High on Paris

AHEAD OF EVERY Olympic Games there is customary opti­mism in the country. Can India turn a new leaf? Can it finally happen that we become a multi-sporting country and make a statement in the biggest global sporting spectacle? Can Olympic sports take a giant leap and start competing with cricket?

While Tokyo did provide a few answers and made Neeraj Chopra one of India’s leading sport brands, the real leap has not really happened. Seven medals was India’s best-ever showing but when pitted against the Indian Premier League (IPL) and more, it was not enough to pitch Olympic sports as a viable challenger. That is where the Asian Games were a breath of fresh air. One hundred and seven medals in Hangzhou and 111 medals at the Asian Para Games, and all of a sudden the cricket World Cup on home soil had a competi­tor last October. And that is where Paris is of immense significance for Indian sports going forward. A break­through Games is what India needs. A double-digit medal haul, and things will change forever. Each one of the medallists will be celebrated for days and weeks and there could be a victory parade along the lines of what we have seen after the T20 World Cup win.

But can this happen? Can India really make a statement where it matters? Can our athletes handle pressure better and perform to potential in Paris?

The one sport where India has to do well to make the double-digit dream turn real is shooting. In Rio 2016 and To­kyo 2020 the shooters had disappointed. On both occasions the team was excellent and yet there were no medals to show for it. Stars like Jitu Rai and Abhinav Bindra came close in Rio while Saurabh Chaudhary made the final but was unable to finish on the podium in Tokyo. That is where things need to be different this time round. And having tracked this team for the last two years, one can say that the hope is real. Each of the 21 qualified shooters has the talent and the potential. Also, with proper coaching and men­tal conditioning, they are ready for the big stage. What the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has done this time is equip the athletes with their personal coaches. Most have their own support teams of sport scientists and mental conditioning coaches. Jaspal Rana being with Manu Bhaker, for example, is a big plus for the young shooter and should help her redeem Tokyo. The pistol team had reached Luxembourg weeks in advance and has had enough time to acclimatise. For readers, the shooting range where the Olympic com­petition will happen is just about 20 minutes from Luxembourg.

The truth is, India is ready. As ready as the team possibly can be. In a sport where 0.1 will separate a medal from a fourth place finish, it will all boil down to the day. Who shoots the final few shots better and who keeps their nerve. And that is where someone like Sift Kaur Samra gives us hope. Blessed with fantastic temperament, Sift left a career in medicine to pursue shooting and will now face her biggest test. She has already broken the world record and won the Asian Games gold. She has won multiple medals in world cham­pionships and world cups and also won the Olympic trials in style. Come August 2, all of India will be hoping that the country gets its first-ever female individual gold medallist at the Olympic Games.

Together with Sift Samra India has Esha Singh, Anjum Moudgil, Manu Bhaker, Ramita Jindal and Elavenil Valarivan, each of whom is capable of a podium finish on her day. With the first few days almost entirely dependent on the shooters for medals, all of India will expect these girls to hit the bull’s eye.

The men’s team, it needs to be said, is no less. With Aishwary Tomar tipped to win a medal in the 50m 3p, anyone among Sarabjot Singh, Arjun Babuta, and Vijayveer Sidhu can win. The Indians will be competing in 28 events and anything less than three-four medals from shooting will be considered underwhelming.

The one sport which has consistently given India medals in the last three Olym­pic Games is badminton. While it was Saina Nehwal in London, it was PV Sindhu in Rio and Tokyo. Sindhu is there in Paris as well and with Prakash Padukone in her corner will have the best chance of a third consecutive medal. She has a tough draw and will have to overcome the two Chinese, He Bingjiao in the round of 16 and the brilliant Chen Yufei in the quarters. If Pullela Gopichand is to be believed, it is the quarter-final that will define her cam­paign. “On current form and fitness Sindhu should beat He Bingjiao is my understanding. It will then boil down to the quarter-final against Chen Yufei. Sindhu knows the big stage and has worked really hard,” says Gopi.

The truth is, India is ready. As ready as the team possibly can be. In a sport where 0.1 will separate a medal from a fourth place finish, it will all boil down to the day. Who shoots the final few shots better and who keeps their nerve. Paris is set to be India’s greatest games

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IN THE MEN’S doubles, not winning a medal will be a surprise. Satwik and Chirag have had a fantastic 2024 and are expected to go all the way in Paris. With a favourable draw, the Indians are expected to make the quarter-finals without much trouble and if they top the group beating the Indonesians, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto, they should get a relatively easy quarter-final as well. “When you are aiming to win gold you don’t really bother about the draw,” says Gopi while adding that Satwik’s shoulder problem is no longer an issue.

In Prannoy HS and Lakshya Sen, India has two excellent athletes both of whom can beat anyone on their day. That Lakshya has been drawn with Jonatan Christie early on in the tournament is not such a bad thing for Christie early on is far more vulnerable than later in the tournament. If Lakshya makes it from the group he will draw Prannoy in the round of 16, which will assure India of one quarter-final spot.

