The Emerging Sports Stars of India

The history of Indian sports has always been enriched with the knacks and achievements of potential players. They have not only dominated the stages of sports they know very well, but also the sports they were not much aware of earlier whether it's basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, cricket or soccer.

And, here we have the present generation; full of energy and enthusiasm to touch the glorious sky of success.

Wanna know about them? Here you go...

Hima Das

Photo Credits: news18.com

Hima Das, the "Dhing Express" of India is the new pace of sprint. This 19-year-old teen has already held the national record in 400 metres with an amazing timing of 50.79 seconds.

Born on 9th January 2000 in a village of Assam, Hima grew up facing the hurdles of life, with her farmer-parents Ronjit and Jonali Das and four siblings.

In spite of all the hardships, she refused to bow down in front of adversities. She made a heroic attempt by winning 5 gold medals in a month. She is the first youth ambassador of UNICEF India, affiliated with them since 2018.

For Hima's appreciable performances on the track, she has also been conferred with the Arjuna Award on 25th September 2018. At present, Hima is the proud name every Indian has in the heart and hope in the mind to rule the world of athletics.

Her Major Achievements

• Won a gold medal in 400m sprint at Nove Mesto, held in the Czech Republic on 20th July 2019
• Won a gold medal in 200m sprint at Tabor Athletics Meet, held in the Czech Republic on 17th July 2019
• Won a gold medal in 200m sprint at Kladno Athletics Meet, held in the Czech Republic on 13th July 2019
• Won a gold medal in 200m sprint at Poznan Athletics Grand Prix, held in Poland on 7th July 2019
• Won silver medals in 400m sprint and 4x400m mixed relay at the Asian Games 2018, held in Indonesia
• Won a gold medal in 400m sprint at the World U-20 Championship 2018, held in Finland

Saurabh Chaudhary

Photo Credits: ANI Photo

The shooting sensation of India, Saurabh Chaudhary. This hawk eye of India is just 19 years old and has added numerous medals and records to his tally.

He was born on 12th April 2002 in Meerut in the family of Jagmohan Singh, a farmer and mother Brajesh Devi. Saurabh began the game of precision at the age of 13, and within a few years, portrayed his potentials at the international shooting stages.

Being the World Championships, Asian Games or the Youth Olympic Games, this shooting champ has the charm to bring fire on the stage and win it big.

His Major Achievements

• Won 6 gold medals and a bronze medal with his powerpack performance in 10m air pistol & 10m air pistol mixed team events at the ISSF World Cup 2019
• Won a gold medal in 10m air pistol event at the Asian Games 2018, held in Palembang
• Won a gold medal in 10m air pistol at the Youth Olympics Games 2018, held in Buenos Aires. The same year, he bagged a gold and a bronze medal in the 10m air pistol junior event and 10m air pistol junior mixed team events of the ISSF World Shooting Championship 2018
• Added 4 gold and a silver medal in his medal tally with his dynamic performances with 10m air pistol at the Asian Airgun Championships of 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019

Jemimah Rodriguez

Photo Credits: ANI Photo

This 19-year-old cricketer and hockey player is the upcoming star of the Indian Women's Cricket Team.

Born on 5th September 2000, in Mumbai, Jemimah is a part of a sports-centred family. Her father was a Coach in her school, and she used to practice bowling with her brothers.

At the age of 13, she started her cricket career, becoming a part of the Under-19 State Cricket Team and that was from where she didn't turn back.

An all-rounder and a hard hitter, she had already played 25 T20Is with a total of 608 runs and 10 ODIs in which she secured 186 runs. Looking at her potentials, one can surely portray her sports career that may become an inspiration for the other Indian girls.

Her Major Achievements

• The second woman to score a double century in a 50 over cricket match, the first being Smriti Mandhana
• Scored 202 in just 163 balls during a match against the team of Saurashtra in November 2017 
• Named in the national squad for the three-match ODI series against the team of South Africa in 2018. The same year, she was also named for the 2018 ICC Women's World Twenty20 tournament in the West Indies.

Lakshya Sen

Photo Credits: BugWarp / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Lakshya Sen belongs to a badminton family and has shuttler genes, where his father Mr D.K. Sen is a National Coach, his elder brother Chirag Sen is also an international badminton player, and that's from where he sought inspiration to go for his sport.

In the year 2017, the young shuttler clinched the no.1 spot in the BWF World Junior ranking. This is just the beginning. The quest is on its pace!

His Major Achievements

• Won a gold medal at the BWF International Challenge 2019, held in Belgian
• Won a silver medal at the Youth Olympic Games 2018, held in Argentina
• Won a bronze medal at the World Junior Championship 2018, held in Canada
• Won a gold medal at the Asia Junior Championship 2018, held in Indonesia

Mehuli Ghosh

Photo Credits: DerHexer / bn.wikipedia.org

With her much-appreciating silver medal win at the Commonwealth Games, Australia in 2018, the rifle princess Mehuli has proved her strong potency and precision in the sport of shooting.

Born on 20th November 2000 in Hooghly, she was mentored by the former shooter Joydeep Karmakar. In 2016, she received two gold medals in National Championship in Pune that gave her a vast hope to go for her bigger dreams.

The way she is dedicating her sweat and blood to train for the international stages, she is no more away to the victory rainbows. She is continually breaking the odd perceptions of stereotypes with her gritty performances and has been seen as the next shooting star of India.

Her Major Achievements

• Won a silver medal at the ISSF World Shooting Championship 2018, held in Changwon
• Won a silver medal at the Youth Olympic Games 2018, held in Buenos Aires
• Won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games 2018, held in Gold Coast
• Became the Asian Champion in her shooting category in 2017 with a total score of 420.1

Manu Bhaker

Photo Credits: Martin Rulsch, Wikimedia Commons , CC BY-SA 4.0

The youngest Indian shooter to win a gold medal at the ISSF World Cup - Manu Bhaker. She is one of the finest shooters in India who is seen with a big hope to compete with the PROs of shooting.

Not only in shooting but Mehuli has excelled in many sports such as martial arts, boxing, tennis etc. Manu sought inspiration to go for the glories in sports from her grandfather, late ch. Rajkaran Saheb, who was also a great shooter.

The hobby that took birth in a small shooting range turned into a passion with Mehuli's firm determination. Till now Manu has competed with many prominent shooters and even broke their sturdy records. 

Her Major Achievements

• Won a gold medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team events at the ISSF World Cup 2019, held in Munich and Beijing
• Won gold and a silver medal in the 10m air pistol events of the Youth Olympic Games 2018, held in Buenos Aires
• Won gold medals in the 10m air pistol events at the ISSF World Cup 2018, held in Guadalajara

Elavenil Valarivan

A jubilant shooter and an upcoming rising sports star. Elavenil was born on 2nd August 1999, in Tamil Nadu. Her performance has always been a centre of attraction.

At the age of 20, she has established a world record by scoring 631.4 in the 10m air rifle shooting category.

Her Major Achievements

• Won a gold medal in the 10m air rifle women's junior event at the ISSF World Cup 2019, held in Rio de Janeiro
• Won a gold medal in the 10m air rifle women's junior event at the ISSF World Cup 2018, held in Sydney
• Won a silver medal in the 10m air rifle event at the World Championship 2018, held in Changwon

Wait, wait! This is not the end of the list.

The Indian youth is turning their interests into more sports and giving us plenty of reasons to feel proud. Indeed, India will notch up the medal tallies of international competitions with these potential players and that day is not far away.

By the way, who's your favourite one?