India played its first-ever Olympic Games in 1900 in Paris. Norman Pritchard, as a sole participant from India, marked the nation’s debut in Olympics. In which India went on to win two silver medals in athletics. And that kick-started India’s journey in the Olympic world.
At a sport meet in 1919, the assembly president Sir Dorabji Tata requested Governor of Bombay Lloyd George to secure India a place in the Olympic Games. This desire lead to the International Olympic Committee granting permission to participate in the Olympic Games. After a trial meet in Poona, in 1920, India sent a team to the Summer Olympics. The team consisted of six members which included four athletes and two wrestlers.
A provisional All India Olympic Committee was set up in 1923. National Games of India which was then called All India Olympic Games were held in February 1924. After that India took part in the Paris Olympics that year with seven athletes and seven tennis players.
From 1927 the provisional Indian Olympic Committee became to be known as Indian Olympic Association (IOA). Since 1948, IOA has been sending more than 50 sportspersons as representatives at every Olympic year.
Individual Achievements
At the 2008 Olympics, Indian shooter Abhinav Bindra won a gold medal in Men’s 10-metre air rifle event. This made him the first Indian to secure an individual gold medal at the Olympic Games. Vijender Singh won the country’s first medal in boxing (bronze).
In the 2012 Olympic Games, 83 Indian sportspersons took part and won six medals in total set up a new benchmark for the country. That year saw Wrestler Sushil Kumar bagging a silver medal and creating a record of becoming the first Indian after Norman Pritchard (1900) to win multiple Individual awards at the Olympics (bronze in 2008, silver in 2012). Saina Nehwal brought home a bronze medal getting the country’s first Olympic medal in badminton. In the same year, Mary Kom became the first Indian woman to secure a medal in boxing (bronze).
After bagging six medals and putting up India’s best show, a high level of expectation was created. However, India managed to secure only two medals at the 2016 Olympics. Sakshi Malik won the bronze medal in wrestling bringing home the first-ever wrestling Olympic medal bagged by a woman. Shuttler P.V. Sindhu marked her name as the youngest Indian Olympic medallist by securing a silver medal. She also became the first Indian woman to win a silver medal at the Olympic Games.
The Hockey Team
Besides mesmerizing individual performances, something that every Indian is very proud of is the show put up by the Indian national field hockey team between the years 1920 and 1980. The Indian men’s national hockey team won their first Olympic gold medal in 1928. This winning streak went on until 1956 bagging six consecutive gold medals in a total tally of 8 gold medals until 1980. It took 36 years for the team to make a comeback in the Olympics. In 2016, the team won a silver medal in Champions Trophy reaching the knockout out stage of the Olympic Games. Indian Hockey Team has eight gold, one silver and two bronze medals to its name. So, it is the most successful team ever in the Olympic Games.
India at the Summer Olympics
India in 2020
It is a century since India’s debut at the Summer Olympic Games. India has bagged 28 medals in 31 Summer Games. India will be approaching this Olympic year with a lot of positivity. Though India had a bad year at the Olympics in 2016 in terms of medal count, India did quite well. With a lot more practice, India is eyeing the 2020 Olympic Games to make its record best. For the first time Indian women’s hockey team will be making back to back appearances in the Summer Olympics. With less than a year to go, India has changed a lot since 2016. This change has given a lot of hopes and has weaved high expectations.
LET’S DO THIS INDIA!!
