India has achieved several milestones in different fields after independence and have made a big name in sports in the last 78 years. There have been several moments in the history of Indian sports post-independence that have given several moments to the Indian people to cherish for.
Throughout the years, India reached new heights in different sports. In the following listicle, we will discuss India’s biggest achievements in sports after independence.
India’s biggest achievements in sports post-independence
Hat-trick of gold in hockey at Olympics
The Indian hockey team showed their class before independence when they won three consecutive gold medals at the Olympic Games in 1928, 1932 and 1936 respectively. However, India’s golden period in hockey continued after independence as they won another gold medal just one year after independence in 1948. After that, the Indian hockey team went on to win consecutive gold medals at the 1952 and 1956 Olympics respectively, achieving their second hat-trick of gold medals in the Summer Games.
Vishwanathan Anand won the first World Chess Championship for India
Indian chess legend Vishwanathan Anand made a big name for India in chess when he became the first Indian to win a World Championship in chess in 2000. He has won five world titles in chess including becoming the Grandmaster in 1998 and is regarded as the greatest chess player of India.
1983 Cricket World Cup win
Cricket is arguably the most popular sport in India in today’s time and the Indian cricket board, BCCI is the richest cricket board in the world. One of the main reasons for India’s rise in cricket was India’s 1983 Cricket World Cup victory in London. Coming as underdogs, everyone wrote India off even before the start of the tournament. However, the Indian team led by Kapil Dev showed great character and went on to win their first-ever World Cup title by defeating the mighty West Indies in the final at Lords Cricket Ground. After the World Cup victory, cricket saw an immense growth among Indian fans throughout the years and the Indian team also went on to win multiple titles.
Milkha Singh won first Commonwealth gold for India
India’s ‘Flying Sikh’ Milkha Singh is regarded as one of India’s greatest athletes post-independence. The sprinter also won the first-ever gold medal for India in the Commonwealth Games in 1958. Milkha won the 440 yards category race in that edition to win the first Commonwealth gold for India.
Abhinav Bindra won first individual Olympic gold for India
Former Indian shooter Abhinav Bindra won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the 10m air rifle shooting event. With this, he also became the first-ever individual Indian athlete to win an Olympic gold.