Indians Qualified for Tokyo Olympics 2020: India will contest in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games, in what will be the 32nd edition of the biggest sporting event. The event will be hosted by Tokyo, Japan and will witness the participation of approximately 206 Nations, including India.
Over the years, the nation has seen a growing number of athletes participating in different competitions and winning medals at the biggest stage. The year 2008 saw India bag 3 medals at the Beijing Olympics. The result inspired a lot of Indians which saw an increase in more number of participants in the next edition. In 2012, India bagged six medals in London.
Ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Indian athletes have been showcasing phenomenal performances and so far has managed to seal as many as 18 quotas for Olympics.
Here’s a look at the list of all of the Indian athletes who have qualified for the 2020 Olympics:
| SPORT | PLAYERS | CATEGORY | TOTAL PLAYERS |
| ARCHERY | Atanu Das | Men’s Team | 3 |
| Tarundeep Rai | |||
| Praveen Jadhav | |||
| ATHLETICS | Muhammad Anas | 4 x 400m Mixed Relay Team | 4 |
| Vismaya | |||
| Krishna Mathew | |||
| Noah Nirmal | |||
| Avinash Sable | 3000m Steeplechase | 2 | |
| K.T Irfan | 20Km Race Walking | ||
| SPRINTING | Jinson Johnson | 1500m Middle Distance | 1 |
| SHOOTING | Angad Vir Singh Bajwa | Skeet | 2 |
| Mairaj Ahmad Khan | |||
| Saurabh Chaudhary | 10 m Air Pistol | 4 | |
| Manu Bhaker | |||
| Abhishek Verma | |||
| Yashaswini Singh Deswal | |||
| Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar | 50m Rifle 3 Position | 3 | |
| Tejaswini Sawant | |||
| Sanjeev Rajput | |||
| Deepak Kumar | 10 m Air Rifle | 4 | |
| Divyansh Singh Parmar | |||
| Anjum Moudgil | |||
| Apurvi Chandela | |||
| Chinki Yadav | 25m Air Pistol | 2 | |
| Rahi Sarnobat | |||
| WRESTLING | Vinesh Phogat | Women 58 Kg Freestyle | 4 |
| Bajrang Punia | Men’s 65 Kg Freestyle | ||
| Ravi Kumar Dahiya | Men’s 57 Kg Freestyle | ||
| Deepak Punia | Men’s 86 Kg Freestyle | ||
| HOCKEY | Men’ Hockey Team | Team’s Event | 2 |
| Women’s Hockey Team |
# Archery
Indian Men’s team have qualified for the next year’s Tokyo Summer Olympics. The team comprising of Atanu Das, Tarundeep Rai and Praveen Jadhav eased into the 2020 Summer Games following their good run at the 2019 World Archery Championship.
The team bagged a silver medal in the finals of the competition that earned them a place in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics 2020. However, Women’s team failed to qualify directly for Olympics 2020. They will get another chance in November at the Asian Continental Qualification Tournament.
# Athletics
Irfan Kolothum Thodi was the first Indian player to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 as he booked his berth in the men’s 20Km race walking. The athlete took just 1 hour 20 minutes and 57 seconds, having stood at the 11th position.
Irfan has previously participated at the London Olympics where he finished at the 10th position.
# Shooting
The past 10-12 years have seen Shooting bringing medals for India. Starting from Major Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore who won a silver medal in shooting in 2004. Abhinav Bindra who was the first Indian individual to win a gold medal in the Olympics. The caravan was followed by Vijay Kumar’s silver medal and Gagan Narang’s Bronze medal in 2012 London Olympics.
Till now, seven shooters have booked their berths for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
1. 10m Air Pistol
Manu Bhaker, the 17-years-old is the first female teenager to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Manu won a Gold and Silver at the Youth Olympics and Commonwealth games respectively. Manu also won two gold medals at the ISSF World Cup. Following her dominant performance, Manu easily qualified for the next year’s Tokyo Olympics
Saurabh Chaudhary, the 17-year-old is the rising star for India in Shooting. He won a gold medal in 2018 Youth Olympics. He set the record of the youngest Indian gold medalist at the Asian games. He got selected for the Tokyo Games 2020 following his win at the ISSF World Cup in 2019.
