This was a fine year for several Indian athletes. Some earned quota places for next year’s Rio Olympics, while others made their mark by winning medals in elite events.
The Hindu showcases the best Indian action this year from six disciplines the country’s athletes are expected to excel in at the Olympics.
ARCHERY: A bright year overall. The women’s recurve team booked an Olympics spot by securing silver in the World championship in Copenhagen. Mangal Singh Champia claimed a men’s individual berth. Rajat Chauhan bagged a compound men’s individual silver in Copenhagen. Abhishek Verma clinched the compound gold medal in the Wroclaw leg of the World Cup and went on to pocket silver in the World Cup Finals in Mexico. Deepika Kumari also took silver in Mexico.
ATHLETICS: With 13 medals, India finished third in the Asian athletics championship in Wuhan.
Inderjeet Singh (20.41m) and Lalita Babar (9:34.13) set new championship records in the men’s shot put and women’s 3000m steeplechase respectively. Lalita, who also made the cut for the Olympics, became the first Indian woman to qualify for the finals of a track event in the world athletics championship. She shattered the National record she had set in Wuhan by clocking 9:27.86 in the heats. She finished eighth in the finals. O.P. Jaisha and Sudha Singh took the 18th and 19th spots in women’s marathon in Beijing to qualify for the Olympics. Discus thrower Vikas Gowda, marathon runner Nitendra Singh Rawat and 20km race walker Sapna also booked their berths to Rio.
BOXING: Shiva Thapa became the third Indian boxer to win a World championship medal, a 56kg bronze, in Doha. World and Olympic medallist Vijender Singh turned professional and won his first three bouts convincingly.
L. Sarita Devi completed the one-year suspension imposed on her by the International Boxing Association (AIBA).
HOCKEY: The Indian men’s team achieved a rare feat by finishing third in the Hockey World League and claiming a medal in a major event after 33 years.
After losing to Argentina and the Netherlands and drawing against Germany in pool matches, India defeated Great Britain in the quarters, lost to Belgium in the semis before edging past the Netherlands in the bronze medal match. India had last won a medal in 1982 when it secured a bronze in the Champions Trophy. Indian women made history by making it to the Olympics after 1980.
SHOOTING: Commonwealth Games gold medallist Apurvi Chandela won the women's air rifle silver medal in the World Cup Final in Munich. Double trap marksman Mohd. Asab bagged bronze in the World Cup Final in Nicosia.
There were three World Cup bronze medals claimed by Jitu Rai (air pistol), Chandela (air rifle) and Manavjit Singh Sandhu (trap) this year.
Mairaj Ahmad Khan became the first Indian skeet shooter to win an Olympic quota place.
Eight shooters have won Olympic quota places so far. Jitu did it in the World Championship last year, while Chandela, Abhinav Bindra, Gagan Narang, Gurpreet Singh, Chain Singh, Prakash Nanjappa and Mairaj qualified in World Cups this year.
WRESTLING: Narsingh Yadav won a bronze medal in the World championship in Las Vegas to become the first Indian wrestler to earn a slot (in men’s freestyle 74kg) in the Rio Games. With two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar also aspiring to compete in the same weight, there is a possibility of the two wrestlers engaging in a trial ahead of the Olympics.
The birth of the Pro Wrestling League (PWL) was an important event.
