Strong, successful and full of zest–the sportswomen in our country never cease to inspire us. We have utmost respect for those who put in the hard work, time and dedication it takes to play a sport for their country, and draw inspiration from these amazing women. Here’s to celebrating them!
Sania Mirza
She’s one of the highest profile athletes in the country, but we don’t just respect her for her professional achievements: we also love her for always speaking her mind and being one badass woman.
Saina Nehwal
She’s the only female badminton player from India who’s attained the world no. 1 ranking–and the second Indian player overall, after Prakash Padukone.
Mary Kom
She’s a five-time World Amateur Boxing champion, and has won a medal in each of the six world championships–the only woman boxer to have achieved this.
Dipa Karmakar
She’s the first Indian female gymnast to compete in the Olympics. In the Rio Olympics 2016, she made 4th position the women’s vault gymnastics event.
Sakshi Malik
She became the first Indian female wrestler to win an Olympic medal.
The Phogat sisters
Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari–the sisters Dangal is based on–have given the country much to be proud of. They’re both Commonwealth Games gold medalists, and Geeta is also the first Indian woman wrestler to have qualified for the Olympic Summer Games.
P.V. Sindhu
She was the first Indian woman to win an Olympic silver medal in badminton, and is the youngest Padma Shri awardee.
Poorna Malavath
Poorna is an Indian mountaineer, and became the youngest girl–at 13 years and 11 months–to scale the highest peak of Mount Everest. A film on her life and achievements, titled Poornahere, is all set to release on March 31st–and it promises to be an inspiring, insightful watch. Check out the trailer .