India are taking 117 athletes to the Paris Olympics. Not everyone is an outright medal contender, but that doesn’t mean they will be mere tourists at the Games. It’s a dream opportunity and they all will give their best. Who knows, a few of them may surprise us.

Equestrianism

Anush Agarwalla will be India’s lone representative in equestrian in Paris. He will compete in the dressage event, India’s first-ever entry in the discipline at the Olympics. Indian equestrians have previously competed in the eventing categories.

It has been a dream run since September for the Calcutta boy who was one among the quartet who bagged the country’s first-ever Asian Games dressage gold in Hangzhou. He then bagged a bronze in the individual dressage too, once again a first for India in individual dressage at the Asian Games.

As he gears up to compete in Paris, Agarwalla, who trains in Paderborn in Germany, is not worried about the results. He just wants to “fly” with his horse Sir Caramello Old when he enters the arena.

“In sports, it can’t get any bigger than the Olympics. It has been my childhood dream to represent my country at
the Olympics and now that dream is nearing fulfilment. I cannot put my emotions into words,” he said.

The contingent

Dressage: Anush Agarwalla

Table tennis

India will compete in the men’s and women’s table tennis team events at the Olympics for the first time after climbing into the top 16 in the rankings.

Commonwealth Games medallist Sharath Kamal and world No. 24 Manika Batra will spearhead the team events, respectively.

Sharath, Harmeet Desai and Manav Thakkar will form the three-member men’s team, while Manika, Sreeja Akula and Archana Kamath form the women’s team.

The Indian paddlers have had success at the Commonwealth Games but have failed to match that at the Olympics and Asian Games. However, their qualification for the team events has renewed hopes of a first-ever Olympic medal in the sport.

Wiser after her appearance in Tokyo, Manika (ranked 28) said she is focused on taking it one match at a time and a medal will not be on her mind in the initial rounds.

“I have learned many things from the last Olympics, and I am not going to make those mistakes again. I have been working on my stamina and my agility, and my ultimate aim is to challenge for a medal.”

The contingent

Men: Sharath Kamal, Harmeet Desai, Manav Thakkar. Alternate Player: G. Sathiyan.

Women: Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula, Archana Kamath. Alternate Player: Ayhika Mukherjee.

Tennis

A three-man Indian contingent will compete in the tennis events at Roland Garros.

Sumit Nagal is India’s sole entrant in singles. The main man in the contingent, however, is veteran Rohan Bopanna. The former world No. 1 doubles player earned a direct entry into the draw by virtue of being a top 10 player on the day of the cut-off — he was ranked No. 4 at the time. As a result of being in the top 10, he was allowed to pick any partner of his choice. He chose N. Sriram Balaji.

Bopanna was faced with the tricky task of selecting between Yuki Bhambri (ranked 54) and Balaji (No. 67). He opted for Balaji who is stronger on clay. “I felt Balaji, depending on the surface we’re playing with, would be the ideal partner,” Bopanna said.

Nagal is the first Indian since Leander Paes in Sydney 2000 to compete in successive men’s singles events at the Olympics.

This time, however, it is in men’s doubles where India have a better chance of finishing on the podium.

The contingent

Men’s singles: Sumit Nagal

Men’s doubles: Rohan Bopanna and N. Sriram Balaji

Weightlifting

At the Tokyo Olympics, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu opened India’s medals tally on the very first day of competitions. She achieved a combined lift of 202kg, securing a silver medal in the 49kg event, becoming only the second Indian weightlifter to win an Olympic medal after Karnam Malleswari.

There was a lot of uncertainty over her participation for Paris after she suffered a severe hip joint injury during the Asian Games in September 2023 when she was advised to rest for five months. But she recovered in time to secure her spot in Paris, for what will be her third Olympic appearance.

The contingent

49kg: Saikhom Mirabai Chanu