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Indians who have held World Number 1 rankings in Olympic Sports
Indians have tasted lots of success in many sports. From cricket to tennis to chess, various sportspersons have brought numerous laurels to the country. Here, we look at those sportspersons who have been ranked World Number 1 in sports played at the Olympics:
Badminton
Kidambi Srikanth (Source: Badminton World Federation
Prakash Padukone: Prakash Padukone was the first-ever Indian to be ranked world number one. He reached the top position during his golden run in the year 1980 when he won the Denmark Open, All England Championships and Swedish Open back to back.
Saina Nehwal: 35 years after Prakash Padukone, Saina Nehwal became the first Indian woman to achieve world number one ranking. She reached the top spot after her first ever Indian Open win in the year 2015. During the course of this tournament, Saina did not lose even a single game in the five matches she played. When she was ranked number one, she ended the 119 week reign of the Chinese, Li Xuerui, at the top.
Kidambi Srikanth: After Padukone and Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth became only the third Indian to be ranked world number one in the year 2018. His rise to the top spot came after a stellar run in 2017 where he notched up some great victories. Though just for one week, Srikanth was only the sixth player to be ranked world number one in men’s singles since 2010.
Tennis
Sania Mirza (Source: Twitter/SagarInfluence)
Leander Paes: Leander Paes was ranked world number one in the year 1999 when he along with his countrymen Mahesh Bhupati wreaked havoc in the men’s doubles. Though soon split off due to personal reasons, this was the first time an Indian was ranked world number one.
Mahesh Bhupati: Mahesh Bhupati and Leander Paes formed a fearsome pair in the men’s doubles during their playing days. Though they split off, they did play together after that memorably winning the French Open as a pair for the second time in the year 2001.
Sania Mirza: Sania Mirza was the first Indian woman to be ranked World Number 1. She achieved this feat along with her doubles partner from Switzerland, Martina Hingis, during April 2015. She was at the top spot for 91 consecutive weeks, which is the fourth highest time period in the history of women’s doubles.
Shooting
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore
Anjali Bhagwat: One of the earliest starts in shooting for India, Anjali Bhagwat was ranked world number one for three months in the year 2002. She reached the top spot in the 10m air rifle without a coach and was also the first Indian woman to reach an Olympic Final in 2000. She was the first Indian to achieve world number one ranking in any shooting category.
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore: Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore was ranked the top double trap shooter in the year 2004. He topped the ranking charts with 1884 points after his gold at ISSF Shooting World Cup in Sydney.
Gagan Narang: Gagan Narang was ranked world number one in the 10m air rifle category in 2006. This was after his stellar performance in the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Australia where he bagged a total of four gold medals.
Manavjit Singh Sandhu: A trap shooter, Manavjit Singh Sandhu reached the top spot in 2006. It was his win at the 2006 ISSF World Shooting Championships that propelled him to the world number one ranked player.
Heena Sidhu: Heena Sidhu became the first Indian pistol shooter to be ranked world number one in 2014. She was ranked number one in the 10m air pistol category. This was a result of some highly consistent performances starting from the year 2013, during the course of which she bagged medals at all the major International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) events.
Ronjan Singh Sodhi: A double trap marksman, Ronjan Singh Sodhi reached the world number one ranking in the year 2011. He attained the top spot on the back of some very solid performances in the year 2010 when he won a gold each at the ISSF World Cup and Asian Games and two silver medals at the Commonwealth Games.
Jitu Rai: Jitu Rai was ranked World Number one in the men’s 10m air pistol in the year 2014. He was earlier ranked 26th in the world, but his performances at the Maribor Shooting World Cup where he won a gold and a silver and the Munich Shooting World Cup where he bagged a silver, helped him leapfrog to the top position.
Ankur Mittal: Ankur Mittal rose to the top spot in the year 2017. He was only the third Indian after Rajyavardhan Rathore and Ronjan Sodhi to have been ranked world number one in double trap. 2017 was Mittal’s breakout year as he bagged a silver and a gold in successive ISSF World Cups.
Shahzar Rizvi: Another 10m air pistol shooter, Shahzar Rizvi made it to the top spot in the year 2018. Rizvi’s rise to world number one spot came on the back of a silver medal-winning performance during the ISSF World Cup in Changwon, Korea.
Apurvi Chandela: Apurvi Chandela was ranked world number one in 10m air rifle in the year 2019. Her rise to the top came after a string of consistent performances over the years, during the course of which she also registered a world record score of 252.9 to bag a gold medal at the ISSF World Cup in February 2019. Chandela is seen as one of the major medal prospect for India for the Tokyo Olympics.
Elavenil Valarivan: Soon after Apurvi Chandela, Elavenil Valarivan made her presence felt and rose to the top of 10m air rifle rankings in December 2019. This came on the back of her gold medal in the ISSF World Cup in Putian, China.
Divyansh Singh Panwar: Another 10m air rifle shooter, Divyansh Panwar was ranked world number one in April 2020. At 17 years of age, he was one of the youngest to claim the top spot in the rankings.
Also read: The Indian princess who won an Arjuna Award for shooting
Boxing
Vijender SIngh (Source: First Post)
Vijender Singh: Vijender Singh became the first Indian to be ranked world number one by International Boxing Association (AIBA) back in the year 2009. He achieved this feat in the 75kg category. His bronze medal in the AIBA World Championships in Milan helped him move from the second to first spot in the rankings with 2700 points.
Mary Kom: Mary Kom became the first Indian woman to be ranked world number one by AIBA in 2019. Her rise to the top came on the back of her sixth world title in the 48kg category with a total of 1700 points.
Amit Panghal: Amit Panghal became only the second Indian boxer, after Vijender Singh, in the men’s category to be ranked world number one in 2020. He was ranked the top boxer in the 52kg category.
Archery
Deepika Kumari (Source: She The People)
Deepika Kumari: Four years after her international career started, Deepika Kumari was ranked world number one in the year 2012. She achieved this feat in 2012 when she won her first ever World Cup individual recurve event in Antalya.
Wrestling
Bajrang Punia (Source: UWW)
Bajrang Punia: Bajrang Punia was ranked world number one for the first time in the year 2018. He rose to the top spot in the 65kg category on the back of his silver medal in World Championships held at Budapest. He was also the first Indian to be ranked world number one in Wrestling.
Deepak Punia: Deepak Punia was ranked world number by the United World Wrestling (UWW) in September 2019. He claimed the top spot in the 86kg category. He was just 20 years old when he was ranked world number one.
