romania’s Christina Cojocaru, however her heroic effort left a long-lasting impression and she or he turned a family identify.
2004, Athens
After an extended hole of 20 years, the curse of the fourth place returned to hang-out the Indian contingent when the celebrated duo of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi missed out on the rostrum on the Athens Video games.
Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes in the course of the males’s doubles bronze medal tennis match towards Mario Ancic and Ivan Ljubicic within the Olympic Video games 2004 in Athens on August 20, 2004.
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The Hindu Archives
Arguably India’s best doubles pair in tennis, Paes and Bhupathi missed out on a bronze medal after dropping a marathon match to Croatia’s Mario Ancic and Ivan Ljubicic 6-7 6-4 14-16 to finish fourth.
Earlier than that, the Indian pair went into the semifinals as favourites however misplaced to the German duo of Nicholas Kiefer and Rainer Schuttler in straight units 2-6 3-6.
On the identical Video games, Kunjarani Devi completed fourth in ladies’s 48kg weightlifting competitors, however she was probably not in medal rivalry.
Disqualified in her closing try to raise 112.5 kg within the clear and jerk class, Kunjarani completed with a complete effort of 190kg, 10kg behind bronze-medallist Thailand’s Aree Wiratthaworn.
2012, London
Shooter Joydeep Karmakar skilled the horrible feeling of ending a spot behind the bronze medal winner on this version.
File picture of Joydeep Karmakar.
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The Hindu
Karmakar had completed seventh within the qualification spherical of males’s 50m rifle susceptible occasion, and within the finals, he ended simply 1.9 factors behind the bronze medal winner.
2016, Rio de Janeiro
Gymnast Dipa Karmakar turned the primary Indian girl gymnast to compete on the Video games. After making the ultimate of the ladies’s vault occasion, she completed fourth general with a rating of 15.066 and missed the bronze medal by 0.150 factors.
Gymnast Dipa Karmakar in the course of the 2016 Olympics.
She launched the game to India and gave the message that one does not need to be born within the USA or Russia to develop into a superb gymnast.
On the identical Video games, Abhinav Bindra’s illustrious profession was headed for a fairytale end however a shooter of even his class was not spared of the curse of the fourth, as he missed the bronze medal by a whisker, eight years after his historic gold medal on the Beijing Video games.
2020, Tokyo
A little bit greater than 4 a long time after the 1980 Moscow Video games, the members of the Indian ladies’s hockey workforce as soon as once more endured the same ache on the Tokyo Olympics, lacking out on the bronze.
The Indian aspect punched above its weight triggering an upset to knock three-time Olympic champions Australia to make the semifinal.
Indian ladies hockey workforce have a good time their win over Australia in the course of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Video games at Oi Hockey Stadium on August 2, 2021 in Tokyo
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Getty Photos
Within the semifinals, they suffered a 0-1 defeat to Argentina however nonetheless had a shot on the bronze. They seemed on track to win the elusive medal as Rani Rampal and Co. took a 3-2 lead towards Nice Britain.
However Britain scored twice to go up 4-3 and clinch the medal, leaving the Indian workforce in tears.
On the identical Video games, golfer Aditi Ashok additionally skilled the agony of lacking out on a historic podium end.
Ranked two hundredth on the earth, the 26-year-old matched one of the best golfers on the earth shot for shot. However, she ultimately fell quick after coming agonisingly shut and completed fourth.
2024, Paris
It was one other heartbreak for India within the capturing occasion as Arjun Babuta completed fourth within the males’s 10m air rifle occasion on the Paris Olympics 2024 in Paris on July 29.
World report holder China’s Lihao Sheng gained the gold whereas world champion Sweden’s Victor Lindgren settled for silver. Croatia’s Miran Maricic gained the bronze.
Arjun Babuta gestures after ending fourth within the 10m air rifle males’s closing on the 2024 Summer season Olympics on July 29, 2024.
