It’s just Day 5 at the Rio Olympics, and with no medal for India to show for, disappointment has already started creeping in. Of course, a first round loss in the doubles for the legendary Paes evokes such emotions. So does a close 4th finish for Abhinav Bindra in the 10m rifle shooting in his last Olympic Games. Watching Jitu Rai fail to qualify in his pet 50m event is deeply disheartening.
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But, on the brighter side, it’s just Day 5! Many events haven’t even begun, and India is breezily moving into the next rounds in many others. Indian marquee players are still in the fray and have more than a realistic chance of bringing home that elusive medal, come the 21st of August. Here are some of them, in no particular order:
Men’s Hockey Team
Starting off their campaign with a morale-boosting 3-2 win over Ireland, they almost pulled off a draw against the defending champions Germany. That heartbreaking loss did little to lower their confidence and they came back in style to beat Argentina for the first time in 6 matches.
And for all practical purposes, they have qualified for the quarterfinals, that too, after 36 years. What’s more, the Indian team is improving in every single match. Be it conceding less penalty corners, converting them, defending their way out of tricky situations, they are ticking all the right boxes. No surprise then, if they win a medal.
Archery: Men and Women
Atanu Das, Bombayla Devi, and Deepika Kumari are all into the pre-quarterfinals, with all of them causing major upsets on the way. They were not on the top of everyone’s minds in the run up to Rio, and that makes their progress even more commendable. All of them hit the bulls eye at will, and the 3 consecutive 10s by Atanu Das in his opening match were a treat for the eyes.
All of them may or may not win, but archery is definitely a bright spot for India.
Mixed Doubles
Tennis has been in the limelight for all the wrong reasons, even before the teams were announced by the AITA. With no hopes in singles, India has already lost in the men’s and women’s doubles in the very first round.
But mixed doubles is a different ball game. Sania and Bopanna gel well as they have played together for the Indian Aces in the IPTL, and are near the peak of their doubles game. And they are seeded 4, which means a relatively easy draw until the semifinals. A definite medal prospect.
Badminton
Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, Srikanth Kidambi. This is definitely India’s strongest field for India in any of the sports. We are talking about medallists at the World Championships, Saina being a 2012 bronze winner at the Games. All of them, on their day, can beat the top players in the world and they have repeatedly proven so.
Even in the mixed doubles, the pair of Ashwini and Jwala Gutta have a fair chance for a medal.
Gymnastics
Dipa Karmakar. Who knew the name before August 6? Not many. But she has become a household name ever since she became the 1st Indian to qualify for the Gymnastics finals ever. She even successfully pulled off the Vault of Death, literally a do-or-die act, in the qualifiers.
Fresh off her birthday, she will be one to look out for on Sunday.
Special Mention: Wrestling
India has a strong, and a diverse field in the wrestling category. Again, we have Olympic and Commonwealth Games medallists in the fray.
The athletes have had to overcome many hardships to reach the stage in Rio, and all we can do is hope and pray that they come home with a fairytale they can tell their grandchildren about. Go for Gold, India! Go for Gold!
