It’s early days into the Olympic yr, however what’s an Olympic yr with no bunch of “way too early” predictions? India completed with seven medals at Tokyo and can head to the Paris Games with an assortment of Olympic medallists and world champions, every of them hungry to determine themselves on the world’s grandest sporting occasion.

With seven months to go for the 2024 Paris Olympics, listed below are ESPN India’s predictions on who will climb the rostrum.

[Note.- this gives us a chance to scream “We told you so!” when these athletes win a medal]

Neeraj Chopra

The most evident alternative, an absolute no-brainer. But what color will the medal be? That’s when issues get difficult. Neeraj is the world’s most constant javelin thrower surely, however he isn’t the farthest thrower. That’s when the competitors steps in: Johannes Vetter, Anderson Peters, Arshad Nadeem and Jakub Vadlejch – all 4 have thrown additional than. But once more, Neeraj has crushed every of those males.

What it finally boils down is how effectively you throw on the ultimate day and Neeraj has accomplished swimmingly effectively in that division thus far. An 88.58m throw received him gold at Tokyo. Could he go additional this time? Maybe be a part of the elite 90m membership? We dare to dream.

PV Sindhu

A medal on the Olympics would make Sindhu the primary Indian ever to win three Olympic particular person medals. But it does come throughout as a tricky ask, particularly contemplating the yr Sindhu had in 2023. She made first-round exits in eight of the 19 tournaments she performed and completed with no single title. Her finest was a runner-up end on the Madrid Masters again in March. She has battled accidents since her bronze at Tokyo and is at present recovering from a knee harm, however she must discover a well past all of it to climb the rostrum in Paris.

Nikhat Zareen

Nikhat was unbeaten for practically two years till she misplaced within the Asian Games semifinal final yr. That ought to just about let you know simply how good she is. She is a two-time world champion, a Commonwealth Games champion and one of many sport’s most supreme boxers in her weight class. For lengthy, she plied her commerce below Mary Kom’s shadows. But now she is the favorite to one-up Mary and obtain one thing no Indian boxer has: win an Olympic gold.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty

If there’s anybody who can win India’s first Olympic gold in badminton, it is Satwik and Chirag. The swashbuckling duo come into the Olympic yr on the again of one of the best season of their careers: they received the Asian Games, Indonesia Open Super 1000, Badminton Asia Championships and attained the World #1 rank – every of those a primary for Indian badminton.

Aged 23 and 26, this can be a giant-slaying duo that performs a fearless fashion of badminton and fears no opposition. They bagged 5 titles in 2023, but in addition made 4 first-round and as many second-round exits. Remaining constant can be their aim of the yr, but when there’s one factor we learn about this crew, it is that they flip it up a notch after they’re below stress.

Indian males’s hockey crew

Bronze in 2021, a different-colored medal in 2024? The Indian males’s hockey crew acquired off to the worst attainable begin final yr by ending ninth within the World Cup India hosted. The future appeared bleak. But they regrouped effectively to stay undefeated and elevate the Asian Champions Trophy and Asian Games trophies. The Asian Games triumph additionally sealed their berth on the Paris Games, giving them ample time to focus simply on coaching with out the fear of getting to qualify.

The present crew contains a wholesome mixture of veteran stars and younger blood they usually play a refreshing model of hockey, however might want to deal with clutch conditions higher if they’re to revive the golden days of Indian hockey.

Lovlina Borgohain

Lovlina was the one Indian boxer to clinch a medal on the Tokyo Olympics and can look to make it 2/2 at Paris. She has moved up a weight class from the 69kg to 75kg class and has proven loads of promise: Lovlina is the world champion within the class and in addition an Asian Games silver medallist.

She had a little bit of a lull put up Tokyo however delivered when mattered probably the most in 2023 to show her mettle. Lovlina has an opportunity to enter an elite membership: to turn into the primary Indian boxer to win a number of medals. Going by the shape she has been in, that might very effectively turn into a actuality.

Vinesh Phogat

A medal in Paris would cement Vinesh’s credentials as arguably India’s best feminine wrestler. Vinesh has been an Asian and Commonwealth champion [thrice, at that!] and received two bronzes on the World Championships, however an Olympic medal has eluded her in each her makes an attempt. In 2016, she left the mat on a stretcher after hurting her knee and in 2021 she simply was not adequate.

Going into 2024, the percentages stay stacked in opposition to her: she is recovering from knee surgical procedure, has not competed in practically a yr and stays one of many outstanding faces of the protest in opposition to the wrestling administration. But not like her compatriots Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, she doesn’t have an Olympic medal in her kitty. If she will placed on blinkers and energy herself to a medal, that may be nothing wanting one of many best moments in India’s sporting historical past.

Mirabai Chanu

Mirabai wouldn’t need to look again at her 2023 – she was riddled with accidents and completed sixth on the Asian Weightlifting Championships, skipped the World Championships, earlier than a fourth-place end on the Asian Games. That final competitors ended together with her being lifted off the lifting platform after she injured her thigh.

It’s no lie that the Tokyo Olympics silver-medallist faces some ultra-strong competitors in Paris – North Korea’s Ri Songgum [two-time Asian champion], China’s Jiang Huihua [four-time world champion] and reigning Olympic champion Hou Zhihui. But Mirabai can nonetheless medal if she matches her private finest, and even transcend.

Sreeshankar Murali

This Indian lengthy jumper was ranked world #4 within the record of finest jumps in 2023. He’s hovered across the main medals however hasn’t fairly delivered on the large stage but. But based mostly on his run final yr, he is well-placed to scale the rostrum in Paris. Sreeshankar received silver on the Asian Games and Asian Athletics Championships, however has struggled to duplicate comparable success on the world stage. The ache of failure from the Tokyo Olympics continues to drive him and he is taken a vow to not eat his favorite meals parotta till he wins an Olympic medal.

It’s a correct high-quality area of rivals he’s up in opposition to, however that ought to not forestall him from going all the way in which. All that he wants is to search out his rhythm on the given day.