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India at the Olympics facts for kids

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India at the
Olympics
Flag of India.svg
IOC code IND
NOC Indian Olympic Association
Medals
Ranked 60th
Gold Silver Bronze Total
10 10 21 41
Summer appearances
  • 1900
  • 1904–1912
  • 1920
  • 1924
  • 1928
  • 1932
  • 1936
  • 1948
  • 1952
  • 1956
  • 1960
  • 1964
  • 1968
  • 1972
  • 1976
  • 1980
  • 1984
  • 1988
  • 1992
  • 1996
  • 2000
  • 2004
  • 2008
  • 2012
  • 2016
  • 2020
Winter appearances
  • 1964
  • 1968
  • 1972–1984
  • 1988
  • 1992
  • 1994
  • 1998
  • 2002
  • 2006
  • 2010
  • 2014
  • 2018
Other related appearances
 Independent Olympic Participants

India first participated at the Olympic Games in 1900, becoming the first Asian nation to do so. A lone athlete Norman Pritchard represented the country and won two medals – both silver – in athletics. The nation first sent a team to the Summer Olympic Games in 1920 and has participated in every Summer Games since then. India has also competed at several Winter Olympic Games after its debut in 1964.

Indian athletes have won 41 medals, all at the Summer Games. For a period of time, the Indian Men's Field Hockey Team was dominant in Olympic competition, winning eleven medals in twelve Olympics between 1928 and 1980 including eight gold medals of which six were won consecutively from 1928 to 1956. India had its best performance in the 2020 Games, winning seven medals including a gold and two silver medals.

History

Before independence

India hockey team 1928
Indian field hockey team that won the gold medal at 1928 Olympics

India made its first appearance at the 1900 Summer Olympics as part of British India (1858-1947), becoming the first Asian nation to participate in the Olympic Games. A lone athlete Norman Pritchard represented the country and won two silver medals in athletics. India was classified 19th in the overall medal table, which represents its best ever placement till date. India did not compete in the next three Summer Olympic Games. At the behest of then Governor of Bombay George Lloyd, Indian businessman Dorabji Tata secured representation for British India at the International Olympic Committee, enabling it to independently participate in the 1920 Summer Olympics. India sent a contingent of six competitors including four athletes and two wrestlers with two support staff. The Indian Olympic movement was then established during the 1920s. In 1923, a provisional All India Olympic Committee was formed, and in February 1924, the All India Olympic Games (later National Games of India) were held to select a team for the 1924 Summer Olympics at Paris. The Indian delegation at the Paris Olympics consisted of 14 competitors including eight in athletics and four in tennis, led by team manager Harry Buck.

Indian-Hockey-Team-Berlin-1936
Indian hockey team at 1936 Berlin Olympics

In 1927, the provisional Indian Olympic Committee was recognized by the International Olympic Committee and formally became the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). The organization was formed to promote the development of sports in India, host the national games, and select teams for the Olympics. For the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, it selected eight competitors, which included seven in athletics and one swimmer. The Indian Hockey Federation, which had been established earlier in 1925, sent the men's team to the 1928 Games. The hockey team won India's first ever gold medal in the Olympics at Amsterdam. This was the first gold medal won by any nation from Asia at the modern Olympic Games. For the 1932 Games, the Indian contingent consisted of the field hockey team and five athletes. For the subsequent 1936 Games, India sent a contingent consisting of the field hockey team and eight athletes, who competed in four sports. The only medals in the last two Games came from the Indian field hockey team, which won three consecutive gold medals from 1928 to 1936. The victory run included the largest ever victory margin in Olympics history after India defeated United States 24–1 in 1932 and the largest margin of victory ever in an Olympic final during the 8-1 defeat of Germany in the final in 1936.

