The highs and the lows

Although India had a single representative in Paris in 1900, Tokyo 2020 will mark 100 years since India sent their first official contingent to an Olympics at the 1920 Antwerp Games.

A century of Olympic history is filled with a number of highs – such as a record eight gold medals in hockey, six of which were consecutive; KD Jadhav’s first individual Olympic medal for an independent India, Abhinav Bindra’s historic gold at Beijing 2008 and a first-ever track-and-field gold by Neeraj Chopra at Tokyo 2020.

There have also been some lows and a couple of heartbreaks along the way. Here’s a look at India’s Olympic history over the past century.

Pre-independence: Norman Pritchard and the first hockey hat-trick

India’s first brush with the Olympics came at the 1900 Paris Olympics – where Norman Pritchard was the country’s sole representative. He won two silver medals – in the 200m sprint and 200m hurdles.

The first multi-sport Olympic contingent for India came at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics – where five athletes (three in athletics and two wrestlers) took part.

At the 1924 Paris Olympics, India made their tennis debut. Five players (4 male and 1 female) played in the singles events. Two pairs played the men’s doubles and one in the mixed doubles.

The 1928 Amsterdam Olympics marked the beginning of Indian hockey’s magnificent run. 

The Indian men’s hockey team – led by the legendary Dhyan Chand – scored 29 goals and conceded none as they won their first Olympic gold medal.

They repeated the feat at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics and the 1936 Berlin Olympics to complete a memorable hat-trick and cement their status as the world’s most dominant hockey team. 

Post-independence: Triple hockey gold and a first individual medal

The Olympics were not held in 1940 and 1944 due to World War II and in 1947, India gained independence from the British. The 1948 London Olympics, hence, were India’s first Summer Games as an independent nation.

India then sent their largest contingent – 86 athletes across nine sports – for the 1948 Olympics and the Indian hockey team was the dominant force again, as it returned with its fourth Olympic gold medal and discovered a new star in Balbir Singh Sr.

The Indian hockey team would repeat its feat at the 1952 and 1956 Olympics.

The Indian football team also made its first international appearance at the 1948 London Games but lost in a close match to heavyweights France on their Olympics debut.

The 1952 Helsinki Olympics also saw another historic moment for India as wrestler KD Jadhav became the first Indian to win an individual Olympic medal, a bronze.

The Helsinki edition also saw Nilima Ghose emerge as the first woman from independent India to participate in the Olympics. Then just 17, She competed in 100m sprint and 80m hurdles.

At the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, the Indian football team fell short in the bronze medal playoff and finished fourth.

Indian hockey’s Olympic gold rush was briefly…