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All eyes will be on the shooting contingent as the Paris Olympics 2024 gets underway with Day 1 action on Saturday (July 27). India finds itself with a chance to secure two medals on the opening day.
The day opens at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre, with the Indian rifle quartet of Ramita Jindal, Arjun Babuta, Elavenil Valarivan and Sandeep Singh competing in the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team Qualification starting at 12.30 pm IST.
The prospects are also bright for Indian shuttlers as Lakshya Sen and the pairings of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty and Ashwini Ponnappa-Tanisha Crasto open their campaigns. Rohan Bopanna and Sriram Balaji also start with a tricky first round against home favorites Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Fabien Reboul.
The hockey team will also play their Paris Olympics pool match against New Zealand, which could be the perfect match-up to warm up for the tournament and tougher opponents ahead.
Boxer Preeti will look to score a win in her round-of-32 bout, while hopes will be high from pistol stars Manu Bhaker, Rhythm Sangwan, Arjun Singh Cheema and Sarabjot Singh as they seal their fate in the qualification rounds.
Paris 2024 Olympics India Day 1 List of Events and Players (July 27):
Shooting
10m Air Rifle Mixed Team Qualification - Ramita Jindal/ Arjun Babuta, Elavenil Valarivan/ Sandeep Singh, 12.30 pm IST
10m Air Rifle Bronze/Gold medal matches - Subject to qualification at 2 pm/2.30 pm IST
10m Air Pistol Men's Qualification - Arjun Singh Cheema and Sarabjot Singh, 2.30 pm IST
10m Air Pistol Women's Qualification Manu Bhaker and Rhythm Sangwan, 4 pm IST
Tennis
Men's Doubles First Round Sriram Balaji and Rohan Bopanna, 3.30 pm IST
Badminton
Men's Singles Group Stage - Group L - Lakshya Sen, Not before 7.10 pm IST
Men's Doubles Group Play Stage - Group C - Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/ Chirag Shetty, Not before 8 pm IST
Women's Doubles Group Play Stage - Group C - Ashwini Ponnappa/ Tanisha Crasto, Not before 11.50 pm IST
Table Tennis
Men's Singles Preliminary Round - Harmeet Desai, 7.15 pm
Hockey
Men's Pool B - India vs New Zealand, 9 pm IST
Boxing
Women's 54kg - Prelims - Round of 32 - Preeti vs Thi Kim Anh, 12.02 am
Paris 2024 Olympics India Day 1 Medal prediction
While Ramita Jindal will team up with Arjun Babuta, Elavenil Valarivan and Sandeep Singh will form the second Indian team. Both will shoot three series of 20 shots each in the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team Qualification rounds, looking to make the cut for the medal rounds.
The top two teams at the end of the qualification will play in the gold medal match, while the third and fourth-ranked teams will slug it out for the bronze medal.
Indians have done well in the event ever since its introduction, with the duo of Narmada Nithin Raju and Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil even holding the qualification round world record of 635.8. The Olympic record, meanwhile, stands at 633.2.
While all four Indian shooters have undeniable talent, with Valarivan even winning six golds on the biggest stage as a junior, they have not made the sort of impact that immediately spells Olympics success.
There’s still the obvious spark and both teams could give the medal favorites a run for their money, but a medal may be a little difficult to come by.
