India has never been as buoyant as this before an Olympics. From July 23, India’s finest will compete against the world’s best in the backdrop of a futuristic Tokyo—a metropolis trying to come to terms with humanity’s post-apocalyptic reality. The fear is palpable, for our best-laid plans have been upended by a raving lunatic of a pandemic that has brought the heightened emotions of a manga world into our lives. Only sports can defy it. Not to forget the motto: Citius, Altius, Fortius! Contingents from around the world will congregate in Tokyo; not all of them will win medals, but a majority of them have won laurels for their sacrifices and tireless pursuit of excellence. India, the world’s second-most populous country, will send over 100 athletes. Some are serious medal contenders and will script her or his story in an emphatic manner, on a podium; others shall keep the Olympics spirit alive. Here’s a look at ten medal contenders and their corresponding events. Sleeplessly and hopefully, we shall follow them.
Gold Standard: Profiling India’s Best Medal Hopes
Yes, the Olympics is on! India will be there too…watch out for this 19-year-old duo, and a few others.
Saurabh Chaudhary And Manu Bhaker
Event: Shooting - Mixed 10m air pistol team
Date: July 27
Venue: Asaka Shooting Range, Nerima, Tokyo
In what can be seen as a blessing for India, for the first time three mixed events have been added to the Olympic Shooting Programme for the Tokyo Games. India will have four teams competing, two each in 10m air rifle and 10m air pistol team events. The chances of a podium finish are high. The best bet, however, is on the 10m air pistol pair of Saurabh Chaudhary and Manu Bhaker. Both aged 19, together they form a formidable pair. They have dominated this event in the run-up to the Games. They are second in their respective world standings—and that only to their Indian rivals Yashaswini Deswal and Abhishek Verma, who form the other Indian team. As usual, Russian, Chinese, South Korean and Ukrainian shooters will pose a stiff challenge. Yes, both Saurabh and Manu remain strong favourites to shine in their individual events too.
Divyansh Singh Panwar And Elavenil Valarivan
Event: Shooting Mixed 10m air rifle team
Date: July 27, 2021
Venue: Asaka Shooting Range, Nerima, Tokyo
By the fourth day of competition at Asaka, India might already have surpassed their best-ever medal haul in shooting, or at least equalled the four that the country has won so far. Enthusing a country of a billion with justified hope are its new crop of shooters. July 27 will be a massive day for Indian shooting with four teams, featuring some of the hottest talents, entering two mixed events—the 10m air rifle team and 10 m air pistol team. These are the events that the country has dominated in the last few years. And the one pair which is expected to hit the bulls-eye is Divyansh Singh Panwar and Elavenil Valarivan in the air rifle event. Valarivan, number one in the Tokyo Olympics rankings, is a consistent shooter and has also produced good results with fellow number one, 18-year-old Divyansh Singh Panwar. They will be challenged by another Indian pair, Deepak Kumar and Anjum Moudgil. Then there are American, Chinese, Russian, South Korean teams to fend off.
Rahi Sarnobat
Event: Shooting Women’s 25m pistol
Dates: Qualifiers on July 29, Finals on July 30
Venue: Asaka Shooting Range, Nerima, Tokyo
In the star-studded 15-member Indian shooting team, Rahi Sarnobat remains a dark horse for many despite being one of the most bankable and decorated pistol shooters the country has produced. In Tokyo, the 30-year-old may well come out of the shadow and win a big medal for India. This will be her second Oympics, after London 2012. She had also qualified for the Rio 2016, but an injury forced her to miss it. Now, she is shooting like never before. Ranked second behind compatriot Chinki Yadav, whose Olympic quota was sacrificed by the National Rifle Association of India, Sarnobat entered the Games as a hot favourite. Her main rival will be compatriot Manu Bhaker (seventh in the Tokyo Olympics rankings), Germany’s Monika Karsch, Chinese and other European shooters. This is a women only event, with men having their own 25m Rapid Fire Pistol event. Unlike other events, women’s 25m pistol has two qualification stages—precision and rapid fire—with six series of five shots each.
