All medals won by India at Summer Olympics

Published at :August 9, 2024 at 11:57 PM

Modified at :August 9, 2024 at 11:58 PM

India has won a total of 41 Olympic medals across 20 Olympic games.

India has a vibrant Olympic history going back to the year 1900 when it made its Olympic debut. The nation’s Olympic history is filled with various moments of highs and lows. From the glorious record in Hockey to returning without any medal in three consecutive Olympics from 1984 to 1992, there are countless moments to savour.

As the action continues at Paris 2024 Olympics, let us revisit India’s topsy-curvy Olympic performances and medals won in different Olympic editions.

1900 Paris Olympics: 2

India-born British-Indian athlete Norman Pritchard won two silver medals in the 1900 Paris Olympics. He won the country’s first-ever medal (pre-independence) after he won a silver medal in the men’s 200 m hurdles event. He won his second Olympic medal in the same edition by winning silver in the men’s 200m sprint.

Interestingly, Norman’s Olympic medals also have a bit of controversy around them as he is claimed by both Britain and India as having competed for them at the 1900 Olympics.

Silver: Norman Pitchard (Athletics, Men’s 200m)
Silver: Norman Pitchard (Athletics, Men’s 400m)

1928 Amsterdam Olympics: 1

In the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, India won its first ever Olympic gold medal in hockey and this also marked the beginning of the Golden era of the Indian Hockey team. The Indian team was undefeated in the event and won five matches, scoring 29 goals without conceding a single goal.

The wizard Dhyan Chand alone scored almost half of the team goals, scoring 14 goals including a hat-trick in the final against the Netherlands.

Gold: Indian Men’s Hockey Team (Hockey)

1932 Los Angeles Olympics: 1

India won its only medal in this Olympics in the form of gold in Hockey. Only three teams participated in this year’s Olympics in the event of field hockey. The event was conducted as a short group stage competition, with each team playing each opponent once. Indian team first beat Japan 11-1 followed by routing the USA 24-1 in which Roop Singh scored 10 and Dhyanchand scored eight goals.

Gold: Indian Men’s Hockey Team (Hockey)

1936 Berlin Olympics: 1

India’s sole medal in this Olympic again came in the form of Gold in Hockey. Dhyan Chand captained the team this time and India continued its ruthless domination. This time, India scored 38 goals in five matches and only conceded one in the final against Germany. Dhyan Chand scored his second hat-trick in an Olympic final leading the team to an 8-1 victory.

Gold: Indian Men’s Hockey Team (Hockey)

1948 London Olympics: 1

In the first Olympic Games post-Independence, India’s first and only medal unsurprisingly came from Hockey. The Indian team went undefeated and scored 19 goals in three matches to qualify for the semifinals. India then defeated the Netherlands 2-1 and the host Great Britain 4-0 in the finals to win its fourth gold medal in Olympic hockey.

Gold: Indian Men’s Hockey Team (Hockey)

1952 Helsinki Olympics: 2

The Indian hockey team won 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 by an individual in an Olympic men’s hockey final.

Wrestler Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav won India’s first individual Olympic medal with his bronze in the men’s freestyle bantam weight category. India won more than one medal for the first time since its debut in the 1900 Olympic Games.

Gold: Indian Men’s Hockey Team (Hockey)
Bronze: Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav (Wrestling, freestyle bantam weight)

1956 Melbourne Olympics: 1

Once again India’s sole Olympic medal came from hockey as the Indian team continued its unparalleled run in the Olympics by winning 6 Olympic gold in a row. India did not concede a single goal in the entire tournament and the skipper Balbir Singh Sr. played with a fracture in his right hand in the finals as India defeated Pakistan 1-0 in the final.

Gold: Indian Men’s Hockey Team (Hockey)

1960 Rome Olympics: 1

India won only one medal in this edition and the streak of continuous gold medals in Hockey was broken as India lost to Pakistan 1-0 in the finals and settled for the silver medal.

Silver: Indian Men’s Hockey Team (Hockey)

1964 Tokyo Olympics: 1

Indian hockey team made a strong comeback and regained its spot as they won the seventh gold medal in Olympic hockey. India won four matches and drew two in the group stages and beat Australia in the semis. India faced Pakistan in the final for the third consecutive time and beat them 1-0. The hockey gold medal was again the only medal won by India in this Olympics.

