In its 124-year Olympic history, India has won a total of 35 medals including 10 gold, 9 silver, and 16 bronze. Out of these 35, 12 of them have come in hockey. India has the highest number of gold medals in hockey, i.e. 8. If we talk about individual medals, the first medal for India was won by Norman Pritchard in the year 1900. He won two silver medals in the Paris Olympics. In 1952, wrestler KD Jadhav became the first player of Indian origin to win an Olympic medal. In the year 2000, Karnam Malleswari became the first Indian female player to win an Olympic medal. Abhinav Bindra won a gold medal in the Beijing Olympics in the year 2008 and this was India's first individual Olympic gold.
Let's know what India's Olympic medal winners are doing now:
Leander Paes: Leander Paes, who gave India its first Olympic medal in tennis, retired from the sport in 2021. Since then, he has been working hard for the development of sports. This year, he partnered with a group to enhance sports infrastructure in Kolkata. He is also on his way to becoming a champion in the business world. Paes won a bronze medal in men's singles at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics
Karnam Malleswari: She won bronze in women's 69kg weightlifting at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. In 2021, she was appointed as the Vice Chancellor of the Delhi Government's Sports University. She was the first Vice Chancellor of this university.
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore: Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, who won a silver medal in the men's doubles trap event of shooting at the Athens Olympics in 2004, has been active in politics for the last few years. He is a cabinet minister of the Rajasthan government.
Abhinav Bindra: In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Abhinav Bindra won India's first individual Olympic gold in the men's 10m air rifle. Bindra is currently a member of the IOC Athletes Commission. His business career is also very good. He is the CEO of Abhinav Futuristics Private Limited. In 2020, Abhinav Bindra Sports Medicine and Research Institute was also launched. After retirement, he was involved with the TOP scheme.
Vijender Singh: Vijender, who won a medal in boxing at the Beijing Olympics, is active in politics. He has also worked in many films. In April this year, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Sushil Kumar: The first player to win two Olympic medals for India, has appeared in many reality shows, but at present Sushil is facing trial for the murder of rival wrestler Sagar Dhankhar, rioting and using a deadly weapon. He is in jail. Sushil won bronze medal in Beijing Olympics and silver medal in 2012 London Olympics.
Vijay Kumar: Vijay Kumar, who won silver medal in Men's 25m Rapid Fire Pistol in 2012 London Olympics, is a retired Subedar Major of Indian Army. He is a DSP in Himachal Pradesh Police.
Saina Nehwal: Saina Nehwal, who won bronze in badminton in London Olympics, is still an active player. Along with this, she is also active in politics.
Gagan Narang: Gagan Narang, who won bronze in Men's 10m Air Rifle in London Olympics, runs a shooting academy. He was also a member of the Padma Awards Committee in 2023.
Yogeshwar Dutt: Yogeshwar Dutt, who won bronze medal in Men's Freestyle 60kg in London Olympics, is now known as Yogeshwar. He is preparing new wrestlers. Along with this, he is also active in politics.
MC Mary Kom: MC Mary Kom, who won the bronze medal in women's flyweight in the London Olympics, has been away from the ring for a long time. However, she has not announced her retirement. She is also a politician. She also runs a boxing academy in Manipur. She is also involved in many social activities. She left the post of Chief de Mission a few months before the start of the Paris Olympics.
PV Sindhu: Star badminton player PV Sindhu, who won two Olympic medals after Sushil Kumar, is an active player. All eyes will be on her in the Paris Olympics as well. Sindhu won silver in the 2016 Rio Olympics and bronze in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Sakshi Malik: Sakshi Malik, who won bronze in the freestyle 58kg weight category at the Rio Olympics, was the face of wrestlers' protests last year. She retired after Sanjay Singh took over the reins of the Indian Wrestling Federation.
Mirabai Chanu: Mirabai Chanu, who won a silver medal in weightlifting at the Tokyo Olympics, is an active player and had secured a ticket to the Paris Olympics in April.
Ravi Kumar Dahiya: Ravi, who won a silver medal in men's freestyle 57kg at the Tokyo Olympics, is also an active player, but he could not get a ticket to the Paris Olympics. In the year 2021, Ravi Dahiya was appointed as Assistant Director in the Education Department of the Delhi Government.
Lovlina Borgohain: Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist female boxer Lovlina Borgohain is a DSP in Assam Police.
Bajrang Punia: Star wrestler Bajrang Punia, who won bronze medal in Tokyo Olympics, is working as a gazetted officer in Indian Railways.
Neeraj Chopra: Neeraj Chopra, who won gold medal for India in athletics for the first time in 100 years, is a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) in Indian Army.
