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CRICKET - Rahul Dravid

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Rahul Dravid, nicknamed as the Wall of Indian cricket, Jammy, and Mr. Dependable, is a former cricketer who represented the Indian national cricket team. Other than being a stylish batsman in the top order of the Indian cricket team, Rahul Dravid has the record of taking the maximum number of catches in test cricket. He retired from all forms of international cricket on March 9, 2012 with an illustrious career which spanned 16 years.

Early life of Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid was born on January 11, 1973 to Maharashtrian parents Sharad Dravid and Pushpa Dravid in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. His father was an employee of Kissan and his mother Pushpa was employed as a professor of architecture at Bangalore University. He has a younger brother whose name is Vijay Dravid. During the early days of his student life, Rahul Dravid studied at St. Joseph's Boys' High School in Bangalore. He did his graduation in Commerce from St. Joseph's College of Commerce, Bangalore.

Early Cricketing Career of Rahul Dravid

Rahul began playing cricket when he was just 12 years old. He played for the state of Karnataka at different levels such as under-15, under-17 and under-19 level. A former member of the Indian cricket team, Keki Tarapore identified his batting prowess when he was training budding cricketers at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. When Dravid first played for his school team, he made a hundred. Other than batting for his school team, he also did wicket keeping. Nonetheless, Dravid refrained from wicket keeping when he received tips from Roger Binny, Gundappa Vishwanath, Keki Tarapore, and Brijesh Patel who at different times represented the Indian cricket team.

Awards and achievements by Rahul Dravid

Given below is a list of the awards and achievements by Rahul Dravid which make him one of the most respected cricketers in India:

He received the Arjuna award in 1998

He received the Ceat Cricketer of the 1999 World Cup in 1999

He was nominated as Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2000 in the year 2000

He received the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy Winner (Honored for ICC Player of the Year) in 2004

He received the Padma Shri Award in 2004

He was nominated as the ICC Test Player of The Year in 2004 and also MTV Youth Icon of the Year in the same year

He was made captain of the Test Team of the International Cricket Council in 2006

He received the NDTV Indian of the Year's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011 with Dev Anand

CHESS - VISWANATHAN ANAND

The living legend of Chess, Viswanathan Anand was born on December 11, 1969 inChennai. His awesome speed has earned him the nickname "Lightning Kid." In March 2007, Anand won the Morelia-Linares Super Grandmasters chess tournament. He showed his genius early on as a child when he won the National Sub-Junior Chess Championship in 1983 at the age of fourteen. In 1984, Anand went on to become the youngest Indian to win the International Master Title. He became the National Champion at the age of sixteen.

His winning spree continued when in 1987, he became the first Indian to win the World Junior Chess Championship and the next year, he became India's first Grandmaster. He qualified for the Professional Chess Association World Chess Championship final by beating the likes of Michael Adams and Gata Kamsky. At the age of 22, he won the Reggio Emilia, finished ahead of greats like Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov. In 1995, he lost to Garry Kasparov in New York City's World Trade Center. He achieved victories at Dortmund in 2004, the Corus chess tournament in 2006 and Linares in 2007. This Chess whizkid won the Chess Oscar in 1997, 1998, 2003 and 2004.

Anand won the FIDE World Chess Championship in 2000 after defeating Alexei Shirov in the final match held in Teheran. In 2003, he won the World Rapid Chess Championship. In 2006, he became the fourth player in history to cross the 2800-mark in ELO ratings. Among the many awards he has won, mention may be made of the Arjuna award in 1985, the Padma Shri in 1987, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award for the year 1991-1992 and the Padma Bhushan in 2000

Vishwanathan Anand has added another feather to his cap by winning the World Chess Championship in Moscow against Boris Gelfand of Israel giving a reason to his friends to rejoice once again. Having won the title previously in 2000, 2007, 2008 and 2010 and now in 2012 this was his fifth victory at the World Chess Championship where he was also the defending champion.

TENNIS - Mahesh Bhupathi

Mahesh Bhupathi is the first Indian to win a Grand Slam tournament in 1997 partnering Rika Hiraki in Mixed Doubles.

He is considered to be among the best doubles tennis players in the world. Born on June 7, 1974 inChennaihe has 10 Grand Slam titles to his credit.

In 1999, he teamed up with Leander Paes to win three doubles titles including Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

During that year, they became the World No. 1 doubles team. He teamed up with Martina Hingis to win the mixed doubles title at the Australian Open in 2006.

He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2001 by the Government of India.

