India's best sporting pairs

The Bridge takes a look at some of the most iconic duos to have represented India in various sporting disciplines - right from Leander Paes/Mahesh Bhupathi down to Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty

Everything is better in pairs, aren't they? So are your favourite sportspersons who have wowed us with their chemistry and on-field relationship with their bond. The Bridge looks at some of India's best and iconic duos in sports, who have not only brought laurels but also entertained us thoroughly through their exploits.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty

The shuttler duo have been on the rise for many years now, and with their recent bronze medal win at the BWF World Championships 2022, the Satwik-Chirag duo is one of the most successful and adorned pairs amongst Indian fans.

This year, especially, has been brilliant for them in terms of winning titles. From a historic Thomas Cup win to the CWG gold, and now the World Championships medal, the fierce, yet humorous couplet only has further to rise.

Chirag and Satwik celebrating after winning their doubles match in Thomas Cup 2022 (Source: Latestly)

Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi

Nicknamed as the 'Indian Express', Paes-Bhupathi has been a very successful duo on the tennis court. One of the most memorable moments in their career will have to be winning the Wimbledon title together in 1999.

Paes and Bhupathi with their Wimbledon titles (Source: Getty Images)

The duo also has two consecutive Asiad gold medals to their name. Moreover, they also hold the record of having the longest winning streak in the Davis Cup (24 wins).

The pair with one of their Asian Games gold medal (Source: WikiBio)

Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag

A fearful sight for all bowlers has to be the opening pair of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. Earlier, it was Sourav Ganguly who was the usual opener alongside Sachin. However, on the day of his absence, Sehwag was slotted in his place. Quickly, the ruthless hitter of the ball made the position his own.

Between the two, there have been a dozen centuries and almost 20 half-centuries. These numbers only corroborate the destruction they would cause on the pitch which would bring joy to India, and agony to the opposition.

Sehwag and Tendulkar (Source: Reuters)

Sharath Kamal and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran

Although a relatively newly-formed pair, they have quickly acclimatised to each other and wasted no time bringing glory to the country. It started in the Gold Coast CWG when the duo won a silver in the men's doubles event. They went on to repeat the feat this year too in Birmingham.

The paddler duo with their CWG 2022 silver medals (Source: Latestly)

Bhaichung Bhutia and IM Vijayan

The striker duo of Bhutia-Vijayan wreaked havoc on the football field in the late 90s and were a source of constant goal threats for their opposition. While individually, both forwards have scored an umpteen number of goals, together they were a different beast. With this partnership, India won the 1999 SAFF Championship.

Bhutia and Vijayan during their playing days. (Source: Goal)

India at Paris Olympics

India @ Paris

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India's best sporting pairs

The Bridge takes a look at some of the most iconic duos to have represented India in various sporting disciplines - right from Leander Paes/Mahesh Bhupathi down to Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty.

Rajdeep Saha