The Paris Olympics 2024 will begin on July 26 in Paris, the capital of France, in which more than 100 Indian athletes will show their mettle to reach the podium of the world's biggest sports stage.

This time Indian athletes will have a golden opportunity to destroy all the old records. The last Tokyo Olympics has been the most successful for India. But this time India has full hope of getting at least 10 medals. If this happens, it will be the first time in Olympic history that India will get double-figure medals.

Nikhat Zareen appears to be standing at the forefront of the list of debutants in Paris 2024. let's take a look at seven promising Indians making their Olympic debut in Paris.

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Debutants to watch out for in Paris 2024

7. Jyothi Yarraji

24-year-old hurdles sprinter Jyothi Yarraji has won a series of medals leading up to Paris 2024, with golds in the Asian Athletic and Asian Indoor Athletic Championships. Yarraji secured quota through the world rankings route. Though the women’s 100m hurdles event has been part of the Summer Games since 1972, this will be the first time an Indian athlete is present on the start list.

The hurdler from Andhra Pradesh could have secured automatic entry to Paris if not for an injury to her lead leg that she suffered at the Monet Grand Prix in Finland in May. She clocked 12.78 seconds in Finland, missing the qualification mark by only 0.01 seconds.

6. Parul Chaudhary

At the Paris Olympics 2024, Parul Chaudhary will participate not only in the women’s 3000m steeplechase but also in the 5000m event. She qualified for the Olympics by breaching the Olympic qualification mark and in the latter through the Road to Paris World Rankings. Chaudhary shot into the limelight with a gold in the 5000m and silver in the 3000m steeplechase events of the Hangzhou Asian Games last year. The 28-year-old is the first Indian to clock less than nine minutes in the 3000m women’s steeplechase.

Also Read: India's schedule in Paris Olympics 2024 by sports

5. Sreeja Akula

Sreeja Akula, who played an important role in helping India obtain quotas for the team event at the Paris 2024 Summer Games, is set to make her Olympic debut in both team and individual events. In 2022, Sreeja teamed up with Sharath Kamal to win the mixed doubles gold in her first-ever Commonwealth Games appearance in Birmingham.

Sreeja also created history in Lagos by becoming the first Indian table tennis player to win a WTT Contender singles title. The 25-year-old Indian table tennis player hopes to carry the momentum and create a few upsets in Paris.

4. Lakshya Sen

Lakshya Sen, the 'new star of Indian badminton' secured his spot at the Olympics by finishing 13th in the Paris 2024 Olympic Qualification Rankings (OQR) with 64021 points. He also ensured that India would have two men’s singles player representatives at the Olympics for the first time since 2004.

Lakshya has immense potential for the upcoming Paris 2024. He recently made a comeback with two consecutive semi-final finishes in the BWF European World Tour and French Open Super 750. He won three deciders at the French Open and All England Opens and two in two consecutive weeks which shows his sheer Potential, and determination to perform well on the big stage.

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3. Anshu Malik

Indian wrestler Anshu Malik is a strong medal contender at the Paris Olympics. Anshu had won a silver medal at the recent Ranking Series event in Budapest in the women's 57kg, losing the final to China's Kexin Hong. The 22-year-old Anshu had qualified for Paris 2024 by winning a gold medal at the Asian Olympic Qualifier in April. At the age of 18, Malik qualified for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, losing to the eventual silver medallist, Iryna Kurachkina, while missing out on a medal in the repechage round.

2. Kishore Jena

Neeraj Chopra may be India's big hope in javelin but don't count out Kishore Jena, who followed up Chopra's gold at the 2022 Asian Games with a silver of his own. Jena got his ticket to the Paris Olympics via direct entry, as the qualifying cutoff is 85.50 m. Jena clinched the qualification with an 86.77-meter throw at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year.

During that event, he marked 87.54 m, just behind Neeraj Chopra’s mark of 89.94 m at the Stockholm Diamond League in June 2022. Jena believes that the Paris 2024 Olympics are a time for a turnaround. His entire focus is on Paris rather than future plans and that's why he could be a medal contender for sure.

Also Read: Paris Olympics 2024: Indian athletes who qualified for the Paris 2024

1. Nikhat Zareen

After clinching bronze at the 2023 Asian Games and gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, boxer Nikhat Zareen is one of India's brightest medal prospects at Paris 2024. Zareen is only the second Indian woman to win more than one world title in the history of the competition.

She joined none other than the legendary MC Mary Kom to have multiple boxing world titles. Among her memorable performances in her boxing career, came her win over three-time European Championships medallist Ukraine's Tetiana Kob which came at the  Strandja Memorial Boxing Tournament in 2022. No surprise that her medals tally is expected to grow and an Olympic medal is what 1.4 billion are expecting from her at the Paris Olympics 2024.

