Indian Athletes Aim for Glory at Paris 2024: Medal Hopes Led by Neeraj Chopra and Manu Bhaker

A record 117 Indian athletes, including five reserves, are looking to make history and earn sporting glory at the Paris 2024 Olympics, taking place from July 26 to August 11.

Indian athletes will compete for medals in 69 events across 16 sports, including archery, athletics, badminton, boxing, equestrian, golf, hockey, judo, rowing, sailing, shooting, swimming, table tennis, and tennis.

Neeraj Chopra, who made history with a gold-winning performance in the men’s javelin throw at Tokyo 2020, is part of the 29-member Indian athletics team aiming to add more medals to India’s tally at Paris 2024.

Other returning Olympic medalists include badminton star PV Sindhu, weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, boxer Lovlina Borgohain, and several players from the Indian men’s hockey team led by Harmanpreet Singh.

Athletes like Avinash Sable, Aman Sehrawat, and the hockey team are also eager to contribute to India’s medal count at Paris 2024.

Manu Bhaker earned India’s first medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics with a bronze, becoming the first Indian woman to win an Olympic shooting medal. She made history again by winning a mixed team 10m air pistol bronze with Sarabjot Singh, becoming the first Indian to win two medals in a single Olympic edition.

India has won a total of 38 Olympic medals to date. KD Jadhav became the first individual athlete from independent India to win an Olympic medal with his wrestling bronze at Helsinki 1952.

Karnam Malleswari made history as the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal with her bronze in weightlifting at Sydney 2000. Abhinav Bindra became the first Indian to win Olympic gold in an individual event at Beijing 2008, a record that stood for over a decade until Neeraj Chopra’s javelin victory at Tokyo 2020.

Men’s hockey, with 12 medals including eight golds, is India’s biggest contributor to its Olympic medal tally, followed by wrestling with seven medals.

India achieved its best-ever haul of seven medals, including one gold, at Tokyo 2020 and aims to surpass that at Paris 2024. So far, India has won six medals, a silver, and five bronze, at the Paris 2024 Olympics.