India Olympics History

Olympics are one of the earliest known sporting events in the world and their history dates back to as early as 4th century AD. Greece is the country where the games are believed to be played by no one else but the Gods themselves. A belief has it, that Zeus and his son Heracles were the founders of the sport and because of the Gods being associated with the sport; the games have been played and promoted almost religiously in different parts of the world. Such was the importance of the sporting event, that any wars or against the participating nations were put on hold during the span the event was supposed to held. The winners were acknowledged with poems addressed to them and statues built in their reverence. Olympics still remain popular as one of the most reputed sporting events in the world. Doing well in the Olympics is a matter of pride. The more the number of medals the more is the admiration a country invites which ensures that each participating nation desires and hopes to win as many medals as they can for their country.

India's Olympic History

India's association with the Olympics started when the country was still striving for its independence. The national sport, Hockey was the primary sport to give the country feel of gold. India's Men's Field Hockey Team won the gold for six successive Olympic years from 1928-1956. Though, nothing can beat the craze of the Indians for cricket but Abhinav Bindra's phenomenal performance at the 2008 Beijing Olympics has proven to be a catalyst to evoke interest of the Indians in the mammoth sporting event. The country for the first time welcomed and appreciated, a sports personality not hailing from the cricket background with so much admiration and reverence. Even the athletes were motivated to put up a better show. It is worth noting that India's performance at the Olympics has improved considerably after the year 1994 with more athletes getting individual medals for the country.

Indian Olympics History: Quick Facts

• India's First ever participation in Summer Olympics Games: 1920
• India's first ever participation in Winter Olympics Games: 1964
• India's first ever gold medal: Norman Pritchard in 1900
• Number of Medals won by Indian athletes till date: 20
• The best performance by India at Olympics: In 2008 Beijing Olympics
• Total Gold medals won by Indian athletes :9
• Gold Medals won in Men's Field Hockey: 8
• Individual Gold Medal: 1 (Abhinav Bindra in Men's 10m Air Rifle, 2008 Beijing Olympics)
• National Olympic Committee: Indian Olympic Association.

India's Performance in Olympics

India's Performance in Olympics
Year	Medals	Performers
1900	2 silver medals	Norman Pritchard
1928	1 gold medal	India's Men Field Hockey Team
1932	1 gold medal	India's Men Field Hockey Team
1936	1 gold medal	India's Men Field Hockey Team
1948	1 gold medal	India's Men Field Hockey Team
1952	1 gold medal and a bronze medal	Gold: India's Men Field Hockey Team. Bronze: Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav
1956	I gold medal	India's Men Field Hockey Team
1960	2 silver medals	India's Men Field Hockey Team
1964	I gold medal	India's Men Field Hockey Team
1968	I bronze medal	India's Men Field Hockey Team
1972	1 bronze medal	India's Men Field Hockey Team
1980	1 gold medal	India's Men Field Hockey Team
1996	1 bronze medal	Leander Paes (Tennis)
2000	1 bronze medal	Karnam Malleswari (Weightlifting)
2004	1 silver medal	Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (Shooting)
2008	1 gold medal and 2 bronze medals	Gold: Abhinav Bindra (Shooting) Bronze: Sushil Kumar (Wrestling) Vijender Kumar (Boxing)
2012	2 Silver medal and 4 bronze medals	Silver:-Vijay Kumar (Shooting), Sushil Kumar (Wrestling) Bronze:- Gagan Narang (Shooting),Saina Nehwal (Badminton), Mary Kom (Boxing), Yogeshwar Dutt (Wrestling)

Last Updated on :July 15, 2019