Sure, the World Cup loss is unbearable but Cricket lovers should look beyond the game and see how popular Indian women sportspersons are today. They are breaking the glass ceiling with their incredible records, but we always overlook other sporting events in India that do not feature the most admired and followed Cricket players like Virat Kohli or MS Dhoni. The fact that some of the athletes have recreated history in just a span of two months tells us how big the game has become, all for good though. Female athletes have made their mark in the so-called men’s sports.
Here is a list of women in sport who broke records in 2019 and we are in sheer awe of them!
Dutee Chand
I want to start with the woman who is now being called the Indian Megan Rapinoe for openly admitting that she is in a same-sex relationship. Also, on July 9, Chand won a gold in the women’s 100-metre sprint at the 30th Summer University Games in Naples, becoming the first Indian — man or woman — to win a 100-metre gold in a global event.
Hima Das
My personal favourite athlete Hima on July 7 won her second international gold in women’s 200m with a top finish in the Poznan Athletics Grand Prix in Poland, right after winning the women’s 200m gold in the Poznan Athletics Grand Prix last week. The 19-year-old recorded her personal best of 23.97 seconds, is the badass among them all!
Vinesh Phogat
Asian Games champion Vinesh Phogat currently is the more dominant wrestler, she won her first gold medal after shifting to 53kg category at the Grand Prix of Spain. She is one of India’s medal hopefuls at the 2020 Tokyo Games, and is famous for her gold medal hauls in the Asiad and Commonwealth Games last year.
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Indian Rugby team
The Indian women’s rugby team played a historic match and won dynamically as they claimed their first ever international women’s 15s victory with a 21-19 win over Singapore in the Asia Rugby Women’s Championship Division 1 on June 22.
Mirabai Chanu
After securing India’s first gold medal at CWG, weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu on July 9 won gold at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship. The former world champion lifted a total of 191 kg (84kg + 107 kg) in the senior women’s 49 kg to grab the gold.
Lalremsiami
Her father dies just before the big game but Indian women’s hockey team forward Lalremsiami opted to stay on with the team for their knockout games at the FIH Series Finals in Hiroshima. She played semi-final and final on June 23 against Japan. This shows the strong will she possesses, and the determination that never dies. For India, this game was crucial since a win confirmed a berth for the team in the 2020 Olympic qualifiers scheduled for October.
Divya Kakran
Divya Kakran clinches gold in 68kg at the Asian U-23 Wrestling Championship by defeating Delgermaa Enkhsaikhan (Mongolia) 10-6. She silenced home crowd and then claimed the top honours in the 68kg category at the Grand Prix of Spain.
Navjeet Kaur
At the Qasanov Memorial meet in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Navjeet Kaur won gold medal in discus throw.
Man Kaur
Centenarian Kaur showed us that age is just a number by winning three golds at the World Masters Athletics Championship. The 103-year-old athlete secured the top prize in Shot Put with a throw of 2.13 metres. She also clinched gold medals in the Javelin Throw and 60-metre Sprint events respectively.
Gomathi Marimuthu
An overnight star, she wrote her biggest success story in the history of sports. Middle distance runner Gomathi, a farmer’s daughter, won gold in 800m (2:02.70) at the Asian Athletics Championship. The 30-year-old Gomathi, who hails from the outskirts of Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, created history by winning India’s first gold medal in the 23rd Asian Athletics Championships at the Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Qatar in April.
Mary Kom
At 36, Mary Kom knows no defeat as she clinched gold (51kg) at the second India Open boxing tournament held at Guwahati in May. This was the London Olympic bronze medallist’s second gold from the India Open, adding to the 48kg gold she won last year in New Delhi.
Women’s archery compound team
The team consisting of Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Muskan Kirar and Raj Kaur won bronze after defeating Turkey at the Archery World Championships in Netherlands in June. With this win India collected its second medal at this year’s World Championships and is assured of a medal.
PU Chitra
Chitra returns in Doha and comes first in 1500m. It’s back-to-back medal for sports sensation as she won gold in 1500m (4:14.56) at the Asian Athletics Championship and two months later won gold again in the women’s 1500m at the Folksam Grand Prix in Sweden in June.
Joshna Chinappa
Chinappa bagged gold in women singles at the Asian Individual Squash Championships as she defeated Annie Au (Hong Kong) 11-5, 6-11, 11-8, 11-6. Joshna had lost a few matches to Annie before this, also won against Annie back in September 2017 during the Hong Kong International Open.
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