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Olympics

India's oldest living Olympians

Mary D'Souza, the oldest living woman Olympian from India, turned 92 on 18 July, 2023.

Indias oldest living Olympians
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Amit Bakshi at the 1956 Olympics (left) and Mary D'Souza at the 1952 Olympics 

By

The Bridge Desk

Updated: 18 July 2023 7:20 AM GMT

India's oldest living woman Olympian, Mary D'Souza, whose feats in the 1952 Olympics as part of the first batch of women India was sending to the Games remain forgotten in all parts of India except her hometown in Goa, turned 92 on Tuesday.

Currently living with her daughter in the United States after struggling through years of being harassed by her landlord in Mumbai, the 92-year-old Mary D'Souza took a break from her activity of playing online bridge on Tuesday as her near and dear ones held a small ceremony.

Asia's fastest woman in the 1950s, Mary had turned 21 during the 1952 Olympics in Finland.

Had Mary's 1952 moment happened in present times, governments and private entities would have been falling over each other to sponsor her. But times were so different then that no one wished her on the 21st birthday and her achievement never found place even at the family table.

READ | India's first woman Olympian not forgotten in Aldona

Mary is the oldest woman Olympian India still has to treasure. Across genders, there are 7 surviving Indian Olympians above the age of 90.

Across the world, there are 11 surviving Olympians above the age of 100. Nine of them are from Europe, one is from USA and one is from Canada. 99-year-old Wu Chenzang of China, a basketball player from the 1948 Olympics, is the oldest living Olympian from Asia.

Oldest Indian Olympians

Olympian Birth dateSportMedalsOlympics editions
Amit Singh Bakshi17/9/1925HockeyGold1956 Melbourne
Suhas Chatterjee1925Water Polo-1948 London
Raghbir Lal15/11/1929HockeyGold, Gold1952 Helsinki, 1956 Melbourne
Mary D'Souza18/7/1931Athletics-1952 Helsinki
Valli Asari Mookan1931Weightlifting-1956 Melbourne
Muhammad Salaam1931Football-1956 Melbourne
Sajan Singh4/4/1932Wrestling-1960 Rome
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