A look at Indian Olympic medal winners through the years until 2020, Tokyo Games
Citius, Altius, Fortius— "Faster Higher Stronger" is the motto of the Tokyo Olympics and year after year Indians have done justice to the motto.
This year, there is a heightened sense of excitement as the Games are receiving more attention, given the sensitive COVID circumstances that it is being played under.
Despite the lack of facilities and funding, Indian athletes are growing stronger by the year. This reinforces the great scope and opportunity for a better medal tally, if all sports are given adequate importance and sponsorships going ahead.
There have been a few successes and some disappointments thus far in the Games this year for the Indian participants. But it's been a commendable effort.
India has often produced great Olympians irrespective of whether they have won medals or not.
Here's a look at all the medal winners through the history of Olympics and some legends who will always be revered and admired for leading the way.
India has won 33 medals at the Olympics since the 1900 edition.
Here’s a brief about each of the Indian Olympic winners and a run-through of all the medals India has won at the Olympics:
Norman Pritchard - silver medal - men’s 200m and 200m hurdles, Paris 1900
India started their maiden Olympic stint with Norman Pritchard at the 1900 Paris Olympics. The first Indian representative in the modern Summer Olympics had participated in five men’s events in athletics – 60m, 100m, 200m, 110m and 200m hurdles, and ended up winning silver medals in 200m and 200m hurdles. Norman Pritchard won India’s first individual medal pre-independence.
Indian hockey men’s team, gold medal - Amsterdam 1928
The Indian hockey team scored 29 goals without reply in five matches to win its first Olympic gold medal. The wizard Dhyan Chand scored 14 goals, including a hat-trick in the final against the Netherlands in the final. This was Indian hockey’s first medal at the Olympics.
Indian hockey men’s team, gold medal - Los Angeles 1932
In a reduced field, the Indian hockey team first beat Japan 11-1. A 10-goal charge from Roop Singh, Dhyan Chand’s younger brother, and eight goals from the wizard himself secured a massive 24-1 win against the USA and ensured a second-consecutive Olympic gold medal.
Indian hockey men’s team, gold medal - Berlin 1936
With Dhyan Chand as captain, the Indian hockey team completed a hat-trick of Olympic golds at Berlin 1936. This time, India scored 38 goals in five matches and only conceded one in the final against Germany as Dhyan Chand’s second hat-trick in Olympic finals took them to an 8-1 victory.
Indian hockey men’s team, gold medal - London 1948
The first gold medal for India post-independence unsurprisingly came from the Indian hockey team as they regained their position atop the Olympic podium at London 1948. A new star emerged in
Balbir Singh Sr as India romped to the final with 19 goals in three matches. Balbir Singh’s brace in the final helped India beat hosts Great Britain 4-0 and win a fourth Olympic gold.
Indian hockey men’s team, gold medal - Helsinki 1952
The Indian hockey team overcame the midnight sun and cold conditions to win their fifth-consecutive Olympic gold medal. Balbir Singh Sr scored nine goals in three matches, including five in the final against the Netherlands - a record for the most goals by an individual in an Olympic men’s hockey final.
KD Jadhav, bronze medal - men’s bantamweight wrestling, Helsinki 1952
Wrestler Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav became India’s first individual Olympic medallist with his bronze in the men's freestyle bantamweight category. It was just reward for the hardworking wrestler, who had to run from pillar to post to gather funds for his Olympic trip and proved his mettle on the biggest stage.
Indian hockey men’s team, gold medal - Melbourne 1956
It was six Olympic golds in a row for the Indian hockey team at Melbourne 1956. India did not concede a single goal in the entire tournament and skipper Balbir Singh Sr. played with a fracture in his right hand in the final as India beat neighbours Pakistan 1-0 in the final.
Indian hockey men’s team, silver medal - Rome 1960
India’s unparalleled gold streak in hockey came to an end at Rome 1960 as the side lost to Pakistan 1-0 in the final and had to settle for a silver medal.
Indian hockey men’s team, gold medal - Tokyo 1964
The Indian hockey team soon returned to the Olympic summit as they won gold at Tokyo 1964. India recorded four wins and two draws in the group stages and beat Australia in the semis. They faced Pakistan in the final for the third consecutive time and beat them 1-0, courtesy a penalty stroke goal.
Indian hockey men’s team, bronze medal - Mexico City 1968
With hockey gaining further prominence in Europe, the Indian hockey team was slowly losing its foothold and the bronze at Mexico 1968 was the first indication. India beat Mexico, Spain and got a walkover against Japan but were beaten 2-1 in the semi-finals by Australia. India defeated West Germany 2-1 to win the bronze medal, finishing outside the top two for the first time at the Olympics.
