13 Famous Indian Athletes

Do you want to learn more about some great Indian athletes? For a country obsessed with cricket, India has developed some of the world’s top athletes. Many sportsmen in Indian sports history have made significant contributions to their respective sports.

Although the majority of the athletes may have gone unnoticed, their performances on the international stage have made a lasting impression.

Furthermore, their accomplishments have brought honor to the entire nation.

As a result, we’ve included some of these outstanding Indian athletes.

With their unwavering hard work and devotion, these sportsmen have left an indelible mark.

So, without further ado, here are thirteen of these beautiful Indian athletes that are the pride of the country.

13 Famous Indian Athletes

This list has been prepared with reference to several trusted sources from the internet like ESPN, Scrolldoll, etc.

Let us take a quick peek at the table before going through the details.

13. Abhinav Bindra

Abhinav Bindra was born on September 28, 1982, in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

Bindra is regarded as one of India’s best shooters.

He attended school in India while attending Colorado Boulder University.

Bindra was quite serious about his interest in the shooting sport.

Bindra flew to Germany to train using the best equipment available outside of India.

And his perseverance and hard effort paid off. As a result, Bindra became one of just two Indians to win an Olympic gold medal.

Bindra is the first Indian to hold both the world and Olympic titles in men’s 10-meter air rifles.

Along with this victory, he holds seven medals from the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games.

Abhinav, who has a 22-year professional career, is an inspiration to many young Indians.

Bindra has successfully paved the road for the new generation of Indian shooters.

Bindra received the Padma Bhusan, India’s third-highest civilian award, for his contributions to the country.

He also runs a non-profit that blends sports, science, and technology with Indian sports.

12. Sushil Kumar

Sushil Kumar, a former Indian wrestler, is the next Indian athlete.

Kumar was born in Delhi, India, on May 26, 1983.

He is the country’s second Olympic medalist in wrestling.

Kumar debuted in the wrestling scene when he was 14 years old.

He began training at the Chhatrasai Stadium’s Akhada in Pehlwani. He eventually moved to freestyle wrestling.

Kumar’s first triumph came in the 1998 World Cadet Games, where he earned a gold medal in his weight group.

He then won another gold medal at the Asian Junior Wrestling Championship in 2000.

Kumar became the first Indian to win a World Wrestling Championship in 2010.

Similarly, he won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in the same year.

Kumar then served as India’s Olympic flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics.

Aside from these victories, he has received other honors and medals throughout his professional career.

In addition, the Indian government has recognized him for his contributions.

11. Sardara Singh

Sardara Singh, 36, is a former Indian field hockey player.

Singh was also the Indian National Team’s captain.

Singh, who was born in the Haryana town of Sant Nagar, made his debut for India’s junior squad during the 2003-4 tour of Poland.

He made his senior debut against Pakistan in 2006.

Sardara spent the majority of his professional career in the center-half position.

He has represented domestic teams like the Chandigarh Dynamos and the Hyderabad Sultans.

He was also a member of international teams like KHC Leuven and HC Bolemendaal.

Singh was the captain of the Indian squad for eight years.

He was the Indian team’s youngest captain at the time.

Singh is a Deputy Superintendent Police Officer of the Haryana Police and plays for their squad in addition to being a hockey player.

Sardara has received numerous prizes and accolades throughout his professional career.

In addition, he was the highest-paid marquee player in the inaugural Hockey Indian League.

In addition, he made his debut in the Punjabi music industry.

He retired in 2018 after a 12-year professional career.

The government of India bestowed the Padma Shri award on Singh in 2015.

10. Sachin Tendulkar

India is a cricket-crazed country, and Sachin Tendulkar’s name is well-known throughout the country.

Tendulkar, who was born in Maharastra, India, is regarded as one of the best batsmen in cricket history.

Tendulkar’s monikers include “Little Master” and “Master Blaster.”

Tendulkar chose cricket over his father, a well-known Marathi novelist, and poet.

