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On India’s 74th Independence Day, we celebrate the nation’s OG superstars on the field, the pioneering athletes who put their sports on the map. India’s sporting superheroes.
It all started with Major Dhyan Chand, the First Avenger of the Indian Sporting Universe. But just like the MCU, there were always fresh battles to be won, more monsters to slay, more glory to be claimed in the ever-expanding ISU. Here, we pick out eight path-breaking individuals, the mighty heroes who laid the foundations post India’s independence, and paved the way for future generations.
Balbir Singh Sr aka THE FINISHER
Who
World’s greatest centre forward in his prime. Three-time Olympic gold medalist (1948, ’52, ’56). One of the GOATs.
Weapon
A hockey stick. And a touch of rare class.
Best moment
Scoring a record five goals in the ’52 Olympics final. Oh, and starring when, four years earlier, India beat England in England a year after gaining independence from them.
Quote
“Wembley stadium, the final. Against our former rulers. Elizabeth, the future queen of England, was watching us play… Can you imagine it? To beat our former masters in their country and on their playing field!” – Balbir, about the ’48 gold.
Related
– ‘Playing for the country mattered most to Balbir Singh Sr’
KD Jadhav aka THE HULK
Who
India’s first individual Olympic medalist (bronze, 1952). Lone warrior who put Indian wrestling on the world map more than half a century before its modern champions.
Weapon
His bare hands.
Best moment
Taking the eventual gold medalist in ’52 to fifteen minutes, when bouts typically ended in five minutes, and losing by just a point.
Quote
“He was a diamond from the rough and we, his state, his country, left him there.” – wrestler and coach Kaka Pawar on the legend whose life ended in near-anonymity
Related
Khashaba Jadhav wins bronze at Helsinki Olympics
Dr. Talimeren Ao aka CAPTAIN INDIA
Who
First captain of the national football team. Oh, and a trained surgeon.
Weapon
His bare feet. Cult heroes don’t do football boots.
Best moment
Leading India’s contingent out at the 1948 Olympics, as the newly independent nation’s first flagbearer. Asked to join Arsenal FC, but declined it to return to Nagaland and become a doctor.
Quote
“In India we play football, here you play bootball” – the Doctor, when asked by the British media about why his team played sans boots.
Related
– Doctor, pioneer, footballer, leader – the remarkable story of T Ao
Sunil Gavaskar aka THE DEFIANT ONE
Who
Indian cricket’s first right-proper global superstar. The first man to 10,000 Test runs. One of the GOATs.
Weapon
An SG cricket bat. And a no-nonsense ‘tude.
Best moment
Staring down the very best in their own backyard. In an era when Holding-Garner-Croft-Roberts-(and later) Marshall breathed fire, Gavaskar never gave an inch. In 13 Tests in the Caribbean, he made seven hundreds and averaged over 70. Also, starring in India’s maiden World Cup win (’83).
Quote
“Sunil Gavaskar’s greatest contribution was to instill pride in a generation brought up on low self-esteem.” – Harsha Bhogle, cricket commentator
Related
Prakash Padukone aka THE ILLUSIONIST
Who
First Indian to be ranked world no.1 in badminton. Winner of eight straight national titles.
Weapon
A badminton racket. And a disarming smile.
Best moment
Winning the All England Championship in 1980 (the biggest prize in the sport at the time), the first Indian to do so. He won losing the sum total of zero games in the five matches he played in the tournament.
Quote
“Even on the day of the final, I had taken the train, carried my kit, and walked to the court.” – Padukone on the All England triumph. A superstar before superstardom hit the sport.
Related
– Drift and deception: How Prakash Padukone conquered All England
PT Usha aka THE FLASH
Who
Unparalleled Queen of Indian athletics.
Weapon
Running spikes. And the battery power of around 27 normal human beings.
Best moment
Winning five medals – four golds and one silver – in the 1986 Asian Games, a record for a single athlete at any international meet. Also, coming this close to winning an Olympic medal in 1984 (this = 0.01 seconds)
Quote
“From then on, every aspiring girl athlete wanted to follow in the footsteps of PT Usha. Her name became synonymous with Indian athletics, nay Indian sports” – veteran journalist KP Mohan on Usha’s Asiad heroics.
Related
– PT Usha’s gold rush at the 1986 Seoul Asiad
Viswanathan Anand aka MIND MASTER
Who
First King of everywhere-outside-the-USSR-and-the-US chess. The first Indian to become a GM, the first Asian to become world champion (in 2000, the first of five titles). Only player to win World Championships in classical, knockout, rapid and blitz formats. One of the GOATs.
Weapon
A brain with the computing power of a small continent. And glasses.
Best moment
Winning the unified world championship in 2007. He dominated the eight-member field, winning the crown with nine points out of 14, a full point ahead of joint-second-place finishers Vladimir Kramnik and Boris Gelfand.
Quote
“I always considered him to be a colossal talent, one of the greatest in the whole history of chess”- former world champion Kramnik.
Related
– ‘In chess, 40 is the new 50’
Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore aka THE SUMMER SOLDIER
Who
Armyman who kickstarted India’s shooting revolution, winning silver in the double trap in Athens ’04. It was India’s first individual Olympic silver.
Weapon
A double barrel shotgun. *Theme for the Good, the Bad, the Ugly starts playing*
Best moment
Going into the final round in Athens, Rathore was fifth of six finalists. He kept his nerve, his aim true, and shot 44 out of 50 to finish second.
Quote
“Rathore changed me. His silver ensured that gold became my possibility.” – Abhinav Bindra, India’s only individual Olympic gold medalist.
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