Billion hopes, handful of hopefuls

VIJENDER SINGH (Boxing)

He became a household name after he got India an Olympic boxing bronze at the 2008 Beijing Games.

But he disappointed fans at the Commonwealth Games in 2010, losing in the semis. Many felt he was losing his touch.

Vijender is now at Patiala where he trains for more than five hours a day for the World Police Games in August in New York City. That will be followed by the Olympic qualifiers in September at the World Championships at Azerbaijan.

He is confident he will succeed in both. After all, he is still No. 1 in the 75 kg category as per International Boxing Association rankings.

KRISHNA POONIA (Discus)

She hit the headlines by winning the discus gold in the Commonwealth Games in Delhi last year. And remained in the news when she said world champion Dani Samuel of Australia was no match for her.

An enraged Samuel said she was open to the challenge and a sponsor offered a $20,000 winner-takes-all show in Sydney. Poonia refused, citing training schedules.

The 2010 Asian Grand Prix winner will practice in the US through the year and hopes two athletic events there at the end of the year will keep her in perfect shape for the 2012 Games.

SAINA NEHWAL (Badminton)

She is currently sixth in the world because she lost in two Super Series tournaments, Singapore Open and Indonesia Open. But that is no yardstick to measure India's best woman shuttler. Chinese badminton ace Xiong Guabao, winner of 13 major titles, feels Saina Nehwal is the only shuttler who can consistently beat the Chinese.

Nehwal is peaking to give her best. The season is just halfway through and she has handled her injuries well to be in good shape. Her target is to win the World Championships in London in August. If that happens, Nehwal's ranking will get a boost, and so will her morale before the London Games.

RONJAN SODHI (Shooting)

India's premier double trap shooter will settle for nothing but gold in London. He is confident of winning it and has told his friends that he will then salute steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal with it.

In July, Sodhi missed the silver and had to settle for a bronze at the final ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Maribor, Slovenia. Till London happens, Sodhi wants to crisscross the globe and participate in as many championships.

That is his way of motivating himself. "Shooters must practice and compete throughout their lives," he says.

GAGAN NARANG (Shooting) - Commonwealth and Asian champion

"I do not think anyone in India actually remembers that I won four Commonwealth medals. Someone might talk about me being nominated for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna.
Everything depends on what I do next year.

London is the biggest challenge for me. If I had not finished third then, and ended up with a better rank at the Munich World Championships last year, things would have been different.

But I was depressed then because of a personal reason. Now, I am training hard to add an Olympic medal to my kitty in 2012. I know what it means for me. Once, my father sold his house to buy me a world-class rifle.

That was tough call for him. I must win an Olympic medal for him. Olympic honours are a huge motivation for players to perform better. I am training hard at Pune and pushing myself to achieve consistently high scores."

MARY KOM (Boxing) - Five-time world boxing champion, Asian Games gold medallist

"I was sad when I finished third at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. I felt I was letting down my country. But the Asian Cup (48kg) gold at Haikou, China, has boosted my confidence before the London Olympics.

London is important because it will be for the first time that women's boxing will be included as an event. It will be my acid test.

I do not want to be referred to as a five-time World Champion. I would rather be called an Olympic champion. My friends have called me up and said they want me to show the best of skill and agility to pick up the gold.

Women's boxing has developed in the last 15 years. But now that it has been included in the Olympics, developed sporting nations would definitely concentrate on the sport. Seventy-two countries took part in the world championship at Barbados last year, another 20 are likely to send their boxers to the Olympics. I am ready for them."