Tags:
Journalism of Courage
INDIVIDUAL SUCCESSES
ATHLETICS
The biggest star we have had in this discipline in recent times has been Anju Bobby George. However, there have been others too, who deserve the attention and the financial help.
Olympics
KM Beenamol: reached 400m semi-finals in 2000 Sydney.
KM Binu: reached semi-finals in 2004 Athens 4x400m women8217;s relay: Manjeet Kaur, Rajwinder Kaur, Chitra Soman and Beenamol and S Geetha reached the final at the Athens Games.
World Championships
Anju Bobby George: First Indian to win bronze in Paris in 2003
Asian Games
Anju Bobby George: Gold in long jump in Busan Games 2002
Jyotirmoyee Sikdar: Gold in 800m, 1500m in Bangkok 1998
Relay teams: Women won 4X400m gold, men won 4X400 m silver in 2006 Doha
Sinimole Paulose: bronze in women8217;s 1500m
Manjeet Kaur: Silver in 400m at 2006 Doha
Soma Biswas: Got silver in heptathlon.
Asian meets
Jyotirmoyee Sikdar: Gold in 800 m in 1995 Asian Track and Field Meet in Jakarta.
Monika Raut: won India8217;s first-ever gold in junior women8217;s 6km in 2007 Asian meet in Jordan
Rohini Raut: won silver in women8217;s 6km in 2007 Asian meet in Jordan, team championship with Monika
Commonwealth Games
Anju Bobby George: Bronze in Manchester Games 2002
CUE SPORT
Interestingly, India have consistently produced stars in this sport, starting from the time of the first world champion, Wilson Jones. Recently there have been many too.
World meet
Pankaj Advani: three titles in billiards and snooker in 2005, first player to complete a grand double by winning both the points format as well as the time format titles in the IBSF World Billiards championship
Geet Sethi: world titles in 1996, 1998, 2006 earlier in 1995, 1993, 1992
Asian Games
Pankaj Advani: Individual billiards gold in 2006 Doha
Ashok Shandilya: Two gold medals in billiards at the Asian Games in Bangkok in December 1998, silver in billiards singles in 2006 Asian Games, double bronze with Geet Sethi
Geet Sethi: Gold at Bangkok, 1998
Asian meet: singles title in 1987
BOXING
Probably not the best-acknowledged Indian sport, this discipline has produced some really tough fighters.
MC Marykom
The first woman to win the world title three years in-a-row. Helped India win the team trophy with four gold medals at the fourth World Boxing championship. Won the best boxer award in the Tonsberg World Boxing tournament 2004.
International meets:
Dingko Singh: Won King8217;s Cup Bangkok in 1997
Asian Games:
Dingko Singh: Gold in 54kg in Bangkok 1998
Commonwealth Games
Muhammad Ali Qamar: first Indian to win a Commonwealth boxing gold medal, at Manchester 1998
Akhil Kumar: gold in 54kg in Melbourne 2006
Vijender Kumar: silver in 69 kg Melbourne 2006
Harpreet Singh: silver in 91kg Melbourne 2006
Chess
Maybe the game has its roots in this country, but there were few laurels forthcoming before one Viswanathan Anand became a Grandmaster.
Viswanathan Anand
In 1988 became India8217;s first Grandmaster; in 2000 became the first Indian to win the FIDE World Chess Championship; in 2003 won the FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship; won the Chess Oscar many times
Koneru Humpy
World under-14 championship, 2001, Castellan, Spain. Asia8217;s youngest International Woman Master, 1999. India8217;s youngest Woman GM, 2001. World junior championship, 2001, Athens. In 2002, Koneru Humpy become the first woman chess player from India to receive the Men8217;s Grandmaster title. At 15 years, one month and 27 days, Koneru also became the world8217;s youngest Women Grandmaster to achieve full Grandmaster status, beating the record of Judith Polgar. As of July, 2006, Humpy is world number 2 in women8217;s rankings with an Elo rating of 2545.
Parimarjan Negi
In July 2005, Negi became the world8217;s youngest IM, scoring his third and final norm in Spain. On 1 July 2006, Parimarjan became the second youngest GM ever.
GOLF
Once an elitist sport, it has come down to the masses, well almost, today. top stars of the country are recognised worldwide today.
Arjun Atwal
First Indian to qualify for the US PGA Tour; first on Asian PGA to exceed 1 million in career earnings in a year; first Indian golfer to win a European Tour event 8212; the Caltex Singapore Masters in 2002. He won a second European Tour title in 2003; topped the Asian order of merit in 2003
Jeev Milkha Singh
First Indian to become a member of the European Tour 8212; won his first title at the Volvo Masters, the European Tour8217;s season-ending event in 2006; in 2006, rose to 37th on the Official World Golf Ranking, and was named the Players8217; Player of the Year and the UBS Special Achievement Award.
Jyoti Randhawa
In 2002, became the first Indian to win the Order of Merit title in Asia; has six Asian Tour victories, won the elite tournament Volvo Masters of Asia in 2004 and finished second on Order of Merit; Played on the European Tour in 2005
SHOOTING
Right from the age of the Raj, this has been a fancied sport. Lately, though, the potential has been displayed for the world to see.
