India at the 1951 Asian Games

Sporting event delegation

India at the
1951 Asian Games

IOC code| IND
NOC| Indian Olympic Association
in New Delhi
Medals
Ranked 2nd|

Gold

Silver

Bronze

Total

Asian Games appearances (overview)

* 1951
* 1954
* 1958
* 1962
* 1966
* 1970
* 1974
* 1978
* 1982
* 1986
* 1990
* 1994
* 1998
* 2002
* 2006
* 2010
* 2014
* 2018
* 2022
* 2026

India hosted and participated in the 1951 Asian Games held in New Delhi from 4 to 11 March 1951, the inaugural edition of the Asian Games. India was ranked second with 15 gold medals, 16 silver medals and 20 bronze medals in the overall medal table, only behind Japan.

Kanti Shah won India's first-ever Asian Games medal with a silver in men's 100 m backstroke swimming. Sachin Nag won India's first-ever gold medal at the Asian Games in men's 100 m freestyle swimming. The India national football team won the gold medal in the men's football competition.

As of the conclusion of the 2022 Asian Games, 1951 remains the only edition where India won gold medals in diving, swimming and water polo. It also remains the only edition where India won any medals in cycling. India's 34 medals (10G, 12S, 12B) in athletics remains its best-ever performance at the Asian Games.

## Medal summary

[edit]

### Medals by sport

[edit]

Medals by sport

Sport | Rank | Gold  | Silver  | Bronze  | Total
Athletics | 2 | 10  | 12  | 12  | 34
Diving | 1 | 2  | 1  | 1  | 4
Swimming | 3 | 1  | 1  | 4  | 6
Football | 1 | 1  | 0  | 0  | 1
Water polo | 1 | 1  | 0  | 0  | 1
Cycling | 2 | 0  | 1  | 2  | 3
Weightlifting | 3 | 0  | 1  | 1  | 2
Total  | 2  | 15  | 16  | 20  | 51

### Medals by day

[edit]

Medals by day

Day | Date[1][2][3][4][5][6] | Gold  | Silver  | Bronze  | Total
1  | 4 March  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0
2  | 5 March  | 0  | 1  | 0  | 1
3  | 6 March  | 0  | 0  | 4  | 4
4  | 7 March  | 1  | 0  | 2  | 3
5  | 8 March  | 1  | 2  | 3  | 6
6  | 9 March  | 1  | 0  | 2  | 3
7  | 10 March  | 7  | 11  | 2  | 20
8  | 11 March  | 5  | 2  | 7  | 14
| Total  | 15  | 16  | 20  | 51

### Medals by gender

[edit]

Medals by gender

Gender | Gold  | Silver  | Bronze  | Total
Male | 15 | 14 | 15 | 44
Female | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7
Total  | 15  | 16  | 20  | 51

### Medalists

[edit]

Medal  | Name[7] | Sport  | Event  | Date

|
|
|
|

Gold | Sachin Nag | Swimming | Men's 100 m freestyle | 7 March
Gold | Mahabir Prasad | Athletics | Men's 10 km walk | 8 March
Gold | Nikka Singh | Athletics | Men's 1500 m | 9 March
Gold | Lavy Pinto | Athletics | Men's 200 m | 10 March
Gold | Ranjit Singh | Athletics | Men's 800 m | 10 March
Gold | Bakhtawar Singh | Athletics | Men's 50 km walk | 10 March
Gold | Madan Lal | Athletics | Men's shot put | 10 March
Gold | Amit Singh Bakshi
Govind Singh
Balwant Singh
Karnan Singh | Athletics | Men's 4 × 400 m relay | 10 March
Gold | K. P. Thakkar | Diving | Men's 3 m springboard | 10 March
Gold |

India national football team

* * * *

Berland Anthony
Syed Khwaja Azizuddin
A. M. Bachan
Sunil Chatterjee
Abhoy Ghosh
D. N. Devine Jones
Ahmed Khan
G. Y. S. Laiq
Sheikh Abdul Latif
Loganathan
Sailen Manna
Sheoo Mewalal
Santosh Nandy
Muhammad Noor
Chandan Singh Rawat
P. B. A. Saleh
Mohammad Abdus Sattar
T. Shanmugham
Runu Guha Thakurta
Kenchappa Varadaraj
Thenmaddom Varghese
Pansanttom Venkatesh

| Football | Men's team[8] | 10 March
Gold | Lavy Pinto | Athletics | Men's 100 m | 11 March
Gold | Chhota Singh | Athletics | Men's marathon | 11 March
Gold | Makhan Singh | Athletics | Men's discus throw | 11 March
Gold | K. P. Thakkar | Diving | Men's 10 m platform | 11 March
Gold |

