The Paris Olympics 2024 is poised to be a momentous event for India, with an array of talented athletes ready to represent the nation on the global stage.
While there is still time for more athletes to earn qualification as of the writing of this article (25 April 2024), it looks like most, if not all, of the Indian athletes looking to compete have been selected. The cutoff date for the last of the participants to qualify is 7 July 2024.
As anticipation builds and preparations reach their peak, let's take a closer look at the Indian athletes who will be competing in various sports disciplines at the upcoming Olympic Games.
List of All Qualifying Athletes & Their Categories
India is experiencing a unique issue in the Athletics category. While 7 Indian athletes have qualified for the men's 20km racewalk event, only 3 are allowed to compete in the Olympics.
To date, India has not yet chosen which 3 will actually go to the Games, so it’s not known exactly which athletes will be competing in this particular category and event.
It’s also unclear when the decision will be made; all we know is that it must be finalized before 7 July!
The 7 qualifying athletes for the men's 20km racewalk event are Akshdeep Singh, Ram Baboo, Arshpreet Singh, Vikas Singh, Paramjeet Bisht, Suraj Panwar, and Servin Sebastian.
| Category | Sub-Category | Indian Athletes Competing |
|---|---|---|
| Archery | Men's | Dhiraj Bommadevara |
| Athletics* | Men's | Akshdeep Singh, Vikas Singh, Paramjeet Bisht, Murali Sreeshankar, Avinash Sable, Neeraj Chopra, Kishore Jena, Suraj Panwar, Servin Sebastian, Arshpreet Singh, Ram Baboo |
| Women's | Priyanka Goswami, Parul Chaudhary | |
| Mixed | Priyanka Goswami/Akshdeep Singh | |
| Badminton | Men's | HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen |
| Women's | PV Sindhu | |
| Men's Doubles | Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty | |
| Women's Doubles | Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto | |
| Boxing | Women's | Nikhat Zareen, Preeti Pawar, Parveen Hooda, Lovlina Borgohain |
| Equestrian | Dressage | Anush Agarwalla |
| Hockey | Men's | Team India |
| Rowing | Men's | Balraj Panwar |
| Sailing | Men's | Vishnu Saravanan, Balraj Panwar |
| Shooting | Men's | Bhowneesh Mendiratta, Rudrankksh Patil, Swapnil Kusale, Akhil Sheoran, Sarabjot Singh, Arjun Babuta, Anish Bhanwala, Varun Tomar, Vijayveer Sidhu, Anantjeet Singh Naruka |
| Women's | Mehuli Ghosh, Sift Kaur Samra, Rajeshwari Kumari, Tilottama Sen, Manu Bhaker, Shriyanka Sadangi, Esha Singh, Rhythm Sangwan, Raiza Dhillon, Palak Gulia | |
| Table Tennis | Men's | Indian men's team |
| Women's | Indian women's team | |
| Weightlifting | Women's | Mirabai Chanu |
| Wrestling | Women's | Antim Panghal, Vinesh Phogat, Anshu Malik, Reetika Hooda |
India also has a lot of room for expansion in terms of competing in future Olympics. There are a lot of categories that India either doesn’t yet have a competitor for or will not be participating in at all.
Maybe India will break into some of these categories in future Olympics!
Categories India Will NOT Be Competing In at the 2024 Olympic Games
- 3x3 Basketball
- Artistic Gymnastics
- Artistic Swimming
- Basketball
- Beach Volleyball
- Breaking (Dancing)
- Canoe Slalom
- Canoe Sprint
- Cycling BMX Freestyle
- Cycling BMX Racing
- Cycling Mountain Bike
- Cycling Road
- Cycling Track
- Diving
- Fencing
- Football
- Golf
- Handball
- Judo
- Marathon Swimming
- Modern Pentathlon
- Rhythmic Gymnastics
- Rugby Sevens
- Skateboarding
- Sport Climbing
- Surfing
- Swimming
- Taekwondo
- Tennis
- Trampoline Gymnastics
- Triathlon
- Volleyball
- Water Polo
The 2024 Olympics are taking place in Paris, France from 26 July to 11 August.
Meet the Olympians
Who are these incredible superhumans from India who have qualified to be in the 2024 Olympics?
Check out this India Olympics list to learn more about these Olympic competitors as they gear up for their moment in the spotlight. Check out their schedule on Olympics.com.
Archery
Dhiraj Bommadevara (Men’s Recurve)
He has won many world-renowned archery tournaments since 2021 and is currently ranked 14th in the World Rankings in the men’s recurve category.
Athletics
Akshdeep Singh (Men’s 20km Racewalk)
After recovering from a knee injury that halted his chance of being in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Singh became the first Indian to qualify for the 2024 Olympics. He will be competing with Priyanka Goswami in the marathon mixed relay.
Neeraj Chopra (Men’s Javelin Throw)
He was the first Indian Olympian to win a gold medal in athletics in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Arshpreet Singh (Men’s 20km Racewalk)
Arshpreet was also at the same event, coming in just under the qualifying time.
