Tokyo 2020
Forget IPL, here's why you should look forward to the Tokyo Olympics
Forgetting IPL might not be easy, but what if we tell you there could be something even better in the store in less than three months' time?
Numerous medal hopefuls for India at the Tokyo Olympics
Cricket is more than a sport in India. It is the life-blood of the country. People consider it to be a religion and worship the cricketers as gods. So, it came as a huge shock to the fans when the BCCI decided to suspend the Indian Premier League (IPL) indefinitely owing to the covid-19 pandemic.
At a time when the country is reeling under the wrath of coronavirus, the suspension of IPL is a big blow to the fans who considered the league to be the only source of entertainment during these gloomy times.
The BCCI tried their best to go ahead with the league, but it was just not meant to be..!
Forgetting IPL might not be easy, but what if we tell you there could be something even better in the store in less than three months' time?
Yes, the Tokyo Olympics is just under three months away; and there is a high possibility that this year's games will turn out to be India's best ever campaign at the Olympics. Do not trust us? Read on to find out why.
Satwik-Chirag pair to win a medal
The men's doubles badminton pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won the Thailand Open Super 500 and became the first Indian men's doubles pair to win a Super 500 title after they beat the then reigning world champions Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen. The duo then made the final of the French Open Super 750 event and broke into the top 10 in the world - also the first Indian men's doubles pair ever to do so.
Chirag and Satwiksairaj had climbed several places to a career-best ranking of world No. 7 in 2019. Following the COVID-19 break in 2020, the pair reached the semi-finals of two tournaments out of the four they played in 2021. With the ability to pull off surprises, Satwik and Chirag are poised to display a good result in Tokyo and if luck prevails, an Olympic medal is not a distant dream.
Indian men's hockey team finishes on the podium
Going by the form India men's hockey team has a realistic chance of clinching a medal at the Olympics. Alright, this might be debatable, this might be tough, but we believe the Indian hockey team will go on to get back a historic medal, after a gap of 40 years.
Currently ranked no. 4 in the world, the Men in Blue have been in the blazing form off late. In the FIH Hockey Pro League, they have beaten the top three teams in the world in Belgium, Australia and the Netherlands and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic champions Argentina. The squad has the perfect blend of youth and experience and after several years, they are looking like real contenders.
First athletics medal for India
India has been long starving for a medal in athletics, which might be achieved this year. Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and long jumper Sreeshankar Murali have given us hopes, which can translate into medals at the hallowed ground. It is not a hidden fact that athletics is one of the disciplines which has the most number of medal events and as a result, the Indian federations and associations have been at it to produce a medallist in that field.
Asian Games and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Neeraj Chopra threw an attempt of 88.07m to create a new national record in the javelin throw event at the Indian Grand Prix 3 at the National Institute of Sports (NIS), Patiala. And as he sweats it out to reach the 90m mark, the possibilities look more encouraging.
The 21-year-old Shreeshankar set a national record after making a jump of 8.26 metres in his final attempt at the Federation Cup and as a result, he attained qualification for the Olympics. Sreeshankar, who ranks 15th in the world presently stands in joint third position in 2021 (when the article is being written) with his jump been equalled by Steffin McCarter and Cheswill Johnson.
India will look for another medal hunt through its mixed relay team lead who won the Tokyo Olympics berth at the 2019 IAAF World Championships
Biggest medal tally in shooting
Indian shooters have kept on dominating the world circuit with some extremely well performances in the ISSF World Cups. Shooters like Saurabh Chaudhury, Manu Bhaker, Divyansh Singh Panwar, Anjum Moudgil, Abhishek Verma have time and again consistently performed over a couple of years, thus making them some of the best bets to win multiple medals in the Tokyo Olympics.
Long medal wait ends for Indian archers
Indian archers have long been waiting for their deserving medal at the Olympics. Deepika Kumari who had been the world no. 1 archer, had to miss out on her medal dreams in London 2012 and Rio 2016. With her making into the team once again, Dipika will be bringing experience with her to win India's first-ever medal in archery in the women's individual category and also probably in the mixed team event with her husband Atanu Das.
And if the recently concluded Archery World Cup Stage 1 in Guatemala is anything to go by, India will surely be in contention to clinch a medal at Tokyo.
Sania Mirza chases down elusive Olympics medal
India's Sania Mirza said the elusive dream of winning a medal at her fourth Olympics in Tokyo this year motivated her to return to the WTA circuit after a year-long gap. It was a disappointing outing for Mirza and her mixed doubles partner Rohan Bopanna in Rio 2016, who despite reaching the semifinals of the tournament missed the medal by a whisker. This time, Sania looks motivated and her current form could spell a medal-winning performance in Tokyo.
India's first-ever double-digit medal tally
India's best-ever medal tally, to date, has been six which they achieved at the London Olympics. But this time, if the Olympics do happen, they have a chance to eclipse that mark and go further and who knows, they have the ability to make it to a double-digit medal tally. We could be looking at 5 medals from shooting, 2 from boxing, 2 from wrestling, 1 from hockey and that's 10 right there..!!