Indian hockey men’s team, bronze medal - Munich 1972
A second-consecutive Olympic bronze medal arrived for the Indian hockey team at Munich 1972. India won four matches and drew two before the semi-finals against Pakistan. The attack on the Israeli team then caused their semi-final to be pushed forward by two days and it affected the team’s rhythm as they lost 2-0 to Pakistan. However, they regrouped to beat the Netherlands 2-1 and clinched bronze.
Indian hockey men’s team, gold medal - Moscow 1980
A disappointing seventh-place finish at Montreal 1976 - then the Indian hockey team’s lowest at an Olympics - galvanised the team for Moscow 1980. In a reduced field, India won three and drew two matches in the preliminary rounds. In the final, the Indian team beat Spain 4-3 to win the gold medal. It remains the last hockey gold for India at the Olympics.
Leander Paes, bronze medal - men’s singles tennis, Atlanta 1996
India had gone without a medal for three straight editions before a young Leander Paes got them to winning ways in 1996 with a bronze. After losing to Andre Agassi in the semi-final, Paes went on to beat Fernando Meligani in the bronze medal match.
Karnam Malleswari, bronze medal - women’s 54kg weightlifting, Sydney 2000
Weightlifter Karnam Malleswari clinched the bronze medal in the 54kg category, becoming the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal. She had lifted 110kg in the snatch category and 130kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 240kg.
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, silver medal - men’s double trap shooting, Athens 2004
Army-man Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore was the first shooter to win an Olympic medal for India. UAE’s Shaikh Ahmed Almaktoum surged into an unassailable lead and it came down to Rathore to shoot both his flying clay targets with his final attempt in the men’s double trap. The army colonel accurately down both and ensured India's first individual silver medal at the Games.
Abhinav Bindra, gold medal - men’s 10m air rifle shooting, Beijing 2008
India’s most euphoric moment at the Olympics came at Beijing 2008 when Abhinav Bindra won a historic gold medal in the men’s 10m air rifle. The Indian shooter shot a near-perfect 10.8 with his final shot, ensuring India’s first individual Olympic gold medal.
Vijender Singh, bronze medal - men’s middleweight boxing, Beijing 2008
Vijender Singh became the first Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal. The man from Haryana defeated southpaw Carlos Góngora of Ecuador 9–4 in the quarter-final to guarantee a bronze medal before he lost 5–8 to Cuba's Emilio Correa in the semis.
Sushil Kumar, bronze medal - men’s 66kg wrestling, Beijing 2008
After losing his opening bout, Sushil Kumar went on to win three bouts in the repechage round within 70 minutes to clinch the bronze medal. It was India’s first Olympic medal for wrestling in 56 years.
Gagan Narang, bronze medal - men’s 10m air rifle shooting, London 2012
After narrowly missing out on the final round in the previous Olympics due to countback, Gagan Narang won the bronze medal in the men’s 10m air rifle at London 2012. With the world’s eyes trained on him, Gagan Narang played out a tense final with China’s Wang Tao and Nicolo Campriani of Italy before ending up in third place.
Sushil Kumar, silver medal - men’s 66kg wrestling, London 2012
India’s flag-bearer for the opening ceremony, Sushil Kumar was India’s biggest medal hope in 2012. He overcame severe body aches to make his run to the final before his body finally gave up due to exhaustion. Sushil Kumar lost to Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu in the final and ended up with silver, becoming India’s only individual two-time Olympic medallist.
Vijay Kumar, silver medal - men’s 25m rapid pistol shooting, London 2012
Barely known before the Games, shooter Vijay Kumar ensured his name in the record books with a silver medal in the 25m rapid pistol. Tied with China’s Ding Feng going into the sixth round in the final, Vijay Kumar outshot Feng to head into the last round. However, Cuba’s Leuris Pupo proved a step too far as Vijay Kumar settled for silver.
Mary Kom, bronze medal - women’s flyweight boxing, London 2012
A legend even before her maiden Olympics at London 2012, Mary Kom commemorated the first edition of women’s boxing at the Games with a bronze in the flyweight category. The Manipur-born boxer was on a fine run before being halted by eventual champion Nicola Adams of Great Britain in the semis.
Yogeshwar Dutt, bronze medal - men’s 60kg wrestling, London 2012
A veteran of three Olympics by London 2012, wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt finally achieved his childhood dream when he won bronze in the 60kg category. He defeated North Korea’s Ri Jong Myong in the last repechage round in just 1:02 minutes.