Abhishek Verma booked his place in the Tokyo Olympics 2020 by winning a gold medal at ISSF World Cup in Beijing. The 29 years old is the third player in the category of 10m Air Pistol.
2. 10m Air Rifle
Divyansh Singh Panwar, the 16-years-old booked his 2020 Tokyo Olympics berth by bagging a silver medal at ISSF World Cup in New Delhi. He is one of the youngest Indian to ever qualify for the mega event of Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The duo of Anjum Moudgil & Apurvi Chandela qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics when they finished in the top four in the World Championship. Anjum bagged silver medal and finished at the second position while Apurvi finished fourth in the league. Seeing their performances, both of them booked their places in the 2020 Summer Olympics in the next year.
3. 25m Air Pistol
Rahi Sarnobat, 28-year-old shooter qualified for the Olympics for the second time. She won a gold medal at the ISSF World Cup in Munich. After 2012, she has qualified for the second time in the 25m Air Pistol category. Rahi has been preparing for Tokyo 2020 Olympics after she missed the Rio Games in 2016 due to injury.
Indian men’s and women’s Hockey team is yet to qualify for the next year’s Tokyo Olympics.The men’s and women’s team must reach the final of the FIH Series Finals in Bhubaneswar and Hiroshima to play in the Olympic Qualifiers in October and November. Both the men’s and women’s teams are the favorites to win the Series Finals.
4. Jinson Johnson- Sprinting (1500 m)
The 28-year-old Indian ace sprinter Jinson Johnson qualified for the next year’s Tokyo Olympics 2020. Asian Games gold medalist Jinson Johnson bettered his own 1500m national record while clinching a silver in the ISTAF Berlin event on Sunday. Clocking 3 minute 35.24 seconds, Jinson finished second just behind Joshua Thompson of United States. Jinson hails from Kerala and specializes in 800m and 1500m meters sprinting events. He participated in the 800 meters event at the 2016 Summer Olympics. By winning a silver medal in Berlin, Jinson has booked a berth for the next year’s Olympic Games and is the only male sprinter for India to be selected. Given his success on various occasions, Jinson Johnson has a fair chance of winning India a medal next year.
5. Sanjeev Rajput- Shooting (50m Rifle 3 Position)
Sanjeev Rajput won a silver medal in men’s 50m rifle 3 position at the ISSF World Cup in Rio De Janeiro. Thereby, he booked himself a berth for the next year’s Tokyo Olympics representing India. Sanjeev missed out on his selection in the Rio Olympics 2016. Rajput finished at a qualification score of 1180, which saw him clinch his 11th final in World Cups. Sanjeev is the eighth shooter from India to be qualified for the Shooting event for Olympics. Winning the silver medal at the Rio World Cup ensured his third presence at the Olympics event. Sanjeev will be a tough competition for the fellow shooters and also an experienced among all.
6. Yashaswini Singh Deswal- Shooting (10 m Air Pistol)
The 22-year-old Yashaswini qualified for the next year’s Tokyo Summer Olympics by winning a Gold medal in the 10 meter air pistol event at the 2019 ISSF World Cup in Rio de Janeiro. Yashaswini secured India’s ninth Olympic quota in style, upstaging the women’s 10m air pistol’s No. 1 shooter Olena Kostevych of Ukraine. Deswal topped qualification with a superb 582 leading from start to finish in the 60-shot round, entering only her second final as one of six finalists eligible to win quotas. In her fifth senior World Cup, the former junior World champion led the way from the first shot. She fell just 0.1 behind in the 15th, only to regain the lead on the 16th. At the 2017 ISSF Junior World Championship, she equaled the world junior record of 235.9 and won the gold medal. The young talent from India also looks to dominate the World platform by winning medal in the next year.
