Rio Olympics 2016: A definitive guide to India's best medal-winning prospects

Saina Nehwal is one of India’s best hopes for a medal at 2016 Rio Olympics

Hope will be in their hearts and dreams in their eyes when over 100 athletes from India will compete in their respective sports at the 2016 Rio Olympics, which kick-off with the opening ceremony on 5th August. The eyes of the entire nation are going to be on all of these 119 athletes, who will be carrying a lot of expectations on their shoulders.

India will be represented in Athletics, Badminton, Lawn Tennis, Table Tennis, Wrestling, Badminton, Swimming, Golf, Weightlifting, Archery, Rowing, Hockey, Boxing, Gymnastics and Judo in this edition of the Games.

Though the Indian contingent is huge, realistic expectations in terms of winning medal are not as high, despite the amazing wave of positivity throughout the nation. Experts, however, believe that India will surely better its tally of six medals achieved at the 2012 London Olympics, while some think there is a possibility of reaching double figures as well.

A report by Goldman Sachs, based on various aspects about a country, has revealed that India is likely to win eight medals in Rio de Janeiro. From the looks of it, Goldman Sachs and experts in the country are more or less on the same page.

Based on the predictions of experts and various other factors, here is a lowest to highest ranking of India’s best medal prospects in Rio on the basis of their chances of winning a medal:

#35 Manoj Kumar – Boxing (Men's light welterweight 64 kg)

Past record: 2010 Commonwealth Gold Medalist, 2016 South Asian Games Gold Medalist

Chances of winning medal: 3%

Sania Mirza (R) will team up with Prarthana Thombare in Rio

#34 Sania Mirza and Prarthana Thombare – Lawn Tennis (Women’s Doubles)

Past record: Six-time Grand Slam Champion (Mirza), 2014 Asian Games Bronze Medalists (Mirza and Thombare)

Chances of winning medal: 4%

#33 Hardeep Singh – Wrestling (Men’s greco-roman 98 kg)

Past record: 2013 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship Gold Medalist, 2016 Asian Wrestling Championship Silver Medalist

Chances of winning medal: 5%

#32 Achanta Sharath Kamal – Table Tennis Men’s Singles

Past record: 2006 Commonwealth Gold Medalist, 2010 Commonwealth Gold Medalist, World No. 73 (As of August 4, 2016)

Chances of winning medal: 6%

Gutta (L) and Ponnappa in action in the Uber Cup

#31 Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa – Badminton (Women’s Doubles)

Past record: 2010 Commonwealth Gold Medalist, 2014 Commonwealth Silver Medalist, 2016 South Asian Games Gold Medalist

Chances of winning medal: 7%

Seema Punia has a lot of experience that might come handy in Rio

#30 Seema Punia – Women’s Discus Throw

Past record: 2006 Commonwealth Silver Medalist, 2010 Commonwealth Bronze Medalist, 2014 Asian Games Gold Medalist

Chances of winning medal: 8%

#29 Gurpreet Singh – Shooting (Men‘s 10m Air Pistol and Men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol)

Past record: Two-time 2010 Commonwealth Gold Medalist

Chances of winning medal: 8.5%

#28 Prakash Nanjappa – Shooting (Men’s 50m pistol)

Past record: 2013 ISSF World Cup Bronze medalist, 2014 Commonwealth Games Silver Medalist

Chances of winning medal: 9%

#27 Babita Kumari – Wrestling (Women’s freestyle 53 kg)

Past record: 2010 Commonwealth Silver Medalist, 2011 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship Gold Medalist, 2014 Commonwealth Gold Medalist 

Chances of winning medal: 9.5%

Sakshi Malik takes part in a practice session for Rio Olympics

#26 Sakshi Malik – Wrestling (Women’s freestyle 58 kg)

Past record: 2014 Commonwealth Silver Medalist, 2015 Asian Championships Bronze Medalist

Chances of winning medal: 10%

#25 Saikhom Chanu – Weightlifting (Women’s 48 kg)

Past record: 2014 Commonwealth Silver Medalist

Chances of winning medal: 10.5%

#24 Sathish Sivalingam – Weightlifting (Men’s 77kg)

