Wrestling
Siblings Day: Famous siblings in sports who made India proud
As the world celebrates siblings day on 10th April, we look at some of the famous siblings who have made India proud in the world of sports.
Geeta Phogat and Babita Phogat (Source: Facebook/Geeta Phogat)
The relationship shared between siblings can never be explained in words. You could fight with your sibling the entire day, but they would surely be the first when to have your back when you mess up.
As the world celebrates siblings day on 10th April, here, we look at some of the famous siblings who have made India proud in the world of sports:
Hardik and Krunal Pandya
Probably the most famous pair of siblings in Indian sports currently, Hardik and Krunal Pandya are now household names in the country, thanks to their exploits in the cricket field.
Hailing from the city of Vadodara in Gujarat, the Pandya brothers' journey to the top is nothing short of a fairy tale. From the family shifting cities in order to support their cricketing dreams when they barely even understood the sport, to surviving on Maggi during childhood, the story of the Pandya brothers is well documented in the media.
While Hardik has established himself as the the key all-rounder for India across formats, Krunal, too, has made his international debut and continues to be on the fringes of the national side.
Phogat Sisters
The Phogat sisters need no introduction. Born to a wrestling-crazy father Mahavir Phogat, trying out their luck in wrestling was quite natural for the four Phogat sisters – Geeta, Babita, Ritu and Sangeeta.
The journey of the eldest of the sisters, Geeta, is well captured in the blockbuster Bollywood movie Dangal. The 32-year-old Geeta bagged India's first-ever wrestling gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2010 and is also the first-ever Indian woman wrestler to qualify for the Olympics.
On the other hand, the 31-year-old Babita Kumari is a World Championship bronze medallist and three-time Commonwealth Games medallist – a bronze and two silver medals.
The 26-year-old Ritu Phogat is the only one from the family who has chosen a different path. Although even she is a former Commonwealth Wrestling Championship, Ritu switched to mixed martial arts and is currently signed with the ONE Championship.
Dola and Rahul Banerjee
Dola and Rahul Banerjee are two of the most celebrated archers to have represented India at the global level. Hailing from the city of Kolkata, the duo is known for their prowess in the Recurve event of archery.
Dola shot to fame during the 1990s and was a constant feature in the Indian archery teams since then. She clinched an individual World Cup gold medal at the Recurve event in the year 2007. She also has a gold and a bronze in the Team Recurve and Individual Recurve at 2010 Commonwealth Games and a bronze at Team Recurve in the 2010 Asian Games to her name.
Six years younger to his sister, Rahul Banerjee has an individual Recurve gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games whilst also being a part of the 2010 Asian Games bronze medal-winning team.
Both of them have also represented the country in the Olympics. While Dola did it first in during the 2004 Athens Games, Rahul followed it up by competing in the prestigious event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Irfan and Yusuf Pathan
Yet another cricketing pair of siblings from the city of Vadodara, Irfan and Yusuf Pathan were the toast of the country before the arrival of Pandya brothers. Much like the Pandyas, the Pathan's, too, were match-winning all-rounders.
The younger of the two, Irfan, has a total of 310 international wickets to his name and is the only bowler to have taken a hat-trick in the very first over of a Test Match. The older Yusuf, on the other hand, has two international centuries to his name to go with his 50 wickets using his more than handy off-spin.
While both the brothers were part of the inaugural ICC T20 World Cup-winning team at South Africa in the year 2007, Yusuf also played a supporting role in the country's ICC ODI World Cup win in the year 2011 at home soil.
Dhyan Chand and Roop Singh
While the legendary Dhyan Chand is well known to the sports fans across the globe, seldom do people know about his brother, Roop Singh, who was equally good with a hockey stick in his hand.
While Dhyan Chand's exploits in the hockey field and the fact that he is a triple Olympic gold medallist (1928, 1932 and 1936) is quite well known, did you know that his brother Roop Singh too was the part of the 1932 and 1936 Olympics gold medal-winning hockey team?
Roop Singh is best remembered for his stunning play at the 1932 Olympics match against the USA, where he outshined his elder brother. While, Dhyan Chand scored eight goals in the match which India won 24-1, Roop Singh found the back of the net a whopping ten times.
Singh Sisters
Hailing from the state of Uttar Pradesh the Singh sisters – Divya Singh, Prashanti Singh, Akansha Singh, Pratima Singh and Priyanka Singh are famous for their skills in the Basketball court.
While the eldest of the five, Priyanka, has not represented India, the other four have played for the country. Two out of four i.e. Divya and Prashanti have even led the Indian basketball team while the other two – Akansha and Pratima are a vital cog in the wheel.
The sisters much like any other girls playing sports in the country faced immense criticism but continued to play, thanks to the support from their mother Urmila Singh.
Divya was the first of the sisters to make her international debut in the year 2000, while the rest followed soon after. She led the Indian team which included Prashanti during the 2006 Asian Games where India finished in sixth place and retired soon after.
The remaining three sisters still continue to play with Prashanti even being honoured with the Arjuna Award in 2017 and the Padma Shri in the year 2019 for her invaluable contribution to the sport in India.
