Tokyo 2020
Gracenote predicts 17 medals for India at the Tokyo Olympics
A ‘Virtual Medal Tally’ released by Gracenote, has projected India to win a total of 17 medals including four gold at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.
A 'Virtual Medal Tally' released by statistical organisation Gracenote – a subsidiary of the popular Nielsen Holdings, has projected India to win a total of 17 medals including four gold medals at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.
The medal tally released on the occasion of 100-days-to-go countdown for Tokyo Olympics, predicted India to finish at the top 20 for the first time ever in the post-independence era. In the pre-independence times, India had finished 17th at the 1900 Paris Games, 19th at the 1932 Los Angeles Games and 20th at the 1936 Berlin Games.
As per the virtual medal tally, India is expected to win a total of eight medals in shooting, four in boxing, three in wrestling and one each in archery and weightlifting. The report further indicated that India's medal tally would include a total of four gold medals, five silver and eight bronze.
This prediction is made on the basis of the country's performance in the previous Olympics, World Championships and World Cups. The statistical model used to predict also takes time as an important factor while calculating.
In the prediction made in the year 2019 before the Tokyo Olympics was delayed by almost a year due to the pandemic, Gracenote had predicted India to win 14 medals in total with just a singular gold, five silver and eight bronze.
So far, 90 Indian athletes have booked their slot for the Tokyo Olympics starting on 23rd July 2021. The number of Indian athletes to qualify for the Olympics is expected to cross the three-figure mark by the time the qualification period for the Games end in June.
If this projection by Gracenote comes right, then Tokyo would be India's best ever performance at the Olympics. Besides, it would also mean that the country would equal its medal tally from the previous 12 editions of Olympics combined.
The virtual medal tally predicted India to be one of the most improved nations at the Tokyo, considering their performance at Rio de Janeiro five years back.
Can India really win 17 medals at Tokyo?
Considering the potential and the current form of the Indian athletes who have already qualified for the Olympics, 17 medals at Tokyo might not be impossible.
With India's shooting contingent at the Tokyo Olympics being the strongest of all, clinching eight medals in the sport should not be a very tough ask. On the other hand, one could be pretty assured of a medal in weightlifting in the form of Mirabai Chanu in the women's 49kg weight division.
With Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat spearheading the Indian challenge in wrestling, one could expect at least two medals in the sport. The predicted medal in archery cannot be ruled out either with the husband-wife duo of Atanu Das and Deepika Kumari expected to team up for the Mixed Recurve event.
The only projection from Gracenote which can be questioned is the four medals in boxing. Though the Indian pugilists have performed admirably well in the sport in recent times, their consistency and ability to come up trumps under pressure would be something to be scrutinized. If the boxers led by Mary Kom in the women's section and Amit Panghal in the men's are able to pull off something extraordinary at Tokyo, there is no doubt as to why India would not bring home 17 medals from the Olympics.
