Twenty four (24) Armed Forces personnel are among the 117 Indian athletes who are all set to make the nation proud at the Paris Olympics, beginning July 26, 2024. Among these 24 athletes, 22 are men, including star Javelin Thrower Subedar Neeraj Chopra, and two are women, which marks the maiden participation of female Service athletes at the Olympics.
Subedar Neeraj Chopra, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Gold medalist, will again vie for top honours as his participation in the Paris Olympics comes on the back of exceptional performances which earned him a Gold medal each at the 2023 Asian Games, 2023 World Athletics Championship, 2024 Diamond League, and 2024 Paavo Nurmi Games.
2022 Commonwealth Games Bronze medalist Havildar Jaismine Lamboria and 2023 Asian Wrestling Championships Bronze medalist CPO Reetika Hooda are the two women Service personnel who are taking part in the Games for the first time, and would aim to create history. They will feature in Boxing and Wrestling respectively.
Sub Amit Panghal (Boxing); CPO Tajinderpal Singh Toor (Shot-Put); Sub Avinash Mukund Sable (3000m Steeplechase); CPO Muhammed Anas Yahiya, PO(GW) Muhammed Ajmal, Sub Santhosh Kumar Tamilarasan & JWO Mijo Chacko Kurian (4X400M Men’s Relay); JWO Abdulla Aboobacker (Triple Jump); Sub Tarundeep Rai & Sub Dhiraj Bommadevara (Archery) and Nb Sub Sandeep Singh (Shooting) are also among the Service personnel who would aim to bring laurels to the country. The full list of Service players is as follows:
Discipline
Rank & Name
Category
Archery
Sub Dhiraj Bommadevara
Recurve Indl & Team
Sub Tarundeep Rai
Sub Pravin Ramesh Jadhav
Athletics
SSR Akshdeep Singh
20Km RW
PO Vikas Singh
20Km RW
SSR Paramjeet Bisht
20Km RW
PO Suraj Panwar
Race Walking Mixed Marathon
Sub Avinash Sable
3000M SC
Sub Maj Neeraj Chopra
Javelin throw
CPO Tajinderpal Singh Toor
Men’s Shot Put
JWO Abdulla Aboobacker
Men’s Triple Jump
Hav Sarvesh Kushare
Men’s High Jump
CPO Muhammed Anas Yahiya
4X400M Men’s Relay
PO(GW) Muhammed Ajmal
4X400M Men’s Relay
Sub Santhosh Kumar Tamilarasan
4X400M Men’s Relay
JWO Mijo Chacko Kurian
4X400M Men’s Relay
Boxing
Sub Amit Panghal
Men’s flyweight
Hav Jaismine Lamboria
Women’s featherweight
Hockey
CPO Jugraj Singh
Men’s Hockey Reserve
Rowing
Spr Balraj Panwar
M1X (Men’s Single Scull)
Sailing
Sub Vishnu Saravanan
Men’s One Person Dinghy
Shooting
Nb Sub Sandeep Singh
10m Air Rifle
Tennis
Nb Sub Sriram Balaji
Men’s Doubles
Wrestling
CPO Reetika Hooda
Women’s 76 Kg (Freestyle)
Apart from 24 athletes, five officials are also heading to Paris to take part in the Olympics. The details are given below:
Discipline
Name
Role
Boxing
Lt Col Kabilan Sai Ashok
Referee & Judge
Boxing
Sub CA Katappa
Coach
Archery
Sub Sonam Tshering Bhutia
Coach
Sailing
Hav CS Delai
Tech Official
Sailing
Nk PV Sharad
Physio
The participation of the Service personnel at the Paris Olympics underscores the Armed Forces’ commitment to promoting sporting excellence and fostering a culture of athleticism, while enhancing the sports consciousness across the nation. As the country gears up to witness the performances of these athletes, it stands united in extending best wishes and unwavering support to each participant.
