CHAMAAR TAB AUR AB

1978 Bangkok Long Jump

1978 Bangkok Pentathlon

1979 Tokyo 4×100 m relay

Angel Mary Joseph (born 24 September 1953) is a retired Indian track and field athlete. She specialized in 100 metres hurdles, Long Jump, Pentathlon, and once held national records in all the three and high jump and heptathlon. At the 1978 Asian Games in Tehran, she won silver medals in long jump and pentathlon. She also represented Karnataka and Railways playing basketball in the National Championships.

Recognizing her achievements in track and field, Mary was awarded the Arjuna Award by the government of India in 1979.

Anže Kopitar

Wikipedia

Anže Kopitar

Kopitar with the Los Angeles Kings in 2015

Born 24 August 1987

Jesenice, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia

Position Centre

Shoots Left

NHL team

Former teams Los Angeles Kings

HK Kranjska Gora

Södertälje SK

National team Slovenia

NHL Draft 11th overall, 2005

Los Angeles Kings

Playing career 2002–present

Website www.anzeseleven.com

Anže Kopitar (pronounced [anˈʒɛ kɔˈpiːtaɾ], born 24 August 1987) is a Slovene professional ice hockey centre and captain for the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). The 11th overall pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, Kopitar became the first Slovene to play in the NHL upon making his debut in 2006. Kopitar has spent his entire NHL career with the Kings, has led the team in scoring in all but two seasons and is fourth in franchise history in points, goals, and assists, scoring his 1,000th career point in 2021. Following the 2015–16 season, he was named the Kings' captain. Noted for both his offensive and defensive play, Kopitar was awarded the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the best defensive forward in the NHL in 2016, as well as the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for gentlemanly play the same year. He won his second Selke trophy in 2018.

Kopitar played junior hockey for his hometown team HK Acroni Jesenice before moving to Sweden at age 16 to play in a more competitive league. He spent one season with the junior teams of the Södertälje SK organization, and then with the senior team of the top-level Elitserien. He moved to North America to join the Kings in 2006, one year after he was drafted, and finished fourth in the Calder Memorial Trophy voting for the league's top rookie. Kopitar's offensive talent was immediately apparent when he joined the Kings, though his defensive developed in later seasons and he has become recognized for his two-way play, being a finalist for the Selke Trophy 3 times, and a Selke Trophy winner, twice. In 2018 he was a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy. Praised as one of the best players in the League, Kopitar won the Stanley Cup championship with the Kings in 2012 and 2014, leading the playoffs in points on both occasions (tied with teammate Dustin Brown in 2012). Internationally, Kopitar has represented the Slovenian national team in several junior and senior tournaments, as well as at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. He also played for Team Europe at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Playing career

European career

In 2002, Kopitar began playing for the youth team of his hometown, HK Acroni Jesenice. He split the year between the team's under-18 and junior clubs, and also appeared in 11 games for the senior team HK Kranjska Gora of the Slovenian Ice Hockey League. Kopitar had four goals and four assists in the senior league, and recorded 76 points in 14 games for the Jesenice under-18 team and 27 points in 20 games for the junior club. He led the Slovenian Ice Hockey League in scoring at the age of 16, and Swedish scout Lars Söder recruited Kopitar for the Elitserien in 2004 (Söder had originally discovered Kopitar when he was 13 at the 2001 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival in Vuokatti, Finland).

The Slovenian Ice Hockey League did not have a high enough skill level, so Kopitar decided that if he wanted to improve his career prospects, he would have to leave the country. He was offered a chance to play in Sweden for Södertälje SK, eventually joining their junior team where he led the League in scoring, with 49 points (28 goals, 21 assists) in 30 games. Prior to the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, Kopitar was ranked the top European skater by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau. After his first season in Sweden, he was chosen 11th overall by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2005 Draft. Unlike most top-ranked prospects, Kopitar was not at the draft, but in Sweden playing in preseason games. Some members of the team had a party for the draft, including Niclas Bergfors, who was selected 23rd overall by the New Jersey Devils. Prior to the NHL Draft, Kopitar was also selected in the CHL Import Draft by the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League (WHL). He declined to move to North America, however, hoping to further his development by continuing to play against professionals in the Elitserien, rather than against major junior players in the WHL.

Los Angeles Kings (2006–present)

Early career in Los Angeles (2006–2011)

Kopitar signed an entry-level contract with the Kings on 7 September 2005, but returned to play in Sweden for another season. The next year, 2006, he accepted an invitation to Los Angeles' rookie camp. He made his NHL debut on 6 October 2006, against the Anaheim Ducks and scored two goals in the game. In January 2007, he was named to the NHL YoungStars Game, an event included at the All-Star Game festivities; Kopitar recorded two goals and three assists. Kopitar completed his first NHL season third among rookies in scoring, behind Evgeni Malkin and Paul Šťastný, with 20 goals and 41 assists for 61 points. It marked the fifth-highest point total by a Kings rookie, and the highest since Luc Robitaille in 1986–87.[9] He finished fourth in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year. Kopitar was awarded the Mark Bavis Memorial Award as the best first-year member of the Kings and was also named the Kings' Most Popular Player.

Kopitar practicing with the Kings in 2007. Kopitar made his NHL debut in the 2006–07 season.

The following season, 2007–08, Kopitar was selected to represent the Western Conference at the 56th NHL All-Star Game in Atlanta, his first all-star game appearance. He was the youngest player in the game, nearly two years younger than the second-youngest player, Paul Stastny (Sidney Crosby was younger, but had to withdraw prior to the game due to injury). Kopitar finished the regular season with 32 goals and 45 assists for 77 points; he led the Kings in assists and points and was second in goals. Kopitar won the Bill Libby Memorial Award as the most valuable player on the Kings.

Early in the 2008–09 season, on 11 October 2008, Kopitar signed a seven-year contract extension with the Kings worth $47.6 million. The contract would keep Kopitar with the team until the conclusion of the 2015–16 season. He finished the season with 66 points in 82 games, leading the Kings in both assists and points, while again finishing second in goals scored. The following season, Kopitar scored his first career NHL hat-trick (3 goals in one game) on 22 October 2009 against the Dallas Stars. He finished the 2009–10 season with a career-high 34 goals and 81 points. For the second time in his career, Kopitar won the Bill Libby Memorial Award as the Kings' most valuable player, and led the team in scoring for the third-straight year. Kopitar made his Stanley Cup playoff debut that season, as the Kings qualified for the postseason for the first time since 2002. The Kings lost in the Western Conference Quarterfinals to the Vancouver Canucks, and Kopitar finished tied for third on the team with five points in six games.

Kopitar played with Allsvenskan's Mora IK during the 2012–13 NHL lockout.

The 2010–11 season saw Kopitar play in his 325th consecutive NHL game, which set a new Kings team record, passing Marcel Dionne on 15 March 2011. However eleven days later, Kopitar's season and ironman streak came to an abrupt end at 330 games after he suffered a broken ankle. Despite the injury setback, Kopitar led the team in scoring for the fourth straight season with 73 points, and was named the team's most valuable player for the second time.

Stanley Cup titles (2012–2014)

In the 2011–12 season, Kopitar led the Kings in scoring with 76 points, including a career-best 51 assists. The Kings won the Stanley Cup as playoff champions, their first title in team history. Kopitar finished tied with Kings captain Dustin Brown to lead the team in playoff scoring, with each having 20 points from 20 games played. Kopitar became the first Slovenian-born player to win the Stanley Cup. In recognition of this, Kopitar was named as the 2012 Slovenian male Athlete of the Year.

The 2012–13 NHL season was delayed due to the NHL lockout, so Kopitar joined his younger brother Gašper on Mora IK of the Swedish second-tier league HockeyAllsvenskan, signing a contract with the team for the 2012–13 season. He played 31 games for Mora, scoring 34 points, before the NHL lockout ended in January 2013. A shortened, 48-game NHL season commenced, Kopitar recorded 42 points in 47 games to once again lead the Kings in scoring, and was named the team's best defensive player.

The 2013–14 season saw Kopitar lead the team in scoring for the seventh consecutive season, with 70 points, and was named both the team's most valuable player and best defensive player. He also was a finalist for the Frank J. Selke Trophy as best defensive forward in the NHL for the first time. In the playoffs, Kopitar led the entire league in scoring, recording 26 points in 26 games, as the Kings won their second Stanley Cup championship.

Selke Trophy wins and continued success (2015–present)

The next season saw Kopitar tie Marcel Dionne as the only player in Kings history to lead the team in scoring eight times, having scored 16 goals and 48 assists for 64 points. Kopitar was a finalist for the Selke Trophy again, and also for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, awarded for sportsmanship. During the 2015–16 season Kopitar signed an eight-year contract extension with the Kings. It would pay him an average of $10 million per season until the end of the 2023–24 season. He finished the season with 74 points, setting a team record by leading the Kings in scoring for a ninth consecutive season. Kopitar also was awarded both the Lady Byng and Frank J. Selke Trophies, the first player from the Kings to win either award. He also won the Bill Libby Memorial Award as the most valuable player on the Kings for the fifth time.

On 16 June 2016, Kopitar was named the captain of the Kings, replacing Dustin Brown. In his first season as captain of the Kings, Kopitar saw his production drop, and he finished with 52 points, second on the team and ending his nine-year streak of leading the team in scoring. Kopitar returned to form in the 2017–18 season scoring a career-high 35 goals and 57 assists for 92 points, helping the Kings get back to the playoffs. After the season, Kopitar was a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy and was awarded the Frank J. Selke Trophy for the second time in his career.

On May 5, 2021, Kopitar recorded his 1,000th career point, becoming the 91st player to reach the mark.

International play

Kopitar with Slovenian national team at the 2008 IIHF World Championship.

Medal record

Representing Slovenia

Slovenian Ice Hockey League

Representing Team Europe

World Cup

2016 Toronto

Kopitar first played in an international tournament when he participated in the Division I (second level) tournament of the 2003 IIHF World U18 Championships for the Slovenian national junior team. He appeared in five games and recorded three points. The following year he appeared in the 2004 U18 tournament and the 2004 World Junior Championships. Slovenia competed in Division I at both tournaments, one level below the top division. Kopitar scored six goals and eight points in five games during the under-18 tournament and finished second overall for goals scored and third for points, leading Slovenia in both categories; at the World Juniors he had one goal and one assist in five games.

In 2005 Kopitar appeared in three international tournaments for Slovenia; he took part in the U18 Championship, World Juniors, and the senior World Championship, his first tournament with the Slovenian national team. Slovenia competed at the Division I level for both junior tournaments, but at the top level for the senior championship. He would play his last junior tournament in 2006 at the Division I level, with six points in five games. At the 2006 World Championship he played for Slovenia at the top level and recorded three goals and nine points in six games, tying for fifth among scoring leaders. Slovenia was relegated to Division I for 2007, where Kopitar had 13 assists and 14 points, leading the tournament in both categories. Back in the top division for the 2008 IIHF World Championship, Kopitar appeared in five games and had four points to lead his team, though Slovenia was once again relegated.

Slovenia qualified for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi; as the qualifying games were held during the NHL season Kopitar was unable to participate, though his father Matjaž coached the team and Gašper played in the matches.Though Gašper was part of the team that secured qualification for Slovenia, he was not named to the Olympic roster. Kopitar helped Slovenia reach the quarterfinals of the tournament by scoring two goals and one assist.

Kopitar was also named to play in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey for Team Europe, which includes players from most of Europe (the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, and Sweden have their own teams). Prior to the announcement Kopitar had expressed excitement towards the concept, which was to be introduced during the tournament, noting that as a Slovenian he had few opportunities to play in tournaments like this.

Playing style

Kopitar (back) prepares to take a face-off in the NHL. Kopitar is known for being skilled at taking face-offs, holding one of the highest career averages in the NHL.

Kopitar is known in the NHL as one of the most effective two-way forwards, in that he is effective both as an offensive and defensive player. He won the Frank J. Selke Trophy, which is given to the best defensive forward in the NHL, in 2016, after being a finalist for the award in both 2014 and 2015 He is known for being skilled at taking faceoffs, with one of the highest averages in the league during his career. He is also skilled at offence, and led the Kings in team scoring from 2008 until 2016.

Personal life

Kopitar was born in Jesenice, Slovenia (then part of Yugoslavia) to Matjaž and Mateja Kopitar. Matjaž played hockey for HK Acroni Jesenice, winning the league title three times, and was a member of the Yugoslav and Slovenian national teams. He also coached HK Acroni Jesenice of the Austrian Hockey League during the 2006–07 season and the Slovenian national team from 2010 until 2015. Mateja worked at the family restaurant, Hrušica, a village about five kilometres from Jesenice.

When Kopitar was four, his father first taught him how to skate; Matjaž built an ice rink in their backyard in Hrušica, and Kopitar would play there whenever he could. Kopitar has a brother, Gašper, who is five years younger. Gašper also plays hockey; when the Kopitar family moved to Los Angeles, Gašper joined a junior team sponsored by the Kings. He then played for the Portland Winterhawks of the major junior Western Hockey League (WHL) and the Des Moines Buccaneers of the United States Hockey League (USHL), before turning professional with Mora IK in Sweden. Kopitar's grandmother taught English at a local high school, and both Kopitar and his brother learned to speak English from her. Kopitar speaks five languages: Slovene, Serbian, German, Swedish, and English. He enjoys playing football and is a declared supporter of Slovenian football club NK Maribor.

Kopitar is renowned in Slovenia due to his hockey exploits, with a government-sponsored website declaring that after he won the Stanley Cup in 2012 he was "the most recognised Slovenian sportsman." As a youth, he played in the 2000 and 2001 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a team from Slovenia. He also hosts an annual charity golf tournament that benefits various groups, mainly youths.

Kopitar lived with his parents until moving to Sweden, where he lived alone in an apartment. After his first season in the NHL, the rest of Kopitar's family joined him in Los Angeles; Kopitar bought a home in Manhattan Beach in 2014. Kopitar met Ines Dominc in Slovenia in 2005; they married in July 2013. Their first child, a daughter named Neža, was born on 14 March 2015. Their second child, son Jakob, was born 5 October 2016.

Awards and honours

Kopitar celebrates with the Stanley Cup, after the Kings won the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals.

AwardYear

NHL

NHL YoungStars Game 2007

NHL All-Star Game 2008, 2011, 2015, 2018, 2020

Stanley Cup champion 2012, 2014

Frank J. Selke Trophy 2016, 2018

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy 2016

Los Angeles Kings

Most Popular Player 2007, 2011

Mark Bavis Memorial Award 2007

Bill Libby Memorial Award 2008, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2016

Leading Scorer Award 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020

Best Defensive Player 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015

Points Leader 2004

Ankita Das

From Wikipedia

Ankita Das

Full name Ankita Das

Nationality Indian

Residence Siliguri

Born 17 July 1993

Siliguri, West Bengal, India

Playing style Right-handed offensive

Equipment(s) Before butterfly and Now stag

Club German club II division league YMA club at Siliguri

Height 5.6

Weight 53

Ankita Das (born 17 July 1993)[citation needed] is an Indian table tennis player from Siliguri, West Bengal. She participated in World Championship and reached quarter-finals.[citation needed]

She represented India at the 2012 London Summer Olympics in Women's singles event. She was also the youngest girl in that Olympic.

Career

Ankita Das has won senior championship at the 75th senior National table tennis championships (2014)

Das has won championship at the 75th senior National table tennis championships (2014) Women's singles event. before was practicing under of Coach Mantu Gosh Arjuna Awardee. she was the youngest girl in that olympic. she played in junior world championship 2011, singles quarterfinalist and got fair play award. she made history in that tournament, she got most popular player award in senior asian championship, made history again, 10 years she played national final continues in her career, its history in indian table tennis. she played cadet world challenge, and got gold medal in the teams, and singles got 8th position, she played lusofonia games and got bronze, silver, gold in that tournament.

Ashim Biswas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ashim BiswasPersonal information

Full name Ashim Biswas

Date of birth 14 July 1982

Place of birth Ashoknagar, West Bengal, India

Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)

Position(s) Forward

Club information

Current team Tollygunge Agragami

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2001–2003 Tollygunge Agragami (19)

2003–2005 Mohun Bagan (14)

2005–2006 Salgaocar (1)

2006–2009 East Bengal (17)

2009–2010 Chirag United

2010–2012 Mohun Bagan

2012–2014 Mohammedan (6)

2015–2016 Tollygunge Agragami (8)

2016–2017 Southern Samity (4)

2017–2018 Jamshedpur 7 (1)

2018– Tollygunge Agragami (2)

National team

2003–2004 India 10 (4)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:02, 3 August 2018 (UTC)

Ashim Biswas (born 14 July 1982) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Tollygunge Agragami in the Calcutta Football League.

Club career

East Bengal

He had scored with a header against Mohammedan from a Syed Rahim Nabi cross, and then Ashim's cross was netted in by Edmilson Marques Pardal in the pre-quarterfinal of the 29th Federation Cup in 2007 at Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana, match which East Bengal won 3-1. In Calcutta Premier Division 2008, he had scored 2-0 against Mohammedan. He had scored the only goal in the 1-0 win over Prayag United.

Jamshedpur

On 23 July 2017, Ghosh was selected in the 14th round of the 2017–18 ISL Players Draft by Kerala for the 2017–18 Indian Super League season. He made his debut for the club on 10 December 2017 against Pune City. He came on as a 66th minute substitute for Siddharth Singh as Jamshedpur lost 1–0. He then scored his first goal for the club on 17 January 2018 in their match against the Kerala Blasters. He found the net in the 31st minute as Jamshedpur won 2–1.

On 12 April 2018, in Jamshedpur's quarter-final match during the Super Cup, Biswas scored the consolation for the club in a 5–1 defeat to Goa.

Statistics

International

National teamYearAppsGoals

India 2003 6 4

2004 4 0

Total104

Anice Das

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Anice Das

Anice Das in Inzell

Personal information

Born 31 December 1985

Mumbai, India

Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)

Weight 63 kg (139 lb)

Website www.anicedas.nl

Sport

Country Netherlands

Sport Speed skating

Achievements and titles

Personal best(s) 500 m: 37.84 (2013)

1000 m: 1:15.11 (2017)

1500 m: 2:00.06 (2008)

3000 m: 4:23:61 (2008)

Women's speed skating

Representing the Netherlands

Event1st2nd3rd

Dutch single distance 0 0 1

Dutch sprint 0 1 0

Total 0 1 1

Anice Das (born Mumbai, December 31, 1985) is a retired Indian-born Dutch speed skater, specialized in sprint distances.

Professional career

Das made her first appearance at the Dutch single distance championships on December 30, 2005, aged 19. Since then she competed in nearly all Dutch single distance championships and Dutch sprint championships. She has achieved a slow but steady progress in her results, with her best results occurring at the 2017 Dutch championships (3rd place in 500m single distance, 2nd place overall in sprint). In February 2017, she competed at the world single distance championships for the first time. That same month, she competed at the world sprint championships for a second time. She was plagued by illness, including fever, in the week leading up to the event. She did manage to improve her personal best on 1000 meters in both races, finishing 18th overall.

On December 28, 2017, Das won the 500 meter event at the Dutch qualification tournament for the 2018 Olympic Games, beating all expected favorites. On February 18, 2018, she ended in 19th place at the Olympic 500 meter event, after skating in the first run without having an opponent in the other lane.

On March 17, 2020, Das announced her retirement from professional speed skating.

Personal life

Das was born in Mumbai, India and was adopted by a Dutch family as an infant, along with her twin sister.

Personal records

DistanceTimeDateTrack

500 meters 37,84 15 November 2013 Salt Lake City

1000 meters 1.15,11 26 February 2017 Calgary

1500 meters 2.00,06 12 March 2008 Calgary

3000 meters 4.23,61 13 March 2008 Calgary

Source

Results

YearDutch

single distanceOlympic

qualificationDutch

sprint World

single distance Olympic

games World

sprint World

Cup

2006 21st (1000m)

2008 19th (500m) 18th

2009 9th (500m)

15th (1000m) 6th

2010 14th (500m)

21st (1000m) 12th (500m) no event

2011 4th (500m)

13th (1000m)

12th (1500m) 8th 31st (500m)

2012 5th (500m)

8th (1000m) 7th 34th (500m)

2013 4th (500m)

5th (1000m) 7th 21st (500m)

33rd (1000m)

2014 5th (500m)

13th (1000m) 7th (500m)

11th (1000m) no event 11th 15th (500m)

41st (1000m)

2015 5th (500m)

17th (1000m) 10th 20th (500m)

2016 6th (500m)

6th (1000m) 4th 35th (500m)

28th (1000m)

2017 (500m)

11th (1000m) 22nd (500m) 18th 18th (500m)

26th (1000m)

2018 10th (500m)

9th (1000m) (500m)

6th (1000m) no event 19th (500m)

Abhishek Das

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Abhishek DasPersonal information

Full name Abhishek Das

Date of birth 15 November 1993

Place of birth Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)

Position(s) Right back

Club information

Current team TRAU

Youth career

Tata FA

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2010–2016 East Bengal 32 (1)

2010–2011 → Pailan Arrows (loan)

2012–2013 → United Sikkim (loan) 14 (0)

2014 → Chennaiyin (loan) 4 (0)

2015 → Chennaiyin (loan) 3 (0)

2016 Mohun Bagan A.C. 3 (0)

2016–2017 Chennai City 14 (0)

2017 Mohun Bagan A.C. 4 (0)

2018–2019 Gokulam Kerala 14 (0)

2019- TRAU 8 (0)

National team‡

2007 India U16

2009 India U19

2011 India U23

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14 march 2019

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 29 December 2016

Abhishek Das (born 15 November 1993) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a right back for TRAU in the I-League.

Club career

East Bengal

Das began playing football from the age of 4 and eventually joined the Tata Football Academy. In 2010, Das graduated from the Tata Football Academy and signed for East Bengal of the I-League but was then sent on loan to Pailan Arrows, then known as the AIFF XI.[1] After spending the 2010–11 at Arrows, he returned to East Bengal. The 2011–12 season started off well for Das as he was included in East Bengal's 2011 Federation Cup squad. He made his first team debut for East Bengal against Mohammedan on 17 September 2011 during the Federation Cup.

Indian Super League

Abhishek represented Chennaiyin FC for the 2014 Indian Super League. He was retained by the club will also play for Chennaiyin in the 2015 Indian Super League season.

International career

Das made his youth international debut at the under-23 level for India U23 against Myanmar in the 2012 Olympic Qualifiers on 23 February 2011. He then made his second start for India U23 in the next match against Myanmar in the second leg which ended in a 1–1 draw but a 3–2 victory for India on aggregate. He then continued his run with the India U23 team during the 2nd Round of Olympic Qualifiers against Qatar. The match ended 3–1 in Qatar's favor. He was still not done though with the India U23 team as he still played during the second leg of the Olympic Qualifiers against Qatar U23 which ended with India getting knocked out of the qualifiers 4-2 on aggregate after the match ended in a 1–1 tie.

Career statistics

Club

Statistics accurate as of 30 May 2015

ClubSeasonLeagueFederation CupDurand CupAFCTotal

AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals

East Bengal 2011–12 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

United Sikkim (loan) 2012–13 14 0 0 0 0 0 – – 14 0

East Bengal 2012–13 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 4 0

2013–14 10 1 2 0 0 0 – – 12 1

Chennaiyin FC (loan) 2014 4 0 – – – – – – 4 0

East Bengal 2014–15 10 0 4 0 0 0 1 0 15 0

Career total3811000020501

Honors

Club

Chennaiyin FC

Indian Super League: 2015 - Champions

Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi

اعصام الحق قریشی

Country (sports) Pakistan

Residence Lahore, Pakistan

Born March 18, 1980 (age 37)

Lahore, Pakistan

Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)

Turned pro 1998

Plays Right-handed (one-handed backhand)

Prize money US$ 2,570,033

Singles

Career record 30–25 (ATP Tour-level, Grand Slam-level, and in Davis Cup)

Career titles 0

Highest ranking No. 125 (10 December 2007)

Grand Slam Singles results

Australian Open Q2 (2002)

Wimbledon 2R (2007)

US Open 1R (2008)

Doubles

Career record 261-215

Career titles 13

Highest ranking No. 8 (6 June 2011)

Current ranking No. 40 (1 August 2016)

Grand Slam Doubles results

Australian Open 3R (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015)

French Open SF (2012)

Wimbledon QF (2010)

US Open F (2010)

Mixed doubles

Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results

Australian Open QF (2012, 2014)

French Open SF (2013)

Wimbledon SF (2014, 2016)

US Open F (2010)

Last updated on: 6 August 2016.

Aisam-ul-Haq QureshiMedal record

Representing Pakistan

Men's Tennis

South Asian Games

2016 Guwahati Singles

2016 Guwahati Mixed Doubles

Islamic Solidarity Games

2005 Mecca Singles

2005 Mecca Doubles

2005 Mecca Team

Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi (Urdu: اعصام الحق قریشی‎) (born 17 March 1980) is a professional tennis player from Pakistan. He is currently Pakistan's top player. A top-10 doubles player, his highest singles ranking was no. 125. He is the only Pakistani tennis player to reach the final of a Grand Slam, which he did in 2010, competing in both mixed doubles (partnering with Květa Peschke) and men's doubles (partnering with Rohan Bopanna) at the US Open.

As Pakistan no. 1, Qureshi has traditionally led Pakistan's Davis Cup campaigns. After shocking New Zealand in the Asia/Oceania Zone Group I second round play-off in 2004 to survive relegation, he took them to the World Group Play-Offs for the first time in 2005, before they were beaten by Chile. He has won the most Davis Cup matches for Pakistan, being the most successful singles and doubles player from his country ever. He is also part of the most successful doubles pairing for Pakistan (with Aqeel Khan) in the country's sporting history.

Early life

Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi was born in a Muslim family and grew up in Lahore, Pakistan, swimming, playing cricket and football being his favorite pastimes at his alma-mater Crescent Model Higher Secondary School. He started playing tennis late at age of 14, when his maternal grandfather and first coach, Khawaja Iftikhar Ahmed, a former 10-time national champion, took him to a tennis club Model Town, Lahore.

His maternal grandfather, Khawaja Iftikhar Ahmed, was the All-British India champion, before Pakistan split from British India in 1947. His mother, Nosheen Ihtsham, was also a former women's tennis champion. At age 16, the ITF sponsored him for two years. He won the Pakistan International Junior Championships and went on to win the Casablanca Cup in Mexico and the LTA International Junior Championships in Roehampton, where he beat Olivier Rochus, Andy Ram, and Taylor Dent. In the World Super Junior Championships, he beat Andy Roddick. By 18, he was a top-20 junior player and decided to turn pro.

Aisam was educated at the University of Punjab.

Coaches

As a junior, he was coached by LTA. Aisam has been coached by American Robert Davis since 1998. Robert Davis has served as national coach for Peru, Panama, Thailand, and Indonesia. As a writer, he contributes to the ATP's Deuce Magazine, Tennis Magazine USA, tennis.com, Tennis Magazine Australia, and ITF publications, as well as non-sporting publications and newspapers.

Playing style

Qureshi prefers the quicker grass courts and has had seen his greatest success on grass and hard courts. His playing style is serve-and-volley, relying on his serve to win him points by putting pressure on his opponents.

Sponsorship

Qureshi's clothing and shoes sponsor is Lotto. On 29 March 2008, Aisam signed an agreement with Pepsi for sponsorship of coach for one year. He became the first Pakistani sportsman who wasn't a cricketer to star in a Pepsi advert and become one of their brand ambassadors.

Awards and accolades

Qureshi teamed with Israeli player Amir Hadad during Wimbledon and the US Open tournaments in 2002. He is now a member of the "Champions for Peace" club, a group of 54 athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by Peace and Sport, a Monaco-based international organisation.

In November 2010 Aisam was appointed The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) goodwill ambassador.

Aisam was awarded the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year, for 2010 along with his doubles tennis partner Rohan Bopanna of India. Along with Bopanna, Qureshi received the 2010 "Peace and Sport Image of the Year" award, in recognition of their dedicated efforts to spread the message of peace through sport. Qureshi and his doubles partner Bopanna also created a campaign, "Stop War Start Tennis", with their goal to play a match on the border of India and Pakistan.

He was also given the Pakistan President's Award for Performance in 2002, the Salam Pakistan Youth Award by the President of Pakistan in 2007 and was runner-up for the 2003 Anne Frank Award For Moral Courage by the Anne Frank Trust, UK.

In 2011, he was awarded Lux Style Award for Most Stylish Sports Person.

Arvind Panwar

Arvind Panwar has begun to share his knowledge and expertise. VeloInsight Coaching is his brainchild, through which he mentors and trains athletes who wish to grow to the National Level and beyond.

Training is done systematically and scientifically to improve fitness and ability both on and off the bike.

Born: 9 March 1990 , Meerut

Current team: Asfra Racing Team Oudenaarde

Top results

National Championships India - ITT ('16, '13)

National Championships India - Road Race ('12)

3x 2nd

National Championships India - ITT ('17, '16, '14)

3rd

National Championships India - Road Race ('16)

7th

Asian Cycling Championships - ITT ('19)

8th

CFI International race 2, Jaipur ('13)

9th

Asian Cycling Championships - ITT ('16)

14th

Asian Cycling Championships - ITT ('14)

27th

Asian Cycling Championships - Road Race ('17)

15th

CFI International race 3, Dehli ('13)

http://arvindpanwar.com/

Amit Rohidas

From Wikipedia

Amit RohidasPersonal information

Born 10 May 1993 (age 25)

Sundergarh district, Orissa, India

Playing position Defender

National team

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2013– India 41 (2)

Men's field hockey

Representing India

Asia Cup

2013 Ipoh Team

2017 Dhaka Team

Champions Trophy

2018 Breda

Amit Rohidas (born 10 May 1993) is an Indian field hockey player who plays as a defender.

Life and career

Rohidas was born on 10 May 1993 in Saunamara village of Sundergarh district. He started playing hockey in his village and joined the Panposh Sports Hostel in Rourkela in 2004. He was selected in the national junior team in 2009.

Rohidas was selected in the senior squad for the 2013 Asia Cup in Ipoh where the Indian team won the silver medal. He made a comeback to the Indian side in 2017.

Ashish Mane

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Born : 14 August 1990 (age 29)

Maharashtra, India

Climbing career : Known for Climbing Everest, Lhotse, Makalu, Manslu, Kanchenjunga

Ashish Mane (Born 14 August 1990) is one of the prominent professional mountaineer from India. He has scaled Mt. Everest (2012)., Mt. Lhotse (2013), Mt. Makalu (2014), Mt Manaslu (2017) and Kanchenjunga (2019) Ashish is the only climber from Maharashtra as of now, to ascend five of the fourteen Eight-thousander|peaks over 8,000 metres means about 26,000 ft above sea level. In the year 2016, he attempted to scale Daulagiri, but due to technical reasons he had to quit the expedition

Background

Ashish hails from Satara, Maharashtra. He is an alumnus of Raje Shivraya Pratishthan college in Kothrud, Pune. He holds a master's degree in Computer Science. He did his basic mountaineering course from Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) at Uttarkashi.

His fascination towards mountains and trekking in Konkan region, inspired him to climb in Himalayas.

Expeditions

Year : Peak (Height in meters)

2012 : Mount Everest (8,848)

2013 : Lhotse (8,516)

2014 : Makalu (8,485)

2017 : Manaslu (8,163)

2019 : Kanchenjunga (8, 586)

Awards

Ashish has received following awards

Shiv Chhatrapati State Sports award for year 2014-15

Arvind Mani

Arvind Mani – “To put on the Indian tracksuit is like wearing an armor and getting ready for the Battlefield”

Fitness mantra

Swimming five hours a day and gyming two hours a day. This has been my routine since the past 10 years and this is my fitness mantra. Diet matters a lot and therefore I focus on maintaining a healthy one!

When did you start swimming?

