... making India only the fourth country to achieve the feat.

[GoodTaste]

This engineer and manager played a crucial part in ensuring Chandrayaan-3’s triumphant touchdown on the Moon, making India only the fourth country to achieve the feat.

Source: Nature
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I am not sure whether you guys have the same feeling when reading "making xx only the fourth country": It sounds to have a trace of disappointment or even of contempt, because it seems to mean "you should have done better-you should have been the third or even the second country in the moon race, yet you've ended up being the fourth."

"Making xx the only fourth country" is different to me and should have been what the author wanted to express, because it has a sense of honor: several countries have been in the competition to win the honor of being the fourth, yet you are the only victor (others have failed).

Is my sense of the grammar correct?

 

[5jj]

It sounds to have a trace of disappointment or even of contempt, because it seems to mean "you should have done better-you should have been the third or even the second country in the moon race, yet you've ended up being the fourth."

It doesn't. It means "Only three other countries achieved this before you. Yours is a great achievement.

"Making xx the only fourth country"

That doesn't work.

 

[Tarheel]

You read way too much into that. It simply states that it has happened three times before. The word "only" indicates that it hasn't happened often. It has only happened three times before; this was the fourth time.

 

[SoothingDave]

No.