Hyderabad: Over the years, Indian sports stars made the country proud winning many medals at the international events. There are some moments which have greater impacts on Indian sports than others. So, we pick up the top 15 greatest Indian sporting moments of all time that have given a facelift to the sports in the country.
This list may spark debate. Whether you agree or disagree, though, we believe it brings these achievements and achievers back into the spotlight where they belong.
India win 2nd and last Asian Games football gold in 1962
There was a time when India used to be the strongest football team in Asia. From the 1950s to 1960s India was the most successful team in the continent. Coached by legendary Syed Abdul Rahim India defeated South Korea 2-1 in the 1962 Asian Games final in front of a hostile crowd at Senayan Main Stadium, Jakarta. PK Banerjee and Jarnail Singh scored goals for India.
This was the last time India won Asian Games gold in football. Indian players were given grand welcome on their arrival in Kolkata. One of the most interesting facts about this match is that gold medal-winning Pakistani hockey team cheered for Indian team throughout the match. Rest of the Indian contingent returned home before the football final as it was the last event of the Games.
Anju Bobby George's World Athletics Championships bronze
India doesn't have many remarkable stories to tell when it comes to athletics. So when Anju Bobby George won bronze at the long jump in 2003 World Athletics Championships, she became the first Indian athlete to bag a medal at the prestigious event. Till date, no other Indian has won a medal at IAAF World Athletics Championships.
Anju Bobby George finished third in the women's long jump finals with her fifth attempt of 6.70m, just 4cm under her personal best. Apart from the medal, She had received a cheque worth $20,000.
When PT Usha took 1986 Seoul Asiad by storm
PT Usha is undoubtedly India's most successful woman athlete. After finishing 5th in 1980 Olympic Games, PT Ushered emerged as the best sprinter in Asia in 100m, 200m, 400m and 400 metres hurdles. She is the ultimate sprint queen of India. PT Usha dominated Asian tracks from the 1980s to 1990s. After winning Asian Championships gold in various categories, she took the world by storm in 1986 Seoul Asian Games when she clinched four gold medals in 200m, 400m, 400 metres hurdles and 4 x 400 relay respectively.
Winning four gold medals, she had set many new records.
Leander Paes wins tennis bronze in Atlanta
Indian tennis legend Leander Paes is an 18-time Grand Slam winners in doubles. In 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, he made India proud winning India's first individual Olympic medal in 44 years. He won a bronze medal in tennis which was India's first medal in the sport.
Pullela Gopichand wins the All England Open
Pullela Gopichand is the only second Indian to win All England Open Badminton Championships in 2001. His victory heralded a new era of Indian badminton. Later in the decade, India emerged as a major force in the sport. Gopichand defeated China's Chen Hong in straight games 15-12, 15-6 in the final. On his road to the grand finale, Gopichand had defeated then World No. 1 Peter Gade in the semifinal.
Vijender Singh's Beijing bronze
In 2008, Indian middleweight boxer Vijender Singh made his country proud winning boxing's first Olympic medal at the 2008 Games. Vijender's bronze medal haul has transformed boxing in India. Now Vijender is being considered as a legend of the sport and boxing gained sheer popularity in India.
Saina Nehwal becomes World No. 1
After Gopichand a major name to emerge from the circuit of badminton is Saina Nehwal. She challenged Chinese shuttlers' domination in the sport and outclassed them many Super Series events. Over the years Saina won 11 Super Series titles and became the World No. 1 April 2015 after winning the India Open Grand Prix. She was the first Indian woman shuttler to reach the highest point of BWF women's singles rankings. In 2012, Saina became country's first shuttler to win an Olympic medal.
PV Sindhu wins BWF World Championships gold
PV Sindhu became the first Indian shuttler to win BWF World Championships women's singles gold in 2019. She defeated Japan's Nozomi Okuhara in the final at Basel. In 2017 and 2018, she finished as runner-up. World No. 7 PV Sindhu also won silver in the 2016 Rio Olympics. She is the first woman shuttler to win Olympic silver in badminton from India.
