By: PrajaktaMohite
Sports in India has always been associated with men. Women living in this country are not encouraged so much to actively participate in sports! The conditions of women in India who take up sports are sub-par when we examine it at the international level. Below is a list of top ten female celebrities in Indian sports who have reached the top against odds and also made us proud.
1] Saina Nehwal
Saina Nehwal is also known as the golden girl of Indian badminton. She has reached the zenith of sports by making it to the top three badminton players in the world. Her career began in 2012 where she shot to the 5th position in the World Badminton players list. She has won the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold, Thai Open Grand Prix Gold, and the Indonesian Open Super Series. Her claim to fame was winning a bronze medal at the Olympics!
2] Mary Kom
Mary Kom is also known as the “Million Rupee Baby” in India. This tough lady is a five-time boxing world champion and also has an Olympic Bronze medal in her kitty. Mary Kom is the first lady boxer to have won the bronze medal at the London Olympics for India.
3] PV Sindhu
PV Sindhu is the rising star in the world of badminton! She has already carved a niche for herself in the world of sports after her performance in the London 2012 Olympics. She defeated Olympic gold medallist Li Xuerui of China during the China Master Super Series Tournament to enter semi-finals. She made it to her maiden finals of the Indian Grand Prix Gold Event where she lost to Yanjiao Jiang of China. PV Sindhu is the national champion in India and has been a semi-finalist at the Malaysian Open. She recently won a silver medal at 2017 BWF World Championships and is the first Indian woman to win 2017 Korean Open Super Series.
4] Mithali Raj
Captain of Indian Women’s cricket team for ODI and Tests, Mithali Dorai Raj is one of the best batters and is the highest run scorer in women’s international cricket. She is also the only woman to score more than 6000 runs in ODIs and to score consecutive seven 50s in ODIs. In the year 2003, Mithali Dorai raj received the Arjuna Award and in 2015, she was awarded Padma Shri.
5] Geeta Phogat
Geeta Phogat is an Indian freestyle wrestler who won India’s first gold medal in wrestling at Commonwealth Games (2010). She is the first Indian sportswoman to qualify for the Olympic Summer Games. This tough go-getter has won a gold medal in the Wrestling FILA Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament that took place in Almaty, Kazakhstan in 2012. In 2013, Geeta Phogat won a bronze medal in Asian Wrestling Championship in Doha.
6] Sania Mirza
Sania Mirza remains one of the most recognized faces in Indian sports! From 2003 to 2013, Sania Mirza was India’s No. 1 tennis player as per Women’s Tennis Association. Sania made a huge comeback at the French Open with her tennis partner Mahesh Bhupathi. All in all, this lady will always be remembered as a woman who made Indians proud and played some good shots that helped her win against former world No.1 tennis player, Martina Hingis.
7] Bula Choudhury
Bula Choudhury is a swimming champion and she is the first woman to cross the seven seas, and recipient of the prestigious Arjuna Award and Padma Shri. She also crossed the English channel twice and is truly the embodiment of women’s physical and mental strength. She plans to open a swimming academy in Kolkata to train and sponsor swimmers who otherwise do not get a chance to showcase their potential.
[TheChamp-Sharing]
