Action shifts to Tokyo, Australia
Come July 24, the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo will provide an opportunity for Indians to erase the memories of Rio, and prove that India is more than a two-medal sporting nation. In Australia, the Indian women’s and men’s teams will take on the World T20 Cup battles
The tale of India’s 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro was of a seemingly never-ending wait and underwhelming returns. The country had to endure an agonising 11 days of medal thirst, quenched only to a certain extent by Sakshi Malik’s gritty bronze in wrestling followed by PV Sindhu’s historic silver.
Four years on, come July 24, the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo will provide an opportunity for Indians to erase the memories of Rio, and prove that India is more than a two-medal sporting nation.
Carrying a large chunk of that burden of responsibility will once again be the country’s shooters, boxers, wrestlers and shuttlers.
Shooting, which caused the biggest disappointment in 2016, provides the biggest hope in 2020. It’s not merely the fact that 15 quota places have already been secured by India so far; it’s also that India dominated international shooting in 2019 like it never did before. And it has all been done by new talent — the likes of Manu Bhaker, Saurabh Chaudhary, Divyansh Singh Panwar — all teenagers who have had a meteoric rise over the past couple of years. How they handle the big stage fright remains to be seen. They’ve shown minimal signs of it so far, but the Olympics are a different kettle of fish. Add to that the experience of Anjum Moudgil, Apurvi Chandela and Sanjeev Rajput, among others, and it will be an even bigger shock should the Indian shooting contingent return empty-handed again, more so with mixed team events added to the roster.
Like shooters, expectations will also be on Indian boxers and grapplers to carry their momentum into the Olympics, as also on the badminton stars who had a quiet year, barring Sindhu, who became the first Indian to win the World Championships. But even her form could have been better.
2012 Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal and former world No 1 Kidambi Srikanth have been struggling to boost their game. That said, the last two Olympics have fetched Indian shuttlers a bronze and silver, and there’s no doubting Sindhu’s capabilities of gunning for gold this time. Fancy another PV Sindhu vs Carolina Marin final, anyone?
And then, there’s hockey — the sport where India loves to relive their glorious past at the Games but have seldom come close to re-creating it since the 1980 Moscow gold. And while the quintessential hockey lovers always have their hopes high, the fact remains that both the men’s and women’s teams — ranked fifth and ninth, respectively — will have to really punch above their weight and cause a few upsets to have a chance of standing on the podium in Tokyo.
Athletics can well turn out to be the dark horse for India, but Neeraj Chopra, the only Indian track and field athlete with a good chance at a medal, has been recovering for much of the year from an injury, and is yet to begin competing.
Talking of individuals, there are a few around the world who like to turn up at the Olympics and re-write record books for fun. No better example of that than Simone Biles, who, at the age of 22, is already the most decorated and dominating gymnast of all time. If her four gold medals at the 2016 Rio Games were not enough, the American went on to clinch five world titles at the 2019 World Championships in Stuttgart. She continues to raise the bar, and expect nothing less than the legend of Biles to grow in Tokyo.
Another 22-year-old American, swimmer Katie Ledecky, will be hoping to do much the same in the pool and add to her five Olympic golds. Allyson Felix — the US sprinter who broke a certain Usain Bolt’s record for the most World Championships gold medals at the Doha Worlds just 10 months after becoming a mother — has signalled her intention of ending her Olympics journey on a high. Also, if he makes it there, could someone just gift an Olympic singles gold to the legendary Roger Federer, please?
The Tokyo Games, though, are bound to be poorer without the “Lightning Bolt”, what with the Jamaican making the 100m and 200m races his very own in his three Olympic appearances since 2008 Beijing. It presents a golden opportunity for youngsters such as Noah Lyles and Christian Coleman — rising US sprinters — to make a mark.
And if you are in the mood for something new, then this Olympics will see the debut of karate, skateboarding, surfing and sport climbing as well as the return of baseball and softball. Take your pick, mark your dates, and get set.
