Olympics India
Olympics India – Complete GK Capsule for Railway Exams
| Event | India’s First Participation |
|---|---|
| Olympics | 1900 Paris – Norman Pritchard (silver ×2) |
| Summer Olympics | 1920 Antwerp – 6 athletes, 0 medals |
| Winter Olympics | 1964 Innsbruck – Jeremy Bujakowski (Alpine Skiing) |
| Paralympics | 1968 Tel-Aviv – Murlikant Petkar (gold 1972) |
1. India at Olympics – Key Milestones
| Year / Host | Highlights | Medal Count | Flag-bearer (opening) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 Paris | Only athlete: Norman Pritchard (2 silver) | 2 | – |
| 1948 London | First post-independence; men’s hockey GOLD | 1 | Kishan Lal (hockey) |
| 1952 Helsinki | KD Jadhav – 1st individual medal (Wrestling bronze) | 2 | Balbir Singh Sr. |
| 1980 Moscow | Last hockey gold till date | 1 | Vasudevan Baskaran |
| 1996 Atlanta | Leander Paes – Bronze (Tennis) | 1 | Pargat Singh |
| 2004 Athens | Rajyavardhan Rathore – 1st shooting silver | 1 | Anju Bobby George |
| 2008 Beijing | Abhinav Bindra – 1st individual GOLD; Sushil & Vijender bronze | 3 | Rajyavardhan Rathore |
| 2012 London | Best haul: 6 medals (2-4-0) | 6 | Sushil Kumar |
| 2016 Rio | P.V. Sindhu (silver), Sakshi Malik (bronze) | 2 | Abhinav Bindra |
| 2020 Tokyo | 7 medals (1-2-4); Neeraj Chopra – 1st athletics gold | 7 | Mary Kom (M); Manpreet Singh (M) |
2. Sports-wise Medal Tally (1900-2020)
| Sport | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hockey | 8 | 1 | 2 | 11 |
| Shooting | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Wrestling | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| Badminton | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Boxing | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Tennis | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Weight-lifting | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Athletics | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 10 | 10 | 14 | 34 |
3. Individual Olympic Medal Winners
| Athlete | Year | Event | Medal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norman Pritchard | 1900 | 200 m/200 m hurdles | Silver ×2 |
| KD Jadhav | 1952 | Wrestling 52 kg | Bronze |
| Leander Paes | 1996 | Tennis singles | Bronze |
| Karnam Malleswari | 2000 | 69 kg Weight-lifting | Bronze |
| Rajyavardhan Rathore | 2004 | Double-trap Shooting | Silver |
| Abhinav Bindra | 2008 | 10 m Air-rifle | Gold |
| Sushil Kumar | 2008 & 2012 | 66 kg Wrestling | Bronze & Silver |
| Vijender Singh | 2008 | 75 kg Boxing | Bronze |
| Vijay Kumar | 2012 | 25 m Rapid-fire pistol | Silver |
| Saina Nehwal | 2012 | Badminton singles | Bronze |
| Gagan Narang | 2012 | 10 m Air-rifle | Bronze |
| Mary Kom | 2012 | Boxing 51 kg | Bronze |
| Yogeshwar Dutt | 2012 | 60 kg Wrestling | Bronze |
| P.V. Sindhu | 2016 & 2020 | Badminton singles | Silver & Bronze |
| Sakshi Malik | 2016 | 58 kg Wrestling | Bronze |
| Mirabai Chanu | 2020 | 49 kg Weight-lifting | Silver |
| Lovlina Borgohain | 2020 | 69 kg Boxing | Bronze |
| Bajrang Punia | 2020 | 65 kg Wrestling | Bronze |
| Neeraj Chopra | 2020 | Javelin throw | Gold |
4. India’s Hockey Gold Streak (1928-1980)
| Year | Captain | Final Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1928 Amsterdam | Jaipal Singh | Netherlands | 3-0 |
| 1932 Los Angeles | Lal Shah Bokhari | Japan | 11-1 |
| 1936 Berlin | Dhyan Chand | Germany | 8-1 |
| 1948 London | Kishan Lal | Britain | 4-0 |
| 1952 Helsinki | KD Singh Babu | Netherlands | 6-1 |
| 1956 Melbourne | Balbir Singh Sr. | Pakistan | 1-0 |
| 1964 Tokyo | Charanjit Singh | Pakistan | 1-0 |
| 1980 Moscow | Vasudevan Baskaran | Spain | 4-3 |
5. Quick-Fire One-Liners for Revision
- First Indian Olympian: Norman Pritchard (1900).
