5 Indian sportspersons who hold an Engineering degree

Possessing an Engineering Degree is a matter of pride in India. Almost every other family in the country would have at least one engineer or at least one person who is pursuing the same.

Social media platforms in India are full of engineer jokes, with people punching down on them frequently. But, being a successful engineer takes a lot of effort and drains one out completely. It is a tough ask.

Now, imagine someone being an engineer as well as being a world-class sportsperson. Scary, right?

What if I tell you India boasts of multiple athletes who have an engineering degree?

This National Engineers Day, we take a look at some such Indian sportspersons who have pursued engineering and then made it big in the world of sports.

Anil Kumble

The former Indian cricket captain, Anil Kumble, is undoubtedly one of the best bowlers to have emerged out of India. But, did you know that Kumble holds an engineering degree as well?

Anil Kumble possesses a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Rashtreeya Vidhyalaya College of Engineering in Bangalore. Having made his international debut around the same time he graduated, Kumble went on to take more than 950 international wickets for India during his career.

Sathiyan Gnanasekaran

Sathiyan Gnanasekaran is one of the better-known names in the Indian table tennis circuit. Besides being one of the ace players of the country, Sathiyan also holds a Bachelor's degree in Information Technology from St. Joseph's College in Chennai. In fact, Sathiyan always wanted to become an engineer; table tennis was secondary for him.

"For my part, I wanted to become an engineer. Table Tennis was secondary," Sathiyan had said to The Bridge in 2018.

Manasi Joshi

One of the well-known para-athletes in the country, Manasi Joshi is the reigning World Champion in Women's SL3 Singles badminton. The 32-year-old holds a Bachelors degree in Electronics Engineering from the KJ Somaiya College of Engineering in Mumbai.

Manasi Joshi, in fact, used to work as a software engineer, before an unfortunate accident left her disabled and propelled her to the world of para-badminton.

Shikha Pandey

Shikha Pandey is one of the fastest bowlers to have been produced by India. The 32-year-old has represented India in more than 100 matches and has emerged as a match-winner with both bat and the ball for the country.

Shikha Pandey holds a Bachelor's degree in Electronics and Electrical Engineering from the Goa College of Engineering and is currently employed by the Indian Air Force.

Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin is one of the modern-day greats of Indian cricket. With more than 400 test wickets to his name, Ashwin has his name etched in the history books of Indian cricket.

Considered to be one of the sharpest cricketing brains in the world, Ravichandran Ashwin boasts of a Bachelors degree in Information Technology from the SSN College of Engineering in Chennai.