After independence

Hockey Nederland India. Elftal India, Bestanddeelnr 902-9315
Indian field hockey team that won the first gold medal after independence at the 1948 London Olympics

India gained its independence in 1947, it sent its first contingent as a independent country for the 1948 Summer Olympics held at London. The Indian contingent consisted of 79 athletes, who competed across ten sports and included country's first ever participation in arts, boxing, cycling, football, and water polo events. The Indian field hockey team won the lone medal, a gold, which was the first medal for India as an independent nation. The 1952 Summer Olympics marked the first time India sent women competitors to the Games. The Indian contingent consisted of 64 competitors including four women with first time participants in gymnastics and shooting events. Wrestler K. D. Jadhav won a bronze medal, the first individual medal for independent India. India sent a contingent of 59 competitors for the 1956 Games at Melbourne and the only medal came from the Indian field hockey team, which won a then record sixth straight gold medal in a single event at the Games. The Indian contingent consisted of 45 competitors for the next Summer Olympics at Rome. The country won a single silver medal from field hockey after the team lost 0–1 in the final to Pakistan, which was its first loss in the Olympic Games since the 1928.

India made its Winter Olympics debut at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck with Jeremy Bujakowski competing in the men's downhill event in alpine skiing. In the subsequent Summer Olympics held in Tokyo in the same year, India sent a contingent of 53 competitors including two participants for the diving event for the first time. The men's field hockey team won the gold medal, for the country's only medal at the Games.

Paes US16 (11) (29569576630)
Leander Paes won a bronze medal in 1996 for India's first Olympic medal in nearly 16 years.

In the 1968 Winter Olympics held in Grenoble, Bujakowski was again the only participant representing India. India sent its smallest delegation since independence, consisting of 25 athletes to the 1968 Summer Olympics at Mexico City. India did not participate in the four subsequent Winter Olympic Games from 1972 to 1984. In the 1972 Summer Olympics at Munich, 41 Indian athletes competed across seven sports including two competitors in the badminton for the first time. The only medals in the previous two Summer Olympics were the bronze medals won by the men's field hockey team. In 1976 Summer Olympics at Montreal, India entered 26 athletes, but failed to win a medal for the first time since 1924.

The Indian delegation for the 1980 Summer Olympics at Moscow consisted of 76 competitors, the second largest since independence with first time participants in the equestrian event. The only medal again came from the men's hockey team which won their record extending eighth Olympic gold in a single event. This was also the last time the Indian field hockey team won the gold medal at the Olympics. India sent 48, 46 and 52 athletes to the subsequent three Summer Olympics in 1984, 1988, and 1992 respectively, but failed to win a single medal across the three Olympic Games. In between, India returned to compete in the 1988 Winter Olympics after a gap of nearly 20 years. The Indian contingent consisted of three athletes including the first women participant Shailaja Kumar. The country entered two athletes to the 1992 Winter Olympics before missing the subsequent 1994 Winter Olympics. India entered 49 competitors across 13 events at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Tennis player Leander Paes won a bronze medal in the men's singles event for the country's first Olympic medal in nearly 16 years and became the first Indian individual medalist since 1952. India's lone participant in the subsequent 1998 Winter Olympics was Shiva Keshavan, who would become the Indian with most appearances in the Olympic Games after his sixth appearance in 2018.

21st century

Olympic Freestyle Wrestling (66 kg - Medalists)
Sushil Kumar (left) became the first Indian athlete to win multiple individual Olympic medals since independence.

The Indian contingent for the 2000 Sydney Olympics consisted of 65 athletes with athletes competing in the rowing event for the first time. The country's only medal was a bronze won by Karnam Malleswari in the women's 69 kg weightlifting event. It was the first-ever Olympic medal won by an Indian woman. Keshavan was again the only competitor for India at the 2002 Winter Olympics. The Indian contingent for the 2004 Athens Olympics consisted of 73 athletes and the only medal came from shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, who won the silver medal in men's double trap event. The Indian delegation for the 2006 Winter Olympics consisted of four athletes, two in alpine skiing, one in cross-country skiing, and one in luge. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Indian contingent of 57 athletes competed in 12 sports. India registered its best performance at the time, winning three medals in the event including a gold and two bronze medals. Abhinav Bindra became the first Indian individual gold medalist after his victory in the men's air rifle event. Vijender Singh and Sushil Kumar got the country's first ever Olympic medal in boxing and second medal in wrestling respectively. Three Indian athletes represented the country in the 2010 Winter Olympics at Vancouver.

