Paris Olympics 2024 is all set to kick off on July 26. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Wednesday announced that 117 athletes, including seven reserves, will be part of India’s contingent at the Games. While stars like Neeraj Chopra, PV Sindhu, Nikhat Zareen, Mirabai Chanu and Vinesh Phogat will be seen competing at the mega event, big names like Ravi Kumar Dahiya and Bajrang Punia — who bagged silver and bronze medals respectively at Tokyo Olympics — failed to qualify for the tournament.

Here is the complete list of Indian athletes who qualified for Paris Olympics 2024 –

Athletics (27 +2)

Men:

Sarvesh Kushare – Men’s High Jump

Suraj Panwar – Marathon race walk mixed relay

Akshdeep Singh, Vikas Singh, Paramjeet Bisht – Men’s 20km Racewalk

Kishore Jena, Neeraj Chopra – Men’s Javelin Throw

Muhammed Anas, Muhammed Ajmal, Amoj Jacob, Santhosh Tamilarasan, Rajesh Ramesh – Men’s 4x400m Relay

Avinash Sable – Men’s 3000m Steeplechase

Tajinderpal Singh Toor – Men’s Shot Put

Abdulla Aboobacker, Praveel Chithravel – Men’s Triple Jump

Jeswin Aldrin – Men’s Long Jump

Women:

Annu Rani- Women’s Javelin Throw

Parul Chaudhary- Women’s 3000m Steeplechase, Women’s 5000m

Kiran Pahal – Women’s 400m, Women’s 4x400m relay

Jyothi Yarraji – Women’s 100m Hurdles

Ankita Dhyani – Women’s 5000m

Priyanka Goswami – Women’s 20km Racewalk, Marathon race walk mixed relay

Jyothika Sri Dandi, Subha Venkatesan, Vithya Ramraj, Poovamma MR- Women’s 4x400m relay

Athletics reserves –

Prachi, Mijo Chacko Kurian

Archery (6)

Men’s Recurve

Dhiraj Bommadevara

Tarundeep Rai

Pravin Jadhav

Women’s Recurve

Bhajan Kaur

Deepika Kumari

Ankita Bhakat

Badminton (7)

Men:

HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen – Singles

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty – Doubles

Women:

PV Sindhu – Singles

Ashwini Ponnappa, Tanisha Crasto – Doubles

Boxing (6)

Men:

Nishant Dev – 71kg

Amit Panghal – 51kg

Women:

Nikhat Zareen – 50kg

Preeti Pawar – 54kg

Jaismine Lamboria – 57kg

Lovlina Borgohain – 75kg

Equestrian (1)

Anush Agarwalla – Dressage

Golf (4)

Men:

Gaganjeet Bhullar

Shubhankar Sharma

Women:

Aditi Ashok

Diksha Dagar

Hockey (16 +3)

Men

Sreejesh Parattu Raveendran, Jarmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Harmanpreet Singh, Sumit, Sanjay, Rajkumar Pal, Shamsher Singh, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Mandeep Singh, Gurjant Singh

Men’s hockey team reserves

Nilakanta Sharma, Jugraj Singh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak

Judo (1)

Tulika Maan – Women’s +78kg

Rowing (1)

Balraj Panwar – Men’s single scull

Sailing (2)

Men:

Vishnu Saravanan – Men’s dinghy

Women:

Nethra Kumanan – Women’s dinghy

Shooting (21)

Men:

Sandeep Singh, Arjun Babuta (10m Air Rifle M)

Aishwary Tomar, Swapnil Kusale (50m Rifle 3 Positions M)

Sarabjot Singh, Arjun Cheema (10m Air Pistol M)

Anish Bhanwal, Vijayveer Sidhu (25m RFP M)

Prithviraj Tondaiman – Men’s Trap

Anantjeet Singh Naruka – Men’s Skeet, Skeet Mixed Team

Women:

Elavenil Valarivan, Ramita (10m Air Rifle W)

Sift Kaur Samra, Anjum Moudgil (50m Rifle 3 Positions W)

Rhythm Sangwan (10m Air Pistol W)

Manu Bhaker – (10m Air Pistol W, 25m Pistol W)

Esha Singh (25m Pistol W)

Rajeshwari Kumari, Shreyasi Singh – Women’s Trap

Maheshwari Chauhan – Women’s Skeet, Skeet Mixed Team

Raiza Dhillon – Women’s Skeet

Swimming (2)

Men:

Srihari Nataraj – Men’s 100m Backstroke

Women:

Dhinidhi Desinghu – Women’s 200m Freestyle

Table Tennis (6+2)

Men:

Sharath Kamal

Harmeet Desai

Manav Thakkar

Women:

