What role has sports played in your life? For many of us, sports were arguably the best part of growing up. That familiar whiff of childhood — off march past and relays during sports days; playing cricket on a Sunday afternoon; the frenzy over an India-Pakistan match or a Manchester United-Liverpool Game; better still the pride of watching PV Sindhu play! To commemorate sports and everything it stands for, India celebrates 29 August as National Sports Day. This day marks the birth anniversary of Indian hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand. And, the Indian President honours sports champions with the Khel Ratna, Arjuna, Dronacharya and Dhyan Chand awards. So, we thought there could be no better day than today to learn about the Indian women making waves in our sports industry.
In the recently concluded 2022 Commonwealth Games (CWG), the Indian contingent won 61 medals and ranked 4th out of 72 participating countries. The women in this contingent broke several records and the medals they won is testament to their exemplary performance: Athletics (2 medals), Badminton (3 medals), Boxing (3 medals), Cricket (1 medal), Hockey (1 medal), Judo (2 medals), Lawn Bowls (1 medal), Squash (1 medal), Table Tennis (3 medal), Weightlifting (3 medals) and Wrestling (6 medals). Without much ado, scroll for a quick read about the winners from the 2022 CWG!
Athletics
Priyanka Goswami: won the silver medal in the 10,000 metres race walk, making her the first Indian woman to win a medal in this event. Priyanka, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, holds the national record in the 20km race walk event and has also represented India in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Annu Rani: set a record for being the first Indian woman to win a medal in Javelin Throw. Annu, who is also from Uttar Pradesh won a bronze medal in this event. In 2019, she became the first Indian athlete to reach the finals in a Javelin Throw event in the World Athletics Championships.
Badminton
PV Sindhu: won her first gold medal at the 2022 CWG. The two time Olympic medallist from Hyderabad had previously won a bronze (2014) and silver (2018) at the CWG.
Gayathri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly: The shuttler duo won bronze in the badminton women’s doubles category. Earlier in March 2022, they became the first Indian doubles pair to enter the semifinals of the All England championships. While Treesa is from Kerala, Gayatri is from Telangana and interestly her father happens to be the decorated Indian badminton player, Pullela Gopichand.
Treesa Jolly, PV Sindhu, Gayatri Gopichand, Aakarshi Kashyap and Ashwini Ponappa: were part of the badminton mixed doubles team, which secured the silver medal. Aakarshi, who is from Chhattisgarh, was part of the national women's team that won the gold medal in the 2019 South Asian Games. And, Ashwini, who was born in Bangalore, is a veteran player who along with Jwala Gutta has won many medals for India at the Uber Cup, Asian Badminton and World Championships.
Boxing
Nikhat Zareen: won the gold medal at the 2022 CWG. She was born in Telangana and was introduced to boxing by her father. She has previously won gold medals at the Women's Youth & Junior World Boxing Championships and Women's World Boxing Championships.
Nitu Ghanghas: The two-time world youth champion from Haryana won a gold in the boxing minimum weight category.
Jaismine Lamboria: won the bronze medal in the lightweight category. The athlete comes from a family of boxers in Haryana; her grandfather, Hawa Singh, was a two-time Asian Games gold medalist and her uncles, Sandeep Singh and Parvinder Singh were national champions in boxing.
Cricket
The Indian cricket team made history by reaching the finals of the 2022 CWG, where they won the silver medal. The team consists of Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (Vice Captain), Shafali Verma, S. Meghana, Taniyaa Sapna Bhatia (Wicket-keeper), Yastika Bhatia (Wicket-keeper), Deepti Sharma, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Thakur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Radha Yadav, Harleen Deol and Sneh Rana.
Hockey
The Indian hockey team beat defending champions, New Zealand, to win the bronze medal at the 2022 CWG. The 18 member squad consisted of: Savita (Captain and goalkeeper), Deep Grace Ekka (Vice-Captain), Rajani Etimarpu (goalkeeper), defenders: Gurjit Kaur, Nikki Pradhan and Udita, midfielders: Nisha, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Monika, Neha, Jyoti, Navjot Kaur and Salima Tete.
Judo
Shushila Devi Likmabam: won the silver medal in the 48kg category. The Manipuri athlete has been practising judo since the age of five.
Tulika Maan: who is from Delhi, won the silver medal in the 78kg category.
Lawn Bowls
Lovely Choubey (lead), Pinki, Nayanmoni Saikia and Rupa Rani Tirkey created history as they led India to the first ever gold medal in Lawn Bowls at the 2022 CWG.
Squash
Dipika Palikkal: won the bronze medal in the squash mixed doubles event. The squash champion from Kerala is the first Indian athlete to break into the top 10 rankings of the Professional Squash Association.