LA 2028 is going to see great Olympians continue their greatness, young stars take their next steps, and entire sports leap into the spotlight.

India has already started its preparation for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. India is seeing a great performance in LA, where everyone is expecting to win more than 10 medals. The country feels optimistic with a promising lineup mixed with veterans and young guns that these young men shall not only live up but also exceed expectations when they bring laurels home to India in the LA 2028.

We have three years before the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. So, just making firm predictions who will win what is tough. So, let's just try to make a prediction of who to watch in LA 2028 from India.

Also Read: 10 Indian Women Who Made Olympic History

Anahat Singh

Well, this might sound wild. But why make only the safe predictions? India expects Anahat Singh to bag the first Olympic squash medal. 

Anahat Singh had already won a medal at the Asian Games at an age of fifteen. She has also quickly emerged as the best female squash player in India. What a time to come out of the shadows for a sport that will have its greatest hour ever when squash is introduced in the Olympic programme in Los Angeles.

Nothing wrong with Anahat being among the world’s best juniors. Each time she competes at a senior event, she is better. Forget Joshna Chinappa, Dipika Pallikal, and Saurav Ghosal, those legends from India might be too old to pick up a racquet and compete in Los Angeles, but Anahat can win for them all.

Anmol Kharb

It is not an easy job to emulate PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal. It’s also not an easy assignment to follow a huge success at such a young age with consistent performances later. Teenager Anmol Kharb found that out after she was India’s star at the Badminton Asia Team Championships in early 2024. In high-stakes clashes, she outsmarted players with higher rankings.

Till Tokyo, India had won three consecutive medals in women’s singles badminton; however, that run was stopped in Paris. Kharb possesses tremendous skill and as such, like she showed early this year, has the right attitude. All now remains is to conjure consistency. Anmol can prove to be the third woman that wins her a medal in badminton for India.

Dhiraj Bommadevara

The 22-year-old Bullseye archer from Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, was a treat to behold at the Olympics in Paris. He finished the men’s individual archery ranking round with a total of 681 out of 720. In the team event, his superb shooting carried India to qualify for the quarterfinals. Turkey edged past Bommadevara, Tarundeep Rai, and Pravin Jadhav 6-2 in the quarters of the men’s team event.

Bommadevara made Olympic history as the first Indian archer to reach the mixed team semifinals, along with Ankita Bhakat. The duo finally finished fourth, and silver or bronze medals proved just out of reach. So, with age being his side, he is likely to put up a show at the next Olympics to bring a long due medal home. However, this time we hope he gives us a medal to celebrate at the 2028 Olympics.

Lakshya Sen

When Viktor Axelsen says it, how can anyone disagree? The two-time Olympic champion earmarked Lakshya Sen as one of the big contenders for the gold medal in LA after their semifinal in Paris 2024, which Axelsen won in straight games despite being given a scare in both games.

Lakshya is only 23 and has plenty of badminton ahead of him. Like in the Thomas Cup in 2022, and then the Asian Games last year before these Olympics, he has shown time and again that he has the ability to raise his level at big tournaments as well.

Bhajan Kaur

The upcoming star of Indian Archery, Bhajan Kaur, who in her tender age of nineteen only, marked her presence in the archery tournament. She ranked 22nd in the women’s individual ranking round with a score of 659. In the Round of 16, she faced Diananda Choirunisa of Indonesia, and her exciting match went into a shoot-off.

Her Olympic journey ended there in the shoot-off; however, she did leave behind a mark as a promising name in Indian archery despite her heroic effort to come back from a facile victory from behind and force a tie. She was known for accuracy. So far, she has been going very well and she was confident of winning at international levels. Her rigorous schedule of training coupled with her recent wins have increased the expectation of a medal in the 2028 Olympics.

Also Read: Most medals by an Indian in a single Olympics

Reetika Hooda

Haryana’s girl, Reetika represented her state in the women’s 57kg freestyle category. She went all gung-ho. On August 10, she was knocked out of the Paris Olympics with a close loss to the top-seeded Aiperi Medet Kyzy of Kyrgyzstan at the women’s 76kg freestyle quarterfinals. On points, the match remained 1-1, but Medet Kyzy won due to the final technical point rule.

Hooda, who has emerged as one of the best athletes in Indian athletics, is getting enough attention these days. With improved personal bests and perfected technique, experts feel she would easily be at stake for a medal at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Reetika’s journey inspires many young athletes, and her potential success in 2028 can well be a historic moment for Indian sports.

Indian Men's Hockey Team

There will be changes to the Indian men's hockey team between Paris and the LA Olympics. One thing that won't change is its captain. It's both scary (for the rest of the world) and reassuring (for Indians) to think that Harmanpreet Singh is still only 28 years old.

