A total of 120 Indian athletes – 67 Men and 53 Women – will compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics across different disciplines with the objective of winning a medal for their country and etching their name in the history books. The 2020 Summer Games are scheduled to begin on July 23, 2021, and will be played until August 8, 2021, as the multi-nation event was postponed amid the coronavirus pandemic. So with Tokyo 2020 on the horizon, we take a look at Indian athletes’ performances at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Indian Athletes At Tokyo Olympics 2020: List of Indian Contingent for the Summer Games.

117 Indian athletes participated in Rio 2016, 63 men and 54 women, across 15 sports at the Games. And with the country’s largest delegation at the time sent to the multi-nation event, the hopes were high amongst the fans but the reality at the Summer Games was from exciting as India managed just two medals in the entire mega event.

However, the 2016 Rio Olympics marked a change in the era of Indian sports as for the first time in the country’s Olympic history, their medal haul was completely down to female athletes with PV Sindhu (Silver) and Sakshi Malik (Bronze) claiming historic podiums on their Games debut.

Indian Medallists At 2016 Rio Olympics

India’s first medal at the Summer Games came in wrestling through underdog Sakshi Malik who stepped up in the 58kg division and defied odds where major stars failed to capture attention. The Haryana-born wrestler showcased her brilliant skills, defeating Asian champion Aisuluu Tynybekova in the bronze medal match.

The second medal for India came through one of its badminton sensations in PV Sindhu. The shuttler defeated many favourites on her route to the final but eventually fell short against first seed Carolina Marin, however, Sindhu claimed the silver medal.

India’s Missed Opportunities At 2016 Rio Olympics

India came close to registering five more medals at the 2016 Olympics through Sania Mirza, Rohan Bopanna, Dipa Karmakar, Abhinav Bindra, Vikas Krishan, Kidambi Srikanth and Men’s hockey team but failed at the final hurdle.

Kidambi Srikanth fell to two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan in the quarter-finals, Meanwhile, Dipa Karmakar, who was the first Indian gymnast at the Games in 52 years, gave it her all in the finals but could only manage fourth position.

Similarly Indian boxer Vikas Krishan Yadav, shooter Abhinav Bindra, Tennis stars Sania MIrza, and Rohan Bopanna along with the Men’s Hockey team fell short at the quarter-final stage of their respective games, just missing out on a chance to compete for one of the three medals.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 08, 2021 04:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).