Sports

A week after the birth of her child, hockey legend Pritam Rani Siwach didn’t know whether she would ever play for India. Three years later, she won the Commonwealth Games gold! #WomenInSports #RealLifeHeroine

Verma's ingenious idea to circumvent this issue was to give Shafali a haircut that made her look like a boy. This allowed her to play every weekend.

Imagine this: You are made the captain a few months before travelling for the World Cup, your country has won just one match in the last two editions of the tournament combined, your teammates are so certain about crashing out early that they book tickets for vacations. And you are 24. #KapilDev #83Film #WhenHistoryWasMade

Manju Rani was just 12 when she started boxing in a dusty ground in Haryana village. Seven years later, matched the heroics of her idol Mary Kom to reach the World Championships final on her debut!

It’s not just her victories that are inspiring, but the journey to get here is equally worthy of a mention. Sindhu travelled for almost 56 km every morning to get to Pullela Gopichand’s Academy, where she would train for four hours each day.

From the man who swam across oceans of five continents in a year to the first captain of the Indian football team, on #NationalSportsDay, we salute 7 forgotten heroes who overcame major hurdles to bring glory to India.

In the past century, India has witnessed many glorious sporting moments. So on #NationalSportsDay, we at The Better India decided to undertake the difficult task of listing the top 10 greatest moments in Indian sports. What do you think of the list?

"All my life I have only heard people stop me from doing things. Some, because I am a woman, and many more because I was on crutches. All I knew is that I could never let them dictate my life!", says the national-level wheelchair basketball champ. #WomenPower #DareToDream #RealLifeHeroine

Take the example of 72 km Khardung La Challenge. It is the ultimate test of human endurance. For nearly 60km of the total race, athletes are running above 4,000 metres (13,000 feet) above sea level not to mention freezing conditions and low oxygen.

Let’s continue to support, cherish and even on the occasion criticize her, but don’t go into the Olympics expecting miracles and then admonishing her for not meeting them. She represents the best of us. As responsible fans, let’s do our best to support her.