New Delhi: The Olympic Games are not far away. In the world it is called Mahakumbh of sports. This time it is being organized in the French capital Paris from 26th July to 11th August. All the countries participating in it are finalizing their preparations.
These games take place every four years in July-August. For this reason it is also called Summer Olympics. For 15 days, the eyes of sports lovers around the world are on TV screens. Which country got how many medals, which player defeated whom, how many records were broken, all these are often discussed.
In fact, there is so much attraction, thrill and glamor in this Mahakumbh of sports that no person interested in sports can escape from it. To make this event grand, the host country has to prepare years in advance. In view of terrorism, security is a different issue.
If the Paris Olympics are completed peacefully and safely then the host country sleeps peacefully. This is no less than a big achievement for him.
To play in the Paris Olympics, one has to achieve quota. Some Indian players have qualified. Qualification matches are yet to be held for some. There was a time when Indian players used to return empty handed but the picture has changed since the Beijing Olympics 2008.
Now we are getting medals in every Olympics. The last Olympics were held in Tokyo, the capital of Japan in 2021. According to the schedule, it was to be held in 2020 but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it had to be postponed. There was a delay of a whole year.
Now three years later, the 2024 Olympics are being held in Paris. India had won a total of seven medals in Tokyo, of which Neeraj Chopra’s gold medal in javelin throw was the most special. The young man from Haryana suddenly emerged as a star. The number of medals in Paris is said to be up to a dozen.
The Central Government has done concrete work in this direction by running the ‘Khelo India’ campaign. Now our athletes are performing brilliantly at the world level.
There is always hope for a medal in hockey
India’s record in the Olympics has not been very good. After independence, hockey is the only game in which we have had dominance and getting a medal in it was a certainty. That was the era of Dhyan Chand, known as the magician of hockey, but in the intervening years, Indian hockey reached the abyss. India slipped to seventh place in the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
After this, India won the gold medal in hockey in the Moscow Olympics-1980, but this victory remained dull because many major countries of Europe had boycotted the Moscow Olympics. In such a situation, India’s gold medal did not have that shine. After 1980, there was a drought of medals in hockey. Our team’s performance was very poor. Finally after 41 years our men’s hockey team won a medal in the Tokyo Olympics.
Although it was a bronze medal, there was satisfaction that after so many years at least a medal was won in hockey. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself called and congratulated the team. In between, there was a round (2008 Beijing Olympics) when our hockey team could not qualify, that is, the Indian team could not participate in the hockey competition. since last few years
The hockey team has performed well at the world level.
Taking the services of a foreign coach has made a difference. Winning the bronze medal in Tokyo is proof of this. This is the reason why we are hopeful of a medal in Paris also. Recently, the Indian hockey team visited Australia to test the preparations for the Olympics. A five-match series was played there, in which India lost, but our team fought hard. Australia is the only team in the world against which India cannot win. We defeat Pakistan, Germany, Netherlands, Spain etc., but the Kangaroo team always wins. If we want to win a medal in Paris then Kangaroo Fort will have to be demolished. Since India had won the gold medal in the Asian Games, our men’s hockey team has got a direct entry into the Olympics. India’s women’s hockey team has improved a lot in the last few years.
About 14 years ago, a film named ‘Chak De India’ was made on women’s hockey. This film starring Shahrukh Khan was a super hit. This created a good environment in favor of women’s hockey in the country. However, in the last Tokyo Olympics our team missed out on winning a medal. Under the leadership of Rani Rampal, the Indian team finished fourth. The women’s team won the bronze medal in the Hangzhou Asian Games, but sadly the team could not qualify for the Paris Olympics. The team is performing well under the leadership of new captain Savita Poonia. Have also defeated many foreign teams, but unfortunately sometimes a small mistake becomes costly. Qualification matches were played at Birsa Munda Stadium in Ranchi in January. Japan had broken its dream of playing in the Olympics by defeating India 1-0 in the bronze medal match.
There will be hope of medal again from Neeraj Chopra
The country again has high expectations from Indian athlete Neeraj Chopra, the only gold medalist of the Tokyo Olympics. There is no bigger player than Neeraj in the world in javelin throw. He had also won gold in the Asiad, so his claim in Paris is the strongest. After him is the name of Kishore Jena, who won the silver medal in the Asian Games. We all believe that these two Indians will definitely bring a medal. Haryana’s young Neeraj had emerged as a sensation in the last Olympics. Kishore Jena of Odisha is a little behind them. Both of them have got direct entry into the Olympics. hope that
These two athletes will not disappoint the country. So far, 43 players including Indian athletes and men’s hockey team have qualified for the Paris Olympics. It also stars weight lifter Mirabai Chanu.
In table tennis, both men’s and women’s teams will enter the Olympics. So far, four women boxers Nikhat Zareen, Preeti Pawar, Parveen Hooda and Lovlina Borgohain have secured Olympic quota. Borgohain is a bronze medalist from the last Olympics. No male boxer has been able to achieve the quota yet. Nine Indian boxers, including the only silver medalist of the World Championships, Amit Panghal, have the last chance to get a ticket to the Paris Olympics. Panghal has returned to the team for the last Olympic qualifying tournament to be held in Bangkok from May 25 to June 2. The last Panghal is sure to go in women’s wrestling. Bajrang Punia could not qualify in men’s wrestling.
Controversy is going on regarding Vinesh Phogat. He alleges that the Wrestling Federation wants to stop him from going to the Olympics by not issuing recognition letters to his support staff. Vinesh has expressed apprehension of a doping conspiracy being hatched against her. He is trying to get Olympic quota. Manu Bhakar will try her luck in shooting. Athletes like Priyanka Goswami, Vikas Singh, Murali Sreeshankar, Avinash Sable, Arshpreet Singh, Servin Sebastian, Paramjeet Visht, Parul Choudhary and Rambabu have got tickets to Paris. We do not expect many medals from the athletes, but if luck favors us, this time more medals will definitely come from Tokyo. Our athletes had performed amazingly in the Asian Games.
On this basis what can be expected from them. The badminton team from India is yet to be finally selected in Paris. Actually, badminton players will get a chance to go there on the basis of ranking from 01 May 2023 to 30 April 2024, hence the final list will come at the end of April. There are some possible names who are expected to play in the Olympics. India’s star shuttler PV Sindhu is absolutely confident that she will go to Paris. Sindhu is a medalist of two Olympics. He got silver medal in Rio Olympics 2016 and bronze medal in Tokyo 2021. HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen’s claim in men’s singles seems confirmed. Sindhu herself will enter the women’s singles. However, now his game is on the decline. Despite this, we always have hope of a medal from them. The names of Satwik Sairaj and Chirag Shetty are in men’s double. The pair won the gold medal in the Hangzhou Asian Games, so we can expect a medal from them in the Olympics.
Adarsh Prakash Singh
