India, the world’s most populous nation, is set to celebrate its 78th Independence Day on August 15, 2024, remembering the beginning of the era of deliverance from the clutches of British colonialism of more than 200 years. On this day of unparalleled significance in Indian history, the Prime Minister hoists the tricolour at the Red Fort, followed by an address to the nation.
Since its independence in 1947, India has grown by leaps and bounds as a nation in all aspects of life, including sports as well. In this article, SportsTiger looks at five sporting milestones over the decades for independent India.
Winning first Olympic gold medal in 1948
The first major sporting milestone in the history of independent India happened at the London Olympics in 1948 when the men’s hockey team won the gold medal under Kishan Lal’s captaincy. India went on to defeat Great Britain in the final of the men’s hockey event 4-0, dominating the home team on their own patch.
Winning maiden Cricket World Cup in 1983
The sport of cricket captured the imagination of independent India in 1983 after they defeated the two-time champions West Indies in the Cricket World Cup final at Lord’s in London. After setting a low target of 184 runs for West Indies to chase, India managed to restrict them to 140 all out, winning the coveted trophy with a margin of 43 runs under Kapil Dev’s captaincy.
Winning inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007
In 2007, the T20 format took centre stage at the international level with the T20 World Cup, which independent India managed to win after defeating their arch-rivals Pakistan under MS Dhoni’s captaincy. After scoring 157/5 in the first innings, India were staring down the barrel at one stage of the final before Joginder Sharma dismissed Misbah-ul-Haq to ensure the big win for the team.
Winning first Individual Olympic gold medal in 2008
Abhinav Bindra made history for independent India at Beijing 2008, becoming the first athlete from the nation to win the individual gold medal at the Olympics across all sports. In the 10m air rifle event, he scored 700.5 points in the qualifying and final rounds combined, going past Finland’s Henri Hakkinen in the final attempt with a near-perfect 10.8 shot in comparison to 9.7 shot from his opponent after they were locked on points.
Winning first athletics Olympic gold medal in 2021
Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian track-and-field athlete to win a gold medal at Tokyo 2020 after the two silver medals for Norman Pritchard at Paris 1900. He made history in javelin throw with the best effort of 87.58 metres in the final, staying ahead of the Czechia duo of Jakub Vadlejch and Vitezslav Vesely.