Road To Tokyo: Episode 21 - The Bearers of a Billion Hopes

With less than a week to go, it seems the Games may finally happen after all. The contingents have started trickling into Tokyo. The Covid screening is on at full swing making global headlines whenever they catch even one case (without ever giving the total numbers tested). 

Now if it’s a sporting extravaganza, then its also time to make predictions. I am no octopus (given how my predictions were way off for Rio). Predicting is an inherently risky business, but this time there is added uncertainty. Many warm-up & test events were either cancelled or poorly attended. Differing travel restrictions and ever-changing quarantine guidelines have further complicated the process. And then there is the chance of athletes testing positive and being barred from the competition at the very last moment. But all this uncertainty just adds to the fun (of making predictions, not the Games itself). 

"The important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win, but to take part; the important thing in Life is not triumph, but the struggle; the essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."  - Baron Pierre de Coubertin

For years, Indian contingents at Olympics fully endorsed this line. However, there has been a marked change with many of them becoming world champions and medallists. Here are my sport-by-sport expectations from the Indian contingent, who bear the expectations of a Billion plus people.

1. Archery: A discipline which has consistently disappointed since the days of Limba Ram. Recent form in the World Cups has been good, but a couple of caveats here – many countries skipped these events. Then the Indian women’s team got Gold at both World Cup stages but lost in the first round of Qualifiers in between! Hopefully this could be a redemption of sorts for Deepika Kumari. India has a good chance for a medal in all the 4 disciplines 
2. Athletics: The Qualification cut-offs were tougher this time around. Most Indian athletes had to break National records just to meet the qualifying standards. And some of them broke them multiple times. However, Neeraj Chopra is the only one who could be considered a strong contender for a Top 3 finish. A special mention of the race-walking disciplines, which has seen a steady rise in direct qualifiers. A Few National Records and Personal Bests are the best hopes for most of the contingent
3. Badminton: Badminton qualification were severely hit by the virus with tournaments getting cancelled everywhere and scuttling the chances of Srikanth & Saina and the doubles teams. PV Sindhu enters the Games as the defending world champion but hasn’t played for quite a while now. Same for Praneeth and the doubles duo of Satwik & Chirag. They can certainly bring in the medals but there is no idea of their or the rivals’ forms. 
4. Boxing:After the low of Rio, the boxing team is getting back on track with 9 quota places. Amit Panghal is the top ranked boxer in his category and then there is Mary Kom who can never be counted out. The likes of Manish Kaushik have a decent chance of getting to the sem-finals as well. 
5. Equestrian: Fouaad Mirza is India’s first qualifier in over 2 decades. Let’s see how he and Seigneur perform at the big stage 
6. Fencing: Bhavani Devi created history by becoming the first Indian to qualify in the Fencing sport. Can she do a Dipa Karmakar now? 
7. Hockey:  It has been 4 decades since our last hockey medal. But Hockey is our National Sport. The Mens team is currently ranked 4th in the World & the Women have qualified again after the disappointment of the last place finish at Rio. We certainly can hope for the elusive medal. 
8. Golf: Anirban Lahiri, Udayan Mane & Aditi Ashok will be representing India at Tokyo. Aditi could spring a surprise with her recent performance in the European LPGA tour. 
9. Gymnastics: After Dipa Karmakar, it is the turn of Pranati Nayak to qualify for the Games. No one had heard of an Indian Gymanst till Dipa nearly vaulted to a medal. Let’s see what Pranati has in store. 
10. Judo: Sushila Devi is India’s sole representative at the Games 
11. Rowing: Arjun Lal & Arvind Singh will be participating in the Lightweight Double Sculls category. India couldn’t participate in the Final Qualifiers due to covid restrictions. 
12. Sailing: Nethra Kumanan is all set to India’s first ever female sailor at the Olympics. Also, these are the first Games in which India will be represented in more than one sailing event 
13. Shooting: India is sending its largest ever shooting contingent. Rio was a disaster for the Indian shooting team. Since then, there has been a big change in the personnel with quite a few young guns coming into the fray. As for the medal hopes, on their day all of them could bring in the medals especially the likes of Saurabh Chaudhary (who is named in Time’s athletes to watch out for) and Manu Bhaker. Or they could bring in no medals – that is how unpredictable the sport of Shooting is!
14. Swimming: For the first time Indian swimmers achieved the A Qualifying mark. Thus, there are 2 entrants in the Mens, Sajan Prakash & Srihari Nataraj, while Maana Patel got the Universality Place for women. Best case scenario will be bettering the National Records 
15. Table Tennis: With the arrival of Manika Batra, Indian table Tennis has seen a rise in popularity. While they haven’t yet broken the East Asian grasp on the medals, they are starting to get there. There is certainly an outside chance for the Mixed Doubles pair of Sharath Kamal & Manika, who also got a Bronze at the 2018 Asiad. 
16. Tennis: India’s best bet would have been the Mixed Doubles but they couldn’t qualify (as yet due to the extremely complex ITF qualifying scenarios). Don’t see either Sumit Nagal or the Doubles pair of Sania & Ankita Raina progressing much further. 
17. Weightlifting: Mirabai Chanu should get at least the Silver Medal and bury the demons of Rio for good 
18. Wrestling: India lost one Quota due to Doping. None of their previous medalists qualified for these Games. Yet Wrestling could certainly bring in 2-3 medals with Bajrang Punia, Deepa Punia & Vinesh Phogat starting favourites in their respective categories. 

So overall, this could be India’s best ever Games with a potential double-digit medal count and with some luck in favour could surpass the combined medal count of the last 4 decades! Or we end up with no medals at all. After all these are the strangest Olympics of all times!

And Now let the Games Begin! (Also fingers crossed that the Games proceed with minimal Covid impact) 

Links: 

• Road To Tokyo: Episode 20 
• The Rio Hopes
• Olympic Predictions

Road To Tokyo: Episode 19

We are now less than two months from the Games. And yet the question remains – Will the Games happen at all? Japanese public opinion is increasingly against the Games happening. Similar to the general feeling in India about holding the IPL in the midst of pandemic. And yet, the qualifications and the preparations, while disrupted, continue. 

While the suspense remains, there have been further progress on the field with a few more sportspersons qualifying for the Games. 