Manika Batra

Sreeja Akula

Archana Kamath

Table tennis reserves

Sathiyan G, Ayhika Mukherjee

Tennis (3)

Rohan Bopanna, N Sriram Balaji – Men’s Doubles

Sumit Nagal – Men’s Singles

Weightlifting (1)

Mirabai Chanu – Women’s 49kg

Wrestling (6)

Men:

Aman Sehrawat – Men’s 57kg

Women:

Vinesh Phogat – Women’s 50kg

Antim Panghal – Women’s 53kg

Anshu Malik – Women’s 57kg

Nisha Dahiya – Women’s 68kg

Reetika Hooda- – Women’s 76kg

India will be represented by 117 athletes at this month’s Paris Olympics after the sports ministry cleared the final contingent that also features 140 support staff and officials, of which 72 have been approved at “cost to the government” to meet the “requirements” of the travelling sportspersons. The only qualified athlete missing from the list is shot-putter Abha Khatua. The Games will run from July 26 to August 11. Khatua, who made the cut through world rankings quota, has been dropped without any explanation after her name was found missing from the World Athletics’ list of Olympic participants a few days ago.

There is no word yet on whether her name has been knocked off owing to injury, a doping violation or any other technical issue.

The rest of the contingent that has been cleared is on expected lines with London Olympics bronze medal-winning former shooter Gagan Narang as chef-de-mission. Narang is also a vice president in the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).

“The permissible limit for stay of support personnel in the Games Village against accreditation as per norms of the Paris Organising Committee for the 2024 Olympic Games is 67 including 11 1OA Contingent Officials, which includes five Medical Team Members,” stated a letter from the ministry to IOA President P T Usha, explaining the ratio of support staff allowed as per the size of the contingent.

“For catering to the requirements of the athletes, additional coaches and other support staff numbering 72 have been approved at cost to the Government and arrangements for their stay have been made in Hotels/in locations outside the Games Village,” it added.

Despite Khatua’s absence, athletics will make for the biggest group in the contingent with 29 names (11 women and 18 men), followed by shooting (21) and hockey (19).

Table tennis will be represented by eight players, while badminton (7) will feature seven competitors, including two-time Olympic medallist P V Sindhu.

Wrestling (6), archery (6), and boxing (6) will have six representatives each, followed by golf (4), tennis (3), swimming (2), sailing (2), and one each for equestrian, judo, rowing and weightlifting.

The shooting contingent, which is the second biggest, consists of 11 women and 10 men, while table tennis will have four players each in both categories.

Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Mirabai Chanu is the lone weightlifter in the contingent and will compete in women’s 49kg category.

In Tokyo Olympics, India were represented by a 119-member contingent, and the country logged its best-ever performance of seven medals, including the historic javelin throw gold by Neeraj Chopra. Chopra will be there in Paris to defend his medal.

Besides, there will 21 contingent officials of which 11 will be accommodated at the Games Village, including Narang, two Deputy Chef de Mission, Press Attache, two Headquarter Officials and five medical team members.

The remaining 10 officials (eight medical team members, social media attache and a team official) will be accommodated in hotels outside the Games Village, the cost of which will be borne by the government.

Shooting (18) will have the highest number of support staff, which includes one High Performance Director and six coaches, who will stay at the Games Village while the remaining 11 (four coaches, four physios, two psychologists, one strength and conditioning expert) will stay in hotels.

Athletics will have 17 support staff members, followed by wrestling (12), boxing (11), hockey (10), table tennis (9), badminton (9), golf (7), equestrian (5), archery (4), sailing (4), weightlifting (4) tennis (3), swimming (2) and judo (1).

The ministry letter further stated that Air Commodore Prashant Arya, Air Attache in Embassy of India at Paris will be Olympic Attache, who will have accreditation, and will be visiting the Games Village and competition venues to take care of any issues requiring assistance and intervention of the Embassy.

The golf competition will be conducted at the Le Golf National in Guyancourt, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, which is around 42km from Paris. To ensure hassle-free travel and practice arrangements, the Indian golf contingent will stay at a hotel near the venue instead of the Games Village.

“…accordingly arrangements for accommodation for members of the Golf Team, including players, coaches, physio and caddy at the request of the Golf players and Indian Golf Union have been made in a Hotel near the competition venue,” the ministry said in its letter.

In a bid to avoid doping embarrassment in Paris, the government has asked the IOA and concerned federations to take appropriate measures.

“The IOA, SAI, National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) and concerned National Sports Federations may take appropriate measures for conducting the dope tests. IOA may also ensure fitness of the team/individual sportsperson prior to their departure,” it said.

Besides, the Paris Organising Committee will provide three cars for the Indian contingent without drivers.

“Embassy of India at Paris has been requested to assist in identification and temporary employment for these drivers,” the ministry letter stated. 

