117 athletes representing India have embarked on another Olympics campaign to the capital of France. The goal? To better the seven medals tally from three years ago at Tokyo 2020.
Ahead of the Paris Olympics, The Indian Express lists events and individuals who hold the best chances of finishing on the podium:
Neeraj Chopra
Only the second Indian athlete to win an individual gold medal at the Summer Olympic Games, Neeraj Chopra is India’s strongest contender going into Paris 2024. Despite having participated at only three competitions in the leadup to the Olympics this year, Neeraj is a firm contender given his consistency to shine at the big stage. His gold at Tokyo 2020 — before which he had already claimed the yellow medal at the Commonwealth and Asian Games — has been followed by a gold and a silver at World Championships, a gold at the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year and many other accolades at events like the Diamond League.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty
The star men’s doubles duo of Indian badminton has one of India’s best chances to win a medal in badminton at Paris 2024. Having already won gold at the Commonwealth Games, Asiad, Asian Championships, and played a pivotal role in India’s historic Thomas Cup win, an Olympics medal is missing from their cabinet. Recent form favours them — the duo also clinched its maiden BWF World Super 1000 title last year, becoming the first men’s doubles pair from India to win a Super 1000 event. Also in their favour is that they seem to have an affinity for the host city of the 2024 Olympics. “We always play well in Paris. The home crowd supports us. We’ve just always liked it and there’s a connection with the French crowd. We’ve played really well and that run is here to stay,” the duo had conceded to The Indian Express earlier this year.
Nikhat Zareen
The two-time boxing world champion goes into her first Olympic Games as one of the favorites in the women’s 50 kg category. A recent hot streak of wins — silver at the Strandja Memorial, a gold medal at the Elorda Cup in May, and another at the Grand Prix held in the Czech Republic — makes a strong case for her becoming the first Indian boxer to claim a gold or silver at the Olympics.
Antim Panghal
One of the only two Indian wrestlers seeded for Paris 2024, Antim holds a strong chance of medalling in the women’s 53 kg category. In fact, winning a bronze medal at the World Championships last year made her the first Indian wrestler to qualify for the Olympics. The prodigious 19-year-old, who has already won the U-20 World Championships twice, also clinched a bronze medal at the Asian Games. Her aggressive philosophy of wanting to counter from any situation makes her a formidable opponent.
Sift Kaur Samra
Clinching gold at the Hangzhou Asian Games, Sift Kaur Samra had set a new World Record of 469.6 points in women’s 50m rifle 3 position event. It was India’s first-ever individual Asiad gold medal. The 22-year-old, once a medical aspirant, also bagged gold at the World Championships last year and topped the trials for the Olympics.
10m air pistol mixed team
The team of Sarabjot Singh/Manu Bhaker and Arjun Singh Cheema/Rhythm Sangwan holds the most promise among the Indian shooting contingent. The duo of Sarabjot and Arjun Singh will take confidence from a thrilling one-point win over China at last year’s Asian Games to clinch gold. Rhythm Sangwan, whose bronze medal at Asia Olympic Qualification had earned India a record 16th quota in Shooting for Paris 2024, also bagged a gold in the 10m air pistol event at the World Championships last year. Manu Bhaker seems to have gotten over the nightmare of Tokyo, having booked her ticket for Paris on the back of a record-breaking performance at the Olympic trials.
Indian men’s hockey team
Having ended their four-decade-long Olympics medal drought at Tokyo, the Indian men’s hockey team will be gunning to finish on the podium once again. This, despite being slotted alongside the likes of Australia, Argentina and Belgium in its group. Since the Tokyo 2020 bronze medal, India have won a silver at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games and finished top at the Asiad and the Asian Champions Trophy. Adding a 13th medal to the field hockey tally — India’s most from one event at the Olympics — is a realistic possibility with the presence of veterans such as PR Sreejesh, who is playing his final tournament for India, and still holds the key to India’s success on the big stage.
Despite missing out on a medal at last year’s Asian Games after picking an injury, Mirabai Chanu remains one of India’s biggest prospects at Paris 2024. At Tokyo, three years ago, it was Mirabai who had opened India’s account with a total lift of 202 Kg in women’s 49 Kg category. A year later, her gold medal winning efforts at the Commonwealth Games saw her lift 201 Kg. 90 is a mark that not just Neeraj Chopra but also Mirabai Chanu is looking to touch as well in a snatch attempt. “I will work on improving and focus on getting 90kg and more. I think I can go upto 91-92 kg,” she had told The Indian Express a couple years back. It would more than make up for the 200 kg mark, that is likely to ensure a podium finish in Paris.
