A picture is worth a thousand words.
It’s difficult to choose a list of sportsmen from a variety of sports. Somehow I have narrowed the list to 25. There maybe one or two surprising inclusions and the old glaring omissions.
You might have seen these images before but if you haven’t these iconic images will surely move you. So here’s a collection of photographs that exhibit the feeling of pure joy or the pain of heartbreak.
1. Michael Schumacher
The greatest F1 driver kissing his Ferrari car goodbye
2. Jonty Rhodes
The ‘Superman’ who taught the world that fielding is important
3. Michael Jordan
The #1 basketball player of all-time
4. Rahul Dravid
This picture sums it up. This is Rahul Dravid.
5. Shoaib Akthar
Rawalpindi Express
6. Roger Federer
An old hand with a new move
7. Mahendra Singh Dhoni
The man whose ability to read the game is exceptional
8. Sourav Ganguly
The ‘Korbo, Lorbo, Jitbo’ of Indian cricket
9. Zinedine Zidane
When hard work & discipline met elegance & grace
10. Usain Bolt
‘Don’t think about the start of the race, think of the ending’
11. Lionel Messi
You know it’s him when this happens
12. Sachin Tendulkar
The 22 yards are like a temple to me
13. Diego Maradona
The Hand of God
14. Muhammad Ali
‘I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was’
15. AB de Villiers
The king of unusual shots – Mr. 360
16. Ronaldo
Want goals? Call him.
17. Anil Kumble
The sort of man you want in your side when you go to war
18. Ronaldinho
If you hate this man, you hate football
19. Rafael Nadal
The King of Clay
20. David Beckham
You don’t bend it like Beckham unless you’re Beckham
21. Grame Smith
Batting with a broken hand? Yeah. Desperate times call for desperate measures
22. Viswanathan Anand
This man’s attitude says it all
23. Hashim Amla
The man who understands his religion well and stays true to his identity
24. Brett Lee
The man with an extraordinary level of skill, dedication and determination
25. Michael Phelps
When people call you ‘the most decorated Olympian of all time’ you have to look like that too
Our soul never thinks without a picture.