India is a cricket-loving nation. The land of agriculture got its glorified version of gilli-danda when British sailors set their course towards India in the 18th century. Since then, India has scaled newer heights and enjoyed tremendous success — domestically and internationally — in the sport. Having set up stupendous milestones in the sport, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has even superseded the International Cricket Council (ICC) in terms of worth and financial play. Indian cricket has further produced many superstars of the game, which are no less than Gods for the Indian public. This growth and development have only fuelled the pockets of agencies associated with cricket.
However, in the last few years, or in fact a few months, personalities from other sports have bagged historic triumphs. Unfortunately, their success was hardly noticed. But the fact remains that Indians have created a dent and made a mark in other sports, including football and made the world sit up to take note of it.
Youth Flourish in Badminton
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won their maiden Super 1000 Men’s Doubles Title in 2023 |
Badminton has also been one of the sports where Indian athletes are doing well for the last few years. Thomas Cup victory in 2022 is a perfect example of the same. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won their maiden Super 1000 Men’s Doubles Title in 2023. They became the first Indian pair to lift the Indonesia Open Title. They then went on to reach career-best world number three in the latest BWF ranking.
Twenty-six years old, Chirag, a Mumbaikar, who trains at Goregaon under the guidance of Uday Pawar, has spoken about how Badminton deserves audience attention in the past.
Lakshya Sen, who is also known as the world's best young player, recently won the Canada Open.
Lakshya Sen- Badminton |
PV Sindhu, and Saina Nehwal are struggling for a while. However, when it comes to the Olympic or World Championship, Sindhu never fails to deliver.
Chhetri and his company’s glory
Sunil Chhetri- Football |
From 1930 to 2022, 22 FIFA Football World Cups have been organised. Still, the world’s largest populated country, India, is yet to play in this prestigious tournament. India had a golden chance in 1950 to participate in FIFA. However, they withdrew for reasons unknown. Nevertheless, there’s still some hope as Indian football has witnessed a remarkable transformation in recent years, with significant milestones and achievements contributing to the steady rise of the sport in the country.
From winning the Intercontinental Cup in 2023 to qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup to be held in 2024, Indian Football is making its presence felt. Under the captainship of Sunil Chhetri, one of the all-time greats, India also went on to win SAFF Cup for a record ninth time in July. The dream of qualifying for the World Cup is still far away, but this team is devoted to it. Chhetri, who has scored 93 goals for India in 142 matches, is at the number three position in terms of active players with more goals. Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo (123 goals in 200 matches), and Argentina’s Lionel Messi (103 goals in 175 matches) are ahead of Chhetri.
The fanbase has also increased in the last two-three years, with passionate supporters rallying behind the national team. The fans’ support acts as a catalyst for the players, motivating them to strive for excellence and further elevating the profile of Indian football.
Wrestlers’ plight
Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia and other well-known wrestlers have been demanding the arrest of the President of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) & Bharatiya Janata Party member of Parliament, Brij Bhushan Charan Singh. He has been accused of sexual harassment. Wrestlers’ fight for justice is still in the court.
Wrestlers’ plight |
However, one cannot ignore wrestlers' outstanding performances in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics or the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Of seven medals that India won at Tokyo Olympics, two were bagged by Bajrang and Ravi Kumar Dahiya. Whereas, in the Commonwealth Games, India took home 12 medals from wrestlers, which is also the highest compared to other sports.
Vinesh, Bajrang, and Sakshi have become the face of Indian wrestling, still their performance for the country has been neglected compared to cricketers.
