With the delayed 2020 Olympics kicking off in Tokyo, India will be well represented. While the first Olympics were held in Greece in 1896, India started participating in the 1900 Paris games. The country sent its first participant Norman Pritchard, as a lone athlete. He won two silver medals in the 200m and 200m hurdles. Ever since India has participated in every other Olympic. As you root for team India during this year’s games, you can head over and play andar bahar at Comeon, a classic Indian card game and claim the irresistible bonus on offer.
Pre-Independence India
India, which was once a colony of Great Britain, officially gained independence in 1947. During the pre-independence Olympic events, they dominated the hockey event, winning 3 gold medals. These successes came during the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, and the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The team even defeated the USA 24-1, which is the largest margin in the history of the Olympics.
Post-Independence India
India’s hockey team achieved success at the London Olympics by winning gold. Their dominance in the event would continue, and they clinched their six straight gold in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics by defeating Pakistan. Their dominance in winning gold would be cut short in the 1960 Sumer games held in Rome, where would lose out to underdogs Pakistan in the final to finish second. The team would bounce back to winning ways in the 1964 Summer Olympics at Tokyo. However, they had to settle for second best in the next two Olympics. India did not win anything in the 1976 games, but bounced back to win the title at the 1980 games held at Moscow.
Individual honours
Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav won bronze in wrestling during the 1952 Helsinki Olympic games to become the first Indian athlete to win an individual Olympic medal. It came as a big surprise when Leander Paes bagged bronze in tennis during the 1996 games at Atlanta. He also has the record as the only tennis player to compete at seven Olympic Games. Karnam Malleswari finished 3rd in weightlifting to become the first Indian woman to win achieve a podium finish at an Olympics. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore won a silver medal when he won it as a shooter during 2004 Olympics held in Athens. Abhinav Bindra achieved success in the Men’s Air Rifle category by finishing top and bagging a gold medal during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
India would bag two bronze medals in the Beijing Olympics. Sushil Kumar earned one in wrestling, while Vijender Singh earned his medal in boxing. India won a total of 6 medals in the London 2012 Olympics, which is a national record. Saina Nehwal won bronze in badminton, Mary Kom won bronze in boxing, Sushil Kumar won bronze in boxing, Yogeshwar won bronze in wrestling, Vijay Kumar won silver, while Gagan Narang won bronze. Sakshi Malik’s won a bronze medal in Rio 2016 as she participated as a wrestler. PV Sindhu also became the 5th Indian woman to win a medal and also the first to win a Silver in badminton during the 2016 games.
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