I started swimming at the age of four. As a four year old I represented my state in the rowing competition twice and in order to further continue with rowing, my coach (my uncle who is currently the president of Karnataka rowing association ) asked me to learn swimming so I would be able to handle my boat if it topples. And I continued with swimming and never went back to rowing.

On field are you a Predator or a Buddha?

It depends on the kind of situation. I adapt myself to the circumstance and act accordingly.

One race that you are very proud of

One of the memorable moments is when I gave the best performance in the 200m backstroke in the 2016 senior nationals (India) which I didn’t expect at all, cutting down three seconds from my previous best time. I was proud because, I knew I had progressed.

The toughest punishment given to you by your coach

I was made to swim for 6 hours continuously from morning 5 to 11; that was the worst punishment.

What does it mean to you to represent India?

It is an incredible feeling, to put on the Indian tracksuit ,it’s almost like wearing an armor and getting ready for the battlefield with determination. It’s a mixture of pride and pleasure, knowing that you are one among the other few ones who are getting to represent the country.

You have a chance to play another sport. Which one would it be?

I would go for boxing. It’s an exhaustive sport, but you feel that it’s worth the exertion as it helps you maintain your fitness level.

Your ultimate achievement?

My ultimate achievement would be, when I’ll be able to put my country’s flag high, at the Commonwealth games or the Asian games by conquering a GOLD medal.

Is sports a natural talent or a skill that is developed?

For some it’s a natural talent and for some it’s a skill which they have to keep working on, in all type of ways.

Perk of being an athlete

Being an athlete promises you good fitness levels, and mind control, only when you’re serious about routines and diet etc.,

When was the first time you represented India?

It was in 2011 , when I participated in the world cup which was held in Dubai and I think it was the kick start of my international career. I came sixth in the meet.

Opponent you dislike racing with?

No names in particular , but on a very broad basis, I don’t like players who are cunning, jealous and backstabbers.

Who had the greatest influence in your life?

My coach Pradeep Kumar. I think without his guidance for 7 years I would not be in the place where I have reached now.

What matters the most during ‘Do or Die’ situations?

Will power is required during these situations, because somehow your determination is put to test, and you need to survive the test!

Your dream ride?

My love is for bikes! I would love to own a Hayabusa.

One tattoo you would like to have?

The Olympic rings, after I attend the Olympics.

Best sports movie ever

‘Creed’, is one of the best movies I have watched. I love that it is a fast-paced movie. The movie kept me glued to the screen throughout!

Goals

The upcoming Asian age group championship is the first thing I’m looking forward to.

Long term goals are to hit it big at the Asian Games and the Olympics.

One unforgettable moment

Winning the SAF games gold medal is an unforgettable experience!

Do you hold any record?

Yes!

5 Junior national records

1 Senior national record

1 National games record

1 Indian best performance

8 South zone records

Abhinas Ruidas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Abhinas RuidasPersonal information

Date of birth 12 September 1995

Place of birth Budge Budge, West Bengal, India

Playing position Left Winger

Club information

Current team Mohun Bagan

Number 34

Youth career

Mohun Bagan

Bhawanipore

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2014–2017 East Bengal 22 (1)

2016 Atlético de Kolkata (loan) 7 (0)

2017– Mumbai City FC 11 (0)

2018— Mohun Bagan 5 (0)

National team‡

2015– India U23 3 (0)

Abhinas Ruidas is an Indian professional footballer who played as a Left winger for Mohun Bagan.

Career

East Bengal

Born in Budge Budge, West Bengal, Ruidas began his career with the youth sides at Mohun Bagan and Bhawanipore. He eventually joined I-League club East Bengal and played for the club in the Calcutta Football League where he impressed pundits and coaches as East Bengal won the state league. Despite his impressive performance in the Calcutta Football League, Ruidas was left out of the squad for the teams Federation Cup campaign.

Ruidas then made his professional debut on 18 January 2015 in East Bengal's first match of the I-League season against Sporting Goa. He started the match and played 72 minutes as East Bengal drew the match 1–1. He then scored his first professional goal for East Bengal in the teams next game against reigning I-League champions Bengaluru FC. His 53rd-minute strike at the Salt Lake Stadium was the sole goal in a 1–0 victory.

International

Abinash debuted for the India U23s against Uzbekistan U23s on 27 March 2015 in a AFC U-23 qualifier in Dhaka's Bangabandhu National Stadium

Ankita Bhambri

Indian tennis player

Ankita Bhambri. | Photo Credit: File Photo: V.V. Krishnan

DescriptionAnkita Bhambri is an Indian former professional tennis player and coach. She is the current non-playing caption of the India Fed Cup team. Her highest career singles ranking is World No. 332, which she achieved in May 2006. Highest career doubles ranking is World No. 299, which she achieved in October 2005. Wikipedia

Born: 28 October 1986 , New Delhi

Turned pro: 2000

Country (sports): India

Prize money: 62,691 USD

Plays: Right Handed (Double Handed Backhand)

Siblings: Sanaa Bhambri, Yuki Bhambri

In a chat with ITD volunteer Krishnakumar Duraiswamy, Indian Fed Cup Team coach Ankita Bhambri shares her experience and thoughts on the historic Fed Cup achievement –

Ankita Bhambri (Photo – Timmy Thomas)

Q) How does it feel moving into the World group Playoffs?

It’s fantastic. Everybody as a team came together collectively. There was Rutuja, Ankita and obviously Sania, who has so much experience, pulled us through all the rubbers when it was 1-all in rubbers in the last 3 days. It has been a fantastic week so far.

Q) How was it physically in terms of 5-days format? How did the girls cope up?

Very tough and very tiring. We have been starting off slightly later in the evening, we begin our day by warming up at 2-2:30[p.m.] with the players coming in. We have had some morning sessions too, when the girls wanted to hit. To be spending tired days in the tennis court and we are famous because we are the last ones to leave, sometimes from 11:30 or 12:30 at night. That’s the time we have been finishing our matches. The best part is, we got home with the tie in our favour. So that’s been great.

The Ankita’s of Indian Tennis – Raina(left) and Bhambri(right) [Photo – Timmy Thomas]

Q) How was it with the venue location, changing from China to Dubai?

This has been a fantastic venue. The facilities were excellent. I feel that everybody gelled well on court. We were here a few days early. With Sania being in the team, everybody has been very motivated as well, because they understand the experience that she brings in. The fact that all of us have been players-me, Vishaal, we have been through these situations before in Fed Cup and Davis Cup. I know how tough it is, how tiring it can be. I think we have kept the team motivated, we have kept the team focused. It’s fantastic and we are very happy to go ahead, because it’s the first time that this is going to happen.

Arvind Panwar - Cyclist

Interview with Arvind Panwar – Pro Cyclist from Ciclo Team Racing

By Abhishek Tarfe

Arvind Panwar. We’re sure you’ve heard the name. This 28-year-old Meerut Born cyclist is making a name at the international level along with Naveen John.

Recently, we happened to connect with him to showcase his journey to becoming one of the best cyclists India has ever produced. He tells us about his journey from getting into cycling to climbing his way to finishing 7th in a kermesse in Belgium.

So how did you get into cycling?

I was doing athletics (mid-long distance running) with my elder brother but didn’t see noticeable results than my cousin brother, Sachin Panwar. He got into the sport and got medals in MTB races. This was when I realised that I should take cycling as seriously as a sport. I was always into adventure and loved exploring new places, so I find it more exciting.

When did you start looking at cycling as a profession?

After becoming National Champion in U-23(ITT) & Elite Road Race in 2012, I got a job in Indian Railways along with a chance to represent India at World Railways. This seemed to be an eye-opener for me. That’s when I decided to do something remarkable in the sport with a professional approach.

What is that one thing that cycling has taught you in life?

Cycling isn’t just a sport, it’s a way of life that keeps you moving ahead. It gives you chances to meet new people, see new places and makes you healthy. Besides, it’s also a growing sport in a country like ours.

Tell us about your biggest achievement?

I feel proud of myself whenever I see myself on the podium. I have won many titles at Nationals, National Games & Internationally. I have got a Gold medal in South Asian Games, Bronze in World Railways, participated in multiple Asian Championships, taken the start at Commonwealth Games-2014, World Road Championship-2016 and recently got a top 10(7th) in a kermesse race in Belgium.

Tell us something about your training?

I try to be as regular as possible on my bike. Mostly, I do one session on the bike in the morning and one easy session off the bike in the evening (2-3 times a week). I also have a personal structured training plan for each day based on my routine and goal for the season.

Tell us something about your nutrition?

I’m a vegetarian, so I need to give special attention to my diet to get proper nutrition. Most of my diet comes from natural, dairy and plant-based.

Tell us something about your recovery?

Recovery is as important as training, so I ensure to get proper sleep each night and diet after each session.

What are your plans for the future with cycling?

Well, my future plans are quite simple. Every year we as a “Ciclo Team Racing” Try to go to Belgium for a solid training and racing block. And whatever we learn there, apply those strategies and fitness back at home and at the Asian level to set a benchmark for the upcoming generation.

Tell us something about veloinsight? What was the whole idea to begin?

“Velo Insight Coaching” is an online cycling coaching program for competitive athletes. This was something I wanted to start once my competitive career. However, I realized that most of the athletes today in India don’t even know the basics of training like- How to prepare for an event? How to get peak performance on race day? How to manage a balance between training and recovery? etc. A pile of questions like this.

As it would be too late to start working with athletes after my career, I started right away!

How can we help promote cycling in Kolkata?

To be honest, competitive cycling training is tough to manage in Kolkata. You have to be in the outskirts of the city like any other big cities in India to get on the highways. It’s an ancient city with narrow roads but some small training camps may be organized and build some short technical safe route for juniors with the help of state association, local authorities and many club owners. Then organising weekend races to promote the sport should be helpful.

Tell us something about ASFRA Racing Team?

“ASFRA Racing Team” Is one of the earliest and famous cycling clubs in East-Flanders, Belgium. The club allowed cyclists from all over the world to come and participate under their name. ASFRA Team also gives the opportunity to a cyclist to enter in a local kermess to Pro-Kermess, one day classic to stage races and national to international circuit races. The club also provides all the necessary ground support to all its players.

How does your recovery look like?

I like to take active rest or power nap after my training session. I don’t feel good if can’t take rest. I also feel eating food at the right time post a training session lets you recover well.

Time trail or hill climbing? What’s your favourite and why?

To be honest, I like both. As most of the selections are based on Time-Trial, I have to spend quite a lot of time on my TT bike. I have special love for mountains, they attract me a lot. I find myself more concentrated and focused on mountains.

Tell us everything about Ciclo Team Racing?

“Ciclo Team Racing” is the first elite racing team in the country. The Team is based in Chennai. The team owners, Ashish and Bachi are very supportive and started this team with this idea to promote cycling not only in the country but also internationally. The team supporting it’s athletes with all the latest equipment and training & racing exposure in and outside the country.

Currently, team Ciclo has two elite athletes including Naveen John and me and two young talented development riders- Srinath & Gagan. Both of them are very hard working and looking for the podium at Nationals this year.

Any message you want to give cyclist in India who are looking to go Pro?

My message for upcoming athletes is to be realistic of goals, have patience and achieve goals step by step. Life of a sportsman is not easy, it takes a lot of sacrifices and discipline. And definitely work/train with someone who has deep knowledge into the sport.

Special Thanks to Arvind Panwar

https://www.velocrushindia.com/interview-with-arvind-panwar-ciclo-team-racing/

Abhinas Ruidas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Abhinas RuidasPersonal information

Date of birth 12 September 1995

Place of birth Budge Budge, West Bengal, India

Playing position(s) Left Winger

Club information

Current team TRAU

Youth career

Mohun Bagan

Bhawanipore

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2014–2017 East Bengal 22 (1)

2016 Atlético de Kolkata (loan) 7 (0)

2017–18 Mumbai City FC 11 (0)

2018-19 Mohun Bagan 5 (0)

2019- TRAU 0 (0)

National team‡

2015– India U23 3 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 03 September 2019

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 09:39, 1 April 2015 (UTC)

Abhinas Ruidas is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a Left winger for TRAU in the I-League.

Career

East Bengal

Ruidas then made his professional debut on 18 January 2015 in East Bengal's first match of the I-League season against Sporting Goa. He started the match and played 72 minutes as East Bengal drew the match 1–1.He then scored his first professional goal for East Bengal in the team's next game against reigning I-League champions Bengaluru FC. His 53rd-minute strike at the Salt Lake Stadium was the sole goal in a 1–0 victory.

International

Abinash debuted for the India U23s against Uzbekistan U23s on 27 March 2015 in an AFC U-23 qualifier in Dhaka's Bangabandhu National Stadium.

Alesh Sawant

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Alesh SawantPersonal information

Date of birth 27 November 1994

Place of birth India

Playing position(s) Midfielder

Club information

Current team Churchill Brothers

Number 21

Alesh Sawant (born 27 November 1994) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Churchill Brothers S.C. in the I-League.

Career

Churchill Brothers

Sawant joined Churchill Brothers S.C. as a youth player from Brasil Futebol Academia in 2012. Sawant then made his professional debut for the first-team on 21 September 2013 in the I-League season opener against Salgaocar F.C. at the Duler Stadium in which he started and played 65 minutes before being replaced by Micky Fernandes as Churchill Brothers lost the match 0–1.

Ankur Diwakar

Ankur Diwakar

Born April 19, 1991

Mumbai, India

Nationality Indian

Other names JauntyTank

Occupation Esports Athlete

(born April 19, 1991) better known by his alias Jauntytank, is an Indian Professional eSports athlete. He is the winner of UCypher MTV India Season 1 tournament in India. He represented India in Asian Games 2018 and is the current South Asian Champion. He's a gaming veteran with many major championships and continues to educate others in esports.

Early life

Ankur Diwakar was born in Mumbai, India. Early on in his life he started playing FIFA on PlayStation One (FIFA 02) which spiked his interest in the gaming. He played volleyball for his high school, where he won many inter-school championships with his team. He also played professional football in MDFA for a season.

Esports career

Widely known for his prodigious achievements in Indian eSports, he continues to amaze the gaming community and the non-gamers alike. He specialises in FIFA, but like a cricketer switching formats, he also plays Pro Evolution Soccer and other games on consoles. He's also known as the 'The Most Versatile Pro Gamer' in India, by winning 3 majors in 3 different games in one year. Ankur Diwakar bursted into the Pro scene with a splash of headlines in 2007, with his mission to put India on the global map. He started dominating the local scene and soon he became a national sensation. After few years, his achievements did the talking & started headlining newspapers.

MTV UCypher

Diwakar was the winner of MTV India Ucypher Season 1. This was India's first televised multi-platform, multi-game, Esports tournament where six veteran teams competed over a prize pool of Rs. 51 lakhs.

Awards and honors

Esports (Latest)

2018 MTV India UCypher Season 1 Winner.

Indian Representative at Asian Games 2018 (eSports) Indian Team

South Asian Champion PES 2018

Aakarshi Kashyap

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aakarshi Kashyap

Personal information

Country India

Born 24 August 2001

Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)

Weight 60 kg (132 lb)

Women's singles

Highest ranking 104 (17 March 2020)

Current ranking 104 (17 March 2020)

Medal record

Women's badminton

Representing India

2019 Kathmandu-Pokhara Women's team

Aakarshi Kashyap (born 24 August 2001) is an Indian badminton player. She has been selected to be part of the India at the 2018 Asian Games. She was part of the national women's team that won the gold medal in 2019 South Asian Games.

Ashwini Nachappa

Ashwini Nachappa is an Olympian of extraordinary talent. This is the story of how she outran PT Usha twice in the span of two weeks.

By Team Bridge

Throughout India’s illustrious history when it comes to athletics, there have been some moments which are especially memorable; moments that ultimately went down in history as landmarks in time. This is a story of one such moment- a moment when two Indian Olympians – PT Usha and Ashwini Nachappa met on the National circuit. This is the story of a moment that stunned the sporting world of India once.

The Indian FloJo

Ashwini Nachappa was a noticeable figure on the track long before that fateful race in 1991. Fondly known as the Indian FloJo- after the beautiful American Olympic champion Florence-Griffith Joyner, she was hailed as one of the most glamorous figures in athletics with names like Shiny Wilson and PT Usha providing stiff competition for her.

The flamboyant way in which she carried herself drew the eyes of spectators both on home soil and away. But in 1991, Ashwini had given her admirers a different reason to adore her.

As a 9-year old growing up in Karnataka’s Kodagu district, Ashwini’s tryst with athletics began on the track instead of the field when she first took up long jump. She shifted to track soon after. Early on in her career, in 1985, Ashwini finished second to PT Usha both in 100m and 200m at the Chennai Inter State Championship. But that was soon about to change.

The first instance came in the Open National Championship at New Delhi where she ran a classic 200m race to dethrone the Payyoli Express to the second place. Ashwini registered a timing of 24.07s while Usha could clock 24.12s.

India’s FloJo had already had a remarkable career when she met PT Usha in the track again in the 1990 Open Nationals. She represented the country in almost every big sporting event like the Olympics, World Cup, World Championship, Asian Games, Asian Championships and SAF Games.

Not only that, she had also made several appearances on India’s silver screen which had all been met with wide appreciation and critical acclaim.

But then, there comes a turning point in every career, something they are best remembered for. For Ashwini Nachappa, it was the year 1990 which deserves a special mention in her sporting career. It was the year she got the better of PT Usha twice.

Barely two weeks later at the Permit Meet in New Delhi, she again defeated Usha. Thus she became the first Indian sprinter to beat Usha twice in a year.

Ashwini Nachappa beyond the track

Ashwini Nachappa is an Olympian of extraordinary talent. That is something that hardly needs saying. Despite retiring from competitive athletics in 1991, her association with the sport has not ended. That very year, she starred in a biopic of her life.

Currently, she is an active member of the Clean Sports initiative which is an organisation aiming to address the problem of drug use among athletes and facilitate better management of Olympic sports in India.

It’s always nice when athletes take a stand to give back something to their sport even after they have stopped actively competing.

Ashwini Nachappa may have risen to prominence for defeating PT Usha twice within a span of 2 weeks but this Olympian is so much more than that.

Arjun Halappa

From Wikipedia

Arjun Halappa

Personal information

Born 13 December 1980

Somwarpet, Kodagu

Karnataka, India

Height 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)

Playing position Forward

Senior career

Years Team Apps (Gls)

Air India

2005–2008 Bangalore Hi-Fliers

2012–present Karnataka Lions 12 (3)

2015–present Dabang Mumbai 2 (0)

National team

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2001–present India 250+

Arjun Halappa (Kannada:ಅರ್ಜುನ್ ಹಾಲಪ್ಪ) (born 13 December 1980) is a professional Indian hockey player and former captain of Indian Hockey Team.

Career

Midfield maestro Arjun Halappa is the son of former East Bengal Hockey Club player B. K. Halappa,

He hails from Kodagu (Coorg) District, Karnataka. He joined the Centre of Excellence in 1998 and a year later played his first Senior Nationals at Hyderabad, and was picked among the 72 probables for a conditioning camp. He made his junior international debut in the Europe tour same year under coaches C.R. Kumar and Harendera. He posted eight goals in the 2000 Junior Asia Cup.

He made his international debut for the Men's National Team in March 2001 against Egypt in the Prime Minister's Gold Cup. Halappa represented India at the 2004 Summer Olympics, where India finished in seventh place. He represented India at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, where India finished in second place.

Personal life

He married Bhavana on 12 October 2008 at Somwarpet, Kodagu.

Aadnya Borkar

From Wikipedia

Aadnya Borkar

Borkar in 2004.

Personal information

Country represented

India

Born

15 September 1987

ISU personal best scores

Combined total

29.29

2004 JGP Germany

Short program

11.23

2004 JGP Germany

Free skate

18.73

2005 JGP Canada

Aadnya Borkar (born 15 September 1987 in Mumbai, India), is an Indian figure skater currently living and practicing in Oman. She is coached by Michael Fernandes. Borkar is the 2005-2006 Indian national champion and has competed internationally for three seasons on the Junior Grand Prix. She formerly studied in Indian School, Al Wadi Al Kabir in Oman.

Abhishek Ambekar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Abhishek AmbekarPersonal information

Full name Abhishek Ambekar

Date of birth 11 August 1991

Place of birth Santacruz, Mumbai, India

Position(s) winger/wingback

Club information

Current team East Bengal

Number 27

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2012–2013 Air India 3 (0)

2013–2014 Mumbai Tigers 0 (0)

2014–2015 Mumbai FC 0 (0)

2017–2018 Minerva Punjab 17 (0)

2018–2019 Mohun Bagan 15 (0)

2019–2021 East Bengal 22 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12:51, 16 December 2020 (UTC)

Abhishek Ambekar (born 11 August 1991) is an Indian footballer who currently plays as a Wing back for East Bengal in the Indian Super League.

Career

Early career

He began playing football in school, Smt. Sulochanadevi Singhania School, Thane and represented his school team and his college and state team later. He was roped into the Air India FC under-19 team, coached by former Indian player Godfrey Pereira, who is also from Santacruz.

Air India

The winger eventually graduated to Air India's senior team. Ambekar made his debut for Air India FC of the I-League on 7 October 2012 coming on as a 54th-minute substitute for Ong Lepcha; Air India lost 5–1.

Career pitfalls

Air India FC couldn't play in the I-League further as it didn't satisfy the Asian Football Confederation norms, according to the All India Football Federation. But this didn't hinder Ambekar's career as he joined the newly-floated Mumbai Tigers, which had players like Steven Dias, Paresh Shivalkar under coach Bimal Ghosh, who helped Ambekar improve his game. But the club also couldn't survive for long. He joined Mumbai FC and later got a job with the Reserve Bank of India. The job rules didn't allow him to play at the professional level but he preferred RBI as it offered job security. During that time he played for Maharashtra in Santosh Trophy.

Later Ambekar was handed a lifeline by RBI, who agreed to release players and encouraged sportspersons to continue playing. It was what he had been waiting for. At the cost of risking his progress at work, Ambekar started sniffing at opportunities to play in the big leagues again. That chance came at fledgling side Minerva, who had finished 9th of 10 teams on their I-League debut last season.

Minerva Punjab

In 2017 he joined Minerva Punjab. He made his debut for Minerva on 25 November 2017 in I-League match against Mohun Bagan at Guru Nanak Stadium, Ludhiana as he played full match and his team drew the match 1-1. He became an inevitable ingredient of the side which eventually won the silverware. The I-League title triumph gave Ambekar's CV a necessary kick which was missing earlier in his career

Ashwini Ponnappa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ashwini Ponnappa

Ashwini in 2010

Personal information

Country India

Born 18 September 1989

Bangalore, Karnataka, India

Residence Hyderabad, India

Height 1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)

Weight 60 kg (132 lb)

Years active 2007–present

Handedness Right

Women's & mixed doubles

Highest ranking 10 (WD 20 August 2015)

21 (XD 6 December 2018)

Current ranking 29 (WD), 19 (XD) (2 February 2021)

Women's badminton

Representing India

World Championships

2011 London Women's doubles

Uber Cup

2014 New Delhi Women's team

2016 Kunshan Women's team

Commonwealth Games

2018 Gold Coast Mixed team

2010 Delhi Women's doubles

2014 Glasgow Women's doubles

2010 Delhi Mixed team

2018 Gold Coast Women's doubles

Asian Games

2014 Incheon Women's team

Asian Championships

2014 Gimcheon Women's doubles

South Asian Games

2010 Dhaka Mixed doubles

2010 Dhaka Women's team

2016 Guwahati-Shillong Women's doubles

2016 Guwahati-Shillong Women's team

2010 Dhaka Women's doubles

2016 Guwahati-Shillong Mixed doubles

BWF profile

Ashwini Ponnappa Machimanda (born 18 September 1989) is an Indian badminton player who represents the country at the international badminton circuit in both the women's and mixed doubles disciplines. She had a successful partnership with Jwala Gutta as the pair has won many medals in international events including a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games and bronze medals at the Uber Cup and the Asian Badminton Championships. They were consistently ranked among the top 20 in the BWF World Ranking reaching as high as no. 10. Ponnappa and Gutta also won the bronze medal at the BWF World Championships in 2011, becoming the first Indian pair and women and only the second overall to win a medal at the World Championships.

Early life

Ashwini Ponnappa was born on 18 September 1989 in Bangalore. She was educated at St. Francis Xavier Girls High School, Bangalore and at St. Mary's College, Hyderabad. Her father played hockey for India. However Ashwini preferred badminton over hockey and started training in badminton.

Career

In 2001, Ashwini Ponnappa won her first national title in 2004 in the sub-junior girls' doubles category. She also won the national title in sub-junior girls' doubles in 2005, and the Junior girls' doubles National title in 2006 and 2007. She won the gold medal in mixed doubles and the team events at the South Asian Games held in 2010. In the 2010 Commonwealth Games, she won the gold medal in Women's Doubles event pairing with Jwala Gutta, making history by winning the first gold medal for India in the event. Gutta and Ponnappa became household names after winning the medal in front of home crowd.

Later on in 2011 they came up with one of their finest performances when she and Gutta etched their names in history books becoming the first Indian pair to ensure a medal at the World Badminton Championships. The pair defeated 12th seeds Vita Marrisa and Nadya Melati of Indonesia 17–21, 21–10, 21–17 to storm into the women's doubles semifinal before losing out to Chinese fifth seeds in the semis in London, thereby winning a bronze in the Badminton World Championship.

She participated in the women's doubles at the 2012 London Olympics. Ponnappa and Gutta lost their opening women's doubles match against the Japanese duo of Mizuki Fujii and Reika Kakiiwa. They then went on to beat much higher ranked Wen Hsing Cheng and Yu Chin Chien of Chinese Taipei 25–23, 16–21, 21–18 to register their first win in the group stages. Jwala and Ashwini missed out on a quarterfinal berth by a difference of just one point, even though they beat Shinta Mulia Sari and Lei Yao of Singapore 21-16 21–15 in their last group B match, after tying with Japan and Taipei on the number of wins. Prior to India's final group game on Tuesday night, the World number five Japanese pair of Mizuki Fujii and Reika Kakiiwa had shockingly lost to Chinese Taipei's Cheng Wen Hsing and Chien Yu Chin, ranked 10th, 19-21 11–21. India lodged a formal protest with the Games organizers to probe if the women's doubles badminton match involving Japan and Chinese Taipei was played in the right spirit, following the elimination of medal hopes Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa but no action was taken. Following the Olympic Games Jwala went to a temporary sabbatical from the game. Ponnappa then partnered Pradnya Gadre for a brief period of time in 2013 and then re-united with Jwala later in the year. At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Ponnappa and Gutta won the silver medal in the women's doubles, losing to a Malaysian pair in the final. On 29 June 2015, playing with Jwala, they won the Canada Open women's doubles title by defeating the top-seeded Dutch pair of Eefje Muskens and Selena Piek. She competed with Gutta at the 2016 Olympics, but they lost all three of their group stage matches and therefore did not progress further. At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Ponnappa was part of the Indian team which won gold in the mixed team event, and won bronze with N. Sikki Reddy in the women's doubles.

Personal life

On 24 December 2017, she married businessman and model Karan Medappa.

Aparna Balan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aparna Balan

Personal information

Country India

Born 9 August 1986

Kozhikode, Kerala, India

Height 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)

Handedness Right

Women's & mixed doubles

Highest ranking 26 (WD 1 July 2010)

41 (XD 20 November 2014)

Women's badminton

Representing India

Uber Cup

2014 New Delhi Women's team

2010 Delhi Mixed team

2004 Islamabad Women's team

2006 Colombo Women's team

2010 Dhaka Women's doubles

2010 Dhaka Women's team

2006 Colombo Women's doubles

2006 Colombo Mixed doubles

2010 Dhaka Mixed doubles

Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame

2002 Kuala Lumpur Girls' team

BWF profile

Aparna Balan (born 9 August 1986) is an Indian badminton player from Kozhikode, Kerala. She was part of the national team that won the silver medal in 2010 Commonwealth Games, also gold medals in 2004, 2006 and 2010 South Asian Games. She is 6 times National Champion in mixed doubles and 3 times National Champion in women's doubles. She represented India in many international badminton tournaments.

Career

In 2006, she won the national mixed doubles title partnering with V. Diju. At the same year, she competed at the 2006 South Asian Games and won two silver medals in the women's and mixed doubles event. In 2010 South Asian Games, Balan won the women's doubles gold with Shruti Kurien and mixed doubles silver with Sanave Thomas.

Major National Achievements

National champion in mixed doubles 2006

National champion in mixed doubles 2007

National champion in women doubles 2011

National champion in mixed doubles 2012

National champion in women doubles 2012

National champion in mixed doubles 2013

National champion in mixed doubles 2014

National champion in mixed doubles 2015

National champion in mixed doubles 2016

National champion in women doubles 2017

National games 2015 mixed doubles gold

Premier Badminton League 2016 winners

Bula Choudhury

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bula Choudhury

Choudhury in 2004

Born January 2, 1970

Hugli, West Bengal, India

Awards Padma Shri

Arjuna Award

Bula Choudhury (born 2 January 1970, Hugli, India) is an Arjuna awardee, Padma shri awardee, former India national women's swimming champion and elected as MLA from 2006 To 2011 in West Bengal state of India.

Swimming career

Her first national competition, at age nine, she dominated her age group by winning six gold medals in six events. She continued to improve, winning various junior and national championships, as well as six gold medals at the 1991 South Asian Federation Games. She went to her first nationals, at the age of 12, which is an all-time record. This also guaranteed her a place in the relay quartet for the Brisbane Commonwealth Games as well as a prominent place on the list of Asiad probables.

In 1984 she set a national 100m butterfly record of 1:06.19 sec. During the Seoul Asian Games in 1986, she created a record of 1:05.27 sec in 100m butterfly and another record of 2:19.60 sec in 200m butterfly. Choudhury started long-distance swimming in 1989 and crossed the English Channel that year. She won the 81-km (50- mile) Murshidabad Long Distance Swim in 1996, and in 1999 she crossed the English Channel again. In August, 2004, she set this record by swimming across the Palk Straits from Talaimannar in Sri Lanka to Dhanushkodi in Tamil Nadu in nearly 14 hours.

She became the first woman to have swum across sea channels off five continents in 2005 —including the Strait of Gibraltar, the Tyrrhenian Sea, Cook Strait, Toroneos Gulf (Gulf of Kassándra) in Greece, the Catalina Channel off the California coast, and from Three Anchor Bay to Robben Island near Cape Town, South Africa. She created a record for swimming the 30 km track in 3 hours & 26 minutes. She is now is planning to establish a swimming academy in Kolkata.

Awards and distinctions

First woman to cross seven seas.

Twice swam the English Channel first in 1989 and again in 1999.

Arjuna Award in 1990.

Padma Shri award.

Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award 2002

Barkha Sonkar

At first glance, Barkha Sonkar is the exact opposite of what you would expect a dominating basketball player to look like. She’s short (only five feet three inches), she’s quiet, and she’s permanently laced with a non-threatening smile that strikes no form of trepidation whatsoever in her opponents.

That is, until, she steps out on the court.

On Tuesday, the first day of the Junior National Basketball Championship at the Thyagraj Stadium in New Delhi, I watched Barkha play for the first time in over a year. That is because the 15-year-old has spent the last year as one of the eight Indian hoopsters chosen for a scholarship at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida (USA), where she is being coached to reach her incredible potential as a young basketball star. Back in India for the Summer, Barkha has spent the last few weeks at camp with the Indian Youth team at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in Delhi. When the Junior championships tipped off, she was invited by the coach of her home state – Uttar Pradesh – to represent them in the U18 tournament.

With no practice or preparation with her squad, Barkha, the youngest one in the UP U18 Girls’ side, took the helm as the team’s point guard, emotional leader, primary scorer, shot-creator, defensive-hustler, and the motor that controlled the team’s offense. She finished with 24 points in a 56-48 win against Orissa.

So what keeps this motor running? Why was this unassuming little girl from Varanasi, the daughter of a humble car mechanic, chosen into an exclusive group of youngsters by the IMG Academy coaches for the scholarship? How has she become the point guard for IMG’s competitive Youth team? How did she dominate various Youth-level tournaments in America, and how does she manage to dominate a game as by far the youngest one on court back at the Junior Nationals in India?

