It is official. India will be sending their biggest ever contingent for the Olympics to be held in London from July 27. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Monday submitted the final list of 81 athletes in 13 disciplines who will represent India at the quadrennial mega-event. India had sent 57 athletes in 12 disciplines for the Beijing Games four years ago.
Monday was the last day for the National Olympic Committees to submit the final list of athletes to the organising committee. Hosts Great Britain will have the most number of athletes (542) at the Games.
Hockey, which accounts for 16 players, is the only team event in which India have qualified. In individual events, the maximum number of qualified sportspersons are from athletics (14), followed by shooting and boxing with 11 and eight, respectively.
The focus now turns to performance. The mood ahead of the Games is positive. In Abhinav Bindra, Ronjan Sodhi, Deepika Kumari, Saina Nehwal and Vijender Singh, India have never had so many world-beaters in their ranks before. Perhaps, that is the reason why many expect the athletes to return with a record medal haul.
Sending a big contingent, however, does not necessarily mean the medal count will improve.
“If you look at our contingent, you’ll notice that there are so many athletes who have qualified by achieving the ‘A’ standard. There are more world champions so there is a lot of confidence. So it is obvious that the expectations are sky high this time,” Muralidhar Raja, the contingent’s deputy chef de mission, told DNA.
Raja, who is also secretary general of the Indian Boxing
Federation, has a word of caution though. “We have a chance in archery, badminton, boxing, shooting, tennis, wrestling… when have we expected medals in so many disciplines? There is a realistic chance of winning a medal in each of these sports. But no one can predict what will happen on that particular day,” he said.
In order to get accustomed to the fickle London weather, the first batch of athletes – rowers –is likely to check in to the Games Village on July 15 - 12 days before the event starts. The others will reach in batches.
“Some officials will leave on July 14 to make all the arrangements. The athletes will most likely start arriving in London from July 15 onwards,” Raja said.
