NEW DELHI: India had 56 competitors at the Beijing Olympics four years ago. The number has risen to 76 and is expected to be 85 at the July 27-August 12 London Games.In 13 events, 56 men and 20 women have booked their Olympic berths and the number is expected to go up further as quite a few disciplines are still in the process of holding their qualifiers. Sports minister Ajay Maken expects it to be 85.The Beijing number came down drastically because the Indian hockey team failed to qualify. This time around the eight times Olympic champions are through ad a 16-member squad has been named.The expectations will be high from the 11 shooters, five wrestlers and eight boxers. Rifle shooter Abhinav Bindra, who won India’s first individual gold medal in Beijing, will be looking for an encore. Another rifle shooter Gagan Narang and shot-gun exponent Ronjan Singh Sodhi are also potential medal prospects.Among the wrestlers, Beijing Games bronze medallist Sushil Kumar and 2012 Asian champion Yogeshwar Dutt are medal hopes.While boxer Vijender Singh, a bronze medallist in Beijing, five times women’s world champion MC Mary Kom are also potential medal winners.For Mary Kom this is the first and definitely last opportunity to return with a medal from London. She can’t ask for a better platform than to end her illustrious career on a high. Women’s boxing has been included in the Olympics for the first time.The government has spent around Rs 238 crore on training the athletes and an additional Rs 20 crore on foreign coaches.List of athletes who have qualified so far:Archery:Laishram Bombayla Devi, Deepika Kumari, Chekrovolu Swuro and Jayanta TalukdarAthletics:Men’s 20 km walk: Gurmeet Singh, Baljinder Singh, Irfan Kolothum ThodiWomen’s discus throw: Krishna Poonia, Seema AntilMen’s discus throw: Vikas GowdaMen’s shot put: Om Prakash KarhanaWomen’s 800m: Tintu LukaMen’s triple jump: Renjith MaheshwaryWomen’s 3000 m steeplechase: Sudha SinghWomen’s triple jump: Mayookha JohnyMen’s 50km walk: Basanta Bahadur Rana or Sandeep KumarMen’s marathon: Ram Singh Yadav__PAGEBREAK__
List of athletes who have qualified so far (Cont…):
BadmintonWomen’s singles: Saina NehwalMen’s singles: Parupalli KashyapMixed doubles: Jwala Gutta, Valiyaveetil DijuWomen’s doubles: Jwala Gutta, Ashwini PonnappaBoxingMen’s light flyweight (49kg): Devendro SinghMen’s bantamweight (56kg): Shiva ThapaMen’s lightweight (60kg): Jai BhagwanMen’s light welterweight (64kg): Manoj KumarMen’s welterweight (69kg): Vikas Krishan YadavMen’s middleweight (75kg): Vijender SinghMen’s light heavyweight (81kg): Sumit SangwanWomen’s flyweight (51kg): Mary KomHockey (men)Goalkeepers: Bharat Chetri (captain) and P.R. SreejeshDefenders: VR Raghunath, Ignace Tirkey, Sandeep SinghMidfielders: Sardar Singh (vice-captain), Gurbaj Singh, Birendra Lakra, Manpreet SinghForwards: SV Sunil, Gurwinder Singh Chandi, Shivendra Singh, Danish Mujtaba, Tushar Khandker, Dharamvir Singh, SK UthappaStand-bys: Sarvanjit Singh and Kothajit SinghJudoWomen’s 63kg: Garima ChaudharyRowingIndia has qualified two boats with up to three athletes in men’s single sculls and lightweight double scullsShootingMen’s 50m rifle 3 positions: Sanjeev RajputMen’s 50m rifle prone: Joydeep KarmakarMen’s 10m air rifle: Abhinav Bindra, Gagan NarangMen’s 25m rapid fire pistol: Vijay KumarMen’s double trap: Ronjan SodhiMen’s trap: Manavjit Singh SandhuWomen’s 25m pistol: Rahi Sarnobat, Heena SidhuWomen’s 10m air pistol: Annuraj SinghWomen’s trap: Shagun ChowdharySwimmingMen’s 100m freestyle: Virdhawal KhadeMen’s 100m breaststroke: Sandeep SejwalMen’s 200m freestyle: Aaron D’Souza or Virdhawal KhadeMen’s 200m breaststroke: Sandeep SejwalMen’s 1500m freestyle: Saurabh SangvekarTable tennisMen’s singles: Soumyajit GhoshWomen’s singles: Ankita DasTennisMens’ doubles: Leander PaesWeightliftingMen’s 69kg: Katulu Ravi KumarWomen’s 48kg: Ngangbam Soniya Chanu
WrestlingMen’s freestyle 55kg: Amit KumarMen’s freestyle 60kg: Yogeshwar DuttMen’s freestyle 66kg: Sushil KumarMen’s freestyle 74kg: Narsingh Pancham YadavWomen’s freestyle 55kg: Geeta Phogat