Home > Sports > Athletics in India > Indian Athletes and Olympics
Indian Athletes and Olympics
Indian Athletes and Olympics show their talent in Olympics from 1928 till now on.

Share this Article:

Indian Athletes and OlympicsIndian Athletes and Olympics have their association dated back to 1928. Indian athletes have participated on a regular basis in the Olympic Games. Indian women participated in Olympics after 1980.

India has their strongest athletics contingent ever with a record number of participants pushing forward for a podium finish.

Indian Athletes from 1948
India has been participating in the Olympic Games in an organised manner since 1928 and has done reasonably well so far. Indian athletes participated in the Olympics for the first time in the year 1948, when a team of 8 Indian athletes took part in various track and field events. Among the eight athletes, six were men and two were women. Though Indian athletes have participated in all Olympic events after that, they have not been considered very successful, though there has been some measure of success in different track and field events. So far, six Indian athletes have reached the Olympic finals in their respective events. Apart from them, the Indian 4 X 400 Women`s relay team has also reached the finals of their event in Olympics. Among individual players, the first one to win an Olympic medal for India was Norman Pritchard, who went to the Olympics in 1900, when India was under British rule. He won two silver medals in sprint and hurdles in the 1900 Olympic Games.

History of Olympics
In 1948 London Olympics, Henry Rebello went to the finals of Triple Jump. After him, Milkha Singh got the fourth place in 400 metres, in the 1960 Rome Olympic Games. In the next Olympic Games, in Tokyo in 1964, Gurbachan Singh Randhawa was placed in the fifth position 100 m hurdles. After a gap of two Olympic Games, Sriram Singh got the seventh place in 800m in the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

1976 Montreal Olympic Games
Indian Athletes and OlympicsAfter Sriram Singh`s performance in the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, the famous Indian women sprinter, P. T Usha placed fourth in the 400m hurdles in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Though she tried her best, she unfortunately lost her bronze by 1/100th of a second.

Indian Women`s Relay Team
The 4 member Indian Women`s relay team for 400m, comprising P. T. Usha, Manathoor Devasia Valsamma, Vandana Rao, and Shiny Abraham got the seventh place, in the same year. However, after that, no other Indian Athletes in Olympics could get into the finals of their events, so far.

Indian Athletics from Early Era
Indian Athletics has seen many changes, ups, and down during its journey, so far. The history of Indian Athletics dates back to the Vedic culture, when Indian people used to take part in various track and field events. With due course of time, Indian athletes started playing modern day Athletics events in India like Long Jump, High Jump, Discus Throw, Javelin Throw, distance running etc.

Indian Athletics After Independence
After Independence of India in 1947, the organisation work of Indian Athletics started. Various Athletics associations started to be established in India for the management of Indian Athletics. The associations in term established various Indian Athletics training centers that helped in bringing up new talents from the grass route level.

Indian Athletics and Sports Authority of India
The Sports Authority of India (SAI) is one such training center that is aimed at ensuring effective and optimum utilization of various sports facilities in India. The Indian Athletics training centers also teaches the Indian Athletes about various rules and terms of Athletics.

Athletic Meets in India
Apart from training and coaching budding Indian athletes, Indian Athletics associations also organise various athletic meets in India that helps Indian athletes gain recognition on the national stage.

Indian athletes have been participating in the Olympic Games since 1948; however, the performance of Indian Athletes in Olympics is not very mentionable, till now.


Share this Article:

Related Articles

More Articles in Athletics in India


History of Indian Athletics
India enjoys a long history of athletic sportsmanship from the Vedic era to the modern period, and is now actively involved in contemporary forms of athletics.
Sqay Martial Arts
Sqay is a martial art form from Kashmir. Sqay is a Persian word which means `knowledge of war`.
Throwing Events
Throwing events are a part of Olympic and Commonwealth events and go back a long way in history. The throwing events in India came in the limelight after the Second World War.
History of Badminton in India
The history of badminton in India dates back to the mid-18th century when it started to gain popularity in erstwhile Pune.
Gachibowli Indoor Stadium
Gachibowli Indoor Stadium, in Telangana, hosts a number of indoor sporting events like table tennis, boxing, judo, weight lifting and many more
Malathi Krishnamurthy Holla
An international para athlete, Malathi Krishnamurthy Holla is a recipient of both the Arjuna and Padma Shri Awards.
Dronacharya Awards
Dronacharya Award is the prestigious and honourable awards that are being given by the Government of India to the successful Sports Coaches.
Mountaineering in India
Mountaineering in India is popular in the Himalayan and Eastern Karakoram ranges.
Arjuna Awardees in Athletics
The field of Athletics has almost dominated the winners` list of the very much prestigious and honourable "Arjuna Award"
Sambhaji Kadam
Sambhaji Kadam is an Indian basket ball player who competed in FIBA Asia Championship in 2007.
Indian Volleyball Players
Indian Volleyball Players won laurels for their nation from the time of independence of India. Some of the players are proud recipient of Arjun Awards too.
Indian Athletes
Indian Athletes includes those individuals who have made their mark in the international scene with their talent and athletic endeavour.
Gymnastic in India
Gymnastic in India is funded and well supported by Gymnastic Federation of India (GFI). The federation plays a pivotal role in promoting gymnastics in India. Gymnastic in India is now becoming popular after Dipa Karmakar won the bronze medal in the Gymnastics at the 2014 Commonwealth Games - Women`s vault.
Girisha Hosanagara Nagarajegowda
Girisha Hosanagara Nagarajegowda is an Indian athlete born with disability won several accolades in several national and international tournaments.
Handball in India
Handball in India with its entire verve has earned the status of one of the most sought after sports in the country. Handball is concentrated in Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Vidharbha and Jammu and Kashmir.
Indian Basketball Players
Indian Basketball Players have shown great performances in several international basketball tournaments, including the Olympic Games. Though it is not popular like football and cricket, basketball needs world-class infrastructure to promote new age aspirants.
Indian Martial Arts
Indian Martial Arts exhibit great variety in their form and style. In modern India, martial arts have become one of the necessities especially for girls. Different regions of the country have different martial art forms, which have contributed towards the richness of this art form.
Indian Golf Players
Indian Golf Players in the recent years have brought laurels to our country by winning some of the major international golf titles. The most successful Indian golfers in India are Jeev Milkha Singh and Anirban Lahiri.
Indian National Basketball Team
Indian National Basketball Team is representing men’s section in basketball championships.
Pole Vault
Pole Vault is a part of Olympic event since 1896. Pole Vault is in recent times gaining popularity for the best performances of V. S. Surekha, Karamjit Kaur and Dhirendra Kumar.