A note on the issue: Games of equality
Women are leading the charge for India at the Olympics, from weightlifter Mirabai Chanu to archer Deepika Kumar and wrestler Vinesh Phogat
It was a good target. But, the International Olympic Committee fell slightly short. The committee had aimed for a 50-50 split among men and women sportspersons, for the first time, for the 2024 Paris Games. At last count, 49% of the 11,000-plus elite athletes registered for the Games are women. And in the Indian contingent, nearly 40% of the sportspersons are women with many of them being the country’s brightest hopes for medals. From wrestler Vinesh Phogat and weightlifter Mirabai Chanu to badminton’s P.V Sindhu and archer Deepika Kumar, women are leading the charge, as sportswriter Deepti Patwardhan points out in her story.
Boxers Lovelina Borgohain—a surprise medallist at Tokyo—and two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen (both of whom were on the cover of Lounge in March) will also be looking to bring back medals. The youngest member of the contingent is also female—all of 14 years, old Dhinidhi Desinghu from Bengaluru has a plethora of national records and good showings at the Asian Games to her credit.
Also read: Paris Olympics 2024: The hunger driving India’s hockey team
Apart from javelin star Neeraj Chopra, who won India’s first gold in track and field in the 2020 Olympics, hopes are also high for the Indian hockey team, which brought home a bronze from Tokyo. Rudraneil Sengupta, who has been spending time with the team, writes of their hard work and their ambition as they set their sights on gold. The Olympics are always quite the show—gifted athletes demonstrating skill and grace—but this one seems set for spectacle beyond the field, going by the opening ceremony on the Seine with athletes sailing down the river towards the Eiffel Tower at sunset as more than 200,000 people watched.
Other stories you mustn’t miss this weekend include Nisha Susan’s incisive take on misdirected anger, an interview with sex therapist Neha Bhat who discusses trauma and healing, a showcase of the best looks from couture week in Delhi, and a delicious hot chocolate tasting trail through Mumbai in the rain.
Write to the editor at shalini.umachandran@htlive.com
@shalinimb
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First Published:27 Jul 2024, 07:00 AM IST
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