He distinguished himself as a kid genius at a young age. Local cricketing circles predicted he’d go down in history as one of the greats.

Tendulkar proved them wrong, establishing himself as one of the top batsmen on both home and international stages.

His prime years in his professional career are believed to be 1994-1999.

Tendulkar owns numerous records and accomplishments that have yet to be broken by another player.

Some of his records include being the top run-scorer in international cricket history and the only player to have scored one hundred international hundreds.

Similarly, he holds the record for the most runs in both Test and ODI cricket, and he was the first batter to make a double century in an ODI.

In addition, he is the first player in international cricket history to have scored more than 30,000 runs.

Tendulkar was also given the Khel Ratna award in 1997, which is the highest athletic honor, as well as the Padma Shri and Padman Vibushan.

Despite his retirement from all forms of cricket, Tendulkar remains the most important figure in Indian cricket history.

9. Sunil Chhetri

Next on our list is a professional football player.

Sunil Chhetri is a forward and captain of the Indian national team as well as Bengaluru of the Indian Super League.

Chhetri, 38, was born in Andhra Pradesh (now Telangana), India.

In 2002, he began his professional football career with the Mohun Bagan of the National Football League.

Chettri made his international debut in the 2007 Nehru Cup.

In his debut, Chhetri scored two goals as India thrashed Cambodia 6-0. He has been a member of both domestic and international teams.

Chhetri joined the Kansas City Wizards of Major League Soccer in 2010.

This made him the third notable player from the subcontinent to travel abroad. Chettri was the leading player in his country’s victories in the Nehru Cup in 2007, 2009, and 2012.

Similarly, Chhetri was instrumental in India winning the SAFF Championship in 2011, 2015, and 2021.

He has the most caps and is the all-time leading goalscorer in Indian football history.

Chettri was awarded the Padma Shri in 2019 for his efforts and contributions.

Similarly, in 2021, he was granted the Khel Ratna Award, making him the first footballer to receive India’s top sporting distinction.

Chhetri has surpassed Lionel Messi to become the second-highest international goalscorer as of 2021.

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8. Mary Kom

Mangte Chungneijang was born.

Mary Kom is an amateur boxer from Manipur, India. Kom, 39, is the only woman to have won the World Amateur Boxing Championship six times.

Kom was born into a low-income family and was given the nickname “Magnificent Mary.”

She took part in sports such as volleyball, football, and athletics.

She moved to box in 2000, motivated by Dingko Singh’s success.

Although Mary took a brief break following her marriage, she returned to training after the birth of her first child.

She has participated in other national and international events since then, earning numerous prizes and medals.

Kom won a silver medal at the Asian Women’s Boxing Championships in India in 2008.

The following year, she won her fourth consecutive gold medal in the 2008 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in China.

Kom was the only Indian female boxer who qualified for the Summer Olympics in 2012.

Kom became the first Indian boxer to win a gold medal at the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, in 2014.

Similarly, Mary became the first Indian boxer to win gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

She is also the first boxer (male or female) to have won eight World Championship medals.

She is also the only female boxer to have won a medal at the first World Championships.

Following her sixth world title, the government of Manipur bestowed upon her the title “Menthol Leima,” which means “excellent or exceptional lady,” in 2018.

In 2020, she was also awarded the Padma Vibhusan.

7. MS Dhoni 

Known to Indian cricket fans as MS Dhoni or Mahi, he was born Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

He is a former Indian international cricketer from Bihar (now Jharkhand).

Dhoni, now 41, has been playing cricket since he was a child.

He was chosen to play for the Central Coal Field Limited (CCL) team in 1998.

He subsequently went on to play for the Bihar and Jharkhand cricket teams before being selected for the India A team.

In 2004-2005, Dhoni made his international debut.

However, he got off to a shaky start in his ODI career.

Dhoni was able to make a breakthrough despite a rocky start.

