Hyderabad: The Paris 2024 Olympics turned out to be a disaster for the Indian badminton players as they returned home with no medals to their name. The Indian government through the Sports Authority of India’s Mission Olympic Cell invested a significant amount in Indian sports. A whopping amount of 470 Crore rupees was allocated for the Indian contingent which included 118 athletes.
Badminton received a support of Rs 72.03 Crores, the second-largest funding for a particular sport. Also, the sport received massive support including 13 national camps and 81 foreign exposure trips.
Satwik and Chirag exit from the quarterfinal
The Indian duo of Satwik and Chirag were medal contenders even before the start of the competition. But, their dream of winning the maiden Olympic medal was crushed in the quarterfinal after coming with stellar form from the group stage. One of the favourites for gold medals, Satwik and Chirag let slip first set advantage and lost the quarterfinal fixture against the Malaysian Pair of Soh Wooi Yik and Chia Aaron by 21-13, 14-21, 16-21. It was a shock exit for India as the pair who was considered to be a medal contender was knocked out from the last-8 stage.
PV Sindhu eliminated from the pre-quarterfinal
Sindhu, who had won medals in the previous two editions faltered this time and failed to clinch a medal. She took an exit route in the pre-quarterfinal of the Paris Olympics with a defeat against China’s He Bingjiao by 19-21, 14-21. Sindhu’s loss was a big blow for India as she missed out on an opportunity to win three Olympic medals in a row.
Lakshya Sen’s fourth-place finish
Lakshya Sen carved out a brilliant journey till the point where he reached the semi-final. His path to the semis included a victory against Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie who is one of the best in the sport. But, then he failed to capitalise on two medal-winning opportunities. First, he lost the semi-final against Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and then was outplayed by Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia after winning the first set.
