2016 Olympic@Rio de Janeiro
The 2016 Olympic Games will kick-start in Rio de Janeiro on 5 August. The 28th edition of the Games will see 10,500 athletes from 206 National Olympic Committees, including nations like Kosovo and South Sudan, who will make their debut. The contingents from these nations will compete for 306 sets of medals, in 28 Olympic sports.
But the thing that matters most to India is the fact that it has hit its maiden century as far as its Olympic contingent is concerned. With more than a 100 athletes qualifying for the quadrennial mega-event, India will be fielding it's largest-ever contingent. This is a marked improvement compared to the compared to 56 athletes that competed eight years ago at the 2008 Beijing Games.
India have always been underachievers at the Olympics. But in the previous two editions, India has increased their single medal tally at Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2006 and Athens 2004, to three in Beijing 2008 and an unprecedented six at London 2012.
At Rio 2016, India will be aiming for a double digit medal tally, an ambition that seemed beyond the realms of reality a few years ago, but now looks achievable.
once again
A medal for India in Rio
Will Rio be the crowning moment?
