New Delhi: The Indian contingent at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be the largest and, possibly, the strongest in the country’s history. While the shooters are projected to win the most medals, there are strong challengers in a variety of other events. The top disciplines where India is anticipated to win medals in their respective events in the Summer Games, which begin 23 July, are listed below.
In the opening ceremony, India will have two flag bearers in the form of Olympic veterans M.C. Mary Kom and Manpreet Singh. In contrast, an Olympic debutant—wrestler Bajrang Punia–is given the same task for the closing ceremony.
In shooting, India has four Olympic medals, one of which is gold. It happened in 2008, when Abhinav Bindra won gold in the 10-meter air rifle event, making him the first Indian to do so in individual sports history. Bindra’s victory was also India’s first gold at the Olympics since 1980. He is India’s only individual gold medallist at the Olympics, but that could change this summer.
Abhishek Verma is the current world champion in the 10-meter air pistol. Another Indian is right behind Verma in the same discipline. Saurabh Chaudhary is the individual in question. Elavenil Valarivan is the highest-ranked female shooter in the 10-meter air rifle discipline, and India also has a favourite in women’s shooting.
In wrestling, seven Indian wrestlers will compete in the Olympics this summer in the sport of wrestling. There could have been more, but that shouldn’t be a problem because these seven are exceptional. Huge expectations from Vinesh Phogat, who has already won a gold medal this year. It occurred at the Asian Wrestling Championships in 2021. Apart from her, Bajrang Punia and Kumar Dahiya should give Indians reason to be optimistic.
India appears to have legitimate challengers in numerous divisions in boxing. Pooja Rani, Amit Panghal, and Mary Kom, who has her sights set on another medal, are three of the nine Indian pugilists who will compete in Tokyo.
Mirabai Chanu, a weightlifter, is aiming for the most certain gold for India at the Tokyo Olympics. For the Tokyo Olympics 2020, she is effectively ranked second in the women’s 49kg category. The sole Indian weightlifter who has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 is the team’s best shot of winning a medal.
A total of four Indian competitors (3 men and 1 women) have qualified for the archery competition. India has never won an Olympic medal in archery. This time, though, Indian archers are expected to bring home the elusive medal. Deepika Kumari is in the best shape of her life. She’s been shooting consistently well and appears to be a major medal contender in both individual and mixed team competitions.
India has managed to field a good group of athletes in the throwing sports this time around. Neeraj Chopra, Annu Rani, Tajinderpal Toor, and Kamalpreet Kaur are just a few of the athletes that have thrown their equipment to world-class distances. Optimistically, Indian track and field athletes are expected to bring home a few of medals from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
In badminton, players like P.V. Sindhu and Sai Praneeth has qualified for the singles tournament while, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will represent India in the men’s doubles event. Although the value of earning an Olympic medal has decreased significantly since the Rio Olympics, medalists such as P.V. Sindhu has a strong track record at the world championships.
In tennis, India has only two athletes qualified for the women’s doubles event. Sania Mirza and Ankita Raina have qualified for the Tokyo Olympics 2020. It’s reasonable to expect Sania Mirza’s experience to rub off on Ankita Raina, but expecting a medal from them is a little too much to ask.
In table tennis, Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra’s mixed doubles duo appears to be India’s lone hope for a medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. With countries like China, Japan, and Germany in the mix, capturing a Table Tennis medal at the Olympics will be nothing short of a miracle.
India will send a 228-strong delegation to Tokyo 2020, which would comprise 119 athletes competing in 85 Olympic gold sports.
In the 2016 Rio Olympics, 117 Indian athletes competed in 15 sports, comprising 63 men and 54 women. Three Olympic medalists from London were in the Indian team, including badminton champion Saina Nehwal, freestyle wrestler and four-time Olympian Yogeshwar Dutt, and rifle shooter Gagan Narang.