Indian Armed Forces Debut with 24 Personnel at Paris Games, Including Female Service Athletes

 Twenty-four personnel from the armed forces, including ace javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and two women participants, are among the 117 Indian athletes who are set to test their mettle at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The presence of these two women athletes in the contingent, marks the maiden participation of female service athletes at the Olympics, the ministry of defence in a statement on Saturday.

Chopra, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medallist, is a subedar in the Indian Army.

Twenty-four personnel from the armed forces are among the 117 Indian athletes who are all set to make the nation proud at the Paris Olympics, beginning July 26, it said.

Among these 24 athletes, 22 are men, including javelin thrower Subedar Neeraj Chopra, and two are women, it said.

Chopra will again vie for the top honours as his participation in the Paris Olympics comes on the back of exceptional performances which earned him a gold medal each at the 2023 Asian Games, 2023 World Athletics Championship, 2024 Diamond League, and 2024 Paavo Nurmi Games, the statement said.

Also, 2022 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Havildar Jaismine Lamboria and 2023 Asian Wrestling Championships bronze medallist CPO Ritika Hooda are the two women service personnel who are taking part in the Games for the first time, and would aim to create history. They will feature in boxing and wrestling respectively, it added.

Sub Amit Panghal (boxing); CPO Tajinderpal Singh Toor (shot-put); Sub Avinash Mukund Sable (3000m steeplechase); CPO Muhammed Anas Yahiya, PO(GW) Muhammed Ajmal, Sub Santhosh Kumar Tamilarasan and JWO Mijo Chacko Kurian (4X400M men's relay); JWO Abdulla Aboobacker (triple jump); Sub Tarundeep Rai and Sub Dhiraj Bommadevara (archery) and Nb Sub Sandeep Singh (shooting) are also among the service personnel who would aim to bring laurels to the country.

The India Army had recently in a post on X said, "13 #IndianArmy athletes will be participating in 7 disciplines at the #ParisOlympics2024. The Indian Army's formidable presence includes athletes renowned for their exceptional skills and past achievements on the world stage." Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi had earlier interacted, via video conference, with Indian Army athletes who are set to represent India in the upcoming Paris Olympics.