In the last few years, India is slowly making a move to become a sporting nation and starting to make its presence felt in different disciplines. Undoubtedly, there is a long way to go before truly becoming a superpower in sport, but the achievements of yesteryears can’t be forgotten. While there is a push to provide our athletes with all the world-class facilities now, that wasn’t the case 10 or 15 years back. Yet a few of them got where no other Indian, individual or team, has failed to reach. As the Indian contingent is ready to shine at the Asian Games 2023, InsideSport takes a look at some of those memorable feats.
PT Usha’s gold medal-winning spree
Without any doubt, PT Usha is one of the most successful athletics stars in India. Although she missed an Olympic bronze by a whisker, her achievements at the Asian Games more than makeup for that loss. She first appeared at the Asiad in 1982, where she won two silvers, in 100m and 200m, but went a notch higher in the next Games. At the 1986 Seoul Games, PT Usha won gold medals in 200m, 400m, 400m hurdles, and 4x400m relay, which made her the best sprinter by a distance in Asia, at least. Post that, she appeared in the 1990 and 1994 Games too, and finished her career with 11 Asian Games medals in all.
Milkha Singh beats Pakistan Abdul Khaliq
The rivalry between sprinters Milkha Singh of India and Abdul Khaliq of Pakistan has already been spoken about many times and made popular through a movie. But the competition between the two was intense, to say the least. At the 1958 Asian Games, Milkha not only beat Khaliq in the 200m event but also won the 400m gold as well. In the 200m final, Milkha took the top prize with a time of 21.6s, which was also a Games record.
Dhanraj Pillay single-handedly wins gold
At the 1998 Asian Games, the legendary hockey player Dharaj Pillay was nothing short of magical in the final against South Korea. He scored six games in the summit clash, to take India to their first hockey gold since 1966. In all, he had 11 goals from six matches in the tournament, to end India’s gold medal drought. India’s next gold medal in hockey came in the 2014 edition only, thus signifying the importance of the 1998 medal.
Jaspal Rana’s exploits in 1994
Back in the early 90s, India was nothing of a shooting superpower, like it is now. Our shooters are one of the best in the world now when it comes to pistol shooting, and in a lot of ways, Jaspal Rana brought about that revolution. He won a gold and a bronze medal at the Hiroshima Games which popularised the sport in the country. Interestingly, his gold in the 25m center fire pistol event, was the first for India in pistol shooting.
Also Read:
- India’s gold medal prospects in athletics at Asian Games
- Top Indian athletes to miss out on selection
- World-beaters who will be star attractions in Asian Games – Check Out
- India vs Pakistan battles to look forward to at Asian Games
- Watch out for these supermoms in action for India at Asian Games
- Asian Games Opening ceremony: India’s flag-bearers in the last five editions
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