Every athlete dreams of winning an Olympic medal. From the moment they choose to become a sportsman or woman, there is one goal. Most don’t reach there despite years of hard work and sacrifices. But, for that moment of bliss, an athlete would give it their all. To get an opportunity to stand on that podium with a gold medal around their necks and hear the sound of their national anthem reverberating all over the stadium.
Rohan Bopanna, the oldest member of the Indian contingent, is one of the favorites to win a medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The 44-year-old will be participating in his third Olympic Games and has played alongside legends of the game, Mahesh Bhupathi, Leander Paes, and Sania Mirza, in the 2012 and 2016 editions. This time around, it’s Bopanna who’ll be the legend of the sport when he partners with N Sriram Balaji.
Money spent on Rohan Bopanna’s Olympic training
At the Paris Games, the 117 qualified Indian athletes were allocated Rs 470 crore by the Sports Authority of India’s Mission Olympic Cell. For tennis, which has seen just three players qualified (Sumit Nagal), that amount was Rs 4 crore. Being that Bopanna is the best Indian tennis player in the world, he received nearly 40% of the amount allocated to the world no. 4.
According to the Indian Express, Rs 1.56 crore was spent on his overall expenses. Although his training base was Bengaluru, Karnataka, he couldn’t stay there much as he traveled worldwide throughout this Olympic cycle.
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Can Rohan Bopanna win his first Olympic medal?
As one of the world’s best doubles players, the chances of Bopanna winning a medal are high. He’s partnering with Sriram Balaji, a player who’s had a good time on clay this season. By his standards, Bopanna didn’t do great in the clay swing, reaching the semifinals of just one event. However, that event was the French Open, the same venue where the men’s doubles will be played at the Paris Olympics. One can’t also forget that Bopanna’s first Grand Slam title came in Paris in 2017, and so he’ll carry those happy memories when the men’s doubles start on July 27.
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