NATIONAL SPORTS DAY 2023: India is celebrating National Sports Day today on August 29, the birth anniversary of India’s greatest hockey player, Major Dhyan Chand. And that also makes it a perfect day to look back at the journey of some of India’s biggest sportswomen and relive their triumphs. In recent years, India has seen several female athletes shine at some of the premier sporting events in the world. These women have toiled and taken the path less trodden to represent their nation on the international stage. Let’s take a look at some of these names.
Karnam Malleswari
Laying the foundation for Indian Women’s Sports, Karnam Malleswari won bronze at Sydney 2000 in weightlifting. Most importantly, she became the first Indian woman ever to win a medal at the Olympics. She instilled a self-belief in Indian women athletes, letting them know that they could also bring a ton of pride to the nation. She has inspired the next generation of sports for women in India.
PT Usha
PT Usha, the Queen of Indian track and field, enjoyed a decorated career winning several medals for India. She was born to a poor family in Meladi-Payyoli, Kerala. Despite the lack of money and malnourishment, Usha showed early promise in sports. Her former coach, OM Nambiar, recognised Usha’s potential and helped her become the sports icon she is today. The sprinter won 23 medals, including 14 Golds, for India. After a fitting end to her career, Usha was elected the President of the Indian Olympic Association in 2022.
Saina Nehwal
Saina Nehwal became the first-ever badminton player to win an Olympic medal for India in the London 2012 Games. Former World Number One, Saina won 24 international titles, including 10 superseries. However, it wasn’t all glory in the ace badminton’s journey to the top. Saina took up badminton at eight years old when her family moved from Haryana to Hyderabad. She had a difficult time socialising with other kids since she was not familiar with the local language. Her primary drive was to fulfil her mother’s dream of becoming a national-level badminton player.
Mary Kom
One of the most celebrated boxers in India, Mary Kom’s journey is an inspiration to thousands of women. Born into an economically backward Manipuri household, Mary Kom lacked support from her family and society to pursue a boxing career. Despite all the odds, she became the first and currently the only Indian woman boxer to win a medal at the Olympics. She later won a gold medal in the Asian Games 2014 in South Korea. She has participated in 19 premier boxing tournaments representing India, winning 13 of them.
PV Sindhu
PV Sindhu was born to PV Ramana, who represented the bronze-winning volleyball team of the 1986 Seoul Asian Games. Though her parents wanted Sindhu to take up Volleyball, she was inspired by the 2001 All England Open Badminton Champion, Pullela Gopichand. Sindhu won bronze at the Asian Championship, and BWF World Championship followed by the Commonwealth Games in 2014. She next won silver at the South Asian Games. Sindhu also became the BWF World Champion in 2019.
Comments
0 comment