International Women’s Day: Tribute to women who made country proud at global stage

On March 8, International Women’s Day is celebrated annually to commemorate the cultural, political, and socioeconomic achievements of women. Over the years, Women’s participation in the sporting field has increased all over the world. Here we will discuss the  sporting champions, who bought accolades for India.

 1. Mithali Raj

India’s Test and ODI skipper has a 23-year-old career in international cricket. She made her ODI debut in 1999 against Ireland and test debut in 2002 against England. In these years, the right-hander accumulated 7623 runs in 225 ODIs, 699 runs in 12 Tests, and 2364 in 89 T20Is. She is the only player to score in excess of 7000 runs in ODIs. During the Asia Cup in June 2018, she became the first Indian player to score in excess of 2000 runs in the shortest format. The next year, she retired from the format to concentrate on ODIs and Tests. Talking about the awards the 39-year-old has won, she was conferred with four different awards. The India skipper won the Arjuna Award in 2003, Padma Shri in 2015, Wisden Leading Women Cricketer of the World in 2017, and Major Dhyanchand Khel Ratna in 2021.

2. P.V Sindhu   

Badminton player Sindhu is one of the best sportspersons in the country. She is only the second athlete to win back-to-back medals which she won in the 2016 and 2021 Olympic games. Also, she is the only Indian to become World Champion in the game. She has also won her first super series title at the 2016 China Open. Talking about the awards, she has won Arjuna Award , Major Dhyanchand Khel Ratna, Padma Shri, and Padma Bhushan.

3. Mary Kom

She is the only boxer to win the World Amateur Boxing Championship six times. Also, she is the only boxer to win a medal in the first seven World Championships. She became the first Indian female boxer to win a gold medal in Asian Games 2014. Four years later, she won another gold medal in Commonwealth Games. In 2016, she was nominated as the Rajya Sabha member by the President Of India. Next year, she was appointed as observers of boxing alongside Akhil Kumar.

4. Avni Lakhera

She is one of the finest Paralympians of India in Shooting. Last year, she won a gold medal in the Paralympics in Tokyo. She was conferred with Khel Ratna Award the same year, and this year, she won Padma Shri.

5. Mirabai Chanu

Last year, she won the silver medal in Olympics and shrugged of the 2016 disappointment, where she couldn’t lift a single clean and jerk in three attempts. She won a silver medal in Commonwealth games in 2014.