When Michael Phelps beat India (1900-2016) at Olympics

When 31-year-old Michael Phelps (USA) retired from Olympics with 28 Medals from 5 Games (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016), which includes 23 Gold, 3 Silver and 2 Bronze medals, nobody knew he was going to set a dubious record for India. But, he unintentionally did it. He overtook India (yes, you read it correct), not just at Rio 2016, but for the entire period of 1900-2016.

It may sound odd and harsh, but, reality bites. Starting from 1900 till 2016, India has won 26 Olympic medals so far – 9 Gold, 6 Silver and 11 Bronze medals. In Hockey alone, India won 8 Gold, 1 Silver and 2 Bronze medals. At Rio 2016, India yet to open its account and may end up at zero or just 1/2 medals. We must pray for 3 medals though to surpass Phelps.

While India, the second most populated country in the world, has managed to win just 26 medals in the 116 years of its Olympics history, Phelps, who made his Swimming debut at 2000 Olympics without a medal, won 28 medals during 2004-2016. It could be tough for India to beat Phelps’ record at least in Rio. It’s an irony that a country of 1.25 billion people is struggling to surpass the medal tally of an individual, forget about competing with other nations.