Sports have always bought people together of all fields. Hence, many famous sports personalities of India have reached greater heights and made the country proud. From Milkha Singh and Abhinav Bindra to Kapil Dev and legendary Sachin Tendulkar, India has some gems!
In 2022, When things are getting better our Indian sportsmen are preparing for upcoming tournaments for 2022-2023. Let’s have a look at famous sports personalities of India.
Here’s a list of the biggest and most famous sports personalities of India:-
The below list does not represent the standing of the sportsperson in any particular order.
16. Sania Mirza – Tennis
Sania Mirza the tennis champion of India has recently announced her retirement after playing US Open 2022. She is one of the most successful tennis players who made her debut in 2003. Since then, she became the first Indian player to rank under 30 in the world rankings. For her outstanding career, she has won several awards. She has won Padma Shri, Padma Bhusan, Arjuna Award, Major Dhyan Chad Khel Ratna Awards, and many others for her achievements and outstanding performances.
Mirza ranked as Indian number 1 by the WTA from 2013-2022. She is famous for forehand groundstrokes which are full of strength and power. She has won six major titles and was one of the highest-paid Indian athletes in India. The Economic Times named Mirza on the list of “33 women who made India Proud.”Besides, Times magazine named her among the 100 most influential people in the world.
15. Vishwanath Anand – Chess
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 The five tome Chess winner Viswanath Anand is another famous sports personality of India who made the country proud. He began to play chess at a very young age and the age of 14 he won the National Sub-Junior Chess Championship. Soon he became a very famous chess player who at the age of eighteen became India’s First grandmaster by winning the World Junior Chess Championship. He has won Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, Padma Vibhusan, and so on.
14. Saina Nehwal – Badminton
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 According to data released from Ormax India, Saina Nehwal has been placed at number 8 in the list of top ten Indian sports personalities in 2022. In her career, she has won 441 matches. She has played in various international tournaments such as Olympics, World Championship, Uber Cup, Commonwealth games, etc. She has also received awards such as the Arjuna award, Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan. In 2022, she aims to make her place in the squad of the Asia Games and Commonwealth Games. Indeed, she is one of the famous sports personalities of India who’s winning hearts.
13. Abhinav Bindra – Sport Shooter
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 Abhinav Bindra is the most famous Indian sportsperson n who is retired now. He is an Olympic Gold Medal winner born on 28th September 1982 in Dehradun. In his 22 years career, Bindra has had more than 150 medals and is the recipient of the Padma Bhushan and Arjuna Awards. In addition, he was honored with the prestigious Blue Cross, the ISSF’s highest honor. Currently, he is a member of the IOC Athlete’s Commission.
12. Marry Kom – Boxer
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 The seven-time World Champion Mary Kom’s name deserves to be on the famous Sports Personalities of India list. She is an Indian amateur boxer and former member of the Parliament Rajya Sabha. Popularly known as Magnificent Mary, she is the only Indian female boxer to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics. Kom has been ranked as the world’s number 1 female light flyweight by the International Boxing Association Amateur. In 2020, she has been honored with Padma Vibhusan. She has an autobiography named Unbreakable and a Bollywood film named Mary Kom which was portrayed by Priyanka Chopra.
11. P.V Sindhu – Badminton
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 PV Sindhu is an Indian badminton player. She was born on 25th August 1992 in Hyderabad, Telangana. She started playing badminton at the age of seven. P.V. became India’s youngest-ever singles champion at the 2010 South Asian Games. She also won the gold medal in the 2014 Commonwealth Games and 2018 Asian Games. Sindhu won her first world title at the 2019 BWF World Championships. She has been named the world’s highest-paid female athlete according to Forbes.
10. Mahendra Singh Dhoni – Cricketer
The captain cool Mahender Singh Dhoni needs no Introduction. Even after retiring from all forms of cricket, his popularity is increasing day by day. From being the best finisher to giving a tough time to opponents he has aced it all. In the 2022 IPL match, he showed that age is just a number and it doesn’t define his game. Whether he will continue playing in 2023 or not is the biggest question. Another reason for Dhoni’s growing popularity is his hairstyles.
9. Mirabai Chanu – Weightlifter
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 Mirabai Chanu is a 49kg category Indian weightlifter known for winning a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She has been awarded the Padma Shree and Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award for her contributions. After playing in various Olympics, world championships and national championships, and other tournaments, Chanu is preparing for the Asian games and commonwealth games 2022. Currently, she gained a lot of popularity and entered the list of famous sports personalities of India.
