Top 10 moments in Indian sporting history

Published at :August 31, 2023 at 8:27 PM

Modified at :January 13, 2024 at 6:43 PM

These were the events where Indians challenged the best in the world.

Sporting events have been one major reason for exhilarating entertainment for the Indians for the past century. There were numerous instances of sporting brilliance, motivations that created magic, and stories that defied norms and pushed beyond boundaries. In this article, we are going to list the top ten Indian sporting moments in Indian sports history that made the world take notice and events where Indians challenged the best in the world.

1983 Cricket World Cup win

**Kapil Dev receiving the trophy at the Lord’s balcony (Courtesy: ICC Cricket)**

The iconic image of Kapil Dev lifting the World Cup trophy at Lord’s balcony remains etched in one’s memory forever. Symbolizing India’s historic triumph in the 1983 Cricket World Cup against the formidable West Indies, the underdog Indian team’s collective brilliance led to a monumental upset.

Led by Kapil Dev’s legendary 175 and Mohinder Amarnath’s all-around heroics in the semifinals and final, India clinched its first-ever World Cup. This victory transformed India into a cricketing powerhouse, nurturing future legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, and the current generations.

The 1983 win laid the foundation for cricket’s religious status in India, uniting a nation with joy and devotion, shaping its sporting destiny, and ensuring its cherished place in the records of cricketing history. The win was a crucial juncture for India’s global dominance of the sport and the tag of the ‘underdog’ was shed out permanently from that point onwards.

1936 Hockey Gold – Berlin Olympics

**Captain Dhyan Chand led India to a historic gold medal (Courtesy: Olympic.com)**

Indian hockey was involved in various defining triumphs over the last century. Hockey was India’s most popular sport during colonial times. Neither recognized nor given due respect, Indian hockey continued to create waves in the field of World Hockey. One such particular instance was the 1936 Berlin Olympics held in Germany. Despite its comprehensive wins at the 1928 and the 1932 Olympics, the Indian hockey team was yet to be considered the masters of the game when the 1936 Olympics came along.

This was largely due to India winning their second gold medal against depleted teams at the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles – as most European nations did not participate due to the depression. The Dhyan Chand-led Indian team thrashed hosts Germany (8-1) in the final to claim their third successive gold medal.

The team had skillful forwards who were duly supported by the hardworking halves as the team rose to the occasion and demonstrated a perfect game of hockey that left the crowd in awe. Dhyan Chand despite losing a tooth after a collision with German goalkeeper Tito Warnholtz, showed huge grit and determination and even decided to play barefoot to run faster during the game.

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Football gold – 1962 Asian Games

**Indian players rejoicing post the gold medal triumph (Courtesy: Sportstar – The Hindu)**

Yet another inspiring moment for Indians that shook the world was the 1962 Asian Games football gold medal. India defeated South Korea 2-1 in the final to clinch gold which also turned out to be the last to date.

The Senayan Main Stadium in Jakarta had a jampacked audience of 1,00,000-strong Indonesian crowd cheering for the Korean Republic at the top of their voice. Despite the hostile atmosphere, P. K. Banerjee gave India the lead before Jarnail Singh doubled it.

It was said to be pin-drop silence at the stadium when the Indians went 2-0 up. Though Korea scored a late goal, goalkeeper Peter Thangaraj saw off the danger till the end. The animosity against the Indian contingent was so high that no one came to congratulate the team after the match. The Indians found some support from the Pakistan hockey team who watched the game from the stands at that point.

This iconic win saw the Indians standing up against the world fighting for their pride and nation’s glory.

Neeraj Chopra’s historic gold – Tokyo Olympics 2020

**Neeraj Chopra became the first track and field athlete to win gold medal (Courtesy: Olympics.com)**

On August 7, 2021, Neeraj Chopra won a historic gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. This particular moment of glory was so special as Indians were not known to produce gold medal-winning athletes. The world’s perception of India was shattered, courtesy of Neeraj Chopra. The then 23-year-old, speared his Javelin that blazed through the sky and covered 87.58m for the top spot.

This was India’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in Athletics and the realization of a long-standing dream – the ones that legends like Milkha Singh and PT Usha had also chased but fell short of by agonizingly narrow margins. Moreover, Neeraj Chopra’s Tokyo crown was India’s second individual gold medal at the Summer Games after Abhinav Bindra’s shooting gold at Beijing 2008.

Abhinav Bindra gold – Beijing Olympics 2008

**Abhinav Bindra became the 1st Indian individual to win a gold medal at the Olympics (Courtesy: The Times of India)**

Abhinav Bindra became the first Indian individual to win a gold medal at the Olympics. Having prepared for Beijing 2008 in a detailed manner, Indian shooter Abhinav Bindra held his nerves to become the first Olympic gold medallist from India in Shooting. The points were tied heading into the final round, and a near-perfect 10.8 in his last shot in the men’s 10m air rifle against Finland’s Henri Häkkinen 9.7, helped the then 25-year-old Abhinav Bindra become an Olympic champion.

