National and International Sports and Competition

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Participation of Indian Atheletes in Olympics and Para-Olympic Games

Atheletes in Olympics

India first participated at the Olympic Games in 1900, with a lone athlete (Norman Pritchard) winning two medals- both silver- in athletics. The nation first sent a team to the Summer Olympic Games in 1920, and has participated in every Summer Games since then. India has also competed at several Winter Olympic Games beginning in 1964. Indian athletes have won a total of 28 medals so far, all at the Summer Games. For a period of time, India national field hockey team was dominant in Olympic competition, winning eleven medals in twelve Olympics between 1920 and 1980. The run included 8 gold medals total and six successive gold medals from 1928–1956.

Norman Pritchard

Norman Gilbert Pritchard (23 June 1877 – 31 October 1929), also known by his stage name Norman Trevor, was a British-Indian sportsperson and actor who became the first first Asian-born athlete to win an Olympic medal when he won two silver medals in athletics at the 1900 Paris Olympics. He was of British ethnicity and moved to Great Britain permanently in 1905, where he became a successful stage actor, and later moved to the United States to work in Hollywood.

Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav

Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav was an Indian athlete. He is best known as a wrestler who won a bronze medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. He was one of the first athletes from India to win a medal in the Olympics.

After Norman Pritchard who won two silver medals in athletics in 1900, Khashaba was the first individual athlete from India to win a medal at the Olympics. In the years before Khashaba, India would only win gold medals in field hockey, a team sport. He is the only Indian Olympic medalist who never received a Padma Award. Khashaba was extremely nimble on his feet, which made him different from other wrestlers of his time. English coach Rees Gardner saw this trait in him and trained him prior to the 1948 Olympic game.

 

Leander Paes

The oldest man to have won a Glad Slam title, Leander Paes is an Indian professional tennis player considered to be among the best contemporary doubles players of the game. Over his career he has won eight doubles and six mixed doubles Grand Slam titles. Starting from 1992, he has competed in six consecutive Olympic Games thus making him the only Indian so far to have achieved this honour. Born into a family of sportspersons, it is no surprise that young Leander took to sports from an early age. He was just five when he started playing tennis and was coached at the Britannia Amritraj Tennis Academy which played a major role in developing him into the sportsman he ultimately became. His first big win came when he won the Wimbledon Junior title to become the No.1 in junior world ranking. From there started the stellar professional journey of this talented player as he went on to clinch one prestigious title after another. Paes has been honored by the Government of India with numerous awards for his contributions to sport.

Karnam Malleshwari

Karnam Malleswari is an eminent Indian weightlifter. She is famous for being the first Indian woman who won an Olympic medal for India. In the Sydney Olympics 2000, Malleshwari won the bronze medal in the 69kg class. 

Karnam Malleswari was born on June 1, 1975, in a small village of Andhra Pradesh called Srikakulamn. She practiced weightlifting in her village gymnasium at the tender age of 12. Her younger sister Krishna Kumari is also a national level weightlifter. Karnam Malleswari did her schooling from ZPPG High School in Amadalavalasa. Her father was a constable in the Railway Protection Force.

Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore

At the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, Rathore won a Gold Medal and set a new Commonwealth Games Record of 192 targets out of 200, which still stands. He also won the Team Gold Medal along with Moraad Ali Khan. Rathore, went on to successfully defend his Commonwealth Champion title by winning the Gold Medal at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in 2006. He also won the Silver in the Team event with Vikram Bhatnagar. He won Gold Medals in two World Shooting Championships, at Sydney in 2004 and Cairo in 2006.  Rathore rose to prominence when he won the silver at the 2004 Athens Olympics. It was India’s first ever individual silver at the Olympics.

