Tokyo Olympics: India's Top 10 Medal Prospects

#3 Vinesh Phogat (Wrestling: Women’s Freestyle 53 kg)

Vinesh Phogat eyes Gold at Tokyo Olympics

If Bajrang Punia is the trump card for the Men’s Wrestling Camp, Vinesh Phogat is the most promising medal prospect in the Women’s division at the Tokyo Olympics.

Competing in the Women’s Freestyle 53 kg category, Phogat is a tournament favorite and has finished on the podium in her last ten tournaments. Her best achievement to date has been a bronze medal at the 2019 World Championships in Kazakhstan.

2016 Rio would have been a happy hunting ground for Phogat if not for a severe knee injury that forced her to forfeit her quarterfinal match against China’s Sun Yanan. The absence of world champion Pak Yong-Mi of North Korea from the games has weakened the draw, making it more favorable to Phogat.

Biggest Hurdle: Jacarra Winchester, USA

The 53 kg category has many talented and proven wrestlers like Belarus’s Vanessa Kaladzinskaya and Japan’s Mayu Mukaida. But the dark horse in the 53 kg division would be the reigning world champion in the 55 kg category, USA’s Jacarra Winchester. With 55 kg not being an Olympic weight class, Winchester has shifted to the 53 kg division and, the California-based wrestler would be more of a mystery to her compatriots.

---

#2 Neeraj Chopra (Athletics: Men’s Javelin Throw)

Athletics has been an area where Indians haven’t been very optimistic since Anju Bobby George’s valiant efforts in 2004 Athens. But the emergence of Neeraj Chopra in Men’s Javelin has breathed renewed hope into the Indian camp.

The 23-year-old world junior record holder has been troubled by an injury to his right elbow, ruling him out of the competitive arena in 2019. He qualified for the Tokyo Olympics with a decent throw of 87.86 m at the ACNE League meeting in South Africa in January 2020.

Neeraj's personal best of 88.06 m would have fetched him a podium in the previous three Olympics, but that cannot be taken as the correct indicator of the competition’s standards. 11 of the Tokyo-bound athletes have a better personal best than the Indian.

The lack of preparation by the athletes would make them rusty, heading to the Tokyo Olympics and, as long as Neeraj keeps sweating it out to breach that elusive 90 m mark, India could be on course for their first medal in Athletics since Norman Pritchard.

Summer days can feel long and really get to you when you’re training. That’s why I trust the next generation Amstrad ACs to keep my mind and home cool.#amstrad #allseasonac #getrealgetamstrad @Amstrad_India pic.twitter.com/rnzKAolCCx

— Neeraj Chopra (@Neeraj_chopra1) March 27, 2021

Biggest Hurdle: Johannes Vetter, Germany

Vetter can be considered the successor of legendary Jan Zelezny. Being one of the best Javelin throwers of the modern day, he has a personal best of 97.76 m, i.e. close to 10 m more than Neeraj’s personal best. He will be heading to Tokyo with the much-needed momentum of winning the Kuartane Games in Finland, with a throw of 93.59 m, where Neeraj clinched a bronze medal with a throw of 86.79 m.

Apart from Vetter, Neeraj would be facing stiff competition from Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad & Tobago, Anderson Peters of Granada, Estonia’s Magnus Kirt & Germany’s Andreas Hofmann.

---

#1 Manu Bhaker & Saurabh Chaudhary (Shooting: 10 m Air Pistol Mixed Team)

Manu Bhaker & Saurabh Chaudhary have been on fire in the mixed team events at ISSF World Cups (Source: BP world creatives))

Expect nothing short of fireworks when two of the most promising & best pistol shooters in the world join forces at the grandest stage of them all.

The 19-year-olds are undoubtedly tournament favorites in the highly competitive individual 10 m air pistol event. But their medal chances have increased multi-fold in the mixed team event, where they have an almost near perfect record. Having been paired together six times, they tasted their only defeat at the Osijek World Cup this month, where they had to settle for a silver.

While Chaudhary & Bhaker have been very consistent over the past two years, the only thing that could work against them is their inexperience; anything less than a podium finish from them would be a big disappointment for the Indian Shooting Contingent.

Like the 10 m Air Rifle event, there’s a possible chance of a dream Indian 1-2, with Abhishek Verma and Yashaswini Deswal, the current world No.1 in the individual category; also vying for the honors at Tokyo.

Biggest Hurdle: Vitalina Batsarashkina and Artem Chernousov, Russia

Bhaker & Chaudhary were defeated by the Russian pair of Batsarashkina & Chernousov in the Osijek World Cup, after edging them out in the final two series, winning 16-12, in a closely contested encounter. The pair of Rio 2016 silver medallist Batsarashkina & World Champion Chernousov is also on a hot streak after winning the mixed event in the European Championships a month back.

These athletes shoulder the hopes of a billion Indians. Hopefully, Tokyo Olympics 2020 becomes a game-changer for Indian Sports.