Before independence India made its
first appearance at the
1900 Summer Olympics as part of
British India (1858–1947), becoming the first Asian nation to participate in the Olympic Games. A lone athlete
Norman Pritchard represented the country and won two silver medals in
athletics. India was classified 19th in the overall medal table, which represents its best placement till date. India did not compete in the next three Summer Olympic Games. At the behest of then
Governor of Bombay George Lloyd, Indian businessman
Dorabji Tata secured representation for British India at the
International Olympic Committee, enabling it to independently participate in the
1920 Summer Olympics. India sent a contingent of six competitors including four athletes and two
wrestlers with two support staff. The Indian Olympic movement was then established during the 1920s. In 1923, a provisional All India Olympic Committee was formed, and in February 1924, the All India Olympic Games (later
National Games of India) were held to select a team for the
1924 Summer Olympics at
Paris. The
Indian delegation at the Paris Olympics consisted of 14 competitors including eight in athletics and four in
tennis, led by team manager
Harry Buck. In 1927, the provisional Indian Olympic Committee was recognized by the
International Olympic Committee and formally became the
Indian Olympic Association (IOA). The organization was formed to promote the development of sports in India, host the national games, and select teams for the Olympics. For the
1928 Summer Olympics in
Amsterdam, it selected
eight competitors, which included seven in athletics and one
swimmer. The
Indian Hockey Federation, which had been established earlier in 1925, sent the
men's team to the 1928 Games. The hockey team won India's first gold medal in the Olympics at Amsterdam. This was the first gold medal won by any nation from Asia at the modern Olympic Games. For the
1932 Games, the
Indian contingent consisted of the field hockey team and five athletes. For the subsequent
1936 Games, India sent a
contingent consisting of the field hockey team and eight athletes, who competed in four sports. The only medals in the last two Games came from the Indian field hockey team, which won three consecutive gold medals from 1928 to 1936.
After independence India gained its
independence in 1947, it sent its
first contingent as an independent country for the
1948 Summer Olympics held at
London. The Indian contingent consisted of 79 athletes, who competed across ten sports and included country's first participation in
arts,
boxing,
cycling,
football, and
water polo events. The Indian field hockey team won the lone medal, a gold, which was the first medal for India as an independent nation. The
1952 Summer Olympics marked the first time India sent women competitors to the Games. The
Indian contingent consisted of 64 competitors including four women with first time participants in
gymnastics and
shooting events. Wrestler
K. D. Jadhav won a bronze medal, the first individual medal for independent India. India sent a
contingent of 59 competitors for the
1956 Games at
Melbourne and the only medal came from the Indian field hockey team, which won a then record sixth straight gold medal in a single event at the Games. The
Indian contingent consisted of 45 competitors for the
next Summer Olympics at
Rome. The country won a single silver medal from field hockey after the team lost in the final, which was its first loss in the Olympic Games since the
1928. India made its
Winter Olympics debut at the
1964 Winter Olympics in
Innsbruck with
Jeremy Bujakowski competing in the
men's downhill event in
alpine skiing. In the subsequent
Summer Olympics held in
Tokyo in the same year, India sent a
contingent of 53 competitors including two participants for the
diving event for the first time. The men's field hockey team won the gold medal, for the country's only medal at the Games. won a bronze medal in
1996 for India's first Olympic medal in nearly 16 years. In the
1968 Winter Olympics held in
Grenoble, Bujakowski was again the
only participant representing India. India sent its
smallest delegation since independence, consisting of 25 athletes to the
1968 Summer Olympics at
Mexico City. India did not participate in the four subsequent Winter Olympic Games from
1972 to
1984. The only medals in the previous two Summer Olympics were the bronze medals won by the men's field hockey team. In
1976 Summer Olympics at
Montreal, India entered
26 athletes, but failed to win a medal for the first time since 1924. The
Indian delegation for the
1980 Summer Olympics at
Moscow consisted of 76 competitors, the second largest since independence with first time participants in the
equestrian event. The only medal again came from the men's hockey team which won their record extending eighth Olympic gold in a single event. This was also the last time the Indian field hockey team won the gold medal at the Olympics. India sent
48,
46 and
52 athletes to the subsequent three Summer Olympics in
1984,
1988, and
1992 respectively, but failed to win a single medal across the three Olympic Games. In between, India returned to compete in the
1988 Winter Olympics after a gap of nearly 20 years. The Indian contingent consisted of three athletes including the first women participant
Shailaja Kumar. Tennis player
Leander Paes won a bronze medal in the
men's singles event, the country's first Olympic medal in nearly 16 years and became the first Indian individual medalist since 1952. India's lone participant in the subsequent
1998 Winter Olympics was
Shiva Keshavan, who would become the Indian with most appearances in the Olympic Games after his sixth appearance in
2018.