Abhinav Bindra

Abhinav Bindra is a renowned Indian shooter who put India on the global shooting map by winning the gold in the 10 m Air Rifle event at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. He holds the honour of being the first Indian to win an individual Olympic gold. Born in a well-to-do Punjabi Sikh family, Bindra showed interest in shooting from an early age and to encourage his interest, his parents had an indoor shooting range installed at their home in Patiala, Punjab. He represented India in the 1998 Commonwealth Games, at the age of 15, and was the youngest participant in the games. He started getting noticed after he won a bronze medal in the 2001 Munich World Cup by creating a new junior world record score of 597/600. Thereafter, he never looked back and his career graph went up and up. Besides winning the Olympic gold medal, he has won several medals in Commonwealth Games over the years and has also won the World Shooting Championship. Bindra’s main contribution lay in the fact that he kindled public interest in shooting in India and has inspired many budding shooters to take the sport.

Sakshi Malik

Sakshi Malik is an Indian freestyle wrestler. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, she won the bronze medal in the 58 kg category, becoming the first Indian female wrestler to win a medal at the Olympics and the fourth female Olympic medalist from the country. She is a part of the JSW Sports Excellence Program, along with fellow female wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Babita Kumari and Geeta Phogat.

Yogeshwar Dutt

Yogeshwar Dutt is a wrestler from India who has emerged as one of India’s top wrestlers and has won plenty of medals to become one of the most well-known wrestlers of his generation. Dutt’s father and mother, both, were school teachers and they wanted him to follow in their footsteps but he showed an interest in wrestling from a very early age. As a child, he was inspired by the exploits of a wrestler from his native village and from then on he started taking wrestling seriously. He performed credibly at the school level and won some competitions that further reinforced his belief in his abilities. Yogeshwar Dutt came into the limelight as a top level wrestler in the 60 kg freestyle category at the Commonwealth Games held in Manchester in 2002 and from then on he went from strength to strength as a professional. Dutt overcame the shock of losing his father ahead of the Asian Games in 2006 and went on to win the gold medal at the event. However, his greatest moment as a wrestler was without doubt his bronze medal winning effort at the 2012 London Olympics and in the process he became one of the very few individual Olympic medalists from India.

Sushil Kumar

Sushil Kumar is an Indian World Champion wrestler who won the gold medal in the 66 kg freestyle competition at the FILA 2010 World Wrestling Championships, a silver medal in the Men’s 66kg Freestyle . started training at the Chhatrasal Stadium’s akhada at the age of 14. Trained at the akhada by Indian pehlwans Yashvir and Ramphal, and later by Arjuna awardee Satpal and then at the Railways camp by coach Gyan Singh,Sushil endured tough training conditions which included sharing a mattress with a fellow wrestler and sharing a dormitory with twenty others. at the age of 18 he became state champ.

Atheletes in paralympics

India made its Summer Paralympic début at the 1968 Games, competed again in 1972, and then was absent until the 1984 Games. The country has participated in every edition of the Summer Games since then. It has never participated in the Winter Paralympic Games.

In 1972 at the Heidelberg Games, Murlikant Petkar swam the 50 meter freestyle in a world record time of 37.331 seconds to give India her first ever Gold. India finished 24th out of the 42 participating nations. In 1984, Joginder Singh Bedi won silver at the Men’s Shot Put and followed it up with a pair of bronze winning performances in the Discus and Javelin throws. Another Indian, Bhimrao Kesarkar, won the silver medal in the Javelin. India finished 37th out of the 54 participating nations.

Devendra Jhajharia

Devendra Jhajharia (born 10 June 1981) is an Indian Paralympic javelin thrower competing in F46 events. The first Indian Paralympian to win two gold medals at the Paralympics, he won his first gold in the javelin throw at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, becoming only the second gold medalist at the Paralympics for his country. At the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, he won a second gold medal in the same event, bettering his previous record. Devendra is currently being supported by the GoSports Foundation through the Para Champions Programme.

 

Girisha Nagarajegowda

Girisha Hosanagara Nagarajegowda (born 26 January 1988), also known as Girish N. Gowda is paralympic high jumper from India. He was born with a disability in the left leg. He represented India in the 2012 Summer Paralympic games held in London in the men’s high jump F-42 category and won the silver medal in the finals with a jump of 1.74 meters using scissors technique. He became the first Indian to win a medal at that event. and the 8th Indian to win a medal at the Paralympics.

