The sporting moments that made India proud

New Delhi: India is truly flying high in different sporting events and it got the world's attention by participating in different games like swimming, snooker, and other Olympics games much before India made its mark on its flagship sport – cricket. Cricket has been making Indians proud in recent times but there are other sports too which made the country proud however it differs from individual to individual.We bring out to you some of defining moments which changed the history of sports in India altogether. First Individual medal in Olympics: Way back in the year 1952, history was created when Independent India bags the first individual Olympic medal. Khashaba Jadhav, widely known as ‘Pocket Dynamo' won the freestyle wrestling bronze medal at the 1952 Helsinki Games which would always be remembered with pride. The winning procession carried out at the Karad railway station in Maharashtra made the victory all the more special. A seven hour long walk from his village to the Mahadeva temple was accompanied with Dhols and bullock cart processions. The feeling of pride, every villager of Goleshwar was basking in, could not be undermined by any other sports moment. First Hockey World Cup: In the year 1975, the national game of India got a big boost when India won their first Hockey World Cup and the rivals were none other than Pakistan. Followed by millions of people on radio, India was 0-1 deficit at half-time and finally won the game with 2-1. The exciting final gave India the world-cup title and it's the only time India and Pakistan faced each other in finals. Till date this great match is revered by millions. When our “women” made us proud: This takes to the Sydney Olymics in 2000, when Karnam Malleswari became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal. Grabbing bronze in the 69 kg category of the weight lifting championship, she made the whole country proud. Karnam entered the event with a 105 kg weight slot while many of her competitors started at 100 kg, gradually picking up to 110 kg in her next two attempts. It was Karnam Malleswari who worked her magic and made India lift its head in pride. World Badminton titles: Defeating Indonesian rival Liem King, Prakash Padukone became the first Indian to win the esteemed All England Open title in 1980. This was one of the surprising sports moment that took the whole world by awe. Further, history repeated itself when Gopichand, trained and mentored by Padukone won the title in 2001. Trailing 7-11 in the first game against his Chinese counterpart, soon he settled down in the game and gained a 15-12, 15-6 victory to become the second Indian after his coach to win the title. World Snooker Championships: Om Agarwal was an Indian professional snooker player who won the 1984 amateur IBSF World Billiards Championship in Dublin, Ireland, the first Indian to win the event. He received the prestigious Arjuna Award that year, in recognition of this victory for India. Pankaj Advani, the national champion beat Saleh Mohammad of Pakistan 11-6 to win the World Snooker Championship in China in 2003 and made India proud. The 19-year old after starting in haste soon got control of the game and beat the experienced 30- year old Pakistani in the best-of-21 frames final. Advani is only the second Indian to win this prestigious title after Om Agarwal. World Chess Championship: First Indian to win FIDE World chess championship in 2000, Vishwanathan Anand gave India one of the most amazing sports moments. He defeated Alexei Shirov in the final match held at Tehran. Anand has been always a pride for the nation. Winning International master title at the age of 15, in 1984, he proved his mantel and continued thereafter, winning National Chess Championship and World Junior Chess Championship. At the age of 18, he became India's first Grandmaster. Anand again won the FIDE World Championship in 2007 held in Mexico City. First Cricket Championship (1983): A not so established cricket team, India fought tactfully to reach the finals to the surprise of the entire world and against regular expectations and many hailed the match as being one-sided since the nation was playing against much powerful, tactful and experienced West Indies team that had its eye on the third consecutive world cup title. Indians were all out for 183 and there was almost no hope. When West Indies started batting, the Indian medium pacers took charge. Bowling tightly and accurately, Madan Lal and Amarnath brought chances in the hands of India. Finally, Amarnath got the holding lbw and Indians got their first Cricket World Cup in an astounding win. Silver Medal in Athens Olympics 2004: Colonel Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore is an Indian shooter and politician, who rose to fame after winning the Silver Medal in Men's Double Trap at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. He is the first sportsperson to win individual Silver for India since Norman Pritchard, who won two Silver Medals at the 1900 Paris Olympics. Rathore has been awarded many honors since then including Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award. Gold medal in Beijing Olympics 2008: Abhinav Bindra literally shot to stardom in 2008 when he became the first person from India ever to win Olympic gold in an individual event. His triumph in the 10-meter air-rifle competition gave hope and pride to a nation that had rarely experienced Olympic glory. It was also India's first gold medal since 1980, when the Men's Field Hockey Team won the gold. He is the first and only Indian to have held both the World and Olympic titles at the same time, a feat he accomplished by capturing the Gold Medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, after having won the gold at the 2006 ISSF World Shooting Championships. Inaugural World T20 Champions 2007: It was the first edition of the T20 cricket world cup and India was heading to its final with arch rival Pakistan as the opposition. This final on Sep 24, 2007 played at Johannesburg in South Africa had to be rousing and thrilling. Electing to bat first, India was restricted to a modest 157-5. Now with Pakistan needing 54 off 24 balls and Misbah hitting 3 sixes off in one over, the match was falling into Pakistan's hands but he was finally caught short fine leg by Sreesanth bowled by Joginder Sharma. Pakistan was all out for 152 and India won by 5 runs in this nail biting encounter. World Champions after 28 years (2011): Straight 28 years is what India waited for to bring home the world cup trophy but finally it paid off. India was pitted against Sri Lanka for this world cup finale played at Mumbai. India chased the target of 275 with stylish and aggressive knocks from Gautam Gambhir & Captain Cool Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The entire nation burst in celebrations starting midnight on the day of victory for a week. The excitement of winning was palpable across the streets and one could see people talking about those last overs with great enthusiam. It was a special moment for Sachin Tendulkar too who completed his long cherished dream to lift the world cup in his hands.