India at Olympics: India's medals at the Olympics by sports

The Olympics is undoubtedly the most prestigious sporting event on the planet. The essence of the Olympics is understood in the excitement that builds around every four years. Indian athletes have won a total of 35 medals, all at the Summer Games. For some time, the Indian Men's Field Hockey Team was dominant in Olympic competition, winning twelve medals in 24 Olympics. The run included eight gold medals of which six were won consecutively from 1928 to 1956. Let's take a closer look at 'India at Olympics', analyzing the medals won by sport.

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India at Olympics by Sports

1. Hockey

If we talk about India's most successful sport in the Olympic games, Hockey's name will come at the top. The Indian hockey team dominated the sport from the beginning. They won a total of 12 medals out of which 8 are gold medals. The last gold came at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Indian Hockey team also won a silver medal in 1960 and three bronze medals in 1968, 1972, and 2021. However, the team's performance has declined in recent years as their last medal came in the form of a bronze at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. India participated in hockey for the first time in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics and won five consecutive Olympic gold medals stretching till the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. India's tally of eight gold medals is also the highest among hockey-participating nations when it comes to the Olympics. Since the 1980 games, we have yet to witness the country win a gold medal in the sport.

2. Shooting

Shooting has also been a very fruitful contributor to India's medal tally in the Olympics. In total, India has won four medals across various shooting disciplines in the Olympics. It started with former sports minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore winning a silver medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics in the Double Trap event. The crowning in our Olympics history this century came through shooting when Abhinav Bindra clinched a historic gold medal in the 10m Air Rifle event in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The win also made him the first Indian Olympian to win a gold medal this century. The 2012 Olympics saw India double their tally in shooting when Gagan Narang (10m Air Rifle) and Vijay Kumar (25m Rapid Pistol) won bronze and silver respectively. Apart from hockey, shooting is the only discipline which has contributed to a gold medal for India at the Olympics.

3. Athletics

Athletics has contributed to a total of three medals to the Indian medal tally at the Olympics. The first two medals that India ever won at the Olympics were in athletics. These two medals came back at the 1900 Paris Olympics when Norman Pritchard participated on behalf of British India (still under British colonial rule). Pritchard won two silver medals in the 200m and the 200m hurdles events thus making him the first Asian-born athlete to ever win an Olympic medal. More recently, Neeraj Chopra created history by winning a gold medal in the javelin throw at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

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4. Wrestling

Wrestling has contributed to a total of 7 medals to India's total tally of 35. The first medal India won in wrestling was back in the 1952 Olympic games in Helsinki when Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav clinched the bronze medal in the men's freestyle Bantamweight event. Two of the seven medals were won by Sushil Kumar who won the bronze in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and the silver in the 66 kg men's freestyle discipline four years later in London. He was the first Indian Olympian post-independence to win two Olympic medals and also the only wrestler from India to win two Olympic medals. Other Olympians who won medals in the Olympics for wrestling include Yogeshwar Dutt who won bronze in the 2012 London Olympics, Sakshi Malik who also won bronze in the 2016 Rio Olympics, Ravi Kumar Dahiya (Silver) in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, and Bajrang Punia (Bronze) which also came in Tokyo Games. 

5. Badminton

India has been a bright spark in the world of badminton as the nation has produced plenty of gifted players. The likes of Saina Nehwal to Kidambi Srikanth have won multiple tournaments and been right up there with the best. The Olympics added more gloss to the quality that the nation possesses as Badminton has contributed three medals to the total tally of 35 won by Indians since the turn of the previous century. All three medals were won by women, the first being a bronze medal won by Saina Nehwal in the 2012 London Olympics. The second and third ones were achieved by PV Sindhu in the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

6. Weightlifting

Weightlifting has seen limited success for India at the Olympics, as the sport brought only two medals for the country. but Karnam Malleswari's bronze medal win at the 2000 Sydney Olympics stands as a significant achievement. Malleswari became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal. Other Olympians who won medal in the Olympics for weightlifting include Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, who clinched silver in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

7. Boxing

Boxing has contributed to a total of 3 medals to India's total tally of 35. The first medal India won in boxing was back in the 2008 Beijing Olympics when Vijender Singh clinched the bronze medal in the men's middleweight category. After that, Mary Kom won a bronze medal in the women's flyweight category at the 2012 London Olympics. The most recent medal in boxing came when Lovlina Borgohain clinched the bronze in the women's welterweight category at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

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8. Tennis

Leander Paes won India's first and only tennis Olympic medal. He won the bronze medal at Atlanta 1996 which was also India’s first medal at the Summer Games in 44 years. Leander Paes was ranked only 126 in the world when he entered the 1996 Atlanta Olympics as a wild card. He is still the only Indian tennis player to win a medal at the Olympics.