Paris Olympics 2024 are just around the corner and the anticipation of the fans is increasing day by day. The quadrennial event will kick-start from July 26 and will conclude on August 11. A total of 117 athletes will be sent by India in their contingent, which includes the likes of two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu and 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Neeraj Chopra. Athletics will nonetheless make for the biggest group in the contingent with 29 names (11 women and 18 men), followed by shooting (21) and hockey (19).

Ahead of the much-awaited Paris Olympics, let’s have a look at India’s schedule:

25th July, Thursday

Archery – Women’s Individual Ranking Round (1 pm) and Men’s Individual Ranking Round

26th July, Friday

Opening Ceremony

27th July, Saturday

Hockey– India v New Zealand

Badminton – Men’s Singles Group Stage, Women’s Singles Group Stage, Men’s Doubles Group Stage, Women’s Doubles Group Stage

Boxing- Prelims Round of 32 Rowing- Men’s Single Sculls Heats

Shooting- 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team qualification, 10m Air Rifle medal matches, 10m Air Pistol qualification, 10m Air Pistol qualification

Table Tennis – Men’s & Women’s Singles Prelims, Round of 64 Tennis – 1st round matches – Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles

28th July, Sunday

Archery – Women’s Team Round of 16 to Finals

Rowing – Men’s Single Sculls Repechage round

Shooting – 10m Air Rifle Women’s Qualification, 10m Air Pistol Men’s Final, 10m Air Rifle Men’s Qualification, 10m Air Pistol Women’s Final

Swimming – Men’s 100m Backstroke Heats, Men’s 100m Backstroke semi-final, Women’s 200m Freestyle Heats, Women’s 200m Freestyle semi-final

29th July, Monday

Archery – Men’s Team Round of 16 to Finals

Hockey – India v Argentina (4:15 pm)

Rowing – Men’s Single Sculls semi-final E/F

Shooting – Trap Men’s Qualification, 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team Qualification, 10m Air Rifle Women’s Final, 10m Air Rifle Men’s Final

Swimming – Men’s 100m Backstroke Final, Women’s 200m Freestyle Final

Table Tennis – Men’s & Women’s Singles- Round of 64 & Round of 32 Tennis- 2nd round matches

30th July, Tuesday

Archery – Women’s Individual Round of 64 and Round of 32, Men’s Individual Round of 64 and Round of 32

Equestrian – Dressage Individual Day 1

Hockey – India v Ireland – 4:45 pm

Rowing – Men’s Single Sculls Quarter Finals

Shooting – Trap Women’s Qualification – Day 1, 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team medal matches, Trap Men’s Final

Tennis – Round 3 Matches

31st July, Wednesday

Boxing – Quarter Finals

Equestrian – Dressage Individual Day 2

Rowing – Men’s Single Sculls semi-final

Shooting – 50m Rifle 3 Pos. Men’s Qualification, Trap Women’s final

Table Tennis – Round of 16

Tennis – Men’s Doubles semi-finals

1st August, Thursday

Athletics – Men’s 20km Race Walk, Women’s 20km Race Walk (11 AM onwards)

Badminton – Men’s & Women’s Doubles quarter-final, Men’s & Women’s Singles Round of 16

Hockey – India v Belgium – 1:30 pm Golf – Men’s Round 1

Judo – Women’s 78+ kg Round of 32 to Finals

Rowing – Men’s Single Sculls semi-final A/B

Sailing – Men’s & Women’s Dinghy Race 1-10

Shooting – 50m Rifle 3 Positions Men’s Final, 50m Rifle 3 Pos. Women’s Qualification

Table Tennis – Men’s & Women’s Singles quarter-final

Tennis – Men’s Singles quarter-final

2nd August, Friday

Archery – Mixed Team Round of 16 to Finals

Athletics – Men’s Shot Put Qualification

Badminton- Women’s Doubles semi-final, Men’s Doubles semi-final, Men’s Singles quarter-final

Hockey- India v Australia – 4:45 pm

Golf – Men’s Round 2 Rowing- Men’s Single Sculls Finals

Shooting – Skeet Men’s Qualification – Day 1, 25m Pistol Women’s Qualifiers, 50m Rifle 3 Positions Women’s Final

Table Tennis – Men’s & Women’s Singles semi-final

Tennis – Men’s Singles semi-final, Men’s Doubles medal matches

3rd August, Saturday

Archery – Women’s Individual Round of 16 to Finals

Athletics – Men’s Shot Put Final

Badminton – Women’s Singles quarter-final, Women’s Doubles Medal matches

Boxing – Quarter Finals, Women’s 60kg – semi-final

Golf – Men’s Round 3

Shooting – Skeet Men’s Qualification – Day 2, Skeet Women’s Qualification – Day 1, 25m Pistol Women’s Final – Skeet Men’s Final

