At Rio 2016, India sent out its largest ever Olympic contingent (117 athletes). So, will India be able to send more than 117 athletes at Tokyo. Let us have a look….
74 Indian athletes have already qualified for Tokyo Olympics. We have a look at how many more will athletes will be qualifying for Tokyo and try to predict India’s contingent size. Here is current state of Team India for Tokyo:
| Sport | Men | Women | Total |
| Archery | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Athletics | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| Equestrian | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Hockey | 16 | 16 | 32 |
| Shooting | 8 | 7 | 15 |
| Wrestling | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Boxing | 5 | 4 | 9 |
There are going to be 339 events in 33 different Sports at Tokyo Olympics.
Let us start looking at India’s chances in sports-wise! Quotas predicted are as per current rankings and recent performances.
Archery: India already have 4 archers going to Tokyo. Women’s Team has not yet qualified and they will have a chance to do so in June. Our prediction is India will get that team quota and we will have 6 archers going to Tokyo.
Artistic Swimming: India is not likely to have representation in artistic swimming. Olympic Qualification tournament is still left but India is not likely to get a quota.
Athletics: Currently India has a quota in 4 events – Men’s 3000m steeplechase, Men’s 20 km walk, Women’s 20 km walk, Mixed 4X400m relay and 2 in Men’s Javelin throw. 4X400m Men and Women team should qualify through rankings. Following athletes are also in with a chance through rankings route: Jinson Johnson in 800m/1500 m, MP Jabir in 400m Hurdles, Muhammed Anas in 400m, Sreeshankar in Long jump, Tajinder Toor in Shot Put, Dutee Chand (100m &200m), PU Chitra (1500m), Annu Rani (Javelin Throw), Swapna Barman (Heptathlon). Assuming all these athletes do get a quota, our prediction is 24 athletes (10 from Mixed relay, 9 from ranking & 5 already qualified through qualification standard).
Badminton: Currently 4 Indians are in Olympic qualification spots. 1 Women Singles, 1 Men Singles and 1 Men’s Doubles pair. There are 3 Indians currently in top 25 rankings for Tokyo – Saina Nehwal, Sourabh Verma, Parupalli Kashyap. So, hoping that at least 1 of them gets into qualification spot, 5 Indians should be heading to Tokyo.
Baseball: India is not in contention.
Basketball: In Basketball, India is out of contention. In 3X3 Basketball, India will be hosting the qualification tournament. However, with 20 teams participating and only 3 quotas available, India is highly unlikely to get a quota given their current ranking. So, no quota in basketball.
Boxing: 9 Boxers have qualified for Tokyo 2020 through Asian qualifiers. India should get another quota through World qualifiers. So, 10 boxers for Team India.
Canoeing: Qualification events are still left but India getting a quota is unlikely. But do watch out for Namita Chandel at next month’s Asian Canoeing Qualifier.
Cycling: Despite the rise of our young track cyclists, India is not in contention for qualification spots at Tokyo. Paris 2024 is what we should be looking at in terms of Olympic Quotas in Cycling.
Diving: Qualification quotas are still available at FINA Diving World Cup to be held in April 2020. However, India is unlikely to get a quota. But do watch out for the performance of Ramananda Sharma & Siddharth Pradeshi.
Equestrian: Fouaad Mirza is the only 1 to qualify.
Fencing: C.A. Bhavani Devi should qualify in individual Sabre. So, 1 quota in fencing.
Field Hockey: Qualification is over. 32 Indians will go to Tokyo in Hockey – 16 Men + 16 Women.
Football: India is out of qualification contention in both Men’s & Women’s football.
Golf: Currently 3 Indians are in qualification spots. Shubhankar Sharma is also close to a qualification spot. So, as per our prediction, 4 Indians should be going to Tokyo in Golf.
Gymnastics: Till now, no gymnast has qualified for Tokyo. Realistically, Dipa Karmakar is India’s only hope for qualification. But, she has been struggling with fitness. If she is able to recover for Asian Championships where 2 Olympic quotas will be available, she can make it to Tokyo. But right now, it seems no Olympic quota in Gymnastics.
Handball: India is out of qualification contention in both Men’s & Women’s handball.
Judo: Currently Indian Judokas are not in direct qualification spots. However, India should get 1 continental spot. So, 1 quota in Judo.
Karate: India is not in contention.
Continued on next page….
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