The Paris Olympics have come to a close and India finished with a silver and five bronze medals, matching their numeric tally from the 2012 London Olympics.
Along past fortnight we saw on-the-field brilliance from Indian athletes, which were complemented by some very memorable quotes. From Neeraj Chopra aiming for bigger targets to Manu Bhaker talking about how she missed lunch for a week, here are the best quotes from Indians at the Paris Olympics
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"Khel khatam nahi hua hai, bohot kuch baaki hai (my game is not over, I have a lot left in me)."
- Neeraj Chopra after winning silver. He became the first Indian ever to win an individual Olympic gold and silver medal.
"Mother, wrestling has won, I have lost. Please forgive me, your dreams and my courage, everything is broken. I don't have any more strength now. Goodbye wrestling 2001-2024. I shall be indebted to you all. Forgive (me),"
- Vinesh Phogat, announcing her retirement after being disqualified from the Paris Olympics on the day of her gold medal match after failing the weight requirements by 100 grams
"Hockey is back!"
- Harmanpreet Singh, captain of the Indian men's hockey team, after winning the bronze. It was the first time in 52 years that India had won back-to-back hockey medals at the Olympics.
It's back! It's back! It's back! https://t.co/Mkl9nbq6Xp | #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/QEW5fxQLpX
- ESPN India (@ESPNIndia) August 8, 2024
"Keep going brother. You can be really proud of yourself. Wish all semifinalists could get a medal as you definitely deserve one."
- Viktor Axelsen to Lakshya Sen after the Indian lost in the semifinal and bronze medal play-off.
"We are very happy with the silver. For us even the silver feels like gold. The one who won the gold [Nadeem] is also my child. They all work hard to get there."
- Saroj, Neeraj Chopra's mother. This was her reaction after Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem had beaten Neeraj for the gold medal.
"She told me "I am fighting for the future generation of wrestlers. Not for myself, my career is done and this is my last Olympics. I want to fight for the young women wrestlers who will come and fight for them so that they can wrestle safely. That's why I was in Jantar Mantar, and that's why I am here"
- Bajrang Punia, a fellow leader of the wrestlers sit-down protests against alleged sexual harassment from the Wrestling Federation of India chief, said this after Vinesh made the women's 50kg final.
"Sushil pehlawan ji won two medals, I will win in 2028 and then in 2032 also,"
- Aman Sehrawat, fresh after becoming the sixth Indian male wrestler to win an Olympic medal.
"To begin with, I will eat lunch. All these days, I was not having lunch. I was just having breakfast, coming to the shooting range, and then having something in the evening."
- Manu Bhaker quipped after the women's 25m pistol final, where she finished fourth. Manu had a super busy week as she competed in three events, winning bronze in the 10m air pistol and mixed 10m air pistol alongside Sarabjot Singh.
It's been a hard nine days for Manu Bhaker 😮 https://t.co/0Qm32wwRFq | #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/cqOS7pveG2
- ESPN India (@ESPNIndia) August 4, 2024
"I don't think India lost a bronze medal, I feel India lost a gold medal. I saw myself as a gold medallist."
- Nishant Dev, Indian boxer [71kg], after losing to Mexico's Marco Alonso Verde Alvarez via split decision in a closely-contested bout.
"And a little bit of effort from the players also. A little more responsibility, a little more accountability. Not just ask for whatever you ask for. Once you are given that, you also have to be accountable. I think the players have to learn to take responsibility."
- Indian badminton great Prakash Padukone after Lakshya Sen lost the bronze match and said India's badminton players needed to take more responsibility.