The Indian Contingent for London Olympics

Who says India is a nation where only Cricket is played? India is a nation where Cricket is also played, along with many other games. The Indian players are working very hard so that they can make their country proud at International level. Talking about the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where only 56 Indian players qualified, India secured 3 medals including 1 Gold medal and 2 bronze medals. Now almost 13 days are remaining in the London Olympics and already 70 Indian athletes including the Indian Hockey team have qualified for the London 2012. Let’s check out the players and also the tournament in which they have qualified:-

SHOOTING

A total of 11 Indian shooters will be going to London Olympics.

1. Abhinav Bindra - Qualified in 2011 during the Shooting World Cup in Munich, Germany, he will represent India in men’s 10m Air Rifle event.

2. Gagan Narang - First Indian shooter who qualified for the London 2012 during the World Championships in Munich in 2010. He will represent India in men’s 10m Air Rifle event, Men’s 50m Rifle Three Position event and Men’s 50m Rifle Prone event.

3. Ronjan Singh Sodhi - Double Trap Shooter Ronjan Singh Sodhi qualified for the London Games during the ISSF World Cup held at Beijing, China in 2011.

4. Annu Raj Singh - First female shooter from India who qualified for the Olympics 2012. She qualified for the games during the ISSF World Cup in Fort Benning, USA. She will represent India in Women’s 10m Air Pistol and Women’s 25m Sports Pistol event.

5. Shagun Chaudhary - The lass from Jaipur, Rajasthan qualified in the Women’s trap event during the World Shotgun Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia last year.

6. Manavjit Singh Sandhu - He qualified in the Men’s Trap event when he won the Gold medal at the Asian Championships this year.

7. Rahi Sarnobat - Indian shooter Rahi Sarnobat booked a berth for the 2012 London Olympics by winning a bronze in the 25m sports pistol event at the ISSF World Cup at Fort Benning, in the US.

8. Vijay Kumar - He qualified for the games in Men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol in the men’s shooting World Cup in Fort Benning, US, last year.

9. Sanjeev Rajput - He qualified in the Men’s 50m Rifle Three Position event when he won the gold medal at the shooting World Cup in Changwon, Korea in April 2011.

10. Joydeep Karmakar - Although he didn’t qualify directly, he was selected on the basis of his good performance last year. He will represent India in Men’s 50m Rifle Prone.

11. Heena Sidhu - She was selected on the basis of the exchange of quota system, and along with Annu Raj Singh gives India a good chance to win medal in the Women’s 10m Air Pistol event.

Imran Khan Hasan who earned India an Olympic Spot in the men’s 50m rifle 3 position event, was not selected as only 2 shooters from one country can participate in one event and Gagan Narang and Sanjeev Rajput are far more experienced than Imran so the NRAI decided that it was Imran who would be missing out.

ATHLETICS

- In athletics, a total of 10 athletes have qualified till now and still many more can qualify.

1. Krishna Poonia (women’s discus throw) – Krishna Poonia qualified for the London Olympic Games in discus with a gold-winning performance of 61.12 metres at the Fling throws meet in USA in Oct 2011.

2. Tintu Luka (women’s 800 meters) – Tintu Luka qualified for the Olympics in the 800 metres at the World championships in Korea last year by making a season best of 2:00.95.

3. Vikas Gowda (men’s discus throw) – He qualified for the London Olympics 2012 during the world championships in Korea last year.

4. Mayookha Johny (women’s triple jump) – Mayookha qualified for 2012 Olympics in triple jump, going past the London Games ‘B’ qualifying standard of 14.10m.She became the first Indian women triple jumper to cross 14m mark.

5. Om Prakash Karhana (men’s shot put) – India’s top shotputter, Om Prakash Singh, threw his personal best of 20.04 metres and hence qualified for the London Olympics during the world championships last year.

6. Irfan Kolothum Thodi( 20 km walk) – Irfan qualified for the London Olympics during the IAAF World Race Walking Cup at Saransk, Russia . He bettered the London Games ‘A’ standard of 1:22.30 by clocking a personal best of 1:22:09.

7. Gurmeet Singh ( 20 km walk) – He also qualified for the London Olympics at the 18th Dublin International Grand Prix of Race Walking. Gurmeet Singh clocked 1:22:05, finishing 9th in the 20km event held at Phoenix Park, Dublin. Gurmeet bettered the ‘A’ standard of Olympic qualification 1:22:30.

8. Seema Antil (women’s discus throw) - India’s female discus thrower Seema Antil qualified for the 2012 London Olympics after she achieved the ‘A’ qualifying standard with a throw of 62.60 metres at the University of California (Irvine) Open Championships.

9. Ram Singh Yadav (Marathon) – He qualified for the London Olympics during the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2012.

10. Ranjith Maheshwari (men’s triple jump) – Tamil Nadu triple jumper Ranjith Maheshwary finally achieved the Olympic qualification as he landed on the sand pit at 16.85m — the exact distance for “B” qualification standard, on the opening day of 16th Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships at NS NIS Complex.

