Revisit India’s incredible campaign at Tokyo 2020 and more

On the occasion of #InternationalOlympicDay, revisit how far India has come in terms of performance at the most prestigious sporting event. Did you know India has won a tally of 35 medals at the Olympics? Big number!

The journey that led us to this tally:

A 228-strong contingent led by the legendary boxer MC Mary Kom and the Indian men’s hockey captain Manpreet Singh, saw a significant improvement in Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, in which India finished 48th on the medal tally.

Medal tally at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics

London Olympics 2012

Before the Tokyo Olympics 2020, the London Olympics was our most successful Olympic outing. With a contingent of 83 athletes, India won 6 medals- 2 silvers and 4 bronze medals.

In the 10m air rifle, shooter Gagan Narang bagged the first medal for India after he claimed the bronze. A feat followed by marksman Vijay Kumar who bagged the first silver in the 25m rapid air pistol for us.

Medal tally at the London 2012 Olympics Summer Olympics

Wrestler Sushil Kumar became the first Indian with successive individual medals after winning the silver medal in the Men's Freestyle (66kg) category. Veteran Yogeshwar Dutt also secured the bronze in the same (60kg) category.

Saina Nehwal became our first Women’s Singles Shuttler to win the bronze medal. Veteran boxer Mary Kom also created history by becoming the first Indian woman to win in boxing by earning the bronze in the Women’s Flyweight category.

Female dominance in Rio de Janeiro, 2016

While the medal tally decreased in the previous edition, the women athletes took charge.

Medal tally at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics

Sakshi Malik claimed the title of the first Indian woman wrestler to clinch the bronze medal in the 58 kg weight category. Furthermore, ace shuttler PV Sindhu reached the finals of the 2016 London Olympics in badminton.

Though not the best in the competition, she became the youngest Indian (21 then) to win the first silver medal for an Indian in the Olympics.

Taking it to the next level at the Tokyo Olympics, 2020

Having sent over 120 athletes to Tokyo, India completed its best-ever performance at the Olympics by winning seven medals, including one gold.

These athletes took part in 18 different sports like archery, athletics, badminton, boxing, equestrian, fencing, golf, gymnastics, hockey, judo, rowing, sailing, shooting, swimming, table tennis, tennis, weightlifting, and wrestling.

 

 

 

 

 

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Golden boy

The 23-year-old Neeraj Chopra bagged India’s first gold medal since Abhinav Bindra’s fantastic feat in 2008. This feat also marked the country’s first gold medal in Track & Field events.

Silver hauls

Saikhom Mirabai Chanu clinched the silver medal on the first official day of the Tokyo Olympics in the 49 kg weight category. This feat marked India’s second weightlifting Olympic medal after the Sydney Olympics, 2000.

Wrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiya secured the second silver medal in the Tokyo Olympics in the 57 kg Freestyle Wrestling to mark the country’s second silver medal after Sushil Kumar in 2012.

Bronze bonanza

After a 41-year wait, the Indian Men’s Hockey team came back from 2 goals down to win 5-4 against the mighty Germans and claimed the bronze medal to mark the 12th medal overall in the sport.

Wrestler Bajrang Punia became the third Indian debutant to bag a medal at the Tokyo Olympics. With that, India equalled their best-ever medal tally of 6 at a single edition of the Olympics.

Boxer Lovlina Borgohain won the bronze in her Olympics debut in the Women’s 69 kg weight category.

Shuttler P.V. Sindhu became the first Indian woman and only the second athlete to win successive medals at the Olympics.

Future of Indian Olympics

With India sealing its best-ever performance in Tokyo, the future looks bright. Recently, India won the bid to host the 2023 International Olympic Committee (IOC) session in Mumbai, a feat achieved after a gap of 40 years. The bid delegation was led by IOC Members Nita Ambani and Narinder Batra, Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports Anurag Thakur and Olympian & member of the IOC Athletes’ Commission Abhinav Bindra. This is a historic development as we take a giant leap towards growing the Olympic Movement among our youth and inculcate the spirit of Olympism in India.

This bid win was followed by India's first Olympic Values Education Programme (OVEP) launched by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik, IOC Member Mrs. Nita Ambani, IOC Education Commission Chair Mikaela Cojuangco Jaworski, Director of Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage Mrs. Angelita Teo, Olympian & member of the IOC Athletes’ Commission Abhinav Bindra, President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) Narinder Batra and delegates from the Govt. of Odisha and the IOC.

With these developments, Indian sports is poised for exciting times ahead! Stay tuned for more updates on this. 

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