Paris Olympics 2024: Five Indian athletes who disappointed in track and field events

Published at :August 20, 2024 at 3:52 PM

Modified at :August 20, 2024 at 3:52 PM

Indian athletics team failed to make a mark except Neeraj Chopra.

India sent a 29-member athletics contingent to Paris Olympics 2024, four more than the Tokyo Olympics. There were high expectations from many athletes to perform their best, reach the semifinals, finals, and break national records. However, the athletics contingent largely disappointed in Paris 2024.

India had just two finalists in Paris 2024, while other athletes couldn’t even clear the qualification or first-round hurdle. Some of these athletes trained abroad and received top-notch facilities but still failed to perform at the Olympic level.

Let’s look at the five athletes who disappointed at Paris 2024.

#5 Women’s 4x400m Relay Team

The Indian team did not have high expectations to qualify for the finals, but a decent time in the heat was anticipated. The Indian quartet of Jyothika Dandi, M.R. Poovamma, Subha Venkatesan, and Vithya Ramraj finished last in their heat with a time of 3:32.51. They were almost six seconds behind the seventh-place team.

The Indian runner after the second leg was not even in the frame. Apart from Jyothika, who had a decent split of 51.30 and was the third fastest in her leg, the others disappointed and let the team down.

#4 Tajinderpal Singh Toor (Men’s Shot Put)

Former Asian record holder, Tajinderpal Singh Toor, who was participating in his second Olympics, also failed to impress. He threw a below-par 18.05m in the qualification round, finishing 29th out of the 31 participants. The other two who finished below him did not register a single valid throw.

The Indian national record holder and Asian Games champion threw 18.05m in his first attempt, and the remainder of his throws were fouls. Despite his consistency at the Asian level, Tajinder has failed to replicate his performance on the world stage in the Olympics for the second consecutive time.

#3 Jyothi Yarraji (Women’s 100m Hurdles)

National record holder in women’s 100m hurdles, Jyothi Yarraji, failed to impress in her debut Olympic Games. The 24-year-old sprinter finished seventh in her heat with a time of 13.16s and fourth in the repechage with a time of 13.17s, failing to qualify for the semifinals.

The Asian Games silver medalist, who was training abroad with her coach James Hillier, did not perform up to her potential and couldn’t breach the 13-second mark. Having run many races sub-par 13 seconds, there were expectations that she would at least reach the semifinals, but Jyothi failed to meet those expectations.

#2 Priyanka Goswami (Women’s 20km Race Walk and Mixed Marathon Relay)

Priyanka Goswami, who won silver at the Commonwealth Games, finished 41st out of 43 participants who completed the race. The Indian national record holder, who finished a credible 17th in Tokyo, failed to impress this time.

A top-20 finish was expected from Priyanka, as she is capable of achieving that. However, something went wrong for Priyanka at the Paris Olympics. She also participated in the mixed marathon relay, but she and Suraj Panwar failed to finish the race.

#1 Annu Rani (Women’s Javelin Throw)

Veteran Annu Rani finished 29th out of 32 participants with a below-par throw of 55.05m. Competing in her second Olympics, Annu Rani was looking to improve on her debut performance, where she finished second to last.

However, things did not go in her favour in Paris, as she faced a similar situation to what she encountered in Tokyo. Annu, who won the Asian Games last year, failed to replicate that performance at the Paris Olympics. Her Asian Games-winning throw of 62.92m would have placed her sixth in the finals.

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