11.Baljinder Singh - Baljinder achieved the qualification after finishing fifth in the Asian 20 Kilometres Race Walking championships at Nomi City, Japan.The Indian clocked One hour, 22 minutes, 12 seconds.

12.Sahana Kumari - Sahana qualified for the London Olympics after she cleared 1.92m during the opening day of National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships.Thus Suhana achieved the B qualification mark of 1.92m.

13.Sudha Singh - Asian Games gold medalist Sudha Singh has qualified for the upcoming London Olympics in the 3000m steeplechase event by breaking her own national record in the VIII meeting Iberoamericano de Atletismo championship in Huelva, Spain. The 25-year-old Indian, who barely missed the Olympic qualification mark in Shanghai Diamond League last month, showed tremendous form to clock an impressive 9:47.70 seconds which earned her the Olympic B-grade.

14.Basant Bahadur Rana - Basant Bahadur Rana qualified for the London Olympics during IAAF World Race Walking Cup.He achieved the “B” standard by clocking national mark when he registered 4::02:13 and thus booked his berth for the summer games.

BOXING

- 8 Indian Boxers have qualified for the London Olympics.

1. Devendro Singh - 19 year old Devendro Singh qualified for the mega event in the 49 kg weight category during the World Championships last year.

2. Shiva Thapa – This young boxer qualified for the Olympics in the Asian Championships this year. He qualified in the 56kg weight category.

3. Jai Bhagwan - He qualified for the Olympics in the 60 kg weight category during the World Championships Last year in Baku.

4. Manoj Kumar - Commonwealth Games gold medallist boxer from the village of Kaithal in Haryana, Manoj Kumar is all set to contribute in Olympics 2012 after he qualified in the quarter final of World boxing Championship. He qualified in the 64 kg weight category.

5. Vikas Krishnan - This 19-year old boxer, who won the Gold at the Asian Games in 2010, not only qualified for the Olympics, but also won the Bronze medal at the World Boxing Champonships last year, becoming the second Indian after Vijendar Singh to win the medal at World Championships. He qualified for the Olympics in 69 kg weight category.

6. Vijender Singh - 2008 Beijing Olympics bronze medalist qualified for the London games at the Asian Championships this year. He qualified in the 75kg weight category.

7. Sumit Sangwan - He qualified for the London Olympics when he won the gold medal at the Asian Championships. He qualified in the 81kg wt. category.

8. Mary Kom – She is the first woman to qualify for the London Olympics. A 1.2 billion pair of eyes will be set on this girl to bring home a medal in an event which has been introduced this time only i.e Women boxing event.

INDIAN HOCKEY TEAM

After failing to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics Indian team gave their best at the Olympic qualification tournament held at New Delhi in February this year and hence qualified for the London Olympics. In the finals Indian team defeated France 8-1 and hence confirmed their berth for the big games. A total of 16 Indian players will be included in the Indian Hockey team. India gets Pool B of the men’s Hockey which includes some of the big names in world hockey. The 6 Teams in Pool B are: Germany, Netherlands, Korea, New Zealand, India and Belgium.

ARCHERY

The Indian female trio of Laishram Bombayla Devi, Deepika Kumari and Chekrovolu Swuro booked three Olympic quota places in the Women’s Recurve Team Event in the World Championships in Turin in July 2011, by defeating the defending champions Korea in the semifinals 216-212. The three girls have also qualified for the Women’s Recurve Individual Event. Also in the men’s category Jayanta Talukdar, Tarundeep Rai and Rahul Banerjee have booked their berths for the London Games.The trio will also participate in the individual section as well as in the team section.So in Archery India have thus achieved a 100% Qualification mark.

BADMINTON

- In badminton, a total 5 players in 4 categories have qualified.

1. Saina Nehwal - Currently ranked 5th in the World, Saina qualified for the Olympics on the basis of her ranking. She is probably one of the best medal prospects for India at the London Olympics.

2. Jwala Gutta and V. Diju - Jwala and Diju are currently world no. 15 and have qualified automatically. The pair, with their performance, can stun anyone in the world on a given day.

3. Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponappa - Jwala and Ashwini with the world ranking of 16 have also qualified for the London games. Jwala and Ashwini who won the gold medal in CWG in 2010 have also won the bronze medal at the World championships last year in London.

4. Parupalli Kashyap - Kashyap’s outstanding performance at the Indian Open Superseries saw him climb 6 spots in the World ranking and the current world no. 24 booked his berth for the London Olympics.

WRESTLING

- In wrestling, a total of 5 wrestlers have qualified for the London Olympics.

1. Yogeshwar Dutt - Yogeshwar qualified in the 60 kg weight category at the Asian qualification tournament in Astana, Kazakhstan. Yogeshwar had to be content with the silver after losing the 60 kg final to Iranian Mahmoud.

