From Milkha Singh to Neeraj Chopra, famous Indian athletes who ruled track and field

From the trailblazing Milkha Singh of the yesteryears to contemporary javelin throw star Neeraj Chopra, a handful of Indian track and field athletes have left a lasting mark over the years.

Consistent success at the Olympics and the World Athletics Championships has started emerging only recently, courtesy of Neeraj Chopra.

However, Milkha Singh’s legendary performances on the running track, PT Usha's dominance in Asia and long jumper Anju Bobby George's historic bronze medal at the 2003 World Championships played a big part in setting up the platform for the success.

Shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor, a former Asian record-holder and two-time continental shot put champion, has also established himself as one of the most recognisable names in Indian athletics.

Here, we take a look at some of the most famous Indian athletes who have done their country proud on the international stage.

Neeraj Chopra

A gold medallist at the World Championships, Olympics, Asian and Commonwealth Games as well as a Diamond League trophy winner, Neeraj Chopra has already established himself as the greatest track and field athlete to emerge from India.

At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, he became the first Indian track and field athlete to win an Olympic medal and only the second from the country to bag an individual gold medal after shooter Abhinav Bindra.

The javelin ace settled for the silver medal at the Oregon 22, first for India at the World Championships, but roared back to win the gold medal next year at Budapest 2023 despite heading into the tournament after just having recovered from a groin injury.

He’s the only Indian to ever win a gold medal at the senior World Athletics Championships.

Neeraj Chopra first shot to fame with the gold medal at the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships in Poland. His winning throw of 86.48m in Poland still stands as the U20 javelin throw world record.

The Haryana athlete also holds the men’s javelin throw national record of 89.94m, achieved at the Stockholm Diamond League 2022.

At Paris 2024, Neeraj Chopra bagged a silver to become a two-time Olympic medallist.

Milkha Singh

Known as the Flying Sikh for his speed off the blocks in the 200m and 400m races, serial winner Milkha Singh was arguably Independent India’s first sporting hero and inspired generations with his exploits on the track.

He had famously finished fourth at the Rome 1960 Olympics - 0.13 seconds behind bronze medallist Malcolm Spence of South Africa. His timing of 45.73s in Rome stood as a national record for four decades.

He was also the first Commonwealth Games gold medallist for India, winning the 440-yard race at the 1958 edition in Cardiff. The feat was celebrated across the country and the then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru declared a public holiday on the following day.

Milkha Singh also bagged gold medals in the 200m and 400m at the 1958 Asian Games in Tokyo. Four years later, he defended his 200m title in Jakarta and clinched the top podium with the men’s 4x400m relay team.

Bollywood movie Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, portraying Milkha Singh's remarkable journey from a troubled childhood to becoming one of the world's fastest runners, was one of the biggest hits of 2013 in India.

PT Usha

Twenty-four years after Milkha Singh’s fourth-place finish at Rome 1960 Olympics, PT Usha came agonisingly close to winning independent India’s first Olympic track and field medal. However, she finished fourth in the 400m hurdles at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympics and missed a medal by just 0.01 seconds.

Known as the Payyoli Express, PT Usha has won over a hundred international medals. The national record of 55.42s set by her at LA 1984 was only matched 39 years later by Vithya Ramraj at the Asian Games 2023.

PT Usha made her Olympic debut at the Moscow 1980 Games and became India’s youngest Olympic sprinter at 16 – a record that stands to date.

The Indian queen of track and field represented India at four Asian Games from 1982 to 1996 and won 11 medals, including four golds. At the Asian Championships, PT Usha won 23 medals, including 14 golds, clinched across 100m, 200m, 400m, 400m hurdles and relay events.

In 2022, PT Usha was elected as the first woman president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).

Anju Bobby George

Anju Bobby George’s best performance came at the Athens 2004 Olympics, finishing fifth in the women’s long jump with a distance of 6.83m, a distance which still stands as the national record.

She also holds the distinction of being the only Indian woman to win a medal at the World Athletics Championships where competition is as fierce as the Olympics. Her bronze medal at the 2003 World Championships in Paris was India’s first-ever at the global meet.

In 2021, Anju Bobby George received the Woman of the Year Award by World Athletics, the international governing body for the sport for grooming and encouraging young girls to take up sports in India.

In 2016, she founded the Anju Bobby George Sports Foundation, a training academy for young girls. Promising long jumper Shaili Singh, who won a silver medal at the World U20 Athletics Championships, is a member of the academy.

Anju Bobby George is currently the senior vice-president of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI), the highest post occupied by a woman in the federation’s history.

Tajinderpal Singh Toor

Shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor, a former Asian record-holder and two-time gold medallist at the Asian Games and Asian Championships, also features among the most famous names in Indian athletics.

Toor’s first major international medal came at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, where he produced a 20.75m throw to set a new national and Asian Games record and won the gold medal. He defended his title five years later at the Hangzhou Asian Games.

In 2021, Toor threw 21.49m at the Indian Grand Prix for a new Asian and national record. The effort also helped him breach the entry standard for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. However, he suffered a wrist injury during the Games and could not make the final.

At the 2023 nationals in Bhubaneswar, Toor went on to better his Asian and national mark to 21.77m. His two Asian Athletics Championships came in 2023. The Punjab athlete is also a two-time Asian Indoor champion and represented India at Paris 2024.

Praveen Kumar Sobti, one of India’s most successful athletes in the 1960s and 1970s, Avinash Sable, currently India’s finest long-distance runner, long jumper Murali Sreeshankar, decathlete Tejaswin Shankar, discus thrower Vikas Gowda are some of the other well-known Indian men’s track and field athletes on the world stage.

Among women, promising hurdler Jyothi Yarraji, sprinter Hima Das, also known as the ‘Dhing Express’, long-distance runner Parul Chaudhary and javelin thrower Annu Rani are among well-established names.