New Qualifiers 

• Wrestling: At the final qualifying event, Sumit Malik earned a Quota place in the 125 KG Freestyle category while Seema Bisla earned a Quota place in the 50 KG Women’s category. Thus India have qualified 8 wrestlers for the Games. However, there were no qualifiers in the Greco-Roman category. 
• Rowing: Arjun Lal & Arvind Singh qualified via the Asian Qualification Regatta in the Men’s Lightweight Double Sculls. 
• Gymnastics: Pranati Nayak has qualified for the Games through the Asian Continental Qouta 
• Badminton: The final three qualification events got cancelled. And based on the rankings, PV Sindhu & B Sai Praneeth qualified in the Singles category, while the duo of Chirag Shetty & Satwik Rankireddy qualified in the Doubles. 
• Judo: Sushila Devi has earned a Quota place in the 48 KG Women’s event 

Other Updates 

• Shooting: The squad is now based in Croatia for training till the Games 
• Wrestling: The squad will move to Poland for training and practice events. 
• Boxing: At the Asian Championships, in a depleted field the Indian contingent hauled in 15 medals. This was the first proper event for many since the pandemic began. 

Covid-19 impact 

• Badminton: Malaysian Open & Singapore Open were cancelled thus ending the qualifying journey. 
• Rowing: Due to Covid travel restrictions, India did not enter the Final World Qualification Regatta. 

Indian Contingent 

Total Count – Sports - 14, Events – 57, Entries - 79, Participants – 100 

Links: Road To Tokyo: Episode 18 

Road To Tokyo: Episode 18

The second wave (seems more like a tsunami) of Covid-19 has created havoc in India. Help for oxygen, hospital beds, medicines are all what the social media is talking about. It has also led to more and more restrictions in terms of movement and supplies. And as a collateral damage it has also severely impacted India’s Olympics preparations and qualifiers. Certainly there is more confusion now about the Games than ever before, especially about the participation and travel. 

Meanwhile on the field, these are the major updates for our Indian contingent since Episode 17. 

New Qualifiers 

• Sailing: Through the Mussanah Cup, India has qualified in three events. Nethra Kumanan becomes the first Indian female to qualify for Olympics sailing, after earning the Quota in Women’s Laser Radial. KC Ganapathy & Varun Thakkar have qualified for the Mens 49er race. V Sarvanan qualified for the Mens Laser race. 
• Wrestling: Anshu Malik (Women’s Freestyle 57 KG) & Sonam Malik (Women’s Freestyle 62 KG) have booked their Quota places at the Asian Qualifiers. This is in addition to the four Quota places earned earlier though the World Qualifiers. There is one more World Qualifying event in May to complete the set. India also had a good outing at the Asian Wrestling Championships but given the depleted field these results should not be an indicator of actual form. 

Other Updates 

• Weightlifting: At the Asian Championships, Mirabai Chanu created a new World Record in Clean & Jerk section. 
• Archery: At the World Cup stage in Guatemala, the Indian archers secured 3 of the 5 Gold medals in the Olympics events. However, quite a few of the leading teams were missing in action. 
• Hockey: India had good tour of Argentina and secured 2 wins against the reigning Olympics champions in the Hockey Pro League. But the prevailing Covid situation has led to the postponement of their next European leg. 
• Gymnastics: Pranati Nayak is in contention for the Continental Quota, although it is yet to be confirmed. 

Covid-19 impact 

• Judo: The India contingent had to be withdrawn from the Asia-Oceania Qualifiers due to Covid cases in the team. 
• Athletics: The Indian team could not participate in the World Relay championships due to travel restrictions. 
• Badminton: The Indian Open which was to be qualifying event for the Olympics has been cancelled leaving just the Malaysian Open & Singapore Open as the final two qualifying events. 

Squad Announcement 

Shooting: India have announced a 15 member squad for the Olympics. There have been 2 Quota changes. Chinki Yadav has been replaced by Elavenil Valerian. Manu Bhaker will take the 25m pistol spot instead of Chinki. Meawhile Elavenil, who is ranked No. 1 in the world replaces Anjum Moudgil in the 10m Air Rifle category. Anjum will participate in the 50m 3 Positions instead. India has 2 entries in both mixed 10m Pistol & Rifle events. Here is the full squad. 

10m air rifle (M): Divyansh Singh Panwar, Deepak Kumar. Reserves: Sandeep Singh, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar. 

50m rifle 3-position (M): Sanjeev Rajput, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar. Reserves: Swapnil Kusale, Chain Singh. 

10m air pistol (M): Saurabh Chaudhary, Abhishek Verma. Reserves: Shahzar Rizvi, Om Prakash Mitharval. 

Skeet (M): Angad Vir Singh Bajwa, Mairaj Ahmad Khan. Reserves: Gurjoat Singh Khangura, Sheeraz Sheikh. 

10m air rifle (W): Apurvi Chandela, Elavenil Valarivan. Reserves: Anjum Moudgil, Shreya Agrawal. 

50m rifle 3-position (W): Anjum Moudgil, Tejaswini Sawant. Reserves: Sunidhi Chauhan, Gaayathri Nithyanandam. 

10m air pistol (W): Manu Bhaker, Yashaswini Singh Deswal. Reserves: P Shri Nivetha, Shweta Singh. 

25m sports pistol (W): Rahi Sarnobat, Manu Bhaker. Reserves: Chinki Yadav, Abhidnya Patil. 

10m air rifle (X): Divyansh Singh Panwar, Elavenil Valarivan; Deepak Kumar, Anjum Moudgil. 

10m air pistol (X): Saurabh Chaudhary, Manu Bhaker; Abhishek Verma, Yashaswini Singh Deswal. 

In Other News 

North Korea has pulled out of the Games! What happens to their earned Quotas is still to be decided. And thus improving the medal hopes of some of the Indian contingent. 

Indian Contingent: Sports - 10, Events – 49, Entries - 64, Participants – 90 

Praying for the Covid situation in India to improve fast. Even sports is not able to provide a balm in the current environment.  

Links: 

• Road To Tokyo: Episode 17 
• Shooting Contingent: Sportstar
• North Korea out of the Games: The Guardian 
• North Korea pulling out impact on India: Indian Express 
• Nethra Kumanan: Business Insider 
• India's Top 10 medal prospects: ESPN 
• Pranati Nayak: ESPN 
• Travel impact on Indian sportspersons: ESPN 

Road To Tokyo: Episode 17

We are heading closer to the Olympics with crossed fingers that the Games actually happen. Vaccinations have started rolling out in various parts of the world and some have also prioritized their sportspersons in this regard. On the other hand, many parts are facing a second wave and mutant versions of the virus. The various qualifiers are still being rescheduled due to with lockdowns and travel restrictions of varying degree in different regions. With this backdrop, the Olympic Torch relay has resumed, and the Japanese government has decided to ban foreign spectators. A collateral impact of this ban is the reduction in personal entourages of the athletes as only the accredited support staff can be part of the delegations. 

Well, all this is still a bridge too far. Meanwhile a few more Indian sportspersons have qualified for the Games 

Fencing: Bhavani Devi became the 1st ever Indian to qualify for Olympics Fencing. Will be participating in the Individual Sabre event. 

