Wrestling
India at Olympics: Wrestling – A look at all the medals won
India has so far won 5 medals in total in wrestling. Let us have a look at all the medals India had won at the Olympics.
Wrestling as a sport has a rich history, and it has been part of the Olympics since 1896. It is one of the few sports which featured in every Olympic right from 1896. India has a rich medal haul in this sport compared to many other sports in which India competes at the Olympics. India had won 5 medals in total, and all of them came in freestyle. Let us have a look at all the medals India had won at the Olympics:
Khashabha Dadasaheb Jadhav -1952 (Bronze)
People fondly called him K.D Jadhav. He made it into the history books by becoming the first Indian from Independent India to win an individual Olympic medal. The wrestler won a bronze medal in Men's 57 kg category at the Helsinki games in 1952.
Sushil Kumar - 2008 & 2012 (Bronze and Silver)
There was a medal drought for India in wrestling at Olympics for nearly 56 years. Sushil Kumar ended the bad run by winning a bronze medal in 66 kg Men's freestyle at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The wrestler was given the responsibility for being the flagbearer of India at the 2012 London Olympics, where he won a silver making him the only Indian to have more than one individual Olympic medal. It is believed that after his performance at the Olympics a lot of youngsters took up the sport.
Yogeshwar Dutt - 2012 (Bronze)
Two medals came up for India in wrestling at the 2012 London Olympics. One was Sushil Kumar, as we already saw, and the other one is Yogeshwar Dutt, who won a bronze medal in Men's 60 kg category, making him the third wrestler from Indian to win an Olympic medal.
Sakshi Malik - 2016 (Bronze)
Wrestling for women was introduced in the 2004 Athens Olympics. However, it took India nearly 12 years to win a medal in women's wrestling. Finally, at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Sakshi Malik won a bronze medal in the 58 kg category, making her the first Indian women wrestler and second woman overall to win an Olympic medal.