India men's national water polo team

* * * *

Jahan Ahir
Ganesh Das
D. Daver
R. Dean
Isaac Mansoor
G. Rattansey
Kanti Shah

| Water polo | Men's team | 11 March
Silver | Kanti Shah | Swimming | Men's 100 m backstroke | 5 March
Silver | Somnath Chopra | Athletics | Men's hammer throw | 8 March
Silver | Kamineni Eswara Rao | Weightlifting | Men's middle heavyweight 90 kg | 8 March
Silver | Marian Gabriel | Athletics | Men's 200 m | 10 March
Silver | Kulwant Singh | Athletics | Men's 800 m | 10 March
Silver | Pritam Singh | Athletics | Men's 5000 m | 10 March
Silver | Teja Singh | Athletics | Men's 400 m hurdles | 10 March
Silver | B. Das | Athletics | Men's 50 km walk | 10 March
Silver | Baldev Singh | Athletics | Men's long jump | 10 March
Silver | Parsa Singh | Athletics | Men's javelin throw | 10 March
Silver | Roshan Mistry | Athletics | Women's 100 m | 10 March
Silver | Mary D'Souza
Roshan Mistry
Banoo Gulzar
Pat Mendonca | Athletics | Women's 4×100 m relay | 10 March
Silver | Dhangar Lhanguard
Raj Kumar Mehra
Madan Mohan
Gurdev Singh | Cycling | Men's 4000 m team pursuit | 10 March
Silver | Ashu Dutt | Diving | Men's 3 m springboard | 10 March
Silver | Amit Singh Bakshi | Athletics | Men's 400 m | 11 March
Silver | Lavy Pinto
Marian Gabriel
Ram Swaroop
Alfred Shamin | Athletics | Men's 4×100 m relay | 11 March
Bronze | Netai Chand Bysack | Cycling | Men's 1000 m time trial | 6 March
Bronze | Jehangir Naegamwalla | Swimming | Men's 200 m breaststroke | 6 March
Bronze | Isaac Mansoor
Bimal Chandra
Sambhu Saha
Sachin Nag | Swimming | Men's 4 x 100 m freestyle relay | 6 March
Bronze | Dandamudi Rajagopal | Weightlifting | Men's heavyweight +90 kg | 6 March
Bronze | Kanti Shah
Jehangir Naegamwalla
Sachin Nag | Swimming | Men's 3 x 100 m medley relay | 7 March
Bronze | Bimal Chandra | Swimming | Men's 400 m freestyle | 7 March
Bronze | Gurbachan Singh | Athletics | Men's 10000 m | 8 March
Bronze | Kesar Singh | Athletics | Men's 10 km walk | 8 March
Bronze | Kishen Singh | Athletics | Men's hammer throw | 8 March
Bronze | Khurshid Ahmed | Athletics | Men's decathlon | 9 March
Bronze | Rohinton Noble | Cycling | Men's 1000 m sprint | 9 March
Bronze | Marie Semoes | Athletics | Women's high jump | 10 March
Bronze | Barbara Webster | Athletics | Women's shot put | 10 March
Bronze | Govind Singh | Athletics | Men's 400 m | 11 March
Bronze | Ajit Singh | Athletics | Men's 3000 m steeplechase | 11 March
Bronze | Surat Singh Mathur | Athletics | Men's marathon | 11 March
Bronze | Mary D'Souza | Athletics | Women's 200 m | 11 March
Bronze | Sylvia Gauntlet | Athletics | Women's long jump | 11 March
Bronze | Barbara Webster | Athletics | Women's javelin throw | 11 March
Bronze | T. T. Dand | Diving | Men's 10 m platform | 11 March

## Aquatics

[edit]

### Diving

[edit]

Main article: Diving at the 1951 Asian Games

Athletes  | Event  | Final

|
|

Result  | Rank
K. P. Thakkar | Men's 3 m springboard | 371.25  |
Ashu Dutt | 327.20  |
K. P. Thakkar | Men's 10 m platform | 362.05  |
T. T. Dand | 276.60  |

### Swimming

[edit]