Athletics: M Sreeshankar qualified for the Men's Long Jump event after creating a new National Record in the Federation Cup. Kamalpreet Kaur qualified for the Women's Discus Throw event with a new National Record in the Federation Cup 

Table Tennis: Sathian Gnansekharan & Achanta Sharat Kamal booked spots in the Men’s Singles from the Asian qualifying event. Suthirtha Mukherjee and Manika Batra qualified for the Women’s singles category. Sharath Kamal & Manika Batra upset the Top seeds to win the sole Mixed Doubles Quota at the Asian Qualifying event. 

In other news 

Boxing: The Final World Qualification events have been cancelled and instead the Quotas will be allocated to the top-ranked boxer yet qualify from each continental region. India had already qualified 9 boxers (an all-time high) through last year’s Asian qualification. However, in the other 4 categories, the quotas have gone to other nations. 

Athletics: New National Records for already qualified athletes Neeraj Chopra (Men's Javelin Throw) & Avinash Sable (3,000m steeplechase). Both of them nicely warming up for the Games.

Shooting: At the New Delhi World Cup, the Indian contingent returned a rich haul. Although the field was depleted but it was good to see the shooters strike a rich vein of form in the run-up to the Olympics. Special mention of the Manu Bhaker-Saurabh Chaudhary duo who have now won Gold at their 5th consecutive World Cup! 

Archery: The team has been announced. Atanu Das, Tarundeep Rai & Pravin Jadhav who had earned the Quota will be representing in the Men’s team and Individual Events. Deepika Kumari will be representing in the Women’s individual event. India is yet to qualify for the Women’s Team event. 

Indian Contingent: Sports - 9, Events – 42, Entries - 58, Participants – 84 

Links: 

• Road To Tokyo: Episode 16 
• Who is Bhavani Devi? (Olympics) 
• Overseas Fans Barred from Tokyo Olympics: (Times of India), (ESPN)
• India's Tokyo Squad (World Archery)
• India at the New Delhi Shooting World Cup (ESPN)

Road To Tokyo: Episode 16

The Covid-19 pandemic still prevails but the world is taking tentative steps to return to normalcy. But it’s a case of two steps forward and one back as with every new outbreak, some new restrictions come in place. However, the vaccines roll-out will certainly be a confidence booster to the organizers. 

Meanwhile, the Olympics qualifiers have resumed although the calendar still keeps getting disrupted. The chances of the Games not being held are still very much there. As one headline read, the Olympics are still on, till they are cancelled! The organizers have released a playbook for athletes which they will keep updating as we come closer to the date. The Olympics torch relay is also being held with onlookers been advised to not cheer! 

Meanwhile, in Indian news, following additional names have qualified 

Athletics: 

• Sandeep Kumar & Rahul Rohila in Mens 20 km walk taking India to full quota of 3 along with KT Irfan who had qualified earlier. 
• Priyanka Goswami with a new National record joins Bhawna Jat in Womens 20 Km walk 

So after a hiatus like the Indian contingent, which is back on the qualifying track, so in this Road To Tokyo series! 

Indian Contingent 

Total Count – Sports - 7, Events – 35, Entries - 50, Participants – 77 

Links:

• Road To Tokyo: Episode 15
• Olympics Playbook 

Road To Tokyo: Episode 15

24 July, 2020 - In normal times, today would have been the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics and also the culmination of the 4-year long Road To Tokyo series. Instead in these unprecedented times (am I the only one tired of this phrase?), we have to wait 52 weeks more. 

Sports will not change the ongoing crisis, it will certainly not create a vaccine or a cure but it does generate a feel-good factor in these depressing times. Just look at how the ongoing England-West Indies series has riveted the cricketing world together, or how the conclusion of the various European football leagues has brought back a tiny sense of normalcy. After all, as Mr. Nelson Mandela once said “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand.” 

With the coronavirus pandemic showing no signs of receding any time soon, and potential vaccines still at very early trials stage, there is a big cloud on the Games taking place next year as well. And it is not just the actual event itself. Multiple Qualifiers to be held globally are still to take place. Quite a few nations might not even be able to send a team at this juncture. But we can wait and watch and hope that everyone is able to participate! 

In the meantime, the organizers have been busy preparing the contingencies including alternate Qualifying schedules. There is a growing spectre of the events being held without spectators and with strict quarantine & bio-secure bubble rules in place! But all this is a still a matter of conjecture. 

In India News, the 3x3 Basketball Qualifiers have been moved away from Bangalore and will be held in Graz, Austria, thus dropping India out of the Qualification race as well! 

Meanwhile lets all stay home and stay safe, so that we are all still part of the Olympics movement! 

Links: Road To Tokyo: Episode 14 

Road To Tokyo: Episode 14

June 23rd – Olympics Day! Appropriate time to get this blog series back on track. 

“Coronavirus Stopped Play”. And the Games have been postponed to 2021 (will still be called Tokyo 2020 though!) exactly 52 weeks later. 

“Hope Lights Our Way” – that was the concept of the Olympic Torch relay. And in these uncertain times, the Olympic flame has come to symbolize the hopes of the entire world. After all, if we can have a “normal” Games in Tokyo next year, it would mean that humankind has emerged out of this Covid-19 crisis. After all, the Olympics are the greatest sporting spectacle and we are all in it together. 

Meanwhile all qualified athletes continue to remain qualified. However, for the remaining spots, the individual federations are trying to reschedule the Qualifying events/timelines. Given that sporting action has started resuming (albeit without spectators), we can hope for the Games to be held on track. 

A word for all the athletes. Keep safe, stay fit and stay focused on the big prize. The pandemic and the lockdowns have thrown their strict regimens off track. But not for nothing are they the crème de la crème of world sports. They will light up the competition and be a beacon of hope for the ailing world. 

Meanwhile, lets all stay home and stay safe and be there to celebrate the Games next year. 

And yes, since its Olympics Day, why not try this fitness regime as we stay home! 

Links 

• Road To Tokyo: Episode 13
• Revised Qualifying Principles

P.S. Hope to have the "Road To Tokyo" series back on track with better visibility of the road itself!

Road To Tokyo: Episode 13

“Coronavirus Stopped Play” 

Well, the dreaded thing has happened. The Tokyo 2020 Olympics have been postponed and will be held no later than the Summer of 2021. In short, no clarity on when the Games will happen. This was on expected lines with sports events being cancelled all over the world, training facilities closed and even athletes quarantined. So, our Road To Tokyo journey has its destination changed. However, the destination is unknown for now. Even the Olympic flame which had commenced its journey is now on hold. 

Since Episode 12, the Indian contingent showed an impressive increase. 

• 9 Indian Boxers made it through the Asian Qualifiers – a record high. And the World Qualifying event is still pending. Vikas Krishna Yadav, Ashish Kumar, Satish Kumar, Amit Panghal and Manish Kaushik among the Men and Lovlina Borgohain, Pooja Rani, Mary Kom and Simranjit Kaur amongst the Women qualified in their respective weight categories. 
• Athletics - Shivpal Singh joined Neeraj Chopra in Men’s Javelin Throw. 

