Olympics
India's Olympic triumphs across sports since 1947
On Indian Independence Day, let’s explore India’s Olympic triumphs across sports.
India has experienced several highs post-independence. (Photo Credit: Getty, AFP, AP & PTI)
Since gaining independence, India has made significant strides at the Olympics.
While the nation initially dominated in field hockey, Indian athletes have since featured across various disciplines, showing steady improvement with each passing Olympics.
As India celebrates its 78th Independence Day today, let’s take a moment to reflect on India’s Olympic achievements since 1947.
At Paris 2024, India secured six medals including one silver and five bronze.
Let us revisit India’s journey at the Olympics and celebrate the triumphs of Indian athletes across different sports over the years.
1. Field Hockey
Since gaining independence, India has celebrated significant achievements in Olympic field hockey. From Balbir Singh Sr. to Harmanpreet Singh captaining the side, India has come a long way.
The country has won a total of 10 medals post-independence and 13 overall, including those earned before independence.
The journey began with their first gold medal in London in 1948, where Balbir Singh Sr. led the team with 19 goals in three matches, including two vital goals in their 4-0 final victory over Great Britain.
This dominance continued with a fifth consecutive gold medal at Helsinki in 1952, where Singh set a record by scoring five goals in the final against the Netherlands.
At Melbourne 1956, India clinched their sixth consecutive gold, finishing the tournament without conceding a goal and narrowly defeating Pakistan 1-0 in the final, despite Singh playing with a fractured hand.
The gold streak ended in Rome in 1960 with a silver medal after a 1-0 loss to Pakistan.
However, India swiftly reclaimed gold at Tokyo 1964 by winning 1-0 against Pakistan in the final with a decisive penalty stroke goal.
The 1968 Mexico City Olympics brought a setback, with India finishing bronze after a semifinal loss to Australia and a subsequent win over West Germany in the bronze medal match
The 1972 Munich Olympics also ended with bronze, as a rescheduled match led to a 2-0 loss to Pakistan, though India bounced back to defeat the Netherlands.
Following a disappointing seventh place in Montreal 1976, India triumphed with gold at Moscow 1980, edging out Spain 4-3 in the final.
After a 41-year gap, the team secured bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with a dramatic 5-4 win over Germany.
Most recently, at Paris 2024, India earned their second consecutive bronze medal by defeating Spain 2-1, with captain Harmanpreet Singh scoring 10 goals throughout the tournament.
2. Wrestling
Since gaining independence, India has celebrated notable achievements in Olympic wrestling. India has eight Olympic medals in wrestling.
Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav made history as the nation’s first individual Olympic medallist with a bronze in men’s freestyle bantamweight.
Fast-forward to the Beijing 2008 Olympics, Sushil Kumar won a historic bronze after a remarkable comeback from an opening bout defeat in the men’s 66kg freestyle category which marked India's first Olympic wrestling medal in 56 years.
At the London 2012 Olympics, India secured two wrestling medals. Sushil Kumar, building on his previous success, improved his medal color by winning silver despite battling severe exhaustion, thus becoming India’s only individual two-time Olympic medallist.
Meanwhile, veteran wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt fulfilled his childhood dream of winning an Olympic medal by clinching bronze in the 60kg category.
Sakshi Malik made history at Rio 2016 as the first female Indian wrestler to win an Olympic medal, securing bronze in the 58kg category.
Ravi Kumar Dahiya added to India’s success at Tokyo 2020 with a silver in men’s 57kg freestyle wrestling, staging a dramatic comeback from a 2-9 deficit in the semifinals.
Bajrang Punia also contributed to India's achievements at Tokyo 2020 by winning bronze in the 65kg freestyle category.
Most recently, Aman Sehrawat continued India’s streak of Olympic wrestling medals since Beijing 2008 by winning bronze in the men’s 57kg freestyle at Paris 2024.
Meanwhile, Vinesh Phogat, who became the first Indian woman to reach the finals of the Olympics, was disqualified on the day of the wrestling final after being found 100 grams overweight in the 50kg freestyle category
3. Badminton
India's Olympic badminton medals have all been won by female players, including Saina Nehwal and P.V. Sindhu, who have earned a total of three medals between them.
Saina Nehwal made history as the first Indian badminton player to secure an Olympic medal when she won the bronze medal at the London 2012 Olympics when her opponent Wang Xin of China retired during the match due to injury.
Saina Nehwal, who set the tone for Indian badminton, paved the way for future stars like P.V. Sindhu.
Sindhu surpassed Nehwal's achievements by advancing to the final at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics. In a thrilling encounter, Sindhu ultimately fell to Spanish Champion Carolina Marin, securing the silver medal.