7. Vinesh Phogat – 53 Kg Freestyle Wrestling
Vinesh Phogat booked her berth for the next year’s Tokyo Olympics after defeating Sarah Ann Hilderbrandt of USA in the second repechage round at the ongoing World Wrestling Championship. Vinesh won back to back matches in the 53 Kg category in the repechage rounds at the ongoing World Wrestling Championship. The 25-year-old, who is one of the hopefuls of winning India a medal at the next year’s Summer Olympics thrashed the world silver medalist 8-2 to fix her fight for the Bronze medal against Maria Prevolaraki of Greece. The gold medalist in Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, Vinesh has proved her mighty presence in the World Wrestling Championship too. Meanwhile, she becomes the first wrestler from India to qualify for the next year’s Olympic Games.
8) Ravi Kumar Dahiya- 57 Kg Freestyle Wrestling
Wrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiya who was selected in the World Wrestling Championships held in Nur Sultan, Kazakhstan, defeated the former World Champion Yuki Takahashi of Japan 6-1 in the Quarter Finals to book his berth for the next year’s Tokyo Summer Olympics. Competing in the 57 Kg category, Ravi was exceptional during the match against Yuki Takahashi. In the first round, he completed a technical superiority win (11-0) over Sunggwon Kim of Korea within the first period of the bout. The under 23 Silver medallist now wrestles the defending World Champion Zaur Uguev of Russia for a place in the finals in the ongoing World Wrestling Championships. Ravi has become the first male grappler from India to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
9) Bajrang Poonia- 65 Kg Freestyle Wrestling
Bajrang Poonia, one of India’s biggest hopes, Bajrang Poonia qualified for the next year’s Tokyo Olympics by defeating Poland’s Christophe Binkowski 9-2 in a one-sided match in the 65kg category. Bajrang Poonia made his intentions very clear from the starting as he excelled into the semi- finals of the ongoing World Wrestling Championships in Nur Sultan, Kazakhstan. Bajrang has become the third wrestler after Vinesh Phogat and Ravi Kumar Dahiya to qualify for the next year’s Tokyo Summer Olympics. Bajrang is one of the favorites to win the country a medal at the Olympic Games in 2020.
10) Deepak Punia- Men’s freestyle 86kg
Deepak Punia became the fourth Wrestler from India to book his berth for the next year’s Tokyo Summer Olympics. He did so by defeating Carlos Mendez of Colombia 7-6 in the quarterfinals of the men’s freestyle 86kg category at the ongoing World Wrestling Championships in Nur Sultan, Kazakhstan. Reigning Junior World Champion Deepak placed himself in the line for the senior title by reaching the 86 Kg finals thereby, booking his quota as the fourth Indian wrestler to do so. The 20-year-old Wrestler has made sure that he can assure India a medal by joining the list of other four three wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Ravi Kumar Dahiya and Bajrang Punia.
11) Avinash Sable- 3000m Steeplechase
The 25-year-old Avinash Sable broke his own previous record as he qualified for Tokyo Olympics in men’s 3000m steeplechase event. Avinash clocked 8 minutes 21.37 seconds to breach the Olympics qualifying standard of 8:22.00 seconds while finishing 13th in the men’s 3000m steeplechase final at the IAAF World Athletics Championships. He broke his own record for the second time in three days during the tournament. After completing his school, he joined the Indian army and was posted in Siachen Glacier before getting transferred to the north-western Rajasthan, then in Sikkim. Training in extreme conditions has helped him in participating in 3000m Steeplechase events. He has become the first athlete from India to qualify for the 3000m Steeplechase event for the Tokyo Olympics.
12) Indian 4x400m Mixed Relay Team:
The Indian 400x 400m mixed relay team qualified for the Tokyo Olympics after finishing 3rd at the World Athletics Championships. The team of Muhammed Anas, Vismaya, Krishna Mathew and Noah Nirmal finished 3rd just behind Poland and Brazil clocking the time of 3:16.14s to reach the final. The Indian convoy secured their Olympic berth for the next year’s Tokyo Olympics. However, in the finals, they finished 7th that was not a pleasing record for the team. The team of Muhammed Anas, Vismaya, Krishna Mathew and Noah Nirmal will now be representing India 4x400m mixed relay team.