Table Tennis – Women’s Singles medal matches

Tennis – Men’s Singles medal matches

4th August, Sunday

Archery – Men’s Individual Round of 16 to Finals

Athletics – Women’s 3000m Steeplechase Round 1 (1:35 pm), Men’s Long Jump Qualification

Badminton – Women’s Singles semi-final, Men’s Singles semi-final, Men’s Doubles Medal matches

Boxing – semi-final

Equestrian – Dressage Individual Grand Prix Freestyle

Hockey – Men’s Quarter Finals Golf- Men’s Round 4

Shooting – 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men’s Qual-Stage 1, Skeet Women’s Qualification – Day 2, Skeet Women’s Final

Table Tennis – Men’s Singles medal matches

5th August, Monday

Athletics – Men’s 3000m Steeplechase Round 1, Women’s 5000m Final

Badminton – Women’s Singles medal matches), Men’s Singles medal matches

Shooting – Skeet Mixed Team Qualification, 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men’s Final, Skeet Mixed Team medal match

Table Tennis – Men’s & Women’s Team Round of 16

Wrestling – Women’s 68 kg Round of 16 & quarter-final

6th August, Tuesday

Athletics – Men’s Javelin Throw qualification, Women’s 3000m Steeplechase Final, Men’s Long Jump Final

Boxing – Semi-final, Women’s 60kg – Final

Hockey – Men’s semi-final

Sailing – Men’s & Women’s Dinghy medal race

Table Tennis – Men’s & Women’s Team quarter-final

Wrestling – Women’s 68 kg semi-final to medal matches, Women’s 50 kg Round of 16 & quarter-final

7th August, Wednesday

Athletics – Men’s 3000m Steeplechase Final, Marathon Race Walk Mixed Relay, Women’s 100m Hurdles Round 1, Women’s

Javelin Throw Qualification, Men’s High Jump Qualification), Men’s Triple Jump Qualification

Boxing – Men’s 63.5kg, Men’s 80kg Finals

Golf – Women’s Round 1

Table Tennis – Men’s & Women’s Team quarter-final, Men’s Team semi-final

Weightlifting – Women’s 49 kg

Wrestling – Women’s 50 kg semi-final to medal matches, Women’s 53 kg Round of 16 & quarter-final

8th August, Thursday

Athletics – Men’s Javelin Throw Final, Women’s 100m Hurdles Repechage, Women’s Shot Put qualification

Boxing – Men’s 51kg, Women’s 54kg Finals

Hockey – Men’s medal matches

Golf – Women’s Round 2

Table Tennis – Men’s & Women’s semi-final Wrestling- Women’s 57 kg Round of 16 & quarter-final, Women’s 53 kg semi-final to medal matches, Men’s 57 kg Round of 16 & quarter-final

9th August, Friday

Athletics – Women’s 4x400m Relay Round 1, Men’s 4x400m Relay Round 1, Women’s 100m Hurdles semi-final, Women’s Shot Put Final, Men’s Triple Jump Final

Boxing – Men’s 71kg, Women’s 50kg, Men’s 92kg, Women’s 66kg Finals

Golf – Women’s Round 3

Table Tennis – Men’s & Women’s Team medal matches

Wrestling – Women’s 57 kg semi-final to medal matches, Men’s 57 kg semi-final to medal matches, Women’s 62 kg Round of 16 & quarter-final

10th August, Saturday

Athletics – Women’s 4x400m Relay Final, Men’s 4x400m Relay Final, Women’s 100m Hurdles Final, Women’s Javelin Throw Final, Men’s High Jump Final

Boxing – Women’s 57kg, Men’s 57kg, Women’s 75kg, Men’s +92kg Finals

Golf – Women’s Round 4

Table Tennis – Men’s & Women’s Team medal matches

Wrestling – Women’s 76 kg Round of 16 & quarter-final, Women’s 62 kg semi-final and medal matches

11th August, Sunday

Wrestling – Women’s 76 kg semi-final to medal matches

Archery: Women’s Individual Ranking Round (1 pm) and Men’s Individual Ranking Round

The highly anticipated Olympics 2024 are all set to kick-start from July 26 and will conclude on August 11. The Olympics will be hosted in Paris and a total of 206 countries will be participating from all over the world. The 2024 Paris Olympics will feature 45 different sports, including 41 that are considered mainstay Olympic sports. Four new sports like breaking, skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing have also been included in this edition’ roster. India will be sending close to 120 athletes to Paris for the upcoming Olympic games in French capital.

India will look to outdo its tally of seven medals from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which included a gold, two silver, and four bronze medals.

Ahead of the marquee event, here’s a list of all the Indian athletes who have secured a spot in Olympics 2024.

