Athletics
Track and field events have the maximum medals on offer in the Olympics. India’s record though, is not too great. This, despite the presence of past legends — Milkha Singh, PT Usha and GS Randhawa. Among the current lot, Anju Bobby George (pic above) is clearly past her best; there is JJ Shobha in heptathlon, who failed to win at Athens but earned the sporting world’s respect by her show despite injury; but only the 4x400m relay squad has any realistic chance of reaching the finals.
SQUAD: Anju Bobby George (Long Jump), Krishna Poonia (Discus), Harwant Kaur (Discus), Preeja Sreedharan (10,000m), Manjit Kaur (400m), Chitra Soman (4x400m relay), Sini Jose (4x400m relay), MR Poovamma (4x400m relay), Mandeep Kaur (4x400m relay), S Geeta (4x400m relay), K Mridula (4x400m relay), J J Shobha (Heptathlon), Sushmita Singh Roy (Heptathlon), G G Pramila (Heptathlon), Vikas Gowda (Discus), Renjith Maheshwary (Triple Jump), Surender Singh (10000m).

Tennis
The drama surrounding Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi (pic right) teaming up once again has kept tennis followers entertained — and appalled — for most of the last six months, but all said and done, there’s little doubt that they remain one of India’s best medal hopes. The former world No 1 pairing have not had the best of build-ups — they played together in only two tournaments, reaching one final and losing in the first round in the other. But on their day, they still make their opponents dance to their chest-thumping tunes. Sania Mirza is India’s top-ranked player on the WTA Tour, but may not have too hot a chance at a medal.
SQUAD: Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Sania Mirza, Sunitha Rao

... contd.