13) Deepak Kumar- 10 m Air Rifle
Shooter Deepak Kumar, the silver medalist of the Asian Games 2018 booked his berth for the next year’s Tokyo Olympics 2020. Deepak won the bronze medal in the 10 m Air Rifle category at the 14th Asian Shooting Championship in Doha. Deepak secured India’s 10th Tokyo Olympics quota in shooting with a score of 626.8. The 31-year-old shooter, who also won a bronze medal at the 2018 ISSF World Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico last year, qualified for the 8-man final securing the third place.
14) Indian Hockey team- Men’s & Women’s team
Indian Hockey men’s & women’s team sealed their place in the Tokyo Olympics 2020 after having a good run at the Tokyo qualifying event. Starting the tournament as one of the favorites, Indian men’s team thwarted Russia by 7-1 and also went on to win 11-3 on aggregate. Men’s team were predominant since the starting of the match. While Indian women’s team led by Rani Rampal defeated USA 6-5 on aggregate despite losing 1-4 in the second leg of the FIH Qualifier. After both the teams missed their opportunities at the Asian Games 2018, the women settled for silver while the men bagging the bronze, both the Indian teams grabbed their second chance by the scruff of the neck to seal India’s hockey representation at next year’s Summer Olympic Games.
The hockey event is set to take place between July 25 to August 7 in Tokyo next year.
15) Chinki Yadav- 25m Air Pistol
The 21-year-old Indian shooter Chinki Yadav secured a place in the next year’s Tokyo Olympics as she stormed into the finals of the Women’s 25 m Pistol event competition at the 14th Asian Championship in Doha. Chinki Yadav secured India’s 11th Tokyo Olympic quota in shooting with a career-best qualification score of 588 but could not win a medal at the 14th Asian Championship. The 21-year-old Chinki shot a perfect 100 to finish second in the qualification stage with an aggregate of 588 points, just behind Thailand’s Naphaswan Yangpaiboon (590 points). At the same time, Chinki became the second Indian shooter after Rahi Sarnobat to have qualified in the Women’s 25m Pistol event.
16) Tejaswini Sawant (Women)- 50m Rifle 3 Position
The 39-year-old Tejaswini Sawant qualified for the next year’s Tokyo Olympics by finishing fifth in the qualification at the 14th Asian Championships in the 50m Rifle 3 Position. By scoring an impressive score of 1171, Tejaswini became the 12th Indian shooter to qualify for the 30m Rifle event. The former world champion bagged the quota for next year’s Tokyo Games by virtue of making the finals of the 50m rifle 3 positions event in the championship. Out of the eight finalists, five have already booked their Tokyo berths. However, in the finals, Sawant fought well but had to settle with a fourth-place. It will be her maiden Olympics appearance, as she missed her qualification in 2008, 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics.
17) Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar (Men)- 50m Rifle 3 Position
The 18-year-old Aishwary Pratap bagged his first-ever Olympics quota as he won the bronze medal in men’s 50m rifle 3 positions at the 14th Asian Championship. Tomar shot 449.1 in the eight-man finals to finish third on the podium behind gold medallist Kim Jonghyun (459.9) of Korea and Chinese Zhonghao Zhao (459.1). The teenager also became the second Indian shooter after veteran Sanjeev Rajput to have booked his Olympic quota in 50m Rifle Position. He became the 13th Indian shooter to qualify for the big event scheduled to take place in the next year. He had sailed through to the finals of the Asian Championship with a 1168 score in the 120-shot qualifying and ended up with Bronze medal.
18) Angad Vir Singh Bajwa & Mairaj Ahmad Khan- Skeet
Gold medalist Angad Singh Bajwa and Silver medalist Mairaj Ahmad Khan booked their respective berths for the next year’s Tokyo Olympics with a sensational 1-2 finish in the men’s skeet event at the 14th Asian Championship held at Doha. Asian champion Angad Vir, who had shot a world record 60 out of 60 for the title earlier in 2019, pipped Olympian Mairaj 6-5 in the tie-shoot for the gold while Mairaj settled for the Silver medal. Both the skeet shooters made sure that both Indian shooters making a strong entry at the next year’s Summer Olympics. They both made sure that Indian shooters booked their 14th &15th Shooting Olympics quota.
