Table of Contents
Historical Context: India’s Olympic Journey
India’s tryst with the Olympics dates back over a century, with the nation first participating in the 1900 Paris Olympics while being under the rule of British empire. Since then, Indian athletes have consistently participated in various disciplines, gradually making their presence felt on the global stage. From hockey, where India dominated in the mid-20th century winning 8 gold medals, to the rise of individual sports like wrestling, shooting, and badminton, India’s sporting landscape has evolved significantly over the years.
Over the past few editions, the number of Indian athletes at the Olympic Summer Games has steadily increased.
At Tokyo 2020, the Indian contingent was made up of 124 athletes, the largest that the country had sent to the Games. India also won seven medals, their biggest haul in a single Olympics – including Neeraj Chopra’s historic gold medal in the men’s javelin throw.
But this time India at Paris Olympics 2024 expecting to take its tally of medals to double digit.
Complete Indian Olympic History: From 1896 to Tokyo 2020
Road to India at Paris Olympics 2024
India at Paris Olympics 2024, expected more athletes to qualify and, increase the Tokyo Olympics medal haul.
In Shooting
Trap shooter Bhowneesh Mendiratta won India’s first Paris 2024 quota at the 2022 ISSF World Championships but could not make the cut for the final team following national trials. Prithviraj Tondaiman was awarded the quota in the men’s trap event instead.
In shooting India at Paris Olympics 2024, went on to secure a quota in every Olympic shooting category for the first time.
The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) also exchanged one of the pistol quotas for a women’s trap shooter after Manu Bhaker had topped the national trials in the women’s 10m air pistol and the women’s 25m pistol, freeing up a quota in the pistol for shotgun events. The freed up quota went to Shreyasi Singh, who will compete in the women’s trap event.
Rudrankksh Patil, who obtained a men’s 10m air rifle shooting quota for India during the qualifying period, could not make it to the final team either. Sandeep Singh took his place following the national trials. Similarly, Tilottama Sen, Akhil Sheoran, Mehuli Ghosh, Shriyanka Sadangi, Varun Tomar and Palak Gulia, who all obtained quota in their respective events, also missed out.
DO YOU KNOW: In sports like shooting and wrestling, quotas are won by countries and not individual athletes. This means the athlete who clinched the quota can be replaced by another, leading up to the Games.
In athletics India at Paris Olympics 2024 secured more quotas than the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
Race walkers Priyanka Goswami and Akshdeep Singh, are the first Indians to qualify for athletics events at Paris 2024 olympics.
In the men’s 20km race walk, four Indian athletes breached the Paris Olympics qualifying standard while one made the cut via the world rankings route.
However, since each national federation can send a maximum of three athletes in the event to the Olympics, Akshdeep Singh, Vikash Singh and Paramjeet Singh Bisht were selected with Ram Baboo and Suraj Panwar missing out.
Meanwhile, while Priyanka and Akshdeep secured a quota for India in the marathon race walk mixed relay event, Suraj will be the one partnering Priyanka in Paris.
Murali Sreeshankar managed to breach the qualifying standard in the men’s long jump but won’t be traveling to Paris as a knee injury ruled him out for the entire 2024 season.
India reclaimed the boxing quota in the women’s 57kg via Jaismine Lamboria at the Olympic qualifiers in Bangkok in June after original quota-holder Parveen Hooda, who had booked the slot at the 2023 Asian Games, was suspended for whereabouts failures.
Indian athletes qualified for India at Paris Olympics 2024
India at Paris Olympics 2024 taking its one of the biggest contingent.