8. Mithali Raj – Women’s Cricketer
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 Mithali Raj is the most beautiful woman cricketer in India. Born on December 3, 1982, she is a Test and ODI captain of the Indian Women’s National Cricket team. She is a right-handed batsman and right-arm leg-break bowler. She is the first to score 6000 runs in the ODI format in Indian Women’s Cricket. Mithali has received Major Dhyanchand Khel Ratna (2021), Padma Shri ( 2015), and Arjuna Award (2003). She is also the first women cricketer in International cricket to complete 20 years. In addition, she is a Bharatnatyam dancer. She is an inspiration to the girls who see sports as their career. Her upcoming biopic- Shabaash Mithu, starring Taapsee Panu as Mithali Raj, which released and received love and appreciation from fans.
7. Sachin Tendulkar – Cricketer
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The ‘god of cricket’ Sachin Tendulkar is next on our list. He is the only batsman who has scored 100 centuries in world Cricket. In 2001, Tendulkar was the first Indian sportsman to have a commercial deal worth Rs.100 crore with MRF. In 2013, he took retirement from the Indian Cricket team but is still one of the most famous sports personalities of India. Having a net worth of Rs.1114 crores, or $150 Million, The Master Blaster owns a property worth Rs. 520 crores.
Sachin is rich because he owns two restaurants and a badminton team named Bengaluru Blasters. He also owns luxury cars such as BMW X5M, Ferrari 360 Modena, and more. In addition, he also owns a football club named Kerala Blasters. He endorses popular brands such as Quaker, Philips, PepsiCo, MRF tires, Reliance Communication, BMW, Paytm, Adidas, VISA, Star Sports, Airtel, etc
6. Lovlina Boroghain – Boxer
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 Next, we have a young Indian Boxer Lovlina Borgohain on the list of the most famous Sports personality of India. She is a bronze medal winner at the 2022 Summer Olympics. She is an Arjuna Award winner and is the first female athlete and the second boxer from Assam to represent her state in Olympics. In 2022, Lovlina will be leading the contingent at Indian Boxing Challenge at Asian Games. At present, she is playing in her first tournament in Tokyo.
5. Virat Kohli – Cricketer
Virat is one of the most successful cricketers worldwide, thanks to his outstanding batting. Due to his dashing looks, he attracts a ton of brand partnerships. With 191 million followers, he is the most followed cricketer on Instagram. With a net worth of Rs. 690 Crore ($93 Million) Virat ranked on the Forbes list of highest-paid athletes in the World. Virat owns fashion brands such as Wrogn and One8. Also, he is the brand ambassador for Colgate, Myntra, Boost, MPL, PUMA, Himalaya, Great Learning, Volini, Too Yum, MRF Tyres, and more.
4. Lakshya Sen – BadmintonÂ
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 Lakshya Sen is a young badminton player who got recognition after he got the bronze medal at the 2021 World Championship. He is a former junior number 1 who in 2022 defeated Loh Kean Yew in the finals of the Indian Open. He is ranked number one in Men’s single and was a part of the Indian team which won the Thomas Cup 2022. At present, he’s looking forward to winning Asian Games and Commonwealth games which will be held this year. Hence, he is the most famous sports personality of India at such a young age!
3. Rohit Sharma – Cricketer
If you are an Indian cricket fan? Then you must be aware of Rohit Sharma. The new Indian captain Rohit Sharma holds the record for his highest individual score of 264 and 3 double-centuries in an ODI format. Known as the ‘Hitman‘ by his fans, his aggressive yet elegant batting skill makes him very famous. In IPL, he plays for Mumbai Indians and it becomes five times championships under his captaincy. With an expected net worth of $75 million, he is also one of the richest Indian cricketers in 2022. He is under the A+ grade of BCCI’s annual contract and receives Rs 7 crore annually. He endorses popular brands like Glenmark Pharma, IIFL Finance, Vega, and Dr. Trust. CEAT, Massimo Batteries, etc. Indeed, he is one of the most famous Sports personalities of India.
2. Neeraj Chopra – Javeline
The Golden boy of India, Neeraj Chopra is a famous sports personality of India. he made every Indian proud by winning a gold medal in Javelin Throw at the 2021 Olympics. He gained a lot of popularity and people who weren’t aware of the sport were aware now. In 2022, he’s preparing for the upcoming World Championship, Commonwealth Games, and Asian Games. The 24-year-old ranked 50th in Indian Express’s 100 most powerful Indian list.
1. Sunil Chettri – FootballÂ
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 Sunil Chetri is a famous sports personality from India who plays football as a striker and winger. He is the captain of the Indian National Football team and Bengaluru Fc. Chetri is popularly known as Captain Fantastic and he has managed to be in the 2nd position among the highest number of goals in International matches. In addition, he is an all-time top goal scorer for the Indian National football team.
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 In 2018, his video of him urging football fans to come and watch the Indian Blue Tiger playing went viral. Many famous sports personalities like Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli supported him. As a result, the ticket for the matches was sold out. And now people are equalling supporting Indian football and hockey team like cricket.
Wrapping Up!
There are several famous sports personalities in India. It is impossible to list them all. Hence, we listed the most popular ones. Let us know your views in the comment box, and we shall prepare another list.
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