Indian dark horses at London Olympics

As London Olympics are only a week away there are many medal prospects for India. But here is a list about the dark horses who can surprise this Time by winning Olympic medals.

Men’s Archery Team: Archery team comprising of Jayant Talukdar, Tarundeep Rai and Rahul Banerjee can surprise everyone by winning a medal at London Olympics. All eyes will be on Deepika Kumari, who is the current world number one and our women’s team who are only Second to South Korea. But on their day this fifth ranked men’s team has everything to acquire a medal.

Krishna Poonia: Athletics has always been a sport where Indians participate just to make up the numbers. But this athlete from Haryana can definitely cause some upsets to grab an Olympic Medal.

Vijay Kumar: In Shooting, among the likes of Abhinav Bindra and Gagan Narang this Shooter from Himachal Pradesh is currently serving in the Indian Army. Although it will be the first Olympics for him, he is willing to put in his best performance in London.

Geeta Phogat: Among the squad comprising of veterans like Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt, who definitely are medal prospects there is a young and fearless female Wrestler going to London not just to make up the numbers, but to become the second female athlete in nation’s history to win an Olympic medal. This Haryana girl despite not being among medal contenders does have the spark to excel in London Olympics

Shiv Thapa: You might wonder what an 18 year old is doing among the likes of Vijender Singh, Manoj Kumar and Vikas Krishan. But you certainly can’t underestimate this talent from Guwahati, Assam. At tender Age of 16 he won his first silver medal in Youth Olympics games in 2010 and now after just 2 years he will compete on the biggest stage in sports. The Bronze medal won by Vijender Singh in 2008 has given a much needed inspiration to the boxing fraternity, as opposed to 5 last time 8 Boxers have qualified for London Olympics this year.

Jwala Gutta: This Badminton veteran is the only player in current the current squad who will compete in two Events. Although the media eyes will be on Saina Nehwal, who probably is the best bet for India’s first badminton medal at Olympics, Jwala girl is blessed with tremendous athleticism and on her day can cause upsets and can surprise this nation with a medal-winning performance. Unlike, Saina Nehwal, who will be under a lot of pressure there is no such pressure on Jwala and this can become her biggest weapon and a source of motivation. Jwala can become a role model for many youngsters looking to make career in Doubles/Mixed Doubles unlike singles where likes of Prakash Padukone and Gopichand were seen as role models, there are no such figures in Doubles category.