Every kid in India remembers who is Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar or even Shakib al Hasan but when you ask them about Saina Nehwal, Manashi Joshi or Bajrang Punia, than very few will be there who can tell about them. Unless you are a cricketer, people will not remember you more than an hour. In India, a top performance in an IPL game will give a player more name and fame, then winning a medal in Olympic event. MyTeam11 brings to you some sports personalities whose achievements don't justify the reputation and popularity they have.
Balbir Singh Sr
Three-time Olympic gold champion, Balbir Singh Br is a former hockey player from India. He won a gold medal in Hockey in 1948, 1952 and 1966. For his immense contribution to Indian Hockey, he was the first Indian sports personality to be honored with the Padma Shri award in 1957. His success didn’t stop here, in 2015, he was called to receive the Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award of Hockey India. Despite these achievements, this Indian hockey hero is still unknown to Indians.
Karnam Malleswari
Karnam Malleswari is the first Indian women to win a medal in the Olympics. Born in Andhra Pradesh, she is a professional level weightlifter who won bronze in Sydney 2000. Although she has retired from the sport now, Karnam was also a national champion for nine years. Time and again during this tenure, she broke her own records . In 1995, she received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India's highest sporting honor, and in 1999, the civilian Padma Shri award. But after a decade of her legacy, she is now forgotten.
Ashwini Nachappa
PT Usha, a name that almost every Indian must have heard. But, what about Ashwini Nachappa who outran PT Usha in the 1980s on two occasions. Karnataka born former female athlete, Nachappa had bagged seven medals (3 gold and four silver) in three editions of South Asian Federation Games in 1984, 1986 and 1988. She also represented India in two World Championships, one in 1987 in Rome and the other in 1991 in Tokyo. Despite getting medals and reaching heights, she has been forgotten by Indian people. Currently, she is an actor.
Asha Roy
29-year-old Indian professional sprinter, Asha Roy is another player whose fame and popularity doesn't justify her achievements. Being a daughter of a vegetable seller, her dream and ambitions to raise the Indian flag have given her great success. In 2009, she won a gold medal at Indo-Bangla International meet. However, she didn’t stop here, Roy bagged her second gold in 200-meter race in the second Indian Grand Prix Championship held at Patiala. She is still young as other Sports personalities but lost under a shadow.
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