This is Part 12 of Sports Explained, our 12-part series of simple guides to the rules of the sports Indians love. New here? Start with Part 1: Cricket Formats, or read the previous part, Part 11: Offside and VAR.
Every four years, Indian fans ask the same question: who is going to the Olympics? The answer is decided over two years of qualification, and every sport does it a little differently. This final part of the series explains how it works, with an eye on Los Angeles 2028.
Quota places: the basic idea
- The International Olympic Committee (IOC) sets a total number of athletes for each sport. Each sport's international federation then writes its own qualification system.
- Most qualification earns a quota place for the athlete's country (its National Olympic Committee), not always for the athlete personally.
- In many sports, the national federation and the Indian Olympic Association then choose which athlete fills the quota.
- There are limits per country. Many events allow a maximum of three athletes per nation, and team sports allow one team.
The main routes
- Entry standards: in athletics and swimming, hitting a demanding qualifying time, distance or height in a recognised competition earns a place.
- World rankings: in athletics, badminton, tennis, table tennis and golf, places also go to the highest-ranked players at a cut-off date.
- Qualifying events: world championships and dedicated qualifiers award quotas. This is how shooting, wrestling, boxing and archery usually work.
- Continental events: Asian Games or Asian qualifiers often give places to the best teams or athletes from each continent. Hockey, for example, uses continental champions plus qualifier tournaments.
- Host places: the host nation usually gets automatic spots in many events.
- Universality places: a small number of spots go to countries with few qualified athletes, so that the Games stay global.
Cricket's return at LA 2028
- Cricket returns to the Olympics for the first time since 1900, in the T20 format, with men's and women's events.
- Each event has six teams with 15-player squads.
- The USA is widely expected to take a host spot. The exact qualification route for the other places is still being finalised by the ICC and the IOC.
- India's men and women are among the strongest contenders for gold. See our guide to cricket formats to learn how T20 differs.
India's Olympic picture
India won six medals at Paris 2024: one silver and five bronze. They came in shooting, hockey, wrestling and javelin. The biggest names heading towards LA 2028 include javelin's Neeraj Chopra, shooters such as Manu Bhaker, the hockey team and badminton's top players. Qualification windows mostly open in 2026-27 and close in the months before the Games.
The complete Sports Explained series
- Part 1: Cricket Formats
- Part 2: How Cricket Is Played
- Part 3: LBW and DRS
- Part 4: The DLS Method
- Part 5: How the IPL Works
- Part 6: Kabaddi
- Part 7: Kho-Kho
- Part 8: Hockey
- Part 9: Badminton Scoring
- Part 10: Chess Ratings and Titles
- Part 11: Offside and VAR
- Part 12: Olympic Qualification
Thank you for following the series. For more, explore our Legends of Indian Cricket series.
Rules are explained as they stand in October 2026. Governing bodies update their rules regularly, so check the latest official regulations for any competition.
