Indian track and field is still seeking its Anju Bobby George moment. London 2012 had a few highs: national records for the walkers KT Irfan (20km, 10th finish) and Basanta Bahadur Rana (50km, 36th finish), and final spots for throwers Vikas Gowda and Krishna Poonia.
Gowda has qualified for Rio but been missing all season, and Poonia has been replaced by Seema (Antil) Poonia, a former junior world discus champion.
Any improvement from London 2012 will be enormous. The spurt of national records just in time for qualifying could be a case of peaking early. If there is a team that needs to be followed it is, as always, the 4x400m women's relay -- Asian Champions, new national recorder holders and always capable of making it into the last eight.
The team
Men:
Dharambir Singh - 200m
Mohd Anas - 400m and 4x400m relay
Jinson Johnson - 800m
Ayyasamy Dharun - 4x400m relay
Mohan Kumar - 4x400m relay
Sumit Kumar - 4x400m relay
Mohammed Kunhi - 4x400m relay
Arokia Rajiv - 4x400m relay
T Gopi - marathon
Kheta Ram - marathon
Nitendra Singh Rawat - marathon
Baljinder Singh - 20km walk
Gurmeet Singh - 20km walk
Irfan Koluthum Thodi - 20km walk
Sandeep Kumar - 50km walk
Manish Singh - 50 km walk
Ankit Sharma - long jump
Renjith Maheshwary - triple Jump
Inderjeet Singh - shot put
Vikas Gowda - discus throw
Women:
Dutee Chand - 100m
Srabani Nanda - 200m
Nirmala Sheoran - 400m and 4x400m relay
Tintu Luka - 800m
Lalita Babar - 3000m steeplechase
Sudha Singh - 3000m steeplechase
Ashwini Akkunji - 4x400m relay
Debashree Majumdar - 4x400m relay
Jisna Mathews - 4x400m relay
M. R. Poovamma - 4x400m relay
Nirmala Sheoran - 4x400m relay
Anilda Thomas - 4x400m relay
OP Jaisha - marathon
Kavita Raut - marathon
Khushbir Kaur - 20km walk
Sapna Punia - 20km walk
Manpreet Kaur - shot put
Seema Antil - discus throw
The key dates
12-21 August
How they got there
Indian athletes qualified for the Olympics after achieving the qualifying standard in the above-mentioned events.
What they say
Kheta Ram: To be honest, I had never seen or heard of the Olympics before. I am very excited since I am going there. I am sure it's something quite special.
Ashwini Akkunji: In 2012, I didn't get the opportunity. This year, after a lot of things, after a lot of pain, a lot of mental trauma, I had to be in the team and I struggled a lot. I am finally in the team, and my relay is coming back like [it was] in the Commonwealth Games [of 2010].The rhythm is coming back, and I feel happy for that.
Inderjeet Singh: Once it is over, I should have not any regrets about what might have been. I am prepared to give 100% in Rio. This is not the last Olympics for me. I am ready for Tokyo (2020) as well.
Nitendra Singh Rawat: Those five rings are given to extremely fortunate people. Since the time I got to know that I will be representing India at the Olympics, I have felt an inner motivation and my desire to work harder has also increased
Dutee Chand: I am really happy to have qualified for Rio Olympics. It has been a tough year for me. My hard work and that of my coach (N Ramesh) has paid off.
Extras
It will be the fourth consecutive time that Vikas Gowda will represent India at the Olympics after 2004, 2008 and 2012 in the discus throw event. No other Indian male athlete has featured in four Olympics.
India's track record
* Indian archers have participated in every Olympics since 1948.
* India has never won a medal in athletics at the Olympics.
* Vikas Gowda and Krishna Poonia finished eighth and sixth respectively in the discus throw at the London Olympics in 2012.
* Milkha Singh finished fourth in the 400m at the 1960 Olympics in Rome. It remains the best performance by an Indian male athlete.
* PT Usha finished fourth in the 400m hurdles at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, which is the best performance by an Indian female athlete.