India @75: 5 most glorious sporting moments in Indian history

Sports is undoubtedly one of the great unifier in our country and as India celebrates its 75th Independence Day, a recall to 5 most glorious sporting moments in Indian history will surely light up the historic day.

1983 World Cup

During an era that was dominated by hockey, Indians weren't taken seriously in other sports. That changed in 1983 as against all odds, Kapil's Devils did the unthinkable and beat won the cricket World Cup for the very first time. They not only ended West Indies' winning streak in the final, but gave the nation another sport to bite on. The iconic picture of Kapil Dev lifting the World Cup in Lord's still remains one of the most influential photos in Indian cricket as it laid the foundation of India becoming a cricketing superpower.

2007 World Cup

If the 1983 World Cup taught India how to win at the biggest stage, the 2007 World T20 infused aggression into the young crop of cricketers. India was coming off a heartbreaking loss in the ODI World Cup and with senior players opting out of the World T20, not many gave India a fighting chance. But apart from winning the tournament, it also saw the rise of a leader in MS Dhoni, and rest as they say is history. Victory at the first-ever World cup of the shortest format in South Africa meant that Indian fans were ready to consume more of T20 cricket, hence the Indian Premier League was born.

2011 World Cup

The year was 2011, the ODI World Cup was happening in the sub-continent and there couldn't have been a better opportunity for MS Dhoni and his men to give India a taste of the World Cup trophy which they had won 28 years ago. Team India lived up to its hype and defeated Sri Lanka in the final at the Wankhede to become the first team in history to win the World Cup in their own backyard. The win was a perfect farewell for Sachin Tendulkar who was playing his last World Cup.

Neeraj Chopra

While Indians have always had an emotional connect with cricket, another area which triggers their patriotic side are the Olympics. Apart from hockey, India didn't dominate any other sport at the Games, let alone winning a track and field medal. Despite doing good in shooting, wrestling, boxing and badminton, an Olympic medal in athletics always eluded India. That changed in 2021 and how. Neeraj Chopra not only went on to finish at the podium in men's javelin throw but did it in style by clinching Gold. It also proved to be India's 2nd Olympic Gold in an individual event.

Viswanathan Anand

One man who never got the amount of appreciation which he deserved in revolutionising Indian sports is chess maestro Viswanathan Anand. He not only put India on the World chess map but gave nightmares to his opponents. Just to list a few of his many records:

• Became the youngest Indian to win the title of International Master at the age of 15
• A year later, he became the national chess champion and repeated it a couple more times
• In 1988, he became India’s 1st Grandmaster
• First Indian to become World Champion in 2000
• Dominated World Chess from 2007 to 2013 and won the World Chess Championship 5 times.

Apart from being the first Indian sports player in history to get the Padma Vibhushan award in 2007, Viswanathan Anand was also the first recipient of India’s highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 1991.