Rajinder Singh Rahelu

Rajinder Singh Rahelu (born 22 July 1973) is an Indian Paralympic powerlifter. He won a bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in the 56 kg category. He represented India at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, finishing fifth in the final standings. Arjuna Award recipient, Rahelu, represented India at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom; he failed in all his three attempts at 175 kilograms.

Murlikant Petkar

Murlikant Petkar is India’s first Paralympic gold medalist. He won an individual gold medal in the 1972 Summer Paralympics, in Heidelberg, Germany. He set a world record in the 50 m freestyle swimming event, at 37.33 seconds. In the same games he participated in javelin, precision javelin throw and slalom. He was a finalist in all three events. In 2018, he was awarded with the Padma Shri.

National Awards of Sports

The Arjuna Awards are given by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India to recognize outstanding achievement in sports. Started in 1961, the award carries a cash prize of ₹ 500,000, a bronze statue of Arjuna and a scroll. Over the years the scope of the award has been expanded and a large number of sports persons who belonged to the pre-Arjuna Award era were also included in the list. Further, the number of disciplines for which the award is given was increased to include indigenous games and the physically handicapped category.  The Government revises the criteria for the Arjuna Award over the years. As per the revised guidelines, to be eligible for the Award, a sportsperson should not only have had good performance consistently for the previous four years at the international level with excellence for the year for which the Award is recommended, but should also have shown qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and a sense of discipline.

dronacharya award

The Dronacharya Award, officially known as Dronacharya Award for Outstanding Coaches in Sports and Games, is sports coaching honour of the Republic of India. The award is named after Drona, often referred as “Dronacharya” or “Guru Drona”, a character from the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata of ancient India. He was master of advanced military warfare and was appointed as the royal preceptor to the Kaurava and the Pandava princes for their training in military arts and astras (Divine weapons). It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. Recipients are selected by a committee constituted by the Ministry and are honoured to have done “outstanding and meritorious work on a consistent basis and enabled sportspersons to excel in international events” over a period of four years. Two awards are designated for the lifetime contribution in coaching where the achievements in producing “outstanding sportspersons” over a period of 20 years or more are considered. As of 2017, the award comprises a bronze statuette of Dronacharya, a certificate, ceremonial dress, and a cash prize of ₹5 lakh .

 

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award

The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, officially known as Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in Sports and Games, is the highest sporting honour of the Republic of India. The award is named after Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India who served the office from 1984 to 1989. It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The recipient(s) is/are selected by a committee constituted by the Ministry and is honoured for their “spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports over a period of four years” at international level. As of 2017, the award comprises a medallion, a certificate, and a cash prize of ₹7.5 lakh.

Instituted in 1991–92, the award was given for the performance by a sportsperson in a year. Based on the suggestions provided by 2014 award selection committee, the Ministry revised the criteria in February 2015 to consider the performance over a period of four years. The nominations for a given year are accepted till 30 April or last working day of April with not more than two sportspersons nominated for each sports discipline. A twelve-member committee evaluates the performances of a sportsperson at various International events like Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Asian Games, and Commonwealth Games. The committee later submits their recommendations to the Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports for further approval.

The first recipient of the award was Chess Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand, who was honoured for the performance in the year 1991–92. In 2001, sport shooter Abhinav Bindra, then aged 18, became the youngest recipient of the award.Usually conferred upon only one sportsperson in a year, a few exceptions have been made (1993–94, 2002, 2009, 2012, and 2016–17) when multiple recipients were awarded in a year. As of 2017, there have been thirty-four recipients from fourteen sport disciplines: Athletics, Badminton, Billiards, Boxing, Chess, Cricket, Field hockey, Gymnastics, Shooting, Snooker, Tennis, Wrestling, Weightlifting, and Yacht racing. The most recent recipients of the award are Para Athlete Javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia and Hockey player Sardara Singh.

 

Maharana Pratap Award

Players are honored with ‘Maharana Pratap Award’ for outstanding achievements at National and International level by the Rajasthan State Sports Council. Maharana Pratap Award is being awarded from 1982-83. As of year 2015-16 163 players from Rajasthan have been honored with the Maharana Pratap Award. The selected players in the Maharana Pratap award are presently in the Rs. 1 lakh cash, Maharana Pratap’s brass statue, Blazer Muay tie and citation are awarded.

