Only a week remains in the 2024 Paris Olympics and several Indian athletes would be making their debut at the Games. India secured seven medals during the last edition, where Neeraj Chopra became an Olympic champion on his debut. Meanwhile, Ravi Kumar Dahiya won a memorable silver medal in wrestling.
Similarly, a lot of hopes have been tied with the names of several debutants at the Paris Olympics. With that being said, let’s take a look at the top 5 Indian athletes debuting at the 2024 Olympics:
#5 Dhinidhi Desinghu (Swimming)
Dhinidhi Desinghu will represent India in the Women’s 200m freestyle event at the 2024 Paris Olympics. At the young age of 14, she is set to become the second youngest swimmer to represent India at the Olympics. Desinghu earned a spot in the Paris Games via Universality quota by the Olympic Games Tripartite Commission, alongside Srihari Nataraj.
The 14-year-old is currently in the ninth standard as she is a student of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Bengaluru. Desinghu hails seven-time Olympic gold medallist Katie Ledecky as her swimming idol. Interestingly, she might get an opportunity to compete against her idol at the sporting megafest. Moreover, Desinghu’s participation can be a huge step in India’s involvement in the sport.
#4 Kishore Kumar Jena (Javelin Throw)
Kishore Kumar Jena won the silver medal at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games
Kishore Kumar Jena qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics with his throw of 87.54m in his fourth attempt at the 2022 Asian Games. He also won the silver medal in Hangzhou, only falling behind Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra. Jena’s throw was his personal best and with the attempt, he also gained recognition of the nation.
The 28-year-old has made astounding progress in recent years. India’s Golden Boy Neeraj Chopra was 23 years old when he won the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Meanwhile, Jena switched properly from volleyball to javelin throw in 2019.
At the age of 24, he was included in the national camp at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre in Patiala, where he started training under Samarjeet Singh Malhi. Under the guidance of Samarjeet Singh Malhi, Jena crossed the 80m mark and will soon be making his Olympic debut.
#3 Sift Kaur Samra (Shooting)
India shooter Sift Kaur Samra will compete in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions event at the Paris 2024 Olympics. In 2022, Samra became a national champion and also won a bronze medal at the ISSF World Cup in the 50m rifle 3 positions event. Later, at the Hangzhou Asian Games, she secured individual gold and team silver with Ashi Chouksey and Manini Kaushik in the women’s 3 positions event.
With the help of continuous success, she secured a spot at the Paris Olympics. Indian shooters have secured a quota in 21 disciplines out of the 24 at the Paris Olympics. Additionally, she’s one of India’s top medal hopes at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The 22-year-old also holds the current world record in Women’s 50 metre rifle three positions, which she created in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games. Apart from Samra, Manu Bhakar, Aishwarya Pratap Singh Tomar, Prithviraj Tondaiman and more are also in contention for a podium finish in Paris.
#2 Lakshya Sen (Badminton)
Lakshya Sen is a former BWF men’s singles World No. 6 and an All England Open semi-finalist
Shuttler Lakshya Sen secured a spot in the Paris-going contingent via BWF rankings. Currently ranked 14 in the men’s singles, Sen is a former World No. 6. He was also a part of the Indian squad, which scripted history by winning the 2022 Thomas Cup in Bangkok and is also a World championship bronze medalist. In addition to that, he also won the gold medal in the men’s singles event at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Nevertheless, the 22-year-old Indian shuttler will make his maiden senior Olympic appearance at the 2024 Paris Games. Sen won a silver medal at the 2018 Buenos Aires Youth Olympics losing in the final against China’s Li Shifeng. However, his way to the gold-medal match included wins over Japan’s Kodai Naraoka and Indonesia’s Ikhsan Rumbay.
For the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Indian shuttler Sen has been drawn in Group L alongside third seed Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie, Guatemala’s Kevin Gordon and Belgium’s Julien Carraggi. If Sen tops the group, he can potentially face compatriot HS Prannoy in the round of 16. Prannoy is in Group K for the 2024 Paris Games alongside Vietnam’s Le Duc Phat and Germany’s Fabian Roth.
#1 Nikhat Zareen (Boxing)
Indian boxer Nikhat Zareen will also make her much-awaited Olympic debut at the 2024 Paris Games. The 28-year-old is one of India’s top medal hopes at the sporting megafest. Zareen earned the Olympic quota via her performance in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, where he won a bronze medal in women’s 50kg.
Apart from that, she’s a two-time World Championships gold medalist and she also won the top prize at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. Interestingly, Zareen will represent the nation in boxing veteran Mary Kom’s weight category.
A six-time World and five-time Asian champion, Kom was the first female Indian boxer to win a medal at the Olympics. She scripted history by winning a bronze medal at the 2012 Paris Olympics, playing in the flyweight category.
Zareen has also faced Kom in the national championships. Moreover, she also hails the 2012 London Olympics bronze medalist as her boxing icon. After decent performances in other tournaments, the 28-year-old is ready to represent India at the Olympics. Other boxers who are going to Paris are Preeti Pawar, Lovlina Borgohain, Nishant Dev, Amit Panghal, and Jaismine Lamboria.