Paris Olympics 2024: Top five Indians who will make their Olympic debut
The 2024 edition of the Summer Olympic Games is set to begin in Paris, France on on July 26, with the country hosting the event for the third time.
The prestigious competition will run till August 11 and will have matches beginning even before the opening ceremony, in football, rugby sevens, handball and archery, from July 24.
The last edition in Tokyo was the most successful Games outing for India since it participated in the Games for the first time in 1900. Indian Olympians bagged seven medals (1 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze) while participating in a record 69 events.
With numerous new faces coming into the mix, India will look to match and improve on its latest performance.
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Take a look at the top five Indian debutants who will compete for a medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics:
Sift Kaur Samra- Shooting
Sift Kaur Samra is entering the competition as the reigning Asian Games gold medallist in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions shooting event.
| Photo Credit:
FARUQUI AM
Sift Kaur Samra is entering the competition as the reigning Asian Games gold medallist in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions shooting event.
| Photo Credit:
FARUQUI AM
Sift Kaur Samra will lead India’s charge in the shooting category and will hope to leave the Paris 2024 Olympics with a medal in her debut appearance. The 22-year-old is entering the competition as the reigning Asian Games gold medallist in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions shooting event.
She won the medal after smashing the World Record with a score of 469.6. Seonaid McIntosh of Great Britain held the previous WR in the event with 467 points.
Before the Games, her confidence will be boosted by the bronze medal she won at the ISSF World Cup 2024 held in Germany last month.
Nikhat Zareen- Boxing
Nikhat Zareen will look to become the first Indian to bring back an Olympic gold medal in boxing.
| Photo Credit:
MOORTHY RV
Nikhat Zareen will look to become the first Indian to bring back an Olympic gold medal in boxing.
| Photo Credit:
MOORTHY RV
Nikhat Zareen will look to become the first Indian to bring back a gold medal in boxing when she steps into the ring at the Paris Olympics.
In the run-up to the Games, in 2022, Nikhat clinched gold in the 52kg category at the Women’s World Boxing Championships in Turkey, followed by another gold at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham.
She shifted her weight class to 50kg in 2023 and went on to claim a second consecutive gold medal at the senior World Championships in New Delhi, becoming the second Indian boxer to win more than one world title after M. C. Mary Kom.
Later that year, Nikhat booked her place in the Indian contingent travelling to Paris, after beating Jordan’s Hanan Nassar in the quarterfinal of the women’s 50kg category at the Asian Games in Hangzhou. She lost via a split decision in the semifinal against Thailand’s Chuthamat Raksat and had to settle for a bronze.
Kishore Jena- Javelin
While Kishore Kumar Jena has positively improved over the past few years, he has struggled to find his form since the Asian Games.
| Photo Credit:
DEEPAK KR
While Kishore Kumar Jena has positively improved over the past few years, he has struggled to find his form since the Asian Games.
| Photo Credit:
DEEPAK KR
While Neeraj Chopra is carrying the expectations of back-to-back medals in the Olympic Games in Javelin, his compatriot Kishore Jena will look forward to set up an exciting contest.
Jena confirmed his ticket to Paris after comfortably clearing the 85.50m cut-off mark at the Asian Games. During the same event, he gave reigning Olympic champion Chopra a run for his money, after leading by more than two meters at the halfway mark.
However, Chopra pulled out a season-best 88.88m in his next throw and took gold, while Jena settled for silver with 87.54m in the Asiad final.
While Jena has positively improved over the past few years, he has struggled to find his form since the Asian Games, having poor showings at the Federation Cup as well as the Paris and Doha Diamond Leagues.
Antim Panghal- Wrestling
In September 2023, Antim Panghal became only the sixth Indian woman to win a bronze medal at the Wrestling World Championships.
| Photo Credit:
PTI
In September 2023, Antim Panghal became only the sixth Indian woman to win a bronze medal at the Wrestling World Championships.
| Photo Credit:
PTI
Two-time junior world wrestling champion Antim Panghal will be one of the two seeded Indian wrestlers to feature in the upcoming Paris Games.
In September 2023, the 19-year-old became only the sixth Indian woman to win a bronze medal at the Wrestling World Championships beating two-time European champion Emma Jonna Denise Malmgren from Sweden.
She followed the performance up with another bronze at the Asian Games in the 53kg category.
Seeded fourth in the upcoming Summer Games, Antim is clubbed with top-seeded Lucia Yepez Guzman of Ecuador, fifth-seeded Maria Prevolaraki of Greece, and eighth-seeded Andreea Ana of Romania in the top half of the draw.
Sarabjot Singh- Shooting
Shooter Sarabjot Singh secured India’s first Olympic quota in the pistol category.
| Photo Credit:
FARUQUI AM/The Hindu
Shooter Sarabjot Singh secured India’s first Olympic quota in the pistol category.
| Photo Credit:
FARUQUI AM/The Hindu
Shooter Sarabjot Singh secured India’s first Olympic quota in the pistol category when he won the bronze medal in men’s air pistol in the 15th Asian Shooting Championship held in South Korea last year.
Sarabjot was also part of the men’s team that won gold and the mixed team that clinched silver at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
However, his best individual results came during the ISSF World Cup in Bhopal and Munich in 2023 and 2024 respectively, where the 22-year-old sealed gold medals in the 10m air pistol event.