The Paris Olympics 2024 will indeed be unique for everyone, Indian delegation including, after the turmoil that Tokyo went through three years ago. Because of the pandemic, the previous event was postponed and could have even been canceled at some point. However, after counting the potential financial losses, the decision was made to greenlight the idea of the Olympics without fans in the stands.
These Games will start the new post-Covid era and utilize an original, never-before-seen scenario for the opening ceremony, carrying the athletes from the stadium to the river Seine. By taking the opening ceremony to the city, the organizing committee will provide a separate boat for each delegation. The Indian team will definitely get a big one: with 117 athletes and 140 support staff this year, the whole contingent size has risen to 257. Some athletes who already brought glory to the country before, will come back for more, while others are young rising stars, but we know for sure – even the most unpredictable event is better with the trusted 1xbet app. Choose your bets wisely, analyze the data before placing a wager, and be responsible: only in that case will luck visit you. And diving deeper into the Indian “golden hopes” there are a lot of chances for such a meeting.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty: Men’s Doubles Badminton
Although lacking Olympic experience, the pair is considered the biggest favourites to take the gold medal in badminton thanks to their physical abilities and recent results: two finals this year and climbing to World No. 1 ranking on top of the titles they secured in 2023 and before.
After missing out on the qualification for the knockout stage in Tokyo, they are determined to get what they deserve – no less than gold medals in Paris.
Neeraj Chopra: Javelin Throw
One of the biggest stars in the Olympic team is looking to defend his hard-earned title with the 87.58 meters throw that made him a World Champion in Tokyo. The sports ministry has invested approximately 5.72 crores in his preparation and expenses for the tournament, although the athlete has participated in only three events and is in fourth place at the top list of this season.
Besides, nobody would give away a free medal to the Indian with such a rival as he has. Jakub Vadlejch, the silver medallist from Tokyo Olympics is ready to strike back with a great season: he has already surpassed Chopra in Qatar Diamond League and won gold at European Athletics Championships with an 88.65 meters throw.
P.V. Sindhu: Women’s Singles Badminton
Among other “Golden Hopes” Sindhu had one of the roughest times. Followed by injuries and a lack fitness, 29-year-old double Olympic medallist struggled to find her game, with seven first-round exits and not a single title win since the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022.
Thankfully, the Olympic draw was sympathetic to her hardships, and the athlete was seeded in Group M with low-ranked players, such as Fathimath Razzaq (Maldives) and Kritin Kuuba (Estonia). Later in the tournament she’ll match up against China’s He Bing Jiao and Chen Yu Fei – strong contenders, but statistically, Sindhu faced players from this country on court nine times at the Olympics and World Championships and always won. Also the fact that the Indian avoided her nemesis An Se Young, against whom she always loses, is another reason to be thankful for the draw.
Deserve Mentioning
- Jyothi Yarraji (100m hurdles) – By breaking a national record of 12.78s Jyothi has emerged as a new track-and-field star. To win an Olympic medal she’ll have to do even better than that, so let’s cheer for her!
- Nikhat Zareen (Boxing) – A two-time World Champion debuting at the Olympics in the 50 kg category through the unseeded round. Zareen is in great shape and is expected to show many great fights worth seeing.
- Hockey – After a long medal drought, a team led by Harmanpreet Singh managed to secure bronze in Tokyo. However, the last gold was more than 40 years ago, in Moscow in 1980. The team with veterans Manpreet Singh and PR Sreejesh who have three Olympics each under their belts will have to improve a lot to earn the 9th gold for India.
Olympics – Still a Cultural Phenomenon?
Although the Games keep on attracting audiences from different age groups, the organizing committee struggles to find new ways to make people watch the Olympics and transform it into revenue. The tournament doesn’t aid the tourism sector either: during the event Paris is expected to host 11.3 million guests, but 90% of them would be domestic visitors.
However, for most people at the other side of the TV screen, athletes like Neeraj Chopra or P.V. Sindhu fight for one thing: their country and hope that they’ll be able to hear the anthem while standing on the podium. So let’s cheer for every athlete so loud that they can hear our unified voices in France!
