Asian Games: Roshan Mistry first Indian woman to sprint to a medal at continental showpiece

India have for long been the heavyweights at the Asian Games. The nation has won a total of 672 medals in 18 appearances.

The country’s storied history at the continental event began when New Delhi hosted the inaugural edition of the Asian Games in 1951.

At the first Asian Games, India finished second on the medals table, behind Japan, with 51 medals – 15 gold, 16 silver and 20 bronze.

Among those 51 medals, Roshan Mistry’s silver medal holds a special place in the history books.

First Indian woman to win medal in Asian Games

Sprinter Roshan Mistry became the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Asian Games when she clinched the silver medal in the 100m race on March 10, 1951.

Although sports were dominated by men in India during the early years of post-independence, the Anglo-Indian and Parsi communities led the way for the country’s women.

Roshan Mistry, a Parsi from Bombay, was one of the six Indian women who won individual medals at the Asian Games 1951. The other five were of Anglo-Indian descent.

On March 8, 1951, Roshan Mistry, competing in a field of four runners at the National Stadium in New Delhi, finished second in Heat 1. She recorded a timing of 12.9 seconds to qualify for the women’s 100m final. Japan’s Kimiko Okamoto was first, clocking 12.5 seconds.

Another Indian, Pat Mendoza, also made it to the final by finishing second in Heat 2. Only the top three from each heat qualified for the final race.

After a break of one day, the runners returned to the tracks for the deciding race on March 10.

It was a close final, with the top three sprinters separated by just 0.3 seconds.

Japan’s Kiyoko Sugimura won the gold medal with a timing of 12.6 seconds and Roshan Mistry claimed silver with 12.8 seconds. Kimiko Okamoto came third at 12.9 seconds while Pat Mendoza was fourth.

Although Roshan Mistry missed the gold medal by 0.2 seconds, it was enough to etch her name in the record books as the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Asian Games.

Roshan Mistry won another medal at Asian Games 1951, claiming a silver with the women’s 4x100m relay team, featuring Pat Mendoza, Mary D’Souza and Banoo Gazder.

Mary D’Souza also won a bronze medal in the women’s 200m at the 1951 Asian Games. She went on to represent India at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.

Other Indian women who medalled at New Delhi 1951 were Barbara Webster (bronze in shot put and javelin throw), Marie Semoes (bronze in high jump) and Sylvia Gauntlet (bronze in long jump).

First Indian woman to win gold medal at Asian Games

While Indian women have been standing on the Asian Games podium since the inception of the event, it took two more decades for them to win an individual gold medal.

Sprinter Kamaljeet Sandhu became the first Indian woman to win an Asian Games gold medal when she won the 400m race at the Asian Games 1970 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Kamaljeet Sandhu clocked 57.3 seconds, beating Aviva Balas of Israel and Japan’s Nobuko Kawano for the top spot. Kamaljeet then represented India at the 1972 Olympics in Munich.