12 Unsung Heroes In Sports Apart From Cricket Who Made India Proud

Indian sporting success has been rare and sporadic, but nevertheless, it has had some memorable moments, and there have always been people and teams who’ve stood up to the occasion. At a time when money was not the prize, and the glory of seeing the Indian national colors fly was enough to fill both heart and stomach, these champions of India never failed to make us proud. They have battled aches and disappointments, blisters and cramps to bring a smile on millions of faces for all these years. So, fresh from forgotten memories, I present to you, India’s unsung sports heroes.

1. Jimmy George

He was the first Indian volleyball player, to become a professional and played club volleyball in Italy. Jimmy had a considerable international fan following during his six seasons in Italy as a professional because when Jimmy played, one could only stop and watch and wonder how he managed to soar above everyone else. Jimmy played for India’s national volleyball team in the Asian Games in Tehran (1974), Bangkok (1978) and in Seoul (1986) where India won the bronze medal and led the Indian team to victory in India Gold Cup International Volleyball Tournament at Hyderabad in 1986. The Volleyball World will forever be grateful for the man from India who rose above everyone else.
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2.  Ramanathan Krishnan

Ramanathan Krishnan is the only Indian Tennis player to have ranked among the top 5 in the world, for five different occasions. He won 50 singles out of 69 and 19 of 29 doubles for India in Davis Cup. Twice a semi-finalist at Wimbledon, the winner of a total of 58 titles (including Queen’s Club, the pre-Wimbledon event), he won the junior Wimbledon singles title in 1954. His feats have certainly set the benchmark for future Indian tennis players.
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3. The Indian National Hockey team has won 8 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze medals at the Olympics.

They won 6 consecutive gold medals between 1928-1956 (1940 and 1944 Olympics didn’t take place due to World War 2). This is considered to be one of the most extraordinary performance by any team in Olympic history.
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4. Jeev Milkha Singh

He is the most successful Indian Golfer. He has won 3 titles during the European tour, 4 during the Japan Golf tour and 6 during the Asian Golf tour. He has also won the Asian Tour Order of Merit twice. These are some amazing achievements aren’t they? Especially in a country where golf is overshadowed by other sports.
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5. Prakash Padukone

Padukone won the national senior championship in 1971 at age 16, thereby becoming the youngest player to have achieved the feat and set a record of nine national titles in a row. In 1978, he won the singles badminton gold medal at the Commonwealth Games and the following year he completely dominated the top European players of his era and won both the Danish Open and the Swedish Open. His greatest accomplishment came in 1980 when he became the first Indian to win the All England Championships, the world’s most prestigious annual badminton competition making him the first Indian to do so.
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6. Pankaj Advani

Pankaj Advani is the only player in the world to have managed to win world titles in all formats of both snooker and billiards. Given all the achievements of Advani till date, it is very difficult to single out any particular moment as his greatest accomplishment. After all, he is now a 12-time World Billiards and Snooker Champion. Even though both snooker and billiards fall under the category of cue sports, the two are as different as a test match and a T20 would be in the cricket world.
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7.  Viswanathan Anand

Nicknamed the ‘Lightning Kid’, Anand is India’s first chess grandmaster, a feat he achieved at the age of 18. He is the only player to have won the world chess championship in tournament, match, and knockout format, as well as rapid time controls making him one of the most versatile chess players. Recently a minor planet was named after him.
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8. Narain Karthikeyan

Narain Karthikeyan became the first ever Formula 1 driver from India when he competed for Jordan at the 2005 Australian Grand Prix. To add a touch of gloss, he qualified in 12th place, ahead of that time world champion Michael Schumacher. He finished at 4th place at that year’s US Grand Prix at Indianapolis.
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9. India’s Men and Women Kabaddi teams have won all the Kabaddi World Cups held till now. A feat no other country has achieved in any game or sports.

And then there is….

 

10. P.T. Usha, who won four golds in the 1986 Seoul Asian games, and was awarded the trophy for Best Athlete in the world.

 

11. Mihir Sen, who became the first Indian to swim across the English channel.

 

12. A. Maria Irudayam, a two-time world carrom champion and nine-time national champion of India.

When the national anthem is played as honour and tribute to a sporting triumph, we get flooded by emotions. The sportspersons, who give us these special moments, are our real heroes.

Spread the word and let their stories inspire billions of Indians.