Past record: 2014 Commonwealth Gold Medalist

Chances of winning medal: 11%

Indian Women's Hockey team plays during a training session

#23 Women’s Team – Hockey

Past record: 1982 Asian Games Gold Medal, 2002 Commonwealth Gold Medal, 2006 Commonwealth Silver Medal

Chances of winning medal: 11.5%

#22 Vikas Gowda – Men’s Discus Throw

Past record: 2010 Commonwealth Silver Medalist, 2010 Asian Games Bronze Medalist, 2014 Commonwealth Gold Medalist, 2015 Asian Athletics Championship Gold Medalist

Chances of winning medal: 12%

#21 Sandeep Tomar – Wrestling (Men’s freestyle 57 kg)

Past record: 2012 Copa Brasil Gold Medalist, 2013 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship Gold Medalist, 2016 Asian Wrestling Championship Gold Medalist

Chances of winning medal: 12.5%

Manavjit Singh Sandhu competes in the 51st ISSF World Championship

#20 Manavjit Singh Sandhu – Shooting (Men’s Trap)

Past record: 2006 ISSF World Championships Gold Medalist, 2010 ISSF World Cup Gold Medalist, 2010 Commonweath Bronze Medalist, 2014 ISSF World Cup Gold Medalist, 2015 ISSF World Cup Bronze Medalist

Chances of winning medal: 13%

#19 Chain Singh – Shooting (Men’s 50m rifle, Men’s 50m rifle 3 positions)

Past record: 2014 Asian Games Gold Medalist, 2016 South Asian Gold Medalist (3 individual + 3 team)

Chances of winning medal: 14%

#18 Vikas Krishan Yadav – Boxing (Men’s middleweight 75 kg)

Past record: 2014 Asian Games Bronze Medalist, 2015 Asian Boxing Championships Silver Medalist

Chances of winning medal: 14.5%

Srikanth Kidambi in action during 2016 Australian Open

#17 Srikanth Kidambi – Badminton (Men’s Singles)

Past record: 2013 Thailand Open (Won), 2014 China Open (Won), 2015 Swiss Open (Won), 2016 South Asian Games Gold Medalist

Chances of winning a medal: 15%

#16 PV Sindhu – Badminton (Women’s Singles)

Past record: 2013 World Championship Bronze Medalist, 2014 World Championship Bronze Medalist, 2014 Commonwealth Games Bronze Medalist, 2016 Malaysian Masters (Won)

Chances of winning medal: 18%

Abhinav Bindra will be participating in his last Olympic Games

#15 Abhinav Bindra – Shooting (Men’s 10m Air Rifle)

Past record: 2002 Commonwealth Silver Medalist, 2006 Commonwealth Bronze Medalist, 2006 ISSF World Shooting Championships Gold Medalist, 2008 Olympics Gold Medalist, 2014 Asian Games Bronze Medalist

Chances of winning medal: 19% 

#14 Dipa Karmakar – Gymnastics (Artistic)

Past record:  2014 Commonwealth Bronze Medalist, 2015 Asian Championships Bronze Medalist

Chances of winning medal: 20%

#13 Heena Sidhu – Shooting (Women’s 10m Air Pistol, Women’s 25m Air Pistol)

Past record: 2015 Asian Championships Gold Medalist, 2015 Asia Air Gun Championships Gold Medal, 2013 ISSF World Cup Gold Medalist

Chances of winning medal: 21%

India will be hoping for an 2012 encore from Gagan Narang

#12 Gagan Narang – Shooting (Men’s 10m Air Rifle, Men’s 50m Rifle Prone, Men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions)

Past record:  2006 Commonwealth Gold Medalist (4), 2010 Commonwealth Gold Medalist (4), 2012 Olympics Bronze Medalist, 2014 Commonwealth Games Silver Medalist 

Chances of winning medal: 22%

#11 Vinesh Phogat – Wrestling (Women’s Freestyle 48 kg)