Vinesh Phogat
Event: Wrestling Women’s 53 kg
Dates: August 6 (R16, QF, SF), August 7 (Repechage, Final)
Venue: Makuhari Messe, Chiba
Stronger, heavier and wiser than ever before, Vinesh Phogat will enter the Tokyo Games as one of the favourites in the women’s 53 kg wrestling event. Five years ago in Rio, another Phogat girl, Babita Kumari, represented India in the women’s 53 kg, while Vinesh herself competed in 48kg. She, however, forfeited her quarterfinal bout. This time, Vinesh is determined to bring a medal back home. The 26-year-old is seeded number one. But competition is fiendishly tough. Second seed Mayu Mukaida of Japan is the one to beat in this weight category. Mukaida is often touted as heir apparent to the legendary Saori Yoshida. Then there is Vinesh’s great rival, China’s Pang Qianyu (fourth seed). Bat-Ochiryn Bolortuyaa of Mongolia, Olga Khoroshavtseva of Russia, Luisa Valverde (third seed) of Ecuador, veteran Swede Sofia Mattsson and Kazakh Tatyana Akhmetova-Amanzhol, who defeated Mukaida in the Delhi Asian Championship, are other contenders. The top four will not meet until the later stages.
Deepak Punia
Event: Wrestling Men’s 86 kg
Dates: August 4 (R16, QF, SF), August 5 (Repechage, Final)
Venue: Makuhari Messe
Indian wrestling is at a crossroads. The humble grapplers still remain India’s second-highest medal winners in Olympics behind hockey, but for all its tradition and history, recent events involving the legendary Sushil Kumar have cast a shadow over it. Now is the time for the wrestlers to change the narrative. What better way to do it than winning Olympic medals? And what if a wrestler from the much-maligned, Chhatrasal Stadium manages to do it? Deepak Punia, who became the first Indian wrestler to win a junior world title in 18 years, is now going to Tokyo with high hopes. He will have the company of the illustrious Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Ravi Dahiya. But the 22-year-old former World Championship silver medalist may well surprise everyone with a medal. He’s seeded second—only behind Iran great Hassan Yazdani—and rightly so, after a string of very good recent showings. With a favourable draw, Deepak can go all the way.
Amit Panghal
Event: Boxing Men’s flyweight
Date: July 31 to August 7
Venue: Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo
All eyes will be on M.C. Mary Kom when the boxing competition starts at the Tokyo Olympics. The legend is bidding for her second Olympic medal, and is billed as one of the favourites to win a medal for India. But with age catching up, punches getting weaker, and the younger lot getting better, it will be very difficult for the six-time world champion to dominate the ring as she used to. If the 38-year-old returns empty handed, it will be a sad epilogue to Indian boxing’s finest chapter. But Tokyo Olympics may well become the coming-of-age event, bout by bout, for India’s best boxer at the moment—Amit Panghal. The 25-year-old year flyweight (52kg) boxer is one of India’s best Olympic medal hopes. Those who witnessed Panghal’s defeat to Uzbekistan’s Shakhobidin Zoirov in the final of the Asian boxing championships in Dubai will know that the Indian boxer meant business and that he can dominate the best.
Saikhom Mirabai Chanu
Event: Weightlifting Women’s 49 kg
Date: July 24
Venue: Tokyo International Forum, Tokyo
It’s pretty straightforward for Saikhom Mirabai Chanu. Lift whatever she has been lifting, sit tight and forget everything. A silver medal is hihghly possible for India. But winning an Olympic medal is never too easy, considering the nature of the competition. Remember what happened five years ago in Rio (48 kg). This time in Tokyo, Mirabai can actually exorcise that ghost of ‘no lift’ by winning a medal. She won’t even need to break sweat. Here’s why: the entry list for women’s 49 kg competition has 14 lifters, and only two of them have so far breached the 200-kg mark—China’s Hou Zhihui (213) and Mirabai (205), with Jourdan Delacruz of US only touching 200. It will take a monumental effort from Delacruz to beat Mirabai’s current total. Then again, there are slip-ups and mistakes. But for Mirabai, her target will not get any simpler, any clearer than this. Her case has been made easy by the absence of North Korea’s Ri Song Gum and the ‘one lifter-one NOC (country) rule’.
