Ages back when the sports were originated as an alternative to war, it was always believed that only men are capable of participating in games or sports tournaments. But then the dynamics changed: women came out of their shells and started indulging actively in sports activities and within a period of time, they turned themselves into excellent sportswomen. Earlier, in India, cricket used to be the only game which was largely followed. But with the course of time, the other sports too crept into our attention—all because of women players. And now, when the entire world is moving towards a new era, our women have registered themselves in numerous record books.On this occasion of
On this occasion of International Women’s Day, let’s remember the glories of our women sportstars:
Pusarla Venkata Sindhu
This 21-year-old shuttler from Hyderabad became the first Indian woman to win a silver medal in the Olympics. In a male-dominated cricketing nation, this professional badminton player stands out both for her choice of sport and her victories on the grand stage; and now, she mints more cash than former Indian skipper MS Dhoni—in terms of brand endorsements—and second only to Virat Kohli. She has also been honoured with Arjuna Award in 2013, Padma Shri award in 2015 and Rajiv Gandhi Khel award in 2016.
Sakshi Malik
Haryana’s chhori, the girl who stunned the entire world by her wrestling moves, grabbed the bronze medal for India in the Rio Olympics 2016. The 24-year-old Sakshi started her professional career from 2010 and won a silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and a bronze medal at the 2015 Asian Wrestling Championships, Doha. She has received Rajiv Gandhi Khel Award in 2016 and Padma Shri award in 2017.
Dipa Karmakar
She is the first Indian women gymnast ever to compete in Olympics. In Rio Olympics 2016, she stood 4th in the final events and was highly appreciated for her marvellous performance. She drew all attention in 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow when she grabbed a bronze medal and became the first Indian female gymnast to do so on such high platform. Dipa Karmakar has another achievement to her name as she became one of the only five women who has successfully landed the Produnova—regarded as the most difficult vault currently performed in women’s gymnastics. Dipa has received the Padma Shri award in 2017.
Harmanpreet Kaur
The Punjabi Kudi who is the leading the ‘women in blues’ like a boss. Captain of the women’s T20 national side, Kaur has scored 992 runs in 61 T20 games, 1494 runs in 55 ODI and 26 runs in 2 Tests. Harmanpreet is the first and the only Indian woman cricketer who has played the Big Bash T20 League in Australia. She represented Sydney Thunder in the 2016-17 edition of the Women BBL. Recently, in the finals of the ICC World Cup qualifier against South Africa, Harmanpreet led the Indian team to the victory and finished the match in Dhoni style—hitting a six in the last ball of the game.
Mithali Raj
Another classic Indian woman cricketer who is ruling the game is Mithali Raj. Her batting skills and leadership is exceptional. The 34-year-old Indian captain has scored 5614 runs in 172 ODIs and 1708 runs in 63 T20Is. Mithali led the Indian Women’s team to the finals of the of 2005 where the team lost to Australia. She received Arjuna Award in 2003 and Padma Sri award in 2015. The No 2 ICC ODI batsman, Raj is to be awarded at the BCCI Annual awards for being the best International cricketer of the year.
Phogat Sisters (Geeta Phogat, Babita Phogat)
Last but not the least is the Dhaakad Chhoriyan from Haryana, the stars of the real life Dangal—Gita and Babita Phogat. We all knew them as sportspersons before we all watched the movie, but then, the struggle that they went through to achieve what they are today and the dedication of their father Mahavir Singh Phogat was new. Geeta won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championship in 2009 and then won first ever gold medal for India in wrestling at the Commonwealth Games 2010 held in India. Her younger sister Babita Phogat is no less than her on the wrestling mat. Babita started winning medals right from 2009 when she bagged her first Gold in 2009 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship in the women’s freestyle 51 kg category. Then she won a silver in the same weight category at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India and later, a gold medal at the 2012 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship and another gold in 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Inuth.com sports team wishes all the women a Very Happy Women’s Day!
