24 service personnel among 117 Indian athletes at 2024 Paris Olympics

New Delhi, July 20: The 2024 Paris Olympics, starting on July 26, will see a robust contingent of 117 Indian athletes, including 24 Armed Forces personnel. This group of athletes, comprising 22 men and 2 women, is poised to make the nation proud, a press release issued by the Defence ministry said. Notably, this marks the first-ever participation of female military personnel in the Olympics.

Among these distinguished athletes is Subedar Neeraj Chopra, the star javelin thrower and 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medallist. Chopra is again set to vie for top honours in Paris, following a series of outstanding performances that earned him gold medals at the 2023 Asian Games, 2023 World Athletics Championship, 2024 Diamond League, and 2024 Paavo Nurmi Games.

Maiden Participation of Women Military Personnel

For the first time, women from the Indian Armed Forces will compete at the Olympics. Havildar Jaismine Lamboria, a bronze medallist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, will compete in boxing, while CPO Reetika Hooda, who won a bronze at the 2023 Asian Wrestling Championships, will aim for a podium finish in wrestling.

Other Notable Service Personnel are:

Subedar Amit Panghal (Boxing)

CPO Tajinderpal Singh Toor (Shot Put)

Subedar Avinash Mukund Sable (3000m Steeplechase)

CPO Muhammed Anas Yahiya, PO(GW) Muhammed Ajmal, Subedar Santhosh Kumar Tamilarasan, and JWO Mijo Chacko Kurian (4X400M Men's Relay)

JWO Abdulla Aboobacker (Triple Jump)

Subedar Tarundeep Rai and Subedar Dhiraj Bommadevara (Archery)

Nb Sub Sandeep Singh (Shooting)