The possible dream

THE INDIAN CONTINGENT WILL BE LOOKING TO EQUAL OR BETTER THE SIX-MEDAL HAUL AT LONDON 2012, AND IT HAS A HANDFUL OF CONTENDERS

- NEERU BHATIA

Tokyo 2020 is different. Not just because of the restrictions at venues. Covid-19 has also resulted in many athletes going into the world’s biggest sporting event without sufficient competitions or test events. For Team India, too, the lockdowns were tough; training, even more so. But, for 17 days, the athletes will strive to shift the focus of the nation from the grim to the glorious.

The 228-member contingent—117 athletes and 111 officials—is looking to better the two medals won at Rio 2016. But the real target is to match or better the six-medal haul at London 2012. While shooting is expected to deliver the most medals, there are expectations in other disciplines, too—men’s hockey, badminton, boxing, wrestling, javelin throw, and, perhaps most notably, weightlifting.

The hopes of a weightlifting medal are shouldered by the 4’11” frame of Saikhom Mirabai Chanu. At Rio 2016, a 21-year-old Chanu failed to lift any of her three attempts in clean and jerk in the 48kg category. But, five years on, she is wiser, fitter, an Asian Games and Commonwealth Games (2018) medallist, a world champion and a world record holder.

A lower back issue in 2018, plus the lockdown in 2020 seemed to have derailed her preparation for Tokyo, but the postponement of the Olympics helped. The Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Target Olympic Podium Scheme facilitated a stint in the US for her to work on strength and conditioning. She went from not being able to lift two days in a row to lifting twice a day.