Mary Kom boxes her way to 6th World Championship title
Legendary Indian boxer Mary Kom clinched her sixth AIBA World Championship gold in 2018. She defeated Hannah Okhota, who was thirteen years younger than her, in the final in New Delhi. With this victory, Mary became the most successful female boxer in ameature boxing. The 33-year-old now shares her World Championship record with Cuba's Felix Savon, a heavyweight boxer, who also won six gold in boxing.
In 2012, Mary Kom became India's first female boxer to win Olympic bronze at London Games.
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore clinches silver in Athens
In 2004 Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore brought glory to the nation at the birthplace of the modern Olympics - Athens, Greece. Having finishing fifth in qualification to make the double trap final, the Indian delivered when it mattered to win India's first individual silver at the Olympic Games.
Khashaba Jadhav wins bronze at Helsinki Olympics
KD Jadhav is independent India's first individual Olympic medal winner. He won a wrestling bronze at the Helsinki Olympics in 1952. He had also taken part in the 1948 Olympics, but due to his unfamiliarity with wrestling on the mat, he couldn't do match. After returning from London he trained on the mat and got the result four years later. But the legendary wrestler from Maharashtra was left to die in poverty.
Though he couldn't see the impact of his Olympic medal haul as a living wrestler, the sport he had played has become a major medal winner for India at Olympics in the new millennium.
India win first Olympic hockey gold
Amsterdam 1928 marked the beginning of a glorious dynasty in the country's sporting history.
Indian hockey team won 8 gold medals out of country's nine Olympic gold. It was in 1928, four years after the formation of Indian Olympic Association, the Indian hockey team participated in the Olympic Games for the first in Amsterdam. It was the first time hockey wizard Dhyan Chand played at the Olympic Games. Mesmerizing Europeans, Indian hockey team marked the beginning of a glorious journey in the country's sporting history in front of 24,000 spectators, till then the biggest crowd for a hockey match.
India defeated hosts Holland 3 - 0 to win its first-ever Olympic gold medal.
Prakash Padukone wins the All England Open
It was on March 23, 1980, legendary shuttler Prakash Padukone became the first Indian to win the All England Open Badminton Championships. Padukone defeated Indonesia's Liem Swie King in the summit clash at the Wembley Stadium. The star Indian shuttler was only 24 years old when he stood at the top of the podium.
Padukone's victory at the All England Open Badminton Championships was the highest point of his career and it marked the emergence of Indian badminton at international stage.
He defeated Swie King 15-3, 15-10. Padukone also clinched the country's first world championship medal after winning the bronze medal in the 1983 championships.
Indian cricket team's 1983 World Cup triumph
India's 1983 World Cup victory marked the beginning of a new era in world cricket. Riding on India's triumph in London cricket became the most popular sport in the country.
The Indian team led by young all-rounder Kapil Dev stunned the world defeating two-time world champions West Indies in the summit clash on June 25, 1983, at the Lord's. Before the final, English journalists were sceptical about India's chances. They had predicted a lopsided final since two-time champions West Indies were utmost favourites. But they were proved wrong not once but twice. India defeated West Indies by 43 runs in the final. In their tournament opener, they defeated the same opponent by 34 runs.
Abhinav Bindra's individual Olympic gold
In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Abhinav Bindra ended India's long quest for their first-ever individual gold medal winning the 10m Men's Air Rifle event. Bindra's achievement in Beijing is still the country's greatest sporting achievement since it came at the Olympic Games.
Bindra, a four-time Commonwealth Games champion, squeezed through the qualification round to manage 596/600 points. In the final, he didn't score below 10 in any of the rounds and managed to pull away from his competitors. Henri Hakkinen, who topped the qualification stage at Beijing 2008 with 598 points, was level with Bindra till the final shot but faltered at the crucial time and scored 9.7.
In the final shot, Bindra scored 10.8 to clinch the gold medal and scripted history becoming the country's first-ever Olympic gold medallist in the individual category.
