BENGALURU: Mark the date. July 24, the first medal day at the Tokyo Olympics could turn out to be huge for India with some of the big medal contenders battling it out in different disciplines. Medals will be rolled out in seven different sports on the day. All eyes will be on Mirabai Chanu (weightlifting, 49 kg), Atanu Das and Deepika Kumari (archery mixed team), Saurabh Chaudhary, Abhishek Verma (10m air pistol men) Apurvi Chandela and Elavenil Valarivan (10m air rifle, women) on Saturday.
If Indians do end up on podium, it could set the tone for the rest of the athletes in the quadrennial event. The other medal contenders from the country will have more belief in themselves and be further motivated to cross the finish line with a medal. Director and CEO at Olympic Gold Quest and former hockey captain of India, Viren Rasquinha has outlined it as a critical day for India.
"I think the first day (July 24) is going to be massive. It is going to be so important because winning medals sends a wave of confidence throughout the entire contingent, especially from your potential medal winners. If we manage to win one or two medals on that day, I think India will surely win more than six medals at Tokyo. Conversely, if we don't win medals (on that day), it is going to put a huge burden of expectations on the players following that, so 24th of July is a critical day for India," said Rasquinha, who is also expecting a medal from the men's hockey team.
In fact, the 126-member Indian contingent for Tokyo is their largest ever, and many believe the country will come up with their best ever medal show at the Olympics. Some even remain confident of a double digit finish when India's best show has been six medals at the 2012 London Olympics, which included four silver and two bronze.
To some extent, India's chances in Tokyo, compared to the past editions, are high with India competing in 18 different disciplines. With strong contenders in sports like wrestling, boxing, shooting, badminton, archery among others, expectations are high thanks to their performances in world events. However, the pressure is undoubtedly going to be huge at Tokyo.
"Of course, there is pressure. In India, we have few potential medal winners as compared to other major nations so the pressure and burden of expectations is much more," said Rasquinha, who feels the Olympics provides athletes a wonderful opportunity to change their lives. "It is a great opportunity for their lives to be changed. Part of being an Olympic athlete is to be able to handle the pressure, that is what you train hard for and for years. They are not doing something new, they have done whatever they are going to do 10, 000 times in the last year and before. So, now it is about doing it when it really matters under pressure."
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