The Indian contingent for the 2012 Summer Olympics consisted of 83 members, the highest till then. The country won six medals including two silver and four bronze, the highest count of medals as of then. Sushil Kumar won a silver medal to become the first Indian since independence with multiple individual Olympic medals. Shooter Vijay Kumar won the other silver medal in shooting. Amongst the bronze medalists, Saina Nehwal won India's first ever medal in badminton and boxer Mary Kom became the first Indian woman to win a medal in boxing. Other bronze medalists included shooter Gagan Narang and wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt. In December 2022, the Indian Olympic Association was suspended by the International Olympic Committee due to government interference in the autonomy of the country's National Olympic Committee (NOC). Due to the suspension, three Indian athletes entered the 2014 Winter Olympics as Independent Olympic Participants. The suspension was revoked when the games were underway and two competitors resumed the competition under the Indian flag.

Mary Kom with young sportsperson
Mary Kom won the first ever medal for India in the women's boxing event at the 2012 Games.

For the 2016 Summer Olympics, India sent more than 100 athletes for the first time with 117 competitors. India won two medals including a silver and a bronze. Shuttler P. V. Sindhu became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic silver medal and the youngest Indian woman medalist after she won a silver medal in badminton. Sakshi Malik became the first Indian female wrestler to win an Olympic medal with her bronze medal in the women's freestyle 58 kg category. Two Indian athletes represented the country in the 2018 Winter Olympics at PyeongChang.

Neeraj Chopra Olympic gold medalist
Neeraj Chopra won India's first ever athletic gold medal in 2020 and followed up with a silver in 2024.

India sent its largest ever delegation consisting of 119 athletes to the 2020 Summer Olympics. India registered its most successful performance in a single Games with seven medals including one gold, two silver and four bronze. Neeraj Chopra won India's first ever gold medal in athletics after his victory in the men's javelin throw event. In the women's 49 kg event, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu won India's first ever silver medal in weight lifting. Sindhu became the first Indian female athlete and the second Indian ever to win medals in consecutive Summer Games in individual events after she won a bronze in women's badminton. The men's field hockey team won a bronze medal to record their first Olympic medal since 1980.Ravi Kumar Dahiya won a silver medal in men's freestyle wrestling. Other bronze medalists included Lovlina Borgohain in women's boxing and Bajrang Punia in men's freestyle wrestling. India entered one male alpine skier, Arif Khan for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

The Indian contingent for the 2024 Summer Olympics consisted of 110 competitors across 16 sports. India won six medals in total including one silver and five bronze, three of which came from the shooting events. Chopra won the only silver medal for India in the men's javelin throw event and became the first Indian individual medalist to have won a gold and silver at the Olympics. Manu Bhaker won two bronze medals including the first Indian medal at the Games in the air pistol event and another along with Sarabjot Singh in the mixed pistol team event. She became the first Indian since independence to win two medals in a single Olympics. Swapnil Kusale then won another bronze medal in shooting. The men's field hockey team won the bronze medal for the second consecutive Olympics. Aman Sehrawat won a bronze medal for India in the men's freestyle 57kg wrestling event to become the youngest Indian to win an Olympic medal.

