“If we cherish the victories, should also accept the defeats”- Shot putter Tajinderpal Singh scripts heartfelt post after Paris Olympics 2024 exit
Indian shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor crashed out of the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024 on Friday, August 2. He finished 15th in Group A of the men’s shot put qualification round, and failed to qualify for the final.
Following his elimination, Tajinderpal put up an Instagram story, expressing his feelings about his campaign at the Summer Games. A two-time gold medallist at the Asian Games, Singh shared that his journey to the quadrennial event was riddled with ‘emotional setbacks’ and ‘injuries’.
“Today was a hard day for me I intended to perform my personal best but couldn’t perform, journey to Paris Olympics was not easy for me, endured many emotional setbacks and injuries, still going through ankle pain,” Tajinderpal shared in a post on Instagram.
He also expressed gratitude for being bestowed with the chance to represent his country at the Olympic Games.
"But definitely representing my Nation at biggest sports event of the world is also a fortunate. If we cherish the victories should also accept the defeats it’s a true sportsmanship. Grateful for your wishes and support. Will sure come back stronger," Singh concluded.
Tajinderpal Singh performs below expectations to crash out of the Paris Olympics 2024
Tajinderpal Singh finished overall 29th in the qualifiers. The requirement to qualify for the shot put final is either to finish among the top 12 or meet the direct qualification mark of 21.35 meters.
Singh failed to meet either of the benchmarks. In his first attempt, the shot putter registered a throw of 18.95m. He would have hoped to better his performance in the remaining two attempts, however, Tajinderpal fouled in both.
He has been one of India’s most celebrated competitors in the sport. Thus, a lot more was expected of him. The 2023 Asian Games gold medalist in Hangzhou, Singh also failed to get close to his personal best of 21.77 meters. He even fell short of his best performance from this season, which was 20.38 meters.