Behind the quest for an Olympic gold

How aspiring Olympians are sweating it out to go where only a few Indians have gone before

Jun 01, 2019, 07:34 IST3 min

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The Bhiwani Boxing Club in Haryana is a trailblazing institute that has consistently spawned international boxers of the likes of Vijendar Singh and Akhil Kumar. Set up in 2003 by its coach...

Image by Madhu Kapparath

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PT Usha missed an Olympic medal by one hundredth of a second in 400 m hurdles in Los Angeles in 1984. No Indian has come closer to winning an Olympic medal in track and field since. Usha be...

Image by Arjun Suresh for Forbes India

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The Indian team’s shotgun coach, former Olympian Mansher Singh (behind), is at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range in Delhi on most mornings, keeping a sharp eye on the performance of the tra...

Image by Amit Verma

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Olympian Jude Felix, coach of the junior hockey national team since 2017, is confident that India will qualify for the 2020 Games. The players are pushing for a place in the team, and eight...

Image by Selvaprakash Lakshmanan for Forbes India

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Mary Kom is the only woman to have won the World Amateur Boxing Chamionship a record six times, and the only woman to have won a medal in each of the seven World Championships. Kom won bron...

Image by Madhu Kapparath

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Jeremy Lalrinninga scripted history by winning India’s maiden gold at the 2018 Youth Olympics in men’s 62 kg weightlifting in Buenos Aires. Training at the Sports Authority of India’s high-...

Image by Deepak Sansta for Forbes India

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Weightlifter Karnam Malleswari, the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal, moved to Yamunanagar in Haryana after marrying fellow lifter Rajesh Tyagi. She’s building a `22-crore facilit...

Image by Madhu Kapparath

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Training in India was always a Plan B for Abhinav Bindra who became the first and only Indian to win an individual gold in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. After retiring from shooting, Bindra de...

Image by Mexy Xavier