Medal table

Medals by sport

Medalists

Indian Olympic medalists
Medal Name/Team Games Sport Event Date
Silver medal.svg Silver Pritchard, NormanNorman Pritchard France 1900 Paris AthleticsAthletics Men's 200 metres 22 July 1900
Silver medal.svg Silver Men's 200 metre hurdles 16 July 1900
Gold medal.svg Gold Netherlands 1928 Amsterdam Field HockeyField hockey Men's competition 26 May 1928
Gold medal.svg Gold United States 1932 Los Angeles Field HockeyField hockey Men's competition 11 August 1932
Gold medal.svg Gold Germany 1936 Berlin Field HockeyField hockey Men's competition 15 August 1936
Gold medal.svg Gold United Kingdom 1948 London Field HockeyField hockey Men's competition 12 August 1948
Gold medal.svg Gold Finland 1952 Helsinki Field HockeyField hockey Men's competition 24 July 1952
Bronze medal.svg Bronze Jadhav, K. D.K. D. Jadhav WrestlingWrestling Men's freestyle 57 kg 23 July 1952
Gold medal.svg Gold Australia 1956 Melbourne Field HockeyField hockey Men's competition 6 December 1956
Silver medal.svg Silver Italy 1960 Rome Field HockeyField hockey Men's competition 9 September 1960
Gold medal.svg Gold Japan 1964 Tokyo Field HockeyField hockey Men's competition 23 October 1964
Bronze medal.svg Bronze Mexico 1968 Mexico City Field HockeyField hockey Men's competition 26 October 1968
Bronze medal.svg Bronze West Germany 1972 Munich Field HockeyField hockey Men's competition 10 September 1972
Gold medal.svg Gold Soviet Union 1980 Moscow Field HockeyField hockey Men's competition 29 July 1980
Bronze medal.svg Bronze Paes, LeanderLeander Paes United States 1996 Atlanta TennisTennis Men's singles 3 August 1996
Bronze medal.svg Bronze Malleswari, KarnamKarnam Malleswari Australia 2000 Sydney WeightliftingWeightlifting Women's 69 kg 19 September 2000
Silver medal.svg Silver Rathore, Rajyavardhan SinghRajyavardhan Singh Rathore Greece 2004 Athens ShootingShooting Men's double trap 17 August 2004
Gold medal.svg Gold Bindra, AbhinavAbhinav Bindra China 2008 Beijing ShootingShooting Men's 10 m air rifle 11 August 2008
Bronze medal.svg Bronze Singh, VijenderVijender Singh BoxingBoxing Middleweight 20 August 2008
Bronze medal.svg Bronze Kumar, SushilSushil Kumar WrestlingWrestling Men's freestyle 66 kg 21 August 2008
Silver medal.svg Silver Vijay Kumar United Kingdom 2012 London ShootingShooting Men's 25 m rapid fire pistol 3 August 2012
Silver medal.svg Silver Kumar, SushilSushil Kumar WrestlingWrestling Men's freestyle 66 kg 12 August 2012
Bronze medal.svg Bronze Saina Nehwal BadmintonBadminton Women's singles 4 August 2012
Bronze medal.svg Bronze Mary Kom BoxingBoxing Women's flyweight 8 August 2012
Bronze medal.svg Bronze Narang, GaganGagan Narang ShootingShooting Men's 10m air rifle 30 July 2012
Bronze medal.svg Bronze Yogeshwar Dutt WrestlingWrestling Men's freestyle 60 kg 11 August 2012
Silver medal.svg Silver P. V. Sindhu Brazil 2016 Rio de Janeiro BadmintonBadminton Women's singles 19 August 2016
Bronze medal.svg Bronze Sakshi Malik WrestlingWrestling Women's freestyle 58 kg 17 August 2016
Gold medal.svg Gold Neeraj Chopra Japan 2020 Tokyo AthleticsAthletics Men's javelin throw 7 August 2021
Silver medal.svg Silver Saikhom Mirabai Chanu WeightliftingWeightlifting Women's 49 kg 24 July 2021
Silver medal.svg Silver Ravi Kumar Dahiya WrestlingWrestling Men's freestyle 57 kg 5 August 2021
Bronze medal.svg Bronze P. V. Sindhu BadmintonBadminton Women's singles 1 August 2021
Bronze medal.svg Bronze Lovlina Borgohain BoxingBoxing Women's welterweight 4 August 2021
Bronze medal.svg Bronze Field HockeyField hockey Men's tournament 5 August 2021
Bronze medal.svg Bronze Bajrang Punia WrestlingWrestling Men's freestyle 65 kg 7 August 2021
Silver medal.svg Silver Neeraj Chopra France 2024 Paris AthleticsAthletics Men's javelin throw 8 August 2024
Bronze medal.svg Bronze Manu Bhaker ShootingShooting Women's 10m air pistol 28 July 2024
Bronze medal.svg Bronze Manu Bhaker
Sarabjot Singh
Mixed 10 metre air pistol team 30 July 2024
Bronze medal.svg Bronze Swapnil Kusale Men's 50m Rifle 3 Positions 1 August 2024
Bronze medal.svg Bronze Field HockeyField hockey Men's tournament 8 August 2024
Bronze medal.svg Bronze Aman Sehrawat WrestlingWrestling Men's freestyle 57 kg 9 August 2024

