13 athletes from Indian Army to compete across seven disciplines at 2024 Paris Olympics
On Monday (July 15), it was announced that 13 athletes from the Indian Army will compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADGPI) of the Army took to X/Twitter to share the information.
As per the post, General Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army (COAS), extended his best wishes to the Indian contingent and lauded the athletes for their hard work by terming their achievements as a source of ‘immense pride’ for both the country and the Indian Army.
The 13-member contingent includes the 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medal winner Neeraj Chopra. The 26-year-old javelin thrower holds the rank of a Subedar in the Indian Army. He was inducted in 2016 after his victories at the South Asian Games and the Junior World Championships.
Indian Army’s representation at the Olympics over the years
The Indian Army has played a significant role in providing the country with some star athletes over the years, several of whom have brought India great laurels at the biggest stage — the Olympics.
Major Dhyan Chand was one such athlete to come out of the Indian Army. He went on to become one of the biggest icons in Indian sports. A legend of field hockey, Dhyan Chand was a three-time Olympic gold medal winner for India (1928, 1932, and 1936). Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore is another prominent and more recent athlete from the Army who became the first Indian shooter to win a medal at the Olympics. He took home a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
In 2016, the Indian Army launched the initiative ‘Mission Olympics 2020,’ through which young kids with potential were identified and given opportunities. They were further provided with a healthy diet, the best training and coaching, infrastructure, as well as incentives. Neeraj Chopra is the most successful product of the ‘Mission Olympics 2020.’