Main article: Swimming at the 1951 Asian Games

Athletes  | Event[1][2][3] | Heats  | Final

|
|
|

Result  | Rank  | Result  | Rank
Sachin Nag | Men's 100 m freestyle | 1:04.1  | 2 Q | 1:04.7  |
Isaac Mansoor | UK | 2 Q | UK | 6
Bimal Chandra | Men's 400 m freestyle | —  | 5:32.5  |
Santosh Bhattacharya  | —  | UK | 5
Bimal Chandra | Men's 800 m freestyle | —  | 11:35.0  | 4
Santosh Bhattacharya  | —  | 14:15.0  | 6
Bimal Chandra | Men's 1500 m freestyle | —  | UK | 5
Santosh Bhattacharya  | —  | DNF
Kanti Shah | Men's 100 m backstroke | —  | 1:17.0  |
Pratap Mitra  | —  | UK | 5
Jehangir Naegamwalla | Men's 200 m breaststroke | —  | 3:11.0  |
Bhubaneswar Pandey  | —  | 3:14.1  | 6
Isaac Mansoor
Bimal Chandra
Sambhu Saha
Sachin Nag | Men's 4 x 100 m freestyle relay | —  | 4:28.8  |
Kanti Shah
Jehangir Naegamwalla
Sachin Nag | Men's 3 x 100 m medley relay | —  | 3:43.6  |

### Water polo

[edit]

Main article: Water polo at the 1951 Asian Games

Squad  | Event  | Final  | Rank

|
|
|

India men's national water polo team
Jahan Ahir
Ganesh Das
D. Daver
R. Dean
Isaac Mansoor
G. Rattansey
Kanti Shah
| Men's team |  Singapore
W 6–4  |

#### Gold medal match

[edit]

11 March  | India | 6-4  |  Singapore | National Stadium Swimming Pool, New Delhi

|
|
|
|

Scoring by half: 2–3, 4–1
Shah, Dean 2  | Goals | Sim 2

## Athletics

[edit]

Main article: Athletics at the 1951 Asian Games

### Men

[edit]

#### Track events

[edit]

Athletes  | Event[3][4][5][6][9] | Heats  | Semifinal  | Final

|
|
|
|

Result  | Rank  | Result  | Rank  | Result  | Rank
Lavy Pinto | 100 m | 10.7  | 1 Q | 11.0  | 1 Q | 10.8  |
Alfred Shamin | 11.0  | 1 Q | 11.2  | 2 Q | UK | 4
Lavy Pinto | 200 m | 22.1  | 1 Q | —  | 22.0  |
Marian Gabriel | 22.7  | 1 Q | 22.5  |
Amit Singh Bakshi | 400 m | 50.6  | 1 Q | —  | 50.8  |
Govind Singh | UK | 2 Q | 51.4  |
Ranjit Singh | 800 m | —  | 1:59.3  |
Kulwant Singh | 1:59.7  |
Nikka Singh | 1500 m | —  | 4:04.1  |
Sadhu Singh  | —  | UK | 5
Pritam Singh | 5000 m | —  | 15:57.8  |
Jang Singh  | —  | DNF
Gurbachan Singh | 10000 m | —  | 34:58.8  |
Gulzar Singh Mann  | —  | UK | 4
Bagh Singh  | 110 m hurdles | UK | 3 Q | —  | UK | 5
Cleure D'Classe  | UK | 2 Q | DNF
Teja Singh | 400 m hurdles | —  | 56.9  |
Cleure D'Classe  | UK | 4
Ajit Singh | 3000 m steeplechase | —  | 9:37.8  |
Gulzar Singh Mann  | —  | DNF
Lavy Pinto
Marian Gabriel
Ram Swaroop
Alfred Shamin | 4 x 100 m relay | 43.0  | 1 Q | —  | 42.8  |
Amit Singh Bakshi
Govind Singh
Balwant Singh
Karnan Singh | 4 x 400 m relay | —  | 3:24.2  |

#### Field events

[edit]

Athletes  | Event[10] | Qualification  | Final

|
|
|

Result  | Rank  | Result  | Rank
Mehanga Singh Sidhu | High jump | 1.83  | UK Q | UK | 4
K. Chatterjee  | DSQ | —
Baldev Singh | Long jump | —  | 6.99  |
Sohan Ram  | UK | 5
P. S. Cheema  | Triple jump | —  | UK | 6
P. Beck  | DSQ
Makhan Singh | Discus throw | —  | 39.92  |
Amar Singh  | UK | 4
Somnath Chopra | Hammer throw | —  | 43.35  |
Kishen Singh | 42.32  |
Parsa Singh | Javelin throw | —  | 50.38  |
Surat Singh  | DSQ
Khurshid Ahmed  | Pole vault | —  | 3.61  | 4
S. Chakravarty  | DSQ
Madan Lal | Shot put | —  | 13.78  |
Ishar Singh  | UK | 5

#### Road events

[edit]