Milestones

Milestone Athlete/Team Game(s) Sport Medal(s)
First medalist, First individual multi-medalist Norman Pritchard France 1900 Paris Athletics Silver Silver
Silver Silver
First gold medalist(s) Men's Field Hockey Team Netherlands 1928 Amsterdam Field hockey Gold Gold
First gold medalist(s) after independence Men's Field Hockey Team United Kingdom 1948 London Field hockey Gold Gold
First individual medalist after independence K. D. Jadhav Finland 1952 Helsinki Wrestling Bronze Bronze
First woman medalist Karnam Malleswari Australia 2000 Sydney Weightlifting Bronze Bronze
First individual gold medalist Abhinav Bindra China 2008 Beijing Shooting Gold Gold
First individual multi-medalist after independence Sushil Kumar China 2008 Beijing
United Kingdom 2012 London
Wrestling Bronze Bronze
Silver Silver
First woman multi-medalist P. V. Sindhu Brazil 2016 Rio de Janeiro
Japan 2020 Tokyo
Badminton Silver Silver
Bronze Bronze
First individual multi-medalist after independence
(in a single Olympics)
Manu Bhaker France 2024 Paris Shooting Bronze Bronze
Bronze Bronze

Multiple medalists

Team

Athlete Sport Games Gold medal olympic.svg Gold Silver medal olympic.svg Silver Bronze medal olympic.svg Bronze Total
Leslie Claudius Field hockey 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960 3 1 0 4
Udham Singh 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964 3 1 0 4
Richard Allen 1928, 1932, 1936 3 0 0 3
Dhyan Chand 1928, 1932, 1936 3 0 0 3
Ranganathan Francis 1948, 1952, 1956 3 0 0 3
Randhir Singh Gentle 1948, 1952, 1956 3 0 0 3
Balbir Singh Sr. 1948, 1952, 1956 3 0 0 3
Shankar Lakshman 1956, 1960, 1964 2 1 0 3
Haripal Kaushik 1956, 1960, 1964 2 1 0 3
Carlyle Tapsell 1932, 1936 2 0 0 2
Roop Singh 1932, 1936 2 0 0 2
Jaswant Rai 1948, 1952 2 0 0 2
Govind Perumal 1952, 1956 2 0 0 2
Amir Kumar 1948, 1956 2 0 0 2
Jaswant Singh Rajput 1948, 1952 2 0 0 2
Leslie Hammond 1928, 1932 2 0 0 2
Broome Pinniger 1928, 1932 2 0 0 2
Sayed Jaffar 1932, 1936 2 0 0 2
Keshav Dutt 1948, 1952 2 0 0 2
Grahanandan Singh 1948, 1952 2 0 0 2
K. D. Singh 1948, 1952 2 0 0 2
Raghbir Lal 1952, 1956 2 0 0 2
John Peter 1960, 1964, 1968 1 1 1 3
Prithipal Singh 1960, 1964, 1968 1 1 1 3
Joginder Singh 1960, 1964 1 1 0 2
Charanjit Singh 1960, 1964 1 1 0 2
Raghbir Singh Bhola 1956, 1960 1 1 0 2
Mohinder Lal 1960, 1964 1 1 0 2
Balkrishan Singh 1956, 1960 1 1 0 2
Harbinder Singh 1964, 1968, 1972 1 0 2 3
Rajendran Christie 1964, 1968 1 0 1 2
Balbir Singh Kullar 1964, 1968 1 0 1 2
Jagjit Singh 1964, 1968 1 0 1 2
Gurbux Singh 1964, 1968 1 0 1 2
Krishnamurthy Perumal 1968, 1972 0 0 2 2
Ajitpal Singh 1968, 1972 0 0 2 2
Harmik Singh 1968, 1972 0 0 2 2
Harmanpreet Singh 2020, 2024 0 0 2 2
Manpreet Singh 2020, 2024 0 0 2 2
Hardik Singh 2020, 2024 0 0 2 2
Gurjant Singh 2020, 2024 0 0 2 2
Mandeep Singh 2020, 2024 0 0 2 2
Lalit Upadhyay 2020, 2024 0 0 2 2
P. R. Sreejesh 2020, 2024 0 0 2 2
Sumit Walmiki 2020, 2024 0 0 2 2
Shamsher Singh 2020, 2024 0 0 2 2
Amit Rohidas 2020, 2024 0 0 2 2
Vivek Prasad 2020, 2024 0 0 2 2