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AP
Arjun Babuta sponsored by OGQ has gained 5 golds, two silvers and three bronze to this point in his careeer. Babuta has gained two gold medals at ISSF World Cup in 2022 in 10m air rifle and 10m air rifle workforce occasion. He added a silver in 2024 on the ISSF World Cup. He gained his first gold medal in 2016 on the ISSF Junior World Cup.
Indian archers Dhiraj and Ankita
It was that proverbial second of ‘so close to but to this point.’
On the magnificent setting of the seventeenth century Invalides enviornment, with the Eiffel Tower, the Grand Palais and the Military Museum standing as witness, Indian archers made a little bit of historical past by making it to the combined workforce bronze medal match, however falling wanting cornering Olympic glory in Paris 2024.
Like a number of much-talked about fourth-place end moments, which fills one in satisfaction and not using a medal and consists of legends similar to Milkha Singh, P.T. Usha and Dipa Karmakar, the one right here involving Ankita Bhakat and B. Dhiraj, hailing from Kolkata and Vijayawada respectively, has the facility to present Indian archery an enormous morale-boosting push.
The Indian duo overcame a little bit of distraction as a result of absence of Korean coach Baek Woong Ki to shoot persistently nicely and gained two rounds earlier than dropping to powerhouse Korea after which a extra skilled USA aspect within the bronze medal duel.
Manu Bhaker
It’s the third consecutive heartbreak for India on the 2024 Summer season Olympics.
India’s double bronze medallist Manu Bhaker narrowly missed out on the chance so as to add one other Olympic medal to her assortment by ending 4th within the 25m pistol occasion.
India’s Manu Bhaker reacts after getting eradicated from the 25m pistol ladies’s closing on the 2024 Summer season Olympics on August 3, 2024.
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AP
The 22-year-old, who has already made historical past by changing into the primary Indian athlete to win two bronze medals in a single version of the quadrennial showpiece, was edged out by Hungary’s Veronika Main in a shoot-off as each of them had been tied for third place after the seventh spherical of the ultimate.
Bhaker began gradual within the first couple of rounds after which had a great run to take a seat in second place after six rounds. However after dropping to 3rd, she took on Main within the shoot-off and will solely handle two out of 5 pictures heading in the right direction. Main bought three.
Lakshya Sen
Serving 3-1 up within the opening recreation of his Olympic bronze medal encounter towards Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia, Lakshya Sen tried a excessive serve towards his Malaysian opponent. Sen lifted the shuttle excessive making an attempt to pressure a excessive clear from his backtracking opponent. Lee took a take a look at the trajectory of the projectile and easily left the shuttle because it sailed over the backline of the courtroom.
Service errors are fleeting in males’s badminton. Lakshya had made one simply 4 factors into his match towards Lee. Only a day earlier than he had made one other service error whereas three recreation factors up towards Viktor Axelsen. The Dane would benefit from his alternative, save the rest of the sport factors and find yourself successful it. He’d win the match, attain the Olympic finals and find yourself defending his title from Tokyo.
Whereas Lakshya’s error had come at a vital time towards Axelsen, the one towards Lee had come very early on. There was sufficient time to recuperate. However the truth that he made one in any respect, prompt there was one thing in what Axelsen had mentioned a day earlier than about competing within the Olympics.
Maheshwari-Naruka pair
The Indian capturing duo of Maheshwari Chauhan and Anant Jeet Singh Naruka missed the bronze medal by a whisker within the skeet combined workforce occasion, ending fourth on the Paris Olympics on Monday (August 5, 2024).
Maheshwari and Naruka shot 43 to complete fourth behind China’s Yiting Jiang and Jianlin Lyu (44) within the contest for the bronze medal.
Earlier, the Indians completed fourth within the qualification after each groups had been tied on 146 on the finish of the three-round, 150-shot course of, forcing a shoot-off.
Within the qualification, Maheshwari shone with 50/50 in her closing two rounds whereas Naruka notched scores of 25, 23 and 24 within the three rounds.
Revealed – July 19, 2024 02:56 pm IST
