India have had rich returns from boxing and wrestling at the Olympic Games in the last four editions. At the Tokyo Olympics, India had sent nine boxers and seven wrestlers and earned three medals (one silver, two bronze) from them. But this time, the contingents are thinner. What are their medal prospects? Read on.
Boxing
India’s six-member boxing contingent for the Paris Olympics is heavily tipped to return with medals. One of the prime prospects is 28-year-old Nikhat Zareen, who already has two World Championship gold medals to her credit. To give herself a better chance in Paris, the young pugilist on her Olympic debut has continued with the 50kg category.
So far in the Olympic Games, India have three bronze medals from boxing, with Vijender Singh winning the first in Beijing (2008), followed by MC Mary Kom in London (2012) and Lovlina Borgohain in Tokyo (2021). Now, Nikhat is keen to improve the hue of the medal. Having won her last competition — the Elorda Cup — in May, she is high on confidence.
Her teammate Lovlina, too, is a medal hope. The Assam girl made a smooth transition to the 75kg division from the 69kg category (in Tokyo), winning the gold at the World and Asian Championship and bronze at the Hangzhou Asian Games. That success may yet be translated into a medal of a brighter colour in Paris.
Among the others in the fray, it was rather late in the day that World Championships silver medallist Amit Panghal and national champion Jaismine Lamboria qualified for Paris. The duo booked their ticket during the World Qualification Tournament in Bangkok on June 2.
Panghal, a medal hopeful in Tokyo, has not had a smooth ride
since then. The only big event that he competed in was the Commonwealth Games in 2022, where he won the gold. But he can always prove to be the dark horse.
The contingent
Men: Nishant Dev (71kg), Amit Panghal (51kg)
Women: Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Preeti Pawar (54kg), Jaismine Lamboria (57kg), Lovlina Borgohain (75kg)
Wrestling
Since the Beijing Games in 2008, wrestling has always brought India a medal. But prolonged protests by the country’s elite wrestlers against the then Wrestling Federation of India chief Brijbhushan Sharan Singh over allegations of sexual harassment caused immense harm to preparations of the Paris-bound contingent. But finally, six wrestlers are making the trip to Paris, hoping to carry forward the legacy. Among them, Vinesh Phogat is definitely a medal prospect. Her last major successes came in 2022 at the Commonwealth Games (gold) and the World Championships (bronze), both of
which she competed in the 53kg category. In Paris, though, she will come on to the 50kg mat. It remains to be seen if her speed and tactics would help her to cope with the weight change.
Young Antim Panghal was the first to earn a Paris Olympics quota for India. She also challenged Vinesh for a trial with her when the protest controversy was at its peak. Her biggest strength is flexibility but her back injury may trouble her in Paris.
Aman Sehrawat, the lone man in the squad, has taken Olympic silver medallist Ravi Dahiya’s spot. Known for his endurance, Aman does have an outside chance of returning with a medal — if a bout lasts six minutes, it might be difficult to beat him. In January 2024, he won the gold in the 57kg event at the Zagreb Open, beating China’s Zou Wanhao with a perfect score of 10-0.
In the full contingent, Aman and Antim are the only ones who are seeded owing to their ranking points, the first time that it’s been introduced in Olympics wrestling.
The contingent
Men: Aman Sehrawat (57kg)
Women: Vinesh Phogat (50kg), Antim Panghal (53kg), Anshu Malik (57kg), Nisha Dahiya (68kg), Reetika Hooda (76kg)