Table Tennis
Bhavina Patel: won gold in the women’s singles event. Bhavina, who is from Gujarat is a parathlete who previously won a silver medal at the 2020 Summer Tokyo Paralympics.
Sonalben Patel: is also a para table tennis athlete from Gujarat who won the bronze medal in the women’s singles event.
Sreeja Akula: won the gold medal in the mixed team event. Sreeja, who is from Telangana won the silver medal at the 2013 Junior and Youth National Table Tennis Championships.
Weightlifting
Mirabai Chanu: won the gold medal in the women’s 49kg event. The Olympic silver medalist is from Manipur.
Bindyarani Devi: won the silver medal in the women’s 55kg event and is also from Manipur.
Harjinder Kaur: from Punjab, won the bronze medal in the women’s 71kg event.
Wrestling
Vinesh Phogat: became the first Indian woman wrestler to win gold at both the Commonwealth and Asian Games. Vinesh, who is from Haryana, has won the Arjuna and Major Dhyan Chand awards for wrestling and is the first Indian athlete to be nominated for the Laureus World Sports Awards. Her cousins, Geetha and Babita and father, Rajpal Phogat, are also celebrated wrestlers.
Sakshi Malik: won the gold medal in the 62kg category. The athlete, who is from Haryana, became the first Indian woman in 2016 to win a medal at the Olympics.
Anshu Malik: won the silver medal in the women’s 57kg event at the 2022 CWG. Anshu, who is from Haryana, became the first Indian wrestler in 2021, to win a silver medal in the women’s category at the World Championships.
Divya Kakran: won the bronze medal at the 2022 CWG. She hails from Uttar Pradesh and has won several championships including the Delhi State Championships and the Bharat Kesari competition.
Pooja Gehlot: won the bronze medal in the women's 50 kg event at the 2022 CWG. Previously, the athlete from Delhi won a silver medal at the 2019 World Wrestling Championships.
Pooja Sihag, from Haryana, also won the bronze medal in the women's 76 kg event at the 2022 CWG.
Even as these champions make our country proud, a recent survey unfortunately suggests a gender gap in sports: a lesser number of women engage in sports and a lesser number of citizens view sports involving women. It’s 2022, and this National Sports Day would be a good time to pledge to plug this gap.
In service of sisterhood,
Team BeBadass
What role has sports played in your life? For many of us, sports were arguably the best part of growing up. That familiar whiff of childhood — off march past and relays during sports days; playing cricket on a Sunday afternoon; the frenzy over an India-Pakistan match or a Manchester United-Liverpool Game; better still the pride of watching PV Sindhu play! To commemorate sports and everything it stands for, India celebrates 29 August as National Sports Day. This day marks the birth anniversary of Indian hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand. And, the Indian President honours sports champions with the Khel Ratna, Arjuna, Dronacharya and Dhyan Chand awards. So, we thought there could be no better day than today to learn about the Indian women making waves in our sports industry.
In the recently concluded 2022 Commonwealth Games (CWG), the Indian contingent won 61 medals and ranked 4th out of 72 participating countries. The women in this contingent broke several records and the medals they won is testament to their exemplary performance: Athletics (2 medals), Badminton (3 medals), Boxing (3 medals), Cricket (1 medal), Hockey (1 medal), Judo (2 medals), Lawn Bowls (1 medal), Squash (1 medal), Table Tennis (3 medal), Weightlifting (3 medals) and Wrestling (6 medals). Without much ado, scroll for a quick read about the winners from the 2022 CWG!
Athletics
Priyanka Goswami: won the silver medal in the 10,000 metres race walk, making her the first Indian woman to win a medal in this event. Priyanka, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, holds the national record in the 20km race walk event and has also represented India in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Annu Rani: set a record for being the first Indian woman to win a medal in Javelin Throw. Annu, who is also from Uttar Pradesh won a bronze medal in this event. In 2019, she became the first Indian athlete to reach the finals in a Javelin Throw event in the World Athletics Championships.
Badminton
PV Sindhu: won her first gold medal at the 2022 CWG. The two time Olympic medallist from Hyderabad had previously won a bronze (2014) and silver (2018) at the CWG.
Gayathri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly: The shuttler duo won bronze in the badminton women’s doubles category. Earlier in March 2022, they became the first Indian doubles pair to enter the semifinals of the All England championships. While Treesa is from Kerala, Gayatri is from Telangana and interestly her father happens to be the decorated Indian badminton player, Pullela Gopichand.