In late 2006, he teamed up with Leander Paes to win the doubles championship at the Asian Games in Doha.

BADMINTON - Saina Nehwal

Saina Nehwal was born on 17th March 1990 in Hisar District, Haryana and is an Indian badminton player currently ranked number 4 in the world by the Badminton World Federation. Saina is the first Indian to win the World Junior Badminton Championships and the first Indian to win a medal in Badminton at the Olympics. She won a Bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympic, becoming the second Indian women to win an individual medal at the Olympics. She is supported by the Olympic Gold Quest.

Saina started her badminton training under the apt guidance of S.M. Arif, who was a Dronacharya Awardee. She is currently coached by Indonesian badminton legend Atik Jauhari along with former all England champion and national coach Pullela Gopichand as her mentor. Being born to Harvir Singh Nehwal, who is a scientist at Directorate of Oilseeds Research and Usha Nehwal, who is a former Haryana state champion; Saina Nehwal has always received the support of her family members.

The Gopichand Academy of Hyderabad is the place where Saina Nehwal trains. From her initial years in the courts, Saina Nehwal has always shown lots of potential. Being a National Junior champion, she has performed well in major tournaments, not only national tournaments but international too. She has clearly made a mark of her own.

The Junior Czech Open, which took place in the year 2003, was the beginning of Sainas career; as she went on to win the tournament. She came second in the 2004 Commonwealth Youth Games. She also took part in the 2004 Junior Asian Championship. Saina became the first player to win the Asian Satellite Badminton tournament twice, once in 2005 and the again in 2006.

In 2006, Saina Nehwal became the first Indian woman to win a super-series tournament, the Philippines Open. In 2008, she became the first Indian to win the World Junior Badminton Championships. She also won the Chinese Taipei 2008 Chinese Taipei Open Grand Prix Gold, the Indian National Badminton Championships and the Commonwealth Youth Games in the same year. She was declared as the most promising player in 2008.

In 2009, she became the first Indian to win the most prominent badminton series of the world the Indonesia Open. She also reached the quarterfinals of world championship. Saina Nehwal was honored with the Arjuna award and her coach Gopichand was also honored with the Dronacharya award in August 2009.

In January 2010, Saina Nehwal was awarded with the Padma Shri award. She also won the India Open Grand Prix Gold, the Singapore Open Super Series, the Indonesia Open Super Series and the Hong Kong Super Series in the same year. On 29th August 2010, Saina was awarded the highest national sporting award - the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna. As one of the eight brand ambassadors of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Saina won a gold medal creating an epic moment in the history of Indian badminton.

In 2011, she won the Switzerland Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold and came second in the Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold, the Indonesia Open Super Series Premier and the BWF Super Series Masters Finals. In 2012, Saina won the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold, the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold and reclaimed the Indonesia Open Super Series Premier, making it is her third Indonesian open title win.

In the 2012 London Olympics, Saina Nehwal won a bronze medal and became the first Indian to win an Olympic medal in badminton. For her huge achievement the state government of Haryana, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh offered her huge cash prize and the Sports Minister promised Saina a job equivalent to the rank of an IAS officer. Her success at the Olympics has surely opened new doors for sports to grow in India.

Saina Nehwal clinched her fourth title of the year by lifting the Denmark Open Super Series Premier trophy with a dominating win defeating Germanys Juliane Schenk by 21-17, 21-8 in 35 minutes. This was her first tournament after the London Games. Winning this tournament made her the only Indian after Prakash Padukone to win a Danish Open Super series title.

BOXING - Mary Kom

Born on 1st March 1983, Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom is an Indian boxer from the northeast state of Manipur. She is also known as MC Mary Kom or Magnificent Mary. Mary Kom is famed as a five time World Boxing Champion and the only boxer to win a medal in every one of the six world championships. In the 2012 Olympics, she became the first Indian women boxer to qualify and win a bronze medal in the 51 kg flyweight category of Boxing. She is currently ranked as Number. 4 in the Flyweight category of AIBA World Women's Ranking.

Mary was born in Kangathei, Manipur. She did her schooling from Loktak Christian Model High School, Moirang till class VI and studied in St. Xavier Catholic School, Moirang till class VIII. She then completed her schooling from NIOS, Imphal and did her graduation from Churachandpur College. Mary Kom is a mother of twin sons, Rechungvar and Khupneivar; and is married to K Onler Kom. She had an eager interest in athletics since childhood and the success of Dingko Singh is what really inspired her to become a boxer.