I guess the most important question here is: At 15, and with all the odds stacked against her, how does Barkha Sonkar handle the pressure?

Barkha answers by recalling her early days as a quiet, young Indian girl, whose world was completely shaken and stirred when she was relocated from a small basti in Varanasi to the world’s finest multi-sport academy in Florida, where she had to improve her English, get good grades in school, find her way around away from home in a completely different and sometimes daunting new culture, and still fulfill her primary objective for being there: improve on the basketball court. It was a challenge at first, she said, and the confident girl who first left India a year ago came across a nervy few roadblocks in her early days at IMG.

“I used to make a lot of mistakes initially,” said Barkha, “The other Indian girls in the group (Saumya Babbar of Delhi, Kavita Akula and Pooja Ambistha of Chhattisgarh) and I were very scared.”

A sponge for constructive criticism, Barkha quickly gained confidence and began to mend her mental roadblocks. “The coaches there helped me improve my confidence,” she said, “And the Senior girls also told me to not be afraid and play my natural game. I stopped being afraid. I let the mistakes happen, and with time, the mistakes went away.”

She has improved her game dramatically in several different facets. She’s a better long-range shooter now, a more efficient passer of the ball, and a more vocal leader on the court. Add all that to her breathtakingly fast pace and ability to attack the basket, and it’s no surprise anymore that this short point guard can become a devastating weapon for any team. But it is her fearlessness that has given her the edge over so many others of her age group (and older), from inter-school tournaments in America to inter-state championships in India.

It’s a good sign of ‘handling pressure’ when someone answers that their toughest moment was also their finest: for Barkha, this moment came earlier this year with the IMG Academy Team during an U16 tournament featuring teams from several schools and other academies at New York. Barkha put up a gritty performance in this highly-competitive tournament that earned her the ‘best player’ status, even though IMG lost in the Final.

Having competed in this and in several other high-pressure situations in the US, Barkha admits that she has discovered how to play with a cool head even in the toughest of games. And with a confident, carefree, and dominant first performance at the National Championships in Delhi, Barkha showed that her young age and small size wasn’t going to stop her from leaving an indelible mark in the competition.

“Barkha is an outstanding part of this team,” said the Uttar Pradesh coach, Askan Rai, “She is a great ball-handler and leads our team. She has improved our play from all angles and raised the confidence of everyone in our team.”

It will be Barkha’s performance in the next few games where she will truly be tested. Uttar Pradesh are a relatively weaker side overall, placed in Level II in these championships. For lower-ranked sides, they have to beat more, tougher opponents to move on to the knockout phase. Orissa was an easier challenge, but UP are now set to hosts Delhi and the talented Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu sides in their next few games.

“We have a good team,” Barkha says, “It will be tough but I think we can do well. We can hope to reach at least as far as the Semi-Final stage of this championship – from there onwards, we shall see how it goes.”

After the Junior Nationals are over, Barkha will return to practice under Coach Shiba Maggon, who has been working with the Indian National Youth Probables, which will determine the team that will represent India at the 2nd FIBA Asia U16 Championship for Girls in Urumqui (China) from October 5-12, 2011. Unsurprisingly, the determined young Barkha is more than ready for an opportunity to represent India at this tournament.

From basketball tournaments in Florida and New York, and championships around India, and then competition with the best of her level in Asia, Barkha continues to boast the same confidence to help her succeed at each level. Don’t be fooled by the unassuming first impression: that same small, friendly face will one day be the future of the point guard position for India.

Bijoy Barman

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bijoy Barman

Born 1 December 1928

Sport

Sport Swimming

Strokes Backstroke

Bijoy Barman (born 1 December 1928) is an Indian former swimmer. He competed in the men's 100 metre backstroke and the water polo tournament at the 1952 Summer Olympics.

Bimal Lakra

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bimal LakraPersonal information

Born 4 May 1980 (age 38)

Simdega, Jharkhand, India

Playing position Midfielder

National team

Years Team Apps (Gls)

India

Last updated on: 25 July 2016

Bimal Lakra (born 4 May 1980) is a former Indian field hockey player who played as a midfielder for national team. He was part of the team that won the silver medal at the 2002 Asian Games.

Lakra's younger brother Birendra Lakra and younger sister Asunta Lakra have also represented India in field hockey.

Birendra Lakra

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Birendra Lakra

Born February 3, 1990

Rourkela, Odisha, India

Height 167 cm (5 ft 6 in)

Weight 68 kg (150 lb)

Playing position Fullback

Senior career

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2012–present Chandigarh Comets

BPCL

–2008 Orissa Steelers

2013–2014 Ranchi Rhinos 15 (0)

2015–present Ranchi Rays

National team

Years Team Apps (Gls)

–present India 71 (7)

Medal record

Men’s Field Hockey

Representing India

Hockey World League

2015 Raipur

Asian Games

2014 Incheon Team

Champions Trophy

2018 Breda

Commonwealth Games

2014 Glasgow Team

Sultan Azlan Shah Cup

2012 Malaysia Team

Last updated on: 8 December 2015

Birendra Lakra (born 3 February 1990) is an Indian professional field hockey player. He represented India in Men's Hockey during the 2012 London Olympics. Lakra's elder brother Bimal has played as a midfielder for India. His sister Asunta Lakra has played for India's women's hockey team and has captained the side.Personal life

Birendra Lakra was born on 3 February 1990 in village Lachchada, Sundargarh District of Odisha. He was born to the Oraon tribe family in a small village of Lachhada in odisha in the border of Jharkand.

Career

Birendra Lakra is a player of the Rourkela Steel Plant's SAIL Hockey Academy. Included in the Indian junior team for the first time for Singapore tour in 2007. He represented India in the Test series against South Africa in 2012, the Champions Challenge tournament in South Africa in 2011, the SAAF Games at Dhaka in 2010, at the Youth Olympics at Sydney in 2009, at the Junior World Cup at Singapore in 2009.

He scored the first goal in India's stupendous victory in the final game of the Olympic Hockey Qualifying Tournament against France. He played a key role in taking India in to the semifinals of 2012 Champions trophy. India defeated Belgium with the help of a single goal that was produced by the magical pass given by Birendra Lakra to the forward. With this India entered the semifinals of champions trophy after eight long years.

Hockey India League

In the auction of the inaugural Hockey India League season, Lakra was bought by the Ranchi franchise for US$41,000 with his base price being US$9,250. The Ranchi team was named Ranchi Rhinos. The team finished first in the inaugural season and third in the 2014 season. Following disputes between the franchise and Hockey India, the team decided to pull out, after which Lakra signed with the Ranchi Rays franchise from the 2015 season.

बाइचुंग भूटिया (Bhaichung Bhutia)

Jivani.org

बाइचुंग भूटिया जन्म 15 दिसम्बर, 1976

बाइचुंग भूटिया ने सर्वप्रथम 11 वर्ष की आयु में ताशी नांगियाल अकादमी, गंगटोक में भाग लेने के लिए साई स्कालरशिप जीती । उसकी उच्चतर माध्यमिक शिक्षा ताशी नांगियाल से हुई । उसने सिक्किम में अनेक स्कूल व क्लब प्रतियोगिताओं में बचपन से ही हिस्सा लिया । 1991 में सुब्रोतो कप में किया गया उसका अच्छा प्रदर्शन उन्हें प्रकाश में लाया और उसे आगे बढ़ने का मौका मिला । इस खेल में उसे सर्वश्रेष्ठ खिलाड़ी घोषित किया गया ।

उसका खेलने का उच्च स्तर तब पता लगा जब वह ‘सिक्किम गवर्नर कोल्ड कप टूर्नामेंट में 1991 में सिक्किम ब्लूज का सदस्य था । तब वह मात्र 17 वर्ष का था लेकिन पुरुषों की प्रतियोगिता में हिस्सा ले रहा था ।

1993 में अपनी स्‍कूली शिक्षा को छोड़ बाइचुंग कलकत्‍ता के ईस्‍ट बंगाल फुटबॉल क्‍लब में शामिल हो गए। 1999 में बाइचुंग ने व्‍यवसायिक फुटबॉल के लिए यूरोप का रूख किया। तकरीबन तीन साल विदेशी क्‍लबों के लिए खेलने के बाद भूटिया भारत लौट आए। बाइचुंग ने प्रमुखत: मोहन बगान और ईस्‍ट बंगाल के लिए मैच खेले हैं। वे भारतीय फुटबॉल टीम के सबसे विख्‍यात फुटबॉलर हैं।

खेलों के अलावा भूटिया 2009 में डांस रियेलिटी शो झलक दिखला में भी भाग ले चुके हैं।

कॅरियर

उनका खेलने का उच्च स्तर तब पता लगा, जब वह ‘सिक्किम गवर्नर कोल्ड कप टूर्नामेंट में 1991 में सिक्किम ब्लूज के सदस्य बने। तब वह मात्र 17 वर्ष के थे, लेकिन पुरुषों की प्रतियोगिता में हिस्सा ले रहे थे। 1993 में बाइचुंग ने मात्र 16 वर्ष की आयु में स्कूल छोड़ दिया और अच्छी व्यावसायिक ट्रेनिंग के लिए ईस्ट इंडिया क्लब में शामिल हो गये। 1995 में बाइचुंग ने जे.सी.टी. मिल्स, फगवाड़ा की टीम में शामिल होने का फैसला लिया और उनका यह निर्णय सही साबित हुआ, जब इस टीम ने इस वर्ष का राष्ट्रीय फ़ुटबॉल लीग मैच जीत लिया। बाइचुंग इस लीग मैच में सबसे बड़े स्कोरर थे। अत: उनका चयन ‘नेहरू कप’ में खेलने के लिए भी आसानी से हो गया।

संतोष ट्राफी के वक्त वह 5 वर्ष तक बंगाल टीम के सदस्य रहे। 1989-1999 में वह ईस्ट बंगाल क्लब के कैप्टेन बने। उन्होंने भारत का प्रतिनिधित्व प्रि-ओलंपिक, विश्व के क्वालीफाइंग मैचों में, नेहरू कप, एशियन खेलों में तथा सैफ खेलों में किया है। 1999 में उन्हें वर्ष का सर्वश्रेष्ठ खिलाड़ी घोषित किया गया था। 1996 में भी बाइचुंग भूटिया को ‘वर्ष का भारतीय खिलाड़ी’ चुना गया था। भूटिया ने अन्य अनेक पुरस्कार भी प्राप्त किए हैं।

1997 में वह पुन: ईस्ट बंगाल टीम में वापस आ गये और 1998-1999 के लिए टीम के कप्तान बना दिये गए। बाइचुंग ने 35 से अधिक गोल दागे हैं और इस प्रकार अन्तरराष्ट्रीय स्तर पर भारतीय खेल को नई दिशा प्रदान की है। 1999 में वह ”बरी फ़ुटबॉल कप” खेलने के लिए मानचेस्टर, इंग्लैंड के लिए भी रवाना हुए थे।

मलेशिया में वापसी

2005 में, भूटिया ने एक और मलेशियाई क्लब, सेलेगर एमके लैंड के लिए हस्ताक्षर किए। क्लब की तंगहाली की वजह उन्होंने केवल पांच बार मैच खेले और एक गोल दागा। इससे पहले, उन्हें होम यूनाइटेड के मैनेजर स्टीव डार्बी से एक ऑफर मिला, लेकिन उन्होंने प्रस्ताव को अस्वीकार कर दिया। बाद में डार्बी ने यह खुलासा किया कि वे भूटिया को साथ लाने में इसलिए असफल रहे, क्योंकि उन्होंने जो पेशकश की थी वो उस समय भारत में जो उन्हें मिल रहा था उससे कम था

15 जून 2006 को, वह मोहन बागान से जुड़ गए और उन्होंने जोस रैमिरेज़ बैरेटो के साथ एक आक्रमक साझेदारी की शुरूवात की। हालांकि, 2006-07 का सत्र भूटिया और मोहन बागान के लिए खराब था, क्योंकि वे लीग में आठवें स्थान पर रहे थे, निष्कासन से एक क़दम दूर। 2007-08 सीज़न (लीग को अब आई-लीग के रूप में जाना जाता है) के दौरान, भूटिया ने 18 मैचों में 10 गोल किये और मोहन बागान ने चौथे स्थान के साथ लीग में थोड़ा बेहतर प्रदर्शन किया। भूटिया ने 2008 में दूसरी बार भारतीय खिलाड़ी का खिताब जीता था। पुरस्कार जीतने में, वह एक बार से अधिक बार जीतने वाले वह केवल दूसरे फुटबॉल खिलाड़ी बन गए; पहले हैं आइ॰ एम॰ विजयन। 2008-09 के मौसम में, लगातार 10-मैच जीतने के बावजूद, मोहन बागान ने चर्चिल ब्रदर्स के पीछे दूसरा स्थान हासिल किया क्योंकि महिंद्रा यूनाइटेड के साथ आख़री मैच में हार गए। भूटिया ने इस सीजन में छह गोल किए।

पुरस्कार

भारतीय फुटबाल टीम में फारवर्ड के स्थान पर खेलने वाले बाइचुंग की मुख्य उपलब्धियां इस प्रकार हैं –

सुब्रोतो कप का वह सर्वश्रेष्ठ खिलाड़ी बना ।

1997 में जे.सी.टी. के प्रथम राष्ट्रीय लीग मैच के विजेता | इसमें सर्वाधिक स्कोर बाइचुंग का रहा |

1999 में सैफ (SAFF), नेपाल में विजेता, सर्वाधिक स्कोर |

1999 में सैफ (SAFF), गोवा में विजेता, सर्वाधिक स्कोर |

मई 1999 में माह के एशियाई खिलाड़ी घोषित (प्लेयर आफ द मंथ) |

1999 में ‘अर्जुन पुरस्कार’ से सम्मानित |

1995 में नेहरु कप टूर्नामेंट में भारत के लिए गोल दागने वाला सबसे कम उम्र का खिलाड़ी बना । यह मैच उज्बेकिस्तान के विरुद्ध खेला गया |

1995 से कलकत्ता सुपर डिवीजन का सर्वश्रेष्ठ-खिलाड़ी घोषित | इसमें वह टॉप स्कोरर रहा ।

1999 में बाइचुंग वर्ष का सर्वश्रेष्ठ भारतीय खिलाड़ी घोषित |

1999 में सिक्किम राज्य पुरस्कार दिया गया ।

अक्टूबर 1999 के फुटबाल लीग में खेलने वाला भारत में जन्मा प्रथम भारतीय खिलाड़ी |

अप्रैल 2000 के फुटबाल लीग में स्कोर बनाने वाला भारत में जन्मा प्रथम भारतीय खिलाड़ी बना |

Bhaichung Bhutia

Bio/WikiNickname Sikkimese Sniper

Profession Footballer

Physical Stats & More

Height (approx.) in centimeters- 173 cm

in meters- 1.73 m

in Feet Inches- 5’ 8”

Weight (approx.) in Kilograms- 67 kg

in Pounds- 147 lbs

Body Measurements (approx.) - Chest: 42 inches

- Waist: 32 inches

- Biceps: 15 inches

Eye Colour Black

Hair Colour Black

Career

Debut Club- 1993 for East-Bengal FC International- On 10 March 1995 against Thailand

Retirement Club- 2015 International- 24 August 2011

Jersey Number 15

Position Striker

Foot Right

Coach/Mentor Karma Bhutia (His Uncle)

Clubs Managed United Sikkim (2012), Sikkim

Records (main ones)/Achievements • In the 1996-97 season, playing for the JCT FC, Bhutia was the top goal-scorer.

• In 1996, he was named Indian Player of the Year.

• In 1997, playing for East Bengal FC, Bhutia scored his first hat-trick against Mohun Bagan.

• Playing for East Bengal in the 2005-06 season, he was awarded the "Player of the National Football League" by the All India Football Federation (AIFF).

Awards • Arjuna Award for Football (1998)

• Padma Shri (2008)

• Banga Bhushan (2014)

Career Turning Point In 1997, when he scored a hat-trick against Mohun Bagan

Personal Life

Date of Birth 15 December 1976

Age (as in 2018) 42 Years

Birthplace Tinkitam, Sikkim, India

Zodiac sign/Sun sign Sagittarius

Nationality Indian

Hometown Tinkitam, Sikkim

School St. Xaviers School, Pakyong, East Sikkim

College/University Not Known

Educational Qualification Not Known

Religion Athiest

Food Habit Non-Vegetarian

Political Inclination Hamro Sikkim Party

Hobbies Playing Basketball, Dancing

Relationships & More

Marital Status Divorced

Marriage Date 30 December 2004

Family

Wife/Spouse Madhuri Tipnis (2004-2015) Hotel Professional

Children Son- Ugen Kalzang Bhutia Daughters- Samara Dechen Bhutia, Keisha Dolkar Bhutia

Parents Father- Dorji Dorma Mother- Sonam Topden

Siblings Brothers- Bom Bom Bhutia, Chewang Bhutia Sister- Cali

Favourite Things

Favourite Football Club(s) Arsenal and Barcelona

Favourite Football Players Thierry Henry, Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho

Style Quotient

Car Collection Audi

Money Factor

Net Worth (approx.) ₹17 Crore (as per 2016)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Bhaichung Bhutia

Does Bhaichung Bhutia smoke?: No

Does Bhaichung Bhutia drink alcohol?: Not Known

At the age of 14, he joined the Boys Club in Gangtok where his uncle Karma Bhutia was the chief coach.

Bhutia received football training at Sikkim’s Tashi Namgyal Academy before a stint at SAI Gangtok. He was given the best player in the 1992 Subroto Cup. Former India goalkeeper Bhaskar Ganguly noticed his talent and helped him make the transition to Calcutta football.

Bhaskar Ganguly

At the age of 16, he signed for East Bengal FC, his first professional club.

Bhaichung has won almost every domestic trophy with East Bengal including the NFL title (National Football League) in 2003-04.

In the summer of 1999, he became the second Indian player after Mohammed Salim to play in a European Club as he was signed by English third division outfit, Bury FC.

Mohammad Salim

On 15 April 2000, he became a first Asian Player to score a goal in English professional game.

Bhutia is most capped Indian player to play in International games.

Under his captaincy, India carried off the LG Cup in Vietnam in 2002, South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championships thrice, two Nehru Cup titles (in 2007 and 2009) and the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup which assured them a place in the 2011 Asian Cup in Qatar.

Brojen Das

From Wikipedia

Brojen Das

Born 9 December 1927

Kuchiamora, Bikrampur, British India (now Munshiganj, Bangladesh)

Died 1 June 1998 (aged 70)

Calcutta, India

Education BA

Alma mater KL Jubilee High School

Vidyasagar College

Occupation Athlete

Awards Independence Day Award (1999)

Brojen Das (9 December 1927 – 1 June 1998) was a Bangladeshi swimmer, who was the first Asian to swim across the English Channel, and the first person to cross it six times.

Early life and education

Brojen after his 5th crossing of the English Channel

Brojen was born in the Kuchiamora village of Bikrampur, Bengal Presidency, British India (now Munshiganj, Bangladesh). His father was Harendra Kumar Das. He completed the matriculation exam in 1946 from KL Jubilee High School. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Vidyasagar College in Calcutta.

Swimming

Brojen meeting Queen Elizabeth after his channel crossing (1961)

Since boyhood Brojen practised swimming in Buriganga River. After his own initiative, the East Pakistan Sports Federation introduced an annual swimming competition in Dhaka in 1953. He was invited to take part in the English Channel Swimming Competition in 1958. As a part of his training he swam in Shitalakshya River, in lower Meghna River and a distance of 46 miles starting from Narayanganj to Chandpur. Prior to the competition, he also swam in the Mediterranean Sea from Capri to Naples.

At midnight on 18 August 1958, Brojen began swimming to cross the English Channel along with other competitors from 23 countries. He completed the course on the next day after noon.

Brojen crossed the English Channel a total of 6 times from 1958 to 1961.

Achievements

Local

Champion in 100-meter freestyle swimming competition in West Bengal in 1952.

Champion in East Pakistan in 100, 200, 400 & 1500 meter freestyle swimming in 1953–1956.

Champion in Pakistan in 100 & 400-meter freestyle swimming in 1955.

International

Italy, July 1958, winner (placed 3rd) in the Capri Island to Naples 33-kilometer-long-distance swimming competition.

England, August 1958, secured first position among the male competitors in the Billy Butlin's Channel Crossing Swimming Competition; 39 competitors from 23 nations participated in the competition.

England, August 1959, successfully completed the Channel Crossing Swimming Competition from France to England.

England, September 1959, successfully completed the Channel Swim from England to France.

England, August 1960, successfully completed the Channel Swim from France to England.

England, September 1961, crossed the Channel once again from France to England.

England, September 1961, obtained the world record for the fastest swim across the English Channel from France to England.

Awards

Brojen Das receiving the Letona Trophy, 1986

1956: Awarded by Dhaka University

1960: Pride of Performance award by the Pakistan government.

1965: Induction into the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame

1986: Letona Trophy, i.e. King of the Channel from the Channel Swimming Association of the United Kingdom

1976: National Sports Award, Bangladesh

Atish Dipankar Medal

Gold Medal by Kazi Mahabubullah Trust and Jahanara Jana Kalyan Trust

1999: Independence Day Award, Bangladesh (posthumous)

Death

Brojen was detected to have cancer in June 1997. He went to Calcutta, India, for treatment, and died there on 1 June 1998. His funeral was held at Postagola cremation site in Dhaka on 3 June 1998.

Bapi Saha

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bapi SahaPersonal information

Date of birth 28 September 1991

Place of birth India

Current team Prayag United

Number 3

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2011– Prayag United 1 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Bapi Saha (born 28 September 1991) is an Indian footballer who plays as a defender for Prayag United S.C. in the I-League.

Career

Prayag United

Saha made his debut for Prayag United in an I-League match on 21 January 2011 against Viva Kerala in which Prayag United drew the match 1–1 and in which Saha played the whole 90 minutes. In 2014-15 SESSION He joined Peerless F.C. IN 2015-16 SEASON. In 2015-16 Season Bapi will be playing Southern Samity football club in CFL.

mahamayatala sporting

In 2017, Bapi joined Mahamayatala sporting as a full time khep player. In 2019 Bapi was arrested for a domestic violence, theresult of which Mahamayatala kicked him off the team.

Babe Ruth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Babe Ruth

Ruth in 1920

Outfielder / Pitcher

Born: February 6, 1895

Baltimore, Maryland

Died: August 16, 1948 (aged 53)

New York City

Batted: Left Threw: Left

MLB debut

July 11, 1914, for the Boston Red Sox

Last MLB appearance

May 30, 1935, for the Boston Braves

MLB statistics

Batting average .342

Hits 2,873

Home runs 714

Runs batted in 2,213

Win–loss record 94–46

Earned run average 2.28

Teams

Boston Red Sox (1914–1919)

New York Yankees (1920–1934)

Boston Braves (1935)

Career highlights and awards

2× All-Star (1933, 1934)

7× World Series champion (1915, 1916, 1918, 1923, 1927, 1928, 1932)

AL MVP (1923)

AL batting champion (1924)

12× AL home run leader (1918–1921, 1923, 1924, 1926–1931)

6× AL RBI leader (1919–1921, 1923, 1926, 1928)

AL ERA leader (1916)

New York Yankees No. 3 retired

Monument Park honoree

Major League Baseball All-Century Team

Major League Baseball All-Time Team

Other career achievements and records

Member of the National

Baseball Hall of Fame

Induction 1936

Vote 95.13% (first ballot)

George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "The Bambino" and "The Sultan of Swat", he began his MLB career as a star left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, but achieved his greatest fame as a slugging outfielder for the New York Yankees. Ruth established many MLB batting (and some pitching) records, including career home runs (714), runs batted in (RBIs) (2,213), bases on balls (2,062), slugging percentage (.690), and on-base plus slugging (OPS) (1.164); the last two still stand as of 2021. Ruth is regarded as one of the greatest sports heroes in American culture and is considered by many to be the greatest baseball player of all time. In 1936, Ruth was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame as one of its "first five" inaugural members.

At age seven, Ruth was sent to St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys, a reformatory where he was mentored by Brother Matthias Boutlier of the Xaverian Brothers, the school's disciplinarian and a capable baseball player. In 1914, Ruth was signed to play minor-league baseball for the Baltimore Orioles but was soon sold to the Red Sox. By 1916, he had built a reputation as an outstanding pitcher who sometimes hit long home runs, a feat unusual for any player in the pre-1920 dead-ball era. Although Ruth twice won 23 games in a season as a pitcher and was a member of three World Series championship teams with the Red Sox, he wanted to play every day and was allowed to convert to an outfielder. With regular playing time, he broke the MLB single-season home run record in 1919.

After that season, Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold Ruth to the Yankees amid controversy. The trade fueled Boston's subsequent 86-year championship drought and popularized the "Curse of the Bambino" superstition. In his 15 years with the Yankees, Ruth helped the team win seven American League (AL) pennants and four World Series championships. His big swing led to escalating home run totals that not only drew fans to the ballpark and boosted the sport's popularity but also helped usher in baseball's live-ball era, which evolved from a low-scoring game of strategy to a sport where the home run was a major factor. As part of the Yankees' vaunted "Murderers' Row" lineup of 1927, Ruth hit 60 home runs, which extended his MLB single-season record by a single home run. Ruth's last season with the Yankees was 1934; he retired from the game the following year, after a short stint with the Boston Braves. During his career, Ruth led the AL in home runs during a season 12 times.

During Ruth's career, he was the target of intense press and public attention for his baseball exploits and off-field penchants for drinking and womanizing. After his retirement as a player, he was denied the opportunity to manage a major league club, most likely due to poor behavior during parts of his playing career. In his final years, Ruth made many public appearances, especially in support of American efforts in World War II. In 1946, he became ill with nasopharyngeal cancer and died from the disease two years later. Ruth remains a part of American culture, and in 2018 President Donald Trump posthumously awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Early years

Ruth's birthplace in Baltimore, Maryland, is now a museum.

George Herman Ruth Sr. family in the 1900 US Census

George Herman Ruth Jr. was born in 1895 at 216 Emory Street in the Pigtown section of Baltimore, Maryland. Ruth's parents, Katherine (née Schamberger) and George Herman Ruth Sr., were both of German ancestry. According to the 1880 census, his parents were born in Maryland. His paternal grandparents were from Prussia and Hanover. Ruth Sr. worked a series of jobs that included lightning rod salesman and streetcar operator. The elder Ruth then became a counterman in a family-owned combination grocery and saloon business on Frederick Street. George Ruth Jr. was born in the house of his maternal grandfather, Pius Schamberger, a German immigrant and trade unionist. Only one of young Ruth's seven siblings, his younger sister Mamie, survived infancy.

Many details of Ruth's childhood are unknown, including the date of his parents' marriage. As a child, Ruth spoke German. When Ruth was a toddler, the family moved to 339 South Woodyear Street, not far from the rail yards; by the time he was six years old, his father had a saloon with an upstairs apartment at 426 West Camden Street. Details are equally scanty about why Ruth was sent at the age of seven to St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys, a reformatory and orphanage. However, according to Julia Ruth Stevens' recount in 1999, because George Sr. was a saloon owner in Baltimore and had given Ruth little supervision growing up, he became a delinquent. Ruth was sent to St. Mary's because George Sr. ran out of ideas to discipline and mentor his son. As an adult, Ruth admitted that as a youth he ran the streets, rarely attended school, and drank beer when his father was not looking. Some accounts say that following a violent incident at his father's saloon, the city authorities decided that this environment was unsuitable for a small child. Ruth entered St. Mary's on June 13, 1902. He was recorded as "incorrigible" and spent much of the next 12 years there.

Although St. Mary's boys received an education, students were also expected to learn work skills and help operate the school, particularly once the boys turned 12. Ruth became a shirtmaker and was also proficient as a carpenter. He would adjust his own shirt collars, rather than having a tailor do so, even during his well-paid baseball career. The boys, aged 5 to 21, did most of the work around the facility, from cooking to shoemaking, and renovated St. Mary's in 1912. The food was simple, and the Xaverian Brothers who ran the school insisted on strict discipline; corporal punishment was common. Ruth's nickname there was "Niggerlips", as he had large facial features and was darker than most boys at the all-white reformatory.

Ruth was sometimes allowed to rejoin his family or was placed at St. James's Home, a supervised residence with work in the community, but he was always returned to St. Mary's. He was rarely visited by his family; his mother died when he was 12 and, by some accounts, he was permitted to leave St. Mary's only to attend the funeral. How Ruth came to play baseball there is uncertain: according to one account, his placement at St. Mary's was due in part to repeatedly breaking Baltimore's windows with long hits while playing street ball; by another, he was told to join a team on his first day at St. Mary's by the school's athletic director, Brother Herman, becoming a catcher even though left-handers rarely play that position. During his time there he also played third base and shortstop, again unusual for a left-hander, and was forced to wear mitts and gloves made for right-handers. He was encouraged in his pursuits by the school's Prefect of Discipline, Brother Matthias Boutlier, a native of Nova Scotia. A large man, Brother Matthias was greatly respected by the boys both for his strength and for his fairness. For the rest of his life, Ruth would praise Brother Matthias, and his running and hitting styles closely resembled his teacher's. Ruth stated, "I think I was born as a hitter the first day I ever saw him hit a baseball." The older man became a mentor and role model to Ruth; biographer Robert W. Creamer commented on the closeness between the two:

Ruth revered Brother Matthias ... which is remarkable, considering that Matthias was in charge of making boys behave and that Ruth was one of the great natural misbehavers of all time. ... George Ruth caught Brother Matthias' attention early, and the calm, considerable attention the big man gave the young hellraiser from the waterfront struck a spark of response in the boy's soul ... [that may have] blunted a few of the more savage teeth in the gross man whom I have heard at least a half-dozen of his baseball contemporaries describe with admiring awe and wonder as "an animal."

Ruth (top row, center) at St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1912

Ruth (top row, left, holding a catcher's mitt and mask) at St. Mary's, 1912

The school's influence remained with Ruth in other ways. He was a lifelong Catholic who would sometimes attend Mass after carousing all night, and he became a well-known member of the Knights of Columbus. He would visit orphanages, schools, and hospitals throughout his life, often avoiding publicity. He was generous to St. Mary's as he became famous and rich, donating money and his presence at fundraisers, and spending $5,000 to buy Brother Matthias a Cadillac in 1926—subsequently replacing it when it was destroyed in an accident. Nevertheless, his biographer Leigh Montville suggests that many of the off-the-field excesses of Ruth's career were driven by the deprivations of his time at St. Mary's.

Most of the boys at St. Mary's played baseball in organized leagues at different levels of proficiency. Ruth later estimated that he played 200 games a year as he steadily climbed the ladder of success. Although he played all positions at one time or another, he gained stardom as a pitcher. According to Brother Matthias, Ruth was standing to one side laughing at the bumbling pitching efforts of fellow students, and Matthias told him to go in and see if he could do better. Ruth had become the best pitcher at St. Mary's, and when he was 18 in 1913, he was allowed to leave the premises to play weekend games on teams that were drawn from the community. He was mentioned in several newspaper articles, for both his pitching prowess and ability to hit long home runs.

Professional baseball

Minor league, Baltimore Orioles

In early 1914, Ruth signed a professional baseball contract with Jack Dunn, who owned and managed the minor-league Baltimore Orioles, an International League team. The circumstances of Ruth's signing are not known with certainty; historical fact is obscured by stories that cannot all be true. By some accounts, Dunn was urged to attend a game between an all-star team from St. Mary's and one from another Xaverian facility, Mount St. Mary's College. Some versions have Ruth running away before the eagerly awaited game, to return in time to be punished, and then pitching St. Mary's to victory as Dunn watched. Others have Washington Senators pitcher Joe Engel, a Mount St. Mary's graduate, pitching in an alumni game after watching a preliminary contest between the college's freshmen and a team from St. Mary's, including Ruth. Engel watched Ruth play, then told Dunn about him at a chance meeting in Washington. Ruth, in his autobiography, stated only that he worked out for Dunn for a half hour, and was signed. According to biographer Kal Wagenheim, there were legal difficulties to be straightened out as Ruth was supposed to remain at the school until he turned 21, though SportsCentury stated in a documentary that Ruth had already been discharged from St. Mary's when he turned 19, and earned a monthly salary of $100.

