Wonder Women of Indian sports

In the midst of cheers and applause for sportsmen, our sportswomen are silently packing a punch against all odds. SNEHA SINGH unfolds the often-neglected journey of these ladies who are making a difference in sports spectrum

Move over Dhoni, Kohli and Yuvraj! Now we have Mitali, Jhulan and Harmanpreet who are winning Indian hearts for all the right reasons. During World Cup Mitali & Co turned the scenario of Women’s Cricket upside down, they left no stone unturned and they proved that they are no less than Men In Blue. The whole tournament came out as the revolution for women’s cricket which instigated Indians to watch them playing live. From cricket to boxing, from hockey to gymnastics we can see her endeavour in making India proud. Who are those desi sports starlets who are winning million hearts with their sportswomanship, let’s delve down to find out!

Mary Kom

Chungneijang Mery Kom Hmangte, popularly known as Mary Kom, the Olympic Indian boxer hailing from Manipur and a five-time World Amateur Boxing Champion and also the only female boxer to win six world championships. “Magnificent Mary” made India proud with her boxing manoeuvres when she won a gold medal in the Asian Games in 2014. Her journey to boxing began when she met Dingko Singh a Manipuri boxer who won gold medal in Bangkok Asian Game, 1998. Mary got so inspired by Dingko that she decided to switch from athletics to boxing. After becoming a mother of two, Mary returned to boxing and won a silver medal in 2008, in Asian Women Boxing Championship, India. Mary bagged a gold medal in Kazakhstan and also at Barbados which was her 5th consecutive gold win.

PV SINDHU

Pusarla Venkata Sindhu won accolades for bagging a Silver medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016; Sindhu is one of the celebrated badminton players to win an Olympic medal after Saina Nehwal. The 22-year-olds-huttler currently ranks 5th in Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings. Sindhu caught the international attention when she made it to the top 20 BWF rankings at the age of 17. Sindhu is also the youngest player to reach Olympics final and to make a podium finish in an individual event in Olympics. In 2013, Sindhu became first ever Badminton player to win a medal at Badminton World Championships. The ace shuttler was honoured with Padma shri in March 2015, Sindhu will always be remembered as the first young Indian player to win a silver Olympic medal in the history of Indian Badminton.

Dipa Karmakar

Dipa is the only female gymnast who represented India in the Rio Olympics, 2016. And also, she is the first gymnast to compete in Olympics after 52 years. 23-yearold Karmakar is one of the five gymnasts to successfully attempt Produnova, the toughest vault regarded in gymnastics. Karmakar, hailing from Agartala, started

Mithali Raj

Known for her intelligence and killer game tactics, Captain of Indian Women Cricket team Mithali Dorai Raj isthe run machine of women’s team. A Tamilian from Jodhpur, Raj started playing cricket at the tender age of ten. At 17, she was selected for national team. She is Captain Cool, an all-rounder and above all she is the only woman cricketer to score tremendous 6,000 runs in World Cup ODIs. Mithali has also scored seven 50s back to back. She was honoured with Arjuna Award in 2003 and Padma Shri in 2015 for her contribution in Women’s Cricket. Recently our captain cool lost her cool when a reporter asked her who is her favourite male cricketer, miffed by such sexist question Raj countered by asking: “Do you ask the same question to a male cricketer? ”Well said Mithali, more power to you! her gymnast practice at the age of six. She had flat feet, which is termed as a bad trait for a gymnast. But with practice and dedication she developed an arch in her feet and now she can hold herself in great posture. Dipa has won 77 medals which includes 67 gold in state and national championships.

Sakshi Malik

Everybody knows the journey and achievements of the Phogat sisters, thanks to the makers of Dangal who made such enchanting movie on the life of Haryanvi wrestlers. But very few of us know about Sakshi Malik, another Haryanvi freestyle wrestler who made India proud with her bolstering bouts. Malik is the only female wrestler to grab a bronze medal in 2016, Rio Olympics. Malik had won silver medal in 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and a bronze medal in 2015 Asian Wrestling Championship in Doha. Malik got her motivation for boxing from her grandfather Badlu Ram, who was also a wrestler. She started her training at akharas at the age of 12.

Deepika Kumari

This ace woman archer from Ranchi, has propelled all her arrows in the right way. In 2010, Deepika bagged two gold medals in Commonwealth Games, was honoured with Arjuna Award in 2012 and with Padmashri in 2016 for her contribution in the field of Archery. As a child, she used to practice by aiming at mangoes with stones and with bows and arrows made of bamboo. Deepika became the second Indian archer to win the junior compound competition at Archery World Cup, 2006. At the age of 15, she won the Youth World Archery Championship in 2009. She was one of the archers to qualify for the Rio Olympics besides Bombayla Devi and Laxmirani Majhi.

Ritu Rani

Haryana born Ritu Rani, former Indian captain of women’s national hockey team, took hockey stick in her hands at the age of 9. Ritu made her debut in senior hockey national team in 2006, at Asian Games in Doha. In 2009, India won the Champions Challenge II in Russia, and the tournament thanks to Rani who was the top scorer with eight goals to her name. Rani was named Captain in 2011, and under her