Career:

Mary Koms career started in 2000 after her victory in the Manipur state women's boxing championship and the regional championship in West Bengal. In 2001, she started competing at international level. She was only 18 years old when she made her international debut at the first AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship in United States, winning a silver medal in the 48 kg weight category. In 2002, she won a gold medal in the 45 kg weight class at the second AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship in Turkey. She also won a gold medal in the 45 kg weight category at the Witch Cup in Hungary in the same year.

In 2003, Mary Kom won a gold medal in the 46 kg weight class at the Asian Women's Boxing Championship in India and in 2004 she won a gold medal at the Women's Boxing World Cup in Norway. In 2005, she again won a gold medal at the Asian Women's Boxing Championship in Taiwan and the AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship in Russia both in the 46 kg weight class. In 2006, she won a gold medal at the Venus Women's Box Cup in Denmark and won gold again at the AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship in India.

After a one year break, Mary Kom returned in 2008 to win a silver medal at the Asian Women's Boxing Championship held in India and won a fourth successive gold medal at the AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship in China, both were in the 46 weigh category. In 2009 she won a gold medal at the Asian Indoor Games in Vietnam.

In 2010, Mary Kom won a gold medal at the Asian Women's Boxing Championship in Kazakhstan and her fifth consecutive gold medal in the AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship in Barbados. She competed in the 48 kg weight class because AIBA had discontinued using the 46 kg class. She also participated in the 51 kg weight class at the Asian Games and won a bronze medal.

In the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in Delhi, India. She had the honor of holding the Queen's Baton along with Vijender Singh for the opening ceremony run in the stadium. However, she did not compete as women's boxing event was not included in the Games. In 2011, she won a gold medal in the 48 kg weight class at the Asian Women's Cup in China. In 2012, she won a gold medal in the 51 kg weight class at the Asian Women's Boxing Championship in Mongolia.

The 2012 London Olympics brought her more respect and honor as she became the first Indian women boxer to qualify and win a bronze medal at the Olympics. She took part in the 51 kg weight category and also became the third Indian woman to win an individual medal at the Olympics.Awards and recognitions:

Arjuna Award (Boxing) in 2003

Padma Shree (Sports) in 2006

Contender for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 2007

People of the Year - Limca Book of Records in 2007

CNN-IBN & Reliance Industries' Real Heroes Award in 2008

Pepsi MTV Youth Icon in 2008

'Magnificent Mary', AIBA in 2008

Felicitation by Zomi Students' Federation (ZSF) at New Lamka YPA Hall in 2008

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 2009

International Boxing Association's Ambassador for Women's Boxing in 2009

Sportswoman of the year, Sahara Sports Award in 2010

HOCKEY - Dhyan Chand

India's hockey wizard, Major Dhyan Chand Singh was born on 29 August 1905 in Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh. The title "Chand" (Moon) was given by his first coach, who predicted that he would one day shine like the chand(Moon). His father was in the Army. Dhyan Chand also followed in the footsteps of his father when joined the army at the young age of 16. He was selected to represent India in the 1928 Summer Olympics India won the hockey gold in this Olympics and Dhyan Chand scored two goals in the final match.

He led the Indian hockey team in the 1936 Summer Olympics final. Though he was refused permission by his regiment to participate in the 1936 Olympics, it finally relented. The German supreme leader Adolf Hitler had sought to use the 1936 Berlin Olympics to prove his theory of 'Aryan Supremacy'. But the stupendous performances of American black athlete Jesse Owens and India's Dhyan Chand blew holes in his theory. He was so impressed by India's performance in the final which India won 8-1 that he offered the post of Colonel if Dhyan Chand migrated to Germany, which Dhyan Chand declined.

He continued playing till the age of 42 and retired from competitive hockey in 1948. The city of Vienna, Austria honored him by setting up his statue. The other statues of this legendary sportsman are in New Delhi and at Medak in Andhra Pradesh. He is a recipient of the Padma Bhushan award, which was awarded to him in 1956. His birthday on 29 August is celebrated as National Sports Day in India. He passed away on 3 December 1979.

FORMULA ONE RACE

Narain Karthikeyan

Narain Karthikeyan, India's first Formula One driver, was born in Coimbatore, Tamilnadu on January 14, 1977. Karthikeyan got hooked on to car-racing early on in life. His father and uncles were former Indian national rally champions. He went to the Elf Winfield Racing School in France to hone his skills. He competed in the Formula Vauxhall Junior Championship in Great Britain, which gave him valuable experience. In 1994, he went back to the U.K. and participated in the Formula Ford Zetec. He participated in the British Formula Ford Winter Series, becoming the first Indian to win any championship in Europe.