Gold: Indian Men’s Hockey Team (Hockey)

1968 Mexico City Olympics: 1

India’s only medal came from hockey but this time the colour of the medal was changed. Indian dominance in Hockey started diminishing and this was the first time that India finished outside the top 2 in Olympic hockey. India lost 2-1 in the semi-finals to Australia but they picked themselves up and defeated West Germany 2-1 to win the bronze medal.

Bronze: Indian Men’s Hockey Team (Hockey)

1972 Munich Olympics: 1

Indian hockey team again managed to finish on the podium with a second consecutive bronze medal. India lost the semi-finals against Pakistan 2-0. However, they defeated the Netherlands 2-1 and clinched bronze. This was India’s 10th medal in Olympic hockey.

Bronze: Indian Men’s Hockey Team (Hockey)

1980 Moscow Olympics: 1

After finishing 7th in the 1976 Montreal Olympics, a motivated Indian hockey team made a strong comeback and won India’s last Olympic medal 20th century. India defeated Spain in the finals 4-3 to win the gold medal. This also remains India’s last gold medal in hockey.

Gold: Indian Men’s Hockey Team (Hockey)

1996 Atlanta Olympics: 1

India did not win a single Olympic medal for three consecutive Olympics and this disappointing cycle was broken by a young tennis player Leander Paes by winning a bronze medal in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Paes lost to Andre Agassi in the semi-final but went on to beat Fernando Meligani in the bronze medal match.

Bronze: Tennis (Men’s Singles)

2000 Sydney Olympics: 1

India only won a single medal in this Olympics but this time it came from a different sport. Karnam Malleswari clinched the bronze medal in the weightlifting 54kg category. She lifted 110kg in the snatch category and 130kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 240kg. She became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal.

Bronze: Karnam Malleswari (Weightlifting)

2004 Athens Olympics: 1

India won only one medal in this Olympics but now Indians were starting to compete for medals in various sports. Major Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore won the silver medal in the double trap shooting event. Rathore had to shoot both his flying clay targets with his final attempt for his medal and the army colonel accurately downed both and won India’s first individual silver medal in the Olympics.

Silver: Major Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (Shooting, Double trap)

2008 Beijing Olympics: 3

India won 3 medals for the first time in its Olympic history. Abhinav Bindra created history by winning India’s first-ever individual Olympic gold in 10m air rifle shooting event. Vijender Singh won a bronze medal in men’s middleweight boxing and became the first Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal.

Wrestler Sushil Kumar won India’s 3rd medal in Beijing in the men’s 66kg category. He lost his opening bout, but Sushil went on to win three bouts in the repechage round within 70 minutes to clinch the bronze medal. It was India’s first Olympic medal in wrestling for 56 years.

Gold: Abhinav Bindra (Shooting, 10m air rifle)
Bronze: Vijender Singh (Boxing, Men’s middleweight)
Bronze: Sushil Kumar (Wrestling, Men’s 66kg)

2012 London Olympics: 6

The 2012 London Olympics turned out to be one of the most successful Olympic campaigns for India as it won 6 medals including 2 silver and 4 bronze medals.

Sushil Kumar turned the colour of his medal from bronze to silver this time in the men’s 66 kg category. Sushil lost to Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu in the final and ended up with silver. He became India’s first individual two-time Olympic medallist. Yogeshwar Dutt won India’s second medal in wrestling by winning a bronze medal in the men’s 60 kg category.

Shooter Vijay Kumar won a silver medal in the men’s 25m rapid pistol fire event. Another medal in shooting came from Gagan Narang as he won a bronze medal in 10m air rifle shooting.

Legendary Indian boxer Mary Kom won the bronze medal in the flyweight category in the maiden appearance of women’s boxing at the Olympic Games. Saina Nehwal brought home another medal by winning a bronze medal in the Women’s singles category. She also became the first Indian player to win a medal in badminton.

