Neeraj Chopra will be the first name that springs to everyone’s lips when conversations in the New Year veer to prospects in the Paris Olympic Games later this year. The Javelin thrower answered everyone’s prayers by adding the World Athletics Championships gold medal last year to his Tokyo Olympic Games victory.
Of course, he will face intense competition, not the least from his own team-mates and from the German Johannes Vetter and Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch. No matter what happens, we can be sure that the Javelin throw final in Paris will be one of the most watched events this year. The grace and dignity that Neeraj Chopra brings to his sport is an additional reason for the favouritism.
However, since hockey is more dear to us than many of us may want to concede, the men’s hockey team will have as much support. For the longest time, a majority of Indian sports fans had all but given up hope of seeing the Indian flag go up on the final day of an Olympic hockey competition. However, Tokyo 2020 saw the team win a delightful bronze medal.
The last year was a mixed bag, a deeply disappointing showing in the FIH World Cup at home followed by a stunning Asian Games gold medal that guaranteed the team a ticket to Paris 2024. Even on its most sluggish days, our hearts beat for the team. Small wonder then that the men’s hockey team is the first pick among those I would keep an eye on in Paris 2024.
Badminton stars Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty can expect the pressure of expectations to be their constant companions this year. Being second on the BWF World Rankings for men’s doubles, they will find it inevitable that many more fans of Indian sport will hope that they add an Olympic medal to their collection.
Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borgohain are two pugilists who can be backed to showcase their talent and hunger in Paris. If they succeed in playing to potential – and there is no reason for them not to – India may complete a hat-trick of podium visits by women boxers in the Olympic Games, a feat achieved in the new millennium by shooters, wrestlers and badminton players.
HS Prannoy’s journey through 2023 was nothing short of spectacular as he reached the World’s top 10 and stayed there. His graph has risen from the time he endeared himself to the nation with his superlative efforts in the Thomas Cup in Bangkok in May 2022. He has embraced a consistency and will surely be among those Indian athletes who will reach Paris with confidence.
Viewed against the backdrop of expectations, Indian shooting was a debacle in Tokyo2020. A hungry Manu Bhaker could well be the shooter who can lead a comeback. There are rifle shooters who have done better on the global platform than Manu Bhaker in 2023 but the manner in which she has envisioned her rally indicates that India can look forward to something special.
Despite the unseemly mess that Indian wrestling has found itself in, Antim Panghal has it in her to lead the Indian challenge in Paris. Of course, the Olympic Games is very different to any stage that she has been on. But Antim Panghal’s skill and temperament can be of great use to her when she steps to the challenge.
Long jumper M Sreeshankar will be the other track and field athlete, besides Neeraj Chopra, on whom I would focus in Paris. Of course, Kishore Kumar Jena and DP Manu finished among the top six in the World Championships last year but the Olympic Games may be a different ball game altogether. Sreeshankar’s growing maturity as a competitor is a reason
I would not leave PV Sindhu out of such a list. There can be no doubt that 2023 has been a largely forgetful year. A 29-23 win-loss record with just one appearance in the final of a tournament is not something to write home about. Nor is the fact that she has slipped out of the top 10 ranking for the first time in several years.
Besides, a knee injury forced her to retire during her French Open second round match in October. All of these can raise doubts but Sindhu brings her best out in big-ticket events. Her two Olympic medals and five World Championship podium finishes are ample testimony to that. I will remain hopeful that she would be fit and at the peak of her form in Paris.
There are some other favourite athletes like weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, golfer Aditi Ashok, the women’s hockey team, eventing rider Fouaad Mirza and Laser sailor Vishnu Saravanan, to name a few, who will be in focus. Of course, some of them have not yet secured qualification for Paris 2024 but many will be rooting for them.
There are others, too, some capable of springing surprises. Of course, we also need no reminders that we have encountered disappointments in the past as not all predictions come true. But then that is the nature of sport and we will embrace all results, favourable or otherwise, but continue to track and support Indian sport and those who spill sweat, tears and blood.
Yet, 2024 has plenty to look forward to, purely from the Olympic Games perspective.
(This piece was first published on RevSportz)
