India Is Becoming a Multi-Sport Nation
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, India won 6 medals — including Neeraj Chopra’s back-to-back javelin gold. The nation’s performance in badminton, wrestling, shooting, boxing, and athletics has created a new generation of sporting heroes who are not cricketers. And the trend is accelerating, driven by government investment through the Khelo India programme, private academies, and a generation of Indian parents willing to see sport as a viable career path.
Athletics: The Neeraj Chopra Effect
Neeraj Chopra’s 2020 Tokyo gold medal did for Indian athletics what no government programme could have: it made young Indians believe that a non-cricketer could be the country’s greatest sporting celebrity. The national athletics federation has seen a surge in youth registrations since 2021. India now has multiple javelin throwers in the top 15 globally. Sprinter Tejaswin Shankar, long jumper Murali Sreeshankar, and several women’s 400m runners are genuine medal contenders for 2028 Los Angeles.
Badminton: A Consistent Medal Factory
PV Sindhu’s two Olympic medals and Kidambi Srikanth’s consistent world rankings have made Indian badminton a genuine world force. The Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, the Gopichand Academy, and the new Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad are producing world-class players at scale. Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, and a crop of women players are ranked in the world top 20. Badminton has arguably the deepest talent pipeline of any Indian Olympic sport.
Wrestling: India’s Most Consistent Olympic Discipline
India has won wrestling medals at every Olympics since 2008 (except 2016). Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, and Sushil Kumar turned wrestling into a viable career option across Haryana and UP. The challenges off the mat — governance controversies and the WFI conflict — have disrupted the pipeline, but the grassroots strength of Indian wrestling remains formidable.
Shooting: Infrastructure Catching Up with Talent
India has produced world-class shooters for decades (Abhinav Bindra’s 2008 Beijing gold remains the benchmark), but shooting infrastructure was historically limited to a few elite shooting ranges. The Khelo India Shooting League and expanded state shooting academies are changing this. Manu Bhaker’s bronze medals at Paris 2024 were a landmark moment for women’s shooting in India.
What Needs to Change
The gap between India’s population (1.4 billion) and its Olympic medals remains vast. The central problems are early specialisation (children are pushed into cricket at the expense of all other sports), coaching quality outside the top academies, and a social system where sport is only considered a “safe” career option if cricket is involved. But the direction is clearly changing, and the 2028 and 2032 Olympics should see India comfortably in double-digit medals.
