A podium finish
When the Olympic Games begin at Tokyo, Japan, on Friday, India will have a record 120 athletes competing in various disciplines. Of these, who are the ones most likely to bring home a medal. Take a look at some of the strong contenders:
Weightlifting: Mirabai Chanu
Competing in the 49kg category, Mirabai, Khel Ratna awardee, recently broke the world record by lifting 119 kg in the clean-and-jerk section at the Asian Championships last year, where she finished with a bronze. She also has gold medals in the World Championship (2017) and the 2018 Commonwealth Games and will hope to follow Karnam Malleshwari in making Olympic history for India.
Archery: Deepika Kumari
The sole female archer to make the cut, Deepika is coming off a hat-trick of gold medals at the Archery World Cup in Paris, last month. Her recent success also saw her make it to the top of the rankings for the first time, since Dola Banerjee, in 2012. If her recent form is anything to go by, Deepika is a strong medal contender in Tokyo.
Athletics: Neeraj Chopra
After missing the cut for the 2016 Rio Olympics, the then 18-year-old Neeraj Chopra bounced back with a gold medal in javelin at the IAAF World under-20 athletics championship in Poland, with a world record of 86.48m, followed by gold medals at the 2018 Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. A career threatening elbow injury kept him out of action for most of 2019 but he returned to seal his spot in early 2020. In the run up to the Summer Games, Chopra bettered his own national record in javelin with an 88.07m throw at the Indian Grand Prix 3 in Patiala earlier this year.
Badminton: P.V. Sindhu
Silver medallist at the Rio Olympics P.V. Sindhu will want to do one better this time, since her biggest competitor — Spain’s Carolina Marin — has withdrawn due to injury. She won gold at the World Championships in 2019, but has struck a rough patch since. With the pandemic affecting prep time, Sindhu’s form has been a cause for concern but she is a proven big match player.
Boxing: Amit Panghal and Mary Kom
Amit Panghal, the world no.1 in the men’s 52kg category, is one of India’s most promising medal prospects. In the World Boxing Championships in 2019, he beat Kazakhstan’s Saken Bibossinov by split decision (3-2) in the flyweight semi-final, the first male Indian boxer to breach that barrier and win a silver medal. He also has gold medals in the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and 2020 Boxing World Cup.
One of India’s flagbearers this year, Mary Kom has 19 international medals to her name, including an Olympic bronze in the 2012 London Games. She comes into the Tokyo Games with a silver medal at the Asian Boxing Championship, and bronze at the Boxam International Boxing tournament.
Hockey: Men’s team
No one understands pressure quite like the India men’s hockey team. Despite the haul of eight golds, one silver and two bronzes, the team failed to qualify for the Beijing Olympics and finished 12th in London and eighth in Rio. Ranked number four in the world, India beat Netherlands twice and drew 1-1 against world number one Belgium and Australia in the FIH Pro League. The last time the Olympics were held in Japan, India went home with the gold. Manpreet Singh’s boys will hope for the same this year.
Wrestling: Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat
Of the seven wrestlers, the brightest medal prospects are these two. Bajrang secured his place in the Tokyo Olympics, despite losing his semifinal bout against local favourite Daulet Niyazbekov at the World Wrestling Championships in Nur Sultan, in 2019.
Vinesh Phogat, competing in the 53 kg category, qualified for the 2020 Olympics after defeating World No. 1 Sarah Hildebrandt, in the 2019 World Wrestling Championships. A 2018 Asian Games gold medallist and a two-time Commonwealth Games medallist, this is Vinesh’s second Olympic stint. Most recently, the 26-year-old bagged yet another gold medal at the Poland Open.
Now that you’ve read about them, find the names in the grid below.
Photos: The Hindu Archives, PTI and AP