Which Indian athletes have won most medals at Olympics?

India has four esteemed individual multi-medalists at the Olympics.

The Olympics are the ultimate stage for athletes to showcase their talents. While India’s Olympic journey began at the 1900 Paris Summer Games with the groundbreaking success of Norman Pritchard, the road to consistent medals has been long and challenging.

K.D. Jadhav became the second individual medalist from India by winning a bronze in wrestling at the 1952 Helsinki Games. Meanwhile, the Indian hockey team peaked from 1928 to 1980, winning an astonishing 11 medals during this period, including eight golds.

India’s best medal tally came at the 2020 Tokyo games, where the country won a total of seven medals, surpassing the previous best of six at the London Games.

Neeraj Chopra won gold in the javelin throw in Tokyo, becoming only the second individual gold medalist from India, following Abhinav Bindra, who won gold in the 10-meter rifle shooting at the 2008 Beijing Games.

All of this demonstrates the immense difficulty of winning an Olympic medal, yet some athletes have managed to achieve this feat multiple times.

Here, we explore the Indian athletes who have distinguished themselves by winning multiple medals at the Olympics:

Norman Pritchard (2)

Norman Pritchard, an athlete of British-Indian descent born in Calcutta, made history at the 1900 Paris Olympics by becoming the first Asian-born athlete to win an Olympic medal and the first Indian to achieve this feat.

Pritchard clinched two silver medals in the men’s 200-meter and 200-meter hurdles, setting a high standard for future Indian athletes.

For over a century, he remained the only individual medalist from India to win multiple medals at the Olympics, until Sushil Kumar made history by winning his second medal at the 2012 London Olympics.

Also Read: Top 10 Indian athletes who will miss Paris Olympics 2024

Sushil Kumar (2)

Sushil Kumar revitalized Indian wrestling by ending the country’s long wait for an individual Olympic medal in wrestling in 2008 at the Beijing Games. He earned a bronze in the 66kg freestyle wrestling event, becoming the first Indian wrestler to win an Olympic medal since K.D. Jadhav in 1952.

Kumar’s determination paid off again at the 2012 London Olympics, where he won a silver medal, making him the first individual multi-medalist from India post-Independence. Sushil was also the flag-bearer for India at the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics.

PV Sindhu (2)

P.V. Sindhu’s ascent in badminton has been exceptional. She debuted at the Olympics in 2016 at the Rio Games, where she won a silver medal in women’s singles, making her the first Indian athlete to win a silver medal in badminton.

Her success story continued at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where she won a bronze medal, becoming the first Indian female athlete to win two Olympic medals. Sindhu remains a dominant force in Indian badminton and will carry the nation’s hopes for another medal at the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024.

Manu Bhaker (2)

Manu Bhaker carried the hopes of her nation like a true champion at Paris Olympics 2024. She won bronze medals in 10m air pistol and 10m air pistol mixed team event with Sarabjot Singh.

Bhaker became the first Indian woman and second overall after Norman Pritchard to win multiple medals at a single edition of the Olympics.

Neeraj Chopra (2)

Neeraj Chopra won the gold medal at Tokyo Olympics in men’s javelin throw. He threw 87.58m to take the top spot in the podium. Chopra won his second medal, a silver at Paris Olympics 2024. He threw 89.45m to take the second spot.

Indian Hockey Team (12)

While not an individual sport, the Indian hockey team has a distinguished Olympic history. The team have won a total of 12 Olympic medals: eight gold, one silver and three bronze. The most recent medal was a historic bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, with Manpreet Singh as captain.

This achievement ended a 41-year wait for an Olympic hockey medal, with the previous one being in 1980. With this legacy, there are high expectations for the team to win another medal in Paris Olympics 2024.

There are also high hopes from Neeraj Chopra to defend his crown at the Olympics, thereby adding his name to the list of multi-medalists from India. If P.V. Sindhu wins her third Olympic medal in Paris, she will become the first Indian to achieve this feat.

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