Rio Olympics 2016: 5 dark horses who can get India a medal
Although the London Olympics of 2012 saw India double its medal tally from three to six, India still finished a lowly 55th on the medals list. Going into the Rio Olympics, the Indian contingent looks more confident of greater glory and the fans will hope they better the performance of 2012.
While the usual suspects who the nation will pin their hopes on to bring a medal remain the ones who have previously won medals for the country in the last couple of Olympics, there are also a few names in the Indian contingent that will go into the quadrennial event unheralded but are fully capable of springing a surprise and finishing on the podium.
Here we look at those names who, apart from the usual medal hopefuls, can make a mark at the Rio Olympics 2016
#1 Dipa Karmakar- Gymnastics
Hailing from Tripura, Dipa Karmakar has already sprung a surprise by becoming the first Indian gymnast to qualify for the Olympics, and can stun the world if she manages a podium finish in the Olympics. Earlier, Karmakar had become the first Indian female gymnast to win a medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and then followed it up with another bronze at the Asian Championships in Hiroshima.
Karmakar has been ably trained by B.S Nandi for 15 years, who corrected her flat foot problem when she first came to him as a 7-year-old kid. The 22-year-old finished fifth in the World Championships after she had secured a berth for Rio Olympics by landing the extremely difficult and dangerous Produnova vault.