From the beginning to the end; from Mirabai Chanu, the Olympic silver medalist in weightlifting, to Neeraj Chopra, the Olympic gold medalist in Javelin throw.
India’s journey started on a dream note from day one and witnessed many ups and downs throughout the journey. On the beginning day itself, Mirabai Chanu lifted 135 crore Indians on her shoulders and made history. She became the World Champion in weightlifting in the clean and jerk category and is certainly one of the biggest hopes of India to win a Gold medal in #Paris2024. And she is not that far from the gold medal.
PV Sindhu, the golden girl, is a two-time Olympic medalist, and a silver and bronze winner, but this doesn’t describe her in a true manner. The only colour that represents her is gold, and her dedication, fighting spirit and valour speak louder. She is going to present India with a gold medal in Paris 2024, and win gold in both Commonwealth Games 2022 and Asian Games 2023.
Vinesh Phogat had a bad day in Tokyo as well as the last time in Rio. She was one of the biggest hopes for India for winning at least one medal but unfortunately, her and India’s dream crashed both times. Nevertheless, her class game speaks loudly and she certainly remains a medal prospect for India in Paris 2024. Not all days are the same and in Paris, she will fulfil India’s dream of a medal.
Aditi Ashok, India’s biggest achievement from Tokyo Olympics, competed with the World No 1 and former World No 1. Although ranked at 200 in the world ranking for golf herself, Aditi played like a champion and narrowly missed a medal by a shot. The four-day-long game had never been binge-watched in India with the interest that was seen last four days and all credit goes to the Queen Of Greens, India’s new sensation. All eyes are on her for a medal (the brightest one) from her side in #Paris2024.
Neeraj Chopra, the Gold medalist from Tokyo Olympics, India’s heartbeat, India’s pride, and the only Indian to win a medal (and that too Gold) in athletics in Olympics, is only the second Indian individual to win a gold at the Olympics. He has every single achievement to his side, and has a huge scope for going more further. And he is eyeing on that, too.
In a recent interview, Chopra said that he is going to work harder to breach the 90-metre mark. This statement makes me happier than the Gold he has won at the Tokyo Olympics. This type of hunger is needed from athletes to win a medal and certainly, he is here to rule in the Javelin throw for a long time.
Whenever there are talks on hockey, no one can ignore the glorious past of the Men’s Hockey team, the only team to have won eight gold medals at the Olympics. Although the team has been away from medals since 1980, this time, the team rewrote history and won the much-needed bronze, in no way smaller than Gold. This medal is going to reattract the youth to hockey and will play a booster in #Paris2024.
Indian Women’s Hockey team, the underdogs, made history by qualifying to the semi-finals and lost by a narrow 4-3 against the defending Gold medalist Great Britain. Though our team doesn’t have a medal by their side, they now have golden wings and will have a flying journey in Paris. The flame they have shown in Tokyo is going to become fire in Paris.
Ravi Kumar Dahiya, a farmer and the definition of dedication, won the glittering silver medal in wrestling in Tokyo. He said in a statement that he is not satisfied with silver and had come for gold. This hunger will let him win gold in Paris 2024. His dedication, calmness and sincerity towards his games are unmatchable.
Lovelina Borgohain, bronze medalist and second Indian women boxer to have this achievement by her side, is also eyeing gold in Paris 2024. She fought lion-heartedly against her opponent and made India proud.
Bajrang Punia, a bronze medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, is surely not happy with the colour of his medal. He deserves nothing less than gold and his achievements speak louder than any words.
There are certainly so many names to be taken, including that of Sourabh Chaudhry, Manu Bhakar, Deepak Punia, Atanu Das, Pravin Jadhav and hundreds more who are medal prospects for India. These players must start preparing for 2024 from today itself.
Paris is eyeing these names more than these players are eyeing Paris.
One Gold, two Silver and four Bronze medals are in no way a true depiction of Indian athletes and surely, these numbers are will improve by a huge margin in Paris. Next year, the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games will witness the strongest Indian side of all time.