 

National Sports Policy 2001

following points are the highlights of the policy:

  • Upgradation and development of infrastructure,
  • Support to the national sports federations and appropriate bodies,
  • Strengthening of scientific and coaching support to sports,
  • Incentives to sportspersons,
  • Enhanced participation of women, tribals and rural youth,
  • Involvement of the corporate sector in sports promotion,
  • Creation of greater awareness among the public

Khelo India

Khelo India School Games was held recently which is going to have a pan India impact. The school children will get the exposure required. It is going to have a lasting impact especially with the scholarship being introduced which is a remarkable initiative by Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The children will receive an annual scholarship worth Rs. 5.00 lakh for 8 consecutive years. Since parents complain about lack of financial support, the initiative is a step in the right direction. This will make education and sports find a right balance. Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports launched the PLEDGE for Khelo Indiaat the Khelo India School Games Carnival. The pledge is a promise to participate and encourage sportsmanship spirit and it is aimed at inspiring youngsters to build mass participation and excellence in sports.

Features of khelo india

  • Focussed on building an inclusive and comprehensive sports ecosystem in the country, Khelo India will lay emphasis on inculcating sports into the day to day lives of youngsters early in their lives.
  • Khelo India School Games concentrates on creating a platform to showcase hidden talent, creating awareness and cognizance about physical fitness as well as good health amongst youngsters.
  • 2000 children will be receiving Rs 2000 as prize money if they win in the competitions at the block, district and national levels. This can give a big boost to the children at pan India level.
  • The Khelo India is not limited to only children; it goes beyond 35 to 50 years age group. It looks changing the lifestyle of people both in rural and urban India.
  • The coaches have stagnated in terms of upgrading their knowledge and attention is given for upgrading coach’s knowledge and development. The focus is moved away from constructing large stadiums into developing neighbourhood playing areas. If people of India start playing an hour a day we not only become a better sporting nation, we will also be a healthier nation.

Draft National Sports (Development) Bill, 2011

The National Sports Policy, 1984 aimed at improving the standard of sport in India. Subsequently, the National Sports Policy 2001 envisioned the central government working in conjunction with the state governments, the Indian Olympic Association (‘IOA’) and the National Sports Federations (‘NSFs’) to concertedly pursue the twin objectives of “Broad- basing” of Sports and “Achieving Excellence in Sports at the National and International levels”. The Comprehensive National Sports Policy 2007 endeavoured to put in place a framework for sports in India based on an inclusive model with the full ownership and involvement of all stakeholders. However, these policies faced stiff opposition from NSFs and the IOA and hence were not implemented.

Basic Universal Principles of Good Governance 

The Draft aims to remain consistent with the core principles spelt out in the “Basic Universal Principles of Good Governance” proposed by the International Olympic Committee (“IOC’) and endorsed by the Olympic Congress in 2009. The IOC Code of Ethics state that ‘The basic universal principles of good governance of the Olympic and sports movement, in particular transparency, responsibility and accountability, must be respected by all Olympic Movement constituents.’

The reason these principles are sought to be enforced through legislation is that in 2010, the MYAS had engaged in a dialogue with the IOC and IOA to expedite the process of reform of the IOA. The IOA and the IOC had assured the MYAS that appropriate amendments would be made to the constitution of the IOA and to ensure that it remained consistent with the Olympic Charter. The subsequent changes made by the IOA, which were ratified by the IOC, however only served the purpose of diluting the reform process that was sought to be implemented.

National Sports Development Council 

The Draft empowers the Government to take all such measures, including notification of regulations, policies, rules, procedures and guidelines, as it deems necessary or expedient, for promoting the development of sport. Further, the Government may also constitute a National Sports Development Council to advise it on matters related to sport. The Council is ideated to consist of members from the various NSFs, experts in sports law, eminent athletes, sports scientists, etc., appointed for a non-renewable term of 4 years and involves the participation of athletes in the decision making process. The Council is to be headed by an Eminent Athlete who has won and been awarded prominent national and international awards in his/her sport. More importantly, the Council would also represent active athletes with up to three active athletes to be appointed to the Council and two- third of the voting rights for all decisions to be taken by the Council are retained in favour of members who are not affiliated to affiliated to NSFs, the central government or SAI. This represents a significant step in ensuring that past and present athletes would have a say in the administration of sports in India and is a proposal that has received overwhelming support.

