#3 An Indian won a medal for Great Britain in 1948
Chintamoni Kar is a popular name in West Bengal. However, not many in the country know that Kar also won a medal in the Olympics, and that too not for India but for Great Britain. Born in 1915 at Kharagpur, Kar took his first lessons in painting at Abanindranth’s Oriental Art Society. In 1938 he went to Paris to learn sculpting, and he was in London between 1946-56 where he was a member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors.
At the 14th Olympic exhibition in London, he won a silver for his work Skating the Stag representing Great Britain. the 1948 Games were the final ones to include art competitions and much to Kar’s disappointment, the medals in those events are no longer recognised by the International Olympic Committee.
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