Reigning Olympic javelin throw champion Neeraj Chopra remains India's biggest medal hope in Paris.
Credit: Reuters Photo
Bengaluru: The final countdown phase for the Paris Olympics has officially begun. For the organisers, coaching staff, volunteers and the athletes, it is crunch time as the biggest sporting extravaganza will start in 100 from Wednesday.
And India are well on their way to sending their largest ever contingent to the French capital, one among the 17 host cities of the 33rd Summer Olympics scheduled to take place from July 26 to August 11.
At the previous edition in Tokyo, 124 Indian athletes took part to return with their biggest haul of seven medals - the most memorable of it all being Neeraj Chopra’s gold in the javelin throw, also a first track and field Olympic medal for the country.
So far, 44 Olympic quota spots have been booked with several more expected to follow in the coming weeks before the qualification deadlines end in various sports.
A look at where India stand in the race to Paris.
Athletics: Gearing to defend his Olympic title, World No. 1 javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will be joined by compatriot Kishore Jena. Parul Chaudhary (women's 3000m steeplechase), Avinash Sable (men's 3000m steeplechase) and Murali Sreeshankar (men's long jump) are the others headed to Paris. As of now, seven race walkers have breached the standard qualification mark but only three will make the final cut that will be decided in the final national selection trials in June.
Shooting: The sport will field its biggest-ever squad with 20 places secured so far. However, the shooter for each of these quotas will be selected after the national trials conducted by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI). In another first, India has secured all possible 16 Olympic quotas in the rifle and pistol categories.
Hockey: A sport that has brought the maximum Olympic glory (8 golds, 1 silver, 3 bronzes) to India, lived up to the tag of being sentimental favourites by bringing home a medal (bronze) after 41 years in Tokyo three years ago. Come July, the men’s hockey team, led by coach Craig Fulton of South Africa, will be eyeing to add on to that legacy.
Boxing: Four women - Nikhat Zareen, Lovlina Borgohain, Preeti Pawar and Parveen Hooda - have punched their tickets. The coming weeks will decide if the male pugilists will join the all-women boxing squad or not.
Badminton: Though the official list of qualified shuttlers will be announced on April 30, as many as five quotas are confirmed. Men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty (the current World No. 1) have set their eyes on finishing on the podium. There will be two Indian men - HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen - in the singles section for the first time since 2004 besides double-Olympic medal winner PV Sindhu in the women’s singles and veteran Ashwini Ponnappa and her young partner Tanisha Crasto pairing up in the women’s doubles.
Weightlifting: Mirabai Chanu will once again be the only Indian representative for the sport from India at Paris. The 29-year-old hopes to come back with a second Olympic medal in the women’s 49kg category. This will be the Tokyo silver-medallists third consecutive Games.
Table Tennis: The men’s and women’s table tennis teams made history by earning their maiden Olympic qualification. Considered a win for the sport, their biggest star for over two decades, Sharath Kamal, will make his fifth Olympic appearance by being India's male flag-bearer at the opening ceremony.
Others: Dhiraj Bommadevara (archery), Anush Agarwalla (equestrian), Antim Panghal (wrestling) have confirmed their berths while sailor Vishnu Saravanan awaits NOC’s nod.