The mood from India’s Olympic camp has generally been one of disappointment as the nation were unable to match their fantastic performances in Tokyo, this time in Paris.
Even in shooting, there seemed to be an air of regret amongst its athletes as they won three bronze medals in the sport.
However, it was the most medals won by India in shooting in a single Games. Even if there was no gold-medal moment like Abhinav Bindra’s in 2008, it ended a 12-year medal drought.
Manu Bhaker was the golden girl of the team, winning the women’s 10m air pistol bronze, before claiming the same colour with teammate Sarabjot Singh in the mixed team final. Also having that bronze draped around their neck was Swapnil Kusale after his success in the men’s 50m air rifle 3 positions event.
Bhaker became the first athlete, post independence, from India to win multiple medals in a single Olympics and she is already tipped for gold in Los Angeles when the Olympic Games arrive in 2028.
And this is where that air of regret lies with the Indian team. It’s not through shame in their performances, but hunger. It’s a team of ambitious personalities who were striving for nothing but the top spot of the podium. On their return home, this could be felt in their interviews with national publications.
"When people say, 'Manu, you have made India proud,' I feel so grateful that I could do so," said Bhaker in an interview with The Word Magazine, who she graced the latest cover of.
"And I feel grateful for the love that people have been giving me for so many years, I am filled with gratitude and happiness."
According to her coach, Jaspal Rana, she will be taking a break in the post-Olympics period, but it does not slow down the prodigy’s hunger heading into the next four years.
“I think we all work hard to win medals, but if that happens [winning more than two individual medals at Olympics] then that would be great,” said Bhaker in a separate interview with PTI.
“The aim is to work hard and better this performance in the future.
“I am aiming to win many more Olympic medals for India.”
Sacrifice comes for those with ambition on the horizon. Her mixed team partner Sarabjot Singh, was offered a job by the regional Haryana Government as the Deputy Director of the Sports Department. Still only 22, he turned the lucrative opportunity down to focus on Los Angeles.
“The job is good, but I will not take it right now; I want to focus on my shooting first," Singh said to India Today.
"My family has also been asking me to get a decent job, but I want to pursue shooting.
“I don’t want to go against the decisions that I have made, so I cannot take a job right now.”
“I am yet to achieve my main goal. Hopefully, I will complete my main goal in 2028.
“I used to write in my personal diary that I will give my personal best in Paris, however, I am yet to give my personal best. I want to shoot for gold in 2028.”
That same hunger sits within Kusale, who said his “dream is to win an Olympic gold, which is still incomplete”. Even the fourth-placed skeet mixed team pairing of Maheshwari Chauhan and Anantjeet Singh Naruka set a new standard for the discipline. They became the first Indians to qualify for the finals of a skeet event when they narrowly missed the bronze medal in a tussle with China.
“The better performer, the better team wins,” said Chauhan at the Rajasthan State Olympics Association-organised event.
“One point can make a lot of difference, but certainly, the experience here will help us in future tournaments.
“We are very happy that we have done for skeet shooting is something we can be proud of because it was the first final for our country.
“Missing out on the medal by one point is very disappointing, but at the same time you can’t get too emotional about it.
“Looking at it as my first Olympics, I think the performance was good, but it could have been a lot better and there is scope for improvement.”
Hoping to sign off the season in style in October at the ISSF World Cup Final in New Delhi, this team have already done their nation proud in 2024, but they will be hoping to be sporting legends to over a billion people by the team they depart LAX in four years' time.