Having missed his chance for a medal at Athens 2004, Abhinav Bindra headed for the Games in Beijing yearning for success. Bindra rehearsed everything that he would do in Beijing, including his walk to the shooting area in ankle-high boots and his stance in a ‘mock finals’ that had Buhlmann making announcements just like at a shooting event.

Mahesh Bhupati and Leander Paes – Wimbledon and French Open title (1999)

**Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi post winning Wimbledon Championships (Courtesy: Telegraph India)**

The French Open 1999 was a huge landmark for Indian tennis as Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi defeated the Croatian-American pair of Goran Ivanisevic and Jeff Tarango 6-2, 7-5 in the final to become the first all-Indian pair to win a Grand Slam Championships. This was soon followed by the prestigious Wimbledon championship as Bhupati and Paes came from a set down to beat the Netherlands’ Paul Haarhuis and the USA’s Jared Palmer (6-7, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6) to win a second Grand Slam.

Leander Paes was proficient at net play while Mahesh Bhupathi was a strong baseline player, which meant they would complement each other perfectly. The duo’s famous chest-bump celebration would soon become iconic. Overall Bhupati-Paes fondly called the “Indian Express” won three Grand Slam titles together and also rose to the World No. 1 spot in the ATP rankings.

Milka Singh gold – Asian Games 1958

**Milkha Singh at 1958 Asian Games(Courtesy: Republic World)**

The late Milkha Singh was one of the biggest names in Indian sport and was the country’s first track and field superstar. He won the gold medal in men’s 400m in 47 seconds, almost two seconds faster than silver-medallist Pablo Somblingo at the 1958 Asian Games. This was soon followed by the second gold in men’s 200m.

Although Milkha Singh won two gold medals in the 1958 Asian Games the quest for winning started long before. Milkha approached USA’s Charles Jenkins, the 400m and 4*400m relay gold medalist at the Melbourne Olympics 1956, and asked for his training routine, which the American was generous enough to share.

The then 27-year-old Milkha Singh religiously followed Jenkins’ routine for the next two years which it paid off in the end. The story of Milka Singh is a testament to true resilience and years of hard work turning into gold at the Asian Games.

PV Sindhu silver – Rio Olympics 2016

**PV Sindhu won her first Olympic medal in 2016 (Courtesy: Olympics.com)**

Current two-time Olympic medalist, PV Sindhu put up a spirited fight in the final at the Rio Olympics 2016 but ultimately ended up with the silver medal losing to Spain’s Carolina Marin (19-21, 21-12, 21-15).

Indian badminton got its first taste of an Olympic medal when Saina Nehwal broke the deadlock with her bronze at London 2012. It marked the rise of the nation as a powerhouse in badminton and the feat of a young 21-year-old four years later helped set the bar even higher for Sindhu to win a medal in the subsequent edition. This moment also marked the emergence of Indian shuttlers on the world stage.

Mary Kom’s bronze – London Olympics 2012

**Mary Kom is the second Indian to win a medal at the Olympics (Courtesy: India.com)**

Mary Kom became the first Indian woman boxer to win an Olympic medal, claiming bronze in the 51kg category. Amateur women’s boxing was introduced at the Summer Olympics in 2012 and Mary Kom was already a legend going into it Games. The legendary boxer made her Olympic debut as a five-time world champion and despite moving up above in the weight category, won bronze.

The boxer from Manipur was the only female Indian boxer to make the Olympics cut in that edition. As it turned out, Mary Kom fell at the penultimate stage to home favorite Nicola Adams, who eventually went on to win gold. Mary Kom was forced to move up to 51kg (flyweight) as the World body decided to allow women’s boxing in only three weight categories. However, none of it seemed to affect the legendary Indian boxer.

Interestingly, the Manipuri boxer returned to the sport after giving birth to twins in 2007. The Iron Lady showed some great resilience and beat the odds to win the first-ever boxing medal for India at the London Olympics 2012.

Viswanathan Anand – 1st Indian Grand Master in 1988

**Viswanathan Anand has won five Chess Championship titles (Courtesy: Hindustan Times)**

In 1988, Viswanathan Anand won the Shakti Finance International chess tournament and in the process became the first grandmaster from India. He laid the foundation stone for India’s remarkable surge in the sport, leading to the emergence of 82 Grandmasters (GMs), 124 International Masters (IMs), and 23 Woman Grandmasters (WGMs), several of whom also hold the superior IM title, along with 42 Woman International Masters (WIMs) as of May 2023, as reported by FIDE, the International Chess Federation.

One of his notable successes in this tournament was his win against Russian grandmaster Efim Geller. He won the Shakti Finance International Chess tournament to complete the final norm giving rise to India’s first proud Grand Master. Anand also has five world championship titles with several other career titles.

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