1 Prithviraj Tondaiman Men’s trap
2 Sandeep Singh Men’s 10m air rifle, 10m air rifle mixed team Shooting
3 Swapnil Kusale Men’s 50m rifle 3 positions Shooting
4 Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar Men’s 50m rifle 3 positions Shooting
5 Elavenil Valarivan Women’s 10m air rifle, 10m air rifle mixed team Shooting
6 Sift Kaur Samra Women’s 50m rifle 3 positions Shooting
7 Rajeshwari Kumari Women’s trap Shooting
8 Akshdeep Singh Men’s 20km race walk
9 Priyanka Goswami Women’s 20km race walk
10 Vikas Singh Men’s 20km race walk
11 Paramjeet Bisht Men’s 20km race walk
12 Avinash Sable Men’s 3000m steeplechase
13 Neeraj Chopra Men’s javelin throw
14 Parul Chaudhary Women’s 3000m steeplechase, Women’s 5000m
15 Antim Panghal Women’s 53kg Wrestling
16 Nikhat Zareen Women’s 50kg Boxing
17 Preeti Pawar Women’s 54kg Boxing
18 Lovlina Borgohain Women’s 75kg Boxing
19 Kishore Jena Men’s javelin throw
20 Team India in Men’s hockey
21 Sarabjot Singh Men’s 10m air pistol, 10m air pistol mixed team Shooting
22 Arjun Babuta Men’s 10m air rifle, 10m air rifle mixed team Shooting
23 Ramita Jindal Women’s 10m air rifle, 10m air rifle mixed team Shooting
24 Manu Bhaker Women’s 10m air pistol, 10m air pistol mixed team, women’s 25m pistol Shooting
25 Anish Bhanwala Men’s 25m rapid fire pistol Shooting
26 Anjum Moudgil Women’s 50m rifle 3 positions Shooting
27 Dhiraj Bommadevara Men’s individual, Men’s team Archery
28 Arjun Cheema Men’s 10m air pistol, 10m air pistol mixed team Shooting
29 Esha Singh Women’s 25m pistol Shooting
30 Rhythm Sangwan Women’s 10m air pistol, 10m air pistol mixed team Shooting
31 Vijayveer Sidhu Men’s 25m rapid fire pistol Shooting
32 Raiza Dhillon Women’s skeet Shooting
33 Anantjeet Singh Naruka Men’s skeet, Skeet mixed team Shooting
34 Vishnu Saravanan Men’s one person dinghy Sailing
35 Anush Agarwalla Equestrian Dressage
36 Sharath Kamal, Harmeet Desai, Manav Thakkar Table tennis Men’s team and two in men’s singles
37 Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula, Archana Kamath Table tennis Women’s team and two in women’s singles
38 Ram Baboo Men’s 20km race walk
39 Shreyasi Singh Women’s trap Shooting
40 Vinesh Phogat Women’s 50kg Wrestling
41 Anshu Malik Women’s 57kg Wrestling
42 Reetika Hooda Women’s 76kg Wrestling
43 Balraj Panwar M1x Rowing
44 Priyanka Goswami/Suraj Panwar Marathon race walk mixed relay
45 Nethra Kumanan Women’s one person dinghy Sailing
46 Maheshwari Chauhan Women’s skeet and skeet mixed team Shooting
47 PV Sindhu Women’s singles Badminton
48 HS Prannoy Men’s singles Badminton
49 Lakshya Sen Men’s singles Badminton
50 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty Men’s doubles Badminton
51 Ashwini Ponnappa/Tanisha Crasto Women’s doubles Badminton
52 Muhammed Anas/ Muhammed Ajmal/ Amoj Jacob/Santhosh Tamilarasan/Rajesh Ramesh Men’s 4x400m relay
53 Jyothika Sri Dandi/ Subha Venkatesan/ Vithya Ramraj/Poovamma MR Women’s 4x400m relay
54 Nisha Dahiya Women’s 68kg Wrestling
55 Aman Sehrawat Men’s freestyle 57kg Wrestling
56 Nishant Dev Men’s 71kg Boxing
57 Amit Panghal Men’s 51kg Boxing
58 Jaismine Lamboria Women’s 57kg Boxing
59 Rohan Bopanna/N Sriram Balaji Men’s doubles Tennis
60 Bhajan Kaur Women’s individual, Women’s team Archery
61 Shubhankar Sharma Men’s Golf
62 Gaganjeet Bhullar Men’s Golf
63 Mirabai Chanu Women’s 49kg Weightlifting
64 Tulika Maan Women’s +78kg Judo
65 Aditi Ashok Women’s Golf
66 Diksha Dagar Women’s Golf
67 Tarundeep Rai Men’s individual, Men’s team Archery
68 Pravin Jadhav Men’s individual, Men’s team Archery
69 Deepika Kumari Women’s individual, Women’s team Archery
70 Ankita Bhakat Women’s individual, Women’s team Archery
71 Srihari Nataraj Men’s 100m backstroke Swimming
72 Dhinidhi Desinghu Women’s 200m freestyle Swimming
73 Sumit Nagal Men’s singles Tennis
74 Kiran Pahal Women’s 400m Race
75 Jyothi Yarraji Women’s 100m hurdles
76 Abha Khatua Women’s shot put
77 Sarvesh Kushare Men’s high jump
78 Annu Rani Women’s javelin throw
79 Tajinderpal Singh Toor Men’s shot put
80 Abdulla Aboobacker Men’s triple jump
81 Praveel Chithravel Men’s triple jump
82 Jeswin Aldrin Men’s long jump
82 Ankita Dhyani Women’s 5000m Race
Spotlight on Athletes: India at Paris Olympics 2024 Medal contenders
1. Neeraj Chopra – Javelin Throw
Neeraj Chopra, India’s golden boy in athletics, captured the nation’s imagination with his historic gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. He is the biggest hope for India at Paris Olympics 2024, all eyes will be on him as he seeks to defend his title and further cement his legacy in the world of javelin throw.
