India at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Infobox Olympics India
games=2008 Summer
competitors= 57
sports=13
flagbearer= Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (opening) Vijender Kumar [ [http://www.hindustantimes.com/storypage/storypage.aspx?sectionName=HomePage&id=6e77cb11-c063-4552-acc7-413c1a54227f&MatchID1=4740&TeamID1=8&TeamID2=6&MatchType1=2&SeriesID1=1195&PrimaryID=4740&Headline=Vijender+India%27s+flag+bearer+for+closing+ceremony&strParent=strParentID Indias Flag Bearer for the closing ceremony] ] (closing)
gold=1
silver=
bronze=2
total=3
rank=50

India competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China. A contingent of 56 athletes represented India, and they had a support-staff of 42 officials. The athletics contingent was the largest, with 16 athletes. [ [http://www.ibnlive.com/news/india-names-57member-squad-for-beijing-olympics/69524-5.html India names 57-member squad for Beijing Olympics ] ]

For the first time since 1928, the Indian Men's Hockey Team was unable to take part in the Summer Olympics due to its failure to qualify. A two-year ban imposed by the International Weightlifting Federation after the 2006 Commonwealth Games doping scandal originally resulted in only one Olympic weightlifter, Monika Devi from India being scheduled to compete, but she too failed a drug test, and was also withdrawn. However, on August 9 it was declared she was clean, but the event she was to participate in had already closed. [cite web
title = Indian lifter fails drug test
publisher = CBC Sports
date = August 5th, 2008
url = http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/weightlifting/story/2008/08/05/doping-devi.html
accessdate = August 5th
accessyear = 2008]

On August 11, 2008, Abhinav Bindra won the gold medal in the men's 10m air rifle shooting event. In doing so, he won the first ever individual gold medal for India, and the first medal in any event for India at the Beijing Games. The previous highest individual achievements for India were two silver medals won by Norman Pritchard at the 1900 Paris Olympics and one silver medal won by the 2008 flagbearer Rajyavardhan Rathore at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Sushil Kumar won the second ever wrestling medal for India, the first being the bronze earned by Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. Vijender Kumar won a bronze medal in the middleweight boxing category, having lost in the semifinals. This was India's first-ever Olympic medal in boxing.

The 2008 Beijing Olympics saw the best ever performance by an Indian contingent, in terms of the number of medals. They won three medals in all (one gold and two bronze medals), surpassing the two silvers by Norman Pritchard in 1900 Paris Olympics [http://www.olympic.org/uk/athletes/results/search_r_uk.asp?KEYWORD=Pritchard&x=0&y=0&RESULT=TRUE&KEYWORDS=%22Pritchard*%22] and the gold and bronze medals won by the Indian field hockey team and Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav respectively, at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.

Medalists

Main|2008 Summer Olympics medal count

Women

Women's Heptathlon

Boxing

Sailing

Open

Swimming

Tennis

Men

ee also

* India at the Olympics
* Sports of India

References

External Links

* [http://www.olympic.ind.in/BeijingOlympics.pdf Indian contingent to the 2008 Beijing Olympics (PDF)]