Famous Indian Sports Personalities
We participate in different games and sports. Some sportspersons shine above all others by demonstrating exceptional game plays in their respective sports. Some of the famous sports personalities of India are Dhyan Chand, Dhanraj Pillai, Abhinav Bindra, etc. In this concept, the young learners will know more about famous sportspersons.
After reading the concept, students will be able to:
- Answer why a person gets a civilian award?
- Enlist different Indian sports personalities and their respective sports.
- Know more about Commonwealth, Olympics and other championship games.
Each concept is explained to class 4 students using descriptions, illustrations, and concept maps. After you go through a concept, assess your learning by solving the two printable worksheets given at the end of the page.
Download the worksheets and check your answers with the worksheet solutions for the concept Famous Sports Personalities of India provided in PDF format.
- Sports are not only related to physical development but also related to the all-round development of a person.
- It can shape our lives in many ways, increase team spirit, help us understand the value of time, and make us realise how people can bring out the best in them through cooperation, teamwork, unity, and struggle.
- We can say that India has a good run in the field of sports. However, there has been slow progress in the case of some sports but it has a bright future as raw talents are coming from every corner of the country.
- Through rigorous training, support, and grooming, good performers are getting better, representing the country in various competitions and making us proud.
Let us know about a few important sportspersons in India who inspire all of us.
1. Dhyan Chand
Born—29th August 1905 (Allahabad, India)
Died—3rd December 1979 (Delhi, India)
- Dhyan Chand is considered one of India’s greatest field hockey players.
- Chand is most remembered for his achievements in the Olympics.
- He helped his team secure gold medals in the years 1928, 1932 and 1936.
- During his tenure, India was very dominant in the field of hockey.
- Dhyan Chand captained the Indian hockey team in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.
- He scored 3 goals and India defeated Germany in the final match.
- He is also known as the Wizard for his excellent ball control.
2. Dhanraj Pillai:
Born—16th July 1968 (Maharashtra, India)
- Pillai was born in a Tamil family and is famous for his achievements in field hockey.
- He is the former captain of the Indian National Hockey team.
- He appeared for India in four Olympic games and unofficially scored 170 goals.
- Pillai also played for foreign clubs.
- In 2000, the Indian government awarded him with the Padma Shri award.
3. Dola Banerjee:
Born—2nd June 1980 (Kolkata, India)
- She is the first Indian female archer to win the World Archery Championship.
- She received her training from the Tata Archery Academy in Jamshedpur.
- In 2005, she won the Golden Arrow Grand Prix Championship in Turkey.
- In 2005, she received the Arjuna Award.
- She won gold in the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
4. Abhinav Bindra:
Born—28th September 1982 (Dehradun, India)
- He is the first Indian shooter who won gold in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
- He started learning rifle shooting when he was a teenager.
- He qualified for both the 2000 and 2004 Olympics but did not receive any medal.
- He won gold in both the 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games.
- After winning the gold in 2008, he received the Padma Bhushan, the highest civilian award given by the government of India.
5. Vishwanathan Anand:
Born—11th December 1969 (Chennai, India)
- He is a renowned Indian chess master.
- Anand learnt to play chess from his mother when he was six years.
- At the age of fifteen, he became the youngest Indian to earn the international Chess Master title.
- He won the international chess title in 1987 and became the first Indian teen to win the world chess title.
- Anand received the nickname ‘The Lightning Kid’ in India.
- Due to his quick tactical calculations, he was able to win all major chess titles.
6. Bhaichung Bhutia:
Born—15th December 1976 (Sikkim, India)
- Bhutia is an eminent football player who started his career by participating in school-level football tournaments.
- He left school at the age of sixteen to join the East Bengal Club in Kolkata.
- Being one of the best goal scorers, he made his international debut.
- Due to his outstanding performance in national sports, he received the Arjuna Award in 1999.
- In 2010, he established Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools in Delhi.
- Due to his quick tactical calculations, he was able to win all major chess titles.
7. Mary Kom:
Born—1st March 1983 (Manipur, India)
- Mary Kom is a famous Indian boxer and she belongs to the Kom tribe of Northeast India.
- Since her childhood, Kom has been attracted to athletics and boxing.
- She is the only Indian female boxer who qualified for the London Olympics in 2012
- She is the only Indian female boxer who won all six World Boxing Championships.
8. Sakshi Malik:
Born—3rd September 1992 (Haryana, India)
- She is the first female wrestler to win an Olympics bronze medal.
