When India enters the field, the court, or the ring, in their respective sports, they will have the sole mission to better their record tally of seven medals from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Among those seven medals was a historic gold medal from Neeraj Chopra in the Men’s Javelin Throw.
Chopra became only the second Indian to win an individual gold medal at the Olympics after Abhinav Bindra. In the ongoing Paris Olympics, there could be realistically four gold medal winners for India. In this article, we will take a look at the four players who are India’s top gold medal contenders.
#4 Mirabai Chanu
Tokyo Olympics silver medallist, Mirabai Chanu feature on this list. The Indian weightlifter will once again compete in the closely-contested 49kg weight class. Being the only Indian weightlifter in Paris, Chanu will be the lone representative for India at the Paris Olympics.
She won a silver medal in the same weight category in the previous Olympics. Chanu is not someone who will be fazed by competition which she showed in 2017 when she won the gold medal at the World Championships.
The gold medal came as a redemption for the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games where the Indian weightlifter managed to win the silver medal. In 2018, she bettered her Commonwealth Games record when she won the gold medal at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. In 2022, she defended her CWG title at Birmingham by winning her third medal at the games and second consecutive gold.
She will once again be a strong medal contender in her weight category. The only hurdle standing between her and the gold medal would be the hip joint injury that forced her to not participate in a historic 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games for India.
She has made a remarkable comeback in the sport with a great performance at the IWF (International Weightlifting Federation) World Cup 2024. She would eyeing her second Olympic medal can could be the dark horse to bring the gold medal glory to India.
#3 Sift Kaur Samra
Sift Kaur Samra is the world record holder in the 50m air rifle three-position
India has been consistently a great shooting team at the World level for quite some time. But sadly they have nothing to show for in the Olympics. In the last two Olympics at Tokyo and Rio, the fans have been left disappointed when the Indian shooting team massively underperformed and failed to win any medals.
The Paris Olympics could be the beginning to the end of bad luck in the Olympics. This time around unlike in 2021 or 2016, India is sending its best in-form players due to a tweak in the qualification quota system. India could not only win multiple medals at the ongoing Paris Olympics but could bring a gold medal in the 50m air rifle three-position. Sift Kaur Samra, the world record holder in the event would be the favourite to win the gold medal.
The 22-year-old broke every record standing in her way during the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games while clinching the gold medal. The shooter scored 469.6 points in her record-breaking tally at the Asian Games beating previous record-holder, Seonaid McIntosh by 2.6 points.
She will be the favorite to win the gold medal at the Olympics and could become only the second shooter after Abhinav Bindra to win the gold medal for India in Shooting.
#2 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty
India, historically has been a force to be reckoned with in Badminton thanks to former stars of the game like Saina Nehwal, Parupalli Kashyap, Jwala Gutta, Srikanth Kidambi and many more. Currently, the sport is spearheaded in India by the two-time Olympic medal winner, PV Sindhu.
While Sindhu will be once again looking to be positioned at the podium once again at the Paris Olympics, the doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty could bring all the laurels to India.
The doubles pair of Rankireddy and Shetty has done all there needs to be but win an Olympic medal. The duo are the current Commonwealth Games and Asian Games champions.
The pair had recently become the number 1 ranked pair in BWF rankings after their win in the Thailand Open in May earlier this year. Currently, the pair are ranked third in the World. It was because of Rankireddy and Shetty that India won its first Thomas Cup in 2022.
What works in Satwik and Chirag’s favour is that out of their two BWF titles this year, the French Open came at the same venue which will be used for the Olympics. The men’s badminton doubles pair is the most closely contested event in the sports world right now which means that the Indian pair can’t afford to be complacent at all in the marquee event.
#1 Neeraj Chopra
Neeraj Chopra won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics
The golden boy of the previous Olympics will be expected to win yet another gold. Neeraj Chopra has dominated the Men’s Javelin Throw like no one. While Chopra will be once again facing tough competition from the Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch, Germany’s Julian Weber and Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, the Indian star will be delighted to see a familiar face in the form of Kishore Kumar Jena.
Chopra along with Jena clinched a 1-2 finish at the Hangzhou Asian Games. Chopra will be expected to repeat his heroics from the Tokyo Olympics in Paris. Since his historic gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, he has won the silver and gold medals at the World Championships, a gold in the Diamond League Final along the gold medal at the Asian Games.
When Chopra takes his mark on the eighth of August at the Stade de France (the venue for track and field events) hopes of a billion Indians will be resting on his shoulders. His heroics not only scripted India’s name in history but have also inspired the next generation of sports stars, he could well repeat the feat if he manages to win yet another gold in Paris.