Finally, in the women’s doubles, Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa could well turn out to be giant killers. They have trained the hardest and will look to enjoy the Olympics experience. “At the Olympics rankings etc don’t matter. It is all about how you perform on that particular day and we have done everything possible to be the best prepared. Now it is about going out there and giving it our best shot,” said Ashwini.

With the Japanese and Korean pairs in their group, they will need to cause one big upset to go through to the quarter-finals.

Someone who doesn’t have to cause an upset and just play to potential to raise hopes of a medal is Antim Panghal in women’s wrestling. She has a very good draw in the 53kg category and be­ing the fourth seed will avoid the third seeded Akari Fujinami in the semi-final. If Antim performs to potential, Indian fans can hope that she will be in the final of her event and have a real crack at the title. While she has a limited game, that she is resil­ient and determined has been proved time and again and with age and fitness on her side, she remains India’s best bet in wrestling.

If Antim is a medal contender, Vinesh Phogat is a crowd favourite for sure. After what she has been through, for her to make the Games is already a miracle. And with her you know you are in for a surprise. She is one of the most committed athletes and has forever been a disruptor. From being stretchered out in Rio to being pushed around by the police on the streets of Delhi last year, Vinesh has seen it all. And yet she remains steadfast. A good Olym­pics could elevate her to cult status and this could be one surprise medal for India. Among men, Aman Sehrawat is the lone contender and a serious one at that. Replacing the legendary Ravi Dahiya, silver medallist in Tokyo, Aman has big boots to fill. And yet, in every competition he has participated in he has finished on the podium. If he manages to start well, there is reason to believe Aman could go all the way to a medal.

Moving on to boxing, India has a very good chance with Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borgohain. Nikhat is a generational talent and has twice won the world championships. At the Asian Games she lost a very closely contested semi-final and in all fair­ness got a wake-up call. Since then she has worked the hardest and is surely tipped to win a medal in Paris. While speaking about Nikhat and Lovlina, it would not be fair to leave out Amit Panghal. Few expected him to make it and yet he has done so in style. All of us remember he failed against the Colombian in Tokyo and this is his last chance. With an Asian Games gold medal and a Commonwealth Games (CWG) gold already in his trophy cabi­net, this is the last one medal that Amit needs to win.

Seven medals was India’s best-ever showing but when pitted against IPL, it was not enough to pitch Olympic sport as a viable challenger. That is where the Asian Games were a breath of fresh air. One hundred and seven medals in Hangzhou and 111 medals at the Asian Para Games, and all of a sudden the cricket World Cup on home soil had a competitor last October

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Finally, the two other medals that India can surely win are in men’s hockey and women’s weightlifting with Mirabai Chanu. Chanu, a Tokyo silver medallist, has had a trou­bled last 12 months. With Manipur on the boil, she had to appeal multiple times on social media for the welfare of her family and such things did take a toll on her mental health. Getting injured just ahead of the Asian Games did not help and thereafter it has been about making a comeback for Chanu. She is at last injury and pain-free and has been doing the hard yards in Paris from July 7. “If all things go well, August 7 will be her day,” said a very confi­dent Vijay Sharma, India’s head coach. “Mira knows what she has to do and we have trained exactly as we wanted. Now all we need is the country’s prayers on competition day,” concluded Sharma.

The field hockey team, which did the nation proud in Tokyo after 41 years, is yet again expected to do well and make the podium. Led by the world’s best drag flicker in Harmanpreet Singh and coached by the meticulous Craig Fulton, the team has done everything possible to be in the best physical shape. With the mercurial PR Sreejesh in goal and the experience of Manpreet Singh and Hardik Singh in midfield, this team can surely beat the best in Paris.

A potentially wise India is right up there this time round. Funding has not been an issue and preparation has been the best. Now it is all about dealing with the pressure of the big stage. As Abhinav Bindra says, “You need to accept you are at the Olympic Games. You can’t run away from it. Once you accept and start being in the present you can deal with pressure the best.”

This is exactly what Neeraj Chopra has done. Time and again since Tokyo, Neeraj has been under pressure to deliver and time and again he has made the nation proud. Be it the world champi­onships or the Asian Games, India’s best-ever athlete has always performed as the country’s best-ever athlete. With Neeraj India expects no less in Paris. On August 8, a day later than his history-making moment in Tokyo, Neeraj will once again face the test. And having seen his record, all of India will be praying for a second gold medal from the pied piper.

Paris is all set to be India’s best-ever games. Nothing less will be acceptable and one can only hope that India’s best deliver their best in the next two weeks. That should be good enough to ensure that Deepavali comes early this time year. As PT Usha, president of the IOA said ahead of departing for Paris, “We have done everything to make sure we make the country proud. Now we need to see history being made in the next two weeks. I hope all of India will be with our athletes and support for them.”

About The Author

Boria Majumdar

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