In pictures: The 11 greatest athletes in the history of Independent India

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The task of identifying the greatest athletes of Independent India is both unenviable as well as irresistible. How does one go through hundreds of phenoms and pathbreakers, men and women who have given India so many of its happiest moments and whittle them down to just 11? There is, objectively, no correct answer. But here at My Kolkata, we have picked our top Indian athletes since 1947 by looking at three factors: scale of success, longevity and impact. Our goal is not to make you agree with our choices but to fire up your imagination to draw up yours! Kishan Lal: Few thought that India would continue to dominate world hockey after Partition, but the 1948 Olympic Games in London proved the doubters wrong. Under the genteel leadership of Lal, India outperformed every opposition, including beating Great Britain 4-0 in the final. As an inside forward, Lal’s pace and precision proved impossible to stop, making him, in the eyes of many, the most complete hockey player India has produced since the unstoppable Dhyan Chand

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Chuni Goswami: Subimal Goswani, popularly known as Chuni, was the perfect example of an all-rounder. Not only did he win the gold medal in football at the 1962 Asian Games — no Indian football team has got anywhere near since — but Goswami also captained Bengal’s Ranji Trophy team as a cricketer. As a one-club man for Mohun Bagan, Goswami netted a staggering 326 times in 296 games, at a strike rate better than Cristiano Ronaldo’s at Real Madrid

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Kapil Dev: As a youngster, Dev was told that India does not produce fast bowlers. So the tall, lanky boy from Chandigarh went on to become not only India’s most decorated fast bowler but also its greatest all-rounder. However, Dev’s most significant contribution to Indian cricket came as the captain of the World Cup-winning team in 1983, arguably the biggest turning point in the history of Indian sport. In terms of technical ability with both bat and all as well as leadership charisma, India is yet to see anyone better than Dev

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Sachin Tendulkar: Perhaps no other athlete in any sport has played under the burden of so many expectations for as long as the Master Blaster. From a 16-year-old prodigy facing up to a ferocious Pakistan bowling attack to retiring as the most celebrated batter in cricketing history, Tendulkar is the foremost icon in India’s foremost sport. While most of his records, including that of 100 international centuries, may never be equalled, Tendulkar’s enduring legacy lies in making generations of Indians dream with him and through him

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Viswanathan Anand: “What Anand has done in chess for India is the equivalent of winning an F1 race with a Maruti car,” believes writer and podcaster Amit Varma. A five-time World Chess Champion, Anand became India’s first grandmaster in 1988, transforming the future of a sport in a country that is believed to have invented it. With his soft-spoken charm and quiet persistence, Anand is generally considered to be the finest rapid chess player of his era. His chess academy has institutionalised his greatness, moulding India’s sharpest talents into world-beating champions

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Leander Paes: Football may have been his first love, but it was tennis that catapulted Paes in the annals of Indian sport as well as to our list. The owner of 18 Grand Slams — 10 in mixed doubles and eight in men’s doubles — Paes holds the record for the most number of doubles wins in Davis Cup. One-half of the “Indian Express” with Mahesh Bhupathi, Paes became the first Asian to win a tennis medal at the Olympics when he clinched bronze at Atlanta 1996. In July, Paes consolidated his status as India’s most accomplished tennis player when he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame

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Karnam Malleswari: Till date, India has won eight medals through female athletes at the Olympics. At Sydney 2000, the first of those eight was won by Malleswari in the 69kg event for weightlifting, where she captured bronze. Had she not had the audacity to go for the world record by attempting to lift 137.5kg in Sydney, Malleswari could well have won gold. Having started off her competitive career in the 54kg category, where she won consecutive world championships, Malleswari shifted to the 63kg category, before making the jump to 69kg in an attempt to constantly push herself

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Mary Kom: Magnificent Mary, as she is often referred to, knocked out one barrier after another to propel Indian boxing to new heights. With a bronze medal at London 2012, she became the first Indian woman to win a medal in boxing. The only female boxer to win the World Amatuer Boxing Championship six times, Kom inspired Indian girls to not pull any punches, paving the way for the likes of Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borgohain

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Abhinav Bindra: The personification of perfection in Indian sport, Bindra was the first Indian to win an individual gold medal at the Olympics, when he sent a billion hearts into a tizzy during the 10m air rifle event at Beijing 2008. Manu Bhaker’s remarkable run in Paris this year may not have been possible without the doors opened by Bindra’s triumph, which took shooting from the backwaters of Indian sport to the mainstream

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P.V. Sindhu: Sania Mirza and Saina Nehwal may have shot to stardom earlier in their respective racquet sports, but it is Sindhu’s consistency that made her edge out both and make it to this list. The only Indian till date to be a world champion in badminton, Sindhu’s two Olympic medals — silver in 2016 and bronze in 2020 — are a testament to her ability to rise to the occasion. Injuries may have derailed her in the past few years, but they have not taken away from her position as India’s most successful shuttler, with a chance to go for gold still possible at Los Angeles 2028

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Neeraj Chopra: Before the men’s javelin throw finals in Paris 2024, no other Indian athlete had entered an individual Olympics event as both the defending champion and the odds-on favourite. Chopra’s eventual silver in the French capital takes pride of place alongside his gold from Tokyo, when he single-handedly made India sit up and take notice of javelin. Balancing extraordinary talent with extraordinary discipline, Chopra has already won most things in his chosen sport. But his biggest victory will always be the way he has carried himself, wearing his fame lightly even as he soars as the biggest non-cricketing name in Indian sport today