Total Count – Sports - 7, Events – 35, Entries - 47, Participants – 74 

All other Qualifiers were abandoned. Meanwhile, we also await clarity on the status of already qualified athletes as well as future qualification events. We can just wait and watch as the world grapples with the Coronavirus. 

Sports has always been the biggest healer and will continue to do so. The Tokyo Games, whenever they happen, will be the symbol of the resilience of the human spirit and act as a balm to the embattled world. 

Links: Road To Tokyo: Episode 12

Road To Tokyo: Episode 12

Presenting Episode #12 of the “Road To Tokyo” series. 

First Up Coronavirus - The preparations for the Games have hit a major snag with CoVid-19 spreading all around the world. Some of the Qualifying events have been relocated out of China. Many training sessions and practices events have been cancelled/postponed. The volunteer training at Tokyo has been delayed. Meanwhile, London’s mayor has announced that London is ready to step in as Host, in case the Games must be moved out of Tokyo. While senior IOC member Thomas Bach has said a decision will be likely taken in May. Meanwhile bookies have already started offering odds on the cancellation/postponement/shifting of the Games! Quite a weird state of affairs.

India Qualification Update

Athletics

Bhawna Jat has qualified for the Women’s 20 KM Walk with a National Record Performance.

In Other News

• Weightlifting - Mirabai Chanu breaks her own National Record in 49 KG. Looking good as medal prospect at the Games.
• Boxing - Amit Panghal is now ranked #1 in the world. 
• Wrestling – India put up a mixed show at the Asian Wrestling Championships. While the highly rated Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat could not deliver the Golds, Ravi Dahiya and Divya Kakran did. However, the field was a bit weakened in the absence of Chinese wrestlers who were not given a visa due to travel restrictions on account of Coronavirus fears. 
• Badminton –Currently Sai Praneeth, Srikanth & Sindhu in Singles and the pair of Satwik Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty are in contention for a direct berth. However, with events getting dropped/postponed due to Coronavirus fears, time is running out for the others to book a berth.
• Golf – Rashid Khan, Udayan Mane, Aditi Ashok & Diksha Dagar are on track to qualify for the Games.

Upcoming Qualification Events

• Boxing – Asian Qualifiers
• Basketball 3x3 – Qualifiers hosted in Bengaluru
• Canoeing - Asian Canoe Slalom Championships
• Sailing - Asian Championships 
• Wrestling – Asian Qualification Event

Total Count – Sports - 6, Events – 26, Entries -37, Participants – 64

Links

• Road To Tokyo: Episode 11
• What Next for the Summer Games (Firstpost)
• Asian Wrestling Championships 2020 – (Wikipedia)

Road To Tokyo: Episode 11

Presenting the first episode of 20202 in the “Road To Tokyo” series. The Games are approaching vast, although we have the new element in form of Coronavirus interfering on this path. Meanwhile, here is the progress since Episode 10.

Quotas Earned

Athletics

Neeraj Chopra is back and after a prolonged injury lay-off has sent his javelin sailing past the Qualification Mark in his comeback appearance. A genuine medal contender at the Games. 

In Other News

Badminton – The stars are sliding back in rankings. Currently Sai Praneeth, Srikanth & Sindhu Singles and the pair of Satwik Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty are in contention for a direct berth. 

Golf – Rashid Khan, Aditi Ashok & Diksha Dagar are on track to qualify for the Games.

Table Tennis – Both Men & Women failed to clear the last hurdle in the Team Qualifiers and now must wait till April for the next set.

Tennis – Sania Mirza made a winning return to the Doubles Tour, but had a injury setback in the Australian Open. Her progress will determine the Indian presence in Tennis.

Boxing - Nikhat Zareen got her chance for a trial where she was beaten by Mary Kom. But the contest left a bitter after-taste! Meanwhile, the Olympic Qualifiers have been postponed be a month and shifted from China to Jordan because of coronavirus.

Volleyball – both teams are out of contention.

Total Count – Sports - 6, Events – 25, Entries -36, Participants – 63.

Links: 

• Road To Tokyo: Episode 10
• Olympic Golf Ranking - IGF

Road To Tokyo: Episode 10

Presenting the last episode of 2019 in the “Road To Tokyo” series. Come 2020 and the Tokyo Games will seem much closer. Here is the progress since Episode 9.

Quotas Earned

Equestrian

Fouaad Mirza won a Quota place in Individual Eventing. The Asian Games Silver medallist is thus set to become the first Indian Equestrienne Olympian in 20 years.

Archery

India added a Quota place in the Women’s Individual through Deepika Kumari in the Asian Qualification Event. This Quota also gives India a berth in the Mixed Event with the Men’s Team having already qualified. There is a potential to add 2 more Women’s archers through the Final Qualifying Event in June, 2020 in Berlin. However, the Archery Association does need to pull up its socks. It can’t continue to remain banned ensuring that Indian archers do not get international exposure at this critical juncture.

In Other News

South Asian Games

An event held for Indian athletes to register “international” medals against their names! However, we could not get a single quota from the Games! Speaks about the standards of the meet itself. Meanwhile Pakistan earned a direct Athletics Quota for the first time in decades – a feat which was noted by Athletics India and publicized in social media. Good to see the sportsman spirit is still alive in some sections even in these increasingly polarized times. 

Russian Ban - Meanwhile Russia has been banned from all sporting events for fudging dope tests. Quotas earned by Russian athletes and teams would suddenly up to all.

Shooting

India’s shooters continued their good performance in the year-end finals winning medals aplenty. There are also selection headaches in the Women’s Rifle team with Elavenil Valerian and Mehuli Ghosh outperforming the Quota winners Anjum Moudgil & Apurvi Chandela. Nice problem to have though! Mehuli Ghosh smashed through the World Record at the South Asian Games (although not ratified as an official mark!)

Hockey

Men’s Team have been placed in Pool A along with Australia, Argentina, Spain, New Zealand & Japan.

Women’s Team have been placed in Pool A along with Netherlands, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland and South Africa.

Boxing

The federation has agreed to have trials for a chance to represent India at the Olympics qualifiers. So Nikhat Zareen’s wish is fulfilled.

Rugby – Both Teams have failed to qualify for the Final Qualifiers.

Total Count – Sports - 6, Events – 24, Entries -35, Participants – 62.

Lets see what the new year will have in store for the Indian contingent. Wishing all readers a very Happy Olympics Year!

Links: 

Road To Tokyo: Episode 9

Road To Tokyo: Episode 9

The Indian Qualifying Contingent has grown considerably since Episode 8 with both Hockey teams qualifying & additional Quotas earned in Shooting.

