Few of India's athletes are strong the favourites to be among the medals going into the 2024 Paris Olympics. Neeraj Chopra, Mirabai Chanu and PV Sindhu have already shown medal success in previous Olympics while the likes of Nikhat Zareen, Antim Panghal and Sift Kaur Samra will aim to climb the hallowed podium in their debut Olympic campaigns.
But the path to the podium isn't easy and these athletes will have to overcome the very best in the world to get there. So, before the Paris Olympics begin, here are the key rivals that India's medal hopefuls will have to get past.
Neeraj Chopra vs Jakub Vadlejch and Arshad Nadeem
Neeraj Chopra, the world champion and defending Olympic champion, is a big favourite to repeat his Tokyo gold medal heroics in Paris but as with everything related to the Olympics, it won't be easy.
Chopra will face tough competition from his two rivals for the gold: Czechia's Jakub Vadlejch and Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem. Along with Chopra, Vadlejch [who won silver in Tokyo] is one of the most consistent javelin throwers over the last couple of years. He pipped Chopra at the Doha Diamond League this season and recently finished on top at the European Athletics Championships.
Meanwhile, Nadeem took the silver at last year's World Championships behind Chopra. He may not be as consistent as Vadlejch and Chopra, but on his day, Nadeem can surprise and beat the best. Nadeem has already breached the 90m mark, which Chopra hasn't done yet.
Path to Paris: Neeraj Chopra. He's already done everything, but he's not done yet
Indian men's hockey team vs Australia
Over the last two decades, no team has humbled the Indian men's hockey team more than Australia. Their recent history has been a huge spot of bother for India - at the last Olympics, before they won bronze, India lost 7-1 in a group-stage match to the Aussies. At the 2022 Commonwealth Games final, Australia beat India 7-0 and more recently, handed India a 5-0 loss in April.
India might face the Aussies twice at the Paris Olympics, first in the group stage which will be crucial to their progress into the quarterfinal and later if both teams make it to the semifinals. India's medal route most likely have to go through the Australian route.
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PV Sindhu vs Chen Yu Fei
Sindhu will want to do the unprecedented in Paris - become the first Indian athlete to win three individual medals at the Olympics. Considering her history and big-tournament prowess, she has the calibre but to get there she will have to upset the world no. 2 and second seed Chen Yufei of China.
Sindhu has been drawn into a comfortable group, which consists of Estonia's Kristin Kuuba (world no 75) and Maldives' Fathimath Nabaaha Abdul Razzaq (world no 111). She's expected to top the group and face He Bing Jiao in the Round of 16, who she had beaten to the bronze at the Tokyo Games.
Her potential opponent in the semifinal is Yufei, who has been in good form coming into the Olympics as compared to Sindhu's inconsistent run. The head-to-head record says six wins each for both players but in their most recent meeting at this year's French Open, a quarterfinal clash, Yufei beat Sindhu in three games.
Path to Paris: Forget form, forget everything... it's time for big-game PV Sindhu
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty vs Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang
The World no. 3 badminton doubles pair Satwik-Chirag are another big medal hope for India at the 2024 Olympics. They have been placed in a relatively easy group along with the world no. 6 Indonesian pair of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto, against whom the Indian pair have a better head-to-head record. The group also includes world no. 31 Mark Lamsfuss and Marvin Seidel of Germany and world no. 43 Lucas Corvee and Ronan Labar of France.
Satwik-Chirag's biggest challengers are the top seeds from China - Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang. The Indian pair have only won once against the Chinese opponents and lost five, including their last three matches. The expectation for Satwik-Chirag is to win the gold and for that, they will have to overcome the challenge from Liang and Wang.
Path to Paris: After historic 2023, 'hungry' Sat-Chi embrace pressure, master the mind games
Mirabai Chanu vs Hou Zhihui
Mirabai Chanu is already an Indian sporting legend thanks to her silver medal-winning exploits at Tokyo and multiple medals at the Worlds. Despite injuries in recent times, Mirabai is a top contender for a medal in the 49kg category in Paris but for a gold, she will have to battle it out against a serial winner in China's Hou Zhihui.
Serial winner is an understatement for Zhihui, who has set as many as 11 world records in her senior career. She clinched the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, holds the world record in snatch and the Olympic record in both snatch and clean and jerk. It's going to be a huge task for Mirabai to go beyond Zhihui's total in Paris.
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Antim Panghal vs Akari Fujinami
Panghal has a bronze medal at the 2023 Worlds and became the first Indian wrestler (in 53kg) to book a place at the Paris Olympics. She's seeded fourth in the field and avoids facing world champion and massive favourite Akari Fujinami of Japan in the initial round.
If she lives up to her reputation and ability, Panghal should make it to the final where she will be up against Fujinami, who's a force to be reckoned with. The Japanese wrestler hasn't lost a bout since 2017, when she was beaten in a national school competition.
Lovlina Borgohain vs Li Qian
Borgohain is looking to make history in Paris by becoming the first boxer to win two Olympic medals. She's already a world champion in her 75kg category, having won the gold medal in 2023 in Delhi.
Her biggest opponent, and the one she could face in the quarterfinals is China's Li Qian. Borgohain defeated Qian in the semifinals of the 2023 Worlds, but then lost her last two bouts against the Chinese boxer, including in the final of the Asian Games. Qian is also a multiple Olympic medal winner, bagging silver in 2020 Tokyo and a bronze in Rio four years earlier.
Path to Paris: The spotlight, and Olympic history, beckon Lovlina Borgohain
Nikhat Zareen vs Buse Naz Cakiroglu
Nikhat will make her Olympic debut in Paris, but she's already a two-time world champion and has been India's best boxer over the last two years. Her main rival for a medal in Paris will be Turkey's Buse Naz Cakiroglu.
In fact, as part of her preparation for Paris, Nikhat sparred with Cakiroglu in Turkey and said the Turkish boxer is her 'biggest challenge'. Back in 2022 at the Strandja Memorial, Nikhat faced Cakiroglu and beat her 4-1. But Cakiroglu has multiple Worlds medals and won silver at Tokyo 2020. Nikhat is also unseeded, so she's likely to face Cakiroglu in the earlier rounds.
Path to Paris: Why Nikhat Zareen wants that Olympic medal - and has a good shot at it
Vinesh Phogat vs Yui Susaki
Phogat doesn't have an Olympic medal yet, but she has already done so much for Indian wrestling, on and off the mat. Like Nikhat, she also is not seeded at the Paris Games, which means she could be in for a tough ride.
She will not know her opponents until the day before her competition and could face Japan's Yui Susaki in the opening round. Susaki is a legend on the mat, winning the gold back in Tokyo without conceding a point and is also a four-time world champion. Susaki has only lost thrice since 2015, all of them to compatriot Yuki Irie. Oh, and Vinesh has beaten Irie once.
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Sift Kaur Samra vs Han Jiayu and Zhang Qiongyue
The 22-year-old Indian shooter is already an Asian Games gold medallist, winning the top prize in the women's 50m rifle 3 positions. She has performed consistently in domestic trials and also won a bronze medal at this year's Munich World Cup.
Her tough opponents in the event are the Chinese shooters Han Jiayu and Zhang Qiongyue. Both Qiongyue and Jiayu have won medals at the World Championships last year.
Another rival and a strong contender for Sift would be Great Britain's Seonaid McIntosh, who has three gold medals in Shooting World Cups in 2024.