4 Players From Northeast In Paris Olympics. All You Wanted to Know About Them

India has sent a 117 member-strong athletes to Paris, including 70 men and 47 women who will participate in 16 sports

With just a day to go for the 2024 Paris Olympics, Indian fans’ excitement has skyrocketed as they look forward to seeing Indian athletes perform their best in the biggest sporting extravaganza on the globe.

Building on a solid performance in Tokyo, Indian athletes are expected to achieve an even higher medal tally this year, buoyed by their recent triumph in the 2023 Asian Games.

India will be represented by a contingent of 117 athletes in Paris, including 70 men and 47 women across 16 sports. The delegation also includes 140 support staff and officials. Four athletes from the northeast will represent the country at the global sporting event.

The four from Northeast who will represent India at Paris are Sikkim’s Tarundeep Rai in archery, Assam’s Lovlina Borgohain in boxing (75 kg), Manipur’s Mirabai Chanu in weightlifting (49 kg), and Manipur’s Nilakanta Sharma, who is part of the men’s hockey team as a reserve player.

It may be mentioned here that Mirabai Chanu, who won the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, is the lone weightlifter in the Indian contingent for the Paris Olympics 2024.

Before the sporting events begin, here is all you need to know about the Olympians from the region.

Tarundeep Rai

Tarundeep Rai will be making his fourth Olympic appearance this time. He will be competing in both the men’s individual and men’s team archery events. His Olympic journey began at the 2004 Athens Games, where he ranked 32nd in the men’s competition and 43rd overall.

He also contributed to India’s 11th-place finish in the men’s team event. Returning to the Olympics in 2012 in London, the 40-year-old archer from Sikkim made a notable comeback. The ace archer from Sikkim also represented India at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where he made it to the quarterfinals in the men’s team event and reached the second round in the individual event.

Lovlina Borgohain

Lovlina Borgohain, who scripted history in the Tokyo Olympics by becoming the first Olympic medallist from Assam, will be taking the ring in the 75 kg category of women’s boxing with the aim to win gold for the nation.

The ace pugilist from Assam is only the third Indian boxer to win a medal at the Olympics. She is the first female athlete and the second boxer after Shiva Thapa to represent Assam in the Olympics.

Apart from winning an Olympic medal, Lovlina has also won a gold medal at the 2023 IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships and bronze medals at the 2018 and 2019 editions of the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships.

In 2020, Lovlina Borgohain became the sixth person from Assam to receive the Arjuna Award.

Mirabai Chanu

Manpur’s Saikhom Mirabai Chanu opened India’s medal tally on the very first day of competitions of the delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2022. She achieved a combined lift of 202kg and secured a silver medal in the women’s 49kg event. It was for the first time that India won a medal on Day 1 of an Olympic Games.

Mirabai Chanu is the second Indian weightlifter to win an Olympic medal. Before that, Karnam Malleswari lifted 110kg in the snatch and 130kg in the clean and jerk, totaling 240kg at the 2000 Sydney Olympics to win the bronze medal in the women’s 69kg category, as reported by Scroll.

It may be mentioned here that Chanu won India’s only weightlifting quota for Paris and will go to Paris with a decent number of international appearances under her belt.

Chanu is an Olympic medallist who also won Gold at the 2017 World Championships and silver at the 2022 World Championships.

In the 2020 Tashkent World Championships, the ace weightlifter from Manipur won the silver.

Chanu also won Gold at the 2022 and 2018 Commonwealth Games while silver at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014.

Chanu also won Gold at the 2013, 2017, and 2019 Commonwealth Championships while a Silver medal at the 2015 edition of the championship in Pune.

Nilakanta Sharma

Hailing from Kontha Ahallup Makha Leikai in Imphal East, Shanglakpam Nilakanta Sharma is one of the strongest midfielders of the Indian national men’s hockey team.

Though Nilakanta Sharma was part of the Indian squad that won the 2016 Men’s Hockey Junior World Cup, the charismatic midfielder did not get much opportunity to show his magic on the turf. His chance came at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, where his sublime midfield performance was pivotal in helping India clinch the Gold medal.

Though he is not included in the main squad, Nilakanta Sharma is travelling with the team as a reserve player. If necessary, the team management can consider using his skills for later matches.

India’s Olympic campaign begins tomorrow with the individual archery rounds, followed by the 10m air rifle event on July 27, which offers the first opportunity to secure a medal.

Also Read: Sreeja Akula, Manika Batra highest-seeded Indian players at Paris Olympics

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