2. PV Sindhu – Badminton
A two-time Olympics medalist, PV Sindhu, a stalwart in Indian badminton, aims to add another Olympic medal to her impressive tally 2. With her fierce determination and unmatched skills on the court, she remains a formidable contender in the women’s singles category.
3. Vinesh Phogat – Wrestling
A two times Olympian, Who is known for his tenacity and technical prowess, is set to wrestle her way to glory for India at Paris Olympics 2024. With a string of victories in international competitions, she is a strong medal prospect for India in wrestling in women’s 50 kg category.
4. Mirabai Chanu – Weightlifting
Mirabai Chanu, who clinched a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, will definitely be eyeing to change to color of her medal to gold as continues to inspire with her remarkable strength and resilience. She aims to lift India’s spirits once again with a stellar performance in weightlifting at Paris 2024.
5. Nikhat Zarin – Boxing
Participating in woman’s 50 kg category, Over the last three years, boxer Nikhat Zareen has won medals at the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and the Boxing World Championships. Now, she enters her first Olympics. Among the other Indian women boxers who have qualified for the Paris Olympics 2024 are Lovlina Borgohain (75 kg), Preeti Pawar (54 kg) and Parveen Hooda (57 kg).
6. Badminton
After Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu, now the badminton duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty are big contenders for medal for India at Paris Olympics 2024. Last year, Satwik and Chirag made history by securing a gold medal at the Asian Games. Currently ranked 5th in the world, they hold the record to become the first Indian pair to be ranked No. 1.
7. Men’s hockey team
The Indian Men’s Hockey Team is set to start its campaign on July 27 against New Zealand. They will then face Argentina on July 29, Ireland on July 30, Belgium on August 1, and Australia on August 2. They will be captained by Harmanpreet Singh, with PR Sreejesh serving as the goalkeeper. Fresh off their bronze medal victory in Tokyo, the team will be setting high targets for itself at the Paris Olympics.
8. Sift Kaur Samra – Shooting
Sift Kaur Samra an MBBS dropout, is one of India’s most promising medal prospects in shooting. She will be confident after her world record-breaking performance in September 2023 where Sift broke the world record held by Britain’s Seonaid McIntosh, by a margin of 2.6 points. Samra secured her Olympic berth in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions category following an impressive showing in the selection trials.
9. Aditi Ashok- golf
India’s best golfer in recent times. Won silver at the 2023 Asian Games, Plus, the India jersey brings out the best in Aditi. She was placed 41st at the Rio Olympics and went from that to a fourth-place finish in Tokyo and a silver medal at the 2023 Asian Games. This time she is a hope for medal for India at Paris Olympics 2024.
10. Aman Sehrawat – Wrestling
Asian champion, former world U23 champion and an Asian Games bronze medallist. The only Indian male wrestler to qualify for the Paris Games.
Beyond Medals – A Legacy of Inspiration for india at Paris Olympics 2024
As the countdown to the Paris Olympics begins, India at Paris Olympics 2024 ready to write a new chapter in the of sports history.
In Paris 2024, India’s athletes will not only compete for glory but also inspire millions back home and around the world limitless potential of human endeavor. Their achievements on the field transcend borders and languages, uniting us in the universal language of sport. As we cheer for our athletes, let us celebrate their journey, their victories, and their unwavering spirit – for they are the true champions of India’s quest at the Paris Olympics 2024.
In this blog post, we have explored the journey of India at Paris Olympics 2024, As the world watches, let us cheer for India’s athletes as they embark on this remarkable journey of athletic excellence. And join us for more updates on the Indian Olympic endeavor of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
