"Sense Of Distress": Anand Mahindra Blunt Verdict On India's Position In Olympic Medals Tally
India finished on the 71st spot with six medals -- five bronze and one silver, while Pakistan finished ahead despite winning just one medal -- a gold by Arshad Nadeem in men's javelin throw.
Anand Mahindra, founder of the Mahindra Group, expressed his disappointment over India's place in the medals tally at the recently-concluded Paris Olympics 2024. India finished on the 71st spot with six medals -- five bronze and one silver, while Pakistan finished ahead despite winning just one medal -- a gold by Arshad Nadeem in men's javelin throw. The Indian contingent could have won more medals, but several athletes finished 4th in their respective medal events. Taking to social media platform X, Mahindra confessed he has "a sense of distress" looking at India's medals tally.
"I'm extremely proud, of course, of our valiant medal winners of the Paris Olympics. But I have to confess a sense of distress when seeing our overall ranking plummet. Everyone usually has a great theory about what we need to do to live up to our potential & garner a respectable number of medals given our population. But I admit I've run out of thoughts and am confused," Mahindra wrote in a lengthy post.
I'm extremely proud, of course, of our valiant medal winners of the Paris Olympics.
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) August 17, 2024
But I have to confess a sense of distress when seeing our overall ranking plummet.
Everyone usually has a great theory about what we need to do to live up to our potential & garner a... pic.twitter.com/ZS3SjVBvFn
Mahindra also highlighted the while the government has "clearly spent a good deal of money" on athletes, the performances have not been up to the mark.
"The Government has clearly spent a good deal of money & the incentives upon winning are plentiful-both at state & national level. The quality of sports infrastructure has dramatically improved. Both within the public & private sectors. The  Private sector players have chipped in handsomely, most notably OGQ, Jindal Sports. Schools have put more emphasis on sport. Even the national mindset has changed & there is a huge interest in our athletes & we celebrate them with fervour. So WHAT on earth  is it that prevents us from finding world-beating talent in Olympic sports??," he added.
Javelin throw hero Neeraj Chopra was the country's biggest gold medal hope after wrestler Vinesh Phogat was disqualified ahead of her 50kg women's freestyle final. But, Neeraj also couldn't get India the elusive yellow metal, with Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem beating him to the No. 1 spot on the podium.
Arshad fetched Pakistan their first individual gold medal at the Olympics, setting a Games record with a 92.97m throw.