21st century (left) became the first Indian athlete to win multiple individual Olympic medals since independence. The
Indian contingent for the
2000 Sydney Olympics consisted of 65 athletes with athletes competing in the
rowing event for the first time. The country's only medal was a bronze won by
Karnam Malleswari in the
women's 69 kg weightlifting event. It was the
first Olympic medal won by an Indian woman. Keshavan was again the
only competitor for India at the
2002 Winter Olympics. The
Indian delegation for the
2006 Winter Olympics consisted of four athletes, two in alpine skiing, one in cross-country skiing, and one in luge. At the
2008 Beijing Olympics, the
Indian contingent of 57 athletes competed in 12 sports. India registered its best performance at the time, winning three medals in the event including a gold and two bronze medals.
Abhinav Bindra became the first Indian individual gold medalist after his victory in the
men's air rifle event.
Vijender Singh and
Sushil Kumar got the country's first Olympic medal in boxing and second medal in wrestling respectively. The
Indian contingent for the
2012 Summer Olympics consisted of 83 members, the highest till then. The country won six medals including two silver and four bronze, the highest count of medals as of then. Sushil Kumar won a silver medal to become the first Indian since independence with multiple individual Olympic medals. Shooter
Vijay Kumar won the other silver medal in
shooting. Amongst the bronze medalists,
Saina Nehwal won India's first medal in
badminton and boxer
Mary Kom became the first Indian woman to win a medal in boxing. Other bronze medalists included shooter
Gagan Narang and wrestler
Yogeshwar Dutt. In December 2022, the Indian Olympic Association was suspended by the International Olympic Committee due to government interference in the autonomy of the country's
National Olympic Committee (NOC). Due to the suspension,
three Indian athletes entered the
2014 Winter Olympics as
Independent Olympic Participants. The suspension was revoked when the games were underway and two competitors resumed the competition under the Indian flag. won the first medal for India in the women's boxing event at the
2012 Games. For the
2016 Summer Olympics, India sent more than 100 athletes for the first time with
117 competitors. India won two medals including a silver and a bronze. Shuttler
P. V. Sindhu became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic silver medal and the youngest Indian woman medalist after she won a silver medal in
badminton.
Sakshi Malik became the first Indian female wrestler to win an Olympic medal with her bronze medal in the
women's freestyle 58 kg category.
Two Indian athletes represented the country in the
2018 Winter Olympics at
PyeongChang. won India's first athletic gold medal in
2020 and followed up with a silver in
2024. India sent its largest
delegation consisting of 119 athletes to the
2020 Summer Olympics. India registered its most successful performance in a single Games with seven medals including one gold, two silver and four bronze.
Neeraj Chopra won India's first gold medal in athletics after his victory in the
men's javelin throw event. In the
women's 49 kg event,
Saikhom Mirabai Chanu won India's first silver medal in
weight lifting. Sindhu became the first Indian female athlete and the second Indian to win medals in consecutive Summer Games in individual events after she won a bronze in
women's badminton. The men's field hockey team won a bronze medal to record their first Olympic medal since 1980.
Ravi Kumar Dahiya won a silver medal in
men's freestyle wrestling. Other bronze medalists included
Lovlina Borgohain in
women's boxing and
Bajrang Punia in men's freestyle wrestling. India entered
one male alpine skier,
Arif Khan for the
2022 Winter Olympics. The
Indian contingent for the
2024 Summer Olympics consisted of 110 competitors across 16 sports. India won six medals in total including one silver and five bronze, three of which came from the
shooting events. Chopra won the only silver medal for India in the
men's javelin throw event and became the first Indian individual medalist to have won a gold and silver at the Olympics. Manu Bhaker won two bronze medals including the first Indian medal at the Games in the
air pistol event and another along with
Sarabjot Singh in the
mixed pistol team event. She became the first Indian since independence to win two medals in a single Olympics.
Swapnil Kusale then won another bronze medal in
shooting. The
men's field hockey team won the bronze medal for the second consecutive Olympics.
Aman Sehrawat won a bronze medal for India in the
men's freestyle 57kg wrestling event to become the youngest Indian to win an Olympic medal. ==Medal table==