Athletes  | Event[3][4][5][6][9] | Final

|
|

Result  | Rank
Chhota Singh | Marathon | 2:42:58.6  |
Surat Singh Mathur | 2:53:49.8  |
Mahabir Prasad | 10 km walk | 52:31.4  |
Kesar Singh | 52:54.0  |
Bakhtawar Singh | 50 km walk | 5:44:07.4  |
B. Das | 5:44:14.6  |

#### Combined events

[edit]

Athlete  | Event[10] | Category  | 100 m  | LJ  | SP  | HJ  | 400 m  | 110H  | DT  | PV  | JT  | 1500 m  | Total  | Rank

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Khurshid Ahmed | Decathlon | Result  | 12.0  | 6.11  | 9.07  | 1.47  | 55.2  | 17.4  | 27.95  | 3.36  | 46.93  | 5:17.2  | 5110  |
Points  | 651  | 610  | 430  | 367  | 591  | 583  | 424  | 446  | 543  | 465
Gurnam Singh  | Result  | 12.5  | 5.66  | 11.46  | 1.62  | DNP | 2124  | DSQ
Points  | 566  | 514  | 574  | 480

### Women

[edit]

#### Track events

[edit]

Athletes  | Event[10] | Heats  | Final

|
|
|

Result  | Rank  | Result  | Rank
Roshan Mistry | 100 m | 12.9  | 2 Q | 12.8  |
Pat Mendonca | 13.1  | 2 Q | UK | 4
Mary D'Souza | 200 m | —  | 28.0  |
Banoo Gulzar | UK | 4
Nilima Ghose | 80 m hurdles | —  | UK | 5
Violet Peters | UK | 6
Mary D'Souza
Roshan Mistry
Banoo Gulzar
Pat Mendonca | 4 x 100 m relay | —  | 51.9  |

#### Field events

[edit]

Athletes  | Event[10] | Final

|
|

Result  | Rank
Marie Semoes | High jump | 1.37  |
Marjorie Soares  | 1.37  | 4
Sylvia Gauntlet | Long jump | 4.52  |
Veronica Game  | UK | 4
Bhagi Thadani  | Discus throw | UK | 4
Barbara Webster | UK | 5
Barbara Webster | Javelin throw | 26.70  |
Bhagi Thadani  | UK | 5
Barbara Webster | Shot put | 9.02  |
Usha Rajaram  | UK | 4

## Basketball

[edit]

Main article: Basketball at the 1951 Asian Games

Squad[4][11] | Event  | Round robin  | Rank

|
|
|

India men's national basketball team
Ranbir Chopra (C)
Davinder Nath Bahri
Dharampal Chum
Ram Prakash
Avnish Chander Soni
Gur Prasad
Lakshmi
S. V. Appayya
Kapoor  | Men's team |  Iran
L 52–63 | 4
Japan
L 46–70
Burma
W 50–47
Philippines
L 38–86

## Cycling

[edit]

Main article: Cycling at the 1951 Asian Games

Athlete  | Event[2][5] | Time  | Rank

|
|
|

Netai Chand Bysack | Men's 1000 m time trial | 1:22.2  |
Suprovat Chakravarty | 1:22.9  | 4
Rohinton Noble | Men's 1000 m sprint | UK |
Bapoo Malcolm Sr. | UK | 4
Dhangar Lhanguard
Raj Kumar Mehra
Madan Mohan
Gurdev Singh | Men's 4000 m team pursuit | UK |

## Football

[edit]

Main article: Football at the 1951 Asian Games

### Summary

[edit]

Team  | Event  | Quarterfinal  | Semifinal  | Final / BM

|
|
|
|

Opposition
Score  | Opposition
Score  | Opposition
Score  | Rank
India | Men's team |  Indonesia
W 3–0  |  Afghanistan
W 3–0  |  Iran
W 1–0  |

### Roster

[edit]

