Potential wasted: Indian shuttlers sign off Paris Games on dismal note

India became so used to a badminton medal from the Olympics in the last 12 years that Paris 2024 seems nothing short of a disaster.

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Lakshya Sen emerged as a notable bright spot with a fourth-place finish, but the Indian badminton team, including medal contenders such as PV Sindhu and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, returned empty-handed from the Olympics for the first time in over a decade.

The hopes of a medal were not misplaced, Sindhu was there again eyeing a hat-trick of medals, the ever-tenacious HS Prannoy (men’s singles) had finally made it to his debut Olympics, and Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto (women’s doubles) seemed in decent form.

As for Lakshya and SatwikChirag, they were seen as potential podium finishers even before the first match was held.