Baseball card showing Ruth as a Baltimore Oriole, 1914

The train journey to spring training in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in early March was likely Ruth's first outside the Baltimore area. The rookie ballplayer was the subject of various pranks by the veterans, who were probably also the source of his famous nickname. There are various accounts of how Ruth came to be called "Babe", but most center on his being referred to as "Dunnie's babe" or a variant. SportsCentury reported that his nickname was gained because he was the new "darling" or "project" of Dunn, not only due to Ruth's raw talent, but also because of his lack of knowledge of the proper etiquette of eating out in a restaurant, being in a hotel, or being on a train. "Babe" was, at that time, a common nickname in baseball, with perhaps the most famous to that point being Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher and 1909 World Series hero Babe Adams, who appeared younger than his actual age.

Ruth made his first appearance as a professional ballplayer in an inter-squad game on March 7, 1914. He played shortstop and pitched the last two innings of a 15–9 victory. In his second at-bat, Ruth hit a long home run to right field; the blast was locally reported to be longer than a legendary shot hit by Jim Thorpe in Fayetteville. Ruth made his first appearance against a team in organized baseball in an exhibition game versus the major-league Philadelphia Phillies. Ruth pitched the middle three innings and gave up two runs in the fourth, but then settled down and pitched a scoreless fifth and sixth innings. In a game against the Phillies the following afternoon, Ruth entered during the sixth inning and did not allow a run the rest of the way. The Orioles scored seven runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to overcome a 6–0 deficit, and Ruth was the winning pitcher.

Once the regular season began, Ruth was a star pitcher who was also dangerous at the plate. The team performed well, yet received almost no attention from the Baltimore press. A third major league, the Federal League, had begun play, and the local franchise, the Baltimore Terrapins, restored that city to the major leagues for the first time since 1902. Few fans visited Oriole Park, where Ruth and his teammates labored in relative obscurity. Ruth may have been offered a bonus and a larger salary to jump to the Terrapins; when rumors to that effect swept Baltimore, giving Ruth the most publicity he had experienced to date, a Terrapins official denied it, stating it was their policy not to sign players under contract to Dunn.

The competition from the Terrapins caused Dunn to sustain large losses. Although by late June the Orioles were in first place, having won over two-thirds of their games, the paid attendance dropped as low as 150. Dunn explored a possible move by the Orioles to Richmond, Virginia, as well as the sale of a minority interest in the club. These possibilities fell through, leaving Dunn with little choice other than to sell his best players to major league teams to raise money. He offered Ruth to the reigning World Series champions, Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics, but Mack had his own financial problems. The Cincinnati Reds and New York Giants expressed interest in Ruth, but Dunn sold his contract, along with those of pitchers Ernie Shore and Ben Egan, to the Boston Red Sox of the American League (AL) on July 4. The sale price was announced as $25,000 but other reports lower the amount to half that, or possibly $8,500 plus the cancellation of a $3,000 loan. Ruth remained with the Orioles for several days while the Red Sox completed a road trip, and reported to the team in Boston on July 11.

Boston Red Sox (1914–1919)

Developing star

Ruth pitching for the Boston Red Sox

On July 11, 1914, Ruth arrived in Boston with Egan and Shore. Ruth later told the story of how that morning he had met Helen Woodford, who would become his first wife. She was a 16-year-old waitress at Landers Coffee Shop, and Ruth related that she served him when he had breakfast there. Other stories, though, suggested that the meeting occurred on another day, and perhaps under other circumstances. Regardless of when he began to woo his first wife, he won his first game as a pitcher for the Red Sox that afternoon, 4–3, over the Cleveland Naps. His catcher was Bill Carrigan, who was also the Red Sox manager. Shore was given a start by Carrigan the next day; he won that and his second start and thereafter was pitched regularly. Ruth lost his second start, and was thereafter little used. In his major league debut as a batter, Ruth went 0-for-2 against left-hander Willie Mitchell, striking out in his first at bat before being removed for a pinch hitter in the seventh inning.[35] Ruth was not much noticed by the fans, as Bostonians watched the Red Sox's crosstown rivals, the Braves, begin a legendary comeback that would take them from last place on the Fourth of July to the 1914 World Series championship.

Egan was traded to Cleveland after two weeks on the Boston roster. During his time with the Red Sox, he kept an eye on the inexperienced Ruth, much as Dunn had in Baltimore. When he was traded, no one took his place as supervisor. Ruth's new teammates considered him brash, and would have preferred him, as a rookie, to remain quiet and inconspicuous. When Ruth insisted on taking batting practice despite being both a rookie who did not play regularly, and a pitcher, he arrived to find his bats sawn in half. His teammates nicknamed him "the Big Baboon", a name the swarthy Ruth, who had disliked the nickname "Niggerlips" at St. Mary's, detested. Ruth had received a raise on promotion to the major leagues, and quickly acquired tastes for fine food, liquor, and women, among other temptations.

Manager Carrigan allowed Ruth to pitch two exhibition games in mid-August. Although Ruth won both against minor-league competition, he was not restored to the pitching rotation. It is uncertain why Carrigan did not give Ruth additional opportunities to pitch. There are legends—filmed for the screen in The Babe Ruth Story (1948)—that the young pitcher had a habit of signaling his intent to throw a curveball by sticking out his tongue slightly, and that he was easy to hit until this changed. Creamer pointed out that it is common for inexperienced pitchers to display such habits, and the need to break Ruth of his would not constitute a reason to not use him at all. The biographer suggested that Carrigan was unwilling to use Ruth due to poor behavior by the rookie.

Providence Grays with Babe Ruth (top row, center), 1914

On July 30, 1914, Boston owner Joseph Lannin had purchased the minor-league Providence Grays, members of the International League. The Providence team had been owned by several people associated with the Detroit Tigers, including star hitter Ty Cobb, and as part of the transaction, a Providence pitcher was sent to the Tigers. To soothe Providence fans upset at losing a star, Lannin announced that the Red Sox would soon send a replacement to the Grays. This was intended to be Ruth, but his departure for Providence was delayed when Cincinnati Reds owner Garry Herrmann claimed him off of waivers. After Lannin wrote to Herrmann explaining that the Red Sox wanted Ruth in Providence so he could develop as a player, and would not release him to a major league club, Herrmann allowed Ruth to be sent to the minors. Carrigan later stated that Ruth was not sent down to Providence to make him a better player, but to help the Grays win the International League pennant (league championship).

Ruth joined the Grays on August 18, 1914. After Dunn's deals, the Baltimore Orioles managed to hold on to first place until August 15, after which they continued to fade, leaving the pennant race between Providence and Rochester. Ruth was deeply impressed by Providence manager "Wild Bill" Donovan, previously a star pitcher with a 25–4 win–loss record for Detroit in 1907; in later years, he credited Donovan with teaching him much about pitching. Ruth was often called upon to pitch, in one stretch starting (and winning) four games in eight days. On September 5 at Maple Leaf Park in Toronto, Ruth pitched a one-hit 9–0 victory, and hit his first professional home run, his only one as a minor leaguer, off Ellis Johnson. Recalled to Boston after Providence finished the season in first place, he pitched and won a game for the Red Sox against the New York Yankees on October 2, getting his first major league hit, a double. Ruth finished the season with a record of 2–1 as a major leaguer and 23–8 in the International League (for Baltimore and Providence). Once the season concluded, Ruth married Helen in Ellicott City, Maryland. Creamer speculated that they did not marry in Baltimore, where the newlyweds boarded with George Ruth Sr., to avoid possible interference from those at St. Mary's—both bride and groom were not yet of age and Ruth remained on parole from that institution until his 21st birthday.

In March 1915, Ruth reported to Hot Springs, Arkansas, for his first major league spring training. Despite a relatively successful first season, he was not slated to start regularly for the Red Sox, who already had two "superb" left-handed pitchers, according to Creamer: the established stars Dutch Leonard, who had broken the record for the lowest earned run average (ERA) in a single season; and Ray Collins, a 20-game winner in both 1913 and 1914. Ruth was ineffective in his first start, taking the loss in the third game of the season. Injuries and ineffective pitching by other Boston pitchers gave Ruth another chance, and after some good relief appearances, Carrigan allowed Ruth another start, and he won a rain-shortened seven inning game. Ten days later, the manager had him start against the New York Yankees at the Polo Grounds. Ruth took a 3–2 lead into the ninth, but lost the game 4–3 in 13 innings. Ruth, hitting ninth as was customary for pitchers, hit a massive home run into the upper deck in right field off of Jack Warhop. At the time, home runs were rare in baseball, and Ruth's majestic shot awed the crowd. The winning pitcher, Warhop, would in August 1915 conclude a major league career of eight seasons, undistinguished but for being the first major league pitcher to give up a home run to Babe Ruth.

Ruth during batting practice in 1916.

Carrigan was sufficiently impressed by Ruth's pitching to give him a spot in the starting rotation. Ruth finished the 1915 season 18–8 as a pitcher; as a hitter, he batted .315 and had four home runs. The Red Sox won the AL pennant, but with the pitching staff healthy, Ruth was not called upon to pitch in the 1915 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Boston won in five games; Ruth was used as a pinch hitter in Game Five, but grounded out against Phillies ace Grover Cleveland Alexander. Despite his success as a pitcher, Ruth was acquiring a reputation for long home runs; at Sportsman's Park against the St. Louis Browns, a Ruth hit soared over Grand Avenue, breaking the window of a Chevrolet dealership.

In 1916, there was attention focused on Ruth for his pitching, as he engaged in repeated pitching duels with the ace of the Washington Senators, Walter Johnson. The two met five times during the season, with Ruth winning four and Johnson one (Ruth had a no decision in Johnson's victory). Two of Ruth's victories were by the score of 1–0, one in a 13-inning game. Of the 1–0 shutout decided without extra innings, AL President Ban Johnson stated, "That was one of the best ball games I have ever seen." For the season, Ruth went 23–12, with a 1.75 ERA and nine shutouts, both of which led the league. Ruth's nine shutouts in 1916 set a league record for left-handers that would remain unmatched until Ron Guidry tied it in 1978. The Red Sox won the pennant and World Series again, this time defeating the Brooklyn Robins (as the Dodgers were then known) in five games. Ruth started and won Game 2, 2–1, in 14 innings. Until another game of that length was played in 2005, this was the longest World Series game, and Ruth's pitching performance is still the longest postseason complete game victory.

Carrigan retired as player and manager after 1916, returning to his native Maine to be a businessman. Ruth, who played under four managers who are in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, always maintained that Carrigan, who is not enshrined there, was the best skipper he ever played for. There were other changes in the Red Sox organization that offseason, as Lannin sold the team to a three-man group headed by New York theatrical promoter Harry Frazee. Jack Barry was hired by Frazee as manager.

Emergence as a hitter

Ruth went 24–13 with a 2.01 ERA and six shutouts in 1917, but the Sox finished in second place in the league, nine games behind the Chicago White Sox in the standings. On June 23 at Washington, when home plate umpire 'Brick' Owens called the first four pitches as balls, Ruth threw a punch at him, and was ejected from the game and later suspended for ten days and fined $100. Ernie Shore was called in to relieve Ruth, and was allowed eight warm-up pitches. The runner who had reached base on the walk was caught stealing, and Shore retired all 26 batters he faced to win the game. Shore's feat was listed as a perfect game for many years. In 1991, Major League Baseball's (MLB) Committee on Statistical Accuracy amended it to be listed as a combined no-hitter. In 1917, Ruth was used little as a batter, other than for his plate appearances while pitching, and hit .325 with two home runs.

Ruth in 1918, his penultimate year with the Red Sox

The United States' entry into World War I occurred at the start of the season and overshadowed baseball. Conscription was introduced in September 1917, and most baseball players in the big leagues were of draft age. This included Barry, who was a player-manager, and who joined the Naval Reserve in an attempt to avoid the draft, only to be called up after the 1917 season. Frazee hired International League President Ed Barrow as Red Sox manager. Barrow had spent the previous 30 years in a variety of baseball jobs, though he never played the game professionally. With the major leagues shorthanded due to the war, Barrow had many holes in the Red Sox lineup to fill.

Ruth also noticed these vacancies in the lineup. He was dissatisfied in the role of a pitcher who appeared every four or five days and wanted to play every day at another position. Barrow used Ruth at first base and in the outfield during the exhibition season, but he restricted him to pitching as the team moved toward Boston and the season opener. At the time, Ruth was possibly the best left-handed pitcher in baseball, and allowing him to play another position was an experiment that could have backfired.

Inexperienced as a manager, Barrow had player Harry Hooper advise him on baseball game strategy. Hooper urged his manager to allow Ruth to play another position when he was not pitching, arguing to Barrow, who had invested in the club, that the crowds were larger on days when Ruth played, as they were attracted by his hitting. In early May, Barrow gave in; Ruth promptly hit home runs in four consecutive games (one an exhibition), the last off of Walter Johnson. For the first time in his career (disregarding pinch-hitting appearances), Ruth was assigned a place in the batting order higher than ninth.

Although Barrow predicted that Ruth would beg to return to pitching the first time he experienced a batting slump, that did not occur. Barrow used Ruth primarily as an outfielder in the war-shortened 1918 season. Ruth hit .300, with 11 home runs, enough to secure him a share of the major league home run title with Tilly Walker of the Philadelphia Athletics. He was still occasionally used as a pitcher, and had a 13–7 record with a 2.22 ERA.

In 1918, the Red Sox won their third pennant in four years and faced the Chicago Cubs in the World Series, which began on September 5, the earliest date in history. The season had been shortened because the government had ruled that baseball players who were eligible for the military would have to be inducted or work in critical war industries, such as armaments plants. Ruth pitched and won Game One for the Red Sox, a 1–0 shutout. Before Game Four, Ruth injured his left hand in a fight but pitched anyway. He gave up seven hits and six walks, but was helped by outstanding fielding behind him and by his own batting efforts, as a fourth-inning triple by Ruth gave his team a 2–0 lead. The Cubs tied the game in the eighth inning, but the Red Sox scored to take a 3–2 lead again in the bottom of that inning. After Ruth gave up a hit and a walk to start the ninth inning, he was relieved on the mound by Joe Bush. To keep Ruth and his bat in the game, he was sent to play left field. Bush retired the side to give Ruth his second win of the Series, and the third and last World Series pitching victory of his career, against no defeats, in three pitching appearances. Ruth's effort gave his team a three-games-to-one lead, and two days later the Red Sox won their third Series in four years, four-games-to-two. Before allowing the Cubs to score in Game Four, Ruth pitched 29+2⁄3 consecutive scoreless innings, a record for the World Series that stood for more than 40 years until 1961, broken by Whitey Ford after Ruth's death. Ruth was prouder of that record than he was of any of his batting feats.

Ruth in 1919

With the World Series over, Ruth gained exemption from the war draft by accepting a nominal position with a Pennsylvania steel mill. Many industrial establishments took pride in their baseball teams and sought to hire major leaguers. The end of the war in November set Ruth free to play baseball without such contrivances.

During the 1919 season, Ruth was used as a pitcher in only 17 of his 130 games and compiled an 8–5 record. Barrow used him as a pitcher mostly in the early part of the season, when the Red Sox manager still had hopes of a second consecutive pennant. By late June, the Red Sox were clearly out of the race, and Barrow had no objection to Ruth concentrating on his hitting, if only because it drew people to the ballpark. Ruth had hit a home run against the Yankees on Opening Day, and another during a month-long batting slump that soon followed. Relieved of his pitching duties, Ruth began an unprecedented spell of slugging home runs, which gave him widespread public and press attention. Even his failures were seen as majestic—one sportswriter said, "When Ruth misses a swipe at the ball, the stands quiver."

Two home runs by Ruth on July 5, and one in each of two consecutive games a week later, raised his season total to 11, tying his career best from 1918. The first record to fall was the AL single-season mark of 16, set by Ralph "Socks" Seybold in 1902. Ruth matched that on July 29, then pulled ahead toward the major league record of 25, set by Buck Freeman in 1899. By the time Ruth reached this in early September, writers had discovered that Ned Williamson of the 1884 Chicago White Stockings had hit 27—though in a ballpark where the distance to right field was only 215 feet (66 m). On September 20, "Babe Ruth Day" at Fenway Park, Ruth won the game with a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, tying Williamson. He broke the record four days later against the Yankees at the Polo Grounds, and hit one more against the Senators to finish with 29. The home run at Washington made Ruth the first major league player to hit a home run at all eight ballparks in his league. In spite of Ruth's hitting heroics, the Red Sox finished sixth, 20+1⁄2 games behind the league champion White Sox. In his six seasons with Boston, he won 89 games and recorded a 2.19 ERA. He had a four-year stretch where he was second in the AL in wins and ERA behind Walter Johnson, and Ruth had a winning record against Johnson in head-to-head matchups.

Sale to New York

As an out-of-towner from New York City, Frazee had been regarded with suspicion by Boston's sportswriters and baseball fans when he bought the team. He won them over with success on the field and a willingness to build the Red Sox by purchasing or trading for players. He offered the Senators $60,000 for Walter Johnson, but Washington owner Clark Griffith was unwilling. Even so, Frazee was successful in bringing other players to Boston, especially as replacements for players in the military. This willingness to spend for players helped the Red Sox secure the 1918 title. The 1919 season saw record-breaking attendance, and Ruth's home runs for Boston made him a national sensation. In March 1919 Ruth was reported as having accepted a three-year contract for a total of $27,000, after protracted negotiations. Nevertheless, on December 26, 1919, Frazee sold Ruth's contract to the New York Yankees.

Ruth in his first year with the New York Yankees, 1920

Not all the circumstances concerning the sale are known, but brewer and former congressman Jacob Ruppert, the New York team's principal owner, reportedly asked Yankee manager Miller Huggins what the team needed to be successful. "Get Ruth from Boston", Huggins supposedly replied, noting that Frazee was perennially in need of money to finance his theatrical productions. In any event, there was precedent for the Ruth transaction: when Boston pitcher Carl Mays left the Red Sox in a 1919 dispute, Frazee had settled the matter by selling Mays to the Yankees, though over the opposition of AL President Johnson.

According to one of Ruth's biographers, Jim Reisler, "why Frazee needed cash in 1919—and large infusions of it quickly—is still, more than 80 years later, a bit of a mystery". The often-told story is that Frazee needed money to finance the musical No, No, Nanette, which was a Broadway hit and brought Frazee financial security. That play did not open until 1925, however, by which time Frazee had sold the Red Sox. Still, the story may be true in essence: No, No, Nanette was based on a Frazee-produced play, My Lady Friends, which opened in 1919.

There were other financial pressures on Frazee, despite his team's success. Ruth, fully aware of baseball's popularity and his role in it, wanted to renegotiate his contract, signed before the 1919 season for $10,000 per year through 1921. He demanded that his salary be doubled, or he would sit out the season and cash in on his popularity through other ventures. Ruth's salary demands were causing other players to ask for more money.Additionally, Frazee still owed Lannin as much as $125,000 from the purchase of the club.

Although Ruppert and his co-owner, Colonel Tillinghast Huston, were both wealthy, and had aggressively purchased and traded for players in 1918 and 1919 to build a winning team, Ruppert faced losses in his brewing interests as Prohibition was implemented, and if their team left the Polo Grounds, where the Yankees were the tenants of the New York Giants, building a stadium in New York would be expensive. Nevertheless, when Frazee, who moved in the same social circles as Huston, hinted to the colonel that Ruth was available for the right price, the Yankees owners quickly pursued the purchase.

Frazee sold the rights to Babe Ruth for $100,000, the largest sum ever paid for a baseball player. The deal also involved a $350,000 loan from Ruppert to Frazee, secured by a mortgage on Fenway Park. Once it was agreed, Frazee informed Barrow, who, stunned, told the owner that he was getting the worse end of the bargain. Cynics have suggested that Barrow may have played a larger role in the Ruth sale, as less than a year after, he became the Yankee general manager, and in the following years made a number of purchases of Red Sox players from Frazee. The $100,000 price included $25,000 in cash, and notes for the same amount due November 1 in 1920, 1921, and 1922; Ruppert and Huston assisted Frazee in selling the notes to banks for immediate cash.

The transaction was contingent on Ruth signing a new contract, which was quickly accomplished—Ruth agreed to fulfill the remaining two years on his contract, but was given a $20,000 bonus, payable over two seasons. The deal was announced on January 6, 1920. Reaction in Boston was mixed: some fans were embittered at the loss of Ruth; others conceded that Ruth had become difficult to deal with. The New York Times suggested that "The short right field wall at the Polo Grounds should prove an easy target for Ruth next season and, playing seventy-seven games at home, it would not be surprising if Ruth surpassed his home run record of twenty-nine circuit clouts next Summer." According to Reisler, "The Yankees had pulled off the sports steal of the century."

According to Marty Appel in his history of the Yankees, the transaction, "changed the fortunes of two high-profile franchises for decades". The Red Sox, winners of five of the first 16 World Series, those played between 1903 and 1919, would not win another pennant until 1946, or another World Series until 2004, a drought attributed in baseball superstition to Frazee's sale of Ruth and sometimes dubbed the "Curse of the Bambino". The Yankees, on the other hand, had not won the AL championship prior to their acquisition of Ruth. They won seven AL pennants and four World Series with Ruth, and led baseball with 40 pennants and 27 World Series titles in their history.

New York Yankees (1920–1934)

Initial success (1920–1923)

When Ruth signed with the Yankees, he completed his transition from a pitcher to a power-hitting outfielder. His fifteen-season Yankee career consisted of over 2,000 games, and Ruth broke many batting records while making only five widely scattered appearances on the mound, winning all of them.

At the end of April 1920, the Yankees were 4–7, with the Red Sox leading the league with a 10–2 mark. Ruth had done little, having injured himself swinging the bat. Both situations began to change on May 1, when Ruth hit a tape measure home run that sent the ball completely out of the Polo Grounds, a feat believed to have been previously accomplished only by Shoeless Joe Jackson. The Yankees won, 6–0, taking three out of four from the Red Sox. Ruth hit his second home run on May 2, and by the end of the month had set a major league record for home runs in a month with 11, and promptly broke it with 13 in June. Fans responded with record attendance figures. On May 16, Ruth and the Yankees drew 38,600 to the Polo Grounds, a record for the ballpark, and 15,000 fans were turned away. Large crowds jammed stadiums to see Ruth play when the Yankees were on the road.

"How Does He Do It?" In this Clifford Berryman cartoon, presidential candidates Warren G. Harding and James M. Cox wonder at Ruth's record home run pace.

The home runs kept on coming. Ruth tied his own record of 29 on July 15 and broke it with home runs in both games of a doubleheader four days later. By the end of July, he had 37, but his pace slackened somewhat after that. Nevertheless, on September 4, he both tied and broke the organized baseball record for home runs in a season, snapping Perry Werden's 1895 mark of 44 in the minor Western League.[The Yankees played well as a team, battling for the league lead early in the summer, but slumped in August in the AL pennant battle with Chicago and Cleveland. The pennant and the World Series were won by Cleveland, who surged ahead after the Black Sox Scandal broke on September 28 and led to the suspension of many of Chicago's top players, including Shoeless Joe Jackson. The Yankees finished third, but drew 1.2 million fans to the Polo Grounds, the first time a team had drawn a seven-figure attendance. The rest of the league sold 600,000 more tickets, many fans there to see Ruth, who led the league with 54 home runs, 158 runs, and 137 runs batted in (RBIs).

In 1920 and afterwards, Ruth was aided in his power hitting by the fact that A.J. Reach Company—the maker of baseballs used in the major leagues—was using a more efficient machine to wind the yarn found within the baseball. The new baseballs went into play in 1920 and ushered the start of the live-ball era; the number of home runs across the major leagues increased by 184 over the previous year. Baseball statistician Bill James pointed out that while Ruth was likely aided by the change in the baseball, there were other factors at work, including the gradual abolition of the spitball (accelerated after the death of Ray Chapman, struck by a pitched ball thrown by Mays in August 1920) and the more frequent use of new baseballs (also a response to Chapman's death). Nevertheless, James theorized that Ruth's 1920 explosion might have happened in 1919, had a full season of 154 games been played rather than 140, had Ruth refrained from pitching 133 innings that season, and if he were playing at any other home field but Fenway Park, where he hit only 9 of 29 home runs.

Ruth and Shoeless Joe Jackson looking at one of Babe's home run bats, 1920

Yankees business manager Harry Sparrow had died early in the 1920 season. Ruppert and Huston hired Barrow to replace him. The two men quickly made a deal with Frazee for New York to acquire some of the players who would be mainstays of the early Yankee pennant-winning teams, including catcher Wally Schang and pitcher Waite Hoyt. The 21-year-old Hoyt became close to Ruth:

The outrageous life fascinated Hoyt, the don't-give-a-shit freedom of it, the nonstop, pell-mell charge into excess. How did a man drink so much and never get drunk? ... The puzzle of Babe Ruth never was dull, no matter how many times Hoyt picked up the pieces and stared at them. After games he would follow the crowd to the Babe's suite. No matter what the town, the beer would be iced and the bottles would fill the bathtub.

In the offseason, Ruth spent some time in Havana, Cuba, where he was said to have lost $35,000 (equivalent to $507,826 in 2020) betting on horse races.

Ruth hit home runs early and often in the 1921 season, during which he broke Roger Connor's mark for home runs in a career, 138. Each of the almost 600 home runs Ruth hit in his career after that extended his own record. After a slow start, the Yankees were soon locked in a tight pennant race with Cleveland, winners of the 1920 World Series. On September 15, Ruth hit his 55th home run, shattering his year-old single season record. In late September, the Yankees visited Cleveland and won three out of four games, giving them the upper hand in the race, and clinched their first pennant a few days later. Ruth finished the regular season with 59 home runs, batting .378 and with a slugging percentage of .846. Ruth's 177 runs scored, 119 extra-base hits, and 457 total bases set modern-era records that still stand as of 2021.

The Yankees had high expectations when they met the New York Giants in the 1921 World Series, every game of which was played in the Polo Grounds. The Yankees won the first two games with Ruth in the lineup. However, Ruth badly scraped his elbow during Game 2 when he slid into third base (he had walked and stolen both second and third bases). After the game, he was told by the team physician not to play the rest of the series. Despite this advice, he did play in the next three games, and pinch-hit in Game Eight of the best-of-nine series, but the Yankees lost, five games to three. Ruth hit .316, drove in five runs and hit his first World Series home run.

Ruth in the stands on Opening Day, April 12, 1922, at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C.

After the Series, Ruth and teammates Bob Meusel and Bill Piercy participated in a barnstorming tour in the Northeast. A rule then in force prohibited World Series participants from playing in exhibition games during the offseason, the purpose being to prevent Series participants from replicating the Series and undermining its value. Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis suspended the trio until May 20, 1922, and fined them their 1921 World Series checks. In August 1922, the rule was changed to allow limited barnstorming for World Series participants, with Landis's permission required.

On March 6, 1922, Ruth signed a new contract for three years at $52,000 a year (equivalent to $803,984 in 2020). This was more than two times the largest sum ever paid to a ballplayer up to that point and it represented 40% of the team's player payroll.

Despite his suspension, Ruth was named the Yankees' new on-field captain prior to the 1922 season. During the suspension, he worked out with the team in the morning and played exhibition games with the Yankees on their off days. He and Meusel returned on May 20 to a sellout crowd at the Polo Grounds, but Ruth batted 0-for-4 and was booed. On May 25, he was thrown out of the game for throwing dust in umpire George Hildebrand's face, then climbed into the stands to confront a heckler. Ban Johnson ordered him fined, suspended, and stripped of position as team captain. In his shortened season, Ruth appeared in 110 games, batted .315, with 35 home runs, and drove in 99 runs, but the 1922 season was a disappointment in comparison to his two previous dominating years. Despite Ruth's off-year, the Yankees managed to win the pennant and faced the New York Giants in the World Series for the second consecutive year. In the Series, Giants manager John McGraw instructed his pitchers to throw him nothing but curveballs, and Ruth never adjusted. Ruth had just two hits in 17 at bats, and the Yankees lost to the Giants for the second straight year, by 4–0 (with one tie game). Sportswriter Joe Vila called him, "an exploded phenomenon".

After the season, Ruth was a guest at an Elks Club banquet, set up by Ruth's agent with Yankee team support. There, each speaker, concluding with future New York mayor Jimmy Walker, censured him for his poor behavior. An emotional Ruth promised reform, and, to the surprise of many, followed through. When he reported to spring training, he was in his best shape as a Yankee, weighing only 210 pounds (95 kg).

The Yankees' status as tenants of the Giants at the Polo Grounds had become increasingly uneasy, and in 1922, Giants owner Charles Stoneham said the Yankees' lease, expiring after that season, would not be renewed. Ruppert and Huston had long contemplated a new stadium, and had taken an option on property at 161st Street and River Avenue in the Bronx. Yankee Stadium was completed in time for the home opener on April 18, 1923, at which Ruth hit the first home run in what was quickly dubbed "the House that Ruth Built". The ballpark was designed with Ruth in mind: although the venue's left-field fence was further from home plate than at the Polo Grounds, Yankee Stadium's right-field fence was closer, making home runs easier to hit for left-handed batters. To spare Ruth's eyes, right field—his defensive position—was not pointed into the afternoon sun, as was traditional; left fielder Meusel was soon suffering headaches from squinting toward home plate.

During the 1923 season, The Yankees were never seriously challenged and won the AL pennant by 17 games. Ruth finished the season with a career-high .393 batting average and 41 home runs, which tied Cy Williams for the most in the major-leagues that year. Ruth hit a career-high 45 doubles in 1923, and he reached base 379 times, then a major league record. For the third straight year, the Yankees faced the Giants in the World Series, which Ruth dominated. He batted .368, walked eight times, scored eight runs, hit three home runs and slugged 1.000 during the series, as the Yankees christened their new stadium with their first World Series championship, four games to two.

Batting title and "bellyache" (1924–1925)

Ruth after losing consciousness from running into the wall at Griffith Stadium during a game against the Washington Senators on July 5, 1924. Ruth insisted on staying in the game, despite evident pain and a bruised pelvic bone, and hit a double in his next at-bat. Note the absence of a warning track along the outfield wall.

In 1924, the Yankees were favored to become the first team to win four consecutive pennants. Plagued by injuries, they found themselves in a battle with the Senators. Although the Yankees won 18 of 22 at one point in September, the Senators beat out the Yankees by two games. Ruth hit .378, winning his only AL batting title, with a league-leading 46 home runs.

Ruth did not look like an athlete; he was described as "toothpicks attached to a piano", with a big upper body but thin wrists and legs. Ruth had kept up his efforts to stay in shape in 1923 and 1924, but by early 1925 weighed nearly 260 pounds (120 kg). His annual visit to Hot Springs, Arkansas, where he exercised and took saunas early in the year, did him no good as he spent much of the time carousing in the resort town. He became ill while there, and suffered relapses during spring training. Ruth collapsed in Asheville, North Carolina, as the team journeyed north. He was put on a train for New York, where he was briefly hospitalized. A rumor circulated that he had died, prompting British newspapers to print a premature obituary. In New York, Ruth collapsed again and was found unconscious in his hotel bathroom. He was taken to a hospital where he suffered multiple convulsions. After sportswriter W. O. McGeehan wrote that Ruth's illness was due to binging on hot dogs and soda pop before a game, it became known as "the bellyache heard 'round the world". However, the exact cause of his ailment has never been confirmed and remains a mystery. Glenn Stout, in his history of the Yankees, writes that the Ruth legend is "still one of the most sheltered in sports"; he suggests that alcohol was at the root of Ruth's illness, pointing to the fact that Ruth remained six weeks at St. Vincent's Hospital but was allowed to leave, under supervision, for workouts with the team for part of that time. He concludes that the hospitalization was behavior-related. Playing just 98 games, Ruth had his worst season as a Yankee; he finished with a .290 average and 25 home runs. The Yankees finished next to last in the AL with a 69–85 record, their last season with a losing record until 1965.

