Paris Olympics: India to begin journey on July 25 with archers up first

With 117 competitors scheduled to compete in 69 medal categories spanning 16 sports, the Indian delegation will begin their Paris Olympics trip on July 25. A significant portion of the troop heading to France for the Olympics will be made up of a 29-person athletics team under the leadership of Neeraj Chopra.

Additionally, India will send the second-largest squad for any event to Paris 2024: a shooting contingent of 21 players. According to Olympics.com, this is the largest shooting squad India has ever sent to an Olympic Games with 15 shooters dispatched during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics coming in second place.

Stars like Deepika Kumari and Tarundeep Rai are among the archers vying in Paris to raise the tricolour aloft. They will be the first Indians in action on July 25, competing in the individual ranking rounds before the opening ceremony takes place the following day.

The mixed team air rifle medal rounds at the National Shooting Centre in Chateauroux on July 27 would be India's first opportunity to win a medal, ANI reported.

This tournament will include two Indian teams, Sandeep Singh/Elavenil Valarivan and Arjun Babuta/Ramita Jindal. Manu Bhaker will participate in the mixed team competition for 10 m air pistol as well as two individual pistol events. But the main attraction, javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, the current Olympic and world champion, will be competing in August.

Men's javelin throw qualifiers begin on August 6 and conclude with the final two days later. Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu will try to win a hat-trick of medals in the badminton events from July 27 to August 5. Women's 49 kg weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, a silver medallist in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, will compete on August 7.

Lovlina Borgohain, who won a bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics, will compete in the boxing events from July 27 to August 10. During this time, two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen is expected to make her Olympic debut and is a major medal contender for Team India.

Archery, athletics, badminton, boxing, equestrian, golf, hockey, judo, rowing, sailing, shooting, swimming, table tennis, and tennis are the 16 sports in which India will compete in Paris 2024. On August 11, the Olympics will come to an end.

India hopes to surpass its seven medals from the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, which included a gold, two silver, and four bronze medals.