The world of sport in India has changed considerably in the last several decades. What used to be monopolized by one sport has now colonized into an eclectic field where the champions are of different fields, each leaving their own mark in the glorious sporting history of the country. These sportsmen did not only win medals but they also transformed the world stage of what it meant to be Indian.
Indian sports have been accompanied by a lot of joyful stories of determination, hard work, and untamed talent that succeeded against all odds. On the cricket grounds, in the boxing ring, on the badminton court, and on the athletic track, our heroes have shown that passion and hard work can overcome any odds.
Let’s explore about the top 10 sports Icons who have brought every Indian pride
Sachin Tendulkar: The Master Blaster Who Became a Legend
When discussing Indian sports, the first name that would be mentioned is that of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. This is not a cricketer who played the game but an art form, which this Mumbai-born cricketer has made. In 24 glorious years of professional baseball, Tendulkar became the first player in the history of the sport to get 100 international centuries, a feat that seemed to be impossible before he did it.
Having played over 34,000 international matches in both Test matches and One Day Internationals, the statistics of Tendulkar are a fantasy novel. However, statistics are only half the story. The only difference was the fact that his birth made him bear the dreams of a billion souls on his shoulders whenever he went to the crease. His straight drives, cover drives and that trademark upper cut were a legend.
The Indian government recognized his unparalleled contribution by awarding him the Bharat Ratna, making him the youngest recipient and the first sportsperson to receive India’s highest civilian honor.
Tendulkar also holds the Padma Vibhushan, cementing his status not just as a cricketer but as a national treasure. His influence extends far beyond cricket he’s a symbol of excellence, humility, and dedication that continues inspiring millions.
Mary Kom
A warrior came out of the hills of Manipur and would write a new history of boxing. Chungneijang Mary Kom, otherwise known as magnificent Mary was the only lady in history who won the world amateur boxing championship six times. She was born in 1983 in a small village and the fact that she was able to make it to the Olympics symbolically reflects all the beautiful things about the sporting world.
The bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics is what made Mary Kom a household name, though her accomplishments are way beyond this one event. She has participated in many championships, such as the ASBC Asian Confederation Women Boxing Championship, the Commonwealth games and Women World Boxing Championship.
Her active performance in the ring led her to the Padma Vibhushan, which was among the highest awards in India as a civilian.
The even more wondrous thing is that she managed to attain all these when she was a mother of twins. She is now a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha and a boxing academy in her native town, which makes sure that young girls can reach proper training facilities.
Her life has given rise to a biographical Bollywood movie that captured the hearts of millions of people, and the fact that determination does not have boundaries was also proven.
PV Sindhu
Pusarla Venkata Sindhu has become the synonym of Indian badminton excellence. Sports were in her blood, as her parents were national-level volleyball players, and she was born in Hyderabad. Sindhu became the first Indian woman to make an Olympic women’s singles final at the young age of 21 and won silver in the 2016 Rio Olympics. This was after she won a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, becoming one of the only two Indian athletes to earn one Olympic medal after another.
Sindhu’s trophy cabinet includes victories at prestigious tournaments like the World Championship, Asian Championship, All England Open, India Open Grand Prix Gold, and Commonwealth Games. Her aggressive playing style, powerful smashes, and never-say-die attitude have made her a formidable opponent on any court worldwide.
Beyond her playing achievements, Sindhu serves as deputy collector in the Krishna district’s land revenue department of the Andhra Pradesh Government. She was named BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year in March 2020 and serves as a BWF committee campaign ambassador for ‘I Am Badminton,’ promoting clean and fair play.
Her Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awards, along with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, recognize her outstanding contributions to Indian sports.
Neeraj Chopra
August 7, 2021, will forever remain etched in Indian sporting history. That’s when Neeraj Chopra threw his javelin 87.58 meters at the Tokyo Olympics, winning India’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in athletics. This singular achievement transformed him from a talented athlete into a national hero overnight.
The road to the Olympics was not smooth with Chopra. He put himself to death in his technique, strength, and mental preparation. It was not just a medal that his historic throw won, but it sparked interest in athletics all over India, and brought about millions of youngsters to think of track and field events as something serious. Prior to Chopra, athletics had not gotten any recognition in India, where cricket is the main sport, but his golden moment came and everything changed.
He received the Padma Shri and the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, the most important sporting award of India, given to him by the government. He also excelled in the Asian Games, taking a gold medal to establish himself as one of the best javelin throwers in the world.
The success of Chopra has marked a new dawn of Indian athletics, where our sportsmen are no longer competing to be there but to rule.
Sania Mirza
The city of Hyderabad has produced a Sania Mirza who has broken all the boundaries in Indian tennis to emerge as the most successful female tennis player in the country. Mirza gave six Grand Slams in the women doubles category and mixed doubles category, which demonstrated that Indian women could take over the largest tennis arenas. She was the first woman to become the WTA No. 1 in doubles, and that was a great source of pride to the country.
Mirza has competed in several major events in his career Afro-Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, French open, Wimbledon, Australian open and US open. She would keep on receiving accolades and eventually retired from the singles competition in 2013, but she still played in a few more years in doubles.
Her performance won her the Arjuna Award, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan. The BBC listed her in their 100 Inspiring Women because of her contribution outside the sports arena.
Mirza became one of India’s highest-paid tennis players and used her platform to inspire young girls to take up the sport, proving that with dedication, Indian women could compete with the world’s best.
