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If Indian sports icons were superheroes, who would they be?
The prevalent metaphor used to describe many athletes today is superheroes. Though it may be sound a bit stretch, but simply pursuing their games at the highest level is no less a superheroic feat. Yet it's hard to count all the times that players come up with titles for themselves, invoking comparisons to such comic book superheroes as Superman and Batman.
It would be interesting to have a look at which superhero India's top athletes are most like. For those who love comic books, this includes characters from both D.C. and Marvel Studios.
Here's a look at the superheroes of Indian sports
Leander Paes as Superman
Leander Paes is considered as one of the greatest doubles player in the history of the sport along the record of most doubles wins in the Davis Cup.
Paes has won eight doubles and ten mixed doubles Grand Slam titles. He holds a career Grand Slam in men's doubles and mixed doubles, and achieved the rare men's doubles/mixed doubles double at the 1999 Wimbledon tournament. His mixed doubles Wimbledon title in 2010 made him the second man (after Rod Laver) to win Wimbledon titles in three decades.
Paes received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, India's highest sporting honor, in 1996–97; the Arjuna Award in 1990; the Padma Shri award in 2001; and India's third-highest civilian award, the Padma Bhushan prize in January 2014, for his outstanding contribution to tennis in India. He also holds a record of beating both Pete Sampras and Roger Federer.
He won a bronze medal for India in singles in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. He competed in consecutive Olympics from 1992 to 2016, making him the first Indian and only tennis player to compete at seven Olympic Games.
At 46 now, Leander harbours the dream to play at one more Olympics for India, which makes him the most suitable person to don the cape of the Man of Steel.
P V Sindhu as Wonder Woman
India's ace shuttler Pusarla Venkata Sindhu made her international debut in 2009, she rose to a career-high ranking of no. 2 in April 2017. Over the course of her career, Sindhu has won medals at multiple tournaments including Olympics and on the BWF circuit including a gold at the 2019 World Championships. She is the first Indian to become the Badminton World Champion.
Pusarla broke into the top 20 of the BWF World Ranking in September 2012 at the age of 17. Beginning in 2013, Pusarla won a medal at every world championships, with the exception of 2015. She is just the second woman after Zhang Ning to win five or more medals at the world championships. Pusarla represented India at the 2016 Summer Olympics, becoming the first Indian badminton player to reach a final. She won the silver medal after losing out to Spain's Carolina Marin.
Sunil Chhetri as Captain India
A spinoff from Captain America, footballer Sunil Chhetri is our very own Captain India. Also known as Captain Fantastic, Cheetri has scored the second-highest number of goals in international matches among active male players after Cristiano Ronaldo he is both the most-capped player and all-time top goalscorer for the Indian national team, with 72 goals in 115 appearances. He is the current captain of the national team. Sunil Chhetri was named an 'Asian Icon' by AFC on his 34th birthday.
He signed for the Kansas City Wizards of Major League Soccer in 2010, becoming the third player from the subcontinent of note to go abroad.
He helped India win the 2007 Nehru Cup, 2009 Nehru Cup, the 2012 Nehru Cup as well as the 2011 SAFF Championship. He was also one of India's best players during the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup in which India won the tournament and thus qualified for their first AFC Asian Cup in 27 years. Chhetri has also been named AIFF Player of the Year a record six times in 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017 and 2018–19.