- Only Indian to win 2 medals in same Games: Norman Pritchard.
- First individual gold: Abhinav Bindra (2008 Beijing).
- First Indian woman medallist: Karnam Malleswari (2000).
- Most decorated Indian: Sushil Kumar (2 medals).
- India’s National Sport (unofficial): Hockey (8 gold).
- Neeraj Chopra’s winning distance Tokyo 2020: 87.58 m.
- India’s best Olympic rank in hockey post-1980: Tokyo 2020 – Bronze.
- First Paralympic gold: Murlikant Petkar (1972, swimming).
- IOA formed: 1927; current HQ – New Delhi.
6. Practice MCQs (Railway Exam Pattern)
Q1. Who was the first Indian to win an Olympic medal?
A. KD Jadhav
B. Dhyan Chand
C. Norman Pritchard
D. Balbir Singh Sr.
Answer: C
Q2. In which year did India win its first individual Olympic gold?
A. 2004
B. 2008
C. 2012
D. 2016
Answer: B
Q3. The phrase “Indian hockey’s golden era” refers to Olympic golds won during –
A. 1928-1956
B. 1932-1964
C. 1928-1980
D. 1948-1980
Answer: C
Q4. Who captained the 1980 Moscow hockey gold-winning team?
A. Vasudevan Baskaran
B. Zafar Iqbal
C. MM Somaya
D. Ajit Pal Singh
Answer: A
Q5. First Indian woman to win Olympic medal –
A. P.T. Usha
B. Karnam Malleswari
C. Mary Kom
D. Saina Nehwal
Answer: B
Q6. India’s total medal count in Tokyo 2020 Olympics was –
A. 5
B. 6
C. 7
D. 8
Answer: C
Q7. Neeraj Chopra won gold in –
A. Discus throw
B. Shot-put
C. Javelin throw
D. Hammer throw
Answer: C
Q8. Which state has produced both Sushil Kumar & Bajrang Punia?
A. Uttar Pradesh
B. Haryana
C. Punjab
D. Delhi
Answer: B
Q9. The IOA (Indian Olympic Association) is headquartered at –
A. Mumbai
B. Bengaluru
C. New Delhi
D. Kolkata
Answer: C
Q10. India’s first Winter Olympian was –
A. Shiva Keshavan
B. Jeremy Bujakowski
C. Arif Khan
D. Akash Kumar
Answer: B
Q11. Who among the following won silver in shooting at London 2012?
A. Gagan Narang
B. Vijay Kumar
C. Abhinav Bindra
D. Rajyavardhan Rathore
Answer: B
Q12. First post-independence Olympic hockey gold came at –
A. 1948 London
B. 1952 Helsinki
C. 1956 Melbourne
D. 1960 Rome
Answer: A
Q13. Match the following:
A. P.V. Sindhu – 1. Bronze Rio
B. Sakshi Malik – 2. Silver Tokyo
C. Mirabai Chanu – 3. Silver Tokyo
D. Lovlina Borgohain – 4. Bronze Tokyo
Correct code:
A. A-1, B-2, C-3, D-4
B. A-1, B-1, C-3, D-4
C. A-2, B-1, C-3, D-4
D. A-2, B-1, C-2, D-4
Answer: C
Q14. Which Indian athlete is nicknamed “Flying Sikh”?
A. Milkha Singh
B. Gurbachan Singh Randhawa
C. Sriram Singh
D. Bahadur Prasad
Answer: A (Note: He never won Olympic medal.)
Q15. India’s first Paralympic medal colour was –
A. Silver
B. Gold
C. Bronze
D. None
Answer: B (Murlikant Petkar, 1972)
Click for MCQ Answers
- C
- B
- C
- A
- B
- C
- C
- B
- C
- B
- B
- A
- C
- A
- B
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