Indian athletes from tribal backgrounds who made it big

Coming from a tribal family of Wayanad district, Kerala, he won the Gold Medal in the 10,000-meter National Open Athletics Championships and another Gold Medal in the South Asian Games in 2016 with a new Record, He represented India at the 2016 Summer Olympics, qualifying with a Marathon time of 02:16:15.

Deepika Kumari has been one of the best archers India, won many medals to her name. Hailing from Ranchi, in Ratu Chatti village, as a child she had no proper equipment. She had no choice but to train with mangoes as her target and with stones instead of a bow and arrow.

Dangmei Grace is one of the most prominent faces in Indian football. Grace belongs to a Rongmei Naga Tribe from Dimdailong Village, in Manipur. During the 2018 Indian Women's League, she was awarded as the Emerging Player Award.

Birendra Lakra has been a reliable name in the Indian men's hockey team. He represented India in the 2012 Olympics and won silver in 2014 Commonwealth. He was born in the village of Lachchada in the Sundargarh District of Odisha, belonging to an Oraon tribe.

Known as Sikkimese Sniper hailed as one of the "God's gift" to Indian football, Born in an agricultural family both of his parents were farmers in Sikkim. Bhutia has also received Arjuna Award for football in 1998, Padma Shri in 2008, Asian Football hall of fame inductee in 2014.

Lalremsiami was born into a family of agriculturists in Kolasib, a town approx 80 kilometers from Aizawl, Mizoram. She was a part of the 18-member squad that represented India at the 2018 World Cup. In the Asian Games she became the first sportsperson from Mizoram to win an Asiad medal after the team won silver.

The current national champion in the women's 100 meters event. She is the first Indian to win a gold medal in 100m race in a global competition. She was born in the Chaka Gopalpur village, Jajpur district of Odisha.

The Olympic Medalist and the only female boxer to have won a medal in each one of the first seven World Championship is from Kangathei village, Moirang Lamkhai in Churachandpur district of rural Manipur.