Murderers' Row (1926–1928)

Ruth spent part of the offseason of 1925–26 working out at Artie McGovern's gym, where he got back into shape. Barrow and Huggins had rebuilt the team and surrounded the veteran core with good young players like Tony Lazzeri and Lou Gehrig, but the Yankees were not expected to win the pennant.

Ruth returned to his normal production during 1926, when he batted .372 with 47 home runs and 146 RBIs. The Yankees built a 10-game lead by mid-June and coasted to win the pennant by three games. The St. Louis Cardinals had won the National League with the lowest winning percentage for a pennant winner to that point (.578) and the Yankees were expected to win the World Series easily. Although the Yankees won the opener in New York, St. Louis took Games Two and Three. In Game Four, Ruth hit three home runs—the first time this had been done in a World Series game—to lead the Yankees to victory. In the fifth game, Ruth caught a ball as he crashed into the fence. The play was described by baseball writers as a defensive gem. New York took that game, but Grover Cleveland Alexander won Game Six for St. Louis to tie the Series at three games each, then got very drunk. He was nevertheless inserted into Game Seven in the seventh inning and shut down the Yankees to win the game, 3–2, and win the Series. Ruth had hit his fourth home run of the Series earlier in the game and was the only Yankee to reach base off Alexander; he walked in the ninth inning before being thrown out to end the game when he attempted to steal second base. Although Ruth's attempt to steal second is often deemed a baserunning blunder, Creamer pointed out that the Yankees' chances of tying the game would have been greatly improved with a runner in scoring position.

Ruth took time off in 1927 to star with Anna Q. Nilsson in this First National silent production Babe Comes Home. This film is now lost.

The 1926 World Series was also known for Ruth's promise to Johnny Sylvester, a hospitalized 11-year-old boy. Ruth promised the child that he would hit a home run on his behalf. Sylvester had been injured in a fall from a horse, and a friend of Sylvester's father gave the boy two autographed baseballs signed by Yankees and Cardinals. The friend relayed a promise from Ruth (who did not know the boy) that he would hit a home run for him. After the Series, Ruth visited the boy in the hospital. When the matter became public, the press greatly inflated it, and by some accounts, Ruth allegedly saved the boy's life by visiting him, emotionally promising to hit a home run, and doing so. Ruth's 1926 salary of $52,000 was far more than any other baseball player, but he made at least twice as much in other income, including $100,000 from 12 weeks of vaudeville.

The 1927 New York Yankees team is considered one of the greatest squads to ever take the field. Known as Murderers' Row because of the power of its lineup, the team clinched first place on Labor Day, won a then-AL-record 110 games and took the AL pennant by 19 games. There was no suspense in the pennant race, and the nation turned its attention to Ruth's pursuit of his own single-season home run record of 59 round trippers. Ruth was not alone in this chase. Teammate Lou Gehrig proved to be a slugger who was capable of challenging Ruth for his home run crown; he tied Ruth with 24 home runs late in June. Through July and August, the dynamic duo was never separated by more than two home runs. Gehrig took the lead, 45–44, in the first game of a doubleheader at Fenway Park early in September; Ruth responded with two blasts of his own to take the lead, as it proved permanently—Gehrig finished with 47. Even so, as of September 6, Ruth was still several games off his 1921 pace, and going into the final series against the Senators, had only 57. He hit two in the first game of the series, including one off of Paul Hopkins, facing his first major league batter, to tie the record. The following day, September 30, he broke it with his 60th homer, in the eighth inning off Tom Zachary to break a 2–2 tie. "Sixty! Let's see some son of a bitch try to top that one", Ruth exulted after the game. In addition to his career-high 60 home runs, Ruth batted .356, drove in 164 runs and slugged .772. In the 1927 World Series, the Yankees swept the Pittsburgh Pirates in four games; the National Leaguers were disheartened after watching the Yankees take batting practice before Game One, with ball after ball leaving Forbes Field. According to Appel, "The 1927 New York Yankees. Even today, the words inspire awe ... all baseball success is measured against the '27 team."

Lou Gehrig, Tris Speaker, Ty Cobb, and Ruth, 1928

The following season started off well for the Yankees, who led the league in the early going. But the Yankees were plagued by injuries, erratic pitching and inconsistent play. The Philadelphia Athletics, rebuilding after some lean years, erased the Yankees' big lead and even took over first place briefly in early September. The Yankees, however, regained first place when they beat the Athletics three out of four games in a pivotal series at Yankee Stadium later that month, and clinched the pennant in the final weekend of the season. Ruth's play in 1928 mirrored his team's performance. He got off to a hot start and on August 1, he had 42 home runs. This put him ahead of his 60 home run pace from the previous season. He then slumped for the latter part of the season, and he hit just twelve home runs in the last two months. Ruth's batting average also fell to .323, well below his career average. Nevertheless, he ended the season with 54 home runs. The Yankees swept the favored Cardinals in four games in the World Series, with Ruth batting .625 and hitting three home runs in Game Four, including one off Alexander.

"Called shot" and final Yankee years (1929–1934)

Further information: Babe Ruth's called shot

1933 Goudey Sport Kings baseball card

Before the 1929 season, Ruppert (who had bought out Huston in 1923) announced that the Yankees would wear uniform numbers to allow fans at cavernous Yankee Stadium to easily identify the players. The Cardinals and Indians had each experimented with uniform numbers; the Yankees were the first to use them on both home and away uniforms. Ruth batted third and was given number 3.According to a long-standing baseball legend, the Yankees adopted their now-iconic pinstriped uniforms in hopes of making Ruth look slimmer. In truth, though, they had been wearing pinstripes since 1915.

Although the Yankees started well, the Athletics soon proved they were the better team in 1929, splitting two series with the Yankees in the first month of the season, then taking advantage of a Yankee losing streak in mid-May to gain first place. Although Ruth performed well, the Yankees were not able to catch the Athletics—Connie Mack had built another great team Tragedy struck the Yankees late in the year as manager Huggins died at 51 of erysipelas, a bacterial skin infection, on September 25, only ten days after he had last directed the team. Despite their past differences, Ruth praised Huggins and described him as a "great guy". The Yankees finished second, 18 games behind the Athletics. Ruth hit .345 during the season, with 46 home runs and 154 RBIs.

On October 17, the Yankees hired Bob Shawkey as manager; he was their fourth choice. Ruth had politicked for the job of player-manager, but Ruppert and Barrow never seriously considered him for the position. Stout deemed this the first hint Ruth would have no future with the Yankees once he retired as a player. Shawkey, a former Yankees player and teammate of Ruth, would prove unable to command Ruth's respect.

On January 7, 1930, salary negotiations between the Yankees and Ruth quickly broke down. Having just concluded a three-year contract at an annual salary of $70,000, Ruth promptly rejected both the Yankees' initial proposal of $70,000 for one year and their 'final' offer of two years at seventy-five—the latter figure equalling the annual salary of then US President Herbert Hoover; instead, Ruth demanded at least $85,000 and three years When asked why he thought he was "worth more than the President of the United States," Ruth responded: "Say, if I hadn't been sick last summer, I'd have broken hell out of that home run record! Besides, the President gets a four-year contract. I'm only asking for three." Exactly two months later, a compromise was reached, with Ruth settling for two years at an unprecedented $80,000 per year. Ruth's salary was more than 2.4 times greater than the next-highest salary that season, a record margin as of 2019.

In 1930, Ruth hit .359 with 49 home runs (his best in his years after 1928) and 153 RBIs, and pitched his first game in nine years, a complete game victory. Nevertheless, the Athletics won their second consecutive pennant and World Series, as the Yankees finished in third place, sixteen games back. At the end of the season, Shawkey was fired and replaced with Cubs manager Joe McCarthy, though Ruth again unsuccessfully sought the job.

McCarthy was a disciplinarian, but chose not to interfere with Ruth, who did not seek conflict with the manager. The team improved in 1931, but was no match for the Athletics, who won 107 games, 13+1⁄2 games in front of the Yankees. Ruth, for his part, hit .373, with 46 home runs and 163 RBIs. He had 31 doubles, his most since 1924. In the 1932 season, the Yankees went 107–47 and won the pennant. Ruth's effectiveness had decreased somewhat, but he still hit .341 with 41 home runs and 137 RBIs. Nevertheless, he was sidelined twice due to injuries during the season.

The Yankees faced the Cubs, McCarthy's former team, in the 1932 World Series. There was bad blood between the two teams as the Yankees resented the Cubs only awarding half a World Series share to Mark Koenig, a former Yankee. The games at Yankee Stadium had not been sellouts; both were won by the home team, with Ruth collecting two singles, but scoring four runs as he was walked four times by the Cubs pitchers. In Chicago, Ruth was resentful at the hostile crowds that met the Yankees' train and jeered them at the hotel. The crowd for Game Three included New York Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Democratic candidate for president, who sat with Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak. Many in the crowd threw lemons at Ruth, a sign of derision, and others (as well as the Cubs themselves) shouted abuse at Ruth and other Yankees. They were briefly silenced when Ruth hit a three-run home run off Charlie Root in the first inning, but soon revived, and the Cubs tied the score at 4–4 in the fourth inning, partly due to Ruth's fielding error in the outfield. When Ruth came to the plate in the top of the fifth, the Chicago crowd and players, led by pitcher Guy Bush, were screaming insults at Ruth. With the count at two balls and one strike, Ruth gestured, possibly in the direction of center field, and after the next pitch (a strike), may have pointed there with one hand. Ruth hit the fifth pitch over the center field fence; estimates were that it traveled nearly 500 feet (150 m). Whether or not Ruth intended to indicate where he planned to (and did) hit the ball (Charlie Devens, who, in 1999, was interviewed as Ruth's surviving teammate in that game, did not think so), the incident has gone down in legend as Babe Ruth's called shot. The Yankees won Game Three, and the following day clinched the Series with another victory. During that game, Bush hit Ruth on the arm with a pitch, causing words to be exchanged and provoking a game-winning Yankee rally.

Ruth remained productive in 1933. He batted .301, with 34 home runs, 103 RBIs, and a league-leading 114 walks, as the Yankees finished in second place, seven games behind the Senators. Athletics manager Connie Mack selected him to play right field in the first Major League Baseball All-Star Game, held on July 6, 1933, at Comiskey Park in Chicago. He hit the first home run in the All-Star Game's history, a two-run blast against Bill Hallahan during the third inning, which helped the AL win the game 4–2. During the final game of the 1933 season, as a publicity stunt organized by his team, Ruth was called upon and pitched a complete game victory against the Red Sox, his final appearance as a pitcher. Despite unremarkable pitching numbers, Ruth had a 5–0 record in five games for the Yankees, raising his career totals to 94–46.

In 1934, Ruth played in his last full season with the Yankees. By this time, years of high living were starting to catch up with him. His conditioning had deteriorated to the point that he could no longer field or run. He accepted a pay cut to $35,000 from Ruppert, but he was still the highest-paid player in the major leagues. He could still handle a bat, recording a .288 batting average with 22 home runs. However, Reisler described these statistics as "merely mortal" by Ruth's previous standards. Ruth was selected to the AL All-Star team for the second consecutive year, even though he was in the twilight of his career. During the game, New York Giants pitcher Carl Hubbell struck out Ruth and four other future Hall-of-Famers consecutively. The Yankees finished second again, seven games behind the Tigers.

Boston Braves (1935)

By this time, Ruth knew he was nearly finished as a player. He desired to remain in baseball as a manager. He was often spoken of as a possible candidate as managerial jobs opened up, but in 1932, when he was mentioned as a contender for the Red Sox position, Ruth stated that he was not yet ready to leave the field. There were rumors that Ruth was a likely candidate each time when the Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds, and Detroit Tigers were looking for a manager, but nothing came of them.

Just before the 1934 season, Ruppert offered to make Ruth the manager of the Yankees' top minor-league team, the Newark Bears, but he was talked out of it by his wife, Claire, and his business manager, Christy Walsh. Tigers owner Frank Navin seriously considered acquiring Ruth and making him player-manager. However, Ruth insisted on delaying the meeting until he came back from a trip to Hawaii. Navin was unwilling to wait. Ruth opted to go on his trip, despite Barrow advising him that he was making a mistake; in any event, Ruth's asking price was too high for the notoriously tight-fisted Navin. The Tigers' job ultimately went to Mickey Cochrane.

Early in the 1934 season, Ruth openly campaigned to become the Yankees manager. However, the Yankee job was never a serious possibility. Ruppert always supported McCarthy, who would remain in his position for another 12 seasons. The relationship between Ruth and McCarthy had been lukewarm at best, and Ruth's managerial ambitions further chilled their interpersonal relations. By the end of the season, Ruth hinted that he would retire unless Ruppert named him manager of the Yankees. When the time came, Ruppert wanted Ruth to leave the team without drama or hard feelings.

During the 1934–35 offseason, Ruth circled the world with his wife; the trip included a barnstorming tour of the Far East. At his final stop in the United Kingdom before returning home, Ruth was introduced to cricket by Australian player Alan Fairfax, and after having little luck in a cricketer's stance, he stood as a baseball batter and launched some massive shots around the field, destroying the bat in the process. Although Fairfax regretted that he could not have the time to make Ruth a cricket player, Ruth had lost any interest in such a career upon learning that the best batsmen made only about $40 per week.

Also during the offseason, Ruppert had been sounding out the other clubs in hopes of finding one that would be willing to take Ruth as a manager and/or a player. However, the only serious offer came from Athletics owner-manager Connie Mack, who gave some thought to stepping down as manager in favor of Ruth. However, Mack later dropped the idea, saying that Ruth's wife would be running the team in a month if Ruth ever took over.

While the barnstorming tour was underway, Ruppert began negotiating with Boston Braves owner Judge Emil Fuchs, who wanted Ruth as a gate attraction. The Braves had enjoyed modest recent success, finishing fourth in the National League in both 1933 and 1934, but the team drew poorly at the box office. Unable to afford the rent at Braves Field, Fuchs had considered holding dog races there when the Braves were not at home, only to be turned down by Landis. After a series of phone calls, letters, and meetings, the Yankees traded Ruth to the Braves on February 26, 1935. Ruppert had stated that he would not release Ruth to go to another team as a full-time player. For this reason, it was announced that Ruth would become a team vice president and would be consulted on all club transactions, in addition to playing. He was also made assistant manager to Braves skipper Bill McKechnie. In a long letter to Ruth a few days before the press conference, Fuchs promised Ruth a share in the Braves' profits, with the possibility of becoming co-owner of the team. Fuchs also raised the possibility of Ruth succeeding McKechnie as manager, perhaps as early as 1936. Ruppert called the deal "the greatest opportunity Ruth ever had".

There was considerable attention as Ruth reported for spring training. He did not hit his first home run of the spring until after the team had left Florida, and was beginning the road north in Savannah. He hit two in an exhibition game against the Bears. Amid much press attention, Ruth played his first home game in Boston in over 16 years. Before an opening-day crowd of over 25,000, including five of New England's six state governors, Ruth accounted for all the Braves' runs in a 4–2 defeat of the New York Giants, hitting a two-run home run, singling to drive in a third run and later in the inning scoring the fourth. Although age and weight had slowed him, he made a running catch in left field that sportswriters deemed the defensive highlight of the game.

Ruth had two hits in the second game of the season, but it quickly went downhill both for him and the Braves from there. The season soon settled down to a routine of Ruth performing poorly on the few occasions he even played at all. As April passed into May, Ruth's physical deterioration became even more pronounced. While he remained productive at the plate early on, he could do little else. His conditioning had become so poor that he could barely trot around the bases. He made so many errors that three Braves pitchers told McKechnie they would not take the mound if he was in the lineup. Before long, Ruth stopped hitting as well. He grew increasingly annoyed that McKechnie ignored most of his advice. McKechnie later said that Ruth's presence made enforcing discipline nearly impossible.

Ruth soon realized that Fuchs had deceived him, and had no intention of making him manager or giving him any significant off-field duties. He later said his only duties as vice president consisted of making public appearances and autographing tickets. Ruth also found out that far from giving him a share of the profits, Fuchs wanted him to invest some of his money in the team in a last-ditch effort to improve its balance sheet. As it turned out, Fuchs and Ruppert had both known all along that Ruth's non-playing positions were meaningless.

By the end of the first month of the season, Ruth concluded he was finished even as a part-time player. As early as May 12, he asked Fuchs to let him retire. Ultimately, Fuchs persuaded Ruth to remain at least until after the Memorial Day doubleheader in Philadelphia. In the interim was a western road trip, at which the rival teams had scheduled days to honor him. In Chicago and St. Louis, Ruth performed poorly, and his batting average sank to .155, with only two additional home runs for a total of three on the season so far. In the first two games in Pittsburgh, Ruth had only one hit, though a long fly caught by Paul Waner probably would have been a home run in any other ballpark besides Forbes Field.

Ruth played in the third game of the Pittsburgh series on May 25, 1935, and added one more tale to his playing legend. Ruth went 4-for-4, including three home runs, though the Braves lost the game 11–7. The last two were off Ruth's old Cubs nemesis, Guy Bush. The final home run, both of the game and of Ruth's career, sailed out of the park over the right field upper deck–the first time anyone had hit a fair ball completely out of Forbes Field. Ruth was urged to make this his last game, but he had given his word to Fuchs and played in Cincinnati and Philadelphia. The first game of the doubleheader in Philadelphia—the Braves lost both—was his final major league appearance. Ruth retired on June 2 after an argument with Fuchs. He finished 1935 with a .181 average—easily his worst as a full-time position player—and the final six of his 714 home runs. The Braves, 10–27 when Ruth left, finished 38–115, at .248 the worst winning percentage in modern National League history. Insolvent like his team, Fuchs gave up control of the Braves before the end of the season; the National League took over the franchise at the end of the year.

Of the 5 members in the inaugural class of Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936 (Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson and Ruth himself), only Ruth was not given an offer to manage a baseball team.

Retirement

Gary Cooper and Ruth in the 1942 film The Pride of the Yankees

Although Fuchs had given Ruth his unconditional release, no major league team expressed an interest in hiring him in any capacity. Ruth still hoped to be hired as a manager if he could not play anymore, but only one managerial position, Cleveland, became available between Ruth's retirement and the end of the 1937 season. Asked if he had considered Ruth for the job, Indians owner Alva Bradley replied negatively. Team owners and general managers assessed Ruth's flamboyant personal habits as a reason to exclude him from a managerial job; Barrow said of him, "How can he manage other men when he can't even manage himself?" Creamer believed Ruth was unfairly treated in never being given an opportunity to manage a major league club. The author believed there was not necessarily a relationship between personal conduct and managerial success, noting that McGraw, Billy Martin, and Bobby Valentine were winners despite character flaws.

Ruth played much golf and in a few exhibition baseball games, where he demonstrated a continuing ability to draw large crowds. This appeal contributed to the Dodgers hiring him as first base coach in 1938. When Ruth was hired, Brooklyn general manager Larry MacPhail made it clear that Ruth would not be considered for the manager's job if, as expected, Burleigh Grimes retired at the end of the season. Although much was said about what Ruth could teach the younger players, in practice, his duties were to appear on the field in uniform and encourage base runners—he was not called upon to relay signs. In August, shortly before the baseball rosters expanded, Ruth sought an opportunity to return as an active player in a pinch hitting role. Ruth often took batting practice before games and felt that he could take on the limited role. Grimes denied his request, citing Ruth’s poor vision in his right eye, his inability to run the bases, and the risk of an injury to Ruth.

Ruth got along well with everyone except team captain Leo Durocher, who was hired as Grimes' replacement at season's end. Ruth then left his job as a first base coach and would never again work in any capacity in the game of baseball.

On July 4, 1939, Ruth spoke on Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day at Yankee Stadium as members of the 1927 Yankees and a sellout crowd turned out to honor the first baseman, who was forced into premature retirement by ALS, which would kill him two years later. The next week, Ruth went to Cooperstown, New York, for the formal opening of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Three years earlier, he was one of the first five players elected to the hall. As radio broadcasts of baseball games became popular, Ruth sought a job in that field, arguing that his celebrity and knowledge of baseball would assure large audiences, but he received no offers. During World War II, he made many personal appearances to advance the war effort, including his last appearance as a player at Yankee Stadium, in a 1943 exhibition for the Army-Navy Relief Fund. He hit a long fly ball off Walter Johnson; the blast left the field, curving foul, but Ruth circled the bases anyway. In 1946, he made a final effort to gain a job in baseball when he contacted new Yankees boss MacPhail, but he was sent a rejection letter. In 1999, Ruth's granddaughter, Linda Tosetti, and his stepdaughter, Julia Ruth Stevens, said that Babe's inability to land a managerial role with the Yankees caused him to feel hurt and slump into a severe depression.

Personal life

Ruth and his first wife, Helen Woodford, 1915

Ruth met Helen Woodford (1897–1929), by some accounts, in a coffee shop in Boston where she was a waitress, and they were married as teenagers on October 17, 1914. Although Ruth later claimed to have been married in Elkton, Maryland, records show that they were married at St. Paul's Catholic Church in Ellicott City. They adopted a daughter, Dorothy (1921–1989), in 1921. Ruth and Helen separated around 1925, reportedly due to his repeated infidelities and neglect. They appeared in public as a couple for the last time during the 1926 World Series. Helen died in January 1929 at age 31 in a house fire in Watertown, Massachusetts, in a house owned by Edward Kinder, a dentist with whom she had been living as "Mrs. Kinder". In her book, My Dad, the Babe, Dorothy claimed that she was Ruth's biological child by a mistress named Juanita Jennings. Juanita admitted to this fact to Dorothy and Julia Ruth Stevens, Dorothy's stepsister, in 1980, who was at the time already very ill.

On April 17, 1929 (three months after the death of his first wife) Ruth married actress and model Claire Merritt Hodgson (1897–1976) and adopted her daughter Julia (1916–2019). It was the second and final marriage for both parties. Claire, much unlike Helen, was well-travelled and educated, and went on to put structure into Ruth's life, like Miller Huggins did with him on the field.

By one account, Julia and Dorothy were, through no fault of their own, the reason for the seven-year rift in Ruth's relationship with teammate Lou Gehrig. Sometime in 1932, during a conversation that she assumed was private, Gehrig's mother remarked, "It's a shame [Claire] doesn't dress Dorothy as nicely as she dresses her own daughter." When the comment inevitably got back to Ruth, he angrily told Gehrig to tell his mother to mind her own business. Gehrig, in turn, took offense at what he perceived as Ruth's comment about his mother. The two men reportedly never spoke off the field until they reconciled at Yankee Stadium on Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day, July 4, 1939, which was shortly after Gehrig's retirement from baseball.

Although Ruth was married throughout most of his baseball career, when team co-owner Tillinghast 'Cap' Huston asked him to tone down his lifestyle, the player said, "I'll promise to go easier on drinking and to get to bed earlier, but not for you, fifty thousand dollars, or two-hundred and fifty thousand dollars will I give up women. They're too much fun".A detective that the Yankees hired to follow him one night in Chicago reported that Ruth had been with six women. Ping Bodie said that he was not Ruth's roommate while traveling; "I room with his suitcase". Before the start of the 1922 season, Ruth had signed a three-year contract at $52,000 per year with an option to renew for two additional years. His performance during the 1922 season had been disappointing, attributed in part to his drinking and late-night hours. After the end of the 1922 season, he was asked to sign a contract addendum with a morals clause. Ruth and Ruppert signed it on November 11, 1922. It called for Ruth to abstain entirely from the use of intoxicating liquors, and to not stay up later than 1:00 a.m. during the training and playing season without permission of the manager. Ruth was also enjoined from any action or misbehavior that would compromise his ability to play baseball.

Cancer and death (1946–1948)

Babe Ruth's number 3 was retired by the New York Yankees in 1948.

As early as the war years, doctors had cautioned Ruth to take better care of his health, and he grudgingly followed their advice, limiting his drinking and not going on a proposed trip to support the troops in the South Pacific. In 1946, Ruth began experiencing severe pain over his left eye and had difficulty swallowing. In November 1946, Ruth entered French Hospital in New York for tests, which revealed that he had an inoperable malignant tumor at the base of his skull and in his neck. The malady was a lesion known as nasopharyngeal carcinoma, or "lymphoepithelioma." His name and fame gave him access to experimental treatments, and he was one of the first cancer patients to receive both drugs and radiation treatment simultaneously. Having lost 80 pounds (36 kg), he was discharged from the hospital in February and went to Florida to recuperate. He returned to New York and Yankee Stadium after the season started. The new commissioner, Happy Chandler (Judge Landis had died in 1944), proclaimed April 27, 1947, Babe Ruth Day around the major leagues, with the most significant observance to be at Yankee Stadium. A number of teammates and others spoke in honor of Ruth, who briefly addressed the crowd of almost 60,000. By then, his voice was a soft whisper with a very low, raspy tone.

Around this time, developments in chemotherapy offered some hope for Ruth. The doctors had not told Ruth he had cancer because of his family's fear that he might do himself harm. They treated him with pterolyl triglutamate (Teropterin), a folic acid derivative; he may have been the first human subject. Ruth showed dramatic improvement during the summer of 1947, so much so that his case was presented by his doctors at a scientific meeting, without using his name. He was able to travel around the country, doing promotional work for the Ford Motor Company on American Legion Baseball. He appeared again at another day in his honor at Yankee Stadium in September, but was not well enough to pitch in an old-timers game as he had hoped

The improvement was only a temporary remission, and by late 1947, Ruth was unable to help with the writing of his autobiography, The Babe Ruth Story, which was almost entirely ghostwritten. In and out of the hospital in Manhattan, he left for Florida in February 1948, doing what activities he could. After six weeks he returned to New York to appear at a book-signing party. He also traveled to California to witness the filming of the movie based on the book.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning photo of Ruth by Nat Fein

On June 5, 1948, a "gaunt and hollowed out" Ruth visited Yale University to donate a manuscript of The Babe Ruth Story to its library. At Yale, he met with future president George H. W. Bush, who was the captain of the Yale baseball team. On June 13, Ruth visited Yankee Stadium for the final time in his life, appearing at the 25th-anniversary celebrations of "The House that Ruth Built". By this time he had lost much weight and had difficulty walking. Introduced along with his surviving teammates from 1923, Ruth used a bat as a cane. Nat Fein's photo of Ruth taken from behind, standing near home plate and facing "Ruthville" (right field) became one of baseball's most famous and widely circulated photographs, and won the Pulitzer Prize.

Ruth made one final trip on behalf of American Legion Baseball, then entered Memorial Hospital, where he would die. He was never told he had cancer, but before his death, had surmised it. He was able to leave the hospital for a few short trips, including a final visit to Baltimore. On July 26, 1948, Ruth left the hospital to attend the premiere of the film The Babe Ruth Story. Shortly thereafter, Ruth returned to the hospital for the final time. He was barely able to speak. Ruth's condition gradually grew worse; only a few visitors were allowed to see him, one of whom was National League president and future Commissioner of Baseball Ford Frick. "Ruth was so thin it was unbelievable. He had been such a big man and his arms were just skinny little bones, and his face was so haggard", Frick said years later.

Thousands of New Yorkers, including many children, stood vigil outside the hospital during Ruth's final days. On August 16, 1948, at 8:01 p.m., Ruth died in his sleep at the age of 53. His open casket was placed on display in the rotunda of Yankee Stadium, where it remained for two days; 77,000 people filed past to pay him tribute. His funeral Mass took place at St. Patrick's Cathedral; a crowd estimated at 75,000 waited outside. Ruth rests with his second wife, Claire, on a hillside in Section 25 at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York.

Memorial and museum

Tribute to Babe Ruth, Monument Park, as seen at the original Yankee Stadium

On April 19, 1949, the Yankees unveiled a granite monument in Ruth's honor in center field of Yankee Stadium. The monument was located in the field of play next to a flagpole and similar tributes to Huggins and Gehrig until the stadium was remodeled from 1974 to 1975, which resulted in the outfield fences moving inward and enclosing the monuments from the playing field. This area was known thereafter as Monument Park. Yankee Stadium, "the House that Ruth Built", was replaced after the 2008 season with a new Yankee Stadium across the street from the old one; Monument Park was subsequently moved to the new venue behind the center field fence. Ruth's uniform number 3 has been retired by the Yankees, and he is one of five Yankees players or managers to have a granite monument within the stadium.

The Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum is located at 216 Emory Street, a Baltimore row house where Ruth was born, and three blocks west of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, where the AL's Baltimore Orioles play. The property was restored and opened to the public in 1973 by the non-profit Babe Ruth Birthplace Foundation, Inc. Ruth's widow, Claire, his two daughters, Dorothy and Julia, and his sister, Mamie, helped select and install exhibits for the museum.

Contemporary impact

Ruth was the first baseball star to be the subject of overwhelming public adulation. Baseball had been known for star players such as Ty Cobb and "Shoeless Joe" Jackson, but both men had uneasy relations with fans. In Cobb's case, the incidents were sometimes marked by violence. Ruth's biographers agreed that he benefited from the timing of his ascension to "Home Run King". The country had been hit hard by both the war and the 1918 flu pandemic and longed for something to help put these traumas behind it. Ruth also resonated in a country which felt, in the aftermath of the war, that it took second place to no one. Montville argued that Ruth was a larger-than-life figure who was capable of unprecedented athletic feats in the nation's largest city. Ruth became an icon of the social changes that marked the early 1920s. In his history of the Yankees, Glenn Stout writes that "Ruth was New York incarnate—uncouth and raw, flamboyant and flashy, oversized, out of scale, and absolutely unstoppable".

During his lifetime, Ruth became a symbol of the United States. During World War II Japanese soldiers yelled in English, "To hell with Babe Ruth", to anger American soldiers. Ruth replied that he hoped "every Jap that mention[ed] my name gets shot". Creamer recorded that "Babe Ruth transcended sport and moved far beyond the artificial limits of baselines and outfield fences and sports pages" Wagenheim stated, "He appealed to a deeply rooted American yearning for the definitive climax: clean, quick, unarguable." According to Glenn Stout, "Ruth's home runs were exalted, uplifting experience that meant more to fans than any runs they were responsible for. A Babe Ruth home run was an event unto itself, one that meant anything was possible."

Although Ruth was not just a power hitter—he was the Yankees' best bunter, and an excellent outfielder—Ruth's penchant for hitting home runs altered how baseball is played. Prior to 1920, home runs were unusual, and managers tried to win games by getting a runner on base and bringing him around to score through such means as the stolen base, the bunt, and the hit and run. Advocates of what was dubbed "inside baseball", such as Giants manager McGraw, disliked the home run, considering it a blot on the purity of the game According to sportswriter W. A. Phelon, after the 1920 season, Ruth's breakout performance that season and the response in excitement and attendance, "settled, for all time to come, that the American public is nuttier over the Home Run than the Clever Fielding or the Hitless Pitching. Viva el Home Run and two times viva Babe Ruth, exponent of the home run, and overshadowing star." Bill James states, "When the owners discovered that the fans liked to see home runs, and when the foundations of the games were simultaneously imperiled by disgrace [in the Black Sox Scandal], then there was no turning back." While a few, such as McGraw and Cobb, decried the passing of the old-style play, teams quickly began to seek and develop sluggers.

