IN PICS | Indian sports’ greatest milestones in post-independence era

With India set to enter the 77th year of independence, the Indian sports history has been blessed with glorious level of success at team events as well as at individual sports. From Olympic success to World Cup glory, India's history has been forged with some of the greatest moments as we roll back the years to witness these epic sporting chapters. 

In 1952, India’s Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav scripted history to become the first individual medal winner at the Olympic Games. Representing India in wrestling at the Helsinki games, the royal family of Kolhapur funded Jadhav for the Olympics where he achieved the historic feat. He was posthumously awarded Arjuna Award in 2000 for his contribution to wrestling.

With seven gold medals in the Olympics, India had a rich tradition of Hockey but had failed to deliver at the World Cup. The Indian side had finished runners-up in 1973 while ending with a third-place finish in 1971 at World Cup. However, in 1975 the Indian team led by Ajit Pal Singh would win the Hockey World Cup by beating arch-rivals Pakistan 2-1 to add another chapter to its glorious history.

In 1980, Prakash Padukone won the All England Open Badminton Championships  as he became the first Indian to achieve the milestone. He was awarded the Arjuna award in 1972 and the Padma Shri in 1982 by the Government of India. He had also won the Commonwealth Games Gold medal in 1978 Edmonton Games in men’s singles.

An unknown quantity with no big hopes, Kapil Dev’s India beat then-defending champions West Indies in the final of the ODI World Cup to clinch the crown. Powered by the energetic Mohinder Amarnath, his performance in the final saw India become World Champions for the first time in the game of cricket.

In 2000 at the Sydney Games, India wrote yet another chapter in its history books as Karnam Malleswari of Andhra Pradesh became the first female athlete to win an Olympic medal. She won a bronze medal in the 69 kg category to make the nation proud down under. She was awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award and the Padma Shri award by the Government of India.

In 2008 Beijing Games, the national anthem of India was sung for the first time for an individual honour in post-independence era as Abhinav Bindra won gold medal in shooting. The gold medal was India’s first at the Olympics since the 1980 field Hockey event. Bindra has been a recipient of the Arjuna award and the Padma Bhushan award by the Indian government.

On the back of the 2016 Rio Olympic silver medal, PV Sindhu in 2021 Tokyo games scripted history as she became independent India’s first double winner. She won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Games that saw her add to the 2016 silver medal. Sindhu would win a gold medal at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games as she continues to make the nation proud.

Neeraj Chopra in 2021 Tokyo Games achieved a rare feat of winning an Olympic gold medal for India in athletics. Chopra struck gold, India’s tenth at the Olympics as he joined Abhinav Bindra in claiming the accolade of being an individual Olympic gold medal from India. In 2018, Neeraj was awarded the Arjuna Award for achievements in the field of javelin throw.