India at the Olympics - 10 things to know with detail
- 1. India's first participation in the Olympics was in 1900 in Paris, where Norman Pritchard won two silver medals in athletics, making him the first Indian to win an Olympic medal.
- 2. India's first individual gold medal at the Olympics was won by Abhinav Bindra in the 10m air rifle event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
- 3. India has won a total of 28 Olympic medals, including 9 gold, 7 silver, and 12 bronze medals. The most successful sport for India at the Olympics has been field hockey, with 8 gold medals.
- 4. India has also won medals in shooting, wrestling, boxing, badminton, and tennis at the Olympics.
- 5. The most successful Indian Olympian is shooter Abhinav Bindra, who won the individual gold medal in 2008.
- 6. India's first and only individual Olympic silver medalist is wrestler Sushil Kumar, who won silver in the 66kg freestyle wrestling event at the 2012 London Olympics.
- 7. Indian women have also made their mark at the Olympics, with athletes like P.V. Sindhu (badminton), Mary Kom (boxing), and Sakshi Malik (wrestling) winning medals for the country.
- 8. The Rio 2016 Olympics was India's most successful Olympics in terms of the number of medals won, with the country winning 2 medals in wrestling and 1 medal in badminton.
- 9. India has hosted the Olympics once, in 1982 when the Asian Games were held in Delhi. The country has also bid to host the Olympics in the future, but has not yet been successful in securing the bid.
- 10. India's performance at the Olympics has been steadily improving over the years, with more athletes qualifying and competing in a wider range of sports. The government has also been investing more in sports infrastructure and training programs to support Indian athletes at the Olympics.