According to contemporary sportswriter Grantland Rice, only two sports figures of the 1920s approached Ruth in popularity—boxer Jack Dempsey and racehorse Man o' War. One of the factors that contributed to Ruth's broad appeal was the uncertainty about his family and early life. Ruth appeared to exemplify the American success story, that even an uneducated, unsophisticated youth, without any family wealth or connections, can do something better than anyone else in the world. Montville writes that "the fog [surrounding his childhood] will make him forever accessible, universal. He will be the patron saint of American possibility." Similarly, the fact that Ruth played in the pre-television era, when a relatively small portion of his fans had the opportunity to see him play allowed his legend to grow through word of mouth and the hyperbole of sports reporters. Reisler states that recent sluggers who surpassed Ruth's 60-home run mark, such as Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds, generated much less excitement than when Ruth repeatedly broke the single-season home run record in the 1920s. Ruth dominated a relatively small sports world, while Americans of the present era have many sports available to watch.

Legacy

The unveiling of a Babe Ruth memorial plaque in Baltimore's old Memorial Stadium in 1955 with Claire Ruth, his widow, present.

Creamer describes Ruth as "a unique figure in the social history of the United States" Thomas Barthel describes him as one of the first celebrity athletes; numerous biographies have portrayed him as "larger than life". He entered the language: a dominant figure in a field, whether within or outside sports, is often referred to as "the Babe Ruth" of that field Similarly, "Ruthian" has come to mean in sports, "colossal, dramatic, prodigious, magnificent; with great power". He was the first athlete to make more money from endorsements and other off-the-field activities than from his sport.

In 2006, Montville stated that more books have been written about Ruth than any other member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. At least five of these books (including Creamer's and Wagenheim's) were written in 1973 and 1974. The books were timed to capitalize on the increase in public interest in Ruth as Hank Aaron approached his career home run mark, which he broke on April 8, 1974. As he approached Ruth's record, Aaron stated, "I can't remember a day this year or last when I did not hear the name of Babe Ruth."

Montville suggested that Ruth is probably even more popular today than he was when his career home run record was broken by Aaron. The long ball era that Ruth started continues in baseball, to the delight of the fans. Owners build ballparks to encourage home runs, which are featured on SportsCenter and Baseball Tonight each evening during the season. The questions of performance-enhancing drug use, which dogged later home run hitters such as McGwire and Bonds, do nothing to diminish Ruth's reputation; his overindulgences with beer and hot dogs seem part of a simpler time.

In various surveys and rankings, Ruth has been named the greatest baseball player of all time. In 1998, The Sporting News ranked him number one on the list of "Baseball's 100 Greatest Players". In 1999, baseball fans named Ruth to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. He was named baseball's Greatest Player Ever in a ballot commemorating the 100th anniversary of professional baseball in 1969. The Associated Press reported in 1993 that Muhammad Ali was tied with Babe Ruth as the most recognized athlete in America. In a 1999 ESPN poll, he was ranked as the second-greatest U.S. athlete of the century, behind Michael Jordan In 1983, the United States Postal Service honored Ruth with the issuance of a twenty-cent stamp.

Several of the most expensive items of sports memorabilia and baseball memorabilia ever sold at auction are associated with Ruth. As of November 2016, the most expensive piece of sports memorabilia ever sold is Ruth's 1920 Yankees jersey, which sold for $4,415,658 in 2012 (equivalent to $4.98 million in 2020). The bat with which he hit the first home run at Yankee Stadium is in The Guinness Book of World Records as the most expensive baseball bat sold at auction, having fetched $1.265 million on December 2, 2004 (equivalent to $1.7332 million in 2020). A hat of Ruth's from the 1934 season set a record for a baseball cap when David Wells sold it at auction for $537,278 in 2012. In 2017, Charlie Sheen sold Ruth's 1927 World Series ring for $2,093,927 at auction. It easily broke the record for a championship ring previously set when Julius Erving's 1974 ABA championship ring sold for $460,741 in 2011.

Ruth memorabilia at the Baseball Hall of Fame (2014)

One long-term survivor of the craze over Ruth may be the Baby Ruth candy bar. The original company to market the confectionery, the Curtis Candy Company, maintained that the bar was named after Ruth Cleveland, daughter of former president Grover Cleveland. She died in 1904 and the bar was first marketed in 1921, at the height of the craze over Ruth. He later sought to market candy bearing his name; he was refused a trademark because of the Baby Ruth bar. Corporate files from 1921 are no longer extant; the brand has changed hands several times and is now owned by Ferrero. The Ruth estate licensed his likeness for use in an advertising campaign for Baby Ruth in 1995. Due to a marketing arrangement, in 2005, the Baby Ruth bar became the official candy bar of Major League Baseball.

In 2018, President Donald Trump announced that Ruth, along with Elvis Presley and Antonin Scalia, would posthumously receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Montville describes the continuing relevance of Babe Ruth in American culture, more than three-quarters of a century after he last swung a bat in a major league game:

The fascination with his life and career continues. He is a bombastic, sloppy hero from our bombastic, sloppy history, origins undetermined, a folk tale of American success. His moon face is as recognizable today as it was when he stared out at Tom Zachary on a certain September afternoon in 1927. If sport has become the national religion, Babe Ruth is the patron saint. He stands at the heart of the game he played, the promise of a warm summer night, a bag of peanuts, and a beer. And just maybe, the longest ball hit out of the park

Bharat Chettri

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bharat Chettri

Personal information

Born 15 December 1981

Kalimpong, West Bengal, India

Playing position Goalkeeper

Senior career

Years Team Apps (Gls)

Services

2013–present Punjab Warriors 14 (0)

National team

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2001–present India

Men's field hockey

Representing India

2010 Delhi Team

CHL Goaltender of the Year Award

2002 Busan Team

2010 Guangzhou Team

Bharat Kumar Chettri (born 15 December 1981 in Kalimpong, West Bengal) is an Indian field hockey player. He is the goalkeeper of the Indian hockey team.

Career

Chettri's professional career in field hockey began after he joined the Sports Authority of India's Centre of Excellence in Bangalore in 1998. He made his debut in international hockey in 2001 playing in the Prime Minister's Gold Cup tournament in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He was first appointed the captain of the Indian national team in October 2011 for the four-nation Super Series and an international tournament in Australia. He was the captain of the 18-member Indian squad at the 2012 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia, which won the bronze medal. Chettri led the 16-member Indian hockey squad in the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Following poor performances at the Olympics, Chettri, Sandeep Singh and Shivendra Singh were dropped from the squad.

Hockey India League

In the auction of the first edition of the Hockey India League, Chettri was bought by Punjab Warriors for $19,000 with his base price being $18,500. He went unsold in the first round and was bought in the second round of auction.

Baboo Nimal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Baboo Nimal

Born 15 March 1908
Khadki, British India
Died 21 February 1998 (aged 89)
Playing position Fullback
National team
Years Team Apps (Gls)
India

Men’s Field Hockey
Representing India
Olympic Games
1936 Berlin Team competition

Baboo Nimal with the Indian team at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

Baburao Narasappa "Baboo" Nimal (15 March 1908 – 21 February 1998) was an Indian field hockey player who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics. He was a member of the Indian team which won the gold medal at the 1936 Olympic Games. He played three (including the final) matches as a fullback.

Biswajit Saha

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Biswajit SahaPersonal information

Full name Biswajit Saha

Date of birth 15 December 1987

Place of birth Kolkata, India

Position(s) Left Back

Club information

Current team Atletico de Kolkata

Youth career

2006–2007 Milan Samity

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2007–2009 George Telegraph S.C.

2009–2011 Mohun Bagan

2011–2012 Salgaocar

2012–2013 Mohun Bagan 20 (0)

2013–2014 → Eagles F.C. (loan)

2014– Atletico de Kolkata 11 (0)

2014– Sporting Clube de Goa 3 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:16, 23 May 2015 (UTC)

Biswajit Saha (born 15 December 1987) is an Indian footballer who plays as a left back.

Career

After becoming Champions, he joined Milan Samity in 2006 and played in Calcutta Football League 1st Division B group. Then he joined George Telegraph S.C. where he played for a couple of seasons. While in George, he was settled down nicely in the left back position by coach Raghu Nandy. In 2007, George Telegraph defeated East Bengal 3-1. Saha played a vital role in that match. The next year, they defeated both East Bengal and Mohammedan S.C. in Calcutta Football League to finish in 3rd position. He also represented West Bengal in Santosh Trophy. Where they finished runners up, losing to Goa in tie-breaker.

Mohun Bagan

He joined Mohun Bagan in 2009. Since he had a very good season in George Telegraph, he got an offer from Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Chirag United, but he chose to join Mohun Bagan, because all his family members were supporters of the club.

He first played for Mohun Bagan in the semi final of the 2009 IFA Shield against Chirag United. They were down to 10 men within the first 10 minutes and eventually won the match in the tie breaker. He came as a replacement for Nallappan Mohanraj in the extra time.

Salgaocar

He got a good offer from Salgaocar F.C.. Also Karim Bencherifa being the coach of Salgaocar prompted him to leave Kolkata. 2011 was definitely the best year of his career so far. Salgaocar won the Federation Cup after 14 years. He was the only Bengali player in that team. The last time when Salgaocar won the Federation Cup, Shabbir Ali was the only Bengali player in their team. Incidentally, in the year 1987, Salgaocar defeated East Bengal 2-1 to lift the title whereas in 2011 they defeated the same team 3-1 to win the 2011 Indian Federation Cup.

Mohun Bagan

In 2012, he re-joined Mohun Bagan. He played 20 Matches for Mohun Bagan in the 2012-13 I-League.

Eagles

On 5 December 2013 it was announced that Biswajit has signed up with Eagles F.C. of Kerala on loan for 2013-14 season along with Nadong Bhutia, Bijendra Rai, Avinabo Bag, Jagroop Singh, Bisheshwor Singh, Ramandeep Singh and Govin Singh. Moreover, IMG-Reliance, the organisers of the proposed IPL-style football tournament Indian Super League, and Eagles F.C. will facilitate a two to six week training stint for the eight players with UK based Reading F.C. Academy.

Barkha Sonkar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Barkha SonkarPersonal information

Native name बरखा सोनकर

Nickname(s) BK

Nationality Indian

Citizenship India

Born 24 December 1996

Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

Education Graduate

Alma mater High school: IMG Academy,

University: Hillsborough Community College, Lindsey Wilson College, Husson University.

Occupation Sports

Years active 2016 - present

Employer India women's national basketball team

Height 164.592 cm (5 ft 5 in)

Weight 61 kg (134 lb)

Sport

Country India

Sport Basketball

Position 1

Club Hillsborough Hawks

Team India women's national basketball team

Barkha Sonkar (24 December 1996) is an International basketball player. She is a member of India women's national basketball team and represented India in "2017 FIBA Women's Asia Cup Division B".

Early life and education

She was selected for the IMG Reliance scholarship programmes in the US for schooling and training. Studied high school at IMG Academy Bradenton, Florida, and graduated from IMG Academy in 2016, after that went to Hillsborough Community College, played for hawks (National Collegiate Athletic Association) for 2 years.

Currently playing for Lindsey Wilson College, Kentucky

Championship

During the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup held at Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru, Barkha played well and India defeated Kazakhstan by 75-73. Barkha has been top 3rd player in the match.

Bombayla Devi Laishram

Carey Price

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Carey Price

Price in 2015

Born August 16, 1987

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Website www.careyprice.net

Carey Price (born August 16, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is considered to be one of the best goaltenders in the world by many colleagues, fans, The Hockey News, and EA Sports; and one of the greatest goaltenders in the history of the Montreal Canadiens by several media outlets.

Beginning his junior career with the Tri-City Americans in the Western Hockey League in 2002, Price was drafted fifth overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft following his second season with the Tri-City Americans. Following a further two seasons with the Americans, where he won both the Del Wilson Trophy as the top goaltender in the Western Hockey League (WHL) and CHL Goaltender of the Year in his final season of major junior in 2007. Joining the Canadiens' farm team, the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League (AHL) just as the Calder Cup playoffs begun, Price led the Bulldogs to the Calder Cup championship, winning the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the tournament MVP. Price made the Canadiens roster for the 2007–08 season as the backup goaltender before ultimately becoming the starting goaltender later that season. In 2015, he won the Ted Lindsay, Jennings, Vezina, and Hart trophies, becoming the first goaltender in NHL history to win all four individual awards in the same season. In 2021, Price led the Canadiens to their first Stanley Cup Finals in 28 years, but eventually lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games.

Internationally, Price has represented Canada at various tournaments at junior levels, winning silver medals at the World U-17 Hockey Challenge in 2004 and the IIHF World U18 Championship in 2005. He won a gold medal at the 2007 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Sweden. In 2014, Price was named to the Canadian Olympic Hockey Team and won a gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Price's play also earned him the tournament's top goaltending award, from the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) directorate. In 2016, Price went undefeated to win his first World Cup of Hockey championship.

Early life

Carey Price was born in Vancouver to Lynda and Jerry Price. His mother is the chief of the Ulkatcho First Nation. His father was also a goaltender, drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the eighth round, 126th overall, in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft. Although Jerry never played in the NHL, he did play four seasons of professional hockey in various leagues and was for a time the goaltending coach of the Tri-City Americans. Price has a sister, Kayla, and his second cousin is fellow ice hockey player Shane Doan.

When Price was three, his family moved to the remote town of Anahim Lake in central British Columbia where he was raised. He was taught to play goaltender by his father on a frozen creek during the winter months and played organized hockey in Williams Lake over five hours and 320 kilometres (200 mi) away by car on Highway 20. Having to make the ten-hour round trip three days a week, Carey's father bought a plane to fly him to practice and games. Growing up, Price's favourite NHL team was the Edmonton Oilers and he idolized Marty Turco and Patrick Roy.

Playing career

Tri-City Americans

Price made his first appearance in the Western Hockey League (WHL) in a single game for the Tri-City Americans during the 2002–03 season. He then made the Tri-City roster the next season, appearing in 28 games as the backup for Colorado Avalanche prospect Tyler Weiman, posting a 2.38 Goals against average (GAA) and .915 save percentage. The next season, Price took over as the primary starter of the team and established himself as a top goaltender, playing in a league-high 63 games with a 2.34 GAA and .920 save percentage and eight shutouts, both in the league top ten. Ranking as the best North American goaltender by NHL Central Scouting, Price was drafted fifth overall by the Montreal Canadiens, a move considered surprising by many who thought Price would not be drafted until the middle of the first round.

During the 2005–06 season, Price's play in Tri-City suffered considerably and he ended the season with a 2.87 GAA and a .906 save percentage while starting 55 games. Price rebounded the next season with a very strong 2006–07 season, posting an excellent 2.45 GAA and .917 save percentage while winning both the Del Wilson Trophy as the top WHL goaltender and the CHL Goaltender of the Year award. Despite this, the Americans were eliminated in six games during the 2007 playoffs.

Hamilton Bulldogs

Price playing for the Hamilton Bulldogs during the 2007 Calder Cup finals

Following Tri-City's early playoff exit, later that spring, Price joined the Montreal Canadiens farm team, the Hamilton Bulldogs, just before the start of the 2007 Calder Cup playoffs. In two regular season appearances with the Bulldogs, Price allowed only three goals and won one game. Price led the Bulldogs on a remarkable run that spring, defeating the Hershey Bears four games to one in the finals as the team won their first Calder Cup. Price became only the third teenage goaltender to win the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as AHL playoff MVP, posting a 2.06 GAA and .936 save percentage.

Montreal Canadiens (2007–2021)

Price made his highly anticipated Canadiens debut on October 10, 2007, against the Pittsburgh Penguins and recorded 26 saves in a 3–2 win. After the first month of the season, he was awarded the Canadiens' Molson Cup for October, given to the player with the most first-star selections. Although reassigned to the Hamilton Bulldogs midway through the season in January, he was called back up shortly over a month later. With the trading of starting goaltender Cristobal Huet to the Washington Capitals before the trading deadline, Price assumed the starting role for the Canadiens. He was subsequently named the NHL Rookie of the Month for March and the NHL First Star of the Week (ending April 6, 2008) as the Canadiens finished first overall in the Eastern Conference and earned their first division title since 1991–92. Price completed the regular season leading all rookie goaltenders in wins (24), save percentage (.920) and shutouts (3). He was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team in recognition for his accomplishments in his first year in the NHL.

Price warming up prior to a game in the 2008–09 season.

Entering the playoffs against the Boston Bruins, Price recorded a 1–0 win on April 15, 2008, becoming the first Canadiens rookie to post a playoff shutout since Patrick Roy in 1986. He would go on to record another shutout in game seven to eliminate Boston. Montreal lost in the second round to the Philadelphia Flyers, with Price losing three of the last four games.

After a strong start to the 2008–09 season, in which he earned a second Molson Cup in November, Price injured his ankle on December 30, 2008. Forced out of action for nearly a month, during which he was voted in as a starting goaltender for the 2009 NHL All-Star Game in Montreal (along with teammates Alexei Kovalev, Andrei Markov and Mike Komisarek) he made his return to action on January 20, 2009, after backup Jaroslav Halák was pulled in a 4–2 loss to the Atlanta Thrashers. Going into the 2009 playoffs as the eighth and final seed, the Canadiens played the Boston Bruins in the opening round for the second consecutive season. They were swept in four games, with the Bruins scoring at least four times in each game. In the final game at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Price surrendered four goals in two periods. After stopping a weak dump-in, the crowd cheered sarcastically and Price responded by putting his arms up in the air, similar to Patrick Roy's gesture on December 2, 1995, in a game after which Roy requested a trade from the Canadiens.

Price struggled throughout the 2009–10 season, winning only 13 games and losing the starting job to Halák as the Canadiens entered the playoffs as the eighth and final seed. Although the Canadiens made a surprise run to the Eastern Conference final, upsetting both the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins along the way, Price appeared in only four games, losing one and getting no decision in each of the others, only coming off the bench when the game was out of hand. The highlight of the season for Price was stopping 37 of 38 shots in a 5–1 win over the Boston Bruins in the Canadiens' 100 year anniversary game on December 4, 2009, and the low point was surrendering four goals in his only start of the playoffs. In the 2010 off-season, both Price and Halák became restricted free agents and a goaltending debate emerged in Montreal over who would remain with the team – the playoff hero Halák or the younger Price. After weeks of media speculation, the Canadiens chose Price, trading Halák to the St. Louis Blues and re-signing Price to a two-year, $5.5 million contract to return to his role as starting goaltender.

Price defends the net against Jeff Skinner in a game against the Carolina Hurricanes

The 2010–11 pre-season was a tough start for Price. During the 2010–11 regular season, however, Price played in 72 games recording new career highs including 38 wins, eight shutouts a 2.35 GAA and a .923 save percentage, and was selected to play in the 2011 NHL All-Star Game. This play from Price allowed the Canadiens to enter the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs. This strong play continued for Price in the playoffs posting a .935 save percentage. It was not enough, however, to lead the Canadiens to victory, as they ultimately fell in seven games in the first round to the Boston Bruins. On October 26, 2011, Price earned his 100th win in his NHL career in his 214th game. A few months later, he participated to his third All-Star Game. The 2011–12 season, however, did not go well for the Canadiens, and they missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2006–07 season. Price missed the last four games of the season due to a concussion.

On July 2, 2012, Price re-signed with the Canadiens on a six-year contract worth US$39 million.

During the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season, Price started the year very well, winning 18 of his first 28 starts as the Canadiens, in stark contrast to the previous season, were one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, going 29–14–5, good enough for second in the conference. Price's play, however, dropped off in the final weeks of the season, going 2–6 and allowing 27 goals. Nonetheless, the Canadiens went into the playoffs against the seventh seeded Ottawa Senators. In Game 4, with the score tied 2–2 as the third period came to an end, Price suffered a groin injury and did not return for the overtime period and was replaced by Peter Budaj; the Senators would go on to score and win the game. Price's injury sidelined him for the rest of the series and the Canadiens were eliminated in five games. Price ended the playoffs with a sub-par 3.26 GAA and an .894 save percentage.

Price during a practice with the Canadiens during the 2012–13 season.

Return to form

The 2013–14 season saw Price return to form, recording 34 wins to go along with a career best 2.32 GAA and .927 save percentage, leading the Canadiens to their second 100-point season since the 2007–08 season. The Canadiens entered the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference against the Tampa Bay Lightning, whom they swept in four games, marking Price's first playoff series win since his rookie year. The Montreal Canadiens then faced the President's Trophy-winning Boston Bruins in the second round for the fourth time of Price's NHL career. In contrast to the previous two postseason meetings, the Canadiens upset the Bruins, ousting them in seven games. Following a 4–2 defeat in Game 5 at TD Garden, Price shut out the Bruins in Game 6 by a score of 4–0 before stopping 29 shots in a 3–1 victory in Game 7 to eliminate Boston and advance to the Conference Finals. His and the Canadiens' run, however, ended against the New York Rangers. In Game 1 at the Bell Centre, with the Rangers up 2–0 near the end of the second period, Rangers forward Chris Kreider crashed into Price. He would stay in net for the remainder of the period, allowing two more goals before the intermission. Price was then replaced by backup Peter Budaj in the third period as the Rangers scored three more goals to hammer the Canadiens 7–2 in Game 1. Price was soon ruled out for the rest of the series with an unspecified lower-body injury, as the Canadiens fell in six games to the Rangers, the second year in-a-row Price had a premature ending to his playoffs due to injury.

Hart Trophy-winning season

Price during the 2014–15 season, in which he won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player.

Price would follow up 2014–15 with the best season of his career, as he would finish the season as the leader of the three leading categories for goaltenders: GAA (1.96), save percentage (.933), and wins (44), all career highs as he would help the Canadiens win the Atlantic Division. That season he would go on to win the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player, the Vezina Trophy as best goaltender, the Ted Lindsay Award as most valuable player as voted by the NHLPA, and the William M. Jennings Trophy for fewest goals allowed (in a tie with Corey Crawford of the Chicago Blackhawks with 189 goals allowed). He became only the second player in franchise history to win 4 awards in one season.

Early in the 2015–16 season, Price suffered a knee injury. At the time of the injury, he was expected to return after six weeks. However, on April 6, 2016, the Canadiens announced that Price would not return for the remainder of the season. The extent of Price's injury was revealed to be a medial collateral ligament injury (MCL sprain).

At the beginning of the 2016–17 season, Price set a record for most consecutive wins to start a season with 10 (his record would later be surpassed by Jack Campbell of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2020–21 season).

On July 2, 2017, it was announced that Price signed an eight-year contract extension with an annual cap hit of US$10.5 million totalling to US$84 million for the entire contract. His new contract will run through the 2025–26 season. This made Price the highest paid goaltender in the 2018–2019 NHL season, surpassing goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.

After a dismal month at the start of the 2017–18 season, Price was out for the count with a minor lower body injury, leaving goaltenders Al Montoya and Charlie Lindgren to take his place. On February 22, 2018, Price was ruled out indefinitely after sustaining a concussion in a game against the Philadelphia Flyers. On March 19, 2018, Price returned from his concussion and dressed for the first time in 13 games for a game against the Florida Panthers. Despite his injuries, Price made in his 557th career NHL start for the Canadiens on April 3, 2018, surpassing the previous franchise record holder Jacques Plante.

On October 27, 2018, after a 3–0 win over the Boston Bruins, Price surpassed Patrick Roy for second place in Canadiens franchise career wins with his 290th career victory. Price was named to the 2019 National Hockey League All-Star Game, his sixth All-Star nomination, but he chose to defer due to a lower-body injury.

On March 12, 2019, with a 3–1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings, Price surpassed Jacques Plante for first place in Canadiens franchise career wins with his 315th.

For the 2019–20 season, Price played 58 games in the regular season, recording a disappointing .909 save percentage. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the regular season was ended prematurely. Price's presence on the Canadiens' lineup became a point of discussion in the media during the NHL's debates on the format for the belated 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, which were to be held in an expanded format that allowed the Canadiens to participate for the first time in three years. The Canadiens were scheduled to play a qualifying round against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and it was reported that the Penguins had objected to the idea of a best-of-three series on the basis that Price's presence gave the Canadiens an unfair advantage relative to their regular season performance. The Penguins publicly denied this subsequently. Ultimately a best-of-five format was chosen instead. The Canadiens defeated the Penguins 3–1 in the qualifying round, with Price recording a .947 save percentage. The team went on to lose the first round to the Philadelphia Flyers 4 games to 2.

2021–present

Stanley Cup Final run

With the pandemic still raging, the NHL temporarily arranged that all teams would play exclusively within realigned divisions for the 2020–21 season, with all Canadian teams playing in the new North Division. Price began the season well, but subsequently struggled. On April 19, 2021, Price sustained a concussion after a collision with Alex Chiasson of the Edmonton Oilers. As part of his return to the ice, he played a game with the Canadiens' AHL affiliate the Laval Rocket on May 17. The Canadiens managed to qualify to the playoffs as the final seed, a result which was widely attributed to the performance of Price's new backup goaltender, Jake Allen in the period when Price was absent.

Price would, however, return to form in the playoffs, as the Canadiens advanced to their first Stanley Cup Final in 28 years and the first in his career. The Canadiens beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games by overcoming a 3-1 series deficit in round 1, then swept the Winnipeg Jets in round 2, and finally defeated the Vegas Golden Knights four games to two in the semifinals to win the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl. Price was widely cited as the most important player in the Canadiens' deep run to the Final. When asked about the difference between Price's regular and post-season performances in recent years, Canadiens General Manager Marc Bergevin remarked "I guess the expression we could use he’s a big-game player. He rises to the occasion. He does extremely well under pressure."

In the first round against the Maple Leafs, Price made a notorious stick save on Jason Spezza in the Canadiens' Game 3 loss, then made 41 saves in their Game 6 overtime win, and finally stopped 30 shots in their clinching Game 7 victory. He then had a 30 save shutout against the Jets in Game 2 of the second round, and later a 43 save performance against the Golden Knights in Game 3 of the semifinals which the Canadiens won in overtime. Afterwards, Price made 37 saves in Game 6 against the Golden Knights, including two big ones in overtime, the first one against former teammate Max Pacioretty and then the second against Alec Martinez, which led to Artturi Lehkonen scoring the series winner moments later when the puck ricocheted off Price back into play.

In the Stanley Cup Finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Price and the Canadiens lost the first three games, but won Game 4 in overtime to avoid getting swept. Price made 32 saves in the win and then 29 saves in Game 5, which the Canadiens lost 1-0 as the Lightning won their second-consecutive Stanley Cup title.

Expansion Draft

With the arrival of the Seattle Kraken as the League's thirty-second team, the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft was scheduled. As each team was only allowed to protect one goaltender and Price had a contractual guarantee of protection in such situations, it was widely assumed that the Kraken would select Price's backup Allen on the basis of his strong performance in the previous season and economical contract. In a major surprise, Price proposed to waive his no movement clause so the Canadiens could instead protect Allen, with Price and General Manager Bergevin's calculation being that the Kraken would not want to take up Price's contract due to its cap hit and duration.

Ultimately, the Kraken declined the opportunity to select Price, opting instead for younger goaltenders with cheaper contracts. Seattle selected defenceman Cale Fleury from Montreal.The Athletic remarked afterward that "now that Seattle has taken a pass, the reality that Price will play his entire career in a Canadiens uniform seems impossible to refute."

Leave of absence

Price underwent knee surgery in July of 2021, and was initially expected to be ready to begin the season on October 13 However, on October 7 it was announced that he was entering the NHL's player assistance program to deal with unspecified mental health issues. His wife Angela released a statement saying "part of the privilege of being in the position our family is in, is that we also get a public platform to show how there is and can be a path for anyone who is struggling." The Canadiens stated that Price would be absent for at least a month.

International play

Price made his international debut for Canada at the 2005 IIHF World U18 Championships in the Czech Republic. He appeared in four games, earning a silver medal as Team Canada was defeated by the United States 5–1 in the gold medal game. Two years later, in his final year of major junior, Price was named to Team Canada for the 2007 World Junior Championships in Sweden. He led Team Canada to a third consecutive gold medal and was named Tournament MVP and Top Goaltender after going 6–0 with two shutouts, a 1.14 GAA and .961 save percentage. He was also named to the Tournament All-Star Team along with teammates Jonathan Toews and Kris Letang. He led the 2005 IIHF world U18 Championships in save percentage and wins. Price sold his U18 Championship helmet for charity.

On January 7, 2014, Price was named to the 2014 Canadian Olympic Hockey Team along with goaltenders Mike Smith of the Phoenix Coyotes and Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks. Price, along with close friend and teammate P. K. Subban, became the first Montreal Canadiens players to be selected for Team Canada since Mark Recchi in the 1998 Nagano Olympics. Soon after arriving in Sochi, it was announced that Price would start in Canada's first game of the tournament against Norway. Price had a strong debut, stopping 18 of 19 shots against Norway in a 3–1 Canadian win. Price's strong play continued, allowing only a single goal in a 2–1 victory against Finland in the round-robin tournament. In Canada's quarter-final game, Price backstopped Canada over Latvia 2–1. On February 21, 2014, Price played a pivotal role in a 1–0 victory against Team USA in the semifinals. Price stopped all 31 shots and shutout Team USA, powering Team Canada into the gold medal game against Sweden. In his second consecutive shutout of the Olympics, Price made 24 saves in a 3–0 victory and won his first gold medal as an Olympian. Price ended the tournament undefeated in five games with a 0.59 GAA and .971 save percentage, and was named the tournament's best goaltender by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).

Playing style

Like many modern goaltenders, Price uses the "butterfly hybrid" technique, a mix of "stand-up" and "butterfly style" goaltending. Elements of the butterfly style, were first used by Glenn Hall in the mid 1950s. Tony Esposito used it in the late 1960s, and it was later popularized and adapted to its current hybrid form by Patrick Roy in the mid 1980s. Using this style, Price will stay on his feet for high shots, and drop to his knees, pointing his skates outwards with his pads covering the bottom width of the net. He is also known for his quick reflexes which are considered to be some of his best attributes as a goaltender. He can read the play very well and has very good reaction time. He is noted for his calm demeanor on the ice that allows him to remain focused and rarely appears rattled or upset in the net. Price is considered by the Canadiens' management and coaches to be one of the leaders of the team and is present during meetings with the team's captain and alternate captains.

Philanthropy

In 2015, Price teamed up with CCM to donate $10,000 worth of equipment to a minor hockey league in Williams Lake, B.C. Additionally, Price funds a breakfast program at his old school in Anahim Lake, B.C.

During the 2019 NHL Awards, Price, together with model Camille Kostek, presented Canadien hockey fan Anderson Whitehead the Feel Good Moment Award. Whitehead's mother always wanted her son to meet the goaltender, but was not able to arrange it before she died from cancer in November 2018.

Personal life

Price met his wife, Angela (née Webber), while playing with the Tri-City Americans. In an interview, Angela said that the couple were set up on a blind date by her friend, who was dating Carey's roommate at the time. They live in Kelowna, British Columbia during the off-season. They were married on August 24, 2013 in Benton City, Washington, near Angela's hometown of Kennewick. The next day, Price flew to Calgary for Hockey Canada's Olympic orientation camp for the 2014 Winter Olympics. On October 21, 2015, Angela Price stated on her blog that they were expecting their first child the following spring. In 2016, Angela gave birth to the couple's first child, a girl named Liv. In December 2018, Angela gave birth to their second child, a girl named Millie. In June 2020, Angela announced they were expecting their third child in the fall. In October 2020, Angela gave birth to their third child, a boy named Lincoln.

Price, who is of Ulkatcho First Nation descent through his mother, was named as an honorary co-chair at the 2010 National Aboriginal Hockey Championships that were held in Ottawa, Ontario, in May 2010. Price is of the Nuxalk and Southern Carrier Aboriginal heritage. Price is very proud to be of the descent from the line of chiefs and leaders including his mother, Lynda.

Price grew up in Anahim Lake, B.C., which is a predominately aboriginal community He is extremely proud of his Indigenous heritage. He gave a speech to young people encouraging them to be who they are and proud of their roots.

Price is also very active in teaching younger athletes valuable lessons regarding hockey. Price mentors fellow William Lakes goaltender Cody Call. Call states that Price has been a great influence in his young hockey career.

