There is only a day left for the Paris Olympics 2024 to start and this will be one of the biggest Indian contingent to ever participate in the Games. A total of 117 Indian Athletes will participate in the Olympics. Out of these 70 are male athletes and 47 are female athletes. There will be 141 support staff that will accompany the Indian contingent at the Games. Out of the 117 Athletes, there are many who could win medals in different sports.
In this article, Let’s take a look at the Top 10 Medal Contenders for India at Paris Olympics 2024
1) Neeraj Choora – Javelin Throw
At number 1 there can only be one athlete. The only defending Olympic Champion from India. Neeraj Choora won the Olympics Gold Medal at Tokyo 2020 in the Javelin Throw event. He hit a throw of 87.58M to clinch the Gold Medal. Since the Olympics he has won the World Athletics Championships, Asian Games, Diamond League meaning he is a leading contender to win Gold again. He has a personal best throw of 89.94 and he has thrown 88.36M as his best in 2024. He will have Kishore Kumar Jena and both of them will look to give India 2 Medals from a single event.
2) Nikhat Zareen – Boxing
There are a couple of women boxers who are among the favorites to win a medal for India. Nikhat Zareen is one of the best in the world at 50 KGs. She has won the World Championship twice in her career so far. She has won the Commonwealth Games Gold Medal and a bronze medal in the Asian Games which cemented her spot at Paris 2024. Nikhat Zareen would have learned a lot after the Asian Games 2024 where she was the favorite to win the Gold Medal. She will be the first boxer from India to win the Gold Medal at the Olympic Games.
3) PV Sindhu – Badminton
PV Sindhu is an athlete that has created history at the Olympic Games. She has won the Silver Medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and a Bronze Medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics . PV Sindhu is one of the greatest Olympians of all time. She will look to complete a hat trick at Paris 2024. Only the Gold Medal Is remaining in her set. She has found a new coaching setup led by the great Prakash Padukone. Ever since the Commonwealth Games 2022 where she got injured, PV Sindhu has not been at her best but she has received a favorable draw at the Olympics.
4) Lovlina Borgohain – Boxing
The only medalist in Boxing at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Lovlina Borgohain shot to fame after she won a Bronze Medal at the Olympics. Lovlina Borgohain was initially in the 69 KG category but since Tokyo she has shifted to the 75 KG Middleweight Category. She won the World Championship in 2023 and she also secured a Silver Medal at the Asian Games in 2022. That Silver Medal ensured her qualification for Paris 2024. Lovlina Borgohain will look to upgrade the colour of her medal to Silver or Gold at Paris 2024.
5) Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty- Badminton
This could be the year where India gets 2 medals in the sport of Badminton at the Olympics. Since 2012 in every Olympics, there has been a medal in each of the Olympic Games. And it has been an all women show. The best doubles pair in the world will look to win a medal in the Men’s Doubles event. They were a big part of the Thomas Cup winning team in 2022. They have won a Bronze Medal at the World Championships, an Asian Games Gold Medal which is almost like winning at the Olympics. These 2 men will be Medal favorites at Paris 2024.
6) Antim Panghal – Wrestling
Wrestling is a sport which has given India a lot of medals at the Olympic Games. This year the one wrestler who has a real chance of winning the Medal is Antim Panghal. She has been ranked 4th in the 53 KG Freestyle Wrestling category. She is a 2 time Under 20 World Champion. Antim Panghal won a Silver in the Asian Championships in 2023. The draw that she has been given is also favorable as she will not meet her biggest competitors such as Emma Malmgren who is the second ranked or Akari Fujinami who is third before the final. The other wrestlers such as Vinesh Phogat will also look to add her name in the history books.
7) Mirabai Chanu – Weightlifting
Mirabai Chanu is one of these athletes who has already won a Silver Medal at the Olympic Games. She has won a Silver Medal in the 49 KG category and she will look for redemption after what happened at the Asian Games in 2022. She was brought home in a wheelchair and it was a similar experience to Rio Olympics 2016. Mirabai Chanu is an expert in converting despair to victory. She will look to win a Gold Medal this time. She can be the undisputed Greatest Weightlifter India has ever seen.
8) Indian Men’s Hockey Team
The Indian Men’s Hockey Team is again one of the leading medal contenders to win a Medal at the Paris Olympics. The Indian team created history as they won a Bronze Medal at the Tokyo Olympics after 41 years. Graham Reed was the coach who led the Indian team in 2020 but he resigned. The Indian team won Gold at the Asian Games and that helped India to get a spot at the Paris Olympics. PR Sreejesh will play his final Olympic Games and Harmanpreet Singh will be the captain. The teams in the group of India are New Zealand, Argentina, Australia, Belgium and Ireland.
9) Sift Kaur Samra – Shooting
Sift Kaur Samra is only 22 years old and she will be one of the shooting stars that will be there for India at the Olympic Games. There are a total of 21 shooters that will participate from India. Sift Kaur Samra is a shooter who will be in the 50M Rifle 3 Positions Event. Sift Kaur Samra won the Gold Medal at the 2022 Asian Games with a world record of 469.6 points. Sift Kaur Samra will look to win the Gold Medal at the Olympic Games. She was not part of Tokyo 2021 where the shooting contingent had a disastrous performance.
10) Manu Bhaker – Shooting
Manu Bhaker has had a mixed bag of a career. At the Tokyo Olympics she had her lowest point of her career when she was eliminated in the early rounds. She also had a falling out with her coach Jaspal Rana. In the 3 years since she has reunited with her coach and she was the best shooter at the selection trials held in May. She will represent India in 3 separate events. She will compete in the Women’s 25M Air Pistol, Women’s 10M Air Pistol and Mixed Team 10M Air Pistol Events. She will look to win medals in all 3 events and become a superstar.
