With less than a week remaining for the 2024 edition of the Summer Olympics, athletes are set to create history for their respective nations. Similarly, the Indian contingent, consisting of more than 110 athletes is all set to participate in the marquee tournament and will aim for maximum podium finishes. Indian athletes have participated in every edition of the Summer Olympics since 1920.
Looking back at the 2016 edition of the quadrennial spectacle, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 117 athletes represented India. 63 men and 54 women across 15 sports fought for the nation’s glory. While India could win only two medals without any gold, it proved a historic tournament. Not only did the women’s field hockey team return to the event after 36 years, but the two medals that India got, were also won by women athletes.
Indian medal winners at 2016 Olympics
Here are the Indian medal winners at Rio de Janeiro Olympics 2016
Silver- PV Sindhu (Badminton)
Indian badminton icon PV Sindhu became India’s youngest individual Olympic medalist in the 2016 season. Sindhu, who competes in women’s single not only became the first Indian woman to enter the finals at the 2016 Olympics but also ended up being the first Indian woman to win an Olympic silver. On August 19, 2016, a 21-year-old Sindhu put in a fiery fight in the final and ended with silver.
Bronze- Sakshi Malik (Wrestling)
Sakshi Malik helped wrestling seal a place in the Indian sporting folklore by getting India, its first women’s wrestling Olympic medal at the 2016 edition. Malik qualified for her maiden Olympics at Rio in 2016, she was not considered a medal contender. Competing in the 58kg category, Malik defeated Asian champion Aisuluu Tynybekova of Kyrgyzstan in the bronze-medal match.