India's Olympic journey: From Beijing to London

On August 11 2008 Abhinav Bindra did what no Indian could do in more than a 100 years at the Olympic Games, win an individual Gold medal. It was a moment most of us thought we would never be lucky enough to witness.

After the win, the first thing Bindra wanted to do was to rush to the loo. On a serious note though, he had said: "You have to believe in your athletes and if you don't win, it doesn't matter, you can do it the next time. This is a start and I hope we win many more medals."

Bindra's was not the only Indian triumph in Beijing. Boxer Vijender Singh and Wrestler Sushil Kumar won bronze to take the tally to three. And people back home celebrated and gave their heroes a rousing reception.

And there was a question that popped in every Indian mind - was the cricket crazy country finally beginning to realise its Olympic dream?

The next four years saw what can easily be called one of Indian sports' most memorable phases. Heroes were born, Records were broken and Dreams came true at the events like the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games.

After record medal hauls from the CWG and Asiad of 2010, can India now take London Olympics by storm?

"India is the second most populated country in the world, we got just three medals... only china has more population than us... look at them they got 70 medals," says ace badminton player Saina Nehwal, who had won gold at the Commonwealth Games.

Saina had made it to the quarterfinals of the Beijing Olympics and hopeful of a medal finish in London.

There's new found confidence to do well and beat the best in the world. Here's hoping that the 2012 games in London prove to be a historic edition.

HERE ARE TOP 5 INDIANS TO WATCH OUT FOR IN LONDON

1. ABHINAV BINDRA: We start our countdown with the man with the golden gun. Before the Beijing Games, Abhinav Bindra was obsessed about winning an Olympic gold....So much so that he took commando training and went deep sea diving to prepare. And this time he's doing the same, as he attempts to become the first Indian individual to defend his Olympic title.

2. SAINA NEHWAL: For a very long time Saina Nehwal just couldn't scale the Great wall of Chinese badminton...But bit by bit, Saina has been able to break through that. The Beijing Olympics were the first time when Saina was noticed on the international stage. 4 years later, she has every reason to fancy a podium finish.

3. MC MARYKOM: MC Marykom is the only other lady to make it on our list. With 5 world championship titles under her belt, Magnificent Mary is a sure shot medal prospect in the 51 kg category. And considering, she will hang her gloves after the London Games, the diminutive Manipuri who packs quite a punch, will want to settle for nothing less than gold.

4. VIKAS KRISHAN: In his first competition in the senior category, the 2010 Asian Games, Vikas Krishan won gold. And since then this Bhiwani boy hasn't looked back. Many feel he may have peaked too early, but that doesn't bother the 20-year old, who is a hot favourite for a medal in the 69 kg Men's boxing category.

5. RONJAN SODHI: But our top contender for a medal from London is double trap shooter Ronjan Sodhi. Consistency has pretty much become Ronjan's middle name...It's seen him shoot world record scores, and even become World No 1. His Italian coach believes if Ronjan comes back with a silver, it will be disappointing. Need we say more?