From 2008 until 2014, the cricketer captained the Indian squad in Test cricket. He captained the Indian national cricket team in limited-overs formats from 2007 to 2017.

India topped the Test cricket rankings for the first time under Dhoni’s captaincy in 2009.

Mahi is also the first Indian wicket-keeper to reach the 4,000-run mark.

Similarly, he possesses a number of records in his name.

Dhoni is often regarded as the finest Indian cricket skipper.

He retired from Test cricket in 2014 and from limited-overs captaincy in 2017.

Dhoni has retired from international cricket, but he remains involved in domestic cricket.

He is now the captain of the Chennai Super Kings, an Indian Premier League franchise side.

6. Milkha Singh

Milkah Singh, a former Indian track and field sprinter, is up next on our list.

Singh, who was born on November 20, 1929, in Punjab, was introduced to the sport while serving in the Indian Army.

Singh is one of India’s most recognizable athletes.

Because of his speed, he was dubbed “The Flying Sikh.” Singh, who is from a distant area, admitted that the army introduced him to the sport.

He had no idea what running was or what the Olympics were.

He competed in the 200m and 400m races for India at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games.

Singh has since represented India on international stages other than the Olympics, including the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games.

Singh is the first athlete to have won gold in the 400m at both the Asian and Commonwealth Games.

Similarly, he was able to bring home gold medals from the Asian Games in 1958 and 1962.

Similarly, Singh won gold medals in the 200 meters and 400 meters at the 1958 Cuttack National Games.

He won gold in the 440-yard race at the Commonwealth Games the same year.

In 1959, the Indian government awarded him the Padma Shri for his contributions to Indian sport.

In 2008, journalist Rohit Brijnath referred to Singh as “the finest athlete India has ever produced.”

Unfortunately, the flying Sikh died on June 18, 2021, at the age of 91, as a result of COVID-19 complications.

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5. Mithali Raj

39-year-old man Mithali Raj is an Indian cricketer who was born in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.

She is the captain of India’s women’s cricket squad. She is regarded as one of the best female cricketers in Indian and worldwide women’s history.

Mithali has selected a possibility for the 1997 Women’s Cricket World Cup when she was 14 years old.

However, Raj was unable to reach the final squad at the time.

She made her international debut against Ireland in 1999 at Milton Keynes.

In 2017, Raj was named the Wisden Leading Woman Cricketer in the World.

She has the most runs in women’s international cricket.

She is also the only female cricketer to have scored 7,000 runs in Women’s One-Day Internationals.

Aside from these accomplishments, Raj has numerous other records.

She is the first player in ODI history to score seven consecutive 50s, and she also holds the record for most half-centuries in Women’s ODIs.

In the 2018 Women’s Twenty20 Asia Cup, Raj became the first Indian player (male or female) to achieve 2000 runs in T20Is.

In 2015, the Indian government bestowed upon her the Padma Shri, the country’s fourth-highest civilian honor.

In addition, she received the Arjuna Award and the Major Dhyanchand Khel Ratna, India’s second and first highest athletic honors.

4. Saina Nehwal

Saina Nehwal, a professional badminton player, is on our list of prominent Indian athletes.

Nehwal, 32, was born in Haryana, India. She used to be the world’s best badminton player.

Nehal began playing badminton when he was eight years old

After winning the “Asian Satellite Badminton Tournament” (India Chapter) twice in 2006, she won the under-19 champion and made history.

She was the first player to achieve this feat.

In 2006, at the age of 16, Nehal became the first Indian woman and the youngest Asian player to win the Philippines Open, a four-star tournament.

Nehal attained the global number one ranking in 2015, being the only female player from India to do so.

She has also won over 24 international titles, including 11 Superseries wins.

Nehal has represented India in the Olympics three times.

She became the first Indian to win two Commonwealth Games singles gold medals in 2010 and 2018.

She is not just one of the most successful Indian athletes, but she is also the 18th most generous athlete.

Nehal is credited with growing the popularity of badminton in India.

