A 14-year-old and two-time World Champion: India's Olympic debutants for Paris 2024

India will be sending 117 athletes across 16 disciplines to the Paris Olympics. This team includes familiar faces like Rohan Bopanna, Sharath Kamal, and PV Sindhu, who have been to the Olympics before. Out of the seven medalists from Tokyo 2020, five are part of the team. However, more than half of the athletes will be debuting at the Olympics.

Young talents and rising stars

One of the youngest athletes is 14-year-old swimmer Dhinidhi Desinghu. She’s the youngest Indian at the Olympics since 1952 and will compete in the 200m freestyle event. Desinghu earned her spot through the Universality quota after not meeting the A or B qualification times. She will be swimming against her idol, Katie Ledecky.

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Nikhat Zareen, a two-time boxing world champion, is another notable debutant. Having recently transitioned to the 50kg weight category, Zareen is one of India’s top medal hopes in boxing.

In wrestling, junior world champions Antim Panghal and Reetika are also making their debut. Panghal, at 19, is already a two-time Junior World Champion and has won medals at the senior level, including a bronze at the 2023 World Wrestling Championships. Reetika is the first Indian woman to qualify in the 76kg weight class and aims to replicate Sakshi Malik’s success from the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Experienced contenders

Kishore Kumar Jena, who narrowly lost to Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra at the Asian Games, is a strong contender in men’s javelin. Jyothi Yarraji, India’s fastest hurdler, and steeplechaser Parul Chaudhary are also debuting and could achieve notable results.

In badminton, Lakshya Sen is competing in men’s singles. He has already won a bronze at the 2021 World Championships and a gold at the Commonwealth Games.