PARIS 2024: Sports Ministry clears 117-member contingent

New Delhi, July 17

India will be represented by 117 athletes at this month’s Paris Olympics after the Sports Ministry cleared the final contingent that also features 140 support staff and officials, of which 72 have been approved at “cost to the government” to meet the “requirements” of the travelling sportspersons.

The Games will run from July 26 to August 11.

The contingent is on expected lines with London Olympics bronze medal winning former shooter Gagan Narang as the chef-de-mission. Narang is also a vice-president in the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).

“The permissible limit for stay of support personnel in the Games Village against accreditation as per norms of the Paris Organising Committee for the 2024 Olympic Games is 67 including 11 1OA Contingent Officials, which includes five Medical Team Members,” stated a letter from the Ministry to IOA president PT Usha, explaining the ratio of support staff allowed as per the size of the contingent.

“For catering to the requirements of the athletes, additional coaches and other support staff numbering 72 have been approved at cost to the Government and arrangements for their stay have been made in Hotels/in locations outside the Games Village,” it added.

Athletics will make for the biggest group in the contingent with 29 names (11 women and 18 men), followed by shooting (21) and hockey (19). The shooting contingent consists of 11 women and 10 men

Table tennis will be represented by eight players, while badminton (7) will feature seven competitors, including two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu.

Wrestling, archery and boxing will have six representatives each, followed by golf (4), tennis (3), swimming (2), sailing (2) and one each for equestrian, judo, rowing and weightlifting.

Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Mirabai Chanu is the lone weightlifter in the contingent and will compete in women’s 49kg category.

In Tokyo Olympics, India was represented by a 119-member contingent, and the country logged its best-ever performance of seven medals, including the historic javelin throw gold by Neeraj Chopra. Chopra will be there in Paris to defend his medal.

In a bid to avoid doping embarrassment in Paris, the government has asked the IOA and concerned federations to take appropriate measures.

“The IOA, SAI, National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) and concerned National Sports Federations may take appropriate measures for conducting the dope tests. IOA may also ensure fitness of the team/individual sportsperson prior to their departure,” it said. — PTI

Curious case of a missing Olympics aspirant

New Delhi: Shot putter Abha Khatua had decided to pursue her Olympics dream despite a family tragedy recently but the national record holder is missing from India’s Paris-bound contingent and there is no clear answer as to why her name has been knocked off the list. Khatua left the country for Spala in Poland, the base for India’s Olympics-bound athletics contingent, on July 11 along with her other teammates. But the very next day, she was not there in the list of track and field participants published by World Athletics. The 29-year-old, who made the Paris Games cut through the world rankings quota, eventually did not figure in the Indian contingent of 117 approved by the Sports Ministry. There is no word yet on whether her name has been dropped owing to injury, a doping violation or any other technical issue. Repeated attempts to reach her have been unsuccessful and the officialdom has decided to stonewall queries around her absence. An Athletics Federation of India official merely said that the body was not aware of any issue with her. When contacted, a World Athletics official also refused to comment on the issue. Before leaving India on July 11, Khatua revealed that she would make her Olympics debut despite the death of her sister-in-law (brother’s wife) recently.