Tokyo Olympics: Indian athletics should make it count this time 

Irfan Kolothum Thodi and the racewalkers - India's dark horses at the Tokyo Olympics

India's racewalkers - The Dark Horses [Representational Image]

Indian racewalkers also hold the potential to create history at the Tokyo Olympics. If they are given the best of training and get ample opportunities, they can end India's Olympic medal drought in athletics.

Racewalking is an extremely tough discipline in athletics. Due to a lack of proper training, India has never been able to make it big despite having huge potential. One of the best examples is that of Zora Singh. At the 50km race walk event at the Rome Olympics in 1960, Singh was leading for almost 15 kilometers. However, he couldn't sustain his lead long enough and finished a disappointing but respectable eighth.

Likewise, the current batch of racewalkers just needs a bit of extra support from the Indian spectators. One of them, Irfan Kolothum Thodi, had set a national record in the men's 20km racewalk. Despite finishing 10th, he set a new national record at the London Olympics in 2012. He even finished an agonizing fifth in the IAAF Racewalking Challenge in 2013.

If the racewalkers set their eyes on the goal and receive the right support, nothing can stop them from a momentous achievement at the Tokyo Olympics.