The Indian women's cricket team along with Pakistan women's cricket captain Bismah Maroof and her baby. The Indian women's team defeated the Pakistan women's team in their ICC Women's World Cup opener by a huge margin of 107 runs thanks to Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma's vital partnership and Rajeshwari Gayakwad's four-wicket haul. Post the match, both team's displayed the true spirit of cricket with the Indian women's team giving Maroof and her newborn baby a warm welcome. Picture Courtesy/ ICC's official Instagram
Sania Mirza: She is a former number one female Indian tennis player and has won the mixed doubles Grand Slams thrice (2009, 2012 and 2014). She also won the women's doubles Wimbledon and US Open in 2015 and the Australian Open in 2016. She became the first Indian female to win a Grand Slam and also the first female Indian player to earn more than USD 1 million. She also has 2 gold medals and 3 silver and bronze medals at the Asian Games and 1 silver and bronze at the Commonwealth Games. She is a recipient of the Padma Shri, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Padma Bhushan and Arjuna awards. (Pic/ AFP)
Smriti Mandhana: The Indian women's cricket team's star batsman Smriti Mandhana is considered the backbone of the Indian batting lineup. In the annual ICC awards in December 2018, Smriti Mandhana was named the ICC Women's ODI Player of the Year and the best female cricketer of the year. Smriti Mandhana is also the youngest T20I captain of the Indian team at the age of 22. She is currently part of the Indian team at the ICC Women's World Cup
The Phogat sisters: The famous Phogat sisters on whom even a super-hit Bollywood has been made are freestyle wrestlers. Geeta Phogat is India's first gold medal winner in the Commonwealth Games. She is also the first Indian female wrestler to qualify for the Olympics. Babita Kumari Phogat is also a gold medallist in the 2014 Commonwealth Games and 2018 Commonwealth Games. The third Phogat sister, Vinesh Phogat, became the first Indian woman wrestler to win gold in both Commonwealth and Asian games.
In Pic: Babita Phogat (left), Geeta Phogat (Right)
Mithali Raj: An Indian cricketer and the captain of the Indian women's ODI team, Mithali is undoubtedly one of the best players ever in the game. She scored an unbeaten century on her ODI debut against Ireland. At age 19, she broke the record for highest individual score in a Test match by scoring 214. She lead team India into the finals of the 2005 World Cup but lost to Australia. She has played 12 Tests and 225 ODIs with an average of 43.68 and 51.85 respectively. She is nicknamed the 'Tendulkar of Indian women's cricket.' She is also the leading run scorer of all time for Indian in all three formats. Mithali is a recipient of the Padma Shri and Arjuna award. (Pic/ Atul Kamble)
Dipika Pallikal Karthik: This Indian squash player became the first woman in the country to break into the top ten WSA rankings. She also came close to success when she reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open in 2012. She went on to win a gold medal in doubles at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and 2 silver medals in the 2018 CWG. Dipika has also win silver and 2 bronze medals at the Asian Games. She was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2012 and the Padma Shri in 2014. (Pic/ Atul Kamble)
Saina Nehwal: Another Indian badminton star, who is a former world number one, hails from Hyderabad. After creating a record as first Indian to win an Olympic medal in badminton during the 2012 Summer Olympics, she reached her peak in 2015 when she was ranked world number one. She has 1 silver and bronze at World Championships, 2 Asian Championships bronze medals, 2 Uber Cup bronze, 1 Asian Games bronze and gold, silver and bronze each at the Commonwealth Games. She won the Arjuna Award in 2009, the Padma Shri and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2010 and the Padma Bhushan in 2016
P.V. Sindhu: The female badminton player was the first-ever Indian singles player to win a World Championships medal and is also the first Indian badminton player to become a world champion after she clinched gold. She is also a silver medallist at the Rio Olympics 2016. Over the years Sindhu bagged various badminton medals namely 1 silver and 2 bronze in World Championships, 2 Uber Cup bronze, 1 Commonwealth Games bronze, 1 Asia Championships bronze, gold and silver each in South Asian Games and more. At the 2020 Olympics, Sindhu won a bronze medal to become the first Indian woman to ever win 2 Olympic medals. She is also a recipient of the Padma Shri, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and Arjuna awards.
Manasi Joshi: She is a para-badminton player who clinched the top honours in the women's singles SL3 final defeating World No. 1 and compatriot Parul Parmar 21-12, 21-7 to pick her maiden title in Basel, Switzerland on August 25, 2019, the very day on which ace shuttler P.V. Sindhu won the gold at the World Championships.
Mary Kom: This six-time world boxing champion is a sheer lion at heart. Mary is the only female boxer to bag a medal in all six championships. In 2012, she also became the only female boxer to participate and then win a bronze medal in the London Olympics. She also has a gold and bronze medal to her name at the 2014 and 2010 Asian Games respectively. Mary Kom has a stunning 5 gold medals and a silver at the Asian Boxing Championship. She has also won a gold at the Commonwealth Games. Mary Kom is a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and Arjuna awards
Jwala Gutta: The thirteen-time Badminton National champion has always been a fighting sports star no matter the hurdles in her life. She has bagged 2 silver medals and a gold and bronze medal in the Commonwealth games for mixed doubles and women's doubles and mixed doubles categories. She has also won 1 bronze in World Championships, 3 gold medals at the South Asian Games, 2 Uber Cup bronze and an Asian Championship bronze medal
Ashwini Ponnappa: Another badminton player who has often partnered with Jwala Gutta. Following Jwala's footsteps, she has won 2 gold medals, 2 silver medals and bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games. She also won a bronze medal at the Asian Games 2014, two gold medals and one silver at the South Asian Games, 2 Uber Cup bronze medals and one bronze at the World Championships. Pic/ Sayed Sameer Abedi
Sharmila Nicollet: Originally from Bangalore this Indo-French golfer is the youngest to ever qualify for a European Tour. During the Asian Games held in Doha, she represented India. She has won the Player of the Year award in 2010 as well as Lady golfer of the year in 2007
Tania Sachdev: The Indian chess player got all to pay their attention when she won her first-ever International chess title at the age of eight. She has also won the International master in 2008 and the Woman Grandmaster in 2005. In July 2019, Tania Sachdev won the Commonwealth women's championship and successfully defended her title. Tania is also a commentator and chess presenter. Pic/ Subhash Barolia
Shikha Tandon: Hailing from Bangalore, this swimmer was the only one from India at the 2004 Olympics at Athens. She also qualified for two separate events in Olympics being the first Indian swimmer to do so. She is the first woman to hold seven national records at a time. She was a recipient of the Arjuna Award in 2005
Shikha Uberoi: This Indo-American tennis player was the second-ever Indian female to win a Grand Slam tournament round during the US Open 2004. She also represented India during the Asian Games in 2006. She was also the team leader for India Fed Cup. (Pic/ Suresh K.K.)
Deepika Kumari: She is an Indian archer who participated in the 2012 London Olympics. Deepika has also bagged two Gold medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, one bronze medal at the 2010 Asian Games, 3 gold and silvers medals in the World Cup and 2 silver medals in the World Championships. She was given the Arjuna Award in 2012. (Pic/ Rajeev Tyagi)
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