Who was the first Indian athlete to win an individual Olympic medal for India in the modern Olympic Games?

Introduction / Context:
India has a long association with the Olympic Games, initially known mainly for its dominance in men hockey. However, the first individual Olympic medal for India came from a different sport. This question checks whether the learner can recall the name of the first Indian athlete who secured an individual medal in the modern Olympics, which is a classic fact in Indian sports history and very important for competitive exams and sports general knowledge.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• We are talking about the modern Olympic Games.
• The focus is on an individual medal, not a team medal.
• Options include Milkha Singh, P. T. Usha, Karnam Malleswari and K. D. Jadhav.
• We must identify who among them was the first to win an individual Olympic medal for India.

Concept / Approach:
The concept needed is basic sports history. India won several team gold medals in hockey before any individual medals were won. The first individual medal came in wrestling. The approach is to recall which athlete and which year are associated with this milestone, and then to match that name to the given options. Knowledge of later achievements, such as Olympic medals in weightlifting and athletics, helps eliminate wrong options that relate to later periods.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall that the first individual Olympic medal for India came in wrestling at the Helsinki Olympics in 1952.Step 2: The wrestler who achieved this was Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav, commonly written as K. D. Jadhav.Step 3: Look at the options and identify K. D. Jadhav as one of the choices.Step 4: Milkha Singh and P. T. Usha are legendary track athletes but did not win Olympic medals, although they came close.Step 5: Karnam Malleswari is a later Olympic medallist in weightlifting, not the first overall.Step 6: Therefore the correct answer is K. D. Jadhav.

Verification / Alternative check:
To verify, we can recall the timeline of Indian Olympic medal winners. K. D. Jadhav won bronze in wrestling in 1952. Karnam Malleswari won a bronze medal in women weightlifting in the Sydney 2000 Olympics, which was India s first individual medal by a woman but not the first individual medal overall. No Indian track athlete had secured an Olympic medal before these dates. This supports the conclusion that K. D. Jadhav is the first Indian individual Olympic medallist.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Milkha Singh is remembered as the Flying Sikh and narrowly missed a medal in the 400 metre race in the Rome 1960 Olympics, so he is not the correct answer. P. T. Usha came very close to a medal in the 400 metre hurdles in the Los Angeles 1984 Olympics but finished fourth. Karnam Malleswari did win an Olympic medal, but much later in 2000 and therefore is not the first Indian to do so. Only K. D. Jadhav fits the historical requirement of being the first individual medallist.

Common Pitfalls:
Many learners mix up the first woman Olympic medallist and the first individual Olympic medallist from India. Some also confuse near medal performances of famous runners with actual medals. Another common confusion is between team medals in hockey and individual medals. Carefully reading the phrase "individual medal" and remembering that wrestling provided the first such medal through K. D. Jadhav helps avoid these mistakes.

Final Answer:
The first Indian to win an individual Olympic medal was K. D. Jadhav.