Hyderabad: After archers' mixed performance on the opening day of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, eyes will be on Day 2 as Indian athletes will begin their campaign in the biggest sporting spectacle in ten disciplines.
Here are the athletes and teams on whom we should keep an eye on Day 2 of the 15-day Olympics Games:
Vikash Krishan (Boxing)
Vikash Krishan is one of the most experienced Indian boxers in the nine-member contingent. The welterweight (69kg) category boxer Vikash Krishan (29) is a multiple gold medallist in Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.
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It is his third Olympics. After a rude shock in London in 2012, he made it to the quarterfinal but lost to Bektemir Melikuziev in Rio four years later.
However, his transformation as a 69kg boxer, which earned him substantial success on the world stage in recent years, made him one of the strongest contenders for a medal in the pandemic postponed Olympics.
Men's Hockey Team
In the history of the Olympic Games, the Indian men's hockey team is the most successful team with eight gold medals. On Saturday, Manpreet Singh led and Graham Reid coached Indian hockey team will begin their campaign against New Zealand.
Currently ranked fourth, the Indian men's hockey team won the gold medal when Tokyo had last hosted the Olympics in 1964. As the team is in good form, thanks to international exposure tours, they will be in contention to retrieve its lost glory.
Mirabai Chanu (Weightlifting)
The heartbreak in Rio five years back made the Manipuri weightlifter stronger both mentally and physically. Since that failure of 2016, she made a strong case for herself with the gold medals in the 2017 World Championship and 2018 Jakarta Asian Games.
Although her bronze in the 2020 Asian Championships may not make her case stronger, one has to keep in mind that she competed in the event amid the pandemic after spending days at home without intense training.
Just two months before the Olympics the 49kg weightlifter managed a 50-day training in the United States under the watchful gaze of Vijay Sharma and assistant coach Sandip Kumar which would certainly keep the World No. 2 in the reckoning for a medal in Tokyo.
Shooters
Friday is going to be the litmus test for Indian shooters Elavenil Valarivan, Apurvi Chandela, Saurabh Chaudhary and Abhishek Verma.
All eyes will be on them since they have been remarkably successful in international tournaments in the last Olympic cycle.
While 10m Air Rifle shooter Elavenil won two gold in the ISSF World Cup in 2019, her compatriot Apurvi has two gold and two silver to her credit.
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Saurabh and Abhishek, on the other hand, will lead the men's challenge in the 10m Air Pistol event. While Meerut's Saurabh won multiple gold and silver in 2020 and 2021 his fellow shooter Abhishek has also been consistent in the last Olympic cycle. The expectation is that the quartet will make it to their respective medal rounds.
Shuttlers
World No. 10 men's doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will begin their Tokyo 2020 campaign against Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin of Chinese Taipei. This is a tough draw for the Indian duo.
In the men's singles, B Sai Praneeth will begin his Olympic campaign against Zilberman Misha of Israel.
Considering his superior ranking, World No. 15 Praneeth must overcome World No. 47 Misha and progress to the next round.
