7 Indians heading into Tokyo Olympics as World No. 1

The Tokyo Olympics is all set to begin on July 23. India will be sending its largest-ever contingent of 119 athletes, in hopes of this being the most successful Olympic campaign in national history. The year-long delay has given the Indians enough time to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics.

Many athletes have looked in top form ahead of the games and if things go right, India will have multiple gold medalists in different sporting events at the Tokyo Olympics. Events like shooting, boxing, archery and wrestling are expected to garner the maximum medals at the Games for India, who have top-ranked athletes set to participate in these events.

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Tokyo 2020: List of Indian Athletes Qualified For 2021 Olympics

7 Indians who are ranked World No. 1 ahead of the Tokyo Olympics

# 1 Deepika Kumar

Probably one of the most experienced athletes in this lot, Deepika Kumari has achieved everything in the sport of archery. The only thing missing from her stacked resume is the Olympic medal. But the archer has made her intentions clear, and she will be heading into the Tokyo Olympics as World No. 1.

Deepika made a strong statement with her win at the 2021 World cup in Guatemala. She also won gold at the 2021 World Cup Stage 3 in Paris. It was this win that propelled her to World No 1 in the rankings..

Having seen plenty of international success, the archer is one of India's top medal prospects and is expected to bring home India's first Olympic medal in archery.

# 2 Amit Panghal

Amit Panghal will be the only Indian boxer to head into the Tokyo Olympics as World No. 1. The IOC determined the rankings on the basis of performance at the 2017 and 2019 World Championships, 2019 Asian Boxing Confederation Championships and the Olympic qualifiers. Panghal performed outstandingly well in all of those competitions and secured the number 1 rank, which will help him get a favorable draw at the Tokyo Olympics.

Tokyo Olympics 2020: Three Indian shooters to watch out for at the Games

# 3 Elavenil Valarivan

One of the youngest shooters on the Indian team, Valarivan has grown from strength to strength and has become one of the top medal prospects at the Tokyo Olympics. In a short time, she has bagged many top international medals, which helped her get into the rifle shooting team, despite not getting a quota entry.

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# 4 Abhishek Verma

Abhishek Verma is arguably one of the most talented shooters on the 15 member Indian shooting team. Verma won 3 medals at the World Cup in New Delhi, which helped him become the World No. 1 shooter in the 10 M Air Pistol event ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.

# 5 Vinesh Phogat

Vinesh Phogat has won many international accolades, but Olympic glory is what she has been looking for. After a tearful exit from the 2016 Rio Olympics, Vinesh will be hoping to get to the podium and cement her place as one of the best female Indian wrestlers of all time. Her performance in the Matteo Pellicone Ranking series helped her get to the World No. 1 spot, which will help her get a favorable draw at the Olympics.

# 6 Yashaswini Deswal

Yashaswini Deswal has quickly grown into prominence and has become one of the best female pistol shooters in the country. She bagged 3 medals at the ISSF World Cup in New Delhi and continued her stellar performance in Osijek to win bronze there. Her exemplary performances in the past year helped her become the World No. 1, which makes her one of the favorites to finish on the podium in Tokyo.

# 7 Rani Sarnobat

Rani Sarnobat is one of India's most talented and experienced shooters. She is a 4-time World Cup winner and has been on the shooting circuit for a decade now. Rani has had a stellar year, having won medals in New Delhi and Osijek helping her get to second spot in the world rankings. However, Chinky Yadav's exclusion means that she will be World No.1 at the Tokyo Olympics.