India looks for its best-ever medal haul

This report comes after a projection from Associated Press marked the mixed doubles tennis pairing of Sania Mirza-Rohan Bopanna to bag a bronze in Rio while 50m pistol participant Jitu Rai is expected to win a silver medal in shooting for India. 

The Goldman Sachs’ medal tally prediction gives India two medals more than their tally in the last Olympics in London. The Sports Authority of India, on the contrary hand, have a target of 10 medals for the 118 athletes set to participate in Rio.

In 2012, Goldman Sachs had predicted that India would clinch five medals including two golds. But the actual tally turned out to be six, comprising two silver and four bronze medals. That was the best ever Indian performance at Olympics. 

United States and China, will again win most gold medals at the Olympics and Britain will push Russia into third place in the overall standings, Goldman Sachs predicted in the survey released.

Sport: Shooting Event: 10m air rifle 

The presage to the Olympics - the ISSF World Cup in Baku - didn’t go exactly the way Bindra would have expected, but it did line him up nicely for the Games. Bindra flew to Munich to get in shape before heading to Rio. As India’s only individual Olympic gold-medallist says, he likes to “dig deep” into his reserves to find the trigger moment. Carrying India’s flag proudly at the Rio 2016 Opening Ceremony, Bindra, who has announced his fifth Olympic appearance to be his last and he would leave on a high if he adds one more to his collection.

Sport: Shooting Event: 10m air rifle, 50m rifle prone, 50m rifle 3 positions 

Wearing his 2012 London bronze proudly on his chest, the Hyderabadi knows what it takes to win a medal at the Games. After a silver and a bronze at the 2014 Commonwealth Games (CWG) in Glasgow, Narang has shot in seven World Cups and finished in the top three only once. That’s something the Indian and his personal coach Tanislav Lapidus must have at the back of their mind. It’s going to be Narang’s fourth appearance at the Olympics and he will know the kind of preparations it requires to succeed.

Sport: Badminton Event: Women’s Singles 

Saina wouldn’t have thought in her wildest of dreams that her maiden Olympic medal - a bronze at London 2012 - will bounce off Wang Xin down on the court writhing in pain and eventually forfeiting the match. Saina’s script must have had a few fist pumps and leaps of joy after the final point. But it was an anti-climax; and though history books will always have it as ‘Saina Nehwal - Women’s Singles Badminton Bronze at London 2012’, she will want the colour to change and the script to end on a hard-fought winning note at Rio 2016.

Sport: Tennis Event: Mixed Doubles 

Sania Mirza was forced to team up with Paes for the mixed doubles event in London four years ago; but this time around the world No. 1 women’s doubles player had the liberty to throw her weight around and inform AITA of her partner in mixed doubles. Sania, the winner of three mixed doubles Grand Slams (six overall), chose Bopanna, who had reached as high as No. 3 in 2013 doubles rankings. The decision made a lot of sense as they have a realistic chance of a tennis medal in the Rio Games.

Sport: Wrestling Event: 66 kg Freestyle 

Yogeshwar will once again carry India’s hopes at the biggest stage, this time on the wrestling mats at the Rio Olympics in Brazil. It was the sight of Leander Paes wearing a bronze medal at Atlanta 1996 that, by his own admission, lit the fire of winning an Olympic medal in Yogeshwar. He won a bronze at London 2012. Yogeshwar has announced the Rio Games to be his last Olympics.However, the knees that endured the winning back-flip in London haven’t stopped acting up, keeping Yogeshwar in competition mode in Rio de Janeiro.