Silver: Sushil Kumar (Wrestling, Men’s 66kg)
Silver: Vijay Kumar (Shooting, Men’s 25m rapid pistol fire)
Bronze: Yogeshwar Dutt (Wrestling, Men’s 60kg)
Bronze: Gagan Narang (Shooting, 10m air rifle)
Bronze: Mary Kom (Boxing, Women’s flyweight)
Bronze: Saina Nehwal (Badminton, Women’s singles)

2016 Rio Olympics: 2

After a superb medal haul in London, India’s medal tally dipped significantly in the Rio Olympics. India only won 2 medals in this edition. PV Sindhu bettered Saina’s record by reaching the final of the women’s singles badminton before losing to Spain’s Carolina Marin in a hard-fought final.

Sakshi Malik became the first Indian female wrestler to win an Olympic medal after she won a bronze medal in women’s 58 kg wrestling. She defeated Kyrgyzstan’s Aisuluu Tynybekova 8-5 to win the bronze and ensured India a third consecutive medal in wrestling.

Silver: PV Sindhu (Badminton, Women’s singles)
Bronze: Sakshi Malik (Wrestling, Women’s 58kg)

2020 Tokyo Olympics: 7

The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games was India’s best-ever performance in its Olympic history. India won a total of 7 medals including 1 Gold, 2 Silver, and 4 bronze medals.

Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu lifted a total of 202kg to win the silver medal in the women’s 49kg category. Boxer Lovlina Borgohain won a bronze medal in her debut Olympics after losing in the semi-finals to top seed Busenaz Surmeneli of Turkey in the women’s 69kg.

PV Sindhu became the first Indian woman and only the second Indian athlete after Sushil Kumar to win two individual Olympic medals. PV Sindhu beat China’s He Bing Jiao 21-13, 21-15 to win the bronze medal in the women’s singles.

The aggressive Indian wrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiya won a silver medal in men’s 57kg freestyle wrestling after he lost to two-time world champion Zavur Uguev of ROC in the final. Bajrang Punia won another medal in wrestling after he defeated Kazakhstan’s Daulet Niyazbekov in the men’s 65kg freestyle wrestling playoff to claim the bronze.

The Indian men’s hockey team returned to the podium after 41 years as they won a historical bronze medal. After being 3-1 down at one point, India made a big comeback to beat Germany 5-4 and claim the bronze medal. It was Indian hockey’s 12th Olympic medal overall.

Neeraj Chopra won India’s first-ever medal in track and field events in the Olympics as he won a historical Gold medal in men’s javelin throw event. He also became India’s second individual Olympic champion after Abhinav Bindra. Neeraj’s throw travelled a distance of 87.58m to clinch the gold medal for India.

Gold: Neeraj Chopra (Javelin Throw, Men’s)
Silver: Ravi Kumar Dahiya (Wrestling, Men’s 57kg)
Silver: Mirabai Chanu (Weightlifting, Women’s 49kg)
Bronze: P.V. Sindhu (Badminton, Women’s singles)
Bronze: Lovlina Borgohain (Boxing, Women’s 69kg)
Bronze: Bajrang Punia (Wrestling, Men’s 65kg)
Bronze: Indian men’s hockey team

2024 Paris Olympics: 6

On day 2 of the Paris Olympics 2024, Manu Bhaker won India’s first medal of the campaign. The 22-year-old is playing in her second Olympic campaign. At the 2020 Tokyo Games, she failed to qualify for the final due to a pistol malfunction.

On day 4 of the Paris Olympics 2024, Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh won the bronze medal in mixed team 10m Air Pistol event.

On day 6 of the Paris Olympics 2024, Swapnil Kusale won bronze in men’s 50m rifle three positions shooting event.

On day 13 of the Paris Olympics 2024, the Indian men’s hockey team won bronze after defeating Spain 2-1.

On day 14 of Paris Olympics 2024, Neeraj Chopra won silver in men’s javelin throw.

On day 15 of Paris Olympics 2024, Aman Sehrawat won the bronze medal in men’s 57 kg freestyle wrestling.

Bronze: Manu Bhaker (Women’s 10m Air Pistol)
Bronze: Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh (Mixed team 10m Air Pistol)
Bronze: Swapnil Kusale (Men’s 50m Rifle three positions)
Bronze: Indian team (Men’s hockey)
Silver: Neeraj Chopra (Men’s Javelin throw)
Bronze: Aman Sehrawat ( Men’s 57 kg freestyle wrestling)

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