From Nilima Ghose becoming the first woman in independent India to compete in the Olympics to PV Sindhu making history as the second Indian athlete to win two medals at the quadrennial showpiece event, here are some notable achievements by Indian female athletes at the Summer Games.
India’s first woman Olympian
In a historic moment, Indian women made their full fledged debut at the quadrennial event in Helsinki, accompanied by 60 men.
Prior to this, Nora Margaret Polley was the first and lone Indian female tennis player to represent the country at the 1924 Olympics where she participated in the women’s singles and mixed doubles events. However, this was under the British Raj.
Among the pioneers was Ghose, a young track and field athlete who made headlines as the first woman in independent India to compete in the Olympics. Born on June 15, 1935, Ghose was just shy of 17 when she was selected for the 1952 Summer Olympics. She participated in two events: the 100m sprint and the 80m hurdles.
Ghose was joined at the Games by another sprinter, Mary D’Souza Sequeira, who participated in women’s 100m and 200m.
In addition to the runners, swimmers Dolly Nazir and Arati Saha also represented India at Helsinki 1952.
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Indian medallists at the Olympics
Karnam Malleswari was the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal at the Sydney Games in 2000. Her bronze medal in women’s weightlifting proved to be a game-changer and inspiration for the Indian female athletes competing at the Olympics.
Following this, Saina Nehwal secured a bronze in badminton, and Mary Kom earned a bronze in boxing at the 2012 London Games.
At the 2016 Olympiad, Sindhu clinched silver in badminton, and Sakshi Malik secured bronze in wrestling.
The Tokyo 2020 Games saw Indian female athletes win the most Olympic medals in history. Mirabai Chanu became the second Indian weightlifter to win an Olympic medal, clinching silver, marking only the second such achievement by an Indian woman at the Games. Boxer Lovlina Borgohain also made her Olympic debut, securing bronze.
Sindhu continued to make history at the Tokyo Olympics, becoming the first Indian woman and only the second Indian athlete, following Sushil Kumar, to earn two individual Olympic medals after Independence with her bronze.
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