It’s been raining gold on Indian women of late, in fact, gold medals on Indian female athletes to be precise. While Indian women have been winning in the international arena for over a decade now, the last few months have been particularly prolific. From Hima Das’ golden run in Europe to the weightlifting contingent reigning supreme at the Commonwealth Championships, the Indian women athletes seem set to challenge the world.
Track & field
Hima Das has clearly been the star of the show for India of late. Having won five gold medals in various international meets in Europe in July, she has been the toast of the nation. But Hima is not alone. Dutee Chand also won a gold in the 100m in the World Universiade, becoming the first Indian to win a 100m international gold. Apart from the two, sprinter Lili Das, shot putter Navjeet Kaur and discus thrower Navjeet Kaur Dhillon won golds at the Qasanov Memorial Meet in Kazakhstan.
Hima Das: 5 (track); Dutee Chand: 1 (track); Lili Das: 1 (track); Navjeet Kaur: 1 (discus throw); Navjeet Kaur Dhillon: 1 (shot put)
Shooting
Rahi Sarnobat made her Olympic dream a reality in May when she shot gold at the ISSF World Cup in Munich, bagging a quota place for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In the same event, rifle shooter Apurvi Chandela bagged gold in the 10m air rifle, also securing a place in the upcoming Olympics. The senior pros’ successes were replicated when Manu Bhaker, Aishwarya Tomar, and Elavenil Valarivan won gold medals at the ISSF Junior World Cup this month. The 16-year-old Manu also qualified for the 2020 Olympics in the process.
Rahi Sarnobat: 1; Apurvi Chandela: 1; Manu Bhaker: 1; Aishwarya Tomar: 1; Elavenil Valarivan: 1
Wrestling
Flying the Phogat family flag high, Vinesh Phogat began Indian women wrestler’s gold-winning ways this season when she bagged the top spot in the 53kg category at the Grand Prix of Spain. Divya Kakran of Delhi won a gold in the 68kg in the same event. A week later, Vinesh added another gold to her illustrious kitty at the prestigious Yasar Dogu International meet. Seema and Manju Kumari also won golds in the 50kg and 59kg categories respectively.
Vinesh Phogat: 2; Divya Kakran: 1; Seema: 1; Manju Kumari: 1
Weightlifting
The weightlifters were all-out overpowering in the Commonwealth Championship. Eleven Indian women won gold in the tournament, led by the Asian Champion Mirabai Chanu and getting one step closer to her dream of winning an Olympic medal for India.
Mirabai Chanu; Jhilli Dalabehra; Soroikhaibam Bindyarani Devi; Davinder Kaur; Rakhi Halder; P Anuradha; Sukarna Adak; Bornali Borah; Seram Nirupama Devi; Soumya Sunil Dalvi; Sukarna Adak
Table Tennis
India put up their best-ever show in the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship 2019 held in Cuttack and it all started with the women’s team comprising of Manika Batra, Archana Kamath, Madhurika Patkar, Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee won gold in the team event. Pooja Sahasrabudhe and Krtittwika Sinha Roy added to the golden run by winning the women’s doubles gold and Ayhika Mukherjee completed the Indian dominance by closing the tournament out with the women’s singles gold.
Team India: 1 (Manika Batra, Archana Kamath, Madhurika Patkar, Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee); doubles: 1 (Pooja Sahasrabudhe and Krtittwika Sinha Roy); singles: 1 (Ayhika Mukherjee)