So near yet so far: India’s tryst with fourth-place Olympic heartbreaks

India's near misses at the Olympics, from Milkha Singh to PT Usha, Leander Paes, and more, ending in fourth place.

It's often said that finishing fourth in the Olympics is peak agony.

If coming last carries the sting of embarrassment, securing the fourth place inflicts the pain of being so near yet so far, something that can either drive an athlete to future glory or leave them completely crushed.

India's affair with near misses at sport's grandest stage has been a long-standing one, beginning way back in 1956.

Here is a look at the instances when Indian athletes came close but ended at just that.

The Indian football team made the semifinals after beating hosts Australia 4-2 in the quarterfinals, with Neville D'Souza becoming the first Asian to score a hat-trick at the Games.

By giving his team the lead, Neville looked like doing an encore in the last-four clash against Yugoslavia. But the Yugoslavians came back strongly in the second half to seal the contest in their favour.

In the bronze medal classification match, India lost to Bulgaria 0-3, drawing to a close an eventful few days which the great P K Banerjee would often reminisce with a hint of understandable anguish.