India’s Olympic journey has been full of ups and downs, despite being home to over 1.4 billion people.
According to CNN, Abhinav Bindra made history by winning India’s first-ever individual Olympic gold in the men’s 10-meter air rifle at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This moment was supposed to be a turning point, but since then, India has only managed to secure one additional gold medal.
So, what’s going wrong? Experts like Ronojoy Sen, author of Nation at Play: A History of Sport in India, attribute India’s underperformance to underinvestment in sports.
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Sen notes, “For nations like the USA, China and the [then] Soviet Union, sport was very much a part of their nascent national story.” In contrast, India has been slow to pour resources into a national training program. Additionally, challenges like inadequate facilities, widespread malnutrition, and the barriers faced by women athletes are significant obstacles.
India’s Paris 2024 Olympic performance was a mixed bag, with only six medals—far fewer than its more populous competitors like China and the United States.
However, there were bright spots: javelin star Neeraj Chopra added a silver medal to his gold from Tokyo, and shooter Manu Bhaker won double bronze. But overall, India ranked 71st, trailing behind smaller nations like Georgia and Kazakhstan.
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There is, however, a silver lining. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Khelo India” program, launched in 2018, aims to “revive the sports culture” in the country by identifying and nurturing young talent.
While India’s Olympic success won’t come overnight, experts like Boria Majumdar believe the journey has begun, and in a decade, India could be a formidable contender on the global stage.
More about:Athletics
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