page_title: Athletics in India
section_title: 20th century
hierarchical_section_title: Athletics in India / History / 20th century
caption_attribution_description: 1952 Press Photo Nilma Ghosh India's 85 meter hurdler at Helsinki Olympics
context_page_description: In India, the sport of athletics was introduced during the period of the British Raj. The sport is governed at national level by the Athletics Federation of India, which was formed in 1946. Despite its large population, at the top level of the sport few Indian athletes have won a medal in a global or major championship. This began to change in the 21st century, when Indians started taking greater interest in athletics more generally and improved facilities for the sport began to be built at a local level. At a continental level, it has been among the more successful Asian nations, though some distance behind China and Japan.
  No Indian athlete has won an Olympic medal in athletics, aside from Norman Pritchard who competed in the non-national era. Women's long jumper Anju Bobby George is the only Indian to have won a medal at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics, doing so in 2003.
  At national level, there are three major athletics competitions: the annual Indian National Open Athletics Championships and Indian Inter State Senior Athletics Championships, and the quadrennial National Games of India.
context_section_description: At the Olympic Games, the first Indian competitor was Norman Pritchard, an Anglo-Indian, who won silver medals in the 200 metres and 200 metres hurdles at the 1900 Summer Olympics. These remain the only athletics medals for India at the Olympics. The first indigenous Indians to compete at the games were sprinter Purma Bannerjee, and distance runners Phadeppa Chaugule and Sadashir Datar at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics. The nation continued to send athletes to the Olympic athletics competition every four years, with Nilima Ghose and Mary D'Souza Sequeira becoming India's first female Olympians at the 1952 Helsinki Games.
  At a regional level, India took part in the 1930 Far Eastern Championship Games, but failed to win any medals. The nation hosted the Western Asiatic Games and won all but three of the athletics events. India was the host of the debut Asian Games in 1951 and finished second to Japan in the athletics medal table, which included a men's sprint double by Lavy Pinto and two silvers in women's sprints by Roshan Mistry. The country was less successful at the 1954 Asian Games, though Parduman Singh Brar managed a shot put/javelin double and Christine Brown, Stephie D'Souza, Violet Peters, Mary D'Souza Sequeira gave India its first women athletics gold medal, taking the 4 × 100 metres relay title.
  Milkha Singh was India's first athlete to gain success at a global level, earning the nickname "The Flying Sikh". He won a 200 metres/400 metres double at the 1958 Asian Games before going on to take the 440 yards title at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games – India's first winner at that competition. He finished fourth in the 400 m at the 1960 Summer Olympics. Decathlete Gurbachan Singh Randhawa won gold at the 1962 Asian Games and placed fifth in the 110 metres hurdles final at the 1964 Olympic Games. Throws athlete Praveen Kumar was the sole Indian athletics medallist at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games and won back-to-back Asian Games discus titles from 1966 to 1970 (achievements that he converted into a film career).
  In the 1970s, Indian athletes had increased regional success. Kamaljeet Sandhu became the first Indian female athlete to win an individual Asian Games gold medal, taking the 1970 title in the 400 metres. Decathlete Vijay Singh Chauhan winning the Asian Athletics Championships and Asian Games titles in 1973 and 1974. Men's triple jumper Mohinder Singh Gill won at the 1970 Asian Games, took the first two decathlon titles of the Asian Athletics Championships (1973 and 1975), as well as taking two minor medals at the Commonwealth Games. Sriram Singh established India in middle-distance running, winning two Asian Games golds and a silver that decade, three gold medals at the 1975 Asian Athletics Championships, and a seventh place finish 1976 Olympic 800 m final. Shivnath Singh won four distance medals at the Asian Championships, placed 11th at the 1976 Olympic Marathon and set a long-standing national marathon record in 1978. In the second half of the decade, Hari Chand (long-distance), Bahadur Singh Chouhan (shot put), Hakam Singh (racewalking) and Suresh Babu (multi-events) each won multiple Asian medals and titles.
  The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was constructed as the national stadium in preparation for hosting the 1982 Asian Games, representing an improvement in India's elite level sports infrastructure. India was third in the athletics rankings at the competition, behind the regional leaders China and Japan. Charles Borromeo (long jump), Chand Ram (racewalking), Bahadur Singh Chouhan, and M. D. Valsamma (hurdles) all won gold with games record performances. The competition marked an era of increased success for India's women athletes: Geeta Zutshi took two silver medals in middle-distance running and 18-year-old P. T. Usha won her first major medals with two silvers in the sprints. Usha reached the final of Women's 400 metres hurdles at 1984 Summer Olympics, setting an Asian record time in fourth place, and also helped the Indian women's 4 × 400 metres relay to the final. Usha went on to w
caption: Nilima Ghose was among the first Indian female Olympians
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