List of Indian families with multiple Olympic medal winners

There are several Indian families with Olympic medals across generations.

In a sports-crazy country like India, growing up every kid would want to be a sportsperson representing the nation. But, with more than a billion people it is highly unlikely that everyone will have access to high-end training facilities to cultivate their interest.

With many factors like financial stability, additional attention to education in the system meant that sports as a career was not an option. But, the turn of the century and the success of PV Sindhu, Leander Paes and the Indian Premier League meant that Indians were moving towards having a serious career in sports.

The current Olympic squad has a 14-year-old Dhinidhi Desinghu, who is at the Paris Olympics 2024 while her friends are preparing for their school exams in Bengaluru.

This change in mindset in the Indian families is heartening to see and the efforts for it can be seen in Khelo India School and University Games. While it is a change in mindset, India have had few families in the past who have been into sports and there are families which have multiple Olympic medalists. Let’s look into these athletes and their blood relations.

#1 Major Dhyan Chand – Gold – Hockey – 1928, 1932, 1936 Olympics Dhyan’s Brother – Roop Singh – Gold – Hockey – 1932, 1936 Olympics Dhyan’s Son – Ashok Kumar Singh – Bronze – Hockey – 1972 Olympics

Hockey is one sport where India has been the best team in the history of the Olympics. It all started with the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, when India won their first gold. Major Dhyan Chand was the cornerstone of the journey to gold, as he helped India dominate its opponents. There were 69 goals scored in the entire tournament and Dhyan Chand scored a whopping 15 of them.

If Dhyan Chand was a phenomenon, he was joined by his younger brother Roop Singh for the title defence at the 1932 Los Angeles Games. Although there were only three teams that participated in hockey, India annihilated the opposition, beating Japan 11-1 and USA 24-1, with Roop Singh scoring 13 goals, one more than his brother.

Also Read: Top five astonishing records of Indian men’s hockey team

The duo continued their golden run to help India complete a hat-trick of gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Games, as India beat Germany in the finals. It was Roop Singh who opened the scoring in the 33rd minute, before Dhyan Chand completed yet another hat-trick to win the game in front of Adolf Hitler.

The tradition continued in the family with Dhyan Chand’s son Ashok Kumar Singh wielding the hockey stick for India at the 1972 Munich Games. Infact, it was Ashok’s goal that helped India draw with the Netherlands in the opening game. He played a crucial part in the campaign to help India finish with a bronze medal.

#2 Vece Paes – Bronze – Hockey – 1972 Olympics Vece’s Son – Leander Paes – Bronze – Tennis singles – 1996 Olympics

Ashok’s 1972 bronze medal-winning campaign also had a teammate in Vece Paes. Vece was a midfielder and also played a crucial role in the bronze medal finish at the 1971 Hockey World Cup in Barcelona. He made a bigger contribution as he instilled the winning mentality in his son Leander Paes.

When it comes to Indian tennis one name that everyone spells out is Leander Paes. The 18-time Grand Slam champion has been one of the greatest doubles players in the history of the game and on 20th July 2024, he became the first Indian to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. But, the Kolkata-born player shot to fame when he won a bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Games in the men’s singles.

Having earned a wild card entry, Leander Paes looked unstoppable as he knocked out the third seed Thomas Enqvist in the third round. In the semi-finals, he faced the home favourite and top seed Andre Agassi. He lost the match 7-6, 6-3. In the bronze medal match, Leander Paes beat Brazil’s Fernando Meligeni, coming back from a set down to become the first Asian to win an Olympic medal in tennis.

The medal of Leander Paes is historic because in 24 years between his bronze and his father’s bronze medal, India had won only one medal and Leander Paes helped India break the 16-year drought without an Olympic medal. Leander Paes also holds the Indian record of competing in seven editions of the Summer Games.

#3 Gujrant Singh – Bronze – Hockey – 2021 OlympicsGujrant’s Cousin – Simranjeet Singh – Bronze – Hockey – 2021 Olympics

While Leander ended India’s medal drought at the Olympics with the win in Atlanta in 1996, the Indian hockey team, once termed favourites at every tournament weren’t winning any medals. With gold at the 1980 Moscow Games the previous success, the squad to the Tokyo Olympics carried the burden of a wait for 41 years. While the team was filled with talented players, there were a couple of cousins who wanted to win it badly.

Simranjeet Singh and Gujrant Singh were part of a squad in which none were born when India last won an Olympic medal in hockey. The brothers played a crucial part in India’s campaign, which got off to a mixed start. Coming from a 7-1 mauling against Australia, it was Simranjeet who opened the scoring against Spain in the next game, which setup India to win it 3-0.

His brother Gujrant’s twin goals were the difference as India beat Japan 5-3 in their last league game. Gujrant continued his goalscoring in the quarter-final win against Great Britain.

It was heartbreak in the semis as Belgium beat India 5-2, after starting the last quarter at 2-2. With the burden of four decades, India went into the bronze medal match against Germany. Simranjeet scored an early goal to help India equalize the score against Germany.

But, the Germans struck back with two more goals. The urge to see India on the podium pushed them harder and Simranjeet’s brace helped India beat Germany 5-4 and end a daunting 41-year wait.

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