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore
Olympic silver medal in 2004 Athens Games. The first ever individual silver by an Indian from the Olympics; won the gold in the individual and team events in Men8217;s double trap at the 2005 Asian Clay Shooting championships at Bangkok; double trap team gold in 2005 Commonwealth Shooting Championships.
Abhinav Bindra
Made a junior world record in air rifle with a score of 597/600 in 2001 Munich World Cup and won bronze; gold in 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games; became the first Indian shooter to win a World title in 2006 Zagreb.
Manavjit Singh Sandhu
World title in trap event in 2006.
Samresh Jung
Won two golds in the second South Asian Federation Shooting Championship in 1997; two Gold medals at the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games; won five golds at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games and adjudged the Most Outstanding Athlete of the Games.
Anjali Bhagwat
In the 2000 Sydney Olympics Anjali put up a spirited effort to become only the second Indian woman to reach an Olympic final in the 10m air rifle event and ended a creditable seventh. At the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games, Anjali grabbed four gold medals at the 10 meter Air Rifle and 50 meter Rifle 3-position events.
SWIMMING
Indians aren8217;t strong in this discipline. Yet, names like Khajan Singh and Bula Chowdhury come up often.
Bula Chowdhury
In a career spanning 24 years, Bula has become the first woman in the world to have conquered the seven seas in five continents. She earned this distinction in August, 2004 by crossing the Palk Straits from Talaimannar in Sri Lanka to Dhanushkodi in Tamil Nadu in approximately 14 hours.
Virdhaval Khade
Became the first Indian to qualify for the Olympic Games Beijing
ARCHERY
An ancient sport, an Indian art, now also getting star value.
Jayanta Talukdar
Member of the Indian team that won silver medal at the junior World Championship in Britain; first Indian archer to win the gold medal in the FITA Meteksan Archery World Cup; world No 1 in individual recurve event; won gold at 2006 Colombo SAF Games.
BADMINTON
Pullela Gopichand
Won the All-England Open Badminton Championship in 2001; reached the finals of the Indian Open, a Grand Prix event
Aparna Popat
Won the Women8217;s Singles in the French Open, Paris in 1998; won silver at the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games; runner-up in the World Junior Championship at Denmark in 1996; Arjuna Award for 2005.
Saina Nehwal
Currently ranked world no. 24, Nehwal is the first Indian woman to win a four star badminton title. She holds the world U-19 women8217;s singles title.
TENNIS
Another traditional draw for the country. And most of it through personal effort.
Leander Paes
Grand Slams: Men8217;s doubles 1999 8212; French open w/Bhupathi, Wimbledon w/Bhupathi
2001 8212; French open w/Bhupathi
2006 8212; US Open w/Martin Damm
Mixed doubles 1999 8212; Wimbledon w/Navratilova, 2003 Australian open w/Navratilova, 2003 Wimbledon w/Raymond
Olympics: 1996, Atlanta, singles bronze medal
2004: Paes and Bhupathi narrowly missed out on the bronze after they lost to Croatians Mario Ancic and Ivan Ljubicic in the bronze medal match.
Davis Cup: 1993, along with Ramesh Krishnan, helped India defeat France winning singles against Henri Leconte and Arnaud Boetsch in World Group quarter finals on French clay.
1998: He recorded the biggest upset win of his career when he beat Pete Sampras in straight sets at the Pilot Pen international.
Doha Asian Games: Men8217;s doubles gold medal. Partnering Mahesh Bhupathi. Mixed doubles gold, with Sania.With this, Paes lifted his total tally in singles and doubles at the Asian Games to a record six medals. He has now won four gold medals in doubles.
Awards: 1996-97, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna shared with N Kunjarani Devi, 2001 8212; Padma Shri.
Mahesh Bhupathi
Grand Slams: Men8217;s doubles 1999 8212; French Open w/Paes, Wimbledon w/Paes
2001 8212; French Open w/Paes
2002 8212; US Open w/Mirnyi.
Paes and Bhupathi reached the finals of all Slams in 1999. On April 26, 1999 they become the world8217;s top-ranked doubles team.
Mixed Doubles:
1997 8212; French Open w/Hiraki
1999 8212;US Open w/Sugiyama
2002 8212; Wimbledon w/Likhotseva
2005 8212; Wimbledon w/Pierce, US Open w/Hantuchova
2006 8212; Australian Open w/Hingis
Doha Asian Games: men8217;s doubles gold medal, with Paes.
Awards: 2001, Padma Shri
Sania Mirza
2005 8212; She began the year ranked 206, but her phenomenal climb saw her end at 34th.
She made it to the Australian Open third round, and ended it with a fourth-round showing at the US Open.
She won her first WTA tour title in Hyderabad-the first Indian woman to do so, and was named Newcomer of the Year.
Table tennis
Achanta Sharath Kamal
2004 8212; Winner of the men8217;s singles gold at the 16th Commonwealth Table Tennis championships at Kuala Lumpur
2006 8212; winner of the gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne
Current world ranking 8212; 86
Recipient of the Arjuna Award in 2004.
