The Paris Olympics are just 30 days away and keeping up with ESPN India's weekly update, here's a closer look at the top 10 Indian medal prospects and their preparations for the showpiece event.
Post that, she will compete in the Grand Prix, Spain, in July before heading to Boulogne sur-Mer, France, to train for another 20 days ahead of the Paris Games.
Path to Paris: Why Nikhat Zareen wants that Olympic medal - and has a good shot at itMirabai ChanuMirabai is chasing her second straight Olympic medal in Paris after winning the silver in Tokyo.
Mirabai Chanu sets marker for Paris Olympics medal: 205-207kgPath to Paris: Mirabai Chanu goes back to basics for a shot at second Olympic medalThe Paris Olympics present Aditi Ashok with a shot at redemption, a chance to make up for the crushing disappointment of missing out on a medal at Tokyo.
Chung Sung-Jun/Getty ImagesAditi AshokAditi, along with Diksha Dagar, have confirmed their Paris Olympics spots recently via Olympic Golf Rankings.
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Not too long to go for the biggest sporting event to start. The Paris Olympics are just 30 days away and keeping up with ESPN India's weekly update, here's a closer look at the top 10 Indian medal prospects and their preparations for the showpiece event.
Neeraj Chopra
India's biggest gold medal hope Neeraj Chopra was last seen in action at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland, on 18 June. In an event where youngster Max Dehning of Germany was supposed to give a tough competition, Chopra did what he does best. With a best throw of 85.97m, Chopra clinched the gold medal.
He beat two Finns to the prize, Toni Keranen (84.19m, a personal best) and Oliver Helander (83.96m). Dehning had a disappointing day as he finished fifth with a best of 79.84m behind Anderson Peters.
Chopra might not be throwing close to the 90m mark this season but he's still able to beat most of his competition. Next up for him is likely to be the Paris Diamond League on July 7, a big event considering the preparation for the Olympic Games. He's yet to confirm his participation though.
It's Neeraj Chopra's world, and he keeps us all part of it
Vinesh Phogat
Phogat was last seen in action at the Budapest Ranking series earlier this month, where she lost to China's Jiang Zhu 5-0 in the 50kg quarterfinals.
After getting the approval from the Sports Ministry, Phogat has been training in Madrid, Spain. Post that, she will compete in the Grand Prix, Spain, in July before heading to Boulogne sur-Mer, France, to train for another 20 days ahead of the Paris Games.
Path to Paris: Vinesh has already won the battle of her life. Now she faces the battle of her career
Sindhu's big-event calibre makes her one of the big medal hopes at Paris 2024. Shi Tang/Getty Images
PV Sindhu
Sindhu has not played in any tournaments since the Indonesia Open earlier this month. Her form was a cause for concern as she lost in the earlier rounds at both Indonesia and Singapore Open events, but her big-event calibre makes her one of the big medal hopes at the upcoming Games. She's currently training with her coach Agus Dwi Santoso and her team in Saarbrucken, Germany.
Path to Paris: Forget form, forget everything... it's time for big-game PV Sindhu
Sift Kaur Samra
The Asian Games champion made it to the Paris squad in women's 50m rifle 3 positions after dominating the four-stage Olympic selection trials. She was in action at the Munich World Cup earlier this month where she won the bronze medal, missing silver by only 0.1 point to Han Jiayu of China. At the moment, she has finished a national camp France with the shooting team and will be seen next at the Olympics.
Path to Paris: Sift Kaur gave up medical studies for sport but now has the chance to heal Indian shooting's scars
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty
The Indian badminton doubles stars have been missing in action since the Singapore Open last month, where they lost in the opening round, due to fitness concerns. Their ranking also took a hit as they dropped down to world no. 3 from the top spot.
Nevertheless, their track record in the last year makes the Asian Games champions solid contenders for a medal in Paris. They have been in good form this year, winning two titles from four finals despite injuries forcing them to miss a few tournaments.
Path to Paris: After historic 2023, 'hungry' Sat-Chi embrace pressure, master the mind games
Satwik Chirag won the 2024 French Open without dropping a game. BAI Media
Men's hockey team
The Indian men's hockey team had an inconsistent run at the season's Pro League and are about to finish fifth or even below. Craig Fulton's team didn't get the positive results in the recent matches but hopefully, they have identified the problem areas and are working to rectify them.
Currently, the team is in the training camp in Bangalore. On Wednesday, Hockey India announced the final squad for Paris 2024, with Harmanpreet Singh as the captain and veteran PR Sreejesh the only goalkeeper.
Path to Paris: Indian hockey picks control over chaos in bid for Olympic glory
Nikhat Zareen
Nikhat had been performing consistently over the last two years and she will hope that her form continues at Paris as well, where she will maker her Olympic debut as two-time world champion.
She was last seen at the Elorda Cup in May where she ended up winning the gold medal. Currently, she is all focussed in the training camp in India, with the federation likely to arrange a few more foreign trips before she arrives in Paris.
Path to Paris: Why Nikhat Zareen wants that Olympic medal - and has a good shot at it
Mirabai Chanu
Mirabai is chasing her second straight Olympic medal in Paris after winning the silver in Tokyo. She said her target is a total lift of 200-210kgs and ensure she lifts 90kg in snatch.
After enduring a tough period due to injuries, Mirabai has been careful with her participation in tournaments this year. She has been training NIS Patiala and will be off to France in the first week of July where she will continue her preparations.
Mirabai Chanu sets marker for Paris Olympics medal: 205-207kg
Path to Paris: Mirabai Chanu goes back to basics for a shot at second Olympic medal
The Paris Olympics present Aditi Ashok with a shot at redemption, a chance to make up for the crushing disappointment of missing out on a medal at Tokyo. Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images
Aditi Ashok
Aditi, along with Diksha Dagar, have confirmed their Paris Olympics spots recently via Olympic Golf Rankings. Aditi, ranked 60th in the world, qualified for the Games as she was placed 24th.
Aditi was recently in action at the KPMG Women's PGA Championships in the US, where she finished tied 35th. It has not been a great season for Aditi, who failed to record a top-10 finish this season.
Path to Paris: Aditi Ashok has form and experience, can she shake off big-event bogey?
Lovlina Borgohain
Lovlina is gearing up to become the first Indian boxer to win two medals at the Olympics. She was recently in action at the Grand Prix tournament in Czech Republic.
She lost two bouts and won once which was enough for her to pick up the silver medal. She will head to the training camp in Saarbrucken, Germany, alongside Nikhat Zareen, Nishant Dev, Jaismine Lamboria and Preeti Pawar.
Asian Games: Lovlina loses final but wins Olympics berth and validates her weight switch
