Top Glorious Sporting Moments in the Post-Independence Era for India

Aug 15, 2017 at 6:55 PM

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Top Glorious Sporting Moments in the Post-Independence Era for India

Sport is a culture sans boundaries. It is everywhere. It is powerful and can become an obsession. It unites and motivates. It shows us the path to ultimate glory. It has many forms but as together everyone calls it life with any second thoughts.

Such is the beauty of sports.

The influence of sports in India is no different. From the time when the Royals hunted animals to Major Dhyanchand teaching the world the lesson of world domination with a hockey stick, India has been one of most passionate sporting nations.

It’s a sad fact that we are yet to realise our full potential but, at the same time, we have had our own heroes who have been the trailblazers and an inspiration for the following generations.

As we celebrate our 70th Independence Day, let’s take a look back into our history and cherish our greatest achievements in the post-Independence era.

Note: The following list is not ranking based and written according to the timeline

1951 – 1962: Indian Football’s Golden Period

Just like Cricket, the British also gifted us Football. The game’s popularity also rose stupendously in the pre-partition era in the same way cricket was gaining its grip. But, somewhere between a poor administration and lack of attention, football lost its relevance and ended up becoming a minority sport in the world’s second most populous country.

But, while the current state of affairs might be underwhelming although it is improving drastically, Indian football too had its golden era when they had international recognition. The 1950s and 1960s were the glory years for the Indian Football team.

During that decade, it ranked among the top 20 teams of the world and had won the 1951 and 1962 Asian Games and finished fourth in the 1956 Olympics as well. This golden period, however, perished very quickly later on but remains an inspiration for the current generation of budding footballers.

1952 – Khashaba Jadhav, the first Indian to win an individual Olympic medal for India

Khashaba Jadhav was the first individual winner for India in an Olympic sport. He achieved this feat by winning a bronze at the 1952 Summer Olympics. He won his Olympic medal after defeating players from Mexico, Canada and Germany. Born in a family of wrestlers, Jadhav was a child prodigy who gained attention with his first wrestling bout at the age of eight which he won in just two minutes against a local champion wrestler.

Ironically, Jadhav returned home unnoticed and was greeted by his villagers.

1975 –World Cup Hockey Triumph, Malaysia

Cricket maybe the sport which currently puts us on the sporting map, but it was Hockey clan, comprising mostly of players from the army background, who were the first flag bearers of Indian sports at the international level.

The eight Olympic medals starting from 1936 Berlin event remains a benchmark for Indian sports. They also were the first among team sports who brought the first major glory in the post-independence era as well. On 15th March 1975, India, backed by captain Ajit Pal and Aslam Sher Khan, defeated arch rivals Pakistan with a score of 2-1 to win the Hockey World Cup held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

1980 – Prakash Padukone Bags All England Badminton Title

Prakash Padukone is arguably the father of modern day Badminton for India. The Karnataka star, who has four national championships to his name, rose to prominence with his victory over Liem Swie King of Indonesia to become the first Indian to win the All England Badminton championships.

Padukone was awarded the Arjuna Award and also the Padma Shri for his achievements. Indian Badminton has risen to a great level at present. But, it wouldn’t have been possible with the cluster breaking achievement from Padukone which showed the path to the future generations.

1983 Cricket World Cup Victory – The Beginning of the Cricket Revolution

As the underdogs, India was not taken seriously by most of the top contenders when they participated in the Prudential World Cup in 1983. However, it was only a matter of a week that the whole perception was changed and a cricketing revolution was kicked off by India.

Under the leadership of Kapil Dev, the Indian team later remarked as Kapil’s Devils, defeated the champion of the previous two editions – West Indies in a nail-biting final at Lord’s to become the world champions.

1986 – P. T. Usha’s Becomes an Inspiration At The Asian Games

PT Usha remains an inspiration for the female athletes in India. The track and field specialist gained wide fame and recognition after her dominating performances in the 1986 Asian Games which saw her win won four gold medals and one silver medal. The magnitude of the performance was so high that she was later awarded as the Best Athlete in the world title.

All of this distinctive showing was enough to make her a household name in India.

2004 – The Invincible of Kabaddi

Well, every country has a sport where it totally dominates the world. Cricket maybe the most popular but it’s the sport of Kabaddi where Indian ruled like immortals.

As of now, India has won all the three kabaddi World Cups in which they have participated. The streak began in 2004, has been kept alive with victories in the 2007 and 2016 edition. Apart from that, India has won Gold medals in the Asian Games in 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010.

2005 – Pankaj Advani won the World Billiards Championships

National snooker star Pankaj Advani remains India greatest Billiards sensation. The immensely talented individual remains responsible for keeping India’s name high in IBSF world. The biggest moment of glory, that brought India laurels, was when he won the World Championship in 2003 at the age of 18 and became the youngest Indian to win the title.

Later, he bagged the IBSF World Billiards Championship in 2005 at Qawra, Malta to become the first player to achieve a “grand double” by winning both time and point formats.

2008 – The Golden Boy – Abhinav Bindra Shoots Glory At the 2008 Olympics

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Abhinav Bindra made history by winning a gold medal in the 10m Air Rifle event and ended India’s excruciating wait for an individual gold medallist at the Summer Games. It was also India’s first Olympic yellow metal since 1980 when its men’s hockey team returned home on a high.

Bindra was a prodigy of the shooting world and won the Arjuna Award and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award when he was just a teenager ages 18 and 19, respectively. Later on, his success in Beijing earned him India’s third highest civilian award, the Padma Bhushan.

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