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Journalism of Courage
On Wednesday, the event programme and athlete quotas for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games were approved by the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee. The headline was more female representation than men for the first time in history, but in the finer print, a few more decisions impact India’s campaign. Here’s a brief look:
CRICKET: Six teams have been confirmed for men’s and women’s cricket that will be played in T20 format. But there is no confirmation on the venue and qualification pathway. Qualification path is expected to be finalised in the coming months.
SHOOTING: The number of athletes in shotgun and the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol event finals have increased from six to eight. The change to the 25m event could especially come in handy for the likes of Vijayveer Sidhu. The 50m rifle 3 positions finals will feature just the standing position, whereas qualification still requires prone, kneeling and standing sections. Mixed team event, where India had an agonising 4th placed finish in skeet, will be replaced by trap.
SQUASH: Squash’s debut at the Olympics will feature only men’s singles and women’s singles. Each of the two events will feature only 16 players. The absence of team events and any of the doubles disciplines will come as something of a downer from India’s perspective.
BOXING: After some anxious wait, it was recently confirmed that boxing will continue to be a part of the Olympics roster at LA. In the final list, an additional women’s weight category ensures full gender parity across events, with women’s 70kg being added to even the scales.
TABLE TENNIS: At Paris 2024, India created a slice of history by qualifying for both the men’s team and women’s team events, which ensured a full quota in singles too. But there has been some serious shakeup in the events for LA, and it is largely good news from an Indian perspective. Men’s and women’s teams are out, as 2028 will see the return of men’s and women’s doubles, mixed doubles as separate medal events, to go with the mixed team event for the first time.
ARCHERY: After much ado, compound archery is finally set for its Olympics debut. India have been hugely successful in compound events, especially the team events, on the World Archery circuit. However, it is just one event – the mixed team – to go with the regular five recurve events.
