5 sports where India can win a gold medal at Tokyo 2020 Olympics
With less than 50 days to go until the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, all the athletes across the globe who have qualified for the games will be raring to go and give their best shot at the quadrennial extravaganza. Our Indian athletes will also be trying to push their limits to reach the world-class level that is required to medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. While each athlete across different disciplines can be potential medal winners on a given day, there are few disciplines where the performances of Indian athletes have been par excellent. Those athletes are considered serious contenders to win a gold medal for India in their respective discipline at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. In this article, we have a look at the top 5 sports disciplines where India can win a gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
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5 categories where India can shine in Tokyo 2020 Olympics
5. Archery
Despite the talent that our archers have, it would be safe to say that they have under performed at the Olympics. Be it the bitter disappointment of Limba Ram at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics or the early exit of Deepika Kumari at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympics, we have returned empty handed from the Olympics. But this time around, the Indian archers seem to have found a new step in their stride.
The men's recurve team led by the extremely talented Atanu Das won a silver medal at the 2019 World Archery Championships to book a spot in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The start of 2021 too has been a fairytale for the Indian archers, as they won 3 Gold medals and a bronze medal at Stage 1 of the Archery World Cup held in Guatemala City, with the silver lining being the gold medal-winning performances of Atanu Das and Deepika Kumari in individual events.
Although the likes of Korea and China didn't participate in Stage 1 of the world cup, the confidence with which the top Indian archers performed was a sight to behold. Hopefully, the dark days of Indian archers are behind and a future glittering with gold awaits them at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Read More: Tokyo Olympics 2021 Medal Tally
4. Weightlifting
India has produced legends in weightlifting, especially in women's weightlifting over the years. The likes of Kunjarani Devi and Karnam Malleshwari have brought laurels to the nation on many occasions. Karnam Malleshwari became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal when she won a bronze medal in under 69kg category at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. However, from 2000 to 2016, Indian weightlifting went though a very dark period.
Although there were a few lifters who brought laurels to the nation at the Commonwealth level, none of those successes could be translated at the world level. Mirabai Chanu herself succumbed to pressure when she registered a no lift in the Clean and Jerk section of the women's under 48 kg section at the 2016 Rio Olympics. But the wounds of disappointment from 2016 made her work so hard that she is one of the biggest gold medal favorites for India at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
She has won it all, from the 2017 World Championships gold medal to the gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth games. She also broke the Clean & Jerk WR at the 2021 Asian weightlifting championships with a spectacular lift of 119 kg (~2.5 times her body weight). She looks set to challenge the Chinese dominance and win India's 1st gold medal in weightlifting at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
3. Boxing
Boxing has been one of India's best bets for an Olympic medal this centur and will hopefully continue in Tokyo 2020 . Vijendar Singh was India's first Olympic medalist in boxing when he won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the men's middleweight division.
The 2012 London Olympics saw the introduction of women's boxing at the Olympics and Mary Kom didn't waste any time latching her hands on an Olympic medal when she won a bronze medal in the women's flyweight category. However, the peak of 2008 and 2012 was followed by a lull of 2016, when only 3 Indian pugilists managed to qualify for the Olympics and none of them could manage any medal mainly thanks to a defunct boxing federation during that Olympic cycle.
However, the fall of 2016 was followed by a much superior performance in the 2016-2020 cycle. A total of 9 Indian boxers (5 men and 4 women) have qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. While youngsters like Amit Panghal, Manish Kaushik and Lovlina Borgohain won medals at multiple world championships, veterans like Mary Kom, Pooja Rani and Vikas Krishnan also performed brilliantly at Commonwealth and continental level. Despite the outbreak of Coronavirus hampering training of a few of our Olympic-bound pugilists, the overall graph of these boxers suggests that we can expect a gold medal from the likes of Amit and Pooja Rani at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics given their recent brilliant performances.
2. Wrestling
Since the 2008 Olympics, wrestling has been a mainstay of India's overall medal tally at each Olympics. India's 1st Olympic medal in wrestling, however, dates back to the 1952 Helsinki Olympics when the legendary K.D. Jadhav returned home with a bronze medal in the freestyle bantamweight category.
Overall, India has won 1 silver medal (courtesy Sushil Kumar at the 2012 London Olympics) and 4 bronze medals at the Olympics. But this time the buzz that surrounds the Indian wrestlers is surreal. India, although, has qualified 7 wrestlers at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics out of a total of 18 events, and each of the 7 wrestlers are potential medal winners on a given day at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The likes of Ravi Kumar Dahiya (57 kg Freestyle), Bajrang Punia (65 kg FS) and Vinesh Phogat (53 kg Women wrestling) are some of the best wrestlers in the world in their respective categories and they will look to make a mark in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The latter two have won it all from continental level to world level and have all the necessary experience under their belt. We can say that it is just a matter of time before at least one of them takes the top spot at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and adds a chapter of golden glory in the history of Indian Olympics.
1. Shooting
Shooting has been India's best bet for Olympic glory this century. The foundation of this glory was set by the likes of Anjali Bhagwat when she became the world no. one 10m Air Rifle Shooter in 2002. This was followed by a spectacular silver medal from Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore in the double trap at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Abhinav Bindra at the 2008 Beijing Olympics became the 1st Indian to win an individual gold medal at the Olympics.
But the 2016 Rio Olympics proved to be a disastrous one for the Indian shooting team as they returned empty handed from the quadrennial event. However, the rearguard action taken by the National Rifle Association of India after the 2016 debacle coupled with some breakthrough performances has seen Indian shooting rise up the ranks so much that many experts consider them the best team in the lead up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The likes of Saurabh Chaudhary, Divyansh Singh Panwar, Manu Bhaker and Elavenil Valarivan have shaken the world of shooting with their incredible performances at various shooting World Cups during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic cycle in their respective events. Veteran shooters like Apurvi Chandela, Rahi Sarnobat and Sanjeev Rajput too have held their fort strong and are more than capable of beating anyone in their respective events on a given day in Tokyo 2020. One can expect to see quite a few of these shooters at the top of the podium at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.