New Delhi: A total of 117 athletes will be representing India at the Paris Olympics 2024 which got underway on Wednesday, July 24. Determined to make a mark at the grandest stage of them all, Indian athletes will be eyeing history in Paris. India enjoyed their most successful outing in the last edition of the Games in Tokyo with a total of 7 medals, including one gold.
Indian athletes will be looking to better their medals tally from the Tokyo Games and breach the double-digit mark in Paris this year. More than 60 percent of athletes who are part of India’s 117-member contingent, will be making their debut at the Paris Games. The young debutants will be looking to shine at their maiden Olympics and win big for the country.
Top 5 Indian debutants who can shine at Paris Olympics 2024:
1) Nikhat Zareen
Making her Olympic debut in Paris, India’s boxing queen Nikhat Zareen will be a strong medal contender. The reigning world champion will be aiming to become the first female boxer in India’s history to win the elusive gold medal at the Olympics.
Nikhat won a gold medal in the 52kg category at the Women’s World Boxing Championships in Turkey in 2022 and followed it up with a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. She competed in the 50kg category at the World Championships last year and won a second consecutive gold medal.
Nikhat had to settle for a bronze medal at the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year after losing against Thailand’s Chuthamat Raksat in the semi-final. However, she will be hoping to go all the way at the Paris Olympics and script history.
2) Sift Kaur Samra
22-year-old shooting sensation Sift Kaur Samra will make her debut at the Paris Olympics this year. A rising talent, Samra is also a medal contender for India at the Games. She won the gold medal at the Asian Games last year after smashing the world record in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions category with a score of 469.6.
Samra, who is also a bright student, dropped out of her MBBS degree to focus on shooting and will be hoping to make a name for herself in her maiden Olympics appearance in Paris this year. After clinching gold at the Asian Games, Samra also won a bronze medal at the ISSF World Cup earlier this year and will be looking to continue her fine form at the Paris Games.
3) Antim Panghal
Antim Panghal is one of India’s brightest medal prospects in women’s wrestling at the Paris Olympics 2024. Panghal is not new to performing at the big stages having won a plethora of medals across junior and senior levels, but she will be competing in her maiden Olympics in Paris.
The 19-year-old won a bronze medal at the World Wrestling Championships last year after beating two-time European champion Emma Jonna Denise Malmgren in the 53kg category. She also won a bronze medal at the Asian Games last year and will be looking to impress on her Olympic debut with a medal.
4) Dhiraj Bommadevara
23-year-old shooter Dhiraj Bommadevara was the first Indian to secure a quota for the Paris Olympics in individual recurve in November last year. The talented shooter hails from Andhra Pradesh and will be competing in the men’s recurve individual and team events at the Paris Olympics.
Bommadevara won a silver medal in the men’s recurve team at the Asian Games last year and has two bronze medals in the ISS World Cup. He will be looking to punch above his weight at the Paris Olympics and bring a medal home from his debut campaign at the Games.
5) Reetika Hooda
22-year-old wrestler Reetika Hooda will be competing in the heaviest weight class (76kg) at the Paris Olympics. She became the first Indian to book a quota in the 76kg last year and is also the first Indian woman to win a gold medal at the U23 World Championships.
Reetika has competed against most of the wrestlers that she will be up against at the Paris Games and will be high on confidence having faced a defeat against only one out of seven of them. She has been termed a dark horse by Olympic medallist Yogeshwar Dutt and will be hoping to make a mark in her weight category.
From Nikhat Zareen to Sift Kaur Samra, here is a look at top five Indian debutants who will be looking to win big at the Paris Olympics 2024. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
