By SRTeam Just a few decades ago, females weren’t into sports that much, mainly because of all the stereotypes and cultural barriers, but now, things are changing super fast. Or should we say that things have literally “Changed” quite a lot? Like, so far, we have seen some of the finest sportswomen the world has ever seen, and they’re from India. If you’re feeling intrigued already about all this, then you shouldn’t be skipping out on this post. Why? Well, here we’re about to share the list of the top 10 famous sportswomen in India so far, so, let’s just get to it. Shall we?
1. PV Sindhu
PV Sindhu is one of India’s best badminton players, no two ways about that. If it is badminton we’re talking about, there is literally no way that you never mention PV Sindhu, yes, she is THAT popular. She became famous after winning the silver medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016 and the bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. Remember those? But then again, in 2019, she was the first female Indian to win a gold medal at the BWF World Championships. Like, that’s not it though, throughout the years, she won bronze and silver medals in Commonwealth and Asian Games. And yes, after doing all these things, achieving greater goals, and making India really proud on the international stage as well, she truly deserved that Padma Bhushan and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award.
2. Mary Kom
We have all watched that amazing and super inspiring movie, Mary Kom, right? Well, that’s when a lot of people got to know about Mary Kom, and how she made India proud on an international stage. Just so you know though, people call her “Magnificent Mary” as she is a six-time world champion. Like, in boxing, she became the first Indian woman to win a bronze medal at the London Olympics in 2012. Sure enough, Mary Kom is a sportsperson from a small village in Manipur who has struggled a lot to achieve success. Looking at her life story a bit up close, you’ll certainly realize that she is truly the best candidate to receive awards like Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan.
3. Mithali Raj
Do you follow women’s cricket? If yes, you certainly know who Mithali Raj is, and sure enough, she’s famous. Big-time famous actually! Being the first female to cross 6000 runs in ODIs, she is the highest run-scorer in women’s international cricket, are you aware of that? And just so you know, she’s the one who led the team to two World Cup finals in 2005 and 2017.
4. Saina Nehwal
Next on the list, you see, Saina Nehwal is another very well-known badminton personality. Like, Saina Nehwal became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal, winning Bronze in badminton at the London Olympics in 2012. Back then though, she became the world’s number one player and won various big tournaments such as Commonwealth Games, Super Series events, and more. She was one of the few in this game who inspired so many people in the country and made badminton really popular.
5. Sania Mirza
Then there is Sania Mirza, who again is among the most successful tennis players India has ever seen. Like, many of you may remember that she made history when she became the first Indian woman to win a Grand Slam. Sania has six Grand Slam titles in doubles and mixed doubles events. She used to be ranked world number one in women’s doubles for a whopping 91 weeks! Not just that though, she has won the big tournaments of the Australian, French, and US Open, how about that?
6. Sakshi Malik
Next on the list, you see, it was none other than Sakshi Malik who made India proud by becoming the first Indian female wrestler to win an Olympic medal. Sure enough, it was really after winning a bronze medal at the Rio Olympics 2016, which, you know, made her a national hero. Sakshi hails from Rohtak, Haryana, a place rich in wrestling culture. She has also won medals at the Commonwealth Games and Asian Wrestling Championships.
7. Deepika Kumari
Alright, just so you know, Deepika Kumari has been a crucial player for India at many international archery events. Before anything, it was the 2010 Commonwealth Games Gold that made her famous, you know? And yes, she eventually became the world’s number one women’s recurve archer, how about that? Deepika won several medals in the Olympics besides competing in major tournaments like World Cups.
8. Dipa Karmakar
Are you aware of the fact that Dipa Karmakar is a popular gymnast due to her fourth-place finish at the 2016 Rio Olympics? You know, like, people know her for the super tough vault called “Produnova”. Just to give you perspective on things, very less gymnasts in the world can perform it. Dipa has also won medals at the Commonwealth Games and at the Asian Gymnastics Championships.
9. Geeta Phogat
Geeta Phogat is one of the first female champions in India’s wrestling history, you know, the first-ever Indian woman to win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2010, she was also the first Indian female wrestler to qualify for the Olympics. And many of you may be following her success after the hit Bollywood movie Dangal, which actually was inspired by her story. She is a true winner, no doubt!
10. Jhulan Goswami
Alright, another female cricketer is here, but this time a phenomenal bowler we’re talking about. Yes, Jhulan Goswami! She sure is an outstanding one for India’s women’s cricket team, like so far, she has taken the maximum number of wickets in ODI or One Day Internationals. Because of her though, surely, the country has reached the World Cup finals numerous times.
Conclusion
That’s all. Sure enough, the list of these famous and impactful as well as influential sportswomen just goes on and on, but by far, these are the top 10 figures who have made it to the list for various reasons. Now, we’d certainly recommend you to get to know a little more about their life story, you know, a bit up close.