The New Qualifiers 

Hockey

Both the Men & Women teams have qualified for Tokyo after winning their respective qualifiers. The Men defeated Russia 11-3 on aggregate, at one time it was 4-3! The women had a roller-coaster ride. Leading 5-Nil at one point in the first game against USA, then being 5-5 at the midway stage of Game 2, before adding one goal while defending resolutely to overcome them 6-5!

Shooting

Indian Shooters picked up 6 Quotas in the Asian Shooting Championships taking their tally to an all-time high of 15!

Ashwarya Tomar picked up the 2nd Quota in Men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions, Deepak Kumar picked up the 2nd Men’s 10m Air Rifle Quota, thus ensuring that India should be able to field two teams in the Mixed 10m Air Rifle. Angad Bajwa & Mairaj Khan booked the Men’s Skeet Quotas. Tejaswini Sawant opened India’s account in the Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions & Chinki Yadav picked the 2nd Quota in Women’s 25m Pistol. 

The qualifiers have come to an end. Only the World Ranking allocations are pending. There is also a chance for re-allocation of Quotas in case NRAI chooses to send different Shooters at the Games and some Shooters (e.g. Manu Bhaker, Anjum Moudgil) eligible for multiple events. Should be an interesting exercise.

In Other News

Boxing

In the Women’s Boxing World Championships, Mary Kom became the most decorated boxer ever (male or female) with her 8th World Championships medal. Overall, India had a good outing with 1 Silver and 3 Bronze Medals. Mary Kom & Lovlina Borgaohain’s Bronze medals were in the Olympics weight categories while Manju Rani’s Silver & Jamuna Boro’s Bronze came in non-Olympic categories. Now to the first set of Qualifiers in February.

However, there is a bit of controversy with Nikhat Zareen wanting a trial against Mary Kom!

Equestrian

Asian Games Silver medalist Fouaad Mirza is currently in pole position for the regional Quota after winning the Group G Qualifying Event.

Basketball

India will play host to 3x3 Qualifiers in March, 2020 for both Men & Women

Athletics

Was reading up on the Marathon achievement of Eliud Kipchoge and how much science played a role in his breaking the 2-hour mark. Was reminded of the problems faced by OP Jaisha in the Rio Games marathon. The athletes do their bit, but who works on providing that extra boost which bridges the fine line between superstardom and anonymity! 

Total Count – Sports - 5, Events – 21, Entries -32, Participants – 60.

Links: 

• Nikhat Zareen’s Letter to Sports Ministry (Link)
• Eliud Kipchoge (Link) 
• O P Jaisha Controversy (Link) 
• Road To Tokyo: Episode 8

Episode 10 should drop in by the end of this year!

Road To Tokyo: Episode 8

Since Episode 7, a month back, we have had some significant progress in the qualifications for Tokyo 2020 with Quota places earned in Shooting, Wrestling and Athletics. This Episode got delayed by a week to incorporate results from the 2019 World Athletics Championships. 

Quotas Earned 

Shooting – 2 more Quotas arrived through the Shooting World Cup taking the count to 9. 

Sanjeev Rajput earned India’s first Quota in the Men’s 50m Air Rifle 3 Positions. This is the 4th Olympics in a row in which he has earned a Quota place, although for Rio 2016, his Quota place was reallocated. Hope this is not the case this time around. 

Yashashwini Deswal earned India’s 2nd Quota in the Women’s 10m Air Pistol event. 

Given the current Quota configuration India should have representation in the Mixed Pairs Rifle & Pistol events. However, there is some confusion over the number of teams a NOC can field in the Mixed events. Would be a tragedy if only a single team from each NOC is allowed! Currently India can send 2 pairs in both rifle and pistol events and in the last World Cup, all 4 pairs won medals! 

The Asian Shooting Championships in November provides more opportunities for booking Olympics Quotas, especially for the Shotgun events, where India is yet to open its account. 

Wrestling – 4 Quotas 

Vinesh Phogat (Womens 53 KG Freestyle), Ravi Kumar (Mens 57 KG Freestyle), Bajrang Punia (Mens 65 KG Freestyle) and Deepak Punia (Mens 86 KG Freestyle) have earned quotas through the World Wrestling Championships. 

Deepak got a Silver while the other 3 earned a Bronze each. Overall, it was a creditable show for India with Rahul Aware also winning a Bronze in 61 KG Freestyle (which is not included in the Olympics). 

For the wrestlers, the Asian Qualification Tournament in March, 2020 provides the next opportunity to book Olympic berths in the remaining 15 categories. 

Athletics – 2 Quotas (Total 3 Now) 

The 4x400 Mixed Relay team reached the Finals in the World Athletics Championships in Doha thus qualifying for the Olympics. 

Avinash Sable broke the National Record in 3000m Steeplechase twice in 3 days to beat the Olympics timing cut-off after reaching the Final. 

Special mention - Annu Rani became the first Indian women to qualify for the Javelin Throw finals with a National Record throw. However, it was still short of the Olympics cut-off. 

Other Sports 

Boxing 

In the Men’s Boxing World Championships, Amit Panghal became the first Indian male boxer to reach the finals where he got a Silver medal, while Manish Kaushik earned a Bronze. Given the shenanigans of AIBA, unfortunately no Quotas could be earned through the World Championships. The Olympics qualification tournaments begin early next year. 

The women’s tournament is currently underway. However, like their male counterparts, they will not be able to qualify for Olympic spots. 

Weightlifting World Championships 

Mirabai Chanu finished 4th with her personal best. And given that there two Chinese ahead of her (and an NOC can have only participant in an event), the medal prospects seems good. 

Volleyball – Indian men have qualified for the Asian Volleyball Qualifiers after finishing 8th in the 2019 Asian Volleyball Championships. 

Hockey – The men’s team have been drawn to face Russia while the Women will face United States in a 2-match series to determine the Qualifiers for Tokyo. 

Swimming – Virdhawal Khade has achieved the B qualifying mark but has yet to achieve the A Qualifying mark and hence not included in the Qualifiers count yet. 

Total Count – Sports - 4, Events – 17, Entries -23, Participants – 22. 

Links:  Road To Tokyo: Episode 7

Road To Tokyo: Episode 7

August 29

Major Dhyanchand’s 114th birthday also celebrated as India’s National Sports Day. And almost two years to the day since this blog series started.

Since Episode 6, there hasn’t been any change in the qualification count for India. There were Quota places up for grabs in Shooting, Canoeing, Equestrian and Rowing but unfortunately our athletes couldn’t grab any during the last month. But we have had some progress across sports.

Badminton

PV Sindhu becomes India’s first ever Badminton World Champion. This in now the sixth year in a row in which she has got a major medal (World Championships/Olympics) and she is still only 24! Badminton quotas will be confirmed via rankings in end-April next year. On current form, we should have multiple Indian representation in all events.

