This is the first time India has won seven medals at the Olympics. A total of 126 athletes competed in 69 events representing India in Tokyo. From Meerabhai Chanu to Neeraj Chopra, the Indian medalists who have made themselves the country’s best medal hunters at Olympics – On the first day of the Tokyo Olympics, Mirabhai Chanu won the silver medal in weightlifting. The Indian Hockey team defeated Germany 5-4 in a thrilling match and secured a bronze medal to win India’s medal in Olympic hockey after 41 years. Ravi Kumar Dahiya, who won a silver medal in the men’s 57kg freestyle wrestling for India, became the second Indian to win a silver medal in wrestling at the Olympics. Overall, Indian contestants lit a hope for our country at Tokyo.

India is the second-largest country in terms of population. But the achievements that India can claim in the prestigious Olympics are not enough. India’s medal ambitions have blossomed in only 14 of the 24 events since the modern Olympics began in 1896. India has a total of 35 medals. India has won ten gold, nine silver, and sixteen bronze medals so far in the Olympics. India had the highest medal hopes at the Athens Olympics. Anju Bobby George, a long jumper in athletics, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi in tennis, and Anjali Bhagwat in the shooting did not live up to expectations. But India had to be content with the silver medal that Rajyavardhan Rathore unexpectedly won in the shooting. Karnam Malleshwari won the bronze medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Leander Paes’ bronze in the men’s singles at Atlanta in 1996 was one of India’s sports history highlights.

Before that, the national anthem of India rose through hockey at the Olympics in 1980. It was a time when Russia was isolated in the name of the Afghan occupation and for that reason, there were no big countries like the United States at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. India, which won gold in hockeyat the time, was criticized for not having had to face Pakistan. However, hockey, the country’s national sport, has not been able to fulfill India’s Olympic medal dreams since then. Of the 35 Olympic medals India has won, 12 have been in hockey, including eight gold medals. India has won the medal only twice in athletics.

Norman Pritchard won India’s first Olympic medal. At the 1900 Paris Olympics, Pritchard won two silver medals in the 200m and 200m hurdles. Pritchard was a native of Kolkata and of Anglo-Indian descent. Despite not winning a medal, we remember the Olympic performance of PT Usha’s Los Angeles 400m Hurdles. Although Usha lost the bronze medal by a fraction of a second, the message from Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to console her was a testament to the hard work of the athlete. Milkha Singh’s sprint as ‘Flying Sikh’ is also noteworthy. At the 1960 Rome Olympics, Milkha lost bronze in a fraction of a second, just like Usha.

A team’s first Olympic medal was achieved by India’s men’s hockey team. They won the first medal for India in the team event by the leadership of ‘Hockey magician’ Dhyan Chand. Chand’s Indian team won the first medal at the 1928Amsterdam Olympics by winning the hockey tournament at the Olympics.

India’s first gold at Olympics

At the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, India won first place on the podium through hockey. Although India won gold in hockey, India’s first individual gold medal achievement came at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Abhinav Bindra won India’s first individual gold medal at Beijing Olympics in the men’s 10m air rifle event.

Neeraj Chopra won India’s first gold in athletics at the Olympics with the javelin throw. In the javelin final, Neeraj Chopra became the second Indian to win a gold medal in the individual event at the Olympics with a distance of 87.58 meters. He won India’s first gold and third medal in athletics at the Olympics. Although Abhinav Bindra won the first gold in shooting, it was Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, who won the first medal for India in this category. He won silver in the men’s double trap event at the 2005 Athens Olympics, India’s first medal in shooting Leander Paes won India’s first medal in tennis. Paes won a bronze medal in tennis singles at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Saina Nehwal, who won bronze in the women’s singles at the 2012 London Olympics, won her first medal in badminton for India. However, the silver medal won by PV Sindhu at the 2016 Rio Olympics was India’s best medal achievement in this category. Sindhu won silver at Rio and became the youngest Olympic medalist and won a bronze at Tokyo.

K.D. Jadhav won the first medal in wrestling for India. He won a bronze medal at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. But Sushil Kumar won the first silver medal for India in wrestling. He won India’s first silver medal in wrestling in the men’s 66 kg freestyle event at the 2012 London Olympics.

India’s first medal in boxing came from the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Vijender Singh won the first bronze medal for India in the men’s middleweight category. Mary Kom won a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics. She moved from the 48kg category to the 51kg category after failing to  qualify for the Rio Olympics. She has been a three-time world champion since giving birth to twins and the return to the ring in 2007. After having a third son in 2013, Kom also won gold at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games. She declared her retirement at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

India’s first medal in this category was the bronze medal in the 69 kg division at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Karnam Malleshwari, who won a medal in Sydney, also became the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Olympics for India. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics event, Mirabai Chanu won silver in the 49 kg division.

Even greater gains can be expected from India in the future. However, let us also examine why we often did not catch up with the performance of Jamaica, Kenya, and North Korea, which are lagging behind India in development. Moreover, we are lagging far behind in the world in terms of the number of medals per one lakh population. Only ten gold medals in total. It has also competed in every Olympics since 1920. In the last few months, this issue has been the subject of active discussion among many experts in India. Poverty is not the only reason we fall behind. Poverty here means the general condition of the country. It indicates the success of countries like Kenya and Jamaica. Athletes can only compete in international competitions such as the Olympics if they are physically fit. Most athletes are between the ages of 15 and 30, with the highest level of fitness. This means that most of our Olympic competitors will be born after 1980. Arrangements should be made to provide proper physical and mental preparation to the children at the school level. Governments’ stratagem for the sports sector must change. Only through this can India achieve its dream achievements