8 Northeast athletes to represent India at Tokyo Olympics

With just a few days left for the world’s biggest sporting extravaganza, ‘the Olympics’, countries across the world are rooting for their athletes, as they converge at Tokyo, to fulfil their dreams, to make their nations proud and to be ‘Faster, Higher and Stronger’.

India will be sending a total of 127 athletes in 18 sports disciplines to Tokyo. Out of these, 8 will be proudly representing Northeast India in 5 sports disciplines.

Leading the pack and the Indian Contingent at the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony on 23rd July is Manipur’s 6-times world champion and 2012 London Olympic Bronze medallist Mary Kom. The world champion had shifted her weight to a higher weight division and will be competing in the Women’s 51kg boxing event. Another from the region, competing in the Boxing event is Assam’s Lovlina Borgohain, who will be competing in the 69kg category. Borgohain is a 2 time world boxing medallist and the first woman from Assam to qualify for the Olympics.

Next, in the Hockey event, 3 players from the region will be representing the country. First, P Sushila Chanu from Manipur, a former Indian national women’s team captain who led the Indian Team at the 2016 Rio Olympics and has a total of 150 international caps to her credit. Then S Nilakanta Sharma also from Manipur, who will be making his first Olympic debut. Sharma plays as a midfielder for the Indian national team and was also a part of the Indian squad that won the 2016 Men’s Hockey Junior World Cup. And Lalremsiami, who plays as forward for the Indian national team, will be the first woman from Mizoram to participate in the Olympics. She is also the first sportsperson from Mizoram to win an Asian medal.

Making his third Olympic appearance after the 2004 and the 2012 olympics, Sikkim’s Tarundeep Rai will be representing the country in the Archery event. Tokyo will be Rai’s last archery tournament as the 2 times world Archery medallist has already announced that he will be hanging his bow and arrow after the Tokyo Olympics.

Moreover, two athletes from Manipur will be the country’s lone representatives in their respective events, In the Judo event, Likmabam Sushila Devi will be representing the country in the extra light weight 48 kg category. Making her Olympic debut, she is the only Judoka from India participating in the Tokyo Olympics.

Last and definitely not the least, A Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna recipient, a world record breaker and a World Weightlifting Champion, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu will be India’s lone weight-lifter at Tokyo, She will be competing in the Women’s 49kg category, and will be looking for gold in her second Olympic appearance.