The first modern Olympics started in 1896 in Athens, Greece, and it took only four years for India to have its name etched on the Olympics medal table when India sent out lone athletes to the 1900 Paris Olympics. Since the 1920 games, has India been a regular feature at the Olympics.
However, it was not till 1928 when they saw their next medal in the Olympics, and from there, the dominance of Indian Hockey started to kick in. India has since won 35 medals across 24 Olympic Games – including golds, silvers and bronze.
All India medals in Olympics history
| Athlete | Medal | Event | Olympics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norman Pritchard | Silver | Men’s 200m | Paris 1900 |
| Norman Pritchard | Silver | Men’s 200m hurdles | Paris 1900 |
| Indian hockey team | Gold | Men’s hockey | Amsterdam 1928 |
| Indian hockey team | Gold | Men’s hockey | Los Angeles 1932 |
| Indian hockey team | Gold | Men’s hockey | Berlin 1936 |
| Indian hockey team | Gold | Men’s hockey | London 1948 |
| Indian hockey team | Gold | Men’s hockey | Helsinki 1952 |
| KD Jadhav | Bronze | Men’s bantamweight wrestling | Helsinki 1952 |
| Indian hockey team | Gold | Men’s hockey | Melbourne 1956 |
| Indian hockey team | Silver | Men’s hockey | Rome 1960 |
| Indian hockey team | Gold | Men’s hockey | Tokyo 1964 |
| Indian hockey team | Bronze | Men’s hockey | Mexico City 1968 |
| Indian hockey team | Bronze | Men’s hockey | Munich 1972 |
| Indian hockey team | Gold | Men’s hockey | Moscow 1980 |
| Leander Paes | Bronze | Men’s singles tennis | Atlanta 1996 |
| Karnam Malleswari | Bronze | Women’s 54kg weightlifting | Sydney 2000 |
| Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore | Silver | Men’s double trap shooting | Athens 2004 |
| Abhinav Bindra | Gold | Men’s 10m air rifle shooting | Beijing 2008 |
| Vijender Singh | Bronze | Men’s middleweight boxing | Beijing 2008 |
| Sushil Kumar | Bronze | Men’s 66kg wrestling | Beijing 2008 |
| Sushil Kumar | Silver | Men’s 66kg wrestling | London 2012 |
| Vijay Kumar | Silver | Men’s 25m rapid pistol shooting | London 2012 |
| Saina Nehwal | Bronze | Women’s singles badminton | London 2012 |
| Mary Kom | Bronze | Women’s flyweight boxing | London 2012 |
| Yogeshwar Dutt | Bronze | Men’s 60kg wrestling | London 2012 |
| Gagan Narang | Bronze | Men’s 10m air rifle shooting | London 2012 |
| PV Sindhu | Silver | Women’s singles badminton | Rio 2016 |
| Sakshi Malik | Bronze | Women’s 58kg wrestling | Rio 2016 |
| Mirabai Chanu | Silver | Women’s 49kg weightlifting | Tokyo 2020 |
| Lovlina Borgohain | Bronze | Women’s welterweight boxing | Tokyo 2020 |
| PV Sindhu | Bronze | Women’s singles badminton | Tokyo 2020 |
| Ravi Kumar Dahiya | Silver | Men’s 57kg wrestling | Tokyo 2020 |
| Indian hockey team | Bronze | Men’s hockey | Tokyo 2020 |
| Bajrang Punia | Bronze | Men’s 65kg wrestling | Tokyo 2020 |
| Neeraj Chopra | Gold | Men’s javelin throw | Tokyo 2020 |
Who won first Olympics medal for India?
Norman Pritchard was the lone athlete from India at the 1900 Paris Olympics. He didn’t win one but two silver medals in athletic competitions, 200m and 200m hurdles. There is a debate surrounding who is the first Indian to win an Olympic medal, should it be before independence or after-independent. Putting all those doubts to rest, the Indian Olympic committee recognizes him as the first Indian to win an Olympic medal.
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