- She also won silver and bronze medals in the Commonwealth Games.
- In 2016, she received the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award
- In 2017 she received the Padma Shri award.
- Currently, Sakshi is the wrestling director of a reputed university in Haryana.
9. Leander Paes:
Born—17th June 1973 (Goa, India)
- He is one of the famous tennis players in India.
- He had the brightest career in Grand Slam doubles and mixed doubles.
- In 1990, he won the Wimbledon Junior title and was ranked as the best junior player in the world.
- He won the bronze medal in the 1992 Atlanta Olympic Games.
- In 2001, he was awarded the highest civilian award, Padma Shri, by the Government of India.
10. Sachin Tendulkar:
Born—24th April 1973 (Mumbai, India)
- He was a professional cricket player, and he is also one of the greatest batsmen in the world.
- He started playing cricket when he was eleven years old.
- Soon he started playing test cricket for India and scored centuries in many matches.
- In 1998, he received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.
- In June 2007, he became the first cricket player in India to score 15000 runs in one-day international cricket.
- In 2011, he was the first Indian batsman to break one more record by scoring 15000 runs in Test Cricket.
- In 2014, he received the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award given by the Government of India.
11. Mahendra Singh Dhoni:
Born—7th July 1981 (Jharkhand, India)
- He became famous due to his impressive wicket-keeping and batting skills.
- When he was a teenager, he used to play cricket for a local club.
- Before joining the Indian cricket team, he worked as a ticket examiner at Kharagpur railway station.
- In 2011, under his supervision, India won the Cricket World Cup by defeating Sri Lanka.
- In 2017, Dhoni stepped down as the captain of the team.
- In 2018, he received the Padma Bhushan award.
- For the year 2007-2008, Dhoni received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award.
12. Neeraj Chopra:
Born—24th December 1997 (Haryana, India)
- He became famous after winning gold in the Tokyo Olympics, 2020.
- He received gold and became the champion in the javelin throw.
- He participated in the Commonwealth and Asian Games in 2018 and won gold medals in both.
- According to Chopra, during his childhood, he was very bulky and teased by his friends, so he started running and taking athletics more seriously.
13. P.V. Sindhu:
Born—5th July 1995 (Telangana, India)
- Sindhu is a famous Indian professional badminton playe.
- She is the first Indian to win silver in the Olympics.
- Both her parents were famous volleyball players.
- She joined Gopichand Badminton Academy at the age of eight.
- She won many major international badminton championships.
- In 2016, she won silver in the Rio Olympics, and in 2020, she won bronze in the Tokyo Olympics.
- She received the following three awards from the government of India—Arjuna Award, Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, and Padma Bhushan.
14. P.T. Usha:
Born—7th June 1964 (Kerala, India)
- Usha is a retired field athlete.
- She bagged 102 national and international medals throughout her career.
- Due to her outstanding achievement in sports, she received the prestigious Arjuna Award and Padma Shri in 1984.
15. Milkha Singh:
Born—17th October 1935 (Faisalabad, Pakistan)
Died—8th June 2021 (Chandigarh, India)
- Milkha Singh was famously called the Flying Sikh.
- He was a renowned Indian field athlete.
- In Rome Olympics, 1960, he acquired the fourth position in the 400-metre race.
- Singh won gold in the 1962 Asian Games in the 400-metre race.
- In 1959, Singh was awarded the Padma Shri
16. Karnam Malleshwari:
Born—1st June 1975 (Andhra Pradesh, India)
- Malleshwari is a retired Indian female weight-lifter.
- She won golds in the 54 kg class at the World Championships, which is why she is a two-time weightlifting champion.
- In the 2000 Sydney Olympics, she received a bronze medal and became the first Indian female weight lifter to win bronze for the country.
- Currently, she is employed in the administrative department of the Food Corporation of India.
New Words:
Archery: A game related to shooting arrows by using a bow.
Volleyball: It is a game mostly played on the beach. This game has 6 members and is related to hitting a large ball by hand over a high net.
Civilian award: The award given to people who are outstanding achievers in their field of work.
Did You Know?
- Players who take part in running, jumping, sprinting, throwing, and walking are called field athletes.
- A javelin is a 2.5 metres long spear that is thrown from a distance.
- Hima Das is a famous field athlete who brought gold for India in the Asian games.
- Saikhom Mirabai Chanu won bronze in weightlifting at the Tokyo Olympics, 2020.
