Paris: The United States pipped China for the top spot in the battle of medals on Sunday as Paris prepared to bring the curtain down on one of the most successful Olympic Games in history.
In a thrilling finale that capped 17 days of spellbinding action, the United States women’s basketball team squeezed past France 67-66 to clinch the last gold of the Games.
The win — the eighth consecutive Olympic women’s basketball won by the USA — ensured the Americans finished level with China on 40 golds each as the games drew to a close.
The USA however finished on top of the overall medal table with a total of 126 medals, with China in second place on 91. Japan finished third with 20 gold medals (45 in total) and Australia came in fourth with 18 Golds (53 in total).
France won 16 golds to finish fifth on the table and their total tally of 64 medals was their best for more than a century. France beat their tally from Atlanta 1996 (15), and their overall easily eclipsed their Beijing 2008 tally of 43.
India 71st
India clinched six medals – one silver and five bronze – and finished 71st in the final medal tally at the Paris Olympics.
INDIAN MEDAL WINNERS:
• Neeraj Chopra: Silver; Men’s Javelin Throw (Athletics)
• Indian Men’s Hockey Team: Bronze
• Manu Bhaker: Bronze; Women’s 10m Air Pistol (Shooting)
• Swapnil Kusale: bronze; men’s 50m rifle 3 positions (Shooting)
• Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh: Bronze; 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team (Shooting)
• Aman Sehrawat: Bronze – Men’s Freestyle 57kg (Wrestling).
Although hopes were high for a historic performance, the country fell just short of surpassing its previous best at the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics in 2021, when they secured seven medals (1 gold, 2 silver, and 4 bronze.) and ranked 48th.
A total of 117 Indian athletes participated across 16 sports at the Paris Games: archery, athletics, badminton, boxing, equestrian, golf, hockey, judo, rowing, sailing, shooting, swimming, wrestling, table tennis, and tennis.
(Source: NEWS18)
