NEW DELHI: A total of 24 Armed Forces personnel are among the 117 Indian athletes who are all set to make the nation proud at the Paris Olympics, beginning July 26 this year.
Among these 24 athletes, 22 are men, including star javelin thrower and Subedar Neeraj Chopra, and two are women, which marks the maiden participation of female service athletes at the Olympics, as per a press release from the Union Ministry of Defence.
Neeraj, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medalist and World Athletics Championship gold medalist, will again vie for top honours as his participation in the Paris Olympics comes on the back of exceptional performances that earned him a gold medal each at the 2023 Asian Games, 2023 World Athletics Championships and 2024 Paavo Nurmi Games.
2022 Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Havildar Jaismine Lamboria and 2023 Asian Wrestling Championships bronze medalist, CPO Reetika Hooda, are the two women service personnel who are taking part in the Games for the first time, and aim to create history. They will feature in boxing and wrestling, respectively.
Subedar Amit Panghal (boxing); CPO Tajinderpal Singh Toor (shot-put); Sub Avinash Mukund Sable (3000m steeplechase); CPO Muhammed Anas Yahiya, PO(GW) Muhammed Ajmal, Sub Santhosh Kumar Tamilarasan and JWO Mijo Chacko Kurian (4x400m men’s relay); JWO Abdulla Aboobacker (triple jump); Sub Tarundeep Rai and Sub Dhiraj Bommadevara (archery); and Nb Sub Sandeep Singh (shooting) are also among the service personnel who would aim to bring laurels to the country.
Here is the full list of players:
Apart from 24 athletes, five officials are also heading to Paris to take part in the Olympics. The details are given below:
The participation of the Service personnel at the Paris Olympics underscores the Armed Forces’ commitment to promoting sporting excellence and fostering a culture of athleticism, while enhancing the sports consciousness across the nation. As the country gears up to witness the performances of these athletes, it stands united in extending best wishes and unwavering support to each participant.
The Paris Olympics 2024 will start on July 26 and conclude on August 11. India will look to outdo its tally of seven medals from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which included a gold, two silver, and four bronze medals. (ANI)