Indians are looking to create a milestone in the Tokyo Olympics this year as athletes are gearing up for the finale. For many of them, it's their first time at the Olympics and for a few it's their last chance to finish with flying colours. The Gracenote Report has predicted a historic 17 medals and this time there are opportunities in every event in which we are participating. The Prime Minister had a talk with all the athletes and their family members and we hope our echoes of support will reach them. It will be a totally different scenario as there won’t be spectators and the stadiums will be quiet without all the chanting and cheering.
The Tokyo Olympics will see a lot of Indian Olympic debutants competing, especially in Shooting. There are youngsters in Wrestling and Athletics as well who have made their mark in the junior levels. CA Bhavani Devi will be the first indian fencer to compete at the Olympics and we also have a Equestrian Fouaad Mirza, the third Indian to compete at the Olympics. It's only a matter of time when we see the Indian Flag hoisted up above, higher than the rest.
Shooting (Women)
10m Air Rifle and 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team
Elavenil Valarivan, the world number one in the Tokyo Olympics ranking is the only Indian shooter to compete in the games without winning a quota. The 21 year old was selected over Chinki Yadav as she has performed consistently well over the years. She will be competing in the 10m Air Rifle and 10m Air Rifle mixed team in her Olympic debut. Elavenil won the gold in the 2019 World cup held in China and in this year’s World cup in Delhi. It will be interesting to see the Shooting event as 16 Indian athletes will be firing away for victory. Elavenil will be looking to create history to become the first female shooter from India to win a medal at the Olympics.
10m Air Pistol, 25m Sports Pistol and 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team
Manu Bhaker is the youngest to win a Gold medal in the ISSF World Cup. She won Gold in her maiden Commonwealth Games appearance in Australia. Manu Bhaker created a storm in 2017 where she won nine Gold medals in two days at the 61st National Shooting Championship in Kerala and defeated Heena Sindhu in the Women’s 10m air pistol. She qualified for the Tokyo Olympics in 2019 at the Munich World Cup. She will be competing in two individual and one team events. She is a strong contender for a Gold medal in all the three events , Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary won all the four shooting World Cups in two years back. This year’s World Cup they took the top spot again, they are expected to win a medal in the team event.
Shooting (Men)
10m Air Pistol and 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team
Saurabh Chaudhary is the only Indian to win the World Championship, World Cup, Youth Olympic Games, Asian Games and Asian AirGun Championship. He has a total of 8 Gold medals in the World Cup in the timespan of two years showing how exceptional he is in the international stage at this age. Shooting has seen a lot of growth after Abhinav Bindra winning India’s only individual Gold at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. This will be Saurabh’s first Olympics and has real good potential within him. In Olympic news, he was also featured on the Time Magazine in the article athletes to watch out for in the Tokyo Olympics. He will certainly pose a threat in the games and can clinch top honours for India.
10m Air Rifle and 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team
The Shooting squad has a handful of talented teenagers in this Year’s Olympics. Divyansh Panwar qualified for the Olympics in 2019 at the Beijing World Cup where he won the silver in Individual event and the Gold in mixed team event. In the 2018 Junior World Cup he won the mixed team gold with Elavenil Valarivan breaking the Junior World Record in process. The young prodigy has two unique practices which can be seen during his game, his stance and shooting last of the whole lot. He carries his Bhagwad Gita, a compact edition in his rifle case and will prove to be a strong competitor in the mixed team and the individual event.
Javelin Throw (Men)
Neeraj Chopra, the young stalwart from Haryana is the national record holder in Men’s Javelin Throw. He was the world champion and world record holder in the under 20 category. He is the first Indian to do so, athletics has not been India's strong point at the Olympics. With the likes of Milkha Singh, PT Usha, Anju Bobby George there aren’t many who came close to winning in the Olympics. After a long wait Neeraj Chopra has rekindled our hopes of a first Athletic medal in the Olympics for India. He has the fourth best throw this season and after establishing himself in the junior arena he will now look to make a name in the senior category. He is on the verge of history and can take Indian athletics to new heights.
Badminton Women’s Singles
PV Sindhu has shown that the Chinese won't be able to dominate the badminton scene for too long. The five foot ten athlete is currently ranked seven in the world, four years ago she was ranked number one. Saina Nehwal created history by winning the first medal in badminton for India by taking home the bronze in singles at London Olympics 2012 and PV Sindhu in her first Olympic appearance clinched the silver for India at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Sindhu is known for her powerful smashes and tiring the opponent, she is also the youngest Olympic medal winner for India aged 21. This time she will try to do one better and take the Gold medal.
Interesting Fact: Dipa Karmakar is only the fifth woman in gymnastics history to land the Produnova vault. She is also the first woman indian gymnast to compete at the Olympics (Rio Olympics 2016)
