Pakistan is ahead of India in Olympics even though it has just one medal. Here's why

Last night, Pakistan opened its medal account with a gold at the Paris Olympics, thanks to javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem, whose monster throw of 92.87 m, outclassed everyone, including India's Neeraj Chopra.

With this stupendous victory, the Pakistani Olympian has taken his nation to the 53rd position on the Olympic medal tally with his sole victory, beating India, which is placed on the 64th with 5 medals.

So far, India has bagged four bronze and one silver medal at the Paris Olympics, while missing out on a few chances to win a gold.


As a general practice in Olympic rankings, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) prioritizes countries based on the number of gold medals their athletes have won.

If two or more nations have the same number of gold medals, the rankings are determined by the number of silver medals, followed by bronze medals if necessary.

Also Read: Neeraj Chopra's mother calls Pakistan's gold medalist Arshad Nadeem 'hamara ladka'; the internet is in complete awe

At the Tokyo Olympics, which marks the subcontinent's best performance at the Games, India had seven medals including one gold.

India till date has 38 medals at the Olympics with Norman Pritchard opening India’s account in Paris 1900 with a dual silver.

As for Pakistan, the total stands 11 with four golds, three silvers, and four bronzes at the marquee Games.

Neeraj Chopra, 26, was unsuccessful to defend his gold medal and had to settle for a silver after he managed a throw of 89.45 m last night, his season's best.

Other winners from India include Manu Bhaker, who won the first medal for India at the Paris 2024 Olympics, becoming the first Indian woman to win a shooting medal at the Games.

The 22-year-old markswoman then clinched a mixed team 10m air pistol bronze with Sarabjot Singh, to become the first Indian to win two medals at a single edition of the Olympics.

Paris Olympics: Live action here

Marksman Swapnil Kusale also won a bronze for India in Men's 50m rifle 3 positions, becoming first Indian to stand at the podium in this category.

Further, the Harmanpreet Singh-led hockey team also beat Spain 2-1 to seal their second consecutive bronze medal match in Olympics on Thursday and end the season on a high.

It is worth noting that India ended up on the fourth position in as many as seven events including mixed archery, badminton, shooting and weightlifting, prompting a series of heartbreaks for the Indian contingent having narrowly missed the final mark.

Vinesh Phogat, who had made it to the gold medal round, was disqualified on Wednesday ahead of the final bout because of being 100 grams overweight.

A total of 117 Indian athletes, including five reserves, are a part of the contingent for Paris 2024 Olympics with chances in a total of 69 medal events across 16 sports.