Sportswomen bringing laurels to the nation has not just been a matter of pride for Indians but also encouraged girls to break the gender stereotypes and take up sports. Here are some Indian sportswomen who are currently making India proud.
1. Sania Mirza
Her maiden women’s doubles Grand Slam title at Wimbledon earlier this year and two other doubles titles prior to her win with Martina Hingis has established Sania Mirza as the most dominant female Indian athlete in the country. She is currently at a career-best No 1 WTA rank in doubles, the first Indian female to achieve the feat. Sania, who is set to receive the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna for her exploits in women’s tennis, is only the second Indian tennis player after Leander Paes to be named for country’s top sporting honour. Paes had been bestowed the honour way back in 1996 after his bronze medal in the Atlanta Olympics. The 28-year-old, who has won three mixed doubles Grand Slams in her career, beat competition from squash player Deepika Pallikal, discus thrower Vikas Gowda, track and field star Tintu Luka, rising shuttler P V Sindhu, and hockey captain Sardar Singh for the coveted award.
2. Saina Nehwal
Saina Nehwal is the first women in India’s sporting history to reach the World No 1 rank in Badminton. Prakash Padukone was the last Indian player to have reached the numero uno status nearly 35 years back.
India’s sporting landscape is already a male dominated phenomenon with cricket being the country’s most followed sport. However, the range in the earnings from cricket for professionals is huge with the men earning more money compared to women.
“It’s difficult to play any other sport in a cricket-mad country, especially if you are a woman,” said Nehwal after clinching the No 1 badminton rank by beating Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon in Indian Open Super Series final in New Delhi.
Seeing Nehwal’s rise in badminton, the country will root for more girls to take up the sport. “But I’m glad mindsets are slowly changing. Girls have started saying that if boys can do it, girls can do it as well,” Nehwal said.
A day after Indian cricketers’ World Cup loss in semifinal last week in Australia, Indian media were quick to hail Nehwal, who has battled injuries and a string of defeats by the dominating Chinese, as the country’s new sporting icon.
We take a look at some of the other women who have made our country proud on international stage with their sporting performances.
3. Saba Anjum
She is a former India hockey forward and the member of the gold-winning 2010 Commonwealth Games team.
4. Mithali Raj
She is the first woman from India and Asia to score a double hundred in Tests. She held the record for the highest score in Women’s Tests – 214 against England, 2002 – that stood for 19 months.
5. PV Sindhu
This 19 year old became the first Indian women to win a medal in World Badminton Championships, in 2013.
6. Arunima Sinha
This 27 year-old is first Indian amputee to climb the Mt. Everest. A former national football and volleyball player, she lost her leg after she was pushed from a running train while resisting an attack from thieves in 2011.
7. MC Mary Kom
She has been the poster child for Indian woman in sports for a long time now. The five time world champion has proved that a sportswoman’s career need not be bogged down by pressures of family commitments.
8. Heena Sidhu
“In India you can’t make a profession out of sport unless you are a cricketer,” said Heena Sidhu, who became India’s first world number one pistol shooter last year. “When I started out seven, eight years back it was really tough to break through. It’s not as if people come marching to your house (demanding you quit), but what society thinks affects the parents and eventually it trickles down to the children,” added Sidhu, saying Indian society still has traditional expectations of women.
9. Geeta Phogat
Geeta Phogat, India’s first woman wrestler to qualify for the Olympics, in 2012, said she and others have had to overcome hurdles men simply do not face. “When I started wrestling my family had to face a lot of criticism from community elders,” Phogat, 26, said. “People said I would bring only shame to my family, no one would want to marry me,” said Phogat, who as a young athlete trained with men in northern India because there were no women wrestlers.
“I was told wrestling is a man’s sport. But I have proved that women can wrestle and win medals as well,” said Phogat, who won gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.
“You can’t ignore women anymore.”
The Star Sports’ advert on the International Women’s Day urges viewers to “check out” the skills and determination of these women, who include shooters, hockey players and five-time world champion Kom.
“I was told wrestling is a man’s sport. But I have proved that women can wrestle and win medals as well,” said Phogat, who won gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.
“You can’t ignore women anymore.”
The Star Sports’ advert on the International Women’s Day urges viewers to “check out” the skills and determination of these women, who include shooters, hockey players and five-time world champion Kom.
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