Past record: 2013 Commonwealth Wrestling Championships Silver Medalist, 2014 Asian Games Bronze Medalist, 2014 Commonwealth Gold Medalist, 2015 Asian Wrestling Championship Silver Medalist, 2016 Asian Wrestling Championship Bronze Medalist

Chances of winning medal: 23%

Sania Mirza (Back) and Rohan Bopanna will be looking to put all controvesies behind in Rio

#10 Mairaj Ahmed Khan – Shooting (Men’s Skeet)

Past record: 2010 Commonwealth Gold Medalist, 2010 Commonwealth Shooting Championship Silver Medalist, 2012 Asian Shotgun Championship Silver Medalist, 2015 ISSF World Cup Silver Medalist

Chances of winning medal: 24%

#9 Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna – Lawn Tennis (Mixed Doubles)

Past record: Three-time Grand Slam Mixed Doubles Champion (Sania Mirza), Six-tme Mixed Doubles Grand Slam Quarter-finalist (Rohan Bopanna)

Chances of winning medal: 25%

Though he is not captain, Sardar Singh (L) will have a huge role to play in Rio

#8 Men’s Team – Hockey

Past record: Olympic Gold Medalists (8), 1975 World Cup Champions, 2014-15 World Hockey League Bronze Medalists, 2016 Champions Trophy Silver Medalists, 2014 Asian Games Gold Medalist, 2016 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Silver Medalists

Chances of winning a medal: 26%

#7 Narsingh Pancham Yadav – Wrestling (Men’s Freestyle 74 kg)

Past record: 2010 Commonwealth Gold Medalist, 2014 Asian Games Bronze Medalist, 2015 Asian Championships Bronze Medalist, 2015 World Championships Bronze Medalist

Chances of winning medal: 28%

#6 Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna – Lawn Tennis (Men’s Doubles)

Past record: Eight-time Doubles Grand Slam Champion (Leander Paes), Grand Slam Doubles Finalist (Rohan Bopanna)

Chances of winning medal: 35%

Deepika Kumari will hope to continue her good form into the 2016 Olympics

#5 Deepika Kumari – Archery (Women's Individual, Women’s Team)

Past record: 2010 Commonwealth Gold Medalist (2), 2011 World Cup Silver Medalist, 2012 World Cup Silver Medalist, 2013 World Cup Silver Medalist, 2015 World Championships Silver Medalist, Former World No. 1

Chances of winning medal: 40%

The expectations from Saina Nehwal are really high in Rio Olympics

#4 Saina Nehwal – Badminton (Women’s Singles)

Past record: 2010 Commonwealth Gold Medalist, 2012 Olympics Bronze Medalist, 2014 Australian Open (Won), 2014 China Open (Won), 2015 India Open (Won), 2015 All England Runner-up, 2015 World Championships Runner Up

Chances of winning medal: 45%

Yogeshwar Dutt is gunning for gold in the 2016 Rio Olympics

#3 Yogeshwar Dutt – Wrestling (Men’s Freestyle 65 kg)

Past record: 2010 Commonwealth Gold Medalist, 2012 Olympics Bronze Medalist, 2012 Asian Wrestling Championship Gold Medalist, 2014 Asian Championship Gold Medalist, 2014 Commonwealth Gold Medalist, 2014 Asian Games Gold Medalist

Chances of winning medal: 50%

India’s hopes of a medal in boxing lie on the shoulders of a young Shiva Thapa

2 Shiva Thapa – Boxing (Men’s Bantamweight 56 kg)

Past record: 2010 Youth Olympic Games Silver Medalist, 2015 World Amateur Championships Bronze Medalist

Chances of winning medal: 58%

For a lot of people, Jitu Rai getting a medal in Rio is a foregone conclusion

#1 Jitu Rai – Shooting (Men’s 10m Air Pistol, Men’s 50m Pistol)

Past record: 2014 Asian Games Gold Medalist, 2014 ISSF World Cup Silver Medalist, 2014 ISSF World Cup Gold Medalist (10m Air Pistol), 2014 Commonwealth Gold Medalist, Current World No.1 (10m Air Pistol)

Chances of winning medal: 60%