India’s talented athletes at Paris can make the first pitch to impress those judging the country’s credentials to play host.
With India contemplating hosting the Olympics, the Paris Games will offer a good indicator of where its preparedness stands. Going past the seven medals won at Tokyo in 2021 will be the immediate goal. A double-digit haul will be considered commensurate return for the spending over the last three years, that was on par with some of the developed sporting nations. Even as Paris tweaks the aesthetics of how a climate change-conscious Olympics looks like, India has attempted to prop up and broadbase its medal-print and will look to first retain, and then go beyond, successes in athletics, hockey, badminton, wrestling, weightlifting and boxing, and hope for a new wave of medalists to come through at Paris. India’s talented athletes at Paris can make the first pitch to impress those judging the country’s credentials to play host. In Paris, it will target double digits, like Brazil did with 10 in 2004 when it bid to host 12 years later.
At the outset, India will be aware of the sports where it has slid back since Tokyo. The women’s hockey team that finished 4th in Japan has failed to even qualify this time. Lifter Mirabai Chanu remains the sole contender in her sport, with no second-rung in sight, and not a single male qualifying. Gymnastics has no representation at all this time, with no one sprinting down the footsteps of Dipa Karmakar or Pranati Nayak, and Bhavani Devi’s legacy in fencing has no heir either. Swimming participants are down from three to two, male boxers down from five to two, and male wrestlers from three to one.
However, where India can hope to make some gains is in shooting, where an eye-popping 21 have qualified, and at least a few will be expected to convert those starts into finals, and finals into medals after two medal-less Olympics. Table tennis is a rank outsider, but the women’s team will aim at making a splash, especially after the maiden bronze at Asiad. One of the more heartwarming stories could be of the perennial trier, archer Deepika Kumari, a new mother, focused on making her fourth attempt count. Perhaps the greatest successes will be of the women wrestlers, who showed immense persistence to seek qualification after fighting an important battle at home. If the unstoppable Vinesh Phogat and the rest of the pack comprising Antim Panghal, Anshu Malik and heavyweight Ritika — apart from Neeraj Chopra — can bring in multiple medals, India would’ve made the strongest pitch yet in staking claim to host the Olympics.