Ram Baboo (Men’s 20km Racewalk)
He is known for his dedication, working two jobs while also training for his initial qualification into the Olympics.
Vikas Singh (Men’s 20km Racewalk)
He finished second in the Asian 20km Race Walking Championships in June 2023, securing his qualification.
Paramjeet Bisht (Men’s 20km Racewalk)
Not far behind Vikas was Paramjeet, who finished third in the Asian 20km Race Walking Championships.
Murali Sreeshankar (Men’s Long Jump)
He was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2023 for his outstanding performance in athletics.
Avinash Sable (Men’s 3000m Steeplechase)
He has broken the national record for the 3000 metres Steeplechase several times since 2018.
Kishore Jena (Men’s Javelin Throw)
He’s won at least three medals in world-renowned athletics tournaments since 2022.
Suraj Panwar (Men’s 20km Racewalk)
In January, Suraj became the fourth Indian to qualify for the Olympics when he completed the 20km race walk at the Indian Open Race Walking Competition.
Servin Sebastian (Men’s 20km Racewalk)
Servin won bronze at the same event as Suraj, securing his candidacy for the Olympics.
Priyanka Goswami (Women’s 20km Racewalk)
Paris will be her second foray into the Olympics since she previously competed in Tokyo in 2020. She will be competing with Akshdeep Singh in the marathon mixed relay.
Parul Chaudhary (Women’s 3000m Steeplechase)
She was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2023 and named a Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2024. In August 2023, she broke the national record for the 3000m steeplechase.
Badminton
HS Prannoy (Men’s Singles)
He has been a notable athlete since winning silver in the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics. He has overcome various injuries to qualify for the Olympics.
Lakshya Sen (Men’s Singles)
His career is currently rising, as he has won gold at the 2018 Asian Junior Championships and at the Summer Youth Olympics. He was also runner-up at the 2022 All-England Open.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty (Team: Men’s Doubles)
They are the only doubles pair from India to become World No. 1 in the BWF World Ranking and win the BWF World Tour 1000 series. They were the first Indians to win gold at the Asian Games in badminton in 2022. Rankireddy also currently holds the Guinness World Record for fastest badminton smash at 565 km/h.
Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto (Team: Women’s Doubles)
Ashwini has won many awards, most recently gold at the Badminton Asia Team Championships in February 2024 alongside partner Tanisha. Tanisha has been competing since 2013, and her career is still ramping up.
PV Sindhu (Women’s Singles)
Considered one of India’s most successful athletes, she has already competed and medaled at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro and 2020 Tokyo Games, as well as achieved many other awards in other competitions.
Boxing
Nikhat Zareen (Women’s 50kg)
She won gold in the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in 2022 and 2023.
Preeti Pawar (Women’s 54kg)
Encouraged by her parents, Preeti recently won bronze at the Asian Games in 2022 as part of the boxing team.
Parveen Hooda (Women’s 57kg)
At the Asian Amateur Boxing Championships in 2022, she won the gold medal.
Lovlina Borgohain (Women’s 75kg)
She was the third Indian boxer to win a medal at the Olympics at the 2020 Tokyo Games and has won several other medals in other championships.
Equestrian
Anush Agarwalla (Individual Dressage)
He previously won gold in the 2022 Asian Games for Team Dressage and bronze for Individual Dressage.
The first Winter Games were held in 1924. From then to 1992, the Winter Games were always held in the same year and host city as the Summer Games. Then, the IOC decided that the Winter Games should be held every four years on an alternate schedule from the Summer Olympics. So, both the Summer and Winter Games occur once every four years, with two years in between each event. The Winter Olympics is full of events centred around Winter weather, such as skiing, figure skating, curling, ice hockey, bobsleighing, and luge.
Hockey
Team India
Currently ranked 3rd by the Fédération Internationale de Hockey (International Hockey Federation aka FIH), the team secured their qualification for the Olympics by winning gold at the 2023 Asian Games.
Rowing
Balraj Panwar (M1x - Men’s Single Sculls)
Known for his perseverance and level-headedness, Balraj is set to impress at the Olympics. He finished 3rd in timing at his Olympics qualifying event even with a 20-second penalty.
Sailing
Vishnu Saravanan (Men’s ICLA 7)
He won a bronze medal at the Under-21 World Championships in Croatia in 2019 and bronze in the Men's dinghy ILCA7 event in the 2022 Asian Games.
Shooting
Bhowneesh Mendiratta (Men’s Trap)
His most recent win was gold at the 2023 men's trap event at the ISSF World Cup in Doha, Qatar.
Rudrankksh Patil (Men’s 10m Air Rifle)
Also at the 2023 ISSF World Cup, he won two gold and two bronze medals.
Swapnil Kusale (Men’s 50m Rifle 3P)
He qualified for the 2024 Olympics after placing fourth in the men’s 50-metre rifle 3-position event at the World Championship in Cairo in 2022.
Akhil Sheoran (Men’s 50m Rifle 3P)
He won the bronze medal in the men's 50-metre rifle 3-positions event at the 2023 ISSF World Championship.
