Rio Olympics 2016 promises to be a gala event, with 11178 athletes from 206 countries participating in 306 events and 42 sports disciplines. August 5 will see the city of Rio de Janeiro host the best athletes from around the world, fighting for the biggest prizes in the world of sports.
Also Read: Rio Olympics 2016, Indian Team: Complete list of 119 Indian Players for Olympics
India will have a contingent of 119 members participating at the Olympics, the highest ever in India's history. Live telecast of the Olympic Games will be on the Star Sports network, which at the moment has eight channels listed on its network namely Star Sports 1, Star Sports 2, Star Sports 3, Star Sports 4, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 2 HD, Star Sports 3 HD, and Star Sports 4 HD.
Also Read: All news and updates from Rio Olympics 2016
The live streaming of the various events of Rio Olympics 2016 can also be seen on the Hotstar App, which will enable the users to choose the sport and the event to watch. India's biggest ever contingent has led the increase in chances of India securing the highest ever medal tally, with the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the sports ministry predicting ten to fourteen medals.
India is participating in a cumulative total of fifteen disciplines, which includes Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Boxing, Hockey, Gymnastics, Judo, Rowing, Shooting, Table Tennis, Tennis, Weightlifting, Wrestling, Golf and Swimming. The contingent includes former medal winners like Abhinav Bindra, Gagan Narang, Yogeshwar Dutt and Saina Nehwal.
There seems to be a lot of optimism around the Indian athletes, especially in the disciplines like Archery, Badminton, Boxing, Hockey, Gymnastics, Shooting, Wrestling and Tennis. The Indian shuttlers despite a relatively difficult draw are likely to do well, with PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponappa more than capable of securing a medal.
India might have less number of boxers, this time around at the Games, but all three of Shiva Thapa, Manoj Kumar and Vikas Krishnan are capable. The veteran Leander Paes seems to be getting better with age, and with Rohan Bopanna by his side, there is a slim chance they might pull off an unexpected medal in tennis.
Indian have a 12-member contingent in Shooting going to Rio, lead by Bindra and Narang, with National Rifle Association of India predicting as many as six medals. With the likes of Jitu Rai and Manavjit Singh Sandhu also at the top of their game, the sky is the limit for the Indian shooters.
Dipa Karmakar has become the first Indian gymnast to qualify for the Olympics, and with the Produnova vault in her pocket, she'll be hoping to equal her score of 15.300 to ride home a medal at the Olympic Games. The Indian men Hockey team have been in great form leading up to the competition and have a very realistic chance of winning a medal since the Gold in Moscow 1980.
To catch how the Indian contingent does, don’t forget to tune-in on Star Sports of Hotstar.