Virat Kohli
If Tendulkar was the elegant artist, Virat Kohli is the fierce warrior. The former Indian captain has redefined what it means to be a modern cricketer, combining exceptional skill with unparalleled fitness and aggressive leadership. With over 24,000 international runs and counting, Kohli continues to break records and set new benchmarks.
Kohli’s achievements include multiple ICC series victories, Champions Trophy wins, and numerous IPL titles with Royal Challengers Bangalore and other franchises. His elegant cover drives and powerful straight shots have become his trademark, but it’s his consistency across all formats that truly sets him apart. Whether it’s Test cricket, ODIs, or T20s, Kohli performs at the highest level.
What makes Kohli special isn’t just his batting it’s his approach to fitness and professionalism. He transformed Indian cricket’s culture, making rigorous training and strict diet regimens the norm rather than the exception. Young cricketers now understand that talent alone isn’t enough; dedication to fitness and mental toughness are equally crucial. Kohli’s influence on Indian cricket will be felt for generations.
Mithali Raj: The First Lady of Indian Cricket
Long before women’s cricket gained mainstream attention, Mithali Raj was quietly building a legacy that would inspire millions. Born in Jodhpur to a Tamil family, she picked up cricket at age ten and never looked back. Her right-handed batting and strategic mind made her India’s most dependable player for two decades.
The first Indian woman to play 20 years of international cricket has been Mithali, and these things are so much due to her consistency, fitness, and passion to play. She led many Women One Day Internationals and Twenty20 matches for India and made the team win some of the historic matches. Her playing style, character and capacity to anchor innings rendered her indispensable to Indian women cricket.
Mithali was awarded many times in her career as recognition of her contribution. Yet her finest accomplishment may be the way she made women in India become great in cricket. At the time of her initiation, not many people were concerned with women playing cricket.
When she retired, stadiums were being sold, television rights were being sold and young girls around India dreamed of wearing the blue jersey. Such a change is owed to the superiority and effort of Mithali.
PT Usha: The Golden Girl Who Made Indian athletics her own
Prior to India developing into a sporting powerhouse, there was Pilavullakandi Thekkeparambil Usha, the so-called Golden Girl and Queen of the Indian track and field. In her Nambiar was a coach and Usha was born in Kerala and was one of the few Asian athletes who dominated athletics in the 1980s. She competed in the Asian Games, Olympic Games and World Championships representing India, with some medals and records in her hands.
Usha’s journey wasn’t easy. She had poor training facilities, a lack of proper equipment, and little support during her young years. But her will was too great an impediment. She continued to get better, continued to train, and continued to set her records.
Her near-miss at the 1984 Olympics, when she came in fourth in the 400m hurdles by a centimeter, was one of the most agonizing experiences in the world in Indian sport, but this also demonstrated her world-class potential.
Despite never winning an Olympic medal, Usha’s impact on Indian athletics cannot be overstated. She proved Indian athletes could compete with the world’s best, inspiring an entire generation. Today, she runs the Usha School of Athletics in Kerala, ensuring young athletes receive the training and support she had to fight for.
Dipa Karmakar
Gymnastics rarely featured in Indian sporting conversations until Dipa Karmakar burst onto the scene. Born in Agartala, this incredible athlete became one of only five women gymnasts worldwide to attempt the Produnova a vault so dangerous and difficult that most gymnasts won’t even try it. Karmakar not only attempted it but also executed it at the highest level.
Coached by Bireshwar Nandi, Karmakar represented India at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Asian Gymnastics Championship, World Artistic Gymnastics Championship, and the 2016 Rio Olympics. Her Olympic performance, where she narrowly missed a medal, captivated the nation. Millions of Indians stayed up late to watch her compete, many learning about artistic gymnastics for the first time.
Her bravery and skill earned her the Padma Shri and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awards, recognizing her as India’s most accomplished gymnast. She excels across multiple apparatus vault, balance beam, and uneven bars showcasing versatility few gymnasts possess.
Karmakar proved that Indian athletes could master technically complex sports that require years of specialized training, opening doors for future gymnasts.
Sakshi Malik
Wrestling has deep roots in Indian culture, but women’s wrestling faced significant resistance. Sakshi Malik from Haryana helped change that narrative by winning bronze in the 58kg freestyle wrestling category at the 2016 Rio Olympics. That bronze medal carried the weight of breaking centuries-old stereotypes about women in combat sports.
Born in 1992, Malik was inspired by her grandfather to pursue wrestling. Under coach Ishwar Dahiya’s guidance, she developed the technical skills and mental toughness needed for international competition.
She secured titles at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the 2015 Asian Wrestling Championship in Doha, building momentum toward her Olympic success.
Her success inspired countless young girls from rural India to consider wrestling as a serious career option, proving that determination and proper training could overcome any social barrier.
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Final thoughts
These ten Indian sports stars did not just win medals, but they changed the sporting culture in the country. That passion, discipline, and belief can demolish any obstacle; their roads to the top started on a low level and made them come to the biggest arena in the world.
They made young athletes dream without any fear, made India invest in more effective training systems, and demonstrated to families that sports is a good career. Their names and legacies are still present in the form of academies, mentorship and the millions of lives that they still touch.
They changed the face of India in the international sports arena and gave the country a platform on which Indian athletes will aspire to not only take part but also conquer.
