India has plenty of hopes in sports in 2024. Sports fans in India are not only hopeful that their team will win the ICC T20 World Cup, rather they are looking for a window of opportunity after ages in Paris Olympics 2024. There are realistic expectations of India crossing the double-digit medals mark for the first time in the biggest event of the sports.
In Tokyo Olympics 2020, India returned with it’s best-ever haul of seven medals, including Neeraj Chopra’s javelin gold. It has buoyed the expectation levels for Paris. Moreover, the 107 medals haul in the Hangzhou Asian Games has made the Indian fans more optimistic for Paris Games.
The competition levels at the Asian Games and Olympics are not quite the same. However, the likes of shooting, badminton and even some of the field events can be game changers in shaping India’s medal hunt.
The Summer Olympics is back after a three-year cycle instead of the usual four due to the reason that Tokyo Games were deferred to 2021 owing to the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic across the globe. The circumstance may require a bulk of athletes across disciplines to speed up their preparation time. Moreover, it also offers an opportunity to assess the elite athletes’ form closer to the Games.
The BWF World Tour’s India Open badminton will be an important tournament for the Indian shuttlers to test their mettle. The World No.1 doubles pair of Satwik-Chirag, HS Prannoy and double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu must grab the opportunities in both their hands to make the cut for Paris.
The qualifying race for hockey will be held in Ranchi on January 13. This will be the first major sports event in India in 2024. The Indian women’s hockey team, which finished a hugely creditable fourth in Tokyo, will look to earn their tickets to Paris. The men’s team has already qualified thanks to its gold medal in Hangzhou.