Treesa Jolly, PV Sindhu, Gayatri Gopichand, Aakarshi Kashyap and Ashwini Ponappa: were part of the badminton mixed doubles team, which secured the silver medal. Aakarshi, who is from Chhattisgarh, was part of the national women's team that won the gold medal in the 2019 South Asian Games. And, Ashwini, who was born in Bangalore, is a veteran player who along with Jwala Gutta has won many medals for India at the Uber Cup, Asian Badminton and World Championships.
Boxing
Nikhat Zareen: won the gold medal at the 2022 CWG. She was born in Telangana and was introduced to boxing by her father. She has previously won gold medals at the Women's Youth & Junior World Boxing Championships and Women's World Boxing Championships.
Nitu Ghanghas: The two-time world youth champion from Haryana won a gold in the boxing minimum weight category.
Jaismine Lamboria: won the bronze medal in the lightweight category. The athlete comes from a family of boxers in Haryana; her grandfather, Hawa Singh, was a two-time Asian Games gold medalist and her uncles, Sandeep Singh and Parvinder Singh were national champions in boxing.
Cricket
The Indian cricket team made history by reaching the finals of the 2022 CWG, where they won the silver medal. The team consists of Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (Vice Captain), Shafali Verma, S. Meghana, Taniyaa Sapna Bhatia (Wicket-keeper), Yastika Bhatia (Wicket-keeper), Deepti Sharma, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Thakur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Radha Yadav, Harleen Deol and Sneh Rana.
Hockey
The Indian hockey team beat defending champions, New Zealand, to win the bronze medal at the 2022 CWG. The 18 member squad consisted of: Savita (Captain and goalkeeper), Deep Grace Ekka (Vice-Captain), Rajani Etimarpu (goalkeeper), defenders: Gurjit Kaur, Nikki Pradhan and Udita, midfielders: Nisha, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Monika, Neha, Jyoti, Navjot Kaur and Salima Tete.
Judo
Shushila Devi Likmabam: won the silver medal in the 48kg category. The Manipuri athlete has been practising judo since the age of five.
Tulika Maan: who is from Delhi, won the silver medal in the 78kg category.
Lawn Bowls
Lovely Choubey (lead), Pinki, Nayanmoni Saikia and Rupa Rani Tirkey created history as they led India to the first ever gold medal in Lawn Bowls at the 2022 CWG.
Squash
Dipika Palikkal: won the bronze medal in the squash mixed doubles event. The squash champion from Kerala is the first Indian athlete to break into the top 10 rankings of the Professional Squash Association.
Table Tennis
Bhavina Patel: won gold in the women’s singles event. Bhavina, who is from Gujarat is a parathlete who previously won a silver medal at the 2020 Summer Tokyo Paralympics.
Sonalben Patel: is also a para table tennis athlete from Gujarat who won the bronze medal in the women’s singles event.
Sreeja Akula: won the gold medal in the mixed team event. Sreeja, who is from Telangana won the silver medal at the 2013 Junior and Youth National Table Tennis Championships.
Weightlifting
Mirabai Chanu: won the gold medal in the women’s 49kg event. The Olympic silver medalist is from Manipur.
Bindyarani Devi: won the silver medal in the women’s 55kg event and is also from Manipur.
Harjinder Kaur: from Punjab, won the bronze medal in the women’s 71kg event.
Wrestling
Vinesh Phogat: became the first Indian woman wrestler to win gold at both the Commonwealth and Asian Games. Vinesh, who is from Haryana, has won the Arjuna and Major Dhyan Chand awards for wrestling and is the first Indian athlete to be nominated for the Laureus World Sports Awards. Her cousins, Geetha and Babita and father, Rajpal Phogat, are also celebrated wrestlers.
Sakshi Malik: won the gold medal in the 62kg category. The athlete, who is from Haryana, became the first Indian woman in 2016 to win a medal at the Olympics.
Anshu Malik: won the silver medal in the women’s 57kg event at the 2022 CWG. Anshu, who is from Haryana, became the first Indian wrestler in 2021, to win a silver medal in the women’s category at the World Championships.
Divya Kakran: won the bronze medal at the 2022 CWG. She hails from Uttar Pradesh and has won several championships including the Delhi State Championships and the Bharat Kesari competition.
Pooja Gehlot: won the bronze medal in the women's 50 kg event at the 2022 CWG. Previously, the athlete from Delhi won a silver medal at the 2019 World Wrestling Championships.
Pooja Sihag, from Haryana, also won the bronze medal in the women's 76 kg event at the 2022 CWG.
Even as these champions make our country proud, a recent survey unfortunately suggests a gender gap in sports: a lesser number of women engage in sports and a lesser number of citizens view sports involving women. It’s 2022, and this National Sports Day would be a good time to pledge to plug this gap.
In service of sisterhood,
Team BeBadass
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