He's coach Craig Fulton's general now. He's just inspired his team to a bronze medal. The youngsters coming through are showing so much promise. Fulton will oversee those changes, but will still build his side around his captain. Much like PR Sreejesh in Paris, there is a chance that LA sees the team wanting to play for Harmanpreet.

Of course, as Graham Reid found out after Tokyo, there's plenty of potential to fall flat on your face, but if Fulton has his way for the next four years, that first gold medal since Moscow 1980 certainly can't be far away.

Indian Men's Cricket Team

Cricket is another sport which might bring a medal for the Indian contingent. Six teams will participate in the event to be held in Los Angeles. As hosts, the USA might receive an automatic qualification spot. Further, England will be participating under the Great Britain flag while the Islands which comprise the West Indies will compete as individual countries, which might weaken them.

Indian Men's Cricket Team has been in brilliant form in the white-ball ICC tournaments in the last two years. The team first clinched the T20 World Cup in 2024 and also won the Champions Trophy 2025. Considering the kind of India’s form and the talent pool they have, the Men in Blue are strong medal contenders and that too for a gold.

Also Read: Cricket may be shifted from Los Angeles at the 2028 Olympics, to attract Indian fans

Jyothi Surekha Vennam

Among the star athletes to expect sometime in LA is Jyothi Surekha Vennam, one of India's most decorated archers. Eight world championship medals, India’s first world title in Compound archery, and 20 World Cup medals, including ten gold medals, are some prestigious accolades proudly owned by her.

Her glorious moment was in Hangzhou, where she created history by winning gold in all three events—individual, women's team, and mixed team compound. In addition to it, she and Ojas Pravin Deotale had won mixed team gold in the Archery World Cup Stage 1 in Antalya (April 2023), missing world record status narrowly with a score of 159-154 against Chinese Taipei.

India's star athlete Jyoti Yarraji won the women’s 100m hurdles event with a timing of 12.99s in the opening day of the Taiwan Athletics Open 2025 on Saturday. The Indian hurdler relied on a desperate final push to claim a win, after going into the final hurdle trailing at second. This is India's fourth medal on the first day of the competition.

The 25-year-old Jyothi Yarraji had previously won gold at the Asian Championships in South Korea on 29 May with a time of 12.96 seconds. Her national record stands at 12.78 seconds.

Also Read: Paris Diamond League 2025: Neeraj Chopra set to return to Paris for his second Diamond League meet

Tejas Shirse secured gold

Tejas Shirse, also a national record holder, secured gold in the men’s 110m hurdles, clocking 13.52 seconds – the second-fastest time of his career. Local athletes Hsieh Yuan-kai (13.72 seconds) and Kuei-Ru Chen (13.75 seconds) took silver and bronze, respectively. Shirse’s national record is 13.41 seconds.

Abdulla Aboobacker and Pooja also won gold medals in their respective events: the men’s triple jump and the women’s 1500m. Aboobacker achieved a distance of 16.21m, falling short of his personal best of 17.19m. Pooja, who won silver at the Asian Championships in South Korea last month, finished in 4 minutes 11.63 seconds. Her personal best is 4:09.52, set in 2023.

Watch how Indian athlete Jyothi Yarraji won gold in 100m hurdles in the Taiwan Athletics Open 2025 with a stunning final push.

The Indian star athlete clocked 12.99s to win the gold.  Till the 7th hurdle, she was behind, but in the last 20m, she won the race with great acceleration.  

The 25-year-old national record holder had won the Gold medal in the Asian Athletics Championship 2025, a few weeks ago. 

Indian athletes claimed a total of four gold medals on the opening day of the Taiwan Open on Saturday. Pooja won the gold medal in Women's 1500m. Abdulla Aboobacker clinched the gold medal in men’s triple jump, with a leap of 16.21m. 

Meanwhile, alongside Jyothi, Tejas Shirse also won the gold in Men's 100m hurdles to make it double glory for the Indian 100m hurdle team. 

Wherever Neeraj Chopra goes, he does not return empty-handed. This series started in 2016 when this rising star made a record for the first time at the Under-20 World Athletics Championships. From that day itself, we got a glimpse of the future to come, in which many records were to be made and broken one after the other.

On Friday night of 16 May, Neeraj maintained the same trend in Doha Diamond League 2025 and got his name registered in history, becoming the first Indian to breach the 90m mark in the sport. So, it's time we take a look at every Neeraj Chopra records that he has made in his tremendous career so far.

