With the 2016 Rio Olympics starting in less than a day, the Indians will be hoping for some more success in comparison to their last haul at the Olympics in 2012, 6. India are sending the highest number of athletes ever in their history to Rio, a phenomenal total of 119 and will be hoping for greater success than in 2012.
Here’s a look at 5 of the country’s strongest medal contenders at Rio 2016 –
Vinesh Phogat
India’s best bet for a medal at Rio 2016 has to be Vinesh Phogat, who is participating in the women’s wrestling 48 kg category. She comes from a wrestling family; her uncle is the very famous Mahavir Singh Phogat, an amateur wrestler himself who coached his daughter Geeta Phogat to the gold at the Commonwealth Games in 2010, the first ever for an Indian woman in wrestling.
Vinesh, who is just 21, has been very impressive in the last three years. She won the Gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in the women’s freestyle 48 kg. Phogat consolidated her efforts by winning the Bronze at the 2014 Asian Games in the same weight category.
After winning Silver at the 2015 Asian Wrestling Championships, she qualified for the Olympics by clinching Gold at the 2nd Worldwide Qualifier Tournament.
Her technical style of wrestling, coupled with her athleticism, gives her a great chance of mixing it up with the best and winning a medal for India. Supported by the JSW Sports Excellence Program, Vinesh Phogat is one of India’s leading athletes at the Games and will look to do her family and country proud.
Jitu Rai
Rai has had a meteoric rise ever since he won his first medal, Silver, at the ISSF World Cup in Munich in the 10 metre air pistol event and then continued his great form by winning Gold in the 10 metre air pistol event and Silver in the 50 metre pistol event at Maribor.
He clinched Gold in the 50 metre pistol event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, creating two Games records in the process. Rai continued to show his calibre in the 50 metre pistol event at the Busan Asian Games, winning Gold, and adding a Bronze in the 10 metre air pistol.
The Armyman, who moved to India from Nepal in 2006, recently won Silver at the ISSF World Cup and is in prime condition to add an Olympic medal to his kitty.
Ranked 3rd in the world, Jitu Rai could get India off to a rousing start at Rio 2016, potentially winning a medal on the first day itself!
Saina Nehwal
Saina Nehwal has accomplished a lot in Badminton in her career so far and needs no introduction. The shuttler, who became the first Indian badminton player to win a medal at the Olympics when she won the Bronze, has been among the world’s best consistently for about 5 years now.
Ranked 5th in the world currently, Saina is in good form and is one of the athletes India has pinned her hopes on for a medal.
She had a strong 2015, despite not winning any Super Series Premier tournament, as she was consistently in the top two in the player rankings.
2016 has seen her mount a great comeback after an initial bad start, as she has clawed her way back into the reckoning with some great performances, especially at the Australian Open and in the Uber Cup.
Nehwal became the first ever Indian woman to be ranked world number 1 in Badminton, and has been great for the country in the team tournaments as well. She will be looking to repeat her feat of the 2012 Olympics, when she won the Bronze, or go better at Rio 2016.
Narsingh Yadav
The wrestler has had a tumultuous time in the months leading up to the Olympics but with his place officially confirmed, Yadav will be looking to go all out on the mat and disprove his critics.
Narsingh, who competes in the 74 kg category, the same as 2-time Olympic champion Sushil Kumar, was the grappler chosen by the Wrestling Federation of India to represent the country at Rio 2016, following his stirring effort to secure a quota place at the World Wrestling Championships in 2015.
He clinched the Bronze medal at the World Wrestling Championships, coming through the repechage rounds in style. That comeback of his put him on the radar as a name to take note of.
The JSW Supported Sports Excellence Program wrestler had earlier won Bronze at the Asian Wrestling Championships in 2015, establishing himself as a force to be reckoned with.
Despite attempts to sabotage his qualification, which resulted in a positive dope test for a banned substance, he was proven innocent and given a clean chit by NADA. He will be chomping at the bit to showcase his talent and win a medal for the nation, thus clearing his name in the best manner possible.
Deepika Kumari
One of the youngest members of the Indian contingent at London 2012, Deepika Kumari goes to Rio 2016 as the 12th-ranked archer in the world and yet, she is one of the athletes with a very good chance of winning a medal.
Inexperience and ailment proved to be her undoing at the 2012 Olympics, where she helped India finish 8th in the team event but got knocked out in the first round in the individual event, despite being world number 1.
Four years are a long time, and Deepika has gained a lot of experience in this time. She won the Gold medal at the 2013 Archery World Cup stage 3 and then clinched the Silver in the 2013 FITA Archery World Cup.
She also won Silver in the World Cup final in 2015 and goes into the Olympics in prime condition, after having equaled the World Record at the first stage of the World Cup in April 2016.
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