Indian female sportstars such as Saina Nehwal, Sania Mirza and MC Marykom has made headlines regularly with their performances on the field. Sania won five titles this year, while Saina led Hyderabad Hotshots to IBL title. But there are also some upcoming players who are making their presence felt in their respective field.
In the recently concluded Usha Ladies Open Amateur golf championship, Aditi Ashok came just short of retaining her title, losing out to another young golfer Gurbani Singh.
Aditi Ashok's first win created a record. By winning the bronze title at the 91st All India Ladies Amateur Golf Open Championship in 2008, she became the youngest at the age of nine years to achieve this title.
Anisha Padukone tried her hands in cricket, hockey, tennis and badminton. But it is golf that attracted her most. She started playing golf at the age of 12.
Anisha Padukone holds the honours for the longest drive in the silver division in the first round of the Indian Golf Union categorised Madras Ladies Golf championship.
Anisha Padukone, daughter of badminton great Prakash Padukone and younger sister to Bollywood star Deepika Padukone, is an upcoming golfer. She chose golfer rather than badminton which her dad and popular sister has played.
Deepika Kumari has been shining bright in archery. She won silver in 2013 FITA Archery World Cup. That was her 3rd Silver medal in as many appearances in World Cup.
Dipika played her first international tournament in London when she was in her sixth grade, and till date, she has won the German Open, Dutch Open, French Open, Australian Open, Scottish Open on the European Junior Squash Circuit.
Dipika was runner up in the Tournament of Champions 2012 and reached the semifinals of Australian Open 2012. She won her sixth WSA title by winning the Meadowood Pharmacy Open on February 2013.
Dipika Pallikal is the first Indian to break into the WSA world squash ranking. She recently won the Macau Open. She is going strong in the world of squash.
Dipika won 3 WISPA tour titles in 2011 that saw her attain a career best ranking of 13. Later, she bettered that with a top 10 ranking in December 2012.
Early this year, Indian opener M Thirush Kamini became the first Indian woman to score a ton in the 50-over World Cup. She scored 100 off 146 balls.
Meghna Bal represented India at the 2006 Doha Asian Games, where she finished 11-under-par and finished in the top 10 in the four-day event.
Talking about her Doha experience, Meghna was quoted as saying, “I fed off the energy of the players I saw in Doha. It was an experience to see some of the players you admire doing what they do best with such focus.”
Meghna Bal registered her first amateur victory at the Western India Ladies Amateur tournament at the age of 15. The pretty Meghna Bal turned professional in 2011.
Poonam Raut is another women cricketer to watch out for. She also starred with the bat in the 2013 World Cup. She posted 72 runs in the 175-run opening stand with M Thirush Kamini at the Brabourne Stadium.
Hyderabad shuttler PV Sindhu has been dubbed as the new Saina Nehwal in the making. She has done well in her brief career. She recently became the first Indian female singles player to win a medal in World badminton championships.
Sindhu broke into the top 20 in the Badminton World Federation rankings which were released on 21 September 2012. She is also ranked 3 in the BWF Junior Rankings.
Rani scored India’s only goal in the regulation time and then found the net twice in the penalty shootout to script India’s memorable victory and India's first ever bronze medal in the junior hockey World Cup.
Indian girls created history by winning the country’s first ever bronze medal in the junior hockey World Cup as they defeated England 3-2 on penalties. Young striker Rani Rampal (right) stole the show in the play-offs.
She recently participated in the qualifying round of European professional golf and is on the right track to break into the big league. She is bold, beautiful and never misses to make a style statement of her own while on a golf course. The shutter bugs love clicking her and she enjoys the attention too.
Sharmila Nicollet has too many firsts' to her name. She is the youngest Indian golfer to qualify for European Tour. She is the second Indian to earn a full card on the Ladies European Tour. She has represented India at the Asian Games at Doha 2006 and in Asia Pacific Junior Golf Tournament, played at the Callaway World Junior Amateur Championship in San Diego.
How can we not include the beautiful Indian golfer Sharmila Nicollet in this list. Sharmila stands out not just as one of the leading Indian golfers but also as one of the beauties to watch out for in the golf course. Sharmila turned professional in 2009 when she was just 18 years old and since then there has been no looking back for her.
Vani was quoted as saying, "I have achieved this in short span of time, so being amongst the top women golfers in the country means a lot."
For Vani Kapoor, golf happened to her because of her father. She started playing golf in order to spend more time with her dad, who was an avid golfer, and soon she got hooked to the sport. Now, she says she can't imagine her life without golf.
Vani won Southern India Open amateur Championship 2009 and 2010 and Noida Ladies Open Amateur Championship 2009, among her many achievements. She finished top in the Order of Merit in the 2009/2010.
source: DC