Demarcation of Responsibilities  

The Draft envisages roles and responsibilities for the central government, SAI, the IOA and NSFs. The central government is primarily entrusted with the task of determining the eligibility conditions for recognition of the NSFs and the IOA; SAI with providing the necessary support to NSFs for organising preparatory camps for the selected national teams or athletes for participation in international competitions; and every NSF will be held responsible and accountable at the national level for the overall promotion and development of the sport for which it is granted recognition.

Recognition of National Sports Federations 

The central government may recognise no more than one NSF for each sport. Primarily, each NSF may represent or purport to represent itself as the recognized NSF for the sport and to represent India at various levels; regulate the sport in India; and select athletes to represent the country at the international level. The criteria for recognition of NSFs are also established with each NSF that wishes to be recognised mandatorily required to abide with certain norms such as financial accountability, professional management, and recognition by the IOA, status as an apex body, etc.

New sports policy india

The Government has announced its new sports policy to encourage conduct of international and national events in popular sports, and 13 sporting events have been identified in the high priority list.

These include athletics, badminton, hockey, shooting, tennis, weight lifting, wrestling, archery, boxing, football, kabaddi, volleyball and kho-kho. The international events conducted in these streams will be sanctioned Rs. 20 lakh by the government, while Rs. 15 lakh would be sanctioned for national events and Rs. 5 lakhs for inter-district tournaments.

The associations of various sports have to be recognised by the respective National Sports Federations approved by the Government of India or Indian Olympic Association and they should conduct State championships across age groups and gender on regular basis. For eligibility, these associations should be recognised by the Sports Authority of Telangana State and must be effectively operation for at least preceding three years and regularly submitted their audited accounts to Sports Authority of Telangana State.

 

Eminent Players of India

Anup Sridhar

Anup Sridhar, the 23 years old National Badminton Champion, made a triumphant mark in the year 2005 in the 30th

Hungarian International. Winning this prestigious international tournament, Anup Sridhar attracted the attention of many a famous badminton personalities.  Anup Sridhar reached the quarter final of BWF World Championships in the year 2007 where he played against Lin Dan – one of the top seeds. Being a National Champion for two times, Anup Sridhar has become one of the most popular badminton players of India.

Prakash Padukone

Prakash Padukone is a renowned badminton player of Indian origin who has created the record of being the National Champion from the year 1970 to 1978. Prakash Padukone was born in Bangalore city, Karnataka in the year 1955.  Having a keen interest in badminton, Prakash Padukone used to watch the tournaments played by famous players with great curiosity. This very interest and his personal zeal made him the National Junior Champion at the tender age of 14.

In the year 1971, Prakash Padukone won both the boy’s and men’s singles tournament. Achieving the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in the year 1978 was a big boost to his career. The triumph in the All England Badminton Championship is the next big leap in the career of Prakash Padukone which took place in the year 1980.

Some of the major achievements of Prakash Padukone in the field of badminton are listed below:

  • Receiver of Padmashree award in the year 1982
  • National senior champion from 1971 to 1979
  • Winner of First Open Prize money tournament in Pune in the year of 1981
  • Receiver of Arjuna Award in 1972
  • Winner of Dutch Open in 1982 English Masters at royal Albert Hall of London in the year 1979
  • Gold medalist at commonwealth Games of 1978
  • Winner of hong Kong Open in the year 1982
  • Trained the team that bagged the silver medal in the Men’s Event & bronze medal in the Women’s Event, Commonwealth Games of 1998
  • Bagged bronze medal in the 1983 Copenhagen World championships

Saina Nehwal

Saina Nehwal, an Indian badminton player, was born on 17 March 1990 in Hisar District, Haryana. She is currently ranked number 1 in the world by the Badminton World Federation and is the first Indian woman to achieve this feat. She is also the first Indian to win the World Junior Badminton Championships and a medal in Badminton at the Olympics. She won a Bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics, becoming the second Indian women to win an individual medal at the sports event. She is supported by the Olympic Gold Quest.