Awards

Multiple honours

Molson Cup for Montreal Canadiens: 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019

NHL All-Star Game: 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019

2007

IIHF World U20 Championship Gold Medal (2007 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships)

Tournament MVP (2007 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships)

WHL West First All-Star Team for 2006–07 WHL season

Del Wilson Trophy (WHL Top Goaltender)

Calder Cup with the Hamilton Bulldogs

Jack A. Butterfield Trophy (Calder Cup MVP)

2008

NHL Rookie of the Month, March 2008

NHL All-Rookie Team for 2007–08 NHL season

2009

NHL YoungStars Game at 2009 NHL All-Star Game

2014

Olympic gold medal in Men's Hockey at 2014 Sochi Olympics

Best Goaltender at 2014 Sochi Olympics (voted by IIHF)

2015

William M. Jennings Trophy (fewest goals allowed), (shared with Corey Crawford of the Chicago Blackhawks)

Vezina Trophy (best goaltender)

Ted Lindsay Award (most valuable player, voted by NHL Players Association)

Hart Memorial Trophy (most valuable player, voted by Professional Hockey Writer's Association)

NHL First All-Star Team (voted by Professional Hockey Writer's Association)

Lou Marsh Trophy (Canada's Top Athlete voted by a panel of journalists)

Lionel Conacher Award (selected by sports writers of the Canadian Press)

2016

Indspire Award (Sports)

2016 World Cup of Hockey Gold medal

Chandro Tomar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chandro Tomar

Born 10 January 1932

Shamli, Uttar Pradesh, India

Died 30 April 2021 (aged 89)

Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India

Other names Shooter Dadi (Shooter Grandmother)

Occupation Sharpshooter

Chandro TomarSport

Country India

Updated on 02 May 2021.

Chandro Tomar (10 January 1932 – 30 April 2021) was an Indian octogenarian sharpshooter from the village of Johri in the Bagpat district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Since learning to shoot in 1999 when she was already in her 60s, she had attained national fame as an accomplished shooter, having won more than 30 national championships. She was referred to as the oldest (woman) sharpshooter in the world and a "feminist icon."Uttar Pradesh government named Noida shooting Range and A Road in her home village after her.

Biography

Tomar never attended school and married at age 15. She was over age 65 when she began her sharpshooting career, and was derided and laughed at when she first began attending professional competitions. Tomar recalled her husband and his brothers at first being angry and opposed to her participation in competitions, but she decided to continue. Her daughter and granddaughter joined the shooting team, and Tomar encouraged other families to allow their daughters to join.

Tomar has five children and twelve grandchildren. She began learning to shoot by chance, when her granddaughter Shefali wanted to learn how to shoot at Johri Rifle Club. Her granddaughter was shy to go alone to an all-boys shooting club. and wanted her grandmother to accompany her. At the range, Tomar took a pistol when her granddaughter could not load it and she started shooting at a target. Her first shot resulted in bull's eye hit. The club coach, Farooq Pathan, was surprised to see her shoot so skillfully. He suggested she join the club and get trained to become a shooter, which Tomar did. Her trainer commented: "She has the ultimate skill, a steady hand and a sharp eye."

In 2021, Tomar told The New York Times that her strength and agility is from "All the household chores I used to do from a young age, like grinding the wheat by hand, milking the cows, cutting the grass, It’s important to stay active. Your body might grow old, but keep your mind sharp."

Her niece Seema Tomar, also a sharpshooter, was the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Rifle and Pistol World Cup in 2010. Her granddaughter, Shefali Tomar, achieved international shooter status and has taken part in international competitions in Hungary and Germany; both of them credit Tomar for the positive encouragement provided and praised her sister Prakashi Tomar for advising them.

From 1999 on, Tomar competed in and won over 25 state and larger championships throughout India. She won a gold medal at the Veteran Shooting Championship conducted in Chennai. Her success has encouraged the local people to take up shooting as a useful sporting profession, including her granddaughters. Tomar died from COVID-19 on 30 April 2021, at the age of 89.

Chinnaswamy Muniyappa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chinnaswamy Muniyappa
Personal information
Born 1 January 1977
India
Sporting nationality India
Residence Bangalore, India
Career
Turned professional 1997
Current tour(s) Asian Tour
Professional wins 2
Number of wins by tour
Asian Tour 1

Chinnaswamy Muniyappa (born 1 January 1977) is an Indian professional golfer.

Muniyappa turned professional in 1997. He has won once on the Asian Tour.

Chandra Prabha Aitwal.

Photo: Shail Desai

Chandra Prabha Aitwal: The first lady of Nanda DeviShail Desai

As the climbing season brings in stories of triumph and tragedy, we meet one of the first women to summit Nanda DeviGetting to the top of a mountain usually calls for a celebration. More so if it’s a first in mountaineering history. When Chandra Prabha Aitwal got to the top of Nanda Devi (7,816m) in 1981, behind Rekha Sharma and Harshwanti Bisht, it was the first time women had set foot on the second-highest peak in India.

But neither does she have any photos of the feat, nor any memory of the fascinating view from the top. For Aitwal summited the peak in relative darkness, against all odds and with just about enough strength to say a little prayer and make her way down the moonlit slope.

Aitwal’s story is one of grit and perseverance at every opportunity that came her way, which explains why, at 74, she still dreams of “one last stint in the mountains" even as another summer of climbing heads towards the finish.

It’s a cloudy Sunday morning in Uttarkashi. A diminutive lady in salwar-kameez answers the door, and when I tell her I’m looking for Chandra didi, as she is known in mountaineering circles, a familiar smile breaks out on her face. “Main hi hoon, andar aa jao (that’s me, come in)," she says.

View Full ImageA view of Nanda Devi. Photo: iStockphoto

Aitwal was born in Dharchula in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district, though her family belonged to Chhangru, which lies across the Mahakali river in the hills of Nepal. The end of winter would see an annual migration to Nepal, where she grew up running up and down terraced fields, tending cows, helping with farming and collecting wood. She was happier dealing with household chores than the travails of daily school, and regularly joined her father when he visited Tibet to trade.

“I had to be thrown out of the house and walked to school, else there was a chance I wouldn’t turn up. I was around 17 or 18 years when I was in class VI, so you can figure it out for yourself," she laughs.

If it wasn’t for her elder sister, who took on the role of guardian after their parents died when the children were young, Aitwal would never have pursued an education. But she crawled through her studies and led an ordinary life as a teacher in the Government Girls Inter College in Pithoragarh.

All that changed when the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) in Uttarkashi sent out a circular, inviting government teachers to be part of the basic mountaineering course. By the time she got her opportunity, she was 30.

After proving her ability on peaks such as Kedar Dome (6,940m) and Bandarpoonch (6,316m), Aitwal was noticed by the Indian Mountaineering Foundation, and in 1981, was picked as part of an expedition that looked to put the first women atop Nanda Devi.

“When we were training for Kamet in 1976, a men’s team was to go to Nanda Devi. These were established mountaineers, yet they were in awe of this peak. I realized then that there was something about this mountain, and was overjoyed when I was picked for the expedition a few years later," she says.

While Everest and K2 may make for popular mountaineering blockbusters, the legend of Nanda Devi is a saga that has enchanted followers for years. For one, the mountain is considered to be a peace-giving goddess who is worshipped by villagers in the region. Yet, over the years, a number of failed attempts and casualties have been attributed to the wrath of the goddess.

Expand

As a result, attempts to approach the mountain while trying to locate new trade routes to Tibet in the 19th century proved futile, until Englishmen Eric Shipton and Bill Tilman made a bold attempt with a lightweight expedition, and managed to trek up the gorge in 1934. A couple of years later, Tilman and Noel Odell were the first men to stand atop Nanda Devi. It was only in 1964 that another party, led by Indian veteran Narendra “Bull" Kumar, managed to put the second set of men on the peak.

Until these expeditions made their way into the sanctuary, it was a relatively untouched area of the Indian Himalayas. As Kumar observed after his climb: “It is hard to conceive of a bowl, full of luxuriant grass and flowers of delicate hue; of partridges calling to each other across the gay scene; of bharals contentedly ruminating from their high, rocky, silent perches; of all this warm and secluded life enclosed by an icy, impassable and treacherous ring of high mountains, where blizzards blow constantly and living things do not dare to venture. But such is the reality of the Nanda Devi Sanctuary."

For all its splendour, success on the mountain was met with tragedy, the most heart-wrenching being the death of Nanda Devi Unsoeld. Named after the mountain by her father and renowned mountaineer Willi Unsoeld, she and Unsoeld attempted the peak in 1976, but a bout of illness and bad weather meant that Nanda Devi died on the mountain as her father waited helplessly at a lower camp.

A failed attempt at planting a nuclear-powered spying device on Nanda Devi in 1965 had disastrous consequences; a radioactive substance lost on the slopes remains missing to this day. It is considered to be a major reason why the sanctuary is off limits for trekkers today.

Expand

View Full ImageChandra Prabha Aitwal in 1981.

A week’s trudge got them to Base Camp and after a few days’ rest, the team started ferrying loads up the mountain to set up camps. The deputy leader of the team, Aitwal felt strong as she made consistent progress, but for a niggle that would prove to be a nightmare in the days to follow.

“I was fine until I opened the route to Camp 3, but on my return to Camp 2, I developed pus in one of my ears. One thing led to the other, and soon I had a running stomach because of which I had to return to Base Camp," she says.

As the team recuperated at Base Camp, Aitwal was a wreck, losing strength each day due to a severe case of amoebiasis. She was left behind as the rest of the team proceeded up the mountain for the final summit push. Her saviour came in the form of P.D. Punekar, a doctor with the army expedition that had camped close by and was to attempt the climb after Aitwal and Co.

“I was lying in one corner of the tent when he (Punekar) came to see me. He was my bhagwan (god), because the expedition was pretty much over for me at this point. I have never seen anyone inspect what I kept throwing up with such interest. He prepared a magic potion for me, which I was to sip while climbing, and asked me to refrain from eating. The following day, I set off up the mountain alone," she says.

After two days of climbing, Aitwal caught up with the rest of the team at Camp 3, but along the way she realized a lot of her stashed equipment had been taken by the others, who thought she would not be coming back. She had to wait to borrow essentials from those descending, and even shared a sleeping bag with On 19 September, the team was to attempt the summit. Aitwal roped up with Sonam Paljor for the final push behind the other two pairs, but slow progress meant that it was dark by the time she got to the top.

“I summited in darkness, but the moon was rising and, gradually, I could see the shimmering snow on the nearby slopes. Summiting has a different thrill associated with it, whether it’s in daylight or in the dark. You feel as if you’ve seen heaven; it cannot be put into words," she says.

Chandan Biswas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chandan Biswas

চন্দন বিশ্বাস

Born

Chandan Biswas

5 November 1985

Patna, Bihar

Nationality Indian

Occupation Explorer

Cyclist

Chandan Biswas (born 5 November 1985) is a Bengali Adventure sports personnel and Travel Writer. He became the first to complete the Solo Trans-Himalaya Cycling Expedition.

Expeditions

Biswas started adventure sports since 2010. He involves with mountaineering, rock climbing and mountain cycling also.

Biswas was the first to successfully complete the Solo Trans-Himalaya Cycling Expedition. It took him 153 days extend over February 2017 to July 2017. In this journey Biswas cycled 6,249 km spanning the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and India.

He walked along Narmada River Trail and valley in 2018 covering 1,047 km in 47 days spanning 4 states of India. Also in 2016 he led a Intra-Country Cycling and Running team from Kolkata to Dhaka to pay tribute to the martyrs of the Language Movement ahead of the International Mother Language Day.

Adventure Timeline

2018 - Narmada River Trail on foot | 1,047 km | 47 Days | Solo

2017 - Trans-Himalaya & SAARC Countries Cycling Expedition | 6,249 km | 153 Days | Solo

2016 - Kolkata to Dhaka Inter-Country Cycling Program | AksharYatra | অক্ষরযাত্রা

Life

He is a cinematographer by profession. He regularly writes for newspaper publications and magazines.

James Pears Bakeworth

He was among 12 members team and climb up a first of all in hurry on Ceara Nevada Mountain .

They had came to sleep on that mountain.Bakeworth was thinking more than that, he was in search of a way in between mountains so that people should not climb again to go other side .

The series of mountains of California is spread over 400 miles . It was very difficult to cross that.

Bakeworth found that track which he was searching for. It was very wonderful scene which he never seen. It was very beatiful valley full of flowers. There were birds too alongwith forest's animals. Bakeworth had founded a way from Ceara Nevada Mountain to Long Valley. It was short rout compared to others routs.

Later the track was named after Bakeworth name. Thousands of people travelled that path including Gold finders. Bakeworth took his vagon train on this path. Bakeworth stayed there near by valley for many years. He built hterea Hotel and displayed started trading post for few times. Bakeworth was very courageous inventor .

Bakeworth born in Fredric County, Virginnia in 1798. His father was white skeened but mother was black slave. Father was owner of many slaves.

His father shifted with family when Bakeworth was 7-8 years old boy to Cent Luis, Missouri.

His father sent him to a white Jorge Caster a blacksmith for learning the job. At the age of 19th Bakeworth fall in love with slave girl. Due to love affair James generally comes late nigth, that was not accepted by Caster even fight takes place. One day James quarrelled with Caster and run away from there. He never returned at home. He work in salt mines and returned Cent Luis after travelling New Arlians.

One day he joined General Willam Hernary Ashley who was doing animals organ's business. And finally he became one of the great Frontiers of the Country. Bakeworth died in 1866.

Chitra Magimairaj

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chitra Magimairaj

Born 7 April 1973

India

Sport country India

Nickname Sports

Highest ranking World ranking 10

Medal record

Women's snooker

Representing India

World Women's Senior Snooker Championship

Individual competition 2014

Individual competition 2016

Chitra Magimairaj (born 7 April 1973, Bangalore), is an Indian professional player of snooker, English billiards, and pool. She is a two-time World Ladies Billiards and Snooker Association World Champion (2006, 2007), a two-time national pool champion, and more recently the World Women's Senior Snooker Championship (2014). She has also been a national-class amateur cricket and field hockey player.

Her highest breaks are 91 at snooker and 49 at English billiards.

Early life

Born in Bangalore, India, Magimairaj was educated at St. Anne's Girls High School, and graduated from Teresian College, Mysore. She started playing cricket and field hockey at a young age.

Career

On 22 April 2014, Magimairaj won the World Women's Senior Snooker Championship, after defeating Alena Asmolava of Belarus, in Leeds, UK.

Magimairaj was the first Indian woman cueist to win a medal in Asian Games and Asian Indoor Games, the First Indian woman to have won two World Billiards Championships (women's division) titles (in 2006 and 2007) and the first Indian to win an Australian Open Women's Snooker Championship (2008).[citation needed]

Inn 2007 she received a Kempegowda Award and an Ekalavya Award.

Other sports

Magimairaj played cricket for Falcon Sports Club under Shanta Rangaswamy, and represented Karnataka, which won the South Zone Cricket Championship in the year 1989.

She played field hockey for Sports Hostel Mysore for seven years, and represented Karnataka in sub-junior, junior, and senior nationals, the All-India Inter-University Invitation Cup, and the South Zone Championship.

Titles and achievements

English billiards

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponentScoreRef.

Winner 1 2006 World Ladies Billiards Championship Emma Bonney 193–164

Winner 2 2007 World Ladies Billiards Championship Emma Bonney 187–148

Runner-up 3 2009 World Ladies Billiards Championship Emma Bonney 118–272

Runner-up 4 2010 World Ladies Billiards Championship Emma Bonney 220–269

Runner-up 5 2013 Indian National Billiards Championship

Snooker

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponentScoreRef.

Winner 1 2008 Australian Open Snooker Championship

Runner-up 2 2009 Australian Open Snooker Championship

Winner 3 2011 Indian National Six-red Snooker Championship

Winner 4 2012 Indian National Snooker Championship

Runner-up 5 2013 Indian National Snooker Championship

Pool

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponentScoreRef.

Winner 1 2006 Indian National Eight-ball Pool Championship

Winner 2 2007 Indian National Nine-ball Pool Championship

Chitra Kulathummuriyil Soman

Chitra Kulathummuriyil Soman (born 10 July 1983) was born in Kottayam , Kerala. Her father is from Kottayam and her mother is from kanjirappally, [kerala]]. She is an Indian sprinter who specializes in the 400 metres. Soman finished seventh in 4 x 400 metres relay at the 2004 Summer Olympics, together with teammates Satti Geetha, K. M. Beenamol and Rajwinder Kaur. This team, only with Manjeet Kaur running instead of Geetha, had set a national record of 3:26.89 minutes in the heat. Soman also ran for the Indian team who won a silver medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. In 2007, Chitra Soman won gold medal in 400m race at Asian Grand Prix series held at Guwahati on 23 June 2007 and at Puen held on 27 June 2007. She also led Indian women 4 × 400 m relay team to Gold in Asian Athletics Championship held at Amman in July 2007. In 2008, Chitra again showed her class by leading another win for Indian women 4 × 400 m relay team in 3rd Asian Indoor Championship in Athletics held in Doha in Feb 2008.(From Wikipedia)

Her personal best time in 400 m is 51.30 seconds, achieved in June 2004 in Chennai.she got married 2011 and he is from punjab.

Cael Sanderson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cael Sanderson

College Iowa State University

NCAA championships 12 (4 competing, 8 coaching)

Olympic team United States of America

Olympic medal Gold

Status Head Coach for Penn State Nittany Lions Wrestling

Cael Norman Sanderson (/ˈkeɪl/ KAYL; born June 20, 1979) is an American former folkstyle and freestyle wrestler who is the current head coach of Penn State University's wrestling team. As a wrestler, he won an Olympic Gold medal and was undefeated in four years of college wrestling at Iowa State University (ISU) (159–0), becoming a four-time NCAA Division I champion (1999–2002). He is the only wrestler in NCAA Division I history to go undefeated in official matches with more than 100 wins. Sports Illustrated named his college career as the second most impressive college sports feat behind the setting of four world records by Jesse Owens in a single hour at the 1935 Big Ten track and field conference championship meet.

Early life

Born in Salt Lake City, Utah to Steve and Debbie Sanderson, Cael attended Wasatch High School in Heber City, Utah, where he was coached by his father, a former wrestler at the Brigham Young University. As a high school wrestler, Sanderson was a four-time UHSAA state champion (1994–97), like his brother Cody, and compiled a record of 127 wins and 3 losses.

Wrestling career

College

Upon graduation, Sanderson followed his brothers, Cody and Cole, to ISU. After redshirting in 1997-98, Sanderson won all 39 of his matches to his first NCAA and Big 12 Conference titles at 184 pounds (his brother, Cody, was the runner-up at 133 pounds). He was also the first freshman in NCAA history to be named the Outstanding Wrestler (OW) at Nationals. His next three seasons were virtually identical, compiling 40 wins and no losses in each and finishing with the only perfect record in NCAA Division I history at 159-0. By winning all of his matches, he became only the second wrestler in history to that point to win four NCAA Division I titles. He was also named the OW in all of the NCAA tournaments he competed in.

Sanderson was a three-time Dan Hodge Trophy winner (equivalent to the Heisman Trophy), being the first to win the award multiple times and the only person to win it three times. He holds the longest win-streak across all NCAA divisions. All of this combined, makes him the most accomplished collegiate wrestler in the history of the sport.

In 2017, Sanderson was inducted into the ISU Hall of Fame.

Freestyle

Sanderson was a two-time US Cadet World Team Member, placing third and fourth in 1994 and 1995, respectively. He was also a US University National Champion in 1999 and a University World Champion in 2000.

He became the US National Champion in 2001, 2002 and 2003. He was also an original US World Team Member in 2001 and 2002, however, he chose not to participate at the 01' World Championships to focus in folkstyle, and the USA team chose to not compete in 2002.

In 2003, he won the Manitoba Open in Canada in February, placed second at the World Cup in April, third at the 2003 Pan American Games and second at the World Championships. In 2004, he once again claimed the Manitoba Open title and won the US Olympic Team Trials.

At the 2004 Summer Olympics, Sanderson claimed wins over Magomed Kurugliyev, Siarhei Borchanka, Majid Khodaei, Yoel Romero and Moon Eui-jae to become an Olympic Gold medalist in Athens, Greece.

While already a full-time coach at Penn State, Sanderson came out of retirement in 2011 and took home an Ion Corneanu Memorial title, won the US World Team Trials and placed fifth at the World Championships.

Coaching career

Iowa State

Sanderson began his coaching career with the season ending in 2004 as a special assistant for the wrestling team at ISU. After short stints in associate head coaching positions, he became the head coach for the season ending in 2007. In three seasons, Sanderson led ISU's wrestling team to NCAA Division I national placements of second, fifth, and third. He also coached his wrestlers to two individual NCAA Division I national titles.

Penn State

Before the 2010 season ended, Sanderson became the head coach of Penn State's wrestling team. As of 2019, Sanderson's Penn State teams have won eight NCAA Division I team titles. During that time, he also coached his wrestlers to 23 individual Division I titles.Awards and honors

2011

Ion Corneanu Memorial2004

Summer Olympics

Manitoba Open

John Smith Award as the Freestyle Wrestler of the Year2003

World Wrestling Championships

Pan American Games

Manitoba Open

John Smith Award as the Freestyle Wrestler of the Year2002

Best Male College Athlete ESPY Award

Dan Hodge Trophy winner

NCAA Division I Championships Outstanding Wrestler

NCAA Division I

Big 12 Conference2001

Dan Hodge Trophy winner

NCAA Division I Championships Outstanding Wrestler

NCAA Division I

Big 12 Conference2000

Dan Hodge Trophy winner

NCAA Division I Championships Outstanding Wrestler

NCAA Division I

Big 12 Conference1999

NCAA Division I Championships Outstanding Wrestler

NCAA Division I

Big 12 Conference

Other honors

Iowa Sports Hall of Fame inductee

Wheaties cereal box appearance

Chinnaswamy Muniyappa

Rayan Rozario

India’s professional golfer Chinnaswamy Muniyappa has never been to a school, having lived all his life in the woods and among the greens.

His is a typical rags-to-riches tale. A tale that has found its way into the English textbooks. The story, titled ‘From a Caddie to a Champion’, revolves around his life at the KGA golf course.

The 34-year-old, who lived the early part of his life in a tiny village at Dharmapuri, was obviously thrilled. “I cannot read or write English as I have not gone to a school, but I am happy that at least the children are reading my story,” says a proud Muniyappa, showing the book to other golfers during the PGTI Players Championship in Coimbatore.

“I did not know that I had appeared in a book till a member of the golf club in Bangalore alerted me.

“I was curious to know the contents. Thankfully, my friends translated it for me,” he says.

Muniyappa began his journey as a ball boy at the KGA course. “I lived in a small hut just outside the course. We lived in penury. I had very little food to eat and did not have too many clothes to wear. My only joy was while playing at the golf course as my parents did some small chores there. It was then that I developed an interest for the sport.

“When I was seven, I performed the role of a ball boy, earning one rupee a day. I did that for five years before I turned a caddie. I got seven rupees for a round. It helped our cause at home,” Muniyappa says with a smile.

During his leisure time, he used to convert the barks of the tree into clubs and whack the ball along with his friends. “Seeing this, a golfer presented me with two clubs. I grew in confidence and soon took part in tournaments for caddies. I even started winning a few of them. In 1996, KGA gave me a ‘club spot’ for a professional tournament, but I could not impress,” says Muniyappa.

He carried on courageously, however. The following year, Muniyappa qualified and turned a pro at the Guindy Golf Club in Chennai. He participated in all pro and Asian tournaments, before becoming a hero at the Hero Honda India Open in 2009.

“I got Rs. 93 lakh for my effort. My parents were elated. I kept it safe in the bank. My ignorance turned out to be the taxman’s gain as I lost a huge sum on taxes,” says Muniyappa.

“Frankly, it does not matter. I am proud of my achievements. I have a long way to go.

“There are lots of talented golfers like me but quite a few of them have left the sport for want of support. I consider myself lucky because I found the right people at the right time,” he says.

Muniyappa, who is blessed with three children, has a major dream. “I want to win a title on the US PGA tour,” he signs off.

https://www.thehindu.com/sport/other-sports/from-ball-boy-to-textbook-hero/article3821853.ece

Corey Perry

Why He’s Untouchable: Great scoring winger with a big multi-year contract

Corey Perry Bio

Born: 16 May 1985, Haileybury, Temiskaming Shores, Canada

Perry combines a 6-foot-3 frame with a long reach and powerful skating stride to get past defenders. But the Peterborough, Ontario, native is also one of the NHL's biggest agitators; he has gotten under the skin of rivals by doing things such as spraying water in opponents' gloves and grabbing their sticks.

However, Perry, selected by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the first round (No. 28) of the 2003 NHL Draft, also became one of the best goal-scorers of his generation. He became the third player from his draft class to reach 300 goals when he scored against the Edmonton Oilers on Nov. 11, 2015. Perry then scored No. 301 two nights later to move past Paul Kariya into second place in Anaheim history, behind Teemu Selanne.

At age 20, Perry began his NHL career in 2005-06 with at least one point in each of his first four games, including his first goal Oct. 10, 2005. He was later demoted to the minors for six weeks but returned to the NHL to stay in January 2006 and finished the season by scoring 12 goals and 19 points in Anaheim's last 41 games. He also played in 11 of the Ducks' 16 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and had three assists.

Perry played all 82 games in 2006-07, bumping up his offensive totals to 17 goals and 44 points, then played a key role in the Ducks' run to the first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history. He tied for second on the team with 15 points, and the last of his six playoff goals capped Anaheim's Cup-clinching 6-2 win against the Ottawa Senators in Game 5 of the Final.

Perry played in his first NHL All-Star Game in 2008-09. He led the Ducks in goals and finished second on the team in scoring in 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10. Perry led the NHL with 50 goals in 2010-11, when he finished third with 98 points and was voted winner of the Hart Trophy as the League's most valuable player.

Perry was second in the NHL in 2013-14 with 43 goals, beginning a streak of three seasons in which he finished in the top 10.

He had knee surgery in September 2018 and was limited to 31 games in 2018-19, the last of his 14 seasons with Anaheim. Perry signed with the Dallas Stars as a free agent July 1, 2019. He played his 1,000th NHL game Nov. 13, 2019, but scored just five goals and 21 points in 57 games. However, his scoring touch returned during the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning, when he scored three goals. However, Perry and the Stars would lose that series in six games.

After the season he signed one-year, $750,000 contract with the Montreal Canadiens.

With the Canadiens, Perry scored 21 points (nine goals, 12 assists) in 49 regular-season games. He then scored 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 22 playoff games to help Montreal advance to the Cup Final for the first time since 1993. But for the second season in a row, Perry fell short at the hands of the Lightning, this time losing in five games.

On July 29, 2021, Perry decided to join the team he had lost to the previous two seasons, signing a two-year, $2 million contract with Tampa Bay.

Perry also has had plenty of international success. He was a member of Canada's gold medal-winning Olympic teams in 2010 and 2014, and he helped Canada win the 2016 IIHF World Championship. Perry also played on Canada's gold medal-winning team at the 2005 World Junior Championship and helped London of the Ontario Hockey League win the Memorial Cup that year.

NOTES & TRANSACTIONS

OHL First All-Star Team (2004, 2005)

Canadian Major Junior Second All-Star Team (2004)

Canadian Major Junior First All-Star Team (2005)

OHL Playoff MVP (2005)

NHL First All-Star Team (2011, 2014)

Played in NHL All-Star Game (2008, 2011, 2012, 2016)

Signed as a free agent by Dallas, July 1, 2019.

Signed as a free agent by Montreal, December 28, 2020.

Signed as a free agent by Tampa Bay, July 29, 2021.

Chetan Anand

From Wikipedia

Chetan Anand

XIX Commonwealth Games-2010 Delhi Badminton (Men’s Single) Chetan Anand of India in an action against Snider of Canada, at Sirifort Sports Complex, in New Delhi on 7 October 2010.

Personal information

Country India

Born 8 July 1980 (age 40)

Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India

Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)

Weight 162 lb (73 kg)

Handedness Right

Coach S. M. Arif

Men's singles

Highest ranking 10 (February 2009)

Men's badminton

Representing India

2010 New Delhi Mixed team

2006 Melbourne Men's singles

2006 Melbourne Mixed team

2004 Islamabad Men's singles

2004 Islamabad Men's team

2006 Colombo Men's singles

2006 Colombo Men's team

2010 Dhaka Men's singles

2010 Dhaka Men's team

2010 Dhaka Men's doubles

BWF profile

Chetan Anand Buradagunta (born 8 July 1980) is a badminton player from India. Anand was a four time national champion in 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2010, also three times South Asian Games men's singles champion in 2004, 2006 and 2010. He has a career best world ranking of world no 10. His ranking has dropped to 54 since October 2010 due to his ankle injury. He is also the recipient of the Indian Arjuna Award in 2006.

Badminton career

Anand started his badminton career in 1992 at the Mini Nationals in Mumbai. He was successful in doubles in his early badminton career, pairing with A. Prithvi, winning 12 year and 15 years age groups. He reached his first open nationals singles final in Kerala at age fifteen, but failed to win the title and was runner-up though he won the doubles pairing with A. Prithvi. Later, Prakash Padukone sent him to the World Academy camp in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he made significant improvements to his game. Anand won the first singles title of his career at Chennai in a Junior major ranking tournament. The same year he made his mark in the senior category as well, reaching the semi-finals in all of the senior ranking tournaments, and reaching the top eight in the country. He became the Junior National Champion in 1999. In 2001, he won his first Asian Satellite tournament in Bangalore which marked his beginning in seniors. Later he won more than 15 major ranking tournaments in India.

Anand became the national badminton champion for first time in 2004 after faltering in the finals in 2002 and 2003 to Abhinn Shyam Gupta. He also won the Toulouse Open in France in 2004, recovering from a back injury during the summer 2004. In 2005 he won Irish and Scottish open badminton tournaments in Ireland and Scotland. In 2008 he won his first Grand Prix title at the Bitburger Open. He was also the Runner-up in Dutch Grand Prix in 2008 and followed them with a couple of quarterfinal appearances. He touched his career best world ranking 10 in 2009 February. In 2009, he won the Dutch Open Grand Prix which he lost in the finals in 2008. He also won the Jaypee Syed Modi Memorial Grand Prix at Lucknow in December 2009.

Personal life

Anand was born to Harshavardhan and Suguna in Vijayawada, India and has a younger brother Sandeep Anand. Anand's father Harshavardhan had formerly been an annual participant in the Inter-state Lecturer's Tournaments. Anand also took a personal interest in badminton, and he started playing with his father. He did his schooling at Veeramachineni Paddayya Siddhartha public school and bachelors in engineering in Mechanical Manufacturing from the Potluri V Prasad Siddhartha Institute of Technology in Vijayawada. On 17 July 2005, Anand married fellow badminton player Jwala Gutta. And they got divorced in 2010. Chetan got married again to Sarada Govardhini Jasti in October 2012 and has two daughters. He is employed by the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation. He was signed as first Brand Ambassador for promoting Li Ning Sporting goods in India in 2009.

Dharmalingam Kannan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dharmalingam KannanPersonal information

Date of birth 8 July 1936

Place of birth Secunderabad, India

Date of death 19 May 2006 (aged 69)

Place of death Hyderabad, India

Position(s) Centre forward

National team

– India

Dharmalingam Kannan (8 July 1936 – 19 May 2006) was an Indian footballer. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1960 Summer Olympics.

Kannan played for Hyderabad from 1956 to 1958 and Bengal from 1959. He represented India in the 1958 Asian Games. He was employed with the Vehicle Depot, Secunderabad but moved to East Bengal

Deep Grace Ekka

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Deep Grace Ekka

Personal information

Born 3 June 1994

Odisha, India

Height 1.58 m (5 ft 2 in)

Weight 63 kg (139 lb)

Playing position Defender

Club information

Current club SAI-SAG Centre

National team

Years Team Apps (Gls)

India 181 (13)

Women's field hockey

Representing India

2018 Jakarta Team

2014 Incheon Team

Asian Cup

2017 Gifu Team

Deep Grace Ekka (born 3 June 1994) is an Indian female field hockey player. She plays for the Indian Women's Hockey Team.

