Meet Heena Sindhu- First Indian shooter to reach No.1 in the World Ranking
Why do we fail to appreciate the Indian athletes who are not playing cricket? We all give more importance to cricket but not other sports? Why is it so? Yes, it depends on one’s personal interest but let’s learn to praise the players who give their heart out playing for India. Do you know who is Heena Sidhu? She is India’s professional sports shooter.
Sindhu shot into prominence when she became the first Indian shooter to reach the number one spot in the world ranking on 7 April 2014. After a slew of consistent performances with grit and determination, she was able to get the better of the opponents and made the country proud. She didn’t allow the negativity to get the better of herself and she went about her business, come what may.
She carved out a reputation for herself as a successful shooter. As far as her education career is concerned, Heena had completed bachelors in the Dental surgery. Talking about shooting, not just Sidhu but even her father was a recognised sports shooter at the national level.
Interestingly, Heena Sidhu’s brother is also a professional shooter and he actively involves in the 10-metre air pistol event. Sidhu’s husband Ronak Pandit, with whom she got married is also a pistol shooter. Heena Sidhu currently lives in Goregaon, Mumbai. Heena Sidhu’s professional shooting venture began in the year 2006. She had actively taken part in the national games for both junior and senior teams. Heena Sidhu wrote a success story for herself when she along with shooter Annu Raj Singh bagged the gold medal in the 2010 commonwealth games in the women’s air pistol in 10 metre.
Heena Sidhu bagged the gold medal at the International Shooting Sports Federation World Cup Finals in Munich, Germany in 2013. Her string of good recitals steered her to qualify for the Summer Olympics of Rio in 2016 in the women’s 10-metre air pistol and the women’s 25-metre pistol events.
As per the rankings released by International Shooting Sports Federation, Heena Sidhu had become world No.1 in the 10 metres air pistol event.
She continued her winning prowess as she won a gold medal in the Asian Air Gun Championship in Kuwait and also finished with a silver at the ISSF rifle/pistol World Cup in Fort Benning, USA. At the competitive World Cup tournament, 2013 in Munich, Sidhu stole the spotlight as she created a world record score to win the gold medal.
Meet Abhinav Bindra- First Indian To Win Gold In Olympics
A decade ago, there was a fierce competition in the Olympics among the opponents as to who gets the better of the other tactically and strategically. The ever-so passionate Indian fans have always backed the athletes through thick and thin even in tough times.
If the player bags a medal, it was deemed as a great achievement. Every Indian packed a killer punch and the fans believed that the players would win something for the nation. Abhinav Bindra’s magical work earned him a gold medal for India in the men’s 10m air rifle shooting competition at the 2008 Beijing Olympic games.
Bindra became the first Indian to clinch an individual gold medal. It was the day when Abhinav Bindra’s midas touch stole the spotlight, an unforgettable day that he and his fans shall never forget as the memories are still alive and fresh in our minds.
Quite interestingly, he is the first and only Indian to have held both the World and Olympic titles at the same time, a sensational achievement he accomplished by capturing the Gold Medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, after having clinched the gold at the 2006 ISSF World Shooting Championships. Abhinav Bindra continued his excellence in his sport. Much to his zeal, he also won the Gold Medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Abhinav Bindra joined the GoSports Foundation in 2014, in Bangalore as a member of their board of advisors. In association with the GoSports Foundation, he will extend his contributions to India’s future talented shooters by means of Abhinav Bindra Shooting Development Programme.
Having become a recognisable personality, the Indian Olympics Association (IOA) recruited Abhinav Bindra as the Goodwill Ambassador for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Indian Contingent in May 2016. Talking about the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics, Bindra finished 4th in the finals of the 10 metre Air Rifle Event. On 5 September 2016, Abhinav Bindra called it quits from the sport he loved the most.
It was Bhattacharjee and Lt. Col. Dhillon’s (who was his first coach) who discovered a great deal of potential in Abhinav Bindra. When Abhinav Bindra entered into the sport, it was entirely different experience altogether. He was the youngest Indian participant at the 2000 Olympic Games.
At the 2000 Olympics, the 17-year-old Bindra tried his best and chipped in with a score of 590. However, his best placed him 11th in the qualification round and he did not qualify for the finals as only the top eight competed in the finals.
