Tokyo 2020
With Euro, Copa and Wimbledon over, it's time to cheer for India at the Tokyo Olympics
The Olympics, the biggest sporting event in the world, is just 11 days away. Can we expect the same fan fervour for India at Tokyo?
It's been a long month for Indian fans who could revel in the spectacular world-class sporting events that happened around the world. The biggest takeaway would be how sports brought respite to us amid the gripping narrative of the coronavirus, which led to lockdowns in almost every part of the country.
Gun for glory
The Olympics is scheduled between July 23 and August 8. India is expected to have a cheerful start at the Games when the shooting final takes centre stage on day 2, where a young Elavenil Valraivan will be competing for silverware in the women's 10m Air Rifle event. She will also be joined by two of the country's biggest medal prospects Saurabh Chaudhury and Abhishek Verma, in the 10m Air Rifle event.
Manu Bhaker will also be joining the procession when she comes up to the range to shoot in three categories. At just 20, Bhaker could be India's greatest Olympian ever who has her eyes set on three medals in Tokyo. Shooting has emerged as India's strongest suit at the Olympics, with India sending a record 15 shooters to Tokyo. Youngsters like Yashaswini Singh Deswal, Divyansh Singh Panwar, Rahi Sarnobat also adds up to the firepower of this team. The introduction of mixed team events in 10m Rifle and Pistol will be an added advantage for India.
The magical Mirabai
The pocket-size dynamite weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, who had set the world record in clean and jerk in April with a lift of 119 kg to win the bronze at Asian Weightlifting Championships, is another high medal probability in Tokyo. Standing tall in the 49kg category, Chanu would be behind China's Hou Zhihui, who is the favourite in this event. Owing to the withdrawal of North Korean team from the Olympics, it is highly possible for the Indian to seek redemption of what happened in Rio 2016 and bring a medal home.
Mary's swansong
India will also be sending one of the strongest teams in boxing to Tokyo, where boxers like Amit Panghal have huge hopes of winning silverware. He is ranked number one in men's 52 kg in the latest AIBA world rankings. It will be further exciting to watch six-time World Champion Mary Kom punch above her weight and go for her second Olympics medal at her swansong. Out of the nine boxers India will be sending at the Games, eight are ranked inside the World no. 10 of their respective categories.
Vinesh Phogat's redemption
Wrestling has been the only Indian sport that have consistently fetched us medals in the last four Olympics. A team of seven wrestlers heading for Tokyo, will also have huge hopes pitted over them. The biggest contender would be Vinesh Phogat, who also be seeking redemption for her missed chance in Rio 2016, where an injury had made a roadblock. Vinesh looks forward to capitalise on her dream form with which she has won all the four championships she played in 2021. She was the top-ranked wrestler in the 53kg category. Bajrang Punia and Deepak Punia, are second seeds in their respective 65 kg and 86 kg classes. Ravi Kumar Dahiya is the fourth seed in 57 kg. All four will be serious medal contenders, while it would be a major upset if Phogat and Bajrang Punia fail to win medals.
Sindhu aims higher
India's ace shuttler PV Sindhu will also have a shot at being the G.O.A.T of Indian sports if she is able to win her second Olympic medal in Tokyo. Buoyed by her success of winning at a gold medal in the 2019 World Championships, Sindhu will be a hot favourite to win the medal. With Carolina Marin being out of contention for the Games, Sindhu still would face a tough competition against the likes of Tai Tzu-ying, Nozomi Okuhara, Chen Yu Fei. Akane Yamaguchi. The men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty could also emerge as the dark horses in the competition.
Bringing the glory back
This one for Milkha Singh
The greatest name among Indian athletics, Milkha Singh, passed away last month with an unfulfilled dream of seeing India winning an Olympic medal in athletics. The time has come for India to break the jinx as ace javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra stands tall as an outside medal prospect in Tokyo. All eyes will be set on Chopra, who will be trying to improve on his best throw of 88.07m and hit the 90m mark that will certainly guarantee him a medal. Apart from Chopra, long jumper Murali Sreeshankar, Shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor, discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur are expected to put up a fiery show in Tokyo.
