Off-side: The wretchedness of a fourth-place finish at the Olympics

Arjun Babuta, Manu Bhaker and Lakshya Sen have now joined the unfortunate ranks of several other Indians who had painfully finished fourth in Olympic history. Here’s hoping they are blessed with a touch of magic and a bit of mercy at LA 2028.

Arjun Babuta missed out on a podium finish in the 10m air rifle event at the Paris Olympics | Photo Credit: RITU RAJ KONWAR

There’s a special circle of despair reserved for those who finish fourth at the Olympics. It’s a cruel purgatory that separates the medal winners basking in glory from the also-rans fading into obscurity. You linger awkwardly in between, robbed of the chance at immortality, with nothing to show but the sting of being so painfully close.

These Paris Games have been particularly unforgiving for India. Lakshya Sen missed a shot at becoming the first Indian male player to win an Olympic medal in badminton when he lost his bronze medal match despite being one game up. For shooter Arjun Babuta, the wretched 9.5 came at the worst possible time. It was his lowest score in the 10m air rifle final at the ongoing Paris Olympics. The score, this tiny numerical betrayal on the 20th shot, was the gulf between him and the podium. Babuta’s compatriot, Manu Bhaker, a twin medallist in this edition, missed a bronze in women’s 25m air rifle by the barest of margins.

These immensely talented youngsters have now joined the unfortunate ranks of their fellow athletes from past editions, who have had to endure the wretchedness of finishing just outside the podium in Olympic history.

“It was not my day. It is very hard to deal with fourth. It is the worst place to finish. It is disheartening,” Babuta had said, emerging from the cocoon of the changing room where he was whisked away by compatriot Elavenil Valarivan to deal with his emotions away from the prying eyes and probing questions.

The 25-year-old was second after 12 shots and he recovered from a poor 13th — 9.9 — to hold on to his position after four more shots. A 10.1 on the 18th put him outside the medal bracket, but he scrambled back with a 10.5. But fate had its own cruel twist reserved for him.

The first member of India’s unfortunate Heartbreak Club was wrestler Randhir Shinde, who lost the bronze medal playoff in the men’s featherweight freestyle to Philip Bernard of Great Britain at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics. Since then, there has been a steady influx of many illustrious names — the men’s football team in the 1956 Melbourne Games, Milkha Singh (400m, Rome 1960), P. T. Usha (women’s 400m hurdles, Los Angeles 1984), Leander Paes/Mahesh Bhupathi (men’s doubles tennis, Athens 2004), Joydeep Karmakar (men’s 50m rifle prone shooting, London 2012) or Aditi Ashok in women’s golf from the last edition in Tokyo.

Abhinav Bindra, who savoured the dizzying heights of Olympic glory in 2008 and later the bitter taste of almost-but-not-quite in 2016, was quick to offer solace. “Arjun, congratulations on your inspiring performance today. You came so close, and your dedication shone through every shot. I couldn’t be more proud of your composure under pressure. This performance is just the beginning and am sure a sign of things to come. Keep pushing, keep believing. The entire nation stands behind you,” the 10m air rifle winner of the Beijing Olympics posted on  X.

Bindra knows competitive sport can be both magical and merciless.

Ask poor Max Litchfield, who was in tears again after finishing fourth in the 400m individual medley for the third consecutive Olympics. “I’ve come fourth at three Olympics on the trot, there are not many people that can say they’ve done that. It’s just tough that it’s so close again,” the British swimmer said. “I gave it my everything so I can’t complain. Well, I can, I’m upset, but I’ve done everything I possibly could, so it is just sport.”

Sport, often, asks for more than what we can possibly give. Here’s hoping that it offers a touch of magic and a bit of mercy for Babuta and Lakshya at LA 2028.