Six medals in total, one silver, five bronze, but no gold. The country with the second largest population on the planet could only muster 71st position in the medals table, squeezing between Lithuania and the Republic of Moldova. If assessments are made based on the sheer size of population, six medals are an underwhelming performance, but with a handful of near-misses, and the introduction of a sport which India thrives in arriving at the next Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028, there might be reason for Indians to be optimistic.
Chopra amongst the medals again
Neeraj Chopra would have harboured dreams of back-to-back gold medals going into Paris, which would have cemented his status amongst Indian legends such as Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar. Unfortunately, those dreams were dashed by Arshad Nadeem from neighbouring rivals Pakistan, who also set a world record of 92.97m on his way to claiming gold. However, seeing Chopra on the medals podium again will give India hope that he can get back to the top step in Los Angeles in 2028.
Cricket to return in Los Angeles
Speaking of gold medals, another reason why Indians will take a wave of optimism into the next Olympics is the inclusion of cricket as a discipline. It will be 128 years since cricket featured at an Olympics, the only time it has in Olympic history. The 1900 Summer Olympic Games in Paris saw Great Britain defeat their French hosts by 158 runs in the final.
The sport will return in its T20 format, and the likes of Indian batter, Jeremiah Rodrigues, has already expressed her excitement over representing her country in Los Angeles. Cricket fans will already know that India is a country steeped in cricketing history and tradition and Indian T20 players will be chomping at the bit, especially after the Indian men’s team won the recent T20 World Cup in the United States and West Indies.
Between now and 2028, there is plenty of cricket to be played, including the annual domestic IPL league and the chance to defend the T20 crown in India and Sri Lanka in 2026. The latest odds here will show you that India are pretty well backed when it comes to cricket. Indians will be hoping for the same once 2028 rolls around.
What to expect in 2028…
Despite winning one less medal than the 2020 Tokyo Games, played in 2021 due to COVID, Indians will be confident that Neeraj Chopra and the men’s and women’s cricket teams can compete for gold in LA. If Manu Bhaker (bronze in women’s 10m air pistol & bronze in mixed 10m air pistol) can continue her shooting streak, she too might be able to improve on her showings in Paris. Despite the large population, the next cycle of Olympic funding and training for LA begins now and come this time in four years, Indians will be hoping to look back on a successful Games with a double-digit medal haul and some more silvers and golds amongst them.
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