Where are India's Olympic medallists now?

The biggest and most popular sporting event Olympics started in 1896. Along with other nations of the World, India has also actively participated in every event.

As of now, India has been able to bag 28 medals from various Olympic Games, excluding Tokyo 2020. Even though the number of medals is not a lot, Indian athletes have still managed to leave their mark in the Games with their historical performances.

Here's a list of some of the Indian Olympic medallists and what they are doing currently:

Leander Paes

In 1996, Leander Paes won the Bronze medal in Tennis at the Atlanta Summer Games. It was India’s first-ever Olympic medal in tennis and also the only one in the Atlanta Games. Paes’s bronze medal happens to be a medal that India received after a 16 years gap from 1980.

Since his Olympic victory, he has won many grand slam titles in doubles events. He has been honoured with Padman Bhushan, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Arjuna Award.

Currently, Paes is serving as the sports ambassador of Haryana.

Karnam Malleshwari

Karnam Malleshwari became the first-ever Indian woman to win an Olympic medal when she won the bronze medal in the 54 kg weightlifting category at the Sydney Olympics.

After the Olympics, she became the vice-chancellor of the upcoming Delhi Sports University. She has been actively working towards bringing the youth of the country on international platforms.

Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore

Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore got the silver medal in Men's double trap shooting at the 2004 Athens Olympics and became the first Indian shooter to win an Olympic medal.

Rathore was the Minister of State for the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports till May 2019. Currently, he is serving as a Member of Parliament in the house of Lok Sabha.

Abhinav Bindra

Abhinav Bindra won India’s first gold medal in shooting when he bagged the top position in Men's 10m Air Rifle Shooting at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Bindra is not just a shooter but also a businessman. He is the CEO of Abhinav Futuristics Pvt. Ltd which aims at bringing tech into sports. After retiring, he has been working on various schemes and projects for the development of athletes.

Vijender Singh

After Vijender Singh won the bronze medal in Boxing at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he gained massive popularity in the country. He started to appear on various television shows too.

Later Singh decided to become a professional boxer. He also stepped into politics and joined Indian National Congress in 2019 contesting for Lok Sabha from South Delhi. However, he lost the election.

Gagan Narang

Gagan Narang won a bronze medal in Men's 10m air rifle shooting at the 2012 London Olympics.

Now Gagan runs his Academy which has sent six trainees to the Tokyo Olympics this year.

Vijay Kumar

Vijay Kumar bagged a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics in Men's 25m rapid pistol shooting.

He is currently serving as the DSP in Himachal Pradesh.

Yogeshwar Dutt

Yogeshwar Dutt won a bronze medal in Wrestling in the 60 Kg category at the 2012 London Olympics.

He currently runs a wrestling academy motivating the trainees to get to the international stage. He has also taken up the ‘learn Russian’ initiative.

Saina Nehwal

Saina Nehwal became the first Indian to win an Olympic medal in badminton in 2012 by clinching a bronze medal at the London Olympics.

She continues to represent India in badminton in various games and she even won a Gold medal in the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Mary Kom

Six times World Champion Mary Kom won the first women’s boxing Olympic medal for India. She won the bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics.

She continues to represent India in Boxing on various platforms including the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Sakshi Malik

Bronze Medallist Sakshi Malik bagged her Olympics medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics for Wrestling.

Currently, she is working at the Indian Railways. Along with that, she is a part of the JSW Sports Excellence Program.

PV Sindhu

PV Sindhu got her silver medal in Badminton at the 2016 Rio Olympics. On Sunday, she won her second Olympic medal in the Tokyo Olympics defeating He Bingjiao of China. She won a bronze medal.

Sindhu has been actively representing India in Badminton on various platforms.