Volleyball

Indian women have qualified for the Asian Olympic qualifiers to be held in January.

Shooting

No quotas in the shotgun events so far. However, there is an intense battle going on for places in the Women’s 10m Air Rifle, where India has booked the maximum 2 quotas but have 3 shooters, Apurvi Chandela, Anjum Moudgil & Elavenil Valarivan winning World Cup medals consistently.

Hockey

Indian Men & Women Teams won the Olympic test events at Tokyo. Although much should not be read into this!

Baseball – India are out of contention.

Total Qualifier Count – Sports - 3, Events – 8, Entries -12, Participants – 11.

Coming Up Next – World Championships in Wrestling, Weightlifting and Athletics. And more qualification events across the board.

P.S. Episode 7 was on time. Hopefully Episode 8 will continue the momentum!

Links: 

Road To Tokyo: Episode 6 

Road To Tokyo: Episode 6

he "Road To Tokyo" Series hits another speed bump and took a six-month hiatus! I really need to up my blogging game here! Hopefully the athletes are doing better! With just under a year to go, it’s a good time to get this series back on track!

In the past six months, India’s qualifying count has gone up into double digits from just two shooting quotas. And some progress has been made on other fronts as well.

Qualifiers

Shooting (7)

Shooters as expected have got a rich haul of Quotas. The total Quota count has risen to 7 (from 2 in January). Saurabh Chaudhary & Abhishek Verma in Men’s 10m Air Pistol, Divyansh Parmar in Men’s 10m Air Rifle, Rahi Sarnobat in Women’s 25m Air Pistol and Manu Bhaker in Women’s 10m Air Pistol have earned Quotas. Depending on final allocation, India might be eligible for participation in Mixed events as well as multiple entries for the Quota Holders as well.

Athletics (1)

KT Irfan becomes the first Indian to meet the Athletics Qualification criterion in the Men’s 20 KM Race Walk event. He had a top 10 finish in the London Games.

Archery (Team +3)

Indian Men’s Recurve team earned its quota in the Archery World Cup. Thus qualifying all 3 members to the Individual events also. 

It is still early days but the Quotas have started trickling in. The events become more hectic with more qualifiers scheduled in the coming days.

Meanwhile, both the Hockey Teams have qualified for the last stage of the Qualifiers. And Dutee Chand has won India its first ever track Gold at the Universiade. On the other hand, our Football teams are out of running.

Total: Sports - 3, Events – 8, Entries - 12, Participants – 11.

Hopefully Episode 7 will be there in a month’s time with the count increased further!

Links: Road To Tokyo: Episode 5 

Road to Tokyo: Episode 5

My Road to Tokyo series hit a speed bump. Not unexpected. But being a hobby blogger, doesn’t really affect the larger picture. Hopefully, where it actually matters, the athletes, it is all smooth sailing. Anyway, back after a 4-month hiatus with Episode 5. 

So, what has changed in the interim since the Asian Games? Well, we had the first quotas booked and some action at the Summer Youth Olympics.

Qualifiers

Anjum Moudgil & Apurvi Chandela have earned the Indian Shooting contingent 2 Quotas in the Womens 10m Air Rifle Event. However, it is the prerogative of the NRAI to decide which two shooters to award the Quota to. It depends on the form going into the Olympic year. However, well begun and we have the next set of Qualifiers for Shooting in New Delhi in February. Hopefully, home conditions will help India earn rich dividends.

Summer Youth Olympics

In the third edition Youth Olympics, India won its first Gold medal, and then added two more. To add to the sheen, these were all earned in proper Olympics events. Manu Bhaker & Saurabh Chaudhary winning Golds in respective 10m Air Pistol events while Jeremy Lalrinnunga lifted the Gold in 62 KG boys category. The young shooters’ continued golden run certainly augurs well for the future. We also got medals in Judo, Archery, Badminton and Wrestling. There were modified events in Athletics which earned medals but nothing to be read in them.

Team Sports

We are effectively out of running in Handball & Volleyball events, while the Womens Football team has made it to the next stage of the Qualifiers. 

Overall, still early days but its 2019 and jostling for Quota places will certainly hot up.

Links

• Road To Tokyo - Episode 4
• India at 2018 Summer Youth Olympics: Wikipedia 

Road To Tokyo: Episode 4

On our Road to Tokyo, we crossed another important milestone – the 18th Asian Games. It did provide a glimpse of what can be expected at Tokyo. But two years is a long time and things can change quite dramatically. Here is a short review of the Indian performance at the Games in context of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The Pre-Games Drama 

What is Indian sport without any drama in the build-up? So many athletes and even sports went to court regarding participation/selection in the Games. Shows how big a mess we are in still in the matters of sports administration! 

Tennis provided its usual drama with Leander Paes as usual in its epicenter! Paes pulled out at the very last minute expressing his unhappiness at the doubles combinations (déjà vu!!!). When will this Paes saga end? 

Meanwhile our Swimming Federation sent in wrong qualifying timings (!!!), ensuring our swimmers ended up in slower heats!

And for the Games themselves. First the Olympic events

• Shooting: Our shooters are getting younger and younger with each passing event! A good haul this time around and a whole new crop of shooters is ready to roar at the World arena.
• Athletics: Our athletes are the best amongst Asians. It was quite a weird sight, seeing India earn silver in race after race losing out to African origin athletes. Bahrain and Qatar seem to have done a good job in outsourcing their sports department! Meanwhile we continue our “niche dominance” in Women’s 4x400m relay winning our 5th consecutive Asiad Gold. Neeraj Chopra was certainly a class-apart in Javelin Throw. All four of his valid throws were way ahead of the rest of the field. What a dominating performance.
• Medals arrived in Table Tennis – our first ever. Manika Batra is definitely one to watch out for proving that the Commonwealth Games were not just a flash in the pan. And this is one sport where the Asian level is as competitive as the World stage.
• Hockey: It was a tale of missed opportunities. After hammering all and sundry, both the teams came a cropper at the critical juncture, missing out on Olympics berths. Only consolation is with Japan winning both events, an extra quota has opened up in other Qualifiers.
• Wrestling – Bajrang Punia & Vinesh are world class, while rest have to start catching up. And is it the end of road for Sushil Kumar!
• Badminton: One sport where the world level is hardly much different from the Asian level. Had our best medal haul till date. The doubles teams are improving but still not there yet. But the early loss in Men’s singles was surprising.
• Boxing: Amit Panghal defeated an Olympic champion to win the Gold, but overall the boxing contingent is slipping back.
• Rowing: A sport where we improved our medal tally and yet felt like we have underachieved! So many 4th place finishes!
• Gymnastics: No medals but a big silver lining. It’s not just Dipa Karmakar anymore. Dipa is expanding her range and there are other gymnasts making their presence felt.
• Tennis: We got back the Men’s Doubles Gold, and a couple of singles medals. 
• Sailing: A few medals, but not sure about further chances
• Equestrian: We got a medal after 36 years. Makes me wonder why we did not participate in the Olympics qualifiers also last time!
• Fencing – Pretty sure this was the first appearance of the fencing team. They did make their presence felt but can’t read much into that.
• Swimming: Like at Gold Coast, many new National records, a few finals, but nowhere in the hunt for a podium finish except for a solitary 4th place.
• The Martial Arts – Nothing of note in the Olympic sports – Judo, Karate, Taekwondo. But we picked up medals in the non-Olympic ones – Wushu & Kurash. How does somebody decide their calling as representing India in Kurash or Pencak Silat!
• Golf: Wonder why amateurs participate in Asian Games while Olympics allows pros!
• Team Sports, with the exception of Hockey & Kabaddi, are an area where India made hardly any mark. Football, Handball, Water Polo, Volleyball, Basketball – nothing to note in any of these events.
• Weightlifting: Mirabai Chanu was missed.

