Women’s Day: In India, goddess Durga, Lakshmi Ji and Maa Saraswati have been worshipped since ancient times and in today’s changing times, women are the centre of power due to which society is running. Now women are not just confined to cooking and utensils, but are making their mark in all fields. Be it the chessboard of politics, the sports field, science or art.

women’s own strength

Women have registered their strong presence everywhere. There have been many female players in the sports world who connected young players to sports and inspired them to move forward. These include star players like Mithali Raj, PT Usha, Mary Kom, Saina Nehwal. These players have hoisted the flag of their success everywhere in the country and the world. These female players have surprised the world with their talent. Today on 8 March, the International Women’s Day, let’s know about the story of these players.

1. Mithali Raj

Mithali Raj was born in Jodhpur, Rajasthan in 1982. She was very fond of cricket since childhood. Her unmatched ability to score runs on the field has put her in the category of great players. She is the only Indian captain who has captained the team in the finals of two ODI World Cups. She played an important role in taking women’s cricket to new heights. She scored 7805 runs in 232 ODIs for the Indian cricket team, in which she scored 7 centuries and 64 half-centuries. Apart from this, she scored 2364 runs in T20 International and a total of 699 runs in 12 Test matches. She is a role model for today’s superstars like Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana.

2. Saina Nehwal

Today India has a whole army of players in badminton. But when Saina Nehwal, a resident of Hisar in Haryana, entered the world of badminton, India was not a superpower in this game. China was dominating badminton then and they broke the Great Wall of China and started defeating Chinese players on the badminton court. They created history by winning the bronze medal in the London Olympics 2012. She became the first Indian player to win an Olympic medal in badminton. Apart from this, she also secured the first position in the badminton rankings. She laid the foundation of badminton in India, on which PV Sindhu later built a palace. Nehwal also won two medals in the World Championship. Apart from this, she has three gold medals to her name in the Commonwealth Games.

3. PT Usha

Born in Kozhikode, Kerala, PT Usha made a name for herself in track and field at a time when girls did not have access to many sports facilities. She has been a great runner and today she has inspired millions of girls and turned them towards the sports field. She has achieved many great achievements in her career. But the one thing she is most remembered for is what she did not win. At the Los Angeles 1984 Olympics, she finished fourth in the 400m hurdles and missed out on a bronze medal by 1/100th of a second. She may not have won a medal, but getting there was no easy task. She is famous by the name of Udan Pari. Currently she is the Chief of Indian Olympic Association and is also a Rajya Sabha member.

4. Mary Kom

Mary Kom punched so hard in the boxing ring that her opponents were left flat on their backs. Be it the Olympics or the World Championships, she emerged victorious every time. She raised the tricolour all over the world and achieved success on the basis of her ability. Mary Kom laid the foundation in boxing, which inspired players like Lovlina Borgohain to take up boxing. She won a total of 8 medals in the World Championships. Apart from this, she has one medal each in Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. She won bronze medal in London Olympics 2012 and became the first Indian female player to win an Olympic medal in boxing.

5. Karnam Malleswari

Karnam Malleswari is the first Indian female player to win a medal in the Olympics. She won a bronze medal in weightlifting at the Sydney Olympics 2000. By winning the Olympic medal, she opened the doors of sports for all women in India. Malleswari, who hails from Andhra Pradesh, also won two gold medals in the World Championship. Later, in view of her achievements in sports, the Government of India honoured her with the Khel Ratna and Padma Shri awards.