Shillong: After India secured only six medals (one silver and five bronze) at the Paris Olympics, there is a sense of disappointment among the public, especially when compared to the seven medals, including a gold in Javelin Throw by Neeraj Chopra, won at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.
Despite the efforts of Indian athletes, some missed out on advancing to medal matches by narrow margins. Speaking on Saturday, Torak Kharpran, a Boxing Coach with the Indian team and stationed at the Sports Authority of India center in Arunachal Pradesh, shared his thoughts on the performance of Indian boxers in Paris.
Torak noted that the six Indian boxers who competed in the Olympics were unseeded, which led to tough draws, especially for the women, who had to face top-ranked opponents in the early rounds. On the men’s side, while only two boxers qualified, they faced equally challenging bouts.
Amit Phangal, despite putting up a good fight, struggled with scoring issues during his match. Nishant Dev reached the quarterfinals but lost to a Mexican boxer in a match where technological scoring issues were a factor.
Nikhat Zareen, who was widely expected to secure a medal, faced disappointment when she lost to a Chinese opponent in a match where she did not perform as expected. Lovlina Borgohain, a bronze medalist from the Tokyo Olympics, also had a challenging campaign in Paris, despite a successful run in the Grand Prix held in the Czech Republic a month before the Olympics.
Torak emphasized that to improve India’s medal tally in future Olympics, especially in 2028, there needs to be a stronger focus on early preparation and addressing the challenges that Indian athletes faced in Paris.