Archery:

Dhiraj Bommadevara: Men’s team

Tarundeep Rai: Men’s team

Pravin Jadhav: Men’s team

Bhajan Kaur: Women’s team

Deepika Kumari: Women’s team

Ankita Bhakat: Women’s team

Athletics:

Akshdeep Singh: Men’s 20km race walk

Vikash Singh: Men’s 20km race walk

Paramjeet Singh Bisht: Men’s 20km race walk

Priyanka Goswami: Women’s 20km race walk

Avinash Sable: Men’s 3000m steeplechase

Parul Chaudhary: Women’s 3000m steeplechase, women’s 5000m steeplechase

Jyothi Yarraji: Women’s 100m hurdles

Kiran Pahal: Women’s 400m

Tajinderpal Singh Toor: Men’s shot put

Abha Khatua: Women’s shot put

Neeraj Chopra: Men’s javelin throw

Kishore Jena: Men’s javelin throw

Annu Rani: Women’s javelin throw

Sarvesh Kushare: Men’s high jump

Praveen Chithravel: Men’s triple jump

Abdulla Aboobacker: Men’s triple jump

Muhammed Anas Yahiya, Muhammed Ajmal, Amoj Jacob, Santhosh Tamilarasan, and Rajesh Ramesh: Men’s 4x400m relay

Mijo Chaco Kurian: 4x400m relay and 4x400m mixed relay

Vidhya Ramaraj, Jyothika Sri Dandi, MR Poovamma, Subha Venkatesan, and Prachi: Women’s 4x400m relay

Prachi: 4x400m mixed relay

Priyanka Goswami/Suraj Panwar: Race walk mixed marathon

Badminton:

H.S Prannoy: Men’s singles

Lakshya Sen: Men’s singles

P.V Sindhu: Women’s singles

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty: Men’s doubles

Ashwini Ponappa and Tanisha Crasto: Women’s doubles

Boxing:

Nikhat Zareen: Women’s 50kg

Amit Phangal: Men’s 51kg

Nishant Dev: Men’s 71kg

Preeti Pawar: Women’s 54kg

Lovlina Borgohain: Women’s 75kg

Jaismine Lamboria: Women’s 57kg

Equestrian:

Anush Agarwalla: Dressage

Golf:

Subhankar Sharma: Men’s golf

Gaganjeet Bhullar: Men’s golf

Aditi Ashok: Women’s golf

Diksha Dagar: Women’s golf

Hockey:

P.R Sreejesh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Amit Rogidas, Harmanpreet Singh(c), Sumit, Sanjay, Rajkumar Pal, Shamsher Singh, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Mandeep Singh, Gurjant Singh: Men’s hockey team

Judo:

Tulika Mann: Women’s 78kg

Rowing:

Balraj Panwar: M1x

Sailing:

Vishnu Saravanan: Men’s one person dinghy

Nethra Kumanan: Women’s one person dinghy

Shooting:

Prithviraj Tondaiman: Men’s trap

Rajeshwari Kumari: Women’s trap

Shreyasi Singh: Women’s trap

Anantjeet Singh Naruka: Men’s skeet

Raiza Dhillon: Women’s skeet

Maheshwari Chauhan: Women’s skeet

Anantjeet Singh Naruka/Maheshwari Chauhan: Skeet mixed team

Sandeep Singh: Men’s 10m air rifle

Arjun Babuta: Men’s 10m air rifle

Elavenil Valarivan: Women’s 10m air rifle

Ramita Jindal: Women’s 10m air rifle

Swapnil Kusale: Men’s 50m rifle 3 position

Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar: Men’s 50m rifle 3 position

Sift Kaur Samra: Women’s 50m rifle 3 positions

Anjum Moudgil: Women’s 50m rifle 3 positions

Sandeep Singh/Elavenil Valarivan: 10m air rifle mixed team

Arjun Babuta/Ramita Jindal: 10m air rifle mixed team

Arjun Cheema: Men’s 10m air pistol

Sarabjot Singh: Men’s 10m air pistol

Manu Bhaker: Women’s 10m air pistol

Rhythm Sangwam: Women’s 10m air pistol

Vijayveer Sidhu: Men’s 25m rapid fire pistol

Anish Bhanwala: Men’s 25m rapid fire pistol

Manu Bhaker: Women’s 25m pistol

Esha Singh: Women’s 25m pistol

Sarabjot Singh/Manu Bhaker: 10m air pistol mixed team

Arjun Cheema/Rhythm Sangwam: 10m air pistol mixed team

Swimming:

Dhinidhi Desinghu: Women’s 200m freestyle

Srihari Nataraj: Men’s 100m backstroke

Table Tennis:

