Paris (France): As India enters the Paris Olympics with a contingent of 117 athletes, sports fans will be hoping that the country will dish out their best-ever performance. Some of the athletes will debut in the Olympics while some will play for the last time in the biggest sporting spectacle worldwide.
India bagged seven medals in Tokyo including a gold from Neeraj Chopra. The desire to double the medal tally this time around will inspire athletes to do good but it will be a tough task to enter into the double digits with only Neeraj Chopra looking certain of a medal.
- Overview of the contingent
The strongest medal contenders for India in Paris are going to be Neeraj Chopra and the badminton pair of Rankireddy Satwiksairaj and Chirag Shetty. More than half of India's contingent is from three sports - athletics (29), shooting (21) and hockey (19). Out of the 69 athletes, 40 are debutants.
India’s campaign will be majorly driven by the athletes as they make up for a large chunk of the Indian contingent. The seasoned campaigners in the Indian roster - two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu, veteran tennis star Rohan Bopanna, table tennis player Achantha Sharath Kamal and hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh will be expected to up their game.
Medal Probables
India’s hopes for a medal rely on the star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra who bagged a gold in the previous edition. The Indian fans will hope that he will not only finish at the top of the podium but will also breach the 90-meter mark with his throw. Neeraj will have an opportunity to become the third Indian athlete after PV Sindhu and Sushil Kumar to win two consecutive Olympic medals.
The badminton duo of Satwisksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty are other candidates who can grab a medal for India considering their scintillating form in recent times. They also climbed to the No. 1 spot in the global rankings and will be gunning for glory in the French capital.
Shooting is another sport where India can hope for a medal as Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary had raised hopes with their consistent performances in the build-up to the Olympics. Sift Kaur Samra (50m three position), Sandeep Singh (10m air rifle) and Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar (men's 50 m rifle) have shown that they are good enough to earn a medal in the Olympics.
Archers always come up with a burden of expectations on their shoulders as they perform brilliantly in global tournaments. However, when it comes to the Olympics, the Indian archers have not lived up to their stature and they will be aiming to change it this time around.
It seems that India will match their medal tally from the previous edition but if they go in the double digits, it will be a memorable edition for the Indian fans.
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