Saina Nehwal, bronze medal - women’s singles badminton, London 2012
Saina Nehwal became the first Indian badminton player to win an Olympic medal when her opponent, China's Wang Xin, was forced to retire hurt during the match in the semi-final.
PV Sindhu, silver medal - women’s singles badminton, Rio 2016
Saina Nehwal’s feat surely propelled India’s badminton story - as PV Sindhu went one step ahead by reaching the final of the 2016 Summer Olympics before losing to Spain’s Carolina Marin in a feisty, 83-minute duel.
Sakshi Malik, bronze medal - women’s 58kg wrestling, Rio 2016
A late entrant to India’s Olympic contingent, Sakshi Malik became the first female Indian wrestler to win an Olympic medal. She beat Kyrgyzstan’s Aisuluu Tynybekova 8–5 to win the 58kg bronze and ensured India had won an Olympic wrestling medal in three consecutive Games.
Mirabai Chanu, silver medal - women's 49kg weightlifting, Tokyo 2020
Ace weightlifter Mirabai Chanu put behind the disappointment of Rio 2016 to lift a total of 202kg to win the silver medal in the women's 49kg category. It is her first Olympic medal and it made her the second Indian weightlifter after Karnam Malleswari to win an Olympic medal. It was India's first medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
Lovlina Borgohain, bronze medal - women’s welterweight (64-69kg), Tokyo 2020
On her Games debut, Lovlina Borgohain won a bronze medal at Tokyo 2020 after losing in the semi-finals to top seed Busenaz Surmeneli of Turkey in the women’s 69kg.
Lovlina Borgohain had beaten Chinese Taipei’s Nien-Chin Chen in the quarter-finals to assure herself of a medal.
PV Sindhu, bronze medal - women’s singles badminton, Tokyo 2020
Badminton queen PV Sindhu became the first Indian woman and only the second Indian athlete - after Sushil Kumar - to win two individual Olympic medals.
PV Sindhu beat China’s He Bing Jiao 21-13, 21-15 to win the bronze medal in the women’s singles.
It is India’s third confirmed medal of Tokyo 2020 - one more than their haul at Rio 2016.
Ravi Kumar Dahiya, silver medal - men’s 57kg freestyle wrestling, Tokyo 2020
Another Olympic debutant and another medal for India.
The 23-year-old Ravi Kumar Dahiya lost to twice world champion Zavur Uguev of ROC in the final of the men’s 57kg freestyle wrestling, thus ending up with a silver medal.
It was India’s 9th silver medal in Olympic history and a second silver medal in wrestling.
Ravi Kumar Dahiya had assured himself of an Olympic medal when he beat Nurislam Sanayev of Kazakhstan in the semis. He was trailing 2-9 at one stage before winning a couple of points and then pinning Sanayev to make a stirring comeback and earn the medal.
Indian hockey team, bronze medal - men’s hockey, Tokyo 2020
After a 41-year wait, the Indian men’s hockey team finally have an Olympic medal since the gold at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
After being 3-1 down at one point, India made a big comeback to beat Germany 5-4 and claim the bronze medal.
It is their third Olympic bronze medal - after the 1968 and 1972 Games - and their 12th Olympic medal overall. It was India’s fifth medal at Tokyo 2020.
Remembering Olympic legends....
Dhyan Chand – 1928, 1932 and 1936
An extraordinary field hockey player, Dhyan Chand is known for his unbeatable goal-scoring. He has scored more than 400 goals and also won Olympic gold medals in the year 1928, 1932 and 1936. He was awarded with Padma Bhushan in 1956. Many statues and a national stadium have been built in his memory. There is also a Dhyan Chand Award named after him, which is India’s highest award for lifetime achievement in sports.
Milkha Singh – 1960
Milkha Singh is known to one and all! We cannot forget this track and field athlete popularly known as the ‘Flying Sikh’. He battled in 1960 Olympics but missed the bronze medal by just 0.1 seconds. However, he broke the 400m Olympic record in the same race. He also won Gold medals in the year 1958 and 1962 Asian Games.
PT Usha – 1984
Known as ‘Payyoli Express’, PT Usha is another track and field player who missed the bronze just by one-hundredth of a second, reminiscent of Milkha Singh’s defeat in 1960. She has won many gold medals at Asian Games in 1985.
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Source: https://olympics.com/en/featured-news/india-olympics-medals
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