Saina started her badminton training under the apt guidance of S.M. Arif, who was a Dronacharya Awardee. She is currently coached by Indonesian badminton legend Atik Jauhari along with the former all England champion and national coach Pullela Gopichand as her mentor. Being born to Harvir Singh Nehwal, who is a scientist at Directorate of Oilseeds Research and Usha Nehwal, Saina Nehwal has always received the support of her family members.

Saina Nehwal trains at Pullela Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad. From her initial years as a badminton player, she has always shown a lot of potential in herself. Being a National Junior champion, she has performed well in major tournaments, both in national and international ones. She has clearly made a mark of her own.

In 2006, Saina Nehwal became the first Indian woman to win a super-series tournament, the Philippines Open. In 2008, she became the first Indian to win the World Junior Badminton Championships. She also won the 2008 Chinese Taipei Open Grand Prix Gold, the Indian National Badminton Championships and the Commonwealth Youth Games in the same year. She was declared as the most promising player in 2008.

In the 2012 London Olympics, Saina Nehwal won a bronze medal and became the first Indian to win an Olympic medal in badminton. For her huge achievement the state governments of Haryana, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh offered her huge cash prizes and the Sports Minister promised Saina a job equivalent to the rank of an IAS officer. Her success at the Olympics has surely opened new doors for sports to grow in India.

Awards and Accolades :

2009: Arjuna Award

2009-2010: Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna

2010: Padma Shri

  1. V. Sindhu
  2. V. Sindhu or Pusarla Venkata Sindhu is an ace shuttler and silver medalist at 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. This young badminton player from Andhra Pradesh was born to volleyball players P. V. Ramana and P. Vijaya in the year 1995. Her father was honoured with Arjuna Award for having displayed excellence in his sport. One of the youngest and talented badminton players of the contemporary times, Sindhu has featured in top 10 in the world badminton rankings for the most part of 2014.
  3. V. Sindhu’s Recognitions
  • On 7 July 2012, she won Asia Youth Under-19 Championship. In the same year, she stunned London 2012 Olympics gold medallist from China and entered the semi-finals of Li Ning China Masters Super Series tournament.
  • Sindhu’s performance at Malaysian open 2013 made her win the maiden Grand Prix Gold title.
  • The best moment in her career perhaps came in the same year when she became India’s first medallist in women’s singles at the Badminton World Championships.
  • V. Sindhu ended 2013 on a happy note by winning Macau Open Grand Prix Gold title, and the Arjun Award, one of the highest honours for a sportsperson in the country.
  • In 2014, she won back-to-back medals in the World Badminton Championship and became the first Indian to do that.
  • In 2015, she played at the Denmark Open and reached to the final defeating three seeded players, namely Tai Tzu-ying, Wang Yihan and Carolina Marin. In November the same year, she defeated Japan’s Minatsu Mitani and bagged successive women’s singles title at the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold.
  • 2016 brought her another achievement of winning the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold women’s singles title, where she defeated Scotland’s Kirsty Gilmour in the final. In August, she reached the semifinal of the women’s singles event at the 2016 Summer Olympics after defeating World No.2 Wang Yihan.
  • She created history by reaching the finals after beating Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara in the women’s singles semi-final in the Rio Olympics. She won a silver medal in the finals, while the gold has been taken by Spain’s Carolina Marin.
  • She defeated Carolina Marin and won 2017 India Open Superseries title.

Mary Kom

Mary Kom is an Indian boxer from the northeast state of Manipur, born on 1st March 1983, Mangte Chungneijang. She is also known as MC Mary Kom or Magnificent Mary. Mary Kom is famed as a five-time World Boxing Champion and the only boxer to win a medal in every one of the six world championships. In the 2012 Olympics, she became the first Indian women boxer to qualify and win a bronze medal in the 51 kg flyweight category of Boxing. She is currently ranked as Number. 4 in the Flyweight category of AIBA World Women’s Ranking.

Mary Kom’s career started in 2000 after her victory in the Manipur state women’s boxing championship and the regional championship in West Bengal.