Coach:  Syed Abdul Rahim

No. | Pos. | Player  | Date of birth (age)  | Club

|
|
|
|

| 1GK | Berland Anthony |  |  Bengal
| 2DF | Thenmaddom Varghese |  |  Bombay
| 2DF | Sailen Manna (c)  |  (1924-09-01)1 September 1924 (aged 26)  |  Mohun Bagan
| 3MF | Sheikh Abdul Latif |  (1928-08-15)15 August 1928 (aged 22)  |  Mohammedan Sporting
| 2DF | Chandan Singh Rawat |  (1928-07-26)26 July 1928 (aged 22)  |  Services
| 3MF | Noor Mohammed |  |  Hyderabad City Police
| 4FW | Pansanttom Venkatesh |  |  East Bengal
| 4FW | Sahu Mewalal |  (1926-07-01)1 July 1926 (aged 24)  |  Eastern Railway
| 4FW | Ahmed Khan |  (1926-12-24)24 December 1926 (aged 24)  |  Bengal
| 4FW | P. B. A. Saleh |  (1928-11-28)28 November 1928 (aged 22)  |  Bengal
| 1GK | Kenchappa Varadaraj |  (1924-05-07)7 May 1924 (aged 26)  |  Mysore
| 3MF | Thulukhanam Shanmugham |  (1920-06-19)19 June 1920 (aged 30)  |  Mysore
| 4FW | Santosh Nandy |  |  Bengal
| 2DF | Syed Khwaja Azizuddin |  (1930-07-12)12 July 1930 (aged 20)  |  Hyderabad City Police
| 2DF | Sunil Chatterjee  |  |  Bengal
| 3MF | Abhoy Ghosh  |  |  Bengal
| 3MF | Desmond Neville Devine-Jones |  (1928-08-15)15 August 1928 (aged 22)  |  Services
| 4FW | G. Y. S. Laiq  |  |  Hyderabad City Police
| 4FW | Loganathan  |  |  Madras
| 4FW | Madar Abdus Sattar |  |  Bengal
| 4FW | Runu Guha Thakurta |  |  Bengal
| 4FW | Abdul Majid Bachan |  |  Orissa

### Quarterfinals

[edit]

5 March 1951

16:15

India | 3–0|  Indonesia

|
|

Mewalal 27'
Siregar 42' (o.g.)
Venkatesh 45' | Report |

National Stadium, New Delhi

### Semifinals

[edit]

7 March 1951

16:15

India | 3–0|  Afghanistan

|
|

Venkatesh 10'
Mewalal 16'
Nandy 55' | Report |

National Stadium, New Delhi

### Gold medal match

[edit]

10 March 1951

17:00

India| 1–0| Iran

|
|

Mewalal 34' | Report |

National Stadium, New Delhi

All times are India Standard Time (UTC+05:00)

## Weightlifting

[edit]

Main article: Weightlifting at the 1951 Asian Games

Athlete  | Event[1][2][3][4] | Clean & press  | Snatch  | Clean & jerk  | Total (lb)  | Rank

|
|
|
|
|
|

Result (lb)  | Rank  | Result (lb)  | Rank  | Result (lb)  | Rank
R. Desai  | Men's bantamweight 56 kg | 145  | 6  | 160  | 6  | 210  | 6  | 515  | 6
V. W. Phenany  | 125  | 7  | 160  | 6  | 195  | 7  | 480  | 7
G. Sethuraman  | Men's featherweight 60 kg | 190  | 4  | 185  | 2  | 270  | 1  | 645  | 4
B. N. Ghosh  | Men's lightweight 67.5 kg | 175  | 5  | 170  | 6  | 245  | 4  | 590  | 5
Daniel Pon Mani  | 210  | 1  | 200  | 2  | \-  | DNF | 410  | DNF
J. D. Telang  | Men's light heavyweight 82.5 kg | 190  | 4  | 180  | 4  | 250  | 3  | 620  | 4
N. K. Nair  | 180  | 5  | 170  | 5  | 220  | 4  | 570  | 5
Kamineni Eswara Rao | Men's middle heavyweight 90 kg | 200  | 2  | 205  | 2  | 250  | 3  | 655  |
Dandamudi Rajagopal | Men's heavyweight +90 kg | 220  | 2  | 210  | 3  | 295  | 2  | 725  |

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "The Indian Express (7 March 1951)".
2. ^ a b c d "The Indian Express (8 March 1951)".
3. ^ a b c d e "The Indian Express (9 March 1951)".
4. ^ a b c d e "The Indian Express (10 March 1951)".
5. ^ a b c d "The Indian Express (11 March 1951)".
6. ^ a b c "The Indian Express (12 March 1951)".
7. ^ "Asian Games 1951 Indian medal winners".
8. ^ Majumdar, Rounak (22 April 2019). "The Golden Years of Indian Football". www.chaseyoursport.com. Kolkata: Chase Your Sport. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
9. ^ a b "The Indian Express (13 March 1951)".
10. ^ a b c d "Athletics Results - 1951 Asian Games" (PDF).
11. ^ "International Players (Senior) from Punjab Basketball Association".

* v
* t
* e

Nations at the 1951 Asian Games in Delhi, India

* Afghanistan
* Burma
* Ceylon
* India
* Indonesia
* Iran
* Japan
* Nepal
* Philippines
* Singapore
* Thailand

*[Q]: Qualified
*[UK]: unknown
*[DNF]: did not finish
*[DSQ]: disqualified
*[DNP]: did not participate
*[BM]: Bronze medal match
*[No.]: Number
*[Pos.]: Position
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template