Individual

Athlete Sport Games Gold medal olympic.svg Gold Silver medal olympic.svg Silver Bronze medal olympic.svg Bronze Total
Neeraj Chopra Athletics 2020, 2024 1 1 0 2
Norman Pritchard 1900 0 2 0 2
Sushil Kumar Wrestling 2008, 2012 0 1 1 2
P. V. Sindhu Badminton 2016, 2020 0 1 1 2
Manu Bhaker Shooting 2024 0 0 2 2

Men's field hockey team at the Olympics

The Indian Men's Field Hockey Team has won the most medals in the sport in the Olympic competition. The team has won 13 medals including eight gold medals of which six were won consecutively from 1928 to 1956.

Olympic records

Hockey Final—India v. Great Britain at the Empire Stadium, Wembley, Thursday, August 12th. India scoring her third goal
India scoring their third goal against Britain in the final of the 1948 Olympics
1952- Helsinki Olympic Gold Medal winning team with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru
Gold Medal-winning team from 1952 Helsinki with then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru

The men's hockey team holds multiple Olympic records in the sport:

Results

Stamps released by India Post commemorating Olympic victories
Olympic Performance
Games Ranking
United Kingdom 1908 London Did not enter
Belgium 1920 Antwerp
Netherlands 1928 Amsterdam Gold Gold
United States 1932 Los Angeles
Germany 1936 Berlin
United Kingdom 1948 London
Finland 1952 Helsinki
Australia 1956 Melbourne
Italy 1960 Rome Silver Silver
Japan 1964 Tokyo Gold Gold
Mexico 1968 Mexico City Bronze Bronze
West Germany 1972 Munich
Canada 1976 Montreal 7th
Soviet Union 1980 Moscow Gold Gold
United States 1984 Los Angeles 5th
South Korea 1988 Seoul 6th
Spain 1992 Barcelona 7th
United States 1996 Atlanta 8th
Australia 2000 Sydney 7th
Greece 2004 Athens
China 2008 Beijing Did not qualify
United Kingdom 2012 London 12th
Brazil 2016 Rio de Janeiro 8th
Japan 2020 Tokyo Bronze Bronze
France 2024 Paris

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: India en los Juegos Olímpicos para niños

  • Sport in India
  • List of flag bearers for India at the Olympics
  • India at the Paralympics
  • India at the World Games
  • India at the Asian Games
  • India at the Commonwealth Games
  • India at the Lusofonia Games
  • India at the South Asian Games
  • Olympic Gold Quest
  • Indian sports at the Olympics
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