 

Awards and recognitions

  • Arjuna Award (Boxing) in 2003
  • Padma Shree (Sports) in 2006
  • Contender for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 2007
  • People of the Year – Limca Book of Records in 2007
  • CNN-IBN & Reliance Industries’ Real Heroes Award in 2008
  • Pepsi MTV Youth Icon in 2008
  • ‘Magnificent Mary’, AIBA in 2008
  • Felicitation by Zomi Students’ Federation (ZSF) at New Lamka YPA Hall in 2008
  • Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 2009
  • International Boxing Association’s Ambassador for Women’s Boxing in 2009
  • Sportswoman of the year, Sahara Sports Award in 2010

Anju Bobby George

Anju Bobby George (born 19 April 1977) is a renowned Indian athlete. She is a recipient of many sports honours at both national and international levels. Currently, she is the Chairperson of Target Olympic Podium Scheme(TOPS) and is also the Khelo India project ‘s Executive member.

In 1999, she set the national record for triple jump in the Bangalore Federation Cup. She improved on her own record in the National Circuit Meet at Thiruvananthapuram. She won the gold medals in the triple jump and long jump in the Ludhiana and Hyderabad National Games. She won the gold medal at the Asian Games in Busan, South Korea. Anju Bobby George hit headlines in 2003 when she won the bronze medal (Long Jump, jumping 6.7 m) at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics. This made her the first India to win a medal at the World Championships in Athletics. Her personal best was a jump of 6.83 m at the 2004 Summer Olympics at Athens, but it fetched her only the sixth position. Her other victories include a silver medal in women’s long jump in the Doha Asian Games, 2006.

 

Awards and recognition 

  • Anju Bobby George was a recipient of the prestigious Arjuna award in 2002-2003.
  • Anju Bobby George was also awarded the country’s highest sporting honour, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 2003-2004.
  • Anju Bobby George was awarded the Padma Shri in 2004.

Kapil Dev

Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj is also known by other name is “The Haryana Hurricane” was born on 6 January 1959 in Chandigarh. He led India to their first and only World Cup title in 1983 and was named by Wisden as the Indian Cricketer of the Century in 2002. Kapil Dev made his international cricket debut against Pakistan at Faisalabad in 1978-79.

He was a very successful bowler. Kapil became the second bowler ever to take 400 wickets in Test cricket in 1991. He went on to become the highest Test wicket-taker in the world in 1994, a record which was broken by Courtney Walsh in 1999. Kapil’s name has entered the record books for being the only player to have scored 4,000 Test runs and taken 400 Test wickets. In 1988, Kapil becomes the highest wicket-taker in ODI cricket before his record was broken by Wasim Akram in 1994.

A very attacking player, he loved to take the fight to the opposition’s camp. One of his most memorable innings was in a match en route to the World Cup final of 1983 when he scored 175 not out against Zimbabwe, rescuing India from a precarious position at 17/5 and finally turning the game in India’s favour.

He retired from cricket in 1994 and was appointed as the coach of the Indian national cricket team in 1999, but he resigned in 2000. He was awarded the Arjuna Award for 1979-80, the Padma Shri in 1982 and the Padma Bhushan in 1991.

 

 

Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is a former cricketer and captain of the Indian team. The world famous cricketer had set many records in his career and is considered one of the greatest batsmen of all times. He is the cricketer with most centuries scored among all the cricketers and he is the only one to score more than 30,000 runs in the game.

Ashwini Nachappa

Ashwini Nachappa is a former athlete and an Indian film actress from Karnataka. She gained popularity during the 1980s after outrunning P.T. Usha on two separate occasions. She is popularly known as ‘Flo Jo’, or ‘Florence Griffith Joyner of India’. Like Flo Jo, Nachappa was known for her performances in the field along with her glamorous appearance. Her popularity and glamour-queen outlook brought her many film proposals, which she later accepted, only to become a well-known film actress in ‘Tollywood’, the south Indian film industry. She was honored with the Arjuna Award in the year 1990. She is also a social worker and an educationalist besides being an entrepreneur (she runs her own school). Currently, she is the president of the Bangalore Urban District Athletics Association.

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