The 10 most glamorous women in Indian sports
The are plenty of women who not only do really well in their respective sports, but also score very highly on the glamour quotient. Here are the top 10 most glamorous women in Indian sports:
1. Sharmila Nicollet
Do you remember this 23-year-old lass? She finished a whopping 14 shots at the end of the 2010-11 Hero Honda Women’s Professional Golf Tour of India on 6th August, 2010. In 2009, she was the winner of this event. She is also the youngest Indian golfer to qualify for the Ladies European Tour. Nicollet was the champion at the Hero-KGA tournament in 2012. She has a total of 11 wins on the Women’s Golf Association of India tour.
2. Tania Sachdev
Tania Sachdev is an Indian chess player, who holds the titles of International Master (2008) and Woman Grandmaster (2005). By virtue of becoming the eighth Indian Woman Grandmaster, Tania was given the prestigious Arjuna Award in 2009.
3. Dipika Pallikal
Born on 21st September, 1991, Dipika is a fabulous squash player from Chennai. She played her first international tournament when she was in the sixth grade and since then she has never looked back. She has won the German Open, French Open, Dutch Open, Australian Open and Scottish Open on the European Junior Squash Circuit. Currently she is the top woman squash player in the country, representing India along with Joshna Chinnapa. Dipika is ranked 35th in the world rankings. Her glamorous looks have led to her signing a modelling contract with Globus Ltd.
4. Saina Nehwal
Here comes the most awaited heart-throb of the nation – Saina Nehwal. Ranked No. 2 by the Badminton World Federation, Saina will be felicitated with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award on 29th August, 2010. Saina is the first Indian woman to reach the singles quarter-finals at the Olympics and the first Indian to win the World Junior Badminton Championships. Saina recently achieved a hat-trick by winning the Singapore Open, Indian Open Grand Prix Gold and Indonesian Open in succession. Due to her natural beauty and extraordinary confidence, she is often seen on ramps. She was the main attraction of the Hyderabad Fashion Week which was held recently.
5. Sania Mirza
Sania was the first Indian woman to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament, at the 2005 US Open. She won the mixed doubles event at the 2009 Australian Open, where she was paired with Mahesh Bhupathi, thus becoming the first Indian woman to win a Grand Slam title. In the 2006 Doha Asian Games, Mirza won silver in the women’s singles category and gold in the mixed doubles, partnering Leander Paes. Mirza has been honoured with the prestigious Padma Shri award in 2006 and the Arjuna Award in 2004. Mirza’s charismatic beauty and unique dressing style have often led her to controversies. In spite of the controversies, she has maintained her self confidence and her charm, which eventually led her to the glamour world. She is the brand ambassador of top brands like Adidas, Tvs Scooty Pep, Hundai Getz and a lot more. Mirza is often seen on the ramp for famous designers Rohit Bal, Rocky S and Simi Chandok.
6. Akanksha Singh
Akanksha Singh is the captain of the India women’s national basketball team. In 2010, Akanksha was awarded the Most Valuable Player in India’s first Professional Basketball league, MBPL 2010. She is one of the most skilled ball handlers in the country right now. Akanksha has been given the ‘Best Player’ award in many national and state championships.
7. Prachi Tehlan
Prachi Tehlan has played both basketball and netball at the professional level for India and has won various medals in her sporting career. She was the captain of the Indian netball team at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Under her captaincy the Indian team won its first medal at the South Asian Beach Games held at Hambantota, Sri Lanka in 2011.
8. Sonika Kaliraman
Sonika is the only female wrestler who has represented India in the Asian Games. Originally from Haryana, Sonika grew up in New Delhi where she was trained by her father, the legendary wrestler Master Chandgi Ram. Her brother Jagdish is also a promising wrestler. Sonika is proud to belong to a family of wrestlers. It was her father who encouraged her to excel in the game. Sonika is married to Siddhart Malik, an NRI, and is now happily settled in California, USA. She has been featured in Khatron Ke Khiladi with Bollywood star Akshay Kumar. Speaking about her experience in the show, she was thrilled by the new experience on the show as the 13 participants had to perform tricky and challenging stunts to overcome their fears. The act was thus inspiring for all the women across the nation.
9. Jwala Gutta
Jwala Gutta is a badminton ace of mixed Chinese-Indian origin who has won the National Badminton Championship seven times. Her first international badminton event was in 2002, when she played at the Uber Cup tournament. She won the 2006 Sri Lanka International Satellite tournament and in 2007 she won the Cyprus International Badminton tournament. She even won the Pakistan Challenge International tournament and the Indian International Badminton tournament. She is popular amongst her fans due to her dynamism and agility.
10. Sunitha Rao
Sunitha Rao is a former American tennis player of Indian background. Rao has 8 career titles on the ITF Women’s Circuit and has reached 7 finals in singles. Sunitha has played for India at the Fed Cup and 2008 Summer Olympics.
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