From 1928 to 1956, the Indian men’s hockey team won six straight Olympic golds, a record that is yet unsurpassed. Among those will be Dipa Karmakar, a woman gymnast, the first for India. The U.S. has 282 Winter Olympics medals.
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Spotlight will be on the gritty Dutee Chand who is back on track after winning a landmark gender case against the IAAF and has become the first Indian sprinter to qualify for the Olympics in 36 years.
The last Olympic Games were in Sochi, Russia, in 2014, while the next Games will take place in PyeongChang, South Korea, in 2018.
As the Olympic flame made its way into Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday, protests continued to follow the procession, causing organisers to alter their route into the city that will host the prestigious event. These Games will be an opportunity for competing with participants from all over the world in the best traditions of sportsmanship.
More worrying for many competitors is the Zika virus as several top athletes including World number one Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy removed their names from Olympic consideration citing the risk of contracting the disease which can cause crippling birth defects. But all the hype fizzled out in a few seconds when Deepika lost to Amy Oliver of Great Britain, while the team – which also had Bombayla Devi Laishram and Chekrovolu Swuro – went down to Denmark, both in first rounds.
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Having failed to live up to the hype four years ago, the Indian archers have arrived about 15 days early to acclimatise themselves as they hope to make their mark by clinching at least one medal in the women’s team event. “Hopefully it’s us who will celebrate the samba on the streets of Rio”, Tiwari said Wednesday.
