ISSUE
Friday, April 25, 2025
Volume 16 . Issue 56
Rio de Janeiro has been in the news since it was chosen to be the host of the 2016 Summer Olympics, and lately more so because of the numerous problems that have cropped up in the last couple of months. While every host city has had their share of problems, Rio seems to be facing the most—foreign contingents have complained about the unhealthy and inhabitable Olympic Village, Russians have been caught in a doping drama, the suspension of the anti-doping laboratory six weeks prior to the opening ceremony, and the Zika virus is doing its rounds (an outbreak that led to many athletes backing out of the Olympics).
While naysayers are shaking their heads in disapproval, those who stood by the decision of choosing Rio over more stable venues say that the city has been transformed. Rio’s Mayor (and its most faithful cheerleader) Eduardo Paes is doing the best to address the problems.
Ignoring the issues in the build-up to the games are athletes who have been gearing up for the big day. The 28th edition of the Games kicked off in Rio on August 5. In the following days, the world will witness 10,500 athletes from 206 National Olympic Committees who will compete for 306 sets of medals in 28 sports.
India stands a strong chance to grab medals as it sends its strongest contingent ever with 120 athletes. Among them is India’s Saina Nehwal—who heads into her third Olympics—the country’s best bet to score a medal in badminton. The 23-year-old Kidambi Srikanth will have to cross tough hurdles—that includes facing tough adversaries from Mexico and Sweden—before he makes his way to the end. But in the meanwhile, Indians have their eyes on their champion shuttler Nehwal.
Archery lost its charm for Indians when the women’s team, ranked second in the world, lost in the first round. The players can still feel the sting of the loss from four years ago. The women’s team this year will have to gear up to beat the strong South Koreans.
In shooting, India stands a chance to bag more medals. There is hope as the country has sent its largest shooting contingent to the Olympics that includes bronze medallist Gagan Narang (2012), gold medallist Abhinav Bindra (2008) world No 2 in 50m pistol shooting, Jitu Rai.
Eyes are also set on newcomer Dipa Karmakar—the 22-year-old is the first woman gymnast to qualify for Rio.
This year, India will sorely miss silver medallists shooter Vijay Kumar and wrestler Sushil Kumar along with bronze medal winner Mary Kom.
The country’s Olympic team has evolved over the years. From 21 competitors in 1932 to growing to a team of 54 in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics held nearer to home, the size of the team has been increasing and now a close to 200-strong contingent is all set for this year's Games.
Hopes are high from the New Zealand women’s hockey team who narrowly missed out on winning a medal in the 2012 Olympics held in London. Hearts were broken when the Dutch won the match in a penalty shootout. This year’s team consists of five players, including Kayla Whitelock, returning for her fourth Olympics, who have played more than 200 tests.
With golf back in Olympics after its last appearance in 1904, New Zealand confirmed three leading golfers for the Games this year: world No. 1 Lydia Ko and the country’s top-ranked male golfers Ryan Fox (son of the legendary All Black Grant Fox) and Danny Lee.
In another first, New Zealand will also have three 1,500m runners for Rio: Julian Matthews, Hamish Carson and silver medallist Nick Willis (2008).
Elizabeth Cui made a splash this year when she became the first New Zealand Olympic diver in 24 years. She is the only diver to be chosen to represent the country and will be competing on her 19th birthday.
In rugby, 24 athletes—12 players in each in men’s and women’s teams—were named on July 3 to represent the country in a sport close to the Kiwi hearts. Rugby returns to the Olympics after 1924. The two teams will be led by Scott Curry and Sarah Goss.