Deepika Kumari And Atanu Das/Pravin Jadhav/Tarundeep Rai
Event: Archery Mixed team
Date: July 23 to 24
Venue: Yumenoshima Park, Tokyo
Deepika Kumari knows how to shoot golds. So does her husband, Atanu Das! They just won a mixed gold at the Paris World Cup. Now, their target is to win India’s first ever Olympics medal in archery, as individuals and also as teammates. Deepika enters the Games as the top-ranked women’s archer, and she is the hot favourite to win the singles event, while Das remains a strong contender in men’s singles. Showing a glimpse of her red-hot form, Deepika won a hat-trick of gold medals in Paris. But the Olympics is a different beast, where the world’s best congregate, with entourages from South Korea, China, Chinese Taipei, Italy and Mexico always sharing the spoils. Besides, Deepika also carries the weight of a nation that is yet to fulfil its sporting potential. Such expectations can hurt even the best. However, as a pair, with her husband, Deepika can actually flourish in Tokyo, and set the tone with a medal on July 24.
Men’s Hockey Team
Date: July 23 to August 5
Venue: Oi Hockey Stadium, Tokyo
A bit of History 101 always helps. But for Indian hockey, looking back doesn’t always help. Once a rampaging superpower, India are without an Olympic medal for more than four decades. But this team under Graham Reid has once again allowed India to dream big. Their credentials will be tested at the Tokyo Olympics. Many believe this is India’s best chance to end the medal drought. In fact, they can’t be faulted for harbouring such a belief; for, the Indian men’s hockey team has produced some brilliant performances in the past couple of years. Manpreet Singh & Co have defeated almost every top team, with the latest results against reigning Olympic champions Argentina summing up their preparedness for the big test. Before the Covid break, they beat The Netherlands and Belgium and also played out a draw against Australia. There were a couple of close defeats too, but all-in-all, it has been one good spell for India. India is in Pool A, along with Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and Spain. Belgium, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, The Netherlands and South Africa are in Pool B. The top four qualify for the knock-outs.
P.V. Sindhu
Event: Badminton Women’s Singles
Date: July 24 to August 1
Venue: Musashino Forest Sports Plaza, Tokyo
P.V. Sindhu can become the first Indian female athlete to win back-to-back Olympic medals. In Rio, the 25-year-old came close to becoming the first Indian woman to win a gold. She can aim for it in Tokyo. She is seeded six and placed in the bottom half of the draw for the women’s singles badminton competition. In a relatively easier draw, the reigning world champion will first need to navigate Group J, which also has Cheung Ngan Yi (ranked 34) and Ksenia Polikarpova (ranked 58). Next, Sindhu will probably meet Denmark’s Mia Blichfeldt (13th seed) from Group I in the round of 16, then Akane Yamaguchi (4th seed) in the QF, assuming that the Japanese also wins her Group (L) then beats Korean Kim Ga-eun (12th seed) from Group K. In the semis, Sindhu is likely to face either Tai Tzu-ying (2nd seed) of Chinese Taipei or Thai Ratchanok Intanon (5th seed). Sindhu’s final opponent should be top-seed Chen Yufei of China. Sindhu’s demoralising smashes, swooping retrievals and immaculate court coverage, along with self-belief, can recreate world-beating magic.
(This appeared in the print edition as "Tireless Lifters Of A Nation’s Hopes")