And for the events not in Tokyo roster.

• Kabaddi – no Golds this time. It was coming for some time, but India are now well and truly knocked off their pedestal. And just to rub salt in the wounds, Iran is claiming to be the spiritual home of Kabaddi. Will India come back or will be go down the slippery slope a la Hockey! In the Kabaddi is the real winner here!
• Bridge – Who would have imagined cards as a sport at Asian Games. Or that e-sports will be a demonstration sport with likely inclusion at the next Games!

No quotas for Tokyo earned during the Asian Games! But we have certainly identified strong potential representatives for raising the Indian flag at Tokyo in 2020. And most importantly no doping issues (so far). Thankfully!

Links:

• Road to Tokyo 2020 Episode 3
• India at Asian Games 2018 – Wikipedia

Road To Tokyo: Episode 3

After a 3 month gap (frequency is getting better), presenting the 3rd episode in the “Road to Tokyo” series. This episode will focus on the changes made in the events roster since Rio (there have been quite a few).

According to Mr. Thomas Bach, the IOC President, the changes have been made to make the Games “more youthful, more urban and include more women”. Based on the above philosophy, following changes were made in the Events List

New Sports

5 Sports have been added to the Olympic roster, specifically for Tokyo, taking the overall count to 33 – Baseball (for Men) & Softball (for Women), Karate (4 weight categories each for men & women), Sport Climbing (2 events), Surfing (2 events), and Skateboarding (4 events).

Existing Sports - Further many of the existing disciplines have undergone changes

• Archery –Mixed Team Event has been added.
• Athletics – Mixed Relay Race (4x400m) has been added.
• Basketball – 3x3 events added for both Men & Women
• Boxing – 8 weight classes for Men (against 10 in Rio) & 5 weight classes for women (3 in Rio)
• Cycling – BMX Freestyle & Omnium events added, while Madison has been dropped (I have absolutely no idea what any of these means!)
• Fencing – 2 Team events are added, Foil for Men & Sabre for women (again no clue)
• Judo – Mixed Team event added.
• Shooting – 3 men only events Double Trap, 50m Rifle Prone & 50m Pistol ave been dropped. Mixed pair events have been added in 10m Air Rifle, 10m Air Pistol & Trap. (The events with the most interest for India)
• Swimming – Events added – 4x100m Mixed Medley relay, 800m Freestyle for Men & 1500m Freestyle for Women.
• Table Tennis – Mixed Doubles event has been added.
• Triathalon – Mixed Team relay event has been added.
• Weightlifting – 1 Weight category for Men has been dropped.

Overall, medal events have increased to 339 from 306 at Rio. Of the many changes made, Indian interests would lie mainly in areas like Mixed Archery, Boxing & Shooting.

Later this month, we have the Asian Games coming up. Apart from gauging our preparedness for Tokyo, they also serve as the first qualifying events in some of the disciplines e.g. Hockey, handball, Archery, & Karate. Hopefully by the end of the Games, the Indian qualifying tally for Tokyo would have opened up.

Meanwhile, on a personal note, a few days back had the privilege of attending a session by Abhinav Bindra, our only individual Gold medalist. It was inspiring and fun! Bindra’s key message – take up a sport as a hobby and also follow sports and not just during the time of big events! So this is me, doing my tiny bit to keep the interests in our Olympic sports running!

Next edition of “Road To Tokyo” will have updates from the Asian Games. Till next time!

Links

• Road To Tokyo - Episode 2
• Tokyo 2020: Mixed-gender events added to Olympic Games: BBC 
• Number of events in Tokyo – Official Site

Road To Tokyo: Episode 2

It's been eight months since I wrote the first episode in the "Road To Tokyo" series (which still comprises of that solitary post. Marvel folks make movies faster!). Had promised myself that I would write more regularly about India's preparations for the next Olympics at Tokyo in 2020. For different reasons, mainly general laziness and other distractions competing for the limited resource, that is time, somehow was not able to complete my second post so far. 

Originally had planned for the second episode to be about the changes made to the events schedule from Rio (and there have been a lot). However, while I dilly-dallied in my write-up, we witnessed our first big event in the "Road to Tokyo", the XXI Commonwealth Games (CWG) at Gold Coast, Australia. So instead, chose to write on India's performance at Gold Coast and what we should read from it. 

To be honest, we focus too much on the CWG. I guess, primarily due lots of medals pouring in from every direction during the course of the Games, a rare sight for an Indian sports fan at any multi-disciplinary event. However, given the overall level of competition it should be treated just as we treat the frequent tri-nation cricket tournaments. A feel-good factor on winning but it is not the World Cup or Champions Trophy. In my opinion, the CWG are a good warm-up event for the Olympics. Given their timing, two years before the Olympics, they also provide an opportunity to evaluate and undertake mid-course corrections in the four-year journey. 

So what can we take out from India’s performance? India won 26 Golds, 20 Silvers and 20 Bronze medals to finish 3rd in the medals table. This was a marked improvement from Glasgow where we had 15 Golds, 30 Silvers & 19 Bronze Medals to finish 5th. The increase in the Gold medal count was especially heartening to see. 

Amongst the sports which are a part of the Tokyo roster, India got medals from seven major disciplines - Shooting, Weightlifting, Wrestling, Boxing, Badminton, Table Tennis and Athletics. We also got medals in Squash, but that didn’t make the cut for Tokyo. 

