India aims to surpass its best-ever medal tally from the Tokyo Olympics, where they won seven medals. With 117 athletes, India sends its second-largest contingent to Paris, participating in 16 events.
India’s 117 athletes include 70 men and 47 women. This contingent is just slightly smaller than the 121 sent to Tokyo. If the Women's hockey team had qualified, this would have been India's largest contingent ever. Athletes will compete in 16 events: archery, athletics, badminton, boxing, equestrian, golf, hockey, judo, rowing, sailing, shooting, swimming, table tennis, tennis, wrestling, and weightlifting.
Athletics has the largest group with 29 participants, followed by shooting with 21 shooters, the most ever for India. Out of the 117 athletes, 72 are first-timers. Veteran table tennis player Sharath Kamal will be competing in his fifth Olympics, while Rohan Bopanna, at 44, is the oldest, and 14-year-old swimmer Dhinidhi Desinghu is the youngest.
India’s top medal hopefuls include Neeraj Chopra in javelin, the badminton duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, PV Sindhu in women’s badminton, and both the men’s and women’s archery and hockey teams. Shooters Sift Kaur Samra and Manu Bhaker, boxer Nikhat Zareen, and wrestler Antim Panghal also have strong chances.
India’s history in the Olympics includes 35 medals, with 12 from team sports. Among the current athletes, Neeraj Chopra, Mirabai Chanu, PV Sindhu, Lovlina Borgohain, and the men's hockey team have previously won Olympic medals. PV Sindhu could make history as the first Indian to win three individual Olympic medals.
With strong preparations and high hopes, India’s Paris 2024 journey aims to break new ground and achieve record-breaking success.