Famous Indian Athletes

Athletics is derived from the Greek word “athlon” which means contest. India has a long history of participation at International Track and Field events.

The first Indian Olympiad was Norman Pritchard, an athlete who won two silvers in the 200 meters dash and 200 meters hurdles at the 1900 Paris Olympics. In later years, there have been successful athletes like Henry Rebello, the legendary “Flying Sikh” Milkha Singh who was post-independent India’s first official Olympic finalist; Gurbachan Singh Randhawa, TC Yohannan, Sriram Singh, Suresh Babu and others.

India has also produced some very talented female athletes. PT Usha undoubtedly being the most exceptional of the lot. With her contemporaries Shiny Wilson, MD Valsamma and Vandana Rao, she led India to the finals of the 1984 Olympics Relay. Later flamboyant track stars like Ashwini Nachappa and steady performers like Jyotirmoyee Sikdar came into the scene. In recent times, performers like Anju Bobby George and Soma Biswas rule the roost.

In spite of having the talent, Indian athletes have not been very successful in Olympic Track and Field. There has been moderate success in the Asian Games.