As our countdown to Aichi-Nagoya 2026 continues, let’s travel back to Tehran 1974, the seventh edition of the Asian Games.

India returned to the Asian Games after winning 25 medals in Bangkok in 1970 and produced a slightly larger haul in Tehran:

🥇 4 Gold
🥈 12 Silver
🥉 12 Bronze
🏅 28 Medals

India finished 7th in the medal table.

Although India won fewer gold medals than in 1970, the Games saw several outstanding performances and marked the emergence of a new generation of Indian athletes.

🏃 Athletics Once Again Leads the Way

Athletics was by far India’s biggest medal contributor, producing 15 of India’s 28 medals — more than half of the country’s total.

India’s four athletics gold medals came from:

🥇 Sriram Singh — 800m
🥇 Shivnath Singh — 5000m
🥇 T. C. Yohannan — Long Jump
🥇 Vijay Singh Chauhan — Decathlon

Several other Indian athletes also reached the podium.

Shivnath Singh won silver in the 10,000m in addition to his 5000m gold, while Sriram Singh also helped India win silver in the 4×400m relay.

India’s other athletics silver medallists were Gurmej Singh, Mohinder Singh Gill, Bahadur Singh Chouhan, Praveen Kumar and Nirmal Singh.

The bronze medals came from Lehan Singh, Satish Pillai, Jagraj Singh Mann and Suresh Babu.

🥊 Boxing Adds Five Medals

Boxing was India’s second-biggest contributor with five medals.

🥈 Major Singh — 75kg
🥈 Mehtab Singh — 81kg
🥈 Til Bahadur Bura — 81+kg
🥉 Chandra Narayanan — 51kg
🥉 Muniswamy Venu — 60kg

India didn’t win a boxing gold in Tehran, but five medals demonstrated the strength of the country’s boxing programme.

🤼 Wrestling Remains a Medal Mainstay

India won four wrestling medals, all bronze.

🥉 Satbir Singh — 52kg Freestyle
🥉 Satpal Singh — 82kg Freestyle
🥉 Sukhchain Singh Cheema — 100kg Freestyle
🥉 Sukhchain Singh Cheema — 100kg Greco-Roman

Cheema’s two bronze medals made him one of India’s multiple medallists in Tehran.

🎯 Karni Singh Wins Two Shooting Medals

One of India’s most experienced shooters, Karni Singh, added two medals:

🥈 Trap
🥉 Skeet

His double-medal performance added another sport to India’s medal-winning campaign.

🏑 Hockey Silver & 🏸 Badminton Bronze

Indian men’s hockey continued its tradition of reaching the Asian Games podium, winning silver in Tehran.

Meanwhile, badminton produced an interesting piece of history.

India won bronze in the men’s team event, with the team including Prakash Padukone.

Padukone would later become one of India’s greatest badminton players, making Tehran an early chapter in his international career.

📊 1970 vs 1974

India actually won three more medals in Tehran than in Bangkok.

However, gold medals fell from 6 to 4, while silver increased from 9 to 12 and bronze from 10 to 12.

The result was a larger overall medal haul but a drop from 5th to 7th in the medal table.

🏅 India’s 28 Medals at Tehran 1974

🥇 Gold — 4

• Sriram Singh — Athletics, 800m
• Shivnath Singh — Athletics, 5000m
• T. C. Yohannan — Athletics, Long Jump
• Vijay Singh Chauhan — Athletics, Decathlon

🥈 Silver — 12

• Shivnath Singh — Athletics, 10,000m
• Gurmej Singh — Athletics, 3000m Steeplechase
• Mohinder Singh Gill — Athletics, Triple Jump
• Bahadur Singh Chouhan — Athletics, Shot Put
• Praveen Kumar — Athletics, Discus Throw
• Nirmal Singh — Athletics, Hammer Throw
• 4×400m Relay Team — Athletics
• Major Singh — Boxing, 75kg
• Mehtab Singh — Boxing, 81kg
• Til Bahadur Bura — Boxing, 81+kg
• Indian Men’s Hockey Team — Hockey
• Karni Singh — Shooting, Trap

🥉 Bronze — 12

• Lehan Singh — Athletics, 400m Hurdles
• Satish Pillai — Athletics, Long Jump
• Jagraj Singh Mann — Athletics, Shot Put
• Suresh Babu — Athletics, Decathlon
• Indian Men’s Badminton Team — Badminton
• Chandra Narayanan — Boxing, 51kg
• Muniswamy Venu — Boxing, 60kg
• Karni Singh — Shooting, Skeet
• Satbir Singh — Wrestling, 52kg Freestyle
• Satpal Singh — Wrestling, 82kg Freestyle
• Sukhchain Singh Cheema — Wrestling, 100kg Freestyle
• Sukhchain Singh Cheema — Wrestling, 100kg Greco-Roman

Why Tehran 1974 Matters

Tehran was not India’s most successful Asian Games by medal-table position, but it was an important transitional edition.

India’s medal haul increased from 25 to 28, while athletes such as Sriram Singh, Shivnath Singh and T. C. Yohannan established themselves on the Asian stage.

The Games also provided an early international platform for Prakash Padukone, who would go on to become one of India’s most influential badminton figures.

Most importantly, India’s traditional strengths remained intact:

🏃 Athletics — 15 medals
🥊 Boxing — 5 medals
🤼 Wrestling — 4 medals

Together, these three sports delivered 24 of India’s 28 medals — nearly 86% of the total.

From 13 medals in Tokyo 1958 to 28 in Tehran 1974, India’s Asian Games journey was steadily evolving.