Bajrang Punia to P V Sindhu, the ones India's Tokyo hopes are riding on

This past Sunday, organisers held a test event at Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium in order to assess readiness ahead of the real thing that starts on July 23. The arena was devoid of fans, with only anxious officials looking on. Even as the event passed off without incident, you couldn’t help but question the vanity and ambition behind Japan’s plans to push ahead with the Games despite the prevailing state of emergency in almost all of its major cities.

Perhaps the least prepared for the Games this time is not the host city but the athletes themselves. Lockdowns and travel curbs over the past 12 months have deeply affected preparation, with potential participants getting little or no taste of actual competition. Things have been especially tough for athletes from India, where the spread of the coronavirus in recent months has been more severe than anywhere else, thereby disrupting training at a crucial time. Still, there are hopes that India may better its tally from 2016, with Olympic analysts Gracenote predicting that the country will accumul­ate a staggering haul of 17 medals. Here is a sport-wise breakdown of what to expect.

>Badminton

Over the last few Olympics, badminton has proven to be one of India’s most success­ful events. Saina Nehwal won bronze in London nine years ago, while P V Sindhu put together one of the finest individual campaigns from an Indian in recent memory to clinch silver in Rio de Janeiro.

Indian badminton has done spectacularly well to become a force on the world stage, but chances of a medal in Tokyo look slim. Nehwal will miss out on a qualification berth altogether, with the last two qualifying events — in Singapore and Malaysia — effectively cancelled. In the men’s section, Kidambi Srikanth is another who won’t be making the trip to Tokyo (see box). The cut-off date for qualification is June 15.

Many expect Sindhu to be India’s best medal bet, but the 25-year-old’s form has been indifferent this year. A runner-up finish at the Swiss Open and a semi-final showing at the All England Champion­ship may sound impressive, but the manner of defeat in both those losses will suggest otherwise. Sindhu’s chances will hinge on how she copes with the high intensity and pressure of Olympic competition. 

The men’s doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, ranked 10 in the world, is another to look forward to, but a podium finish will most probably be beyond the young duo.

>Wrestling

Historically, wrestling has been a bright spot for Indian athletes. Eight wrestlers have qualified for Tokyo, equaling India’s largest-ever contingent at the Rio Games. The lone medal — bronze — in 2016 came from Sakshi Malik in the 58 kg category.

Bajrang Punia

While Malik has failed to make the cut this time, there is enough promise to suggest that India can add to its wrestling tally. Bajrang Punia, the top-ranked wrestler in his category in the world, will fancy his chances in the 65 kg. Punia could only settle for silver at the Asian Wrestling Championships last month after having to pull out of the final due to a slight elbow injury. Thrice a medalist at the world championships, Punia performs well on the big stage and will undoubtedly be among the favourites for a medal.

Similarly, on the women’s side, Vinesh Phogat (53 kg) looks set to erase painful memories of Rio, where her medal hopes were ended by a serious knee injury in the quarterfinal. Phogat, the Asian Games gold medalist, has spent the last few months fine-tuning her technique under Belgian coach Woller Akos. 

>Hockey

That the men’s national team may never again hit the heights of its glorious past is fairly well-documented, but the past few years have, undeniably, been full of progress. Head coach Graham Reid has built a side based on speed and technique, one that has fully embraced the high-voltage style of modern hockey.

India beat Olympic champions 

Argen­tina earlier this year, and looks in fine shape. The only worry: In recent weeks, India has had to cancel key Pro League games against England, Spain and Germ­any. That would have provided invaluable match practice. Even so, Tokyo just might see Indian hockey ending its medal drought.

>Athletics

Earlier this week, Indian javelin ace Neeraj Chopra spoke about being frustrated at the lack of competition ahead of the Olympic Games. Such comments from arguably India’s brightest medal hope do not augur well for the country’s track and field aspirations in Tokyo.

Neeraj Chopra

You can understand Chopra’s disappointment: He hasn’t participated in an international event in two years, first due to an elbow injury and later the pandemic. Given the level of competition in Tokyo, Chopra, 23, will have to do better than his personal best of 88.07 metres to have a shot at the podium.

The other major draw will be long jumper Murali Sreeshankar. The 22-year-old from Kerala burst on to the scene when he broke the national record in Bhubane­swar three years ago. He has since grown into a formidable talent, jumping as long as 8.26 metres. That distance may not even get him to the final in Tokyo, but he’s definitely one for the future.

>Shooting

Ever since Abhinav Bindra’s gold medal at the Beijing Games in 2008, shooting is often hyped up as that one sport that can help India climb up the medal table. If Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary have their way, that may be the case in Tokyo.

Bhaker, 19, is an outstanding talent, having already won 10 medals at various World Cups. Chaudhary, 18, who will compete in the 10 metre air pistol, is possibly India’s best chance of an individual medal across different sports.