When every sports fan begins and ends with the feats of Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, straying on occasion to Luis Suarez and Arjen Robben's grim goalscoring, the achievement of the 119 players who overcame extraordinary challenges to qualify for the Olympics is bound to be largely ignored.
But, get this: not only is this the largest ever Indian squad to the Olympics, it's also been predicted by Goldman Sachs, no less, to be in line for winning eight medals. Of course, we all know that the men's hockey, shooting, and badminton stars are likely winners, but away from them there are also a number of dark-horses, who on their day are capable of snatching a medal from the fancied folks. Who are they?
Dipa Karmakar: Gymnastics, Women’s Vaulting Table
The title of Gymnaste de Classe Mondaile or World Class Gymnast tells its own story. The gold pin, given by the International Gymnastics Federation for the stupendous honour, will stand as an inspiring journey to all youngsters in India.
From a flat-footed child to the first woman gymnast to qualify for the Olympics from India after finishing fifth in the World Championships, Dipa Karmakar stands as the epitome of achieving surreal feats. Being only one of the five women gymnasts to have successfully attempted the life-threatening Produnova vault, which has a difficulty rating of 7.0 and is the toughest vault ever, the 22-year-old is a figure of resolve and utmost focus.
Discarding the fear of a ripped spine that an unsuccessful Produnova vault brings, Karmakar has arched her way to 77 medals, including a mammoth 67 golds. With skills and talent brimming from each pore, Karmakar represents one of India’s outrageous hopes for a medal at Rio.
Women’s Archery Team
The Indian women’s recurve archery team set foot on the soils of Marica, a coastal city near Rio, almost a month ago, in order to acclimatise to the tough conditions and deal with pressure practice situations, in a bid to avoid the heartbreak they faced four years ago. The team, led by contender Deepika Kumari, comprising the experienced Bombayla Devi and debutant Laxmirani Majhi, grabbed a Rio quota after snatching the silver medal at the Archery World Cup, despite being ranked a lowly 11th.
Having roped in a sports psychologist to tackle the demons of the mind, the squad will be aiming to finish amongst the top 4 in the qualification round, i order to gain a bye into the quarter-finals. With Devi shooting first up and Deepika, who equalled the world record in the World Cup, essaying the role of a finisher, the 4th-ranked troika will be hoping to cover the absence of the men’s recurve team by aiming for the perfect 60.
Ayonika Paul: Shooting, Women’s 10m air rifle
With shooting fetching four medals, including gold, in the last three editions of the Olympics, the onus is once again on the shooting contingent to make India proud in Rio. Mining a rich vein of form, Jitu Rai, Gagan Narang and Abhinav Bindra have inspired hopes of returning home after scripting historic wins.
Among this experienced squad stands Ayonika Paul, whose controlled aggression and insatiable hunger for the big league has won her an Olympic appearance. Despite having missed London 2012 by a whisker, Paul is no alien to the podium, having won silver at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014 and at the Asia Olympic Qualifying Competition this year, which helped her secure the berth to Rio.
A bronze medalist at the World Championships in 2014 cannot be overlooked, and the 23-year-old, along with Apurvi Chandela, will be hoping to be on the podium.
Prathana Thombare/Sania Mirza: Tennis, Women’s doubles
Having the world’s top ranked doubles player as your partner can be both an advantage and a liability. With most eyes fixed on the men's doubles pair of Rohan Bopanna and Leander Paes, and, of course, on Sania Mirza, 22-year-old Prarthana Thombare stands as the outsider, hoping to replicate Martina Hingis’s calm maturity as Mirza's partner in her maiden Olympics.
Selected on the back of strong performances as a pair with Mirza, including three wins out of four in the Federation Cup, and an Asiad bronze at Incheon two years ago, Thombare has to rise above herself to match her partner. In a field which comprises the dangerous William sisters and French Open winners Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic, the duo will be required to present their strongest strategies on court. However, Mirza’s experience and Thombare’s resilience will make them tough competitors.
Sandeep Tomar: Wrestling, 57 kg Men’s Freestyle
Having grappled his way to medal-winning performances in every competition abroad that he has participated in, Sandeep Tomar is a distinct medal prospect in a sport in which India has done well at the Olympics. After defeating two-time world champion Sezar Agkul of Turkey in the World Olympic Qualifying Tournament and bagging the bronze medal, the 25-year-old Tomar will hope to add to the tally of three medals that wrestlers have fetched for India from the last two Olympics.
Gurmeet Singh: Athletics, 20 km walk
Although India is fielding 35 players in athletics, the chances of a medal, not surprisingly, are practically non-existent. While Vikas Gowda (shot put) and Seema Antil (discus) may seem the best bets for a noteworthy finish, it's Gurmeet Singh who might just end up as the best performer in the field.
Having clocked 1:21:24.57 at the National Championships, bettering the previous held record by almost three minutes, Singh has his eyes set on dramatically improving on his 33rd position finish at London. The first Indian in over three and a half decades to clinch gold in the 20km walk at the Asian Championships in March, he withstood a stiff challenge by Japan’s Isamu Fujisawa over the last five kilometres.
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