India at the Olympics: How have we fared so far

The giant Olympic rings are seen through a tree in the dusk at the waterfront area of Odaiba Marine Park, before the opening ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games that have been postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Tokyo, Japan July 8, 2021. REUTERS/Issei Kato - RC2AGO9L0937

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics (although being held in 2021), is just around the corner. India will be fielding its biggest ever, and arguably its best contingent at the Olympic games. With many realistic medal hopes competing for India, the Tokyo Olympics could see India better its performances from the 2012 London Olympics where it won six medals. As India awaits glory in Tokyo, here is a look at its history performance in the Olympics so far.

1900 – 1936

India first participated in the Olympic games in the 1900 Paris Olympics, when it was still a British colony. Only one athlete took part – Norman Pritchard. He won silver in both the Men’s 200m and Men’s 200m Hurdles. While the IAAF records Pritchard as having been chosen to represent Great Britain after competing in the British AAA Championship in 1900, the IOC still regards Pritchard as having represented Indian in 1900. India’s win thus made it the first Asian nation to win a medal at the Olympics.

From 1904 – 1920, India did not take part in any of the Olympic games. India sent its first Olympic team in the 1920 Antwerp Olympics. Sir Dorabji Tata requested the then Governor of Bombay Lloyd George to secure a representation for India at the Olympics. The team was funded by Sir Dorabji Tata, Indian government and donations from sports-minded residents of Bombay. India failed to win any medals at the 1920 Games or the 1924 Paris Olympics.

From 1928 – 1936, India dominated in field hockey, winning an unprecedented three consecutive titles. At the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, India defeated Netherlands 3-0 in the final with Dhyan Chand scoring all three goals for India. In the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, India defeated hosts USA 24-1, the largest margin of victory in Olympics. Roop Singh scored ten goals while Dhyan Chand scored eight goals. In the 1936 Berlin Olympics, India beat hosts Germany 8-1 in final, the largest victory margin ever in an Olympic final. Dhyan Chand scored four goals in the final. The lone goal India conceded in their 8-1 victory against Germany was the only goal they conceded in the entire tournament.

 1948 – 1980

India continued their dominance in Hockey even after Independence and partition. In the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, India beat Great Britain 4-0 in the final to claim its first medal since Independence. Britain fearing embarrassment of a defeat at the hands of their former colony, played defensively and were unable to keep up with the pace of the Indians.

In the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, India’s Hockey team beat Austria 4-0 in the quarterfinals, Great Britain 3-1 in semi-finals and thrashed Netherlands 6-1 in the final to win their second gold medal since becoming independent and 5^th Gold overall since first winning its first gold in 1928. India also won its first medal in the individual category post-independence when Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav won bronze in wrestling. He is the only Indian Olympic medalist who hasn’t won a Padma Award.

India won it sixth straight title in Hockey in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, beating Pakistan 1-0 in the final. India won the title without conceding a single goal in the entire tournament. It was in the same Games that Milkha Singh first represented India in the 200m and 400m events where he failed to post good finishes.

In the 1960 Rome Olympics, the Indian hockey team were beaten in the final by Pakistan, thus ending their six consecutive title runs. India’s only other medal prospect was the ‘The Flying Sikh’, Milkha Singh, who was in fine form. But he finished fourth in a hotly contested 400m final where he erred by looking back to check on his opponents which cost him dearly as the race ended in a photo finish. In the same race all four finishers beat the previous Olympic record.

In the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, India won its seventh gold medal when its hockey team beat Pakistan 1-0 in a revenge final. In the 1968 Mexico Olympics and 1972 Munich Olympics, India won bronze medals in hockey. The Munich Olympics in 1972 was marred by the attacks by eight member of the Palestinian terrorist group Black September. Nine members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage. All nine and a German policeman was killed in a failed attempt to rescue the hostages. India failed to win a medal at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, a first since 1924.

In the 1980 Moscow Olympics, India won gold in hockey, beating Spain 4-3 in the final. It was their eighth title, an Olympic record that stands till date. It was also Indian hockey’s last podium finish at the Olympics, which went into decline in the following years, with Cricket emerging as the more popular and well-funded sport.

1984 – 2020

India went through a lean phase from 1984 – 1992, without any medals in the three Olympic Games. India’s medal drought was ended in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics when tennis ace Leander Paes won bronze in Men’s Singles. It was the first medal in 16 years and first individual medal since 1952.

Karnam Malleshwari became the first woman to win an Olympic medal from India at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in the Women’s 69Kg Weightlifting category. It was India’s sole medal at the Games. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore followed it up with a silver in the Men’s Double Trap shooting category at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Abhinav Bindra became the first Indian to win an individual gold medal at the Olympics at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, when he won in the Men’s 10m Air Rifle event. Sushil Kumar and Vijender Singh won bronze in wrestling and boxing respectively, making it India’s best Olympic performance, surpassing the 1900 Paris Olympics performance which saw Norman Pritchard win two silver medals.

India surpassed its three-medal tally in the 2008 Beijing Olympics by winning six medals at the 2012 London Olympics. Sushil Kumar won silver in wrestling, making him the second Indian ever and first Indian since independence to win multiple individual medals at the Olympic Games. Vijay Kumar won silver in the Men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol event, Gagan Narang won bronze in the Men’s 10m Air Rifle event, Saina Nehwal won bronze in the Women’s Badminton Singles, Mary Kom won bronze in the Women’s flyweight category and Yogeshwar Dutt won bronze in wrestling in the Men’s Freestyle 60Kg category. Saina Nehwal won India’s first Olympic medal in badminton, although it was after her opponent Wang Xin of China retired in the second set, after having beaten Saina 21-18 in the first set.

In the 2016 Rio Olympics, India managed to win only two medals – silver and bronze apiece. PV Sindhu became the first Indian to win a silver medal at the Olympics when she finished second in Badminton Women’s Singles event. She also became the youngest Indian to win an Olympic medal. Sakshi Mallik was the other medalist. She won bronze in the Women’s Freestyle 58Kg category, becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to win an Olympic medal. It was also in the same Games that Usain Bolt completed the ‘Triple-Triple’, winning three gold medals in the three consecutive Olympic Games.