Over the years, several Indian athletes have experienced the agony of finishing just outside the medal positions at the Olympic Games. These athletes, despite their exceptional performances, missed out on a podium finish by the narrowest of margins. Their near-misses not only left them heartbroken but also resonated deeply with the entire nation. Here are some of the most notable instances where Indian athletes came agonizingly close to winning an Olympic medal.
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- Milkha Singh (400m, Rome 1960): Missed bronze by 0.1 seconds after slowing down before the final turn, allowing South African Malcolm Spence to edge past.
- Leander Paes/Mahesh Bhupathi (Tennis doubles, Athens 2004): Lost the bronze medal match in a grueling 14-16 final set against Croatia’s Mario Ancic and Ivan Ljubicic.
- Abhinav Bindra (10m air rifle, Rio 2016): Missed a podium spot by 0.1 points in a shoot-off against Ukraine’s Serhiy Kulish, finishing fourth.
- Dipa Karmakar (Gymnastics vault, Rio 2016): Finished fourth in the women’s vault final, missing out on bronze by just 0.15 points.
- PT Usha (400m hurdles, Los Angeles 1984): Missed the bronze by 1/100th of a second, finishing just behind Romania’s Cristieana Cojocaru.
- Sania Mirza/Rohan Bopanna (Tennis mixed doubles, Rio 2016): Lost the bronze medal match to Czech Republic’s Radek Stepanek and Lucie Hradecka.
- Indian men’s football team (Melbourne 1956): Finished fourth after losing the bronze medal match, narrowly missing out on a historic medal.
- Kunjarani Devi (Women’s 48kg weightlifting, Athens 2004): Finished just outside the medals in fourth place.
- Aditi Ashok (Women’s individual golf, Tokyo 2020): Missed out on a bronze medal by a single stroke, finishing fourth in the women’s individual golf event.
- Indian women’s hockey team (Tokyo 2020): Achieved a commendable fourth place, narrowly missing a historic medal after a close loss in the bronze medal match.