Abhinav Bindra didn’t delve into disappointment but he learnt slowly day by day by putting hoard of efforts and today, he is an epic source of inspiration to other athletes and the youth. Professional shooters still watch his videos and highlights to gain some confidence in themselves.
Meet Neeraj Chopra- first Indian athlete to win ‘javelin gold’ in Asiad history
It was Neeraj Chopra’s day to write a success story! He did it! For those who are still figuring out who is Neeraj, he is a fantastic javelin throw player. He has been the fierce force of the sport at the Asian Games held at Jakarta, Indonesia.
With sheer tenacity and intensity, Neeraj Chopra gave India the first javelin gold medal in Asiad history. For a while now, it’s been raining golds for India and it’s fair to say that our sporting future is in safe hands. Neeraj Chopra’s personal best throw in his third attempt recorded 88.06 m, which is a junior world record.
He is just 20 years old. As we all know that age is just a number, he showed what he is capable of sealing the big deal. Quite interestingly, he became the first Indian to bag gold in the javelin throw at the Commonwealth Games earlier this year.
Neeraj Chopra’s gold medal means that this is India’s 41st medal at the Asian Games 2018. Counting all the medals, India now has 8 gold medals, 13 silver medals and 20 bronze medals.
Chopra has been in a sensational form heading into the 18th edition of the Asiads and much to everyone’s expectations, he carved out a reputation for himself as a successful athlete. India is proud of you!
Bengaluru-based biker Aishwarya Pissay scripts history; becomes first Indian to win a World title
In most places in India, only men are tasked with prime responsibilities to run the family as they were considered as the sole breadwinners and you don’t often see many women going to offices as they are forced to sit at home and do household chores. On the contrary, men go to offices, stress a lot and work without seeing clock needles to earn wages either daily, weekly or on a monthly basis.
Women have very limited opportunities to study and were always inferior to men. They never really had the liberty to do what men were doing and hence they became homemakers. However, in the male-dominated society, some women are braving against all odds to become successful in life.
Ever since the inception of Motorsports, it was best suited only for men however Bengaluru-based woman biker Aishwarya Pissay broke gender stereotypes as she became the first Indian in history of motorsports to win a world title.
Yes, you read it right! Woman biker just bossed the competition and drifted her way to win the title that she really deserved. She won the FIM World Cup in women’s category after the final round of the championship in Varpalota, Hungary.
The event was organised by the International Motorcycling Federation, which is the governing body for motorcycle racing in the world.
Aishwarya, who won the opening round in Dubai, finished third in Portugal, fifth in Spain and fourth in Hungary in subsequent outings, had finished with an overall tally of 65 points and is four points ahead of Portugal’s Rita Vieira in the final total standings for women.
As far as the Hungarian leg is concerned, Aishwarya finished with 52 points and Vieira with 45 points. They were the top contenders for the title. The fourth-place finish in Hungary earned the Indian woman biker 13 points, while Vieira, who was placed third earned 16.
“Honour to put India on a global motorsports map. When I suffered career-threatening injuries, it was a tough phase of my life. But I believed in myself and was determined to get back on the bike, which I did in nearly six months.
So, winning the World Cup is huge for me. It’s an absolute honour to be the first athlete to bring home a world championship title and put India on the map of international motorsports,” she added.
She went on to finish second in the junior category in which both men and women competed against each other and Aishwarya finished with 46 points behind championship winner Tomas de Gavardo (60 points) of Chile. However, the 23-year-old’s ambition is quite clear now as she wants to make India proud at the Dakar Rally.
“I hope I will be able to get more sponsors on board and eventually realise my dream of participating and finishing the Dakar Rally, which is considered the world’s most difficult cross-country race. In any case, I will pursue that dream no matter what,” she said.
FMSCI (Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India), congratulated Aishwarya for creating history in motorsports. “Aishwarya Pissay of TVS clinches the FIM Baja World Cup 2019 in women’s category. FMSCI congratulates India’s first-ever FIM World Cup champion,” FMSCI tweeted.
It was only last year that Aishwarya had become the first Indian female rider to compete in the gruelling Baja Aragon Rally. That rally concluded prematurely for the Indian as she crashed and suffered from the ruptured pancreas in the process.
