Remembering Khashaba Jadhav: Independent India's first individual Olympic medallist

Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav won independent India’s first individual medal at the 1952 Games in Helsinki.

Khashaba Jadhav did not have the physique of a wrestler. He was a short, gawky student who attended Raja Ram College in Kolhapur and aspired to be a pehelwan, just like his father.  

Tucked away in one corner in Goleshwar, a small town in Maharashtra, Olympic Niwas is an old-fashioned bungalow with a muddy lawn and surrounded by a few coconut trees. But most striking, as one enters the premises, are the Olympic emblems crafted on the gate.

As one walks further, Ranjit Jadhav, the man of the house, greets with a smile. “Welcome to the home of independent India’s first individual Olympic medallist, Khashaba Jadhav.”

Reporter: Shayan Acharya

Photography: Raju Sanadi

Editing: Lavanya Lakshmi Narayanan