Olympedia – India (IND)

India’s first Olympic appearance can be traced to 1900 when Norman Pritchard, a British resident of Calcutta, competed in the sprints at Paris, representing the London Athletic Club and Great Britain. (Some Olympic historians consider him to have competed for Great Britain in 1900.) India’s next Olympic appearance occurred in 1920, although India’s National Olympic Committee was not formed until 1927. India has competed at all the Olympic Games since 1920.

In 1928, India entered its first hockey team and won the gold medal. This was the first of six consecutive gold medals won by India in men’s field hockey. All the top medal winners for India have been their men hockey players. While five hockey Olympians have won three hockey medals, only Udham Singh and Leslie Claudius have won four, with three golds each.

Twelve of India’s 35 medals in the Olympics have been won by its hockey (field) team, with eight of its ten golds coming in the sport. The other two golds were won by Abhinav Bindra in men’s air rifle shooting in 2008, and by Neeraj Chopra in the javelin throw at Tokyo 2020.

At the Olympic Winter Games, India has competed in 1964, 1968, 1988, 1992, and at every Games since 1998. It has only had competitors in Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, and luge. Their most prominent Winter Olympian has been Shiva Keshavan, a luge slider who participated in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2018, finishing 25th in 2006, the best finish by an Indian Winter Olympian. Keshavan also participated in 2014, but as an Independent Olympic Participant.