Anish Bhanwala (Men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol)
A highly medaled competitor, his most recent win was bronze at the 19th Asian Games for the 25 m Rapid Fire Pistol Team.
Sarabjot Singh (Men’s 10m Air Pistol)
His most recent wins are two golds at the 2023 ISSF World Cup and a bronze at the 2023 Asian Shooting Championships.
Arjun Babuta (Men’s 10m Air Rifle)
He secured his qualification for the 2024 Olympics at the 2023 Asian Shooting Championships where he won silver in the 10m Air Rifle.
Varun Tomar (Men’s 10m Air Pistol)
He secured qualification for the Paris Olympics by winning the gold medal at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers on 8 January 2024 in Jakarta.
Vijayveer Sidhu (Men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol)
At the same event as Varun, Vijayveer won silver and secured his qualification.
Anantjeet Singh Naruka (Men’s Skeet)
Most recently, he won silver at the 2023 Asian Games for individual men’s skeet with a score of 58/60.
Mehuli Ghosh (Women’s 10m Air Rifle)
She has won quite a few medals over the years, most recently gold at the 2023 ISSF World Championships for the 10m air rifle team. In 2020, she was awarded the "Female Young Athlete of the Year" award at the Sportstar Aces Awards.
Sift Kaur Samra (Women’s 50m Rifle 3P)
In 2023, she broke the world record for most points in the 50m rifle 3 position event at the Asian Games. Her score was 469.6, which is 2.6 points more than the previous record holder.
Rajeshwari Kumari (Women’s Trap)
She has been competing in shooting since about 2014. Her most recent win was gold at the 2023 National Games of India.
Tilottama Sen (Women’s 10m Air Rifle)
She is the youngest Indian to win a quota for the Olympics at only 15 years old. She won silver at the Asian Shooting Championship in 2023 for women’s 10m air rifle which secured her qualification.
Esha Singh (Women’s 10m Air Pistol)
Another young prodigy, Esha’s most recent win was gold for the 10 m air pistol mixed team and 25 m pistol team at the ISSF World Championships 2023.
Shriyanka Sadangi (Women’s 50m Rifle 3P)
Her professional shooting career is starting off strong, and her most recent win was gold for the 50 m rifle 3 positions team and bronze for the 10 m air rifle team at the Asian Shooting Championships.
Manu Bhaker (Women’s 25m Air Pistol)
A highly decorated competitor, her most recent win was gold for the 25 m pistol team at the 2023 ISSF World Championships.
Rhythm Sangwan (Women’s 25m Air Pistol)
In 2023, she won gold in both the ISSF World Championships for the 25 m pistol team and the ISSF World Cup for the 10m Air Pistol - Mixed Team.
Raiza Dhillon (Women’s Skeet)
She became the first Indian woman to qualify for an Olympic skeet shooting event when she won gold (and silver, and bronze) at the Asian Shotgun Championships in January 2024.
Palak Gulia (Women’s 10m Air Pistol)
A recent addition to the world of competitive shooting, she won the gold in the 10m air pistol event in the 21st Kumar Surendra Singh pistol championship in 2023.
Table Tennis
Indian Men's Team
Since they are ranked 15th in the world according to the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), the team was automatically granted a place in the Olympics.
Indian Women's Team
Likewise, the women’s team is ranked 13th by the ITTF, so they also get a spot in the Games.
Weightlifting
Mirabai Chanu (Women’s 49kg)
At the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, she won silver in the 49kg category. Her personal record currently stands at 203 kg (88 kg in Snatch and 115 kg in Clean & Jerk).
Wrestling
Antim Panghal (Women’s 53kg)
She was India's first-ever U-20 world wrestling champion, winning gold in both 2022 and 2023.
Vinesh Phogat (Women’s 50kg)
She is the only Indian woman wrestler to win multiple medals at the World Wrestling Championships.
Anshu Malik (Women’s 57kg)
She is the first female Indian wrestler to win a silver medal at the World Championships, which happened in 2021.
Reetika Hooda (Women’s 76kg)
She just recently secured her qualification for the Olympics in early April 2024 at the Asian Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
India’s Most Famous Olympians
Over the years, India has had many notable athletes compete in the Olympics.
Here are the most notable athletes that have represented India in past Olympic games. You’ll notice that some of them are competing again this year, so keep your eye on them!
- Norman Pritchard - 1900, Paris
- Major Dhyan Chand - 1936, Berlin
- KD Jadhav - 1952, Helsinki
- Leander Paes - 1996, Atlanta
- Karnam Malleswari - 2000, Sydney
- Abhinav Bindra - 2008, Beijing
- Sushil Kumar - 2012, London
- PV Sindhu - 2020, Tokyo
- Neeraj Chopra - 2020, Tokyo
India has been a competent contender in the Olympics for over 100 years, with serious athletes winning many medals, impressing the world with their athleticism, and bringing great pride to the country.
What do you think the Indian athletes will be able to achieve at the Olympics this year?
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