India’s 117-member Summer Olympics contingent – A star-studded dream in the making

India is all set to rock and roll for the latest edition of the Summer Olympics as a 117-member contingent will be vying for supremacy in the City of Light. After their most successful campaign in the Summer Games which came in Tokyo in 2020 where India landed seven medals, they will be hopeful of emulating themselves with the promise of a brighter day.

India’s first engagement in the Paris Olympics will come with Deepika Kumari and Tarundeep Rai participating in the ranking rounds of Archery which will be held on July 25th.

India’s contingent will be pinning their hopes on Neeraj Chopra, the man who claimed India’s second individual gold medal in the Olympics after Abhinav Bindra back in the 2008 Games. Apart from Neeraj, there will be high hopes from the likes of weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, star badminton player, PV Sindhu, pugilist Lovlina Borgohain, and obviously the remainder of the 112-member squad.

The Indian hockey men’s team who won bronze in Tokyo to finally draw curtains on what was a 41-year medal drought will also be hoping to improve their tally. With one of the finest goal-keepers that India had ever seen, PR Sreejesh, set to bid adieu to the sport after the Olympics, winning a medal would indeed be a fitting end to the legend’s glistening career.

Young guns namely Jyothi Yarraji (hurdles), Lakshya Sen (badminton), Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty (badminton) are also going to be key elements in India’s pursuit of exultations in the Paris games. World Champion boxer Nikhat Zareen, tennis sensation Sumit Naghal and grappler Antim Panghal are also other promising aspects of the Indian contingent who will be in contention for medals.

There were a lot of expectations from shooter Manu Bhaker in the Tokyo Olympics but sadly enough she couldn’t make them count. However, with life’s second chance, she will be hopeful of redeeming herself as she spearheads a 21-member shooting team for India in Paris.

In a contrasting display of age, Rohan Bopanna will be India’s senior most contender in the squad as he will be competing at the ripe age of 44 while the youngest member of the squad, swimmer Dhindi Desinghu, is just 14 years old. Despite the stark differences in their age, it goes without saying that the fire burning in their bellies could see Paris becoming the hotbed of an Indian revolution in the Olympics.

India’s largest contingent is going to be that of their athletics team that comprises 29 members. The shining names from the squad include Avinash Sable, Annu Rani, Kishore Jena and Tajinerpal Singh Toor who will be hoping to make their country proud.

Badminton sensation PV Sindhu will be in contention for history, hoping to make it a hat-trick of individual medals after landing a silver at Rio in 2016, while following that up with a bronze in the 2020 games in Tokyo. In another historic feat, equestrian Anush Agarwalla is going to be India’s first represent in the dressage events of the Summer Games.