India first participated at the Olympic Games in 1900, with a lone athlete Norman Pritchard winning two medals – both silver – in athletics and became the first Asian nation to win an Olympic medal.
Honorary Captain Vijay Kumar Sharma, AVSM, SM is an Indian sport shooter. He won the silver medal in the individual 25 metre rapid fire pistol event at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Kumar hails from Barsar village of Hamirpur district of Himachal Pradesh and is a retired Subedar Major in the Dogra Regiment Indian Army, who was later promoted to Honorary Captain Rank. Vijay Kumar is supported by the Olympic Gold Quest initiative. He is the only Indian to have won a medal at 25m rapid Fire Pistol. He has been posted at Indian Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU) Mhow since 2003 where he is being coached by the Russian Pavel Smirnov.
Vijender Singh Beniwal is an Indian professional boxer and politician. As an amateur, he won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, becoming the first Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal. He also won bronze medals at the 2009 World Championships and the 2010 Commonwealth Games, as well as silver medals at the 2006 and 2014 Commonwealth Games, all in the middleweight division.
Mittal Champions Trust was a trust which supported Indian athletes with world-beating potential. It was funded by Lakshmi Mittal and was initiated by his son-in-law Amit Bhatia.
India competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China. India was represented by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). A contingent of 57 athletes in 12 sports represented India, and had a support-staff of 42 officials.
Sushil Kumar Solanki is a former Indian wrestler. He carried the Indian flag at the opening ceremony of 2012 London Olympics. His 2008 Olympic medal was second for India in wrestling, and the first since Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav's bronze medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics. In July 2009, he received the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna – India's highest honour for sportspersons. On 3 October 2010, Kumar handed the Queen's Baton to Prince Charles in the Queen's Baton Relay for the 2010 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony. Sushil won the gold medal in the 74 kg division at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom is an Indian amateur boxer, politician, and incumbent Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. She is the only woman to win the World Amateur Boxing Championship six times, the only female boxer to have won a medal in each one of the first seven World Championships, and the only boxer to win eight World Championship medals. Nicknamed Magnificent Mary, she is the only Indian female boxer to have qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics, competing in the flyweight (51 kg) category and winning a bronze medal. She had also been ranked as the world's No. 1 female light-flyweight by the International Boxing Association (amateur) (AIBA). She became the first Indian female boxer to win a gold medal in the Asian Games in 2014 at Incheon, South Korea and is the first Indian female boxer to win gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. She is also the only boxer to become Asian Amateur Boxing Champion for a record six times. Mary Kom won the 51kg gold in President's Cup in Indonesia.
Thokchom Nanao Singh is an Indian boxer from Khoijuman Maning Leikai village in Bishnupur district of Manipur. He trains at Pune-based Army Sports Institute and is supported by Olympic Gold Quest, a not-for-profit foundation to identify and support Indian athletes.
India competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. A total of 83 athletes, 60 men and 23 women, competed in 13 sports. Men's field hockey was the only team-based sport in which India had its representation in these Olympic Games. India also marked its Olympic return in weightlifting, after the International Weightlifting Federation imposed a two-year suspension for the nation's athletes in Beijing because of a doping scandal.
Shiva Thapa is an Indian boxer. He is employed with Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. He is supported by Olympic Gold Quest and Anglian Medal Hunt Company, Shiva Thapa participated in the 2012 London Olympics, and was the youngest Indian boxer to qualify for the Olympics. Shiva Thapa is ranked 3rd in the bantamweight category in the AIBA Men's World Ranking. He is the third Indian to clinch gold at the Asian Games. Shiva Thapa is the third Indian boxer to win a medal at the AIBA World Boxing Championships. He is now an Account Manager with Midland Credit management. Thapa has been elected as a member of the International Boxing Association (amateur) Athletes Committee.
India competed at the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games held in the Isle of Man from 7 to 13 September 2011. India has participated in all the editions of the Commonwealth Youth Games. The nation was represented by the Indian Olympic Association, which is responsible for the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Youth Games in India.
Between the 2012 Summer Olympics and traditional sports, many significant events occurred this year in Indian sports. Below is a timeline.
Sarjubala Devi is an Indian woman boxer from Manipur and represented India at the 2016 Rio Olympics. After being awarded as the Best Boxer at Youth World Women Boxing Championship organised at Turkey, the Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ) announced support for Sarjubala Devi in 2012. She is referred to as the next Mary Kom. She used to be part of the 48 kg category but recently changed it to 51 kg category. After the change she claimed a Gold Medal at the National Women's Boxing Championship 2018. She also won the Best Boxer award at the 7th Youth Women National Championship in Patiala and in the 14th Senior Women Boxing Competition.
India competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. Indian athletes have appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympics since 1920, although they made their official debut at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Rahul Balasaheb Aware is an Indian male freestyle wrestler who competes in the men's freestyle 57 kg category. He has won Gold medal in 57 kg division at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.He was a student of Olympian late Harishchandra Birajdar. At present, he is being trained by his guru and father in law Kaka Pawar. Currently he is member of Maharashtra police as a deputy superintendent of police. He is fondly called as "Nana" by his friends and family.
Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG), formerly Khelo India School Games (KISG), are the annual national level multidisciplinary grassroot games in India held in January or February for two categories, namely under-17 years school students and under-21 college students. Every year best 1,000 kids will be given an annual scholarship of ₹5 lakh (US$6,600) for 8 years to prepare them for the international sporting events.
India competed at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia, from 18 August to 2 September. Neeraj Chopra was the flag bearer for the opening ceremony while Rani Rampal was named as the flag bearer for the closing ceremony.
India competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. India has appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympics since 1920, although it made its official debut at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. The nation sent its largest-ever contingent of 126 competitors to the 2020 Games. To date, the 2020 Summer Olympics are the most successful Games for India since its first regular Olympics appearance in 1920, with Indian Olympians winning 7 medals. The Indian contingent participated in a record 69 events, and earned medals across 18 athletic disciplines.
