Indian Athletes

India has produced some of the finest athletes in the world. From Milkha Singh to PT Usha, and now Duttee Chand to Neeraj Chopra, Indian athletes have performed brilliantly year after year, winning international medals and etching their names into sporting history. While sports remain a less conventional profession in the country compared to medicine or engineering, a growing number of Indian kids are choosing to pursue a career in athletics — inspired by the trailblazers who came before them and emboldened by a sports ecosystem that is improving with every passing year.

Interestingly, apart from winning medals for the country, Indian athletes have been instrumental in projecting India's soft power on the global stage. They advance the nation's bilateral relations and strategic objectives with countries across the world, representing not just sporting excellence but a confident, aspirational India that is increasingly at home in the world's most competitive arenas. As interest in Indian sports continues to grow, the stories of these athletes are inspiring an entirely new generation to dream bigger.

From Milkha Singh to Neeraj Chopra: a legacy of excellence

The story of Indian athletes on the world stage is one of gradual, hard-won progress punctuated by moments of genuine greatness. Milkha Singh — the Flying Sikh — came agonisingly close to an Olympic medal at Rome 1960, finishing fourth in the 400 metres in a race he led for most of its duration. His journey from a partition-era refugee to one of independent India's greatest sporting heroes remains one of the most compelling in the country's history.

PT Usha carried the baton forward reaching the final of the 400 metres hurdles at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 and missing a bronze medal by one hundredth of a second. Her determination and discipline opened doors for generations of Indian female athletes who followed. Today, as President of the Indian Olympic Association, she continues to shape Indian sport from its highest administrative position.

The baton has now passed to Neeraj Chopra, who in 2023 became the first Indian to win a gold medal at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest following his historic Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020 that made him the first Indian track and field athlete to win an Olympic gold medal. In 2025, Chopra shattered the long-elusive 90-metre barrier in javelin throw at the Doha Diamond League, breaching the milestone with a 90.23 metre attempt — a moment Indian athletics had yearned for across decades.

A landmark year: Indian athletes in 2025

The year 2025 marked a significant milestone in Indian sports, with the country making remarkable progress across cricket, athletics, chess, kabaddi, hockey, and squash — with athletes achieving long-awaited honours and breaking major barriers. 

In boxing, Jaismine Lamboria and Minakshi Hooda won gold medals at the World Boxing Championships 2025 in Liverpool — with Jaismine stunning Paris 2024 Olympic medallist Julia Szeremeta of Poland in the 57kg final and Minakshi edging Kazakhstan's Nazym Kyzaibay to clinch the 48kg crown.

In chess, D. Gukesh — the reigning World Chess Champion — received the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, India's highest sporting honour in 2025, cementing his place as one of the greatest sporting talents India has ever produced at just 18 years of age. 

In archery, Jyothi Surekha Vennam made history by winning the bronze medal in compound archery at the World Cup Finals, becoming the first Indian woman to win a medal at that stage of the competition.

Indian para-athletes delivered what may have been the most extraordinary performance of all. India finished with its best-ever tally at the World Para Athletics Championships 2025 in New Delhi, bagging 22 medals — six gold, nine silver, and seven bronze. Indians set three championship records, seven Asian records, and registered more than 30 personal bests during the competition.

Indian athletes and India's soft power

Beyond the medal counts and record books, Indian athletes serve a purpose that extends well beyond the field of play. They are ambassadors of a nation — carrying India's story to audiences across the world in ways that diplomats and policymakers cannot.

Neeraj Chopra's gold at Tokyo 2020 reverberated far beyond athletics — it sparked a national conversation about investment in sports infrastructure and demonstrated to the world that India can produce Olympic champions in track and field. Abhinav Bindra's historic 10-metre air rifle gold at Beijing 2008 — India's first individual Olympic gold in any discipline — carried a similar weight. These are not just sporting victories. They are statements about what India is capable of achieving.

India's sporting achievements contribute directly to its international standing — with success in athletics, para-sports, and team competitions strengthening diplomatic goodwill and cultural exchange with nations across the globe. India's hosting of the World Para Athletics Championships 2025 in New Delhi — and its record-breaking performance on home soil — further cemented the country's growing recognition in global sports administration. 

The new generation of Indian athletes

India delivered its best-ever performance at the 2025 Asian Youth Games in Manama, Bahrain, winning 48 medals including 13 gold, 18 silver, and 17 bronze — surpassing all previous tallies and qualifying for the 2026 Youth Olympics in Dakar, Senegal. This generation of young Indian athletes is the most internationally exposed, best-coached, and most ambitiously supported in the country's history.

Government initiatives including Khelo India and the Target Olympic Podium Scheme have transformed the support infrastructure available to Indian athletes — identifying talent early, providing world-class training facilities, and offering financial support that allows athletes to focus exclusively on their sport without the burden of financial insecurity.

2025 proved to be a year of breaking new ground for Indian sports — and these achievements not only highlight India's sporting progress but inspire future stars to dream bigger and aim higher. With stronger infrastructure, better coaching, rising international exposure, and a generation of young Indians who see athletics as a legitimate and rewarding career, the future of Indian sport has never looked more promising. 

The athletes featured in this section of Global Indian represent that future — champions, trailblazers, and rising stars who are carrying the flag of Indian sport to every corner of the world, one competition at a time.

Discover more inspiring stories of Indian sports stars making their mark globally, from cricket fields and athletics tracks to boxing rings and chess boards.