Also Read: Neeraj Chopra’s best throws: Here are all the top throws by javelin ace Neeraj Chopra

Every Neeraj Chopra records you should know

• First Indian to breach the 90m mark: Neeraj Chopra’s best throw is 90.23m, achieved at the Doha Diamond League on May 16, 2025. The mark stands as the men’s national record in India and Neeraj Chopra’s personal best. It was the first time an Indian had breached the 90m-mark in the javelin.
• First Indian to win Olympic medal in athletics: At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Neeraj Chopra produced a historic performance in the men's javelin throw event. Neeraj won the gold medal in the final with a throw of 87.58m, giving India its first Olympic medal in athletics. With this win, Neeraj Chopra also became the first Indian athlete to win a gold medal in a track and field event at the Olympics.
• First Indian to win silver at World Athletics Championships: Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra won a historic silver medal at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon. He recorded a throw of 88.13m in his fourth attempt to claim the second spot. Chopra thus is the first Indian to win a silver medal at the World Athletics Championships and only the second medallist from the country after Anju Bobby George in 2003.
• First Indian track and field athlete to win world championship: Neeraj Chopra won the gold medal at the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland. With this win, the then 18-year-old Neeraj became the first Indian track and field athlete to become a world champion in any event and any age level.
• First Indian World Record holder in track & field: Neeraj Chopra Threw 86.48m at the junior championships in Poland to win the title. With this, he set the new under-20 world record, beating the 84.69m mark established by the previous holder, Latvia's Zigismunds Sirmais. Neeraj’s 86.48m attempt at Bydgoszcz still stands as both the U20 world record as well as the U20 Asian record in the javelin throw.
• Indian national javelin throw record holder: Neeraj Chopra’s best attempt to date came at the Stockholm Diamond League 2022 in Sweden on June 30, 2022, where he managed his personal best of 89.94m to establish the new national record.
• First Indian to win javelin throw gold at Asian Games: Neeraj Chopra is the first Indian javelin thrower to win a gold medal at the Asian Games. Before him, Gurtej Singh was the only men’s javelin thrower from the country to win a medal – bronze at the 1982 New Delhi Asian Games. Neeraj threw  88.06m to claim the 2018 Asian Games title.
• First Indian to win a Diamond League meet: Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian to win a Diamond League meet after he topped the field in Lausanne in 2022. With a depleted field that had world champion Anderson Peters missing, the Indian comfortably led the charts with an 89.08m throw, in his first attempt. 
• First Indian to become Diamond League champion: Neeraj Chopra is the first Indian athlete in history to clinch the Diamond League trophy, by winning the Zurich Diamond League 2022 Final. The Indian ace recorded a best throw of 88.44m to beat Tokyo 2020 silver medallist and 2016 champion Jakub Vadlejch to the title.
• First Indian to become world champion: Neeraj Chopra became India's first world champion after he clinched the gold medal in the men's javelin throw final at the World Athletics Championships 2023 in Budapest with an effort of 88.17m. It was Neeraj Chopra's second straight medal at the world championships after his silver at Oregon 2022.

Also Read: India at Olympics: India's Olympic medal tally by every edition

Neeraj Chopra Records: Best throws at major competitions

Indian javelin ace Neeraj Chopra bettered his throw of 89.94m with a season-best throw of 90.23m at the at the Doha Diamond League 2025. After this, he became the first Indian to breach the 90m mark in the sport.

Read Also: Every Neeraj Chopra Records You Should Know 

Despite the historic achievement, Chopra missed out on the top podium spot at the Doha Diamond League, where Germany’s Julian Weber stole the show with a massive throw. Chopra’s previous best was 89.94m, set on June 30, 2022, at the Stockholm Diamond League — a mark that stood as both his personal best and the men’s national record.

Neeraj achieved his target

• Neeraj Chopra’s best throw is 90.23m, achieved at the Doha Diamond League on May 16, 2025. The mark stands as the men’s national record in India and Neeraj Chopra’s personal best.
• The second-best throw of Neeraj Chopra's career is 89.94m. Neeraj had thrown this throw in the Stockholm Diamond League on 30 June 2022. This throw is a national record and one of Neeraj Chopra's best throws.
• Neeraj Chopra's third-best throw of 89.49m came at the Lausanne Diamond League 2024This is Chopra's best throw ever at a global championship and his third-best overall.
• Neeraj Chopra's fourth-best throw in javelin throw came at Paris Olympics 2024 where he bagged the silver medal with an 89.45m throw. 
• His fifth best throw came in Paavo Nurmi Games in 2022 where he went close to that 90m mark once again.
• In the Lausanne Diamond League 2022, held in the month of August, Neeraj Chopra had thrown the sixth-best throw of his career. Neeraj had thrown the javelin 89.08 meters.
• Neeraj's seventh-best throw came in the Asian Games 2023 held in Hangzhou. In this round, Neeraj had achieved a distance of 88.88m.
• Neeraj Chopra's eighth-best throw came in the World Athletics Championships 2023 in Budapest. In this competition which was held on August 25, 2023, Neeraj showed excellent performance and achieved a distance of 88.77m.
  

Also Read: India at Olympics: India's Olympic medal tally by every edition