Sharath Kamal: Men’s singles and men’s team

Harmeet Desai: Men’s singles and men’s team

Manav Thakkar: Men’s team

Manika Batra: Women’s singles and women’s team

Sreeja Akula: Women’s singles and women’s team

Archana Kamath: Women’s team

Tennis:

Sumit Nagal: Men’s singles

Rohan Bopanna and Sriram Balaji: Men’s doubles

Weightlifting:

Mirabai Chanu: Women’s 49kg

Wrestling:

Aman Sehrawat: Men’s freestyle 57kg

Vinesh Phogat: Women’s 50kg

Anshu Malik: Women’s 57kg

Nisha Dahiya: Women’s 68kg

Reetika Hooda: Women’s 76kg

Antim Phangal: Women’s 53kg

Top Indian 3000m steeplechaser Avinash Sable and javelin thrower Kishore Jena will hope to fine tune their Olympics preparations in the Paris leg of the prestigious Diamond League one-day meeting series on Sunday. Reigning Olympic and world champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has opted out of the Paris DL apparently due to an adductor niggle that has been troubling him for the past couple of months. Both Sable and Jena have not been in the best of forms and have not competed in too many events ahead of the Paris Games but they would be looking to get acclimatised to the conditions of the city which will host the Olympics.

Athletics competitions in the Olympics begin on August 1.

The 29-year-old Sable has competed in just two 3000m steeplechase events, one at the Portland Track Festival in the USA, where he has been training, and the other at the National Inter-State Championships in Panchkula, Haryana last week.

He had clocked 8:21.85 at Portland and 8:31.75 in Panchkula, while he has a personal best of 8:11.20.

After winning gold at the National Inter-State Championships, Sable had vowed to make amends for mistakes he committed in the last few years and deliver a memorable show at the Paris Olympics with a different approach.

“I committed mistakes in the last two years. I had gone with good fitness in the two world championships (2022 and 2023) but could not do well at both. I want to make amends, hope that this Olympics will be my best,” said the reigning Asian Games gold medallist.

On Sunday, he will be up against Kenyan Abraham Kibiwot, the 2023 World Championships bronze medallist and gold winner at the 2022 Commonwealth Games where Sable had won a silver.

Another Kenyan, Simon Kiprop Koech, the 2023 Diamond League champion, will also be a top-three contender on Sunday in the absence of reigning Olympic champion Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco and Lamecha Girma of Ethiopia.

In five Diamond League appearances so far in his career, Sable’s best show has been a fifth-place finish.

Jena has also had a forgettable season so far with efforts of 76.31m in Doha Diamond League and 75.49m in the Federation Cup before an 80.84m throw to win a bronze at the National Inter-State Championships.

He has a personal best of 87.54m which he did while winning a silver in the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023.

Jena, who will be competing in his second Diamond League on Sunday after Doha, had revealed that he was coping with a minor left ankle pain, which he felt after the Federation Cup (May 15-19) in Bhubaneswar.

“The pain has reduced and it’s almost all right now,” he had said in Panchkula last week.

He will be up against the likes of Tokyo Olympics silver medallist and 2023 Diamond League champion Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic, former world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada and reigning Commonwealth Games medallist and 2023 World Championships silver winner Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan.

Olympic gold medallist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra’s mother Saroj Devi said she will send a special ‘choorma’ (a popular delicacy from Haryana and Rajasthan) for Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the latter requested for it during a recent interaction with the athlete. “We wish that Neeraj wins the gold medal again and get the opportunity to meet PM Modi again. Yes, this time I’ll send special churma made with ‘desi ghee’, ‘shakkar’ and ‘khand’,” Saroj Devi told IANS.

On Thursday, PM Modi hosted Paris Olympic-bound athletes at his residence to have a conversation with them. During such a chat with Neeraj, PM asked the javelin thrower to bring homemade ‘churma’ for him prepared by his mother.

Neeraj casually greeted the PM, saying, “Namaskar sir, kaise hain?” (Hello sir, how are you?) To which PM Modi replied with a chuckle, “Mai vaisa hi hu” (I am just the same).

PM Modi then joked, “Mera choorma abhi tak aaya nahi” (I haven’t received my churma yet), sparking laughter all around.

With a shy smile, Neeraj replied, “Is baar Haryana wala choorma khilayenge sir, pichli baar Delhi ka cheeni wala khaya tha” (This time I will treat you with churma from Haryana; last time we had the sugary one from Delhi).

The PM eagerly expressed his craving for homemade churma, saying, “Mujhe tumhari maa ke haath ka choorma khana hai” (I want to savour churma made by your mother).

After their humorous banter, PM Modi wished Neeraj all the best for the Paris Olympics, urging him to stay fit and injury-free.

Neeraj’s father Satish Kumar said his son detailed his training and preparations for the Olympics to PM Modi.

