Why does India underperform at the Olympics?

India is home to over 1.4 billion people but when it comes to the Olympics, the nation fails to perform.

At the 2024 Games, India won just six medals, falling short of its record haul of seven at Tokyo 2020.

With less than a quarter of India’s population, the USA topped the rankings with 126 medals, followed by China with 91.

India was 71st in the table, below much smaller nations like Georgia, Kazakhstan and North Korea.

Since its debut in 1900, India has won just 41 Olympic medals in total, all at the Summer Games.

Ronojoy Sen, author of Nation at Play: A History of Sport in India, said:

“There is no doubt that India has been an underperformer in the Olympics and generally in global sports.

“If you look at the population to medal ratio it is probably the worst.”

Among India’s bright spots in Paris, javelin ace Neeraj Chopra won silver while shooter Manu Bhaker clinched two bronze medals.

We look at why India fails to perform at the Olympics despite being the most populous nation.

Major Obstacles

India’s history of punching below its weight at the Olympics is down to several factors and a major culprit is an underinvestment in sports.

According to Sen, India has never invested in a national training programme like those of traditional Olympic powerhouses like China and the USA.

He said: “For nations like the USA, China and the (then) Soviet Union, sport was very much a part of their nascent national story, it was a means for global recognition and glory.”

Citing China, he said the most successful Olympic nations identify and develop talent from a young age.

Indian athletes often face challenges such as insufficient funding and a lack of access to facilities.

Boria Majumdar, who wrote Dreams of a Billion: India and the Olympic Games, said:

“When people say 1.4 billion people and only (six) medals, that is a totally wrong headline, because… 1.39 billion people don’t have access to sports facilities.”

Majumdar pointed out that India sends far fewer athletes and support staff to the Olympics compared to top teams like the US.

At Paris 2024, there were 117 Indian athletes. Meanwhile, 600 Americans went to the Games.

Experts say India also faces health challenges that hinder development and curtail sporting potential from childhood.

In the 2023 Global Hunger Index report, India was ranked 111th out of 125 countries.

At 18.7%, it has the world’s highest number of children who are too thin for their height.

Over a third of children under five in India are stunted due to malnutrition, meaning they are too short for their age.

Sen said: “Until we address some of these basic concerns around nutrition, it will be very hard for us to achieve greater excellence at the highest level of sport where victories are counted in milliseconds.”

Another challenge is the additional barriers faced by female athletes.

Wrestler Sakshi Malik won bronze at Rio 2016. She said:

“Right from childhood, when I started wrestling, people would tease me saying that ‘she’s a girl what can she do, why is she entering a male sport?’”

In 2023, Malik quit wrestling over sexual harassment allegations against WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

She added: “I gave up my sport which I love beyond all else for this fight because I bear that responsibility of protecting the younger athletes who come after me.

“Things have to change.”

Has India tapped into its Potential?

Although India’s overall performance at the 2024 Olympics may not have blown minds, fans celebrated the achievements of the country’s medallists.

Majumdar said individual athletes have the power to inspire the population.

Referring to Neeraj Chopra’s silver medal, he said:

“To think that the entire country is watching javelin at 2 am because of one man, that is a revolution.”

India’s immense Olympic potential is best exemplified by its dominance in cricket, the nation’s most beloved sport and a global powerhouse.

Although cricket has not featured in the Olympics since 1900, it is slated to make a comeback at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, igniting enthusiasm among Indian fans and players eager to compete for gold.

While the multi-billion-dollar IPL is the most prominent symbol of sports investment in India, other sports have also seen significant growth in recent years, fueled by increased corporate sponsorship and government support.

In 2018, Narendra Modi launched “Khelo India” or “Let’s Play India”, a nationwide programme to “revive the sports culture”  to identify and fund promising young talent, particularly in rural areas.

That same year, India also revamped its Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), which supports and funds training, international competition, equipment and coaching for elite athletes.

As of July 2024, India’s sports ministry allocated nearly £200 million to state governments to develop sports infrastructure under the Khelo India programme.

Ronojoy Sen said there is also a growing realisation of the soft power potential of global sporting success, citing Modi taking the time to call Olympic medalists to congratulate them.

The Prime Minister tweeted: “I appreciate the efforts of the Indian contingent through the games.

“All the athletes have given their best and every Indian is proud of them.”

During the International Olympic Committee’s annual meeting in Mumbai in 2023, Modi told sports officials that India would bid to host the 2036 Olympics.

The IOC said it also expects to soon add an Indian sponsor to its roster of 15 top-tier partners, which together gave the Games almost £560 million.

Boria Majumdar believes India’s best Olympic days are yet to come.

Pointing out that India spends just a fracture of the United States’ expenditure on sports infrastructure, he said:

“I think the journey has started but it’s not going to happen overnight.

“In another decade I believe India has the potential to be in the top half of medals.”