Indian sports has gone through a lot of trials and tribulations since the nation’s independence in 1947, but it is on an upward trajectory in the current times. The women have broken barriers in Indian sports throughout history, contributing to its success for the last 77 years.
In this article, SportsTiger looks at the 10 women in Indian sports, who have been the pioneers of Independence with their successes.
PT Usha
PT Usha, a multi-time gold medallist from Asian Games 1986 in Seoul, is heralded as the one of the pioneers in Indian athletics. Her success on the track inspired many Indian women to take up athletics, and she is currently the President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
Karnam Malleshwari
Karnam Malleshwari is the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Olympics in the 69kg weight category at the Melbourne 2000. Her bronze in weightlifting paved the way for many of the Indian women to not only aim but also earn medals at the Olympic Games in the subsequent years.
Mithali Raj
Mithali Raj, the former Indian captain, brought the spotlight on women’s cricket in the 2000s, when fans didn’t know much about it. During her international career spanning across decades, she became the highest individual scorer in the history of ODIs, becoming a part of two finals for India in the Women’s Cricket World Cup in 2005 and 2017.
Sania Mirza
Sania Mirza is the first Indian woman to win Grand Slams in women’s doubles and mixed doubles events in tennis. She is also the highest ranked women’s singles player in the history of Indian tennis, showing how India can produce top-notch talent in one of the toughest individual sports in the world.
Saina Nehwal
Saina Nehwal is famed for taking Indian badminton to the next level in the last two decades, going toe-to-toe against the Chinese in their own game. Her bronze medal in women’s singles at the London 2012 solidified the continuous improvement of Indian badminton over the years, paving the way for the athletes of the future to take over.
Sakshi Malik
Sakshi Malik is the first women’s wrestler from India to win a medal at the Olympic Games, one of only two athletes from the nation to become a medallist at the Rio 2016. The leap of faith from her in wrestling opened a new avenue for Indian sports to attain continuous success at events all over the world.
PV Sindhu
After Saini Nehwal brought home the first Olympic medal for India in badminton at the London 2012, PV Sindhu won the silver medal for the nation at the Rio 2016, following in her footsteps. Then, just five years later, she managed to win a bronze medal in women’s singles at Tokyo 2020, solidifying her legacy as one of the greatest badminton players from India.
Harmanpreet Kaur
Harmanpreet Kaur, the captain of India women’s cricket team, is one of the most consistent batters in the world game across formats. She captured the imagination of India during the Women’s Cricket World Cup 2017, smashing 171 not out off just 115, to single-handedly dump Australia out of the tournament at the semi-final stage.
Mirabai Chanu
Mirabai Chanu became the second woman after Karnam Malleshwari to win a medal in weightlifting for India at the Tokyo 2020. Her silver medal came after lifting a combined weight of 202kg, including 87kg in snatch and 115kg in clean and jerk three years ago, which etched her name in Indian sporting history.
Manu Bhaker
Manu Bhaker made history at the Paris 2024 by becoming the first Indian athlete since Independence to win two medals at a single Olympic Games. Her first bronze medal at the recently concluded Olympics came in the women’s individual 10m air pistol event, while the second bronze medal came alongside Sarabjot Singh in the mixed 10m air pistol event.