India has won 35 medals at the Olympics, but with 12 of those being for team sports, there have been 222 actual physical medals handed to Indians. The successful men’s hockey teams of 1928-1936 and 1948-64 have won multiple medals, although the number of Indians who have more than one medal in individual sports are just a handful.
There have been 37 Indians with multiple medals (totalling 88 medals), with 134 single medallists. With only 171 of several billion Indians in the nation’s history having touched Olympic medals, it is quite the feat. Here are the medallists who’ve won the most Olympic medals for India.
Four Olympic medals
- Udham Singh – – Field Hockey – 1952 Gold, 1956 Gold, 1960 Silver, 1964 Gold
- Leslie Claudius – Field Hockey – 1948 Gold, 1952 Gold, 1956 Gold, 1960 Silver
Udham Singh and Leslie Claudius have both won four medals, as part of India’s dominant men’s field hockey teams.
Singh has the slight edge of having won the most Olympic medals for India, since he was also the coach when India earned bronze in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. He also missed out on the 1948 gold-winning team due to a finger injury.
The pair were both half-backs for India, although Singh was more versatile and featured at centre-forward as well. Claudius does have the distinction of being the first Indian to win four Olympic medals, as well as the first hockey player worldwide to compete in four Olympics and earn 100 caps for his national team.
Three Olympic medals
- Dhyan Chand – Field Hockey – 1928 Gold, 1932 Gold, 1936 Gold
- Richard James Allen – Field Hockey – 1928 Gold, 1932 Gold, 1936 Gold
Dhyan Chand, India’s greatest ever hockey player was also the first, alongside Richard James Allen to win three consecutive gold medals for India. It would have been more had the Olympics not paused for war. Dhyan Chand’s legacy in Indian sport is unmatched, as his incredible ball control and goal-scoring feats, which are backed up by numbers. In 12 games across three Olympics, he scored 33 goals.
Where Dhyan Chand was the goal-getter extraordinaire, Richard James Allen was the opposite, stopping all manner of goals as the goalkeeper. His record of only two goals conceded (one of which, against the USA, was reportedly when he was off the field signing autographs) over 10 games across three Olympics is a record that stands to this day.
- Balbir Singh Sr. – Field Hockey – 1948 Gold, 1952 Gold, 1956 Gold
- Ranganathan Francis – Field Hockey – 1948 Gold, 1952 Gold, 1956 Gold
- Randhir Singh Gentle – Field Hockey – 1948 Gold, 1952 Gold, 1956 Gold
Balbir Singh Sr. is widely regarded as the best centre-forward in the history of hockey and his record of 246 goals in 61 games backs it up. Given the Sr. suffix to distinguish him from other Balbir Singhs in hockey, the forward inspired India to three consecutive gold medals post the second World War. He scored 22 goals in 8 games over three Olympics and still holds the record for the most goals scored in the Olympic final (5 in India’s 6-1 win over the Netherlands).
Ranganathan Francis was India’s goalkeeper across the three Olympics and equalled many of RJ Allen’s feats in goal. Randhir Singh Gentle was also an important cog of India’s gold machine across 1948-56 featuring at fullback, but also with a penchant for scoring. He captained the side in 1956 after Balbir Singh Sr. picked up an injury after the first group-stage game, relinquishing the title once the centre-forward returned for the semifinal.