In 1995, he moved on to the Formula Asia Championship and in 1996, became the first Indian and the first Asian to win the Formula Asia International series. The year 1998 saw Karthikeyan making his debut in the British Formula Three Championship. In the British F3 Championship in 2000, he finished 4th overall besides taking pole position and fastest laps in the Macau Grand Prix. In 2001, he participated in the Formula Nippon F3000 Championship and ended the year placed among the top ten. He became the first Indian to ever drive an F1 car for the Jaguar Racing team at Silverstone. He took a test drive in the Jordan-Honda EJ11 at Silverstone

He continued with the Nissan World Series in 2004 and notched up many podium finishes. He became India's first Formula One racing driver when he joined the Jordan Formula One team for the 2005 Formula One season. In January 2006, Williams confirmed Narain as their fourth driver and he has been retained as a test driver for Williams in 2007.

FOOT BALL - Baichung Bhutia

Baichung Bhutia is undoubtedly the famous Indian footballer in recent times. Born on December 15, 1976 in the remote Tinkitam village of Sikkim, Baichungs story is one of sheer grit and determination against all odds. At a young age, he won a SAI Scholarship to attend the Tashi Namgyal Academy in Gangtok and played for several school and local clubs in Sikkim. His performance in the 1992 Subroto Cup did wonders to his career. In 1993, he joined Kolkatas East Bengal Club and the rest, as they say, is history. In 1995, he moved to JCT Mills, Phagwara, which won the India National Football League that year. Bhutia emerged as the top scorer in that league. He was named "1996 Indian Player of the Year". In 1999, he went to England and played for Bury F.C. In 2002 he returned to India and after that has played for clubs like Mohun Bagan AC and East Bengal. He played for Perak FC, a Malaysian club, from August to October, 2003. Currently he is with Mohun Bagan AC.

He has won many awards and accolades in his football career. He was the best player of the 1992 Subroto Cup, the youngest goal scorer for India in 1995, best player of the Calcutta Super Division 1995, the top scorer of the Calcutta Super Division 1995, top scorer of the first National Football League 1996-97, best player of the first National Football League, voted "Asian Player of the month" for the months of May 1999 and October 2002 and was the top scorer of the first Asean Club Championship 2003 in Indonesia.

He received the Sikkim State Award 1999 and the Arjuna Award in 1999. The Sikkim government has built a stadium the Baichung Stadium in Namchi, the district headquarters, in his honour.

CRICKET - VIRAT KOHLI

Virat Kohliwas born on 5th November 1988 to Prem Kohli (father) & Saroj Kohli (mother) at Delhi. He grew up at Delhi and studied at St. Sofia School in Paschim Vihar, Delhi.

Virat Kohlilived inUttam Nagar, Delhiand got his initial cricket training fromWest Delhi Cricket Academy.He also played for Sumit Dogra Academy in Vasundhara Enclave near Noida.

Virat Kohlicame to lime light when he scored 90 runs to save Delhi from follow-on in the match againstKarnatakaon December 19, 2006. On the same day, his father had passed away at 3 in the morning due to brain stroke. His innings of 90 was termed "Very Crucial"by his captain Mitthun Manhas.

Virat Kohli, an attacking player with a cool head has already earned reputation as atalented, level-headedandmaturecricketer. Batting at his favorite no.3 position,Virat Kohlihas an urge for converting his fifties into big scores, as he show cased his talent in 2005 when he single-handedly took Delhi from 70 for 4 to a first-innings lead with a knock of 251 off 431 balls against Himachal Pradesh in the U-17 championships.Kohlimade his first-class debut for Delhi in 2006-2007 Ranji Trophy and in January 2008 was named captain of the Indian U-19 squad for the 2008 World Cup. He led India's unbeaten campaign inMalaysia.He contributed 235 runs and he is the second Indian U-19 captain to bring home theWorld Cup.

Virat Kohliwas included in India's squad for the one-day series against Sri Lanka in August 2008 and the Champions Trophy to follow in Pakistan.Kohliwas given a chance to debut in the opening match of the Sri Lanka series as a replacement for the injured Virender Sehwag, and he finished the five match series as the fourth highest run-getter with 159 runs.Virat Kohliplayed his first T20 international match againstZimbabweat the Harare Cricket Ground on June 12,2010.Virat Kohliwas included in the test squad againstWest Indiesand he made his debut on 20th June, 2011.


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