Tokyo Olympics 2020: India’s Medal Tally, Highlights, and Key Achievements

Tokyo Olympics 2021

The 2020 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXII Olympiad, took place in Tokyo, Japan, from July 23 to August 8, 2021, following a selection process that began on September 7, 2013, at the 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires.

Tokyo Olympics 2021: Postponed Due to COVID-19 in 2020

Originally scheduled for 2020, the Games were historic for being the first to be postponed due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the delay to 2021, the "Tokyo 2020" brand was retained. Due to a state of emergency in the Greater Tokyo Area, the event was held largely behind closed doors without public spectators—a unique first in Olympic history—with total costs reaching nearly $20 billion.

Tokyo Olympics 2021 India Medals

Here are the distinguished athletes who secured medals for India at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics:

Athlete	Medal and Sport
Neeraj Chopra	Gold medal in Men’s Javelin throw
Mirabai Chanu	Silver medal in women’s 49kg weightlifting
Ravi Kumar Dahiya	Silver medal in men’s 57kg freestyle wrestling
PV Sindhu	Bronze medal in women’s singles badminton
Lovlina Borgohain	Bronze medal in women’s welterweight boxing
Bajrang Punia	Bronze medal in men’s 65kg freestyle wrestling
Men’s Hockey team	Bronze medal

Tokyo Olympics 2021 India

Take a closer look at the remarkable performances delivered by the Indian contingent at the Tokyo Olympics:

Tokyo Olympics 2021 India Performance: Neeraj Chopra

Neeraj Chopra etched his name in history by winning India’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in athletics. With a stunning throw of 87.58 meters in the men’s javelin event, he surpassed competitors from the Czech Republic, Jakub Vadlejch and Vitezslav Vesely. Neeraj is India's first individual Olympic gold medalist since Abhinav Bindra’s victory in Beijing 2008.

Tokyo Olympics 2021 India Performance: Mirabai Chanu

Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu secured a silver medal in the women’s 49 kg category with a total lift of 202 kg. While China’s Hou Zhihui claimed the gold, Chanu’s performance remains only the second weightlifting medal in Indian history, following in the footsteps of Karnam Malleswari’s achievement at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

Tokyo Olympics 2021 India Performance: PV Sindhu

PV Sindhu added another chapter to her legendary career by winning a bronze medal in badminton. Following her silver in Rio 2016, she defeated China’s He Bing Jiao in straight sets (21-13, 21-15) to secure her place on the podium in Tokyo.

Tokyo Olympics 2021 India Performance: Ravi Dahiya

Ravi Dahiya displayed incredible grit, earning a silver medal in the men’s 57 kg freestyle wrestling. Despite a hard-fought final against ROC's Zavur Uguev, Dahiya’s performance solidified his status as a premier wrestler, building on his previous successes in Asian and World Championship events.

Tokyo Olympics 2021 India Performance: Bajrang Punia

Wrestler Bajrang Punia, a multiple-time World Championship medalist, captured a bronze medal in the 65 kg category. After a dominant 8-0 victory over Daulet Niyazbekov of Kazakhstan, he successfully bounced back from a tough semifinal loss to Azerbaijan’s Haji Aliyev to secure the medal.

Tokyo Olympics 2021: Interesting and Unknown Facts

• Following the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, and the 1998 Winter Olympics, the 2020 Games were the fourth Olympic Games to be hosted in Japan (Nagano).
• Tokyo made history by hosting the Summer Olympic Games twice in one city.
• Following the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and before the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, the 2020 Games were the second of three straight Olympics to be hosted in East Asia.
• Tokyo 2020 was the first and only Olympic Games to be hosted in an odd-numbered year, and the first Summer Olympics to be staged in a calendar year other than a leap year since the 1900 Games, thanks to the one-year postponement.
• 2020 saw the addition of new events in a number of current sports, such as 3×3 basketball, freestyle BMX, mixed gender team events, the return of Madison cycling for men, and the creation of the same event for women.
• The host organising committee was able to add additional sports to the Olympic schedule for just one Games according to new IOC regulations.
• Baseball and softball, karate, sport climbing, surfing, and skateboarding were the sports that the Japanese Olympic Committee introduced.
• The last four of these sports made their Olympic debuts, and the final three will remain on the Olympic programme.

Tokyo Olympics 2021 Medal Tally

The United States led the final medal table with 39 gold and 113 total medals, followed closely by China. Host nation Japan finished third, while Great Britain and the ROC rounded out the top five. Notably, nations like Qatar, the Philippines, and Bermuda celebrated their first-ever Olympic gold medals during these Games.

Below is a summary of the top-performing nations by gold medal count, including India's position in the overall standings:

S.No.	Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States	39	41	33	113
2	China	38	32	19	89
3	Japan	27	14	17	58
4	Great Britain	22	20	22	64
5	ROC	20	28	23	71
6	Australia	17	7	22	46
7	Netherlands	10	12	14	36
8	France	10	12	11	33
9	Germany	10	11	16	37
10	Italy	10	10	20	40
48	India	1	2	4	7

Tokyo Olympics 2021 Mascot

The official mascot, Miraitowa, was designed by Ryo Taniguchi. Its name blends the Japanese words "Mirai" (Future) and "Towa" (Eternity), symbolizing a bridge between innovation and tradition.

In a powerful gesture of global solidarity amidst the pandemic, the Olympic motto was updated to "Faster, Higher, Stronger—Together" (Citius, Altius, Fortius, Communiter).

Tokyo Olympics 2021 Host City Selection

Tokyo was awarded the 2020 Games after a rigorous bidding process, defeating finalists Istanbul and Madrid in a final vote of 60 to 36 at the 125th IOC Session in 2013.

Tokyo Olympics 2021 Theme

The opening ceremony was meticulously designed to inspire global hope, emphasizing the unifying power of sports and the resilience of athletes worldwide.

The Tokyo Games were themed "United by Emotion," with a overarching focus across all ceremonies on the concept of "Moving Forward."

List Of Olympics Gold Medal Winners From India 

India has achieved significant Olympic milestones, with its storied hockey team claiming eight gold medals. Neeraj Chopra’s gold in Tokyo marked a rare and monumental individual triumph for the nation.