Mary Kom, PT Usha, Mithali Raj, Saina Nehwal, Sania Mirza, Sakshi Malik, Jwala Gutta, Babita Phogat, Dipa Karmakar, PV Sindhu – are some of India’s legends who have scripted their names in history books. They have won laurels for the country and crafted great careers over the years.
These ladies have also inspired thousands of young girls in the country. Today there are scores of young Indian women following their lead to carve a niche for themselves the sporting world. This year has seen many new and upcoming female athletes announcing themselves on the grand stage. Watch out for these soon to be sporting legends.
Let us have a look at young women athletes that we need to have an eye on.
1. Manu Bhaker, Shooting
At just 17 years of age, Manu is fast becoming one of the best shooters in the world. In 2018 she took the world stage by storm when won two gold medals at shooting World Cup, gold and silver apiece at the Youth Olympic Games, and a gold at Commonwealth Games. If the previous year was a very successful one, the current year has been even better. A terrific World Cup saw her win a ridiculous 5 golds, complemented by two gold wins in Asian Shooting Championships. A return that has seen Manu Bhaker talked about as the next big thing in Indian shooting.
At such a young age, the Haryana native looks way more mature than her age would suggest. The shooting sensation will look to add to her already glittering cabinet with a podium finish at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Manu Bhaker is seen as India’s medal hope at the global event, and it is not hard to see why.
2. PU Chitra, Middle-distance runner
While Hima Das and Dutee Chand have rightly taken the plaudits, a certain someone like PU Chitra has gone about her job away from all the attention. In 2016, Chitra, who specialises in the 1500m distance, won her first gold at the highest level after sprinting to win in the South Asian games. After a maiden gold at the international stage, she followed it up with another two in 2017.
Gold at Asian Athletics Championships and Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games saw Chitra’s stock rise drastically. In the 2018 Asian Games, the Kerala native showed great spirit to storm her way to a bronze. It was another feather in a promising career that is on the rise for the 24-year old, who is set to achieve greater heights.
3. Apurvi Chandela, Shooting
Another shooter with a burgeoning reputation, Apurvi has been making waves in the world of shooting. When they talk about 10m air rifle events, her name comes right on top. The 26-year-old from Jaipur has won not one but two medals at the Commonwealth Games — a glittery gold at Glasgow in 2014, accumulating 206.7 points — creating a new games record in the process. Her second Commonwealth metal came in the form of bronze in 2018.
She has also won five medals at the World Cup, including three gold. Already an established shooter, Apurvi is one to watch going ahead.
4. Swapna Barman, Heptathlon
A small town girl with big dreams, Swapna is fast becoming one of India’s best heptathlon athletes. After making the grade and consistently performing in various state and national level tournaments, she took part in the 2014 Asian Games. It was a fairytale start, but Swapna put up a brave fight to finish fifth.
It was a win fitting of the fight shown by the young girl who never gave up on her dreams. Swapna went on to script history last year, by winning gold at the Asian Games. Now at 23, Swapna Barman is only going to get better and purely based on potential, she is going to have a great career.
5. Manika Batra, Table Tennis
Representing a sport that doesn’t necessarily find takers in India given the cricket freaks we are, Manika has still been able to make the noise in her field and we sure have taken notice. Batra had a spectacular 2018 as she went on to claim four medals (two golds, one silver, and one bronze) at the Commonwealth Games and a bronze medal at the Asian Games.
Having also won three gold and a silver at South Asian Games, the 24-year-old is becoming one of the best in her field and making an impression worldwide.
6. Aditi Ashok, Golf
This 21-year-old golfer made headlines after her performance in the Youth Olympics (2014) and Olympic Games (2016) and her career graph has been uphill ever since.
In 2018, she also delivered her career best performance in an LPGA Major Championship in the Evian Championship, when she finished 69th on the tour.Still very young, Aditi has all the right ingredients to have a successful career going forward.
7. Ankita Raina, Tennis
26-year old Ankita Raina currently holds the 1st spot in Indian women’s tennis singles ranking. Raina had a spectacular 2018 as she did not just perform her career best in the Grand Slams, but also won a bronze medal at the Asian Games hosted in Jakarta.
Towards the start of last year, she had also become only the 4th Indian woman to enter the top 200 singles rankings internationally.
She will be hoping to have a productive 2020, and looking to better her rankings. An undoubtedly talented, Ankita needs a good run of performances to launch her career to the next level.
8. Jemimah Rodrigues, Cricket
Rodrigues is your regular city girl next door! She loves travelling on the Mumbai locals, is in love with her guitar, and is the batting mainstay of India’s women’s cricket team. At just 19, the Mumbai batswoman is turning out to be the finest talent to come through in years.
Jemimah has made her presence felt on the Indian cricketing circuit with her smart batting style. Looked at as the future Mithali Raj, the dashing opener has a lot to prove, and has her sights set to become one of the best cricketers in the world.
9. Shivani Kataria, Swimming
A goldmine of talent, 22-year-old Shivani Kataria is only the third Indian woman swimmer ever to qualify for the Olympics. After a wait of 12 long years, the previous swimmer to qualify being in 2004 Athens – the Haryana-hailing champ was picked up by Swimming Federation of India (SFI) as India’s wildcard entry for 2016 Rio Olympics for the women’s 200-meter freestyle event.
Although she didn’t make it to the semis, Kataria is high on confidence and has great potential to make a name at the highest level.