5 Sportswomen Who Are Making India Proud

There was a time when Indian women did not have much presence on the national platform. But now, the time has changed and so, is the awareness and opportunity for the women folk in the country.

From PT Usha to Sania Mirza , India has traveled a long destination towards the achievements of our women folk in the sports world.Indian women are making news in areas of sports like boxing , wrestling , cricket , shooting once dominated by men.

* Saina Nehwal, Badminton

Making big news through her hardwork, dedication and talent, Saina has been ranked number 3 in the world by Badminton World Federation.She is the first woman who had made it to the singles quarter finals in Olympic games and the first Indian to win Super Series Tournament in 2009. She also won a gold medal in Women’s Single Shuttle Badminton in Common Wealth Games, 2010.

* Anjum Chopra, Cricket

A player in the Indian Women’s Cricket team, Anjum was the first every female Indian player to score a century in One Day International match. She is a left handed batsmen and an opener in cricket matches.Having played 12 test matches and 116 One Day Internationals, she is a right-arm medium-fast bowler. She has been awarded with the Arjuna Award in 2007 for her valuable contribution to Indian Women’s Cricket.

* Sonika Kaliraman, Wrestling

Sonika is the only Indian woman wrestler having made it to the Asian Games. Her father Master Chandgi Ram and brother Jagdish are very well known names in the field of wrestling in India.Sonika, hence, carries forward her family in the sport. Married to an NRI, Siddharth Malik, she in now settled in California, USA, originally hailing from Haryana.

* Tejaswini Sawant, Shooting

Daughter of an Indian Navy Officer, Ravindra Sawant, Tejaswini represented India in 2004 at the 9th South Asian Sports Federation Games. She has been supported currently by Olympic Gold Quest. She in 2006 Common Wealth Games won gold medals in Women’s 10m Air Rifle Singles and Women’s 10m Air Rifle pairs.In 2009 in 50m Rifle three positions she won a bronze and in 2010 she became a world champion in 50m Rifle Prone game held in Germany. In 2010 Common Wealth Games she won two silver and one bronze medals in Women’s 50m Rifle Prone Singles, Women’s 50m Rifle 3 positions and Women’s 50m Rifle Prone Pairs respectively. Tejaswini was the first Indian woman shooter to win a Gold medal at the World Championships in 50 m Rifle Prone game.

* MC Mary Kom, Boxing

‘Magnificent Mary’ had punched her way into our hearts long before she became the kind of superstar movies are made about. A Bronze Medallist at the 2012 London Olympics in the Flyweight category, Mary Kom has a lot of firsts to her credit, including being the sole female sportsperson to be conferred a Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian honour.