“Neeraj told PM that his training is going well and he’ll give his all to clinch the second gold medal for the country,” he said.

“He has missed some of the events in the past due to groin injury but now he has recovered and wants to focus on the Olympics. He wants to better his previous record and win a medal. He is currently training for 6-8 hours daily under the guidance of his coach and physio,” Satish added.

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually interacted with the Paris Olympics-bound Indian athletes. PM Modi spoke with javeline star Neeraj Chopra, who will aim to defend his crown in Paris, boxer Nikhat Zareen and two-time Olympic medallist shuttler PV Sindhu. During the interaction, PM Modi expressed confidence that India’s Olympic-bound contingent will make the country proud and live up to the aspirations of 140 crore people. India will be sending close to 120 athletes to Paris for the upcoming Olympic games in French capital.

“Interacted with our contingent heading to Paris for the Olympics. I am confident our athletes will give their best and make India proud. Their life journeys and success give hope to 140 crore Indians,” the Prime Minister posted on ‘X’ after meeting a large contingent of Paris-bound athletes that included shooters, archers, track and field athletes and support staff.

Interacted with our contingent heading to Paris for the @Olympics. I am confident our athletes will give their best and make India proud. Their life journeys and success give hope to 140 crore Indians. pic.twitter.com/OOoipJpfUb

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 4, 2024

Neeraj Chopra, who won gold in the men’s javelin throw event at Tokyo 2020, said that his training is going as planned.

“Sir, my training is going as planned. I missed a few tournaments due to a recurring injury, but right now, I am feeling much better. We have just under a month to get the final preparations done,” Chopra told PM Modi during the interaction.

The contingent was accompanied by Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of State for Sports Raksha Khadse and Indian Olympic Association President PT Usha.

The PM also posted images of him with the athletes and support staff, including badminton coach Pullela Gopichand and shooting sport high-performance director Pierre Beauchamp, among others.

The PM also interacted virtually with Neeraj Chopra, who will aim to defend his crown in Paris, boxer Nikhat Zareen and two-time Olympic medallist shuttler PV Sindhu.

Earlier in the day, the PM also welcomed the Rohit Sharma-led side, that won the T20 World Cup by defeating South Africa last week.

The team arrived in Delhi early morning after being stranded in Bridgetown, Barbados due to category 4 hurricane.

Modi said he had a memorable conversation with the members of T20 World Cup-winning team, discussing their journey at the recently-concluded ICC event in USA and the Caribbean.

(With PTI Inputs)

Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra is in best physical condition to claim a medal at the Paris Games, said Spencer Mackay, the head of strength and conditioning at Inspire Institute of Sports (IIS). The 26-year-old Indian, who had undergone rehabilitation at IIS for an elbow injury before winning the Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2021, has been troubled by an adductor niggle for the past couple of months. Chopra is not participating in Sunday’s Paris Diamond League and will straight away compete at the Olympics.

Mackay said he is “keeping a close track of him.” “He is in excellent physical condition and well-prepared,” Mackay said in an interview with PTI videos.

“His past injuries and recent niggles are now an afterthought. When the Olympic finals begin, Neeraj will be in a fantastic position to win another medal for the country.” The Olympic and World champion Chopra had returned to competitions in June after a month-long break to fetch his maiden gold medal at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland. He had finished second at the Doha Diamond League in May.

Chopra also participated at the National Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar, where he secured the gold medal.

“For an athlete, it is not warranted to perform at the best all the time, especially for athletes like Neeraj who compete at the highest level. But his plan is very clear: to keep himself fit, strong, and well-balanced to give his best shot at the Olympics.” The Inspire Institute of Sports (IIS) here has been a go-to place for various Indian athletes over the years for injury recovery and rehabilitation.

Spencer, who has been at the state-of-the-art facility since its inception, pointed out that sports science and rehabilitation are vital components of modern athletic training, playing a pivotal role in enhancing performance, preventing injuries, and promoting effective recovery.

“India has a lot of scope to enhance the performance of their athletes which will result in better results.

“As long as the scope for sports training supplemented with sports science, development of coaches, the scope for India to massively increase the medal haul come the next Olympics games is going to be clear.” Talking about the rehab programs, he said: “Our elite performers train offsite but our main focus is to tailor rehab programs based on the situation and the injury sustained based on the data we have about them. “We also have in mind the psychological aspect of an athlete suffering a specific injury and the way he or she suffered it in mind.” “If we have more contact with them, we can do more based on the capability of the athlete and how much we have been able to expose him or her to development over time being a key component of the rehabilitation process during the injury situation.

“But regardless we are happy to be in a situation where we have been able to affect athlete rehabilitation in a positive way and to see them returning back to the performance level they had before, is an incredibly rewarding position.”

