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India’s quest for a record medal tally in the ongoing Olympics has received a much-needed fillip with ace shooter Manu Bhaker winning two bronze medals, ending a 12-year-long drought of medals from the shooting range. In the process she has become the first Indian to win two medals in the same Olympics. It is beyond a doubt that Manu’s success will inspire the Indian contingent at the games to go all out for a podium finish. Already, captain of the Indian men’s hockey team Harmanpreet Singh has vowed to fight till the end to emulate Manu. Similar sentiments have been expressed by other sports persons who are waiting for their events to start. With nearly half of the events still to go, the country is hoping for a double-figure medal tally at the Paris Olympics. Thus far, India’s best show in the Olympics was in Tokyo four years ago when the country managed to win seven medals including one Gold.
Sceptics argue that the country should not to indulge in speculation as Indian sportspersons lack consistency, citing the fact that despite managing to win six medals in 2012 London Olympics, India performed miserably in the Rio Olympics and managed to win only two medals. The other bright spot in India’s Rio campaign was Dipa Karmakar, the Northeastern athlete who narrowly missed a medal by finishing fourth in Gymnastics. Barring this trio, no other sportspersons managed to put up a notable performance, though the country expected a much better show after the impressive performance in the London Olympics.
The difficulty of winning an Olympic medal can be judged from the fact that over 10,000 athletes from nearly 200 countries participate in this multi-discipline sporting event. As the very best sporting talents participate in the event to win the highest laurels in the sporting world where a decimal point can make the difference between a win or loss, forget about medals, even simply qualifying to participate means a lot. Success in the Olympics largely depends on a variety of factors including training, dedication, coaches, support system and mental grit among others. Apart from shooting where medal prospect Sift Kaur Samra made an entry to the range, India is hopeful to win medals in Athletics, Weightlifting, Hockey, Boxing and Badminton. Neeraj Chopra, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, Lovlina Borgohain, P. V. Sindhu, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty among others carry the hopes and dreams of Indians everywhere. The nation is also positive about both the men and women 4X400 meter relay team, who have been consistently performing well. So, India is optimistic about a good show in the ongoing Paris Olympics, but only time will tell India’s final tally.