The year 2022 has been a great year for Indian women sportsmen, many women sportsmen have broken records this year, and created new heights.
Nikhat Zareen
Nikhat Zareen from Nizamabad, Telangana continued her relentless pursuit in 2022, at the age of 26, she has the potential to win the world championship. Zareen’s ability can be measured by the fact that she won five matches in a row to win the gold medal at 52kg in the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championship held in May 2022 and defeated her opponent 5-0 in those five matches.
Nikhat is the fifth Indian boxer to win the World Boxing Championship. She is the second boxer after Mary Kom to have achieved this victory in a foreign country.
At a time when India seems to be divided along religious lines and violence against women has not stopped, Nikhat’s success is significant. Two months after winning the World Championships, Zareen won a gold medal on her debut in the 50kg category of the Commonwealth Games.
What could be a better year than this for any player in terms of success?
Mirabai Chanu
Opened the medal haul for India by winning the silver medal at the Tokyo Games. She continued her progress this year and won two gold medals during this season. world championships by lifting her weight twice with an injured wrist. One of the specialties of Mirabai Chanu is that she is seen smiling. At the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, in the 49 kg category, she lifted 88 kg in the deadlift and won the gold medal by lifting 113 kg in the clean and jerk.
She lifted a total of 201 kilograms, which is a new Commonwealth Games record. Mirabai has gained 29 kg more than the second player. The World Championships have a tougher challenge than the Commonwealth Games. Mirabai’s wrist was injured during her preparations in September. Mirabai was not in the first place when she arrived in Bogota, the capital of Colombia, to participate in the World Cup.
The pain Mirabai, 28, must have endured can be gauged by the fact that she struggled to lift 87kg in her second attempt. Using all her strength, Mirabai lifted 87kg in the third and final attempt and won the silver medal by lifting 113kg clean and jerk, her second medal at the World Championships.
PV Sindhu
PV Sindhu has been India’s most successful player in recent years. PV Sindhu wins first women’s gold medal at Commonwealth Games. Four years ago, PV Sindhu defeated Saina Nehwal in the final.
But this time in the title match, Sindhu defeated Canada’s Michelle Lee 21-15, 21-13. In the last game, she injured her left heel and lost points in a good 57 points, but all this did not affect the results of the game.
She won the bronze medal in the 2014 Commonwealth Games, while she won the silver medal in the 2018 Commonwealth Games and this time she won the gold. A Commonwealth Games gold medal might not be the best career for a two-time Olympic medallist, but the 27-year-old Sindhu has shown that she can perform at her best when under pressure. pressure.
As of 2022, she has also won three more titles – the Singapore Open in July, the Swiss Open in March, and the Syed Modi International Championship in January. Although this year due to injury, she did not work all year.
Priyanka Goswami
Priyanka Goswami has become a celebrity in a lesser-known sport. At the Commonwealth Games, she won a silver medal in the 10 km walk. She clocked a personal best of 43:38.83 but lost out to Australian Jemima Montag.
Priyanka Goswami’s father, 26, is a bus driver in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh. Priyanka was first involved in gymnastics and track and field events. But in the end, she decided to run. After that, she got the National Sports Institute in Patiala. Before entering the national camp, she used to eat at the local gurudwara’s langar, but it did not dampen her spirits. Priyanka, who competed in Tokyo from India, has two national records today in her bag.
Besides walking 10 kilometers and 43 minutes and 31 minutes, she also held the local record for walking 20 kilometers with 1 hour 28 minutes and 45 seconds.
Annu Rani
Annu Rani made Birmingham Commonwealth Games history by becoming the first Indian athlete to win a medal in the javelin.
Annu Rani won bronze in Birmingham by throwing the javelin 60 yards on the fourth attempt. Hailing from Bahadurpur village in the Meerut district of western Uttar Pradesh, achieving this feat was not easy for 30-year-old Annu Rani.
Her family could not meet their daily needs. In such a situation, Annu continued her practice by throwing a bamboo spear into the sugarcane field.
But for some time, she was the best javelin thrower in India. Annu represented India at the Tokyo Olympics. Apart from winning the bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games, Annu Rani managed to qualify for the finals of the World Championships.
Savita Poonia
The Indian women’s hockey team did not win any medals at the Tokyo tournament but it opened the door to hope. Ahead of the 2022 World Cup, experienced goalkeeper Savita Poonia has taken over the captaincy alongside Rani Rampal. After that, the Indian team managed to win a medal in the Commonwealth Games, the team also won a medal in the FIH Pro League and also won the World Cup at the end of the year.
In the Commonwealth Games, the Indian team could not reach the final due to controversial refereeing decisions, but Poonia determined that the team would not return empty-handed. Punia, 32, made three fine saves from the penalty spot to help India win 2-1 in the bronze medal match against New Zealand.
Poonia was also instrumental in securing the bronze medal in the first season of the FIH Pro League. She made at least 57 tackles in 14 games.
In recognition of her hard work, FIH honored her as Goalkeeper of the Year for the second year running. Savita Punia’s soft voice is steely in front of the goal and leads the team well in difficult times.
Manika Batra
Manika Batra could not repeat her four-year success at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Four years ago at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Manika won a total of four medals, one win and one gold. This time, there was no prize. But soon, she returned to the tennis circuit. At the ITTF-ATTU Asian Cup in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, Manika defeated three top players and won the bronze medal.
She became the first Indian player to win a medal at a continental event by beating world number 6, Japanese player Hina Hayata 11-6, 6-11, 11-7, 12-10, 4-11, 11-2. En route to the bronze medal, 27-year-old Manika defeated seventh-ranked Chen Jingtong and 23rd-ranked Chen Tzu-yo.
Vinesh Phogat
Vinesh Phogat had to struggle physically and emotionally after losing the Tokyo Olympics. In such a situation, it is excellent to see her return to the competition of the world. Earlier, she also won the gold medal in the Commonwealth Games 2014 and 2018. After the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, she won the bronze medal in the International Championships. At the 2022 Commonwealth Games, the women’s 53kg freestyle event is limited to four athletes.
Phogat began her campaign at the 2021 World Championships by defeating bronze medalist Samantha Stewart in 30 minutes. After that, she won gold after defeating Nigeria’s Mercy Adekuroye and Sri Lanka’s Chamodaya Madurawalege Dan.
In the bronze medal match at the World Championship in Belgrade, Vinesh defeated current European champion Emma Malmgren of Sweden 8-0. This is Phogat’s second medal at the World Championship after winning a bronze medal from Noor Sultan in 2019. These two successes have brought Vinesh Phogat back, in such a situation, more success should come. and her bag over the next few days.
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