Some of the Best Indian Sports Facts
Presently, cricket is ruling the entire India. You ask a child about, who is his favorite sportsperson and you will definitely hear the answer Sachin Tendulkar. Ask about who is the captain of the Indian National Hockey team. You will rarely find any relevant answers to this one. One needs to know that even before the independence, the country saw some of the finest athletes, who very few people know about. Here are some of the amazing facts about Indian sports that you ought to know.
It was in 1928 that India won its first Olympic Gold Medal in hockey. India defeated Holland by 3-0 in the final. The legend of Indian hockey Dhyan Chand scored two goals during the finals. Richard Allen, the Indian Goalkeeper did not concede even a single goal throughout the entire tournament. The gold medal won by India was the first Olympic gold won by any Asian team in the modern Olympics. In all, Indian hockey has won eight gold medals in the Olympics.
Milkha Singh was the first Athlete from India to reach an Olympic final. He reached the final in a 400m event in Rome Olympics of 1960. However, he finished fourth, but succeeded in setting a record time of 45.6 seconds. He missed the chance of winning a bronze medal by a difference of just 0.1 second. Milkha Singh, also known as, ‘The Flying Sikh’ was born on October 8 1935 in Lyallpur that is now in Pakistan. Milkha Singh has also served in the Indian army for a short period. He actually became popular during the national games held at Patiala in 1956. Two years later, he crossed a great milestone by setting a record time at the 200m and 400m events held in Cuttack. He also managed to set a new record in the same year in 200m and 400m event at the Asian games in Tokyo. The flying Sikh definitely made the whole country proud.
Another popular name in the history of Indian sports is Ramanathan Krishnan, the legend of Indian Tennis. He is the first Indian to win a Junior Wimbledon Singles title. He gained popularity in the year 1954 when he defeated Ashley Cooper in the final. As a result, Ramanathan Krishnan became the first Asian to win a prestigious Wimbledon title. Born on April 11, 1937, he started playing tennis under the guidance of his father T.K. Ramanathan. He later on succeeded in winning the national senior title for eight years in a row. He ranked fourth in the 1952 Wimbledon. He reached the Wimbledon final, but unfortunately lost to Fraser. He also was a part of the Indian team that reached the finals of the 1966 Davis Cup.
Parimarjan Negi is another great Indian sports personality. Born on February 9 1993, he is the youngest Grandmaster in India. It was at the age of 13 that he became a Grandmaster. Parimarjan Negi is the second youngest Grandmaster in the history of Chess.