P.V. Sindhu achieved another remarkable milestone by becoming the first Indian woman and only the second Indian athlete, after Sushil Kumar, to win two individual Olympic medals. She clinched the bronze in women’s singles at Tokyo 2020 by defeating China’s He Bing Jiao.
At the Paris 2024 Olympics, Lakshya Sen came agonizingly close to winning a medal but lost to Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia in the bronze medal match. Despite taking the first game, Sen lost the next two games, missing out on the medal and the opportunity to become the first Indian men’s singles player with an Olympic medal.
4. Weightlifting
India’s weightlifting Olympic medals, like in badminton, have been secured exclusively by women, with two medals won by Indian female weightlifters.
Karnam Malleswari, who began India’s journey in Olympic weightlifting, made history at the Sydney 2000 Olympics by securing the bronze medal in the 54kg category.
She became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal, achieving a total lift of 240kg with 110kg in the snatch and 130kg in the clean and jerk.
After a two-decade wait, weightlifter Mirabai Chanu secured India’s second Olympic medal in Tokyo 2020. Overcoming the setback of Rio 2016, she lifted a total of 202kg to claim the silver medal in the women’s 49kg category.
5. Tennis
India’s sole Olympic medal in tennis was won by Leander Paes, who claimed the bronze at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics.
Paes, whose father, Dr. Vece Paes, was a member of the bronze medal-winning field hockey team at Munich in 1972 was driven by his ambition to secure an Olympic medal for India following the footsteps of his father.
After losing to world No. 1 Andre Agassi in the semi-finals, Paes secured the bronze by defeating Brazil’s Fernando Meligeni in the bronze medal match.
6. Boxing
Vijender Singh made history as the first Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The Haryanvi boxer secured a bronze by defeating Ecuador’s southpaw Carlos Góngora in the middleweight quarter-finals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, thereby securing India’s first-ever boxing medal at the Games.
Mary Kom, already a celebrated figure in boxing and the only woman to win the World Amateur Boxing Championship six times, made history once again by winning a bronze in the inaugural women’s flyweight category at the London 2012 Olympics.
Making her Olympic debut, Lovlina Borgohain secured a bronze medal in the women’s welterweight category at Tokyo 2020. As the first athlete from Assam to represent India at the Olympics, Borgohain guaranteed her medal by defeating Chinese Taipei’s Nien-Chin Chen in the quarter-finals.
7. Shooting
Indian shooting could not have asked for a better first-ever Olympic medal than one from a soldier.
Armyman Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore made history as the first Indian shooter to win an Olympic medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Rathore secured India's first individual silver medal at the Games by triumphing in the men’s double trap event.
At the Beijing 2008 Olympics, history was made for India when Abhinav Bindra secured a groundbreaking gold medal in the men’s 10m air rifle event. Bindra etched his name in both shooting and Indian sporting history by delivering India’s first individual Olympic gold medal.
The London 2012 Olympics saw India winning two medals in shooting across different disciplines: one in rifle and the other in pistol.
Following a narrow miss in Beijing, Gagan Narang clinched the bronze medal in the men’s 10m air rifle. Meanwhile, shooter Vijay Kumar made a remarkable impact by securing the silver medal in the 25m rapid-fire pistol event.
India secured a shooting medal after a decade when Manu Bhaker won a bronze in the women’s 10m air pistol event at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
A day earlier, she made history by becoming the first Indian woman to reach an Olympic shooting final in two decades. In the final, Bhaker finished behind South Korea’s Oh Ye Jin and Kim Yeji.
Manu Bhaker made history again by becoming the first athlete from independent India to win two medals in a single Olympic edition.
After securing bronze in the women’s individual 10m air pistol event, Bhaker teamed up with Sarabjot Singh to win another bronze in the mixed team 10m air pistol event.
Swapnil Kusale added a bronze in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions event to India's tally at the Paris Olympics, marking the country’s third medal in shooting for the Games, its highest single-edition total. This achievement was also India's first-ever medal in the 50m rifle 3P event at the Olympics.
8. Athletics
India's first-ever athletics medal post-independence came in the javelin throw when Neeraj Chopra achieved a historic milestone by becoming India's second individual Olympic champion, following Abhinav Bindra, with his gold medal performance at Tokyo 2020.
This win contributed to India’s best-ever single Olympics tally, with a total of seven medals. Chopra secured the gold with a throw of 87.58 meters.
It was a battle between India and Pakistan in the javelin throw at Paris 2024, with India’s Neeraj Chopra and Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem competing for the gold.
Neeraj fell short of defending his title, securing silver with his best throw of 89.45 meters. Meanwhile, Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem claimed gold with a record-breaking mark of 92.97 meters.