2. Amit Kumar - Amit qualified in the 60 kg wt category at the Asian qualification tournament in Astana, Kazakhstan. He won the gold in the 55kg category, beating Japan’s Shinichi Yumoto. He is a promising future star for India.

3. Sushil Kumar - Former World Champion and Beijing Olympics bronze medallist wrestler Sushil Kumar finally managed to seal his London Olympics 2012 berth after impressive performances at the World Qualifying Tournament in Taiyuan, China. Sushil failed to qualify for the Olympics in the Asian qualification tournament previously. He will represent India in 66 kg weight category.

4. Geeta Kumari - Geeta became the first Indian woman wrestler to qualify for the Olympics after she won gold in the 55kg category at the Asian qualification tournament in Astana, Kazakhstan.

5. Narsingh Yadav - Narsingh Pancham Yadav justified the faith reposed in him when he became the fifth Indian wrestler to book a berth at the London Olympics. He qualified for the Olympics at the last Olympic qualifying event in Helsinki, Finland. He has qualified in the 74 kg weight category.

SWIMMING

In Swimming India has been granted an Olympic berth in swimming with the world body FINA springing a surprise by choosing Karnataka swimmer Gagan AP Ulalmath in the men’s 1,500freestyle. But the other 4 Indians who achieved the “B” standard Qualification mark were unable to make the cut. The surprise move, which gave Gagan a berth under the ‘Universality’ quota, shut the door on other more well-known swimmers such as Viradhwal Khade (100m freestyle), Sandeep Sejwal (100m and 200m breaststroke), Aaron d’Souza (200m freestyle) and Saurabh Sangvekar (1500m freestyle). So, India will unfortunately have only a single participant in Swimming at the London Games.

ROWING

1. Swaran Singh - Armyman Swaran Singh has assured himself an Olympic berth after qualifying for the single sculls final of the Asian Regatta in Chungju, South Korea. Swaran, who hails from Pune,was the first Indian rower to book a berth for the London Olympics.

2. Manjeet Singh and Sandeep Kumar - Manjeet and Sandeep made the cut in the lightweight men’s double sculls (LM2X) at the Asian Regatta in Chungju, South Korea.

TABLE TENNIS

- Until now, 2 T.T players have qualified for the London Olympics.

1. Soumyajit Ghosh - For Soumyajit Ghosh, the berth came via the continental quota, after he topped the South Asian region in the men’s category. He qualified at the Asian Olympic Qualification Table Tennis Tournament in Hong Kong in april 2012.

2. Ankita Das - Ankita Das too booked the berth via the continental quota, after she topped the South Asian region in the women’s category. She also qualified at the Asian Olympic Qualification Table Tennis Tournament in Hong Kong in April 2012.

WEIGHTLIFTING

- In Weightlifting also, 2 players have booked their berths for the London Olympics.

Indian weightlifters had earned two berths for the London Olympics in the recently concluded Senior Asian Championships which was held from 22^nd to 30^th April at Pyeongtaek, South Korea. Indian women lifters collected 93 points and stood fourth in the Championships whereas the men’s team managed to collect 134 points and a place in their respective sections. Commonwealth Games gold medallist Katulu Ravi Kumar and N Soniya Chanu have been officially selected by Indian Weightlifting Federation to compete in the London Olympics. “Ngangbam Soniya Chanu in 48 kg women will represent India in Olympic Games whereas Katulu Ravi Kumar will participate in the 69 kg men.”

JUDO

- In Judo, India has earned 1 Olympic quota.

Garima Chaudhary gave India its first quota during the Asian Olympic qualifiers. She earned India an Olympic quota in women’s 63 kg event. There are many more qualifying tournaments in various games and at least 15-20 Indian players can qualify for the London Olympics

TENNIS

After huge controversy over the selection of teams for the London Olympics, 7 players have been chosen to represent India in Tennis at the London Olympics.

1.Somdev Devvarman - Somdev, who has been injured for the past few months, is selected on the Wild Card basis and will represent India in men’s singles category at the Quadrennial Games.

2.Sania Mirza - Sania will participate in 3 categories namely women’s singles, women’s doubles with Rashmi Chakravarthy and in Mixed Doubles with Leander Paes.

3.Rashmi Chakravarthy - Rashmi will partner Sania Mirza in the Women’s Doubles category at the London Olympics.

4..Leander Paes - 1996 Atlanta Olympics Bronze Medalist Leander Paes will participate in 2 categories, namely the men’s doubles with Vishnu Vardhan and in Mixed Doubles with Sania Mirza.

5.Vishnu Vardhan - World no 207 Vishnu Vardhan will be pairing up with Leander Paes in the men’s doubles category at the London Olympics.

6.Mahesh Bhupati and Rohan Bopanna - Mahesh and Rohan will team up together in the men’s doubles category at the London Olympics.