India is home to many great athletes like PT Usha and Ashwini Nachappa who brought immense pride to our nation in the past. Over the years, India’s performance in athletics at the international level is only improving with young talents performing extremely well in the Commonwealth and Asian Games. In the recently held 2018 Commonwealth Games at Australia, India bagged 26 Gold medals and a total of 66 medals. The World Athletics Day which is observed today popularises sports and promotes athletics in educational institutions along with promoting new talent in the field of athletics. On the occasion of the World Athletics Day, we bring to you some successful modern day athletes from India, who made us proud in the recent past with their achievements.
Vinesh Phogat
Vinesh Phogat is an Indian woman wrestler whose cousins Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari, are much acclaimed international wrestlers and Commonwealth Games medalists. Vinesh Phogat was born on 25th August 1994 in a Hindu Jat family. Phogat won the gold medal in women’s 50kg freestyle wrestling at 2018 Commonwealth Games. She also won the gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games thus becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to win gold in the Asian Games. She became the first Indian athlete to be nominated for Laureus World Sports Awards to be held on the 18th of February 2019.
Neeraj Chopra
Neeraj Chopra is an Indian track and field athlete, and a javelin ace. He was born on 24th December 1997 in a small village named Khandra in the Panipat district of Haryana. Chopra won a gold medal, setting the national record of 88.06 m at the 2018 Asian Games and also won a gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Rahi Jeevan Sarnobat
Rahi Jeevan Sarnobat, born on 30th October 1990 and hails from Kolhapur in Maharashtra became the first Indian woman shooter to win a gold medal in shooting at the Asian Games at 2018 Jakarta Palembang in Women’s 25 metre pistol event. Sarnobat has successfully bagged two gold medals in 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. In the 2014 Commonwealth Games she bagged gold in the Women’s 25-metre pistol and the same year, she won the Bronze medal in the 25-metre pistol team event at the 2014 Asian Games.
Hima Das
Nicknamed as the Dhing Express, Hima Das, was born on 9th January 2000 at the Kandhulimari village, in Assam. Das is a sprint runner and was the first Indian to win gold medal in World U-20 Athletics Championship in a track event. Das holds the current Indian national record in 400 metres with timing of 50.79 at the 2018 Asian Games.
Dutee Chand
Dutee Chand was born on 3rd February 1996 in Jajpur district, Odisha. Chand is an Indian professional sprinter and holds the reputation of becoming the third Indian woman to have ever qualified for the women’s 100 metres event at the Summer Olympic Games. In 2016 Federation Cup National Athletics Championship Chand clocked 11.33 seconds in women’s 100m to win the gold and set new national record by breaking earlier national record of 11.38 seconds.
Lalita Babar
Lalita Babar was born on 2nd June 1989 in a small village in the Satara district of Maharashtra. She competes in the 3000 metres steeplechase and is the current Indian national record holder. In the 2016 Rio Olympics she had entered into the finals and became the first Indian in 32 years, after P. T. Usha, to enter the finals in any track event in Olympics. Babar was named as the Sports Person of the Year in the India Sports Awards 2015 and was also honored with Arjuna Award 2016 for her contribution in the field of athletics.
Tejaswin Shankar
Tejaswin Shankar was born on 21 December 1998 is an Indian athlete who competed in the high jump event of 2.29 metres set in April 2018. Shankar won the gold medal at the 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games setting a record of 2.14 metres. He won silver at the 2016 South Asian Games in Guwahati. He finished sixth at the Asian Junior Championships and missed the 2016 World Junior Championships.
Beant Singh
Beant Singh, 1999 born and hailing from Delhi, won Gold medal in Asian Youth Athletics in 2015 and has already set a youth national record. Singh also was leading the list of the fastest times in the world in 2015 in the youth category.
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