The original Olympic motto of Faster-Higher-Stronger has a new word added to it by the International Olympic Committee (IOC)- Together. The addition in the motto acknowledges the unifying soft power of Sports and the critical need for solidarity in a troubled world. There are 206 countries in the IOC, and each will be represented by at least one athlete at the Paris Olympics. Remember that the 2020 Tokyo Olympics reached out to a global broadcast audience (TV+ Streaming) of more than 3 billion people. Only the football WC at Qatar 2022 caught more eyeballs- the finals by 1.5 billion people and the FIFA tournament by 5 billion-plus.
Let’s take a ‘dekko’ at India’s medal prospects at the Paris Summer Olympic Games. Our highest medal tally of 7 was achieved at the last Games. Now, with a 113-strong contingent led by flagbearers two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu and 42-year-old veteran TT player Sharath Kumar, can we hope for some memorable performances? Smaller nations like Australia and South Korea have consistently achieved much more medal-winning glory.
First, the Indian men’s hockey team has won 8 gold medals, starting with the Dhyan Chand glory days in Amsterdam in 1928. Sadly, the last gold medal was won at the Moscow Olympics in 1980, followed by the agonizing, interminable wait till the bronze place finish at Tokyo 2020. We owe a lot to Naveen Babu and the Odisha government for funding, sponsoring, and supporting the men’s and women’s national hockey teams. A balanced team with experienced stalwarts gives us hope. Captain and defender Harmanpreet Singh is a penalty corner specialist and one of the best drag flickers in the world. PR Sreejesh is lauded as the best goalkeeper of his generation. The key is to win the earlier matches and grow in the rhythm and confidence for the knock-out stages. Belgium and Australia are strong contenders in our group. With redoubtable sides like England, Netherlands, and Germany to take on later. Interestingly, PR Sreejesh recently shared that Rahul Dravid had once told him, “The importance of being patient and waiting for your moment.” Talking about the cricket T20 WC win, our hockey star had this to say: “The biggest thing I learned is that I don’t celebrate before the last ball.” Will our hockey team dominate the astro turfs and climb up the top podium? Will we hear our national anthem being played for victory in a sport long considered our national game?
The golden boy is indisputably Neeraj Chopra. At the last Games, he became the first Indian track and field athlete to win a gold medal at the Olympics. If he does an encore in Paris, he surely deserves the Bharat Ratna. He is also the World, Asian, and Commonwealth champion. His best javelin throw in 2024 was 88.36 meters at the Doha Diamond League competition, where he came second. Competition comes in the shape of German Max Dehring, who has cleared 90 meters. Also, happily in the form of Kishore Kumar Jena, the silver medalist at the Hangzhou Asian Games with a throw of 87.5 meters. Fortunately, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the Athletic Federation of India have pulled out all the stops for our entire contingent of athletes. No expenses have been spared to provide the best training, equipment, and facilities. Neeraj Chopra’s last many months have been spent in training and conditioning camps in South Africa, Turkey, and Switzerland.
India’s final medal haul largely depends on the performance of the shooters. An unprecedented 31 have qualified across rifle, pistol, and shotgun events—flashback to Athens 2004 when Capt. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore won the country’s first individual silver medal in the men’s double trap event. Then, we went to that momentous moment in our sporting history when Abhinav Bindra clinched the gold medal in Beijing in 2008 at the ten-meter air rifle event. Sift Kaur Samra, who holds the current world record in the Women’s 50-meter rifle three-position event, is our best bet to bite the gold medal. The National Rifle Association of India has spent more than Rs 50 crores for 45 shooter camps and drills at locations in France, Italy, and Europe. 13 foreign coaches, sports psychologists, and data analysts under a High-Performance Director have worked around the clock with the shooters. The rifles, pistols, and ammunition have been tested in Austria and Germany. It’s time to bury the ghosts of Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 when the much-hyped squad returned empty-handed.
Nikhat Zareen—a two-time world flyweight champion—and Lovlina Borgohain- welterweight bronze medalist at Tokyo 2020—lead the Indian punch in the boxing rings. Although this is her first Olympics, Nikhat’s strong technique and regimen are her forte; Lovlina has transitioned smoothly from the 75 kg to the 69 kg category. These champs and three other teammates have been training at Saarbrucken in Germany for the past month. Let’s hope they pack a real punch.
In the weightlifting discipline, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, who won the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, lifted our national expectations. However, she spent half a year recovering from a hip injury at the Hangzhou Asian Games. She is currently training at La Ferte Milon commune in France, accompanied by two coaches and a physio, with all expenses paid under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS). IOA Chief Nutritionist Aradhana Sharma and her team have spent over three years with our medal hopefuls, especially with the boxers, weight lifters, and wrestlers, to keep them in prime health and fitness.
In wrestling, there is considerable excitement about the prospects of Aman Sehrawat, who was the gold medalist at the Asian Wrestling Championships and bronze medalist (57 kgs) at the 2022 Asian Games. Vinesh Phogat, the first Indian women’s wrestler to win gold at the Commonwealth & Asian Games, can make the country proud at the Paris Olympics. They are both supported by a non-profit Foundation called OGQ (Olympic Gold Quest) founded by billiard maestro Geet Sethi and Prakash Padukone and managed by former Indian men’s hockey captain Viren Rasquinha. It is heartening to see the growing ecosystem to boost & support our sportspeople beyond cricket.
The Indian compound women’s archery team recently achieved a hat trick by securing their third successive World Championship gold. Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Aditi Swami, and Parneet Kaur are favored to hit the bull’s eye at the Paris Olympics in the team events. Jyothi, the world no. 3 archer who has shown fantastic focus and presence of mind, is expected to win multiple medals.
Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu can add further laurels to her already stellar badminton career. Satwik Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, world badminton doubles No.1, have a proven record in major tournaments to serve India a possible gold medal. Satwik’s recovery from a shoulder injury is the point of concern.
So, finally, we go to the actual track and field. Milkha Singh finished fourth in the 400-meter Rome Olympics (1960), missing the bronze by a whisker. Even with the Indian Army providing support, it must have been a case of ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’- a herculean, individual effort. The same story continued in the 1984 Games, with PT Usha clocking 55.42 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles and missing the bronze medal by 1/100th of a second. At the World Athletic Championship at Budapest 2023 (4X 400 men’s relay), Muhammad Yahya, Amoj Jacob, Muhammed Ajmal, and Rajesh Ramesh placed 5th at 2,59,05. The US team won with a time of 2,57,31. Is India going to celebrate its first-ever track medal at the Paris Games?!
At the 2028 LA Olympics, our national obsession, cricket, will become an Olympic sport. Great for the game and its popularity. But it’s high time we appreciate and revel in India’s achievements at the highest levels in other sports, athletics, and other disciplines. Success at the Olympics is the epitome of international recognition in many ways. Wouldn’t it be divine if Arjuna and Karna were to inspire our archers to hit the wooden bird’ eye repeatedly without shifting focus from the target?! Again, in the Mahabharata, the javelin was used as a weapon for close-range duels and to hurl in the distance to keep enemies at bay. What are the odds that Neeraj Chopra and Kishore Kumar Jena occupy the top 2 spots on the victory podium?! Yes, indeed!! If the Indian Olympic contingent can return from Paris 2024 with a haul of 12+ medals (including at least two golds), it will be a triumph of Epic proportions.
A Fistful of Salt 