Women Power: Watch Out For These Indian Athletes​ At The Olympic Games 2021

Women athletes Tokyo Olympics: India is going to the Tokyo Olympics with its biggest contingent ever.

The opening ceremony gets underway on July 23 and India is sending a record total of 127 athletes in their official contingent who will play across 18 sporting disciplines. Only 117 athletes had been a part of Rio 2016.

Women players constitute a substantial part of the squad as well.  Here we bring you a list of talents to watch out for:

Who are the women athletes in Tokyo Olympics?

Archery

Deepika Kumari - Women’s Individual

Having missed an opportunity for a podium finish in her previous two Olympic appearances, the 27-year-old Kumari is heading to Tokyo as the World No. 1 Women's Recurve Archer and she has been in peak form. Read more here.

Badminton

PV Sindhu - Women’s singles

India would expect at least one medal in Badminton in Tokyo Olympics this year, considering how PV Sindhu has set the bar really high. Saina Nehwal, who became the first Indian shuttler to bring an Olympic medal back home in 2012, failed to qualify this time. Indian hopes are pinned on Sindhu who would look to repeat her Rio Olympics success.

Sindhu won a silver medal in the 2016 Olympics she played against Carolina Marin in the final.

Boxing

Lovlina Borgohain - Women's 69 kg

High hopes from this Assam boxer. Lovlina Borgohain qualified for the Games in March 2020 and became the first female boxer from the state to represent India in the Olympics. She was also the first Indian boxer to confirm her qualification berth in the Olympics. Read her interview here.

Pooja Rani - Women's 75 k

Pugilist Pooja Rani qualified for the Tokyo Olympics after showcasing brilliant performance at the Asian Elite Boxing Championships in Dubai this year. Rani had won her maiden Asian boxing gold in 2019 in the 81kg event but the competition did not take place in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. More here.

Mary Kom - Women's 51 kg

An unprecedented nine Indian boxers will be taking the ring at the Tokyo Olympics, but there is only one Mary Kom. This 38-year-old icon would be eyeing a second Olympic medal. The six-time world champion is one of the two flag-bearers of the Indian contingent. Read Mary Kom interview here.

Hard work. Patience. And Don't Fear To Chase Your Dream: Mary Kom Inspires In New Workout Video

The sole breadwinner of her family, Simranjit Kaur (60kg) is also part of the team.

Tennis

Sania Mirza and Ankita Raina

India’s women’s doubles pair of Sania Mirza and Ankita Raina have also qualified for Tokyo Olympics. The 34-year-old Mirza is all set to become the first female athlete to represent India at the four Olympics, while it will be a debut for 28-year-old Raina at the showpiece event.

Fencing

Bhavani Devi - Women's Sabre

The first Indian fencer to qualify for the Olympics, Devi will compete in the individual sabre fencing event.

Golf

Aditi Ashok

The 23-year-old player from Bengaluru became the first female Indian golfer to qualify for Tokyo Olympics.

Meanwhile, Pranati Nayak will try to showcase her talent in Women's Artistic Gymnastics.

Athletics

Muhammed Anas, VK Vismaya, Nirmal Noah, Jisna Mathew will participate in 4x400m Mixed Relay while Bhawna Jat has managed a berth in the Women's 20 km Race walk. Priyanka Goswami will represent the country in the Women's 20 km Race walk while Kamalpreet Kaur and Seema Punia will play Women's Discus Throw. Annu Rani is in Javelin Throw.

Dutee Chand - 100m and 200m Sprints

The sprinter qualified for the quadrennial event in both 100m and 200m races via the World Rankings quota. She is confident about clinching a medal in this edition of the games.

Shooting

Manu Bhaker will participate in 10m Women’s Air Pistol, Individual and 25m Pistol Women, Individual and Mixed Team while Yashaswini Singh Deswal grabbed her spot in 10m Women’s Air Pistol, Individual and Mixed Team. Meanwhile, Apurvi Chandela is participating in 10m Women’s Air Rifle, Individual, Elavenil Valarivan in 10m Women’s Air Rifle, Individual and Mixed Team, Rahi Sarnobat in 25m Women’s Pistol, Individual, Anjum Moudgil in 50m Women’s Air Rifle 3 positions, Individual and Mixed Team and Tejaswini Sawant in 50m Women’s Rifle 3 Position, Individual.

In Table Tennis, Manika Batra has got placed in Women's Singles, Mixed Doubles while Sutirtha Mukherjee in only Women's Singles.

Wrestling

Vinesh Phogat - Women's 53 kg Freestyle

Phogat's dream of a medal in her first Olympics was cruelly cut short in 2016 when she hurt her ankle but this time she believes she has grown mentally stronger and her techniques are improved as she resumes her bid for Olympic gold in Tokyo. The 24-year-old was unbeatable at last year’s World Wrestling Championships, leading her to qualify for the Olympics.

Other than her, Anshu Malik has qualified in Women's 57 kg Freestyle, Sonam Malik in Women's 62 kg Freestyle and Seema Bisla will represent India in Women's 50 kg Freestyle.