upsconlinepreparation: India’s Medal at Olympic

India's medal at Olympics 2012

Since it first participated in Olympic Games in 1900 at Paris, India has won 26 medals. Of these, 9 are gold (8 in field hockey, 1 in shooting); 6 silver (2 in athletics, 1 in field hockey, 2 in shooting and 1 in wrestling); and 11 bronze. Not much to boast about, really, but in a country that has no real, systematic sporting culture it is stirring to see some of its sons and daughters overcome great odds and succeed against the best in the world. What motivates these champions is awesome passion, immense talent, great mental strength and the burning desire to be the best that you can be. So here are India’s Olympic medal winners, who did the country proud and imparted further credibility to an Olympic motto: ‘The essence lies not in the victory, but also in the struggle.

Sushil Kumar:

He was India's flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics, and Sushil Kumar ended the Games on a historic note even though he missed out on a gold medal. Sushil lost to Japan's Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu in the 66kg freestyle wrestling final, but made history by becoming the the first Indian to win two individual Olympic medals. Sushil had won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games

Mary Kom:

The Indian boxing legend had to settle for bronze as she lost to Britain's Nicola Adams in her 51 kg semifinal bout. Facing the toughest bout of her life, Mary Kom was outclassed and outpunched by Nicola Adams as she lost the match 11-6. A five-time World Champion, Mary Kom created history by becoming the first Indian woman to win an Olympic boxing medal. She was also India's flag bearer at the closing ceremony

Gagan Narang:

The shooter opened the medal count for India in the 2012 London Games by winning the bronze medal in the men's 10-metre air rifle. Narang had a total score of 701.1 (598 qualifying, 103.1 final).

The man who won India's first medal at Olympics 2012

Vijay Kumar:

The shooter won the silver medal in the 25-metre rapid fire pistol event at the 2012 London Olympics. The gold went to Cuban Leuris Pupo while Chinese Feng Ding got the bronze. Cuba's Leuris Pupo hit 34 of the 40 targets to finish ahead of Vijay Kumar in second with 30.

Saina Nehwal:

The Indian badminton ace won the bronze as China's Xin Wang forfeited the match with a knee injury. Wang won the first game 21-18 and was leading the second 1-0. Saina became the first Indian to win an Olympics medal in the badminton event.

Yogeshwar Dutt:

The 29-year-old wrestler won the bronze medal in the men's 60kg category to give the country its fifth Olympic medal. A determined Yogeshwar, who had lost in the quarterfinals in Beijing, churned out one of his best performances against North Korean Jong Myong Ri to win the bronze medal play-off match 3-1.

In a country that has no real, systematic sporting culture it is stirring to see some of its sons and daughters overcome great odds and succeed against the best in the world. What motivates these champions is awesome passion, immense talent, great mental strength and the burning desire to be the best that you can be. So here are India’s Olympic medal winners, who did the country proud and imparted further credibility to an Olympic motto: ‘The essence lies not in the victory, but also in the struggle’. Take a look at the elite list of Indian Olympic medalists

Vijender Singh 2008 - Bronze medal for middleweight 75kg boxing

Vijender Singh of India looks at his bronze medal during the medal ceremony following his middleweight 75kg boxing final.

Sushil Kumar 2008 - Bronze medal for men's wrestling 66kg freestyle

2008 Beijing Olympic Games wrestling men's 66kg freestyle bronze medalist Sushil Kumar of India shows off his medal on the podium at the China Agricultural University Gymnasium in Beijing on August 20, 2008.

Abhinav Bindra 2008 - Gold medal for the Men's 10m Air Rifle

Abhinav Bindra of India poses with his gold medal in the Men's 10m Air Rifle Final at the Beijing Shooting Range Hall on day 3 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 11, 2008 in Beijing, China.

Rajyavardhan Rathore 2004 - Silver medal for men's double trap

Rajyavardhan Rathore of India, who won the silver medal, (L) Ahmed Almaktoum of the United Arab Emrites (C), who won the gold medal, and Zheng Wang of China who won the bronze medal for the men's double trap event on August 17, 2004 during the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games at the Markopoulo Olympic Shooting Centre in Athens, Greece.

Karnam Malleswari 2000 - Bronze medal for Womens 69kg Weightlifting

Karnam Malleswari of India (Bronze) on the podium after the Womens 69kg Weightlifting at the Convention Centre in Darling Harbour on Day Four of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

Leander Paes 1996 - Bronze medal for Tennis Men's singles

Leander Paes stands on the podium after winning a bronze medal in the men's singles tennis event at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia on August 3, 1996.