Olympic and world champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Wednesday clarified that Sunday’s Paris Diamond League was never a part of his competition calendar this year. The statement came after a media report stated that Chopra pulled out of the event due to the adductor niggle that has been troubling him for the past couple of months. The 26-year-old took to ‘X’ to say that there was no question of a withdrawal when he had not even entered his name.

“Hello, everyone. Just to clarify: the #ParisDL wasn’t part of my competition calendar this season, so I haven’t ‘withdrawn’ from it. I’m focusing on getting ready for the Olympic Games.

“Thanks for your understanding and support, and wishing all the athletes competing all the best! #RoadToOlympics,” Chopra posted.

He was exempted from last week’s National Inter-State Championships, which was a mandatory event for all Indian athletes, by the Athletics Federation Of India.

The AFI said the relaxation was given to him due to the short turnaround time between the domestic event and the Diamond League on July 7.

“We have made it very clear that every athlete will compete in India at the Inter-State Championships,” AFI president Adille Sumariwalla had said, “But Paris Diamond League is clashing with the Inter-State Championships and we feel that Paris Diamond League will be very important for him (Neeraj) before the Olympic Games therefore he is the only guy who has been given special permission to participate in the Federation Cup,” he added.

However, Chopra had indicated last month that his schedule will be decided according to the state of his body.

“We had a discussion that I would play in the National Inter-State Championships (June 27-30) and it’s going to be held in Panchkula in Haryana but it was very near to the Paris Olympics,” Chopra had said.

“Since I was playing in Doha which is near to India. Moreover, there is Paris Diamond League (on July 7) between National Inter-State and Olympics. So, we decided to compete here (Federation Cup),” Chopra had said.

“Further competition schedule will be decided later according to situation and my body. Otherwise, I will go to Paris from there (after competing in Turku).” Chopra, who scripted history by becoming the first Indian to win a track and field medal at the Tokyo Olympics, had won the gold at the at the Paavo Nurmi Games last month.

Following this, he had opened up about his adductor niggle which has affected his season, saying he will consult “different doctors” after the Paris Olympics.

Olympics, Asian, and World Championships gold medallist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra is a ‘cool cat’, very consistent, and goes quietly about his job without taking too much pressure, says Athletics Federation of India (AFI) President Adille Sumariwalla about his star athlete’s chances of retaining his gold medal in Paris Olympic Games. Sumariwalla said whenever he runs into Neeraj and enquires about his preparations and chances, the first Indian to win an Olympic medal tells him not to worry.

“He just tells me. ‘don’t worry, I will do it’ when I ask him about his preparations. He is a cool cat, very consistent. He knows that everyone expects him to win the gold medal in Paris but he will go about his preparations and deliver when it matters most,” Sumariwalla said during a panel discussion about India’s chances at the upcoming Paris Olympics organised by the Sports Journalists Association of Mumbai (SJAM) on the occasion of World Sports Journalists Day on Tuesday.

“His strength is his consistency. There are at least four to five throwers in the world today, throwing over 90 meters, which Neeraj has never done. Everybody keeps putting pressure on Neeraj. We need to understand that the only reason why he’s won the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, World Championships, and the Olympic Games is simply because of his consistency.

“He has never been the number one thrower in the world. He’s always been, in terms of highest performance that year, number four or five. He’s never thrown over 90 meters. But when it comes to crunch, he will throw his 88.89 meters. Those guys will throw 87 meters. He will win the gold,” said Sumariwalla.

The AFI President, a top sprinter of his time who represented India in two Olympics, said India’s recent success in athletics should not be evaluated in terms of medals but rather the progress we have in the last decade or so.

“I think the Indian athletes will do better than they did at the last Olympics. When I say better, I never talk in terms of medals. I am not an astrologer. I can’t predict metals. You see data and I think you need to go by data. You need to follow a process. Now, what you need to see also is what is the progression that has happened. What is the progression in India? What is the progression approach?

“What you also need to understand is in London, 10 athletes qualified. In Rio, 16 athletes qualified, and in Tokyo, 20-odd athletes qualified. More than 30 athletes will qualify for these Olympics. So you need to see that progression. Not only that, you really need to study how many were in the top eight, how many came to the top six, and how many came in the top four. How many could get medals,” said Sumariwalla, adding that India’s success should be measured in terms of this progress.

Sumariwalls, who is also vice-president of World Athletics, the global body of track and field, said they have put in place the processes for the development of elite and grassroots athletes and it is these processes that would get India the medals in the Olympics.

Hockey Olympian and Olympic Gold Quest CEO Viren Rasqinha, former badminton star Leroy D’Sa, chief coach of Indian rifle shooting team Suma Shirur and former India Davis Cupper Purav Raja were the other participants in the panle discussion.