She is one of India’s most successful athletes.

The government of India has honored her with the Padma Bhushan, Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, and the Arjuna Award.

3. Usha PT

The Golden girl of India is on our third list. Her name is PT Usha, and she was born in Kuttali, Kerala, on June 27, 1964.

Usha is a former track and field athlete who is known as the “Queen of Indian Track and Field.”

OM Nambiar, an athletics coach, first observed Usha at a sports medal distribution ceremony in 1977.

He noted her slim build and quick walking style, which led him to assume she would make an exceptional sprinter.

Nambiar began coaching Usha the same year, and she won six medals at the 1978 inter-state meet.

She went on to win many medals in the 1979 National Games and the 1980 National inter-state meet.

Throughout her professional career, Usha has won numerous medals and set various national records.

For example, at the Open National Championships in 1983, she broke 200m national records and created a new 400m record.

Similarly, Usha created a new Commonwealth Games record when she advanced to the final.

She won 13 gold medals at ATF meets between 1983 and 1989.

She earned four gold medals and one silver medal at the 10th Asian Games in 1986.

She earned five gold medals and one bronze medal at the Jakarta Asian Championships in 1985.

With her victory, she became the only athlete in history to win five gold medals in a single international meet.

PT Usha announced her retirement in 1990; prior to her retirement in 1985, she was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India.

Usha is currently a member of the International Movement to Unite Nations’ Board of Advisors.

2. Sania Mirza

Sania Mirza, a professional tennis player, ranks second on our list of renowned Indian athletes.

Mirza, 35, was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

She is also a former world No. 1 in doubles.

Mirza began her professional tennis career in 2003.

In her junior years, she won 10 singles and 13 doubles trophies under her father’s tutelage.

Mirza has achieved important victories over world-renowned players including Martina Hingis, Dinara Safina, and Victoria Azarenka since making her senior debut.

Mirza has a singles title as well as a Grand Slam title. Mirza is one of just two Indian female tennis players to have won a WTA title.

Similarly, she is the third Indian woman and the second to play in and win a Grand Slam round.

Mirza has set numerous records and achieved numerous accolades over her playing career.

She has 14 Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, and Afro-Asian Games medals to her name.

Mirza was designated one of the “50 Heroes of Asia” in the October 2005 issue of the Times.

Similarly, she was named one of the “33 women who made India proud” in the March 2010 issue of The Economic Times.

Mirza was named UN Women’s Goodwill Ambassador for South Asia in 2013.

Similarly, she was named one of the world’s 100 most influential people by Time magazine in 2016.

1. Indian cricketer Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli, the test captain of the Indian national cricket team, will round up our list of prominent Indian athletes. Kohli, 33, was born in Delhi and is widely regarded as one of the greatest cricketers of all time.

Kohli made his Under-15 cricket debut for Delhi in the 2002 Polly Umrigar Trophy.

Virat made his first-class debut against Tamil Nadu in 2004, and his Twenty20 debut in 2007. Kohli made his Test debut in 2011.

Kohli is one of India’s best batsmen. He is the fastest player to 23,000 international runs and one of the fastest batsman to 5,000 runs in one-day international cricket.

Kohll has received various awards in addition to his records.

For example, in 2016, 2017, and 2018, he was named the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World.

Similarly, ESPN named him one of the world’s most renowned athletes, while Forbes named him the most valuable athlete brand.

Similarly, Times magazine named him one of the world’s 100 most important individuals in 2018.

Forbes placed him 66th on their list of the top 100 highest-paid sportsmen in 2020.

Kohli received the Arjuna Awards in 2013.

He was also given the Padma Shri in 2017 and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2018.

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Conclusion

These notable Indian sportsmen have demonstrated that India is the birthplace of some of the world’s most outstanding athletes.

These players have dedicated their lives to bringing glory to their country.

Although from various fields, these athletes are some of the best in their respective sports.

We hope this list has provided you with a little better knowledge about these Indian athletes.