• Shooting – We dominate this event at the CWG. And that is why there is such a hue and cry that the next edition in Birmingham will not feature Shooting. There have been even calls to boycott the Games totally if Shooting is not included (totally ridiculous IMO). But back to the current Games. While India extended their dominance, what was heartening to see was the performance of the new generation of Indian shooters some of whom are still in school! Manu Bhaker, Anish Bhanwala, Mehuli Ghosh are still in their teens and shooting world records. Hopefully they can up their game further through more exposure and wipe off the agony off the Rio Games. Seems that NRAI’s self-introspection post-Rio is giving results. 
• Weightlifting – Thankfully, India’s performers are clean now and the overhanging cloud of drugs has dissipated. Mirabai Chanu is the current World Champion and just blew off the competition. In fact, she lifted more than the winner of the next higher weight category. Certainly a contender at Tokyo. Rest of the contingent continued India’s good run at the Games. 
• Wrestling – India sent 12 wrestlers, all of whom returned with a medal. Maybe some of the female wrestlers could have done better. But nothing much should be read in the performances except that Sushil Kumar is still a force to be reckoned with. 
• Boxing – A marked improvement from Glasgow as all eight men returned with medals. Women’s front was slightly disappointing, however, Mary Kom got her 1st CWG Gold. 
• Badminton – India were expected to dominate and that’s exactly what they did. There is still scope for improvement though, which Gopichand and company would already have begun working on. Great to see an India vs India Final as Saina Nehwal defeated PV Sindhu to win the Gold. 
• Table Tennis – Manika Batra was the break-out star for India with 4 medals including two Golds while consistently beating higher ranked opponents. Only time would tell if the Gold Coast Games are an inflexion point in Indian Table Tennis and if Manika can become a trail-blazer like Saina. 
• Athletics – Neeraj Chopra lived up to the hype and delivered a Gold. He is still 20 and hopefully will only improve further. Mohammed Anas broke the National Record in 400m finals and finished 4th, showing how far behind we are from the world standards. Hima Das is certainly one to watch out for in the near future. 
• There were a few National records set in Swimming, but we were nowhere in contention for a medal. While in Gymnastics, Aruna Reddy couldn’t replicate her World Cup medal winning form. 

Now for the lows 

• The poor performance by the Hockey teams, both of whom finished 4th in the competition. Really need to pull up their socks. Bigger challenges are coming in the year ahead including World Cups and Asian Games. 
• Doping – While no athlete was caught doping, the Indian contingent had not one but two violations of the “no needle” policy. Two athletes were even sent back. This is a crying shame and worse than poor performance on the field. Hopefully, the athletes, coaches and management are made better aware of the rules and regulations and we do not see a repeat of such things. 

Overall Gold Coast was a happy hunting ground for the Indian contingent. But the real test is to come in Asian Games later this year. Also, qualifications for quite a few of the disciplines would begin in earnest. And that’s when we would well and truly be on the Road to Tokyo! 

Links: 

• Road To Tokyo, Episode 1
• India at 2018 Commonwealth Games, Wikipedia

Road to Tokyo

A day after the National Sports Day. Couldn’t think of a more apt day to finally publish this post which has been in the works for quite some time now.

Just under three years to go before the next Olympics at Tokyo. It’s the Olympics. So it’s never too early to prepare for the big event, even if you are just a fan sitting at your home. 

Nearly a year has passed since the Rio Olympics. The Indian performance was a little underwhelming, especially coming after the relative high of the London Games. We had sent our biggest contingent ever, but the final result was a big letdown although there were quite a few last step heart-breaks as well.

Rio produced its own fair share of “stars” – PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik, Dipa Karmakar, Lalita Babar et al. But with the exception of Sindhu, the rest have seemingly disappeared from the sporting arena (if you go by the media following). There were mega felicitations for the big winners, but then what next? Most of the Olympic sports have been seemingly forgotten and disappeared from the public eye. Probably to re-appear just before the next Olympics. Badminton being the sole exception – thanks to sterling performances by the players.

Why this apathy for sports other than Cricket (and to a certain extent Badminton and Hockey). As Joy Bhattacharya writes in this article, we tend to follow the stars and not the sports. And that is precisely why our performances at the biggest stages seems so underwhelming. 

Meanwhile, me, the self-described sports tragic had decided to regularly update this blog with features on Olympic sports (from an Indian perspective). Had envisaged a monthly frequency for the updates, progressing to fortnightly and weekly in the run-up to the Games. However, it took one whole year, to bring the first post in this series! 

First a look back at the year gone by!

Post Rio, the Government announced the creation of a task force for the next three Olympics. Probably the first time ever, we seemed to be planning for the long term and not just the next event. However, the results will only show in due course. Yet, it did begin with the right intent. 

Meanwhile, NRAI, one of the better managed national bodies, immediately set up an independent inquiry to assess the Rio performance. And came out with a recommendations too, and all this in an open manner. Something which the other sporting bodies should also have done. [At least, I haven’t heard of any such enquires by any of the other federations]. (NRAI Introspection Report)

Rio presented its share of controversies. Most notably the Narsingh Yadav doping scandal, OP Jaisha’s racing controversy, Anirban Lahiri’s accusations of official apathy. All that’s water under the bridge, but hopefully the task force has taken note. Doping headlines become a national embarrassment and make the low medal count appear even more shameful. 

But what next? The medals cost money. Just look at how much Great Britain spends invests on the Olympic sports - by some estimates nearly ~5.5 Mn Pounds per medal. That is a huge amount. And the money has yielded results. From 1 Gold in 1996 to 27 in 2016. 

Well, India might not be able to fund this much (from its current sports budget anyway). But we can open up alternate revenue options. Why not legalise sports betting? And put all the revenues earned into development of sports at grassroots and dedicated training for the top performers. A side-advantage is betting agencies are also becoming good at detecting match-fixing. (e.g. Tennis). But given the “ethical” issues involved, it may not be the most palatable solution. Guess we have to stick with corporate sponsorships for now.

At the Olympics, the margin between fame and anonymity is very fine. Every little thing matters. Hopefully, actions taken from the task force recommendations might be good enough to bridge that gap.

The multiple World Championships held during the last year have brought mixed results. Badminton is good, Shooting is dicey (as always), Athletics failed to live upto the usual hype in the run-up, Wrestling drew a blank slate (the biggest disappointment), while Boxing is looking better again. Hopefully these are looked at more as preparations for the big event coming in 3 years time.

So to the question of What Can I (an average fan) Do? 

Well, as a starter follow more sports. 

• Want to know where Indian sportspersons are participating - follow this guy on Twitter. There's no one better!
• Build your own sports calendar for upcoming events. Wikipedia helps here as well with a couple of dedicated pages for current and upcoming events 
• Watch more games in the stadium. And not just the big ones
• If you can, make a monetary contribution to causes like Olympic Gold Quest.
• Cheer for our performers on social media. (It raises the profile of the game e.g. Our women’s cricket team) 

Just a starter. Next episode (hopefully soon) will cover the event changes changes from Rio to Tokyo