The 2024 Paris Olympics will see over 111 athletes representing India, a slightly smaller contingent compared to the 124 who participated in Tokyo. India, which clinched a record seven medals in the previous Olympics, is hopeful of repeating the feat. However, several notable Indian athletes will be absent from this year’s Games due to various reasons. Here’s a look at five significant names who won’t be competing in Paris.
Ravi Dahiya, who brought home a silver medal in wrestling from the Tokyo Olympics, will not be part of the Indian contingent. Dahiya lost his bout in the selection trials for the Asian Olympic qualifiers in March. Returning from a long-term injury, Dahiya faced Aman Shehrawat, who had an impressive 2023, winning medals in almost every tournament. Shehrawat secured the 57kg men’s freestyle quota and will represent India in Paris.
Bajrang Punia, another celebrated wrestler and bronze medalist from Tokyo, also missed out on qualification. Punia, who was a leading figure in the protests against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, suffered a 1-9 defeat in the men’s freestyle 65kg semifinal against Rohit Kumar during the trials. The WFI’s decision not to hold another trial after the Asian Olympic qualifiers ended Punia’s hopes of competing in Paris.
Murali Sreeshankar had initially qualified for the Olympics, surpassing the men’s long jump qualifying standard of 8.27m at the Asian Athletics Championships 2023 in Bangkok. Sreeshankar recorded an impressive 8.37m to claim silver. Unfortunately, he had to withdraw from the Games and the rest of the 2024 season due to an injury sustained during practice in April.
Kidambi Srikanth, the former World No.1 in badminton, will miss the Olympics for the second consecutive time. Srikanth’s performance in 2023 was disappointing, with early exits in 10 out of 11 BWF World Tour tournaments, including the All England Open. He failed to make it to the top 16, which was necessary for qualification. Even if he had qualified, he needed to finish above 13th spot to join HS Prannoy in the men’s singles category.
The Indian women’s hockey team, which finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympics, also won’t be competing in Paris. Despite their historic performance, internal turmoil followed with captain Rani Rampal being sidelined by coach Janneke Schopmann. Failing to secure gold at the Asian Games, the team had to go through an Olympic qualifier. Hosting the qualifiers in India, they lost to Germany in a penalty shootout and then to Japan, ending their hopes of participating in a third consecutive Olympics.
These absences mark a significant change for India’s representation at the Paris Olympics, but the remaining athletes will aim to achieve remarkable success and uphold the country’s Olympic legacy.
