Olympic Medals : When did India win the first medal in Olympic history?
The history of the modern Olympic Games is 129 years old. India, which has been participating in the Olympics since 1900, has won only 35 medals in the Olympics so far. These medals also came in only 9 sports. Independent India had to wait for 56 more years to win the first Olympic medal in wrestling. Jadhav was the first Indian wrestler to win a bronze medal in the 1952 Olympics
India's Olympic medal winners
| 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 |
| Manu Bhaker | Bronze | Women's 10m air pistol shooting | Paris 2024 |
1. 200m hurdles 1900 Paris Olympics Medal
India began its first Olympic campaign in the 1900 Paris Olympics with Norman Pritchard. The first Indian representative at the modern Olympics won the country's first medal (before independence) in the men's 200m hurdles. Norman Pritchard set an Olympic record of 26.8 seconds in the semi-finals. In the final, Alvin Kraenzlein of the USA won the gold medal setting a new Olympic record of 25.4 seconds, while Norman Pritchard won the silver with a time of 26 seconds.
2. Hockey 1928 Amsterdam Olympics Medal
The Indian hockey team scored 29 goals without reply in five matches and won its first Olympic gold medal. Magician Dhyan Chand scored 14 goals, including a hat-trick against the Netherlands in the final. This was Indian hockey's first medal at the Olympics.
3. wrestling 1952 Helsinki Olympics Medal
The Indian hockey team braved 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 scored by an individual in an Olympic men's hockey final.
4. Tennis: 1996 Atlanta Olympics medal
India missed out on a medal three times in a row but a young Leander Paes put India on the winning track by winning a bronze medal in 1996. After losing to Andre Agassi in the semi-finals, Paes defeated Fernando Meligani for the bronze medal.
5. Weightlifting: 2000 Sydney Olympics medal
Weightlifter Karnam Malleswari won a bronze medal in the 54kg category, making her the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal. She lifted 110kg in the snatch category and 130kg in the clean and jerk, thus lifting a total of 240kg.
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