“I have had two major accidents. One in which I hurt my collar bone in 2017, then I had a bad fall and ruptured my pancreas in 2018. I underwent surgery and was in hospital for two months. There was not a single day in the hospital that I thought I would not be able to race again. That incident taught me the importance of never giving up,” she recalled.
It was in 2017, the doctors inserted a steel plate and seven screws to fix Aishwarya’s collarbone. She was also asked not to race another three-four weeks. “I had a race in just five days. Nothing was going to stop me. I got up and raced and won the championship,” she said.
Aishwarya, who started biking just five years ago, is also the first Indian woman to have clinched 5 national road racing and rally championship titles. “I started going on weekend rides with my friends and that is where my love for biking began.
Then in 2015, I began training at the Apex Racing Academy in Coimbatore and realised I had the skill set to get into professional racing and biking.”
“I met some women during my initial training days who were ready to take racing as a hobby, but not as a profession. I am glad I didn’t go their way.”
Mary Kom becomes the first Woman Boxer to win Six World Championship Titles
Sports is not always about defeating the opponents but is about overcoming the challenges and obstacles, and Mary Kom has got everything in her to inspire the youths of the nation. Her attitude and courage in the face of adversity is well and truly inspiring. She once again hit the headlines for her massive achievement.
To put in simple terms, there is no stopping Mary Kom. MC Mary Kom took to her Twitter platform to express her gratitude to the World Olympian Association (WOA) after it let her the use of post-nominal letters ‘OLY’.
The six-time world champion had shared the image of the certificate of recognition on her Twitter account. Her caption read: “Thank you so much for the recognition” tagging World Olympian Association (WOA) and International Olympic Committee (IOC).
‘OLY’ means sportspersons’ ongoing role in the society like the Olympian, living and promoting the Olympic values.
It was in November 2017 at the 8th International Olympic Committee (IOC) International Athletes’ Forum, the World Olympian Association (WOA) had announced the OLY post-nominal letters initiative.
It should be noted that OLY initiative lets Olympians to use the OLY lettering on any official documentation after their good name which is quite similar to one who earns a degree.
Mary Kom also received the Best Asian Female Athlete award at the ‘Awards for Asia’ ceremony organised by Asian Sportswriters Union (AIPS Asia) in Malaysia.
The AIPS Asia Congress was staged in Selangor, Malaysia and was attended by delegates from around 30 countries.
During the summit, AIPS Asia presented Asian athletes who thrived in their respective sports fields with four awards namely the Best Male and Female athletes, and Best Male and Female Teams.
Nonetheless, Mary Kom could not be present at the event. The Six-time world champion was recently selected for the forthcoming women’s world boxing championships and has been busy preparing for the event.
Mary Kom, who already bagged 2 gold medals this year, has been selected in the 51kg category.
The Chief Minister of Selangor, YAB Tuan Haji Amirudin Shari, presented the winning trophies to the winners’ representatives and Eminent sports journalist Subodh Malla Barua accepted the award on Mary Kom’s behalf.
AIPS Asia, an organization representing Asian sportswriters since 1978, was holding this award ceremony for the first time in 2019 in a bid to honour Asian athletes who have thrived at the highest level.
Mary Kom, the 36-year old flyweight boxer, is the only woman boxer to have clinched a medal in 8 World Championships, her most recent world gold medal in November 2018. She bowed out of the World Championship 2019 with a bronze medal and became the most successful boxer (male or female) in Boxing history.
India’s gem Mary Kom showed everyone why she is the most talented boxer in women’s boxing history. She outsmarted Australia’s April Franks 5-0 in the 23rd President’s Cup and won the gold medal in the 51kg category final in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia.
For Mary Kom, making India proud on the global stage has always been the first priority. The six-time world champion took to her social media account and expressed her happiness in the wake of a marvellous victory.
Taking to Twitter, Mary Kom wrote: “Gold medal for me and for my country at #PresidentCup Indonesia. Winning means you’re willing to go longer, work harder & give more effort than anyone else. I sincerely thanks to all my Coaches and support staffs of @BFI_official @KirenRijiju @Media_SAI.”
The Champion Boxer was also congratulated by Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju. The latter mentioned that the boxing icon was always a massive pride for India.
Following the win, scores of netizens took to their respective social media accounts to salute Mary Kom on her scintillating win.
Mary Kom got hold of yellow metal at the India Open boxing tournament in May.