The Tokyo Olympics represents yet another chance for India to gun for some medals but this time, the count seems to be low and they may struggle to even get to single digits.
Follow Us
Tokyo Olympics 2020 is just under 10 days away. India will be determined to put on a good show at the marquee event. This will be the 22nd time India participates in the Olympics. The last time India participated in the Olympics in Tokyo was in 1964 and it was the hockey team that managed to get one gold medal. However, if one has to look at performances in the last three decades, then India is in very poor shape.
India failed to win any medals in 1984, 1988 and 1992. Leander Paes broke the rut when he secured the Bronze medal in Tennis in 1996 Atlanta. Karnam Malleshwari clinched the bronze in weightlifting in the 2000 Sydney Olympics while Rajyawardhan Singh Rathore bagged the silver in 2004 Athens.
Abhinav Bindra created history as he became India’s first individual gold medal winner when he clinched the top spot in the 10m air rifle in Beijing in 2008. India finished with three medals, with two bronze from Vijender Singh in Boxing and Sushil Kumar in wrestling. 2012 London was the country’s best Olympics ever as they won six medals, although none of it was gold.
Vijay Kumar and Sushil secured silver in shooting and wrestling, with Sushil become the first Indian to win medals in two Olympic editions. Gagan Narang, Mary Kom, Saina Nehwal, and Yogeshwar Dutt achieved a bronze medal in shooting, boxing, badminton, and wrestling respectively.
India was on the cusp of many heartbreaks in the 2016 Rio Olympics. B Sai Praneeth was very close to advancing into a medal match but he lost to Lin Dan. Abhinav Bindra came close to replicating his Beijing heroics but finished in fourth. Dipa Karmakar in Gymnastics almost came close to a medal but failed. The biggest heartbreak was PV Sindhu as he squandered the advantage to lose to Carolina Marin in the final as she secured silver.
Vinesh Phogat, who was the best bet for India in wrestling, suffered a knee injury and her tournament ended in pain. Apart from Sindh, Sakshi Malik secured the bronze through the repechage round as India ended the Olympics with two medals. Ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, what are India’s chances of securing many medals? Unfortunately, it might be a repeat of past Olympics.
For the Tokyo Olympics, India will be sending 119 athletes. Out of the 119 athletes, 67 male and 52 female participants, will take part in the Tokyo Olympics. The first batch of athletes will leave for Tokyo on July 17. India will be competing in a total of 85 medal events at the Olympics. The average age of the contingent is 27 years.
Looking at the Indian contingent, there are four areas that are potential medal winners this time around. Shooting, badminton, hockey and wrestling are some of the games that could fetch the Indian side medals. PV Sindhu has not had much court time but her class could give India a medal. She is in a tough draw but with no crowds at the stadiums, it becomes a level playing field.
B Sai Praneeth will have to face the might of Kento Momota but he might be good for a bronze medal. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will be determined to ensure that they can repeat the success of 2019 in which they broke into the top 10.
If India has to win the maximum medals, then it has to be in shooting. Divyansh Singh Panwar and Elavenil Valarivan are highest-ranked in the 10m Air Rifle men’s and women’s event. Manu Bhaker has been super impressive along with Tejaswini Sawant, Anjum Moudgil, and Apurvi Chandela. In the ISSF World Cup in Croatia, Saurabh Chaudhary and Rahi Sarnobet had impressed.
Sarnobet won the bronze while Chaudhary secured bronze and silver with Manu Bhaker. However, the Haryana youngster did not have a good finish in the individual event as she finished seventh.
The boxing contingent has some names that have been super consistent. MC Mary Kom is participating in her last Olympics potentially and she will be aiming to go out on a high. But, the change of weight category might be a deterrent to her. Lovlina Borgohain is solid but has not had much impact. All hopes potentially rest on Amit Panghal, who has been sensational in the Asian Games. The rest of the contingent might spring some surprises and hope to get a medal in.
The India hockey men’s and women’s team have been in good form. But, in the Olympics, it will not be easy against Australia, Belgium, Argentina, and the Netherlands. India is placed in a relatively simple group and they should make it to the medal playoffs.
Thus, if one looks at the potential of the Indian contingent, then about four to five medals can be expected from Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Panghal in boxing along with Mary Kom, shooting might fetch a medal or two while Badminton and hockey could fetch us more glory. Badminton has helped India win two medals in 2012 and 2016 but Sindhu will have to go against the grain of history to ensure that she wins a medal for the second straight Olympics. India hockey has not won a medal since 1980 but they look decent to break the 41-year jinx. All hopes are on shooting, in particular Chaudhary, Bhaker, Sarnobet and Moudgil. Shooting could fetch us enough medals to match up to the tally of six in 2012 London Olympics.