Early life

Deep Grace Ekka was born on 3 June 1994 in a small village called Lulkidhi in the Sundergarh district of Odisha. She is the daughter of Charles and Jayamani Ekka.

She started playing hockey in school and was coached by Tej Kumar Xess (2005–06). During a round of hockey selections at her school, she was selected to join the SAI-SAG centre of the Sports Authority of India in September 2007 and started playing at state level at the age of 13. She began to be coached by Lucela Ekka and Saroj Mohanty.At the age of 16, she played at the senior nationals in Sonepat.

In 2011, she played at the National Games in Ranchi. She was also selected for the Junior National Camp and travelled to Bangkok for the Junior Asia Cup.

She started as a defender but her desire was to become a goalkeeper as her brother and she used to play sometimes but her uncle who was her coach didn't allow her to pursue or practise as a goalkeeper so having no choice she became defender.

Career

She has 150 international caps and has scored 3 international goals.

International

She doubles up drag flicker defending and winning performances at the 9th women Asia cup in japan last year.

Indian Hockey second match at Gold Coast 2018 against Malaysia in Commonwealth Games completed 150 international cabs.

Made her international debut in the Four-Nation Tournament in Argentina in 2011 in which India won Bronze medal.

Helped India win the bronze medal in the U-18 Girls` Asia Cup Hockey Championship at Bangkok, Thailand in 2011.

Represented Indian senior women`s team in the FIH World League (Round 2) held at New Delhi from 18 to 24 February 2013.

She was a part of the Indian team that made history by winning the bronze medal for the first time in Women Junior Hockey World Cup at Monchengladbach in Germany on 4 July 2013.

She was part of the Indian team that won the bronze medal in the Women's Hockey Asia Cup in 2013.

She was part of the senior Indian team that won the silver medal in the Women's Asian Champions Trophy in 2013.

She was a member of the Indian team that won the women's hockey test series 6–0 against Malaysia held at Kualalumpur from 9 to 17 June 2014.

She was part of the Indian women team that finished fifth in the 20th Commonwealth Games, held in Glasgow from 23 July to 3 August 2014.

She was a member of the Indian women hockey team that won the bronze medal in the 17th Asian Games at Incheon (South Korea) on 1 October 2014.

She was a member of the Indian women team that finished seventh in the Hawkes Bay Cup Tournament, held at Hastings in New Zealand from 11 to 19 April 2015.

She was part of the Indian team that won the FIH World League Round 2 in New Delhi in 2015.

She was a member of Indian women hockey team that won five matches, drew one and lost two on its South Africa tour, which took place from 20 February to 1 March 2016.

She was a member of the India team that finished sixth in the Hawkes Bay Cup Women Hockey Festival, held at Hasting in New Zealand from 2 to 10 April 2016.

Completed her 100th international cap in India's final group stage match against Australia on her 22nd birthday at the FourNation Women Tournament at Darwin in Australia on 3 June 2016.

She was selected for Rio Olympics 2016, Brazil.

National

Helped Odisha win the title in National School (U-17) Hockey Championship in 2009.

Helped Odisha finish runners-up in the Hockey event of the Women's National Sports Festival at Bhopal in 2010.

She was a member of the Odisha team that finished 3rd in the inaugural Hockey India Senior National Championship at Sonepat in 2011.

Represented Odisha in 34th National games at Ranchi (Jharkhand) in 2011.

Selected by Hockey India to join the Senior National Women coaching camp to be held at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadiumin New Delhi from 27 December to 15 February 2011.

Drew Doughty

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Drew Doughty

Doughty with the Los Angeles Kings in 2016

Born December 8, 1989

London, Ontario, Canada

Position Defence

Shoots Right

NHL team Los Angeles Kings

National team Canada

NHL Draft 2nd overall, 2008

Los Angeles Kings

Playing career 2008–present

Drew Doughty (born December 8, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected second overall by the Kings in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft from the Guelph Storm of the OHL, where he was twice voted the league's top offensive defenceman.

Doughty made his NHL debut in 2008 as an 18-year-old and was named to the All-Rookie Team. He is a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Kings in the 2011–12 NHL season and the 2013–14 NHL season, two-time Olympic gold medallist with the Canadian national team at Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014, 2009 World Championship silver medallist, 2008 World Junior Championship gold medalist, and a Norris Trophy finalist from the 2009–10, 2014–15, 2015–16 and 2017–18 seasons, winning the trophy in 2015–16.

Early life

Doughty was born in London, Ontario, the son of Paul and Connie Doughty. He was introduced to hockey when he was given a mini stick for his first birthday, was skating by the age of two and was playing before he was four. Doughty also played soccer in his youth as a goalkeeper – his father had a history with the game and his sister Chelsea is named after the English team of the same name. He was considered for a provincial under-14 team, but gave up the sport at 16 to focus on hockey. Nonetheless, Doughty felt that his time playing goal in soccer helped him develop an awareness of the players and the game in hockey.

Playing career

Major junior

Doughty was selected by the Guelph Storm fifth overall in the 2005 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Priority Selection draft.He scored five goals and 33 points for the Storm in 2005–06 and was named to the OHL All-Rookie Team on defence. Doughty played in the 2007 OHL All-Star Game and was voted the top offensive defenceman in the league by the coaches following a 74-point season in 2006–07. He again won both honours in 2007–08 with a 50-point season, and was awarded the Max Kaminsky Trophy as the OHL's outstanding defenceman.[7]National Hockey League (NHL) Central Scouting ranked Doughty as the third best North American prospect for the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.[8] He was selected second overall by the Los Angeles Kings, a choice that excited Doughty as he grew up a Kings fan and wanted to play in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Kings (2008–present)

Early success in Los Angeles (2008–2011)

Doughty made the Kings opening day roster to start the 2008–09 NHL season, one of eight 18-year-olds to do so across the league. Earning a spot on the Kings roster overwhelmed Doughty, who did not expect to play in the NHL so quickly. He made his NHL debut on October 11, 2008, against the San Jose Sharks, and scored his first goal on October 20 against the Colorado Avalanche. The Kings had the option of returning him to junior without using up one year of his rookie contract if they did so before he played his tenth NHL game. However, they chose to keep him on the roster for the season. His defensive partner, Sean O'Donnell agreed with the decision, praising Doughty's maturity. He played 81 games in his rookie season, finishing with six goals and 21 assists, earning a spot on the NHL All-Rookie Team, while also playing in the Youngstars Game as part of the 2009 All-Star festivities.

Doughty during warmup prior to an NHL game against the Calgary Flames, April 2009

Doughty improved to 59 points in his sophomore season of 2009–10 and finished third in the league in scoring amongst defencemen. He was named to the second all-star team and was named a finalist for the Norris Trophy as the league's top defenceman. His coach, Terry Murray, praised Doughty for his improvement during the season. Doughty helped lead the Kings into the playoffs for the first time since 2002, though they lost their first round series to the Vancouver Canucks. He played all six games of the series despite suffering a wrist injury in the first game that forced him to decline an invitation to play for Canada at the 2010 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships.

The Kings' media voted Doughty the team's outstanding defenceman for the third consecutive season in 2010–11.[18] His offensive output fell from 59 points the previous season to 40, but he scored his 100th career point on December 21, 2010, against the Colorado Avalanche. A restricted free agent following the season, Doughty and the Kings struggled to agree on a new contract. The Kings offered $6.8 million per season over seven years, but Doughty rejected the offer. Though the Kings publicly stated they were not willing to sign him for a higher annual salary than team leader Anže Kopitar's $6.8 million, the two sides ultimately agreed on an eight-year, $56 million contract that made Doughty the highest paid player on the team at an average of $7 million per season. Doughty missed the majority of Los Angeles' training camp as a holdout, including five pre-season games, before signing the contract on September 29, 2011.

Stanley Cup titles (2012–2014)

In addition to missing training camp, Doughty suffered a concussion early in the season that forced him onto injured reserve He struggled upon his return from the injury and faced criticism that he had allowed his physical conditioning to lapse. Doughty himself admitted that he was not enjoying the game early in the season. He said that his season turned a corner when the team replaced Murray with Darryl Sutter, a coach who preached the need for preparation. Doughty was elevated into a role where he was expected to shut down the opposition's top forwards, forcing him to focus more on his defensive play than his offensive. Consequently, Doughty's 36 points on the season was his lowest total in three years. He was the top-scoring defenceman in the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs, however, recording 16 points in 20 games to help the Kings win the first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history. Doughty was praised as the top player for either team in the final series, a six-game victory over the New Jersey Devils.

Doughty won his second Stanley Cup in 2014 against the New York Rangers, becoming the seventh player to win both an Olympic hockey gold medal and the Stanley Cup in the same year.

Doughty warming up prior to a game in the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs

Norris Trophy win and continued success (2015–present)

During the 2015–16 season, Doughty had a career-high plus 24 rating, while also leading the league in shot attempts and ranking third in average ice time for the Kings. At the end of the year, Doughty won the 2015–16 Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenceman. It was his third nomination; he finished second in voting in 2014–15 and third in 2009–10.

During the 2016–17 season Doughty was selected to participate in the 2017 NHL All-Star Game after leading the team's defense in goals and coming in second in points. The following season, Doughty was again selected to participate in the All-Star Game, marking his fourth consecutive selection. Doughty was also named a finalist for the Norris Trophy again. During the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs Doughty was suspended for one game for an illegal hit to the head during Game 1 against the Vegas Golden Knights.

On July 1, 2018, Doughty agreed to an 8-year, $88 million contract extension with the Kings, which will see him signed through until the 2026–27 season.

On October 8, 2019, Doughty scored the winning goal in a game against the Calgary Flames, but it was his post-goal celebration that received media attention. Doughty allegedly yelled "Suck my dick!" at Flames' fans at ice level, while performing a "crotch chop" motion made famous in professional wrestling circles.

International play

Medal record

Men's ice hockey

Representing Canada

2010 Vancouver

2014 Sochi

2009 Switzerland

Canada Cup/World Cup

2016 Toronto

IPC World Championships

2008 Czech Republic

In 2006, Doughty played with Team Ontario at the World U-17 Hockey Challenge, finishing fifth, then won a gold medal with the national under-18 team at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament. He participated the 2007 IIHF World U18 Championships, scoring five points in six games for the fourth place Canadians, and while he was considered for the Canadian junior team for the 2007 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, he did not make the cut. Doughty was named to participate in the 2007 Super Series, an eight-game tournament against the Russian juniors meant to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the 1972 Summit Series.

Doughty (number 8) celebrates moments after Sidney Crosby's gold-medal winning goal at the 2010 Winter Olympics over the United States.

He played in all eight games, recording two assists, as Canada finished the series unbeaten with seven wins and a tie. He then earned a spot on the roster for the 2008 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. Doughty was named a tournament all-star, and given the Directorate Award for Best Defenceman after helping lead the Canadians to their fourth consecutive gold medal at the tournament.

Following his rookie season in the NHL, Doughty made his debut with the senior team, playing in the 2009 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships. He scored one goal and added six assists in nine games, however the Canadians settled for silver after losing the championship game to Russia, 2–1. His strong play in the World Championships earned Doughty an invitation to Canada's summer orientation camp for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Doughty earned one of the final spots on the Canadian defence, beating out established players such as Dion Phaneuf, Jay Bouwmeester and Mike Green. Doughty became the youngest player to represent Canada in a major best-on-best tournament since Eric Lindros participated in the 1991 Canada Cup at the age of 18. He emerged as one of the top defenders on the team, and won the gold medal as Canada defeated the United States in the final game. He was on the ice when Sidney Crosby scored the tournament-winning goal in overtime. Doughty was a star at the 2014 Winter Olympics, where Canada defended its gold medal title. He led the team with four goals and featured prominently on a defensive core which allowed only three goals in six games en route to being undefeated, one of the best team performances in Olympic history.

Personal life

Doughty's maternal grandparents immigrated to Canada from Portugal in the 1950s and his paternal grandparents immigrated to Canada from England in the 1970s.

Doughty married his highschool sweetheart Nicole Arruda on August 8, 2018 in Muskoka, Ontario.

Deepa Malik

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Deepa Malik

Malik in 2016

Personal information

Full name Deepa Malik

Born 30 September 1970

Bhainswal, Haryana, India

Sport

Country India

Event(s) Shot Put, Javelin Throw, Discus Throw, Swimming & Motorcycling

Achievements and titles

Paralympic finals 2016 Rio de Janeiro

Representing India

Women's athletics

Paralympic Games

2016 Rio de Janeiro Shot put – F53

2011 Christchurch Shot put – F52-53

Asian Para Games

2010 Guangzhou Javelin Throw – F33-34-52-53

2014 Incheon Javelin Throw – F53-54

2018 Jakarta Discus Throw – F51-52-53

2018 Jakarta Javelin Throw – F53-54

Deepa Malik (born 30 September 1970) is an Indian athlete. She started her career at the age of 30. She is the first Indian woman to win a medal in Paralympic Games and won a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in shot put. She also won gold in the F-53/54 Javelin event at the para athletic Grand Prix held in Dubai in 2018. She is currently the world number one in the F-53 category. She has won accolades for her participation in various adventure sports. She is associated with Himalayan Motorsports Association (H.M.A.) and Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (F.M.S.C.I.). She has undertaken an 8-day, 1,700-km drive in sub-zero temperatures which included a climb to 18,000 feet (5,500 m). It was – Raid De Himalaya. This journey covers many difficult paths including remote Himalayas, Leh, Shimla and Jammu.

She is a member of the working group in the formulation 12th five-year plan (2012–2017) on sports and physical education as nominated by the Planning Commission HRD Division on behalf of the Sports Ministry. She is also the 'Clean India' brand ambassador for NMDC and expert consultant for Disability Inclusive Accessible Infrastructure for the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs 'Smart Cities' project. In 2020, she was elected as President of the Paralympic Committee of India.

Achievements

Deepa Malik is the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Paralympics. She won the silver medal in the shot put in 2016 Paralympic Games. She was previously honored with the Arjuna award in 2012, at the age of 42 years. She has also been conferred the prestigious Padma Shri award in 2017. She created a New Asian Record in Asian Para Games 2018 and is the only Indian woman to win medals in 3 consecutive Asian Para Games (2010, 2014, 2018). She has won 58 national & 23 International medals across all disciplines to date.

International participation and medals

Asian Para Games 2018, Jakarta 2018 | 2 Bronze Medals(3rd Position) - 1 Bronze F53/F54 Category (Javelin Throw), 1 Bronze F51/52/53 Category (Discus Throw)

Paralympic Games 2016, Rio 2016 | Silver Medal (2nd Position) - First Ever Indian Woman to win a Paralympic Medal (shot put)

IPC Athletics World Championship, Doha, Qatar 2015 | Diploma (5th Position) – (shot put)

IPC Oceania Asian Championship, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 2016 | 1 Gold (javelin), 1 Silver (shot put)

Won Incheon Asian Para Games 2014 – Silver medal in women's 53–54 Javelin with a new Asian Record and has now qualified to be at IPC World Athletics Championship Doha 2015 to be held in Oct 2015

IPC 2nd China Open Athletics Championship Beijing 10–17 April 2014– Shotput F53-55 Gold

German open athletics championship Berlin 2013 – IPC Qualification event – Only women from India to earn qualification for IPC world athletics championship Lyon 2013

IPC World Athletics Championship, Lyon 2013 – Diploma Position

First Malaysian Open Athletics Championship April 2012 – Two Gold Medals – (Javelin and discus) – New Official Asian Record In Javelin F-53 Women – Felicitated by Milkha Singh Ji and P.T.Usha Ji.

IWAS World Games Sharjah Dec-2011- Two Bronze Medals – Two New Asian Records

IPC World Athletics Championship Christchurch Jan 2011 – Silver Medal

IPC World Athletics Championship New Zealand 2011 – Only women para-athlete to qualify for the same *Commonwealth Games 2010 – Diploma Position – Shot Put

Para-Asian Games China Dec 2010 – Bronze Medal – First Ever Medal Won By A Woman Athlete at Asian Games

CP Sports Nottingham England Sep 2010 – Three Gold Medals – Shot-put, Discus, Javelin

IWAS World Games, India 2009– shot put- Bronze Medal

World Open Swimming Championship- Berlin 2008 – 10th Position S-5 Swimming Backstroke

IWAS World Games Taiwan- 2007 – Diploma Position – Javelin F53 Women

FESPIC Games Kuala Lumpur 2006 – 2ND Position S-5 Swimming Backstroke

Qualified B Level – Javelin Throw F-53 For Beijing Olympics 2008 – Felicitated By Mr. Kapil Dev

National and State level medals: 51 Gold, 5 Silver, 2 Bronze

International medals- 23

Motor sports

Deepa Malik was the first person ever to receive a license for an invalid (modified) rally vehicle, a case she consistently pursued for 19 months in Maharashtra. She is also the first physically challenged individual in the country to receive an official rally license from the Federation Motor Sports Club of India (FMSCI) and become a navigator and driver in the toughest car rallies of the country- Raid-de-HIMALAYA 2009 and Desert Storm 2010.

Malik participated in the grid and national anthem ceremony at the start of the 2013 Indian Grand Prix at the Buddh International Circuit.

Her aim of joining motorsports is to spread awareness towards the fact that physically challenged individuals can obtain an official license and attain independence and self-reliance through driving. Deepa Malik has undertaken numerous rallies to promote this cause.

Awards and recognition

National awards

The President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presenting the Padma Shri Award to Ms. Deepa Malik, at a Civil Investiture Ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on March 30, 2017

President Role Model Award (2014)

Arjuna Award (2012)

Maharashtra Chhatrapati Award (sports) (2009–10)

Haryana Karambhoomi Award (2008)

Swawlamban Puruskar Maharashtra (2006)

Padma Shri Award (2017)

First Ladies Award - Ministry of Women & Child Development.

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award (2019)

Other awards

WCRC Leaders Asia Excellence Award 2014

Limca people of the year award 2014

iCONGO Karamveer Puruskar 2014

Amazing Indian Awards Times Now-2013

Cavinkare National Ability Mastery Award −2013

Karamaveer Chakra award 2013

Nominee for L'Oreal Femina Awards 2013 in “Women We Love Category”

Batra Positive Health Hero Award 2012

AWWA Excellence Award For Sports 2012

Media Peace & Excellence Award For Sports 2012

Maharana Mewar Arawali Sports Award 2012

Misaal-e-Himmat Award (2012)

International Women's day appreciation Award 2011 – Cancer Patient Aid Association New Delhi.

Shree Shakti Puruskar CARE- 2011

District Sports Award Ahmednagar-2010

Rashtra Gaurav Puraskar 2009

Naari Gaurav Puraskar 2009

Guru Gobind Shaurya Puraskar 2009

Rotary Women Of The Year Award 2007For the silver medal at the 2016 Summer Paralympics

₹4 crore (US$560,000) from the Government of Haryana

₹50 lakh (US$70,000) from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports

Records and rankings

Holds An Official IPC Asian Record In Javelin F-53 Category – Felicitated by Milkha Singh and P.T.Usha.

Holds All Three National Records In Throws {Discus, Javelin, Shot-put} In F-53 Category

Holds All Three National Records In S-1 Swimming Category {Back Stroke, Breast Stroke, Free Style }

World Ranking 2010–12 – 2nd Shot-put, 3rd -Discus, 3rd Javelin

Asian Ranking 2010–12 – 1st In All Three Throws

LIMCA World Records

Longest Pan-India drive done by a paraplegic women. Chennai-Delhi 3278 km – 2013

Driving Across Nine High Altitude Passes in Nine Days on Leh-Ladakh Highest Motorable Roads. (First Woman in the world in her disability to attempt a journey like this – 2011)

Riding Special Bike −2009

Swimming in River Yamuna Against The Current For 1 km. Allahabad-2008

Derek Jeter

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Derek Jeter
Jeter at TechCrunch Disrupt in 2017
Shortstop
Born: June 26, 1974
Pequannock Township, New Jersey

Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
May 29, 1995, for the New York Yankees
Last MLB appearance
September 28, 2014, for the New York Yankees
MLB statistics
Batting average .310
Hits 3,465
Home runs 260
Runs batted in 1,311
Teams

New York Yankees (1995–2014)
Career highlights and awards

14× All-Star (1998–2002, 2004, 2006–2012, 2014)
5× World Series champion (1996, 1998–2000, 2009)
World Series MVP (2000)
AL Rookie of the Year (1996)
5× Gold Glove Award (2004–2006, 2009–2010)
5× Silver Slugger Award (2006–2009, 2012)
2× AL Hank Aaron Award (2006, 2009)
Roberto Clemente Award (2009)
New York Yankees captain (2003–2014)
New York Yankees No. 2 retired
Monument Park honoree
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction 2020
Vote 99.75% (first ballot)

Derek Sanderson Jeter (/ˈdʒiːtər/ JEE-tər; born June 26, 1974) is an American former professional baseball shortstop, businessman, and baseball executive. He has been the chief executive officer (CEO) and part owner of the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB) since September 2017. As a player, Jeter spent his entire 20-year MLB career with the New York Yankees. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2020; he received 396 of 397 possible votes (99.75%), the second-highest percentage in MLB history (behind only Mariano Rivera) and the highest by a position player.

A five-time World Series champion, Jeter is regarded as one of the primary contributors to the Yankees' success of the late 1990s and early 2000s for his hitting, base-running, fielding, and leadership. He is the Yankees' all-time career leader in hits (3,465), doubles (544), games played (2,747), stolen bases (358), times on base (4,716), plate appearances (12,602) and at bats (11,195). His accolades include 14 All-Star selections, five Gold Glove Awards, five Silver Slugger Awards, two Hank Aaron Awards, and a Roberto Clemente Award. Jeter was the 28th player to reach 3,000 hits and finished his career ranked sixth in MLB history in career hits and first among shortstops. In 2017, the Yankees retired his uniform number 2.

The Yankees drafted Jeter out of high school in 1992, and he debuted in the major leagues at age 20 in 1995. The following year, he became the Yankees' starting shortstop, won the Rookie of the Year Award, and helped the team win the 1996 World Series over the Atlanta Braves. Jeter continued to excel during the team's championship seasons of 1998–2000; he finished third in voting for the American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award in 1998, recorded multiple career-high numbers in 1999, and won both the All-Star Game MVP and World Series MVP Awards in 2000. He consistently placed among the AL leaders in hits and runs scored for most of his career, and served as the Yankees' team captain from 2003 until his retirement in 2014. Throughout his career, Jeter contributed reliably to the Yankees' franchise successes. He holds many postseason records, and has a .321 batting average in the World Series. Jeter has earned the nicknames "Captain Clutch" and "Mr. November" due to his outstanding play in the postseason.

Jeter was one of the most heavily marketed athletes of his generation and is involved in numerous product endorsements. As a celebrity, his personal life and relationships with other celebrities have drawn the attention of the media.

Early life
Jeter with his boyhood idol Dave Winfield at Dodger Stadium, June 2010

Derek Sanderson Jeter was born on June 26, 1974, in Pequannock Township, New Jersey, the son of accountant Dorothy (née Connors) and substance abuse counselor Sanderson Charles Jeter. His mother is of English, German, and Irish ancestry, while his father is African-American. They met while serving in the United States Army in Germany. His father played baseball at Fisk University in Tennessee as a shortstop, and holds a PhD. When Jeter was a child, his parents made him sign a contract every year that defined acceptable and unacceptable forms of behavior. Dorothy instilled a positive attitude in her son, insisting that he not use the word "can't." It was a baseball family, and Jeter's younger sister Sharlee (born c. 1979) was a softball star in high school.

The Jeters lived in New Jersey until Derek was four years old, at which point they moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan. At age five Jeter began playing little league baseball. The children lived with their parents during the school year and spent their summers with their grandparents in New Jersey. Attending New York Yankees games with his grandparents, Jeter became a passionate fan of the team. Watching star outfielder Dave Winfield inspired him to pursue a career in baseball.

Jeter attended Kalamazoo Central High School, where he ran cross country in the fall, played basketball in the winter and baseball in the spring. Jeter posted high batting averages for the school's baseball team; he batted .557 in his sophomore year and .508 as a junior. In his senior year, he batted .508 and compiled 23 runs batted in (RBIs), 21 walks, four home runs, a .637 on-base percentage (OBP), a .831 slugging percentage (SLG), 12 stolen bases (in 12 attempts), and only one strikeout

Jeter received several honors after his senior season, including the Kalamazoo Area B'nai B'rith Award for Scholar Athlete, the 1992 High School Player of the Year Award from the American Baseball Coaches Association, the 1992 Gatorade High School Player of the year award, and USA Today's High School Player of the Year. He also received an All-State honorable mention in basketball. Jeter earned a baseball scholarship to attend the University of Michigan and play college baseball for the Michigan Wolverines.

Professional career
Draft

The Houston Astros held the first overall pick in the 1992 MLB draft. Hall of Fame pitcher Hal Newhouser, who worked for the Astros as a scout, evaluated Jeter extensively and lobbied team management to select him. Fearing Jeter would insist on a salary bonus of at least $1 million to forgo college for a professional contract, they chose Cal State Fullerton outfielder Phil Nevin, who signed for $700,000. Newhouser felt so strongly about Jeter's potential that he quit his job with the Astros in protest after they ignored his drafting advice.

The Yankees, who selected sixth, also rated Jeter highly. Yankees scout Dick Groch, assigned to scout in the Midwest, watched Jeter participate in an all-star camp held at Western Michigan University. Though Yankees officials were concerned that Jeter would attend college instead of signing a professional contract, Groch convinced them to select him, saying, "the only place Derek Jeter's going is to Cooperstown."The second through fifth picks were Paul Shuey, B. J. Wallace, Jeffrey Hammonds, and Chad Mottola; those five would combine for two All-Star Game appearances (Nevin and Hammonds).The Yankees drafted Jeter, who chose to turn pro, signing for $800,000.

Minor leagues (1992–1995)

Jeter played four seasons in Minor League Baseball, formally known as the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues (NAPBL). Jeter began the 1992 season with the Gulf Coast Yankees of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, based in Tampa, Florida. In his first professional game, Jeter failed to get a hit in seven at-bats, going 0-for-7, while striking out five times. Jeter continued to struggle during the rest of the season, batting .202 in 47 games. Manager Gary Denbo benched Jeter in the season's final game to ensure his average would not drop below .200, known in baseball as the Mendoza Line. Frustrated by his lack of success and homesick, Jeter accrued $400-per-month phone bills from daily calls to his parents.

The Yankees promoted Jeter to the Greensboro Hornets of the Class A South Atlantic League (SAL) to give him more at-bats. He batted .247 in his first 11 games with Greensboro, and struggled defensively, making nine errors in 48 chances. Weighing 156 pounds (71 kg), Jeter had a scrawny appearance that did not match his reputation as the Yankees' future leader.Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte, who played for the Hornets that season, at first questioned the hype surrounding Jeter, but recognized his talent and poise.

Jeter focused the next offseason on his fielding. Baseball America rated Jeter among the top 100 prospects in baseball before the 1993 season, ranking him 44th. Returning to the Hornets in 1993, his first full season of professional baseball, Jeter hit .295 with five home runs, 71 RBIs, and 18 stolen bases; SAL managers voted him the "Most Outstanding Major League Prospect" in the league. He finished second in the SAL in triples (11), third in hits (152), and 11th in batting average, and was named to the postseason All-Star team. Jeter committed 56 errors, a SAL record. Despite this, he was named the SAL's Best Defensive Shortstop, Most Exciting Player, and Best Infield Arm by Baseball America

Coming off his strong 1993 season, Baseball America rated Jeter as the 16th-best prospect in baseball. Jeter played for the Tampa Yankees of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League (FSL), the Albany-Colonie Yankees of the Class AA Eastern League, and the Columbus Clippers of the Class AAA International League during the 1994 season, combining to hit .344 with five home runs, 68 RBIs, and steal 50 bases across the three levels. He was honored with Minor League Player of the Year Awards by Baseball America, The Sporting News, and Topps/ NAPBL. He was also named the most valuable player of the FSL.

Considered the fourth-best prospect in baseball by Baseball America heading into the 1995 season, Jeter was projected as the starting shortstop for the Yankees. However, he suffered mild inflammation in his right shoulder in the Arizona Fall League after the conclusion of the 1994 regular season. As a precaution, the Yankees signed Tony Fernández to a two-year contract. With Fernández the starting shortstop, the Yankees assigned Jeter to Class AAA During the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike, Gene Michael, the Yankees' general manager, offered Jeter the opportunity to work out for the MLB team with replacement players in spring training before the 1995 season. Jeter denied receiving the offer, and he did not cross the picket line.

Major leagues (1995–2014)
1995–1998

Early in the 1995 season, Fernández and infielder Pat Kelly were injured. Consequently, Jeter made his MLB debut on May 29, 1995. He was assigned uniform number 2, which was most recently worn by Mike Gallego from 1992 to 1994. Batting ninth, he went hitless in five at bats, striking out once. The following day, he recorded his first two major league hits and scored his first two career runs. Jeter batted .250 and committed two errors in 13 games before being demoted to Class AAA Columbus; Fernández replaced Jeter at shortstop. The Yankees advanced to the postseason in 1995. Jeter traveled with the team during the 1995 American League Division Series (ALDS), though he was not on the active roster. The Yankees lost to the Seattle Mariners.
Jeter tagging out Miguel Tejada in 2007

After Fernández batted a disappointing .245 and appeared in only 108 games due to injuries in 1995, newly hired Yankees manager Joe Torre turned to Jeter for the 1996 season, hoping for a .250 batting average and dependable defense. Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, often skeptical of younger players, was unconvinced. After Clyde King, a close Steinbrenner advisor, observed Jeter for two days in spring training in 1996, he came away with the impression that Jeter was not yet ready to contribute at the major league level. To provide depth to the team at the shortstop position after an injury to Fernández, Steinbrenner approved a trade that would have sent pitcher Mariano Rivera to the Mariners for shortstop Félix Fermín, but Michael, by then the vice president of scouting, and assistant general manager Brian Cashman convinced Steinbrenner to give Jeter an opportunity.

Rated the sixth-best prospect in baseball by Baseball America heading into the 1996 season, Jeter started on Opening Day, the first Yankee rookie to start as shortstop for the team since Tom Tresh in 1962 He hit his first MLB home run that day. With his speed and ability to execute the hit and run, Jeter served as a complement to leadoff hitter Tim Raines while batting in the ninth spot in the batting order. By year's end Jeter far exceeded Torre's expectations – and anyone's – hitting .314 with 10 home runs, 104 runs scored, and 78 RBIs. He was named the unanimous AL Rookie of the Year, receiving all 28 first-place votes in only the fifth sweep in the honor's 50-year history.

The Yankees reached the 1996 postseason, and Torre batted Jeter in the leadoff spot based on his strong year-long performance. During Game 1 of the 1996 American League Championship Series (ALCS), the Yankees trailed the Baltimore Orioles 4–3 in the eighth inning when Jeter hit a fly ball to right field that was ruled a home run by the umpires after 12-year-old fan Jeffrey Maier reached over the wall to catch the ball. Though the ball would have remained in play if not for Maier, and could have been caught by Tony Tarasco, the home run stood as called, tying the game. It marked the first home run of Jeter's postseason career. The Yankees won the game and defeated the Orioles in five games. Overall, Jeter batted .361 in the 1996 postseason, helping to lead the Yankees offensively with Bernie Williams, as Wade Boggs, Paul O'Neill, and Tino Martinez struggled. The Yankees defeated the Atlanta Braves in the 1996 World Series to win their first championship since the 1978 World Series.

Following his Rookie of the Year campaign, considered the "new crop" of shortstops, along with Alex Rodriguez and Nomar Garciaparra, as the careers of older shortstops such as Cal Ripken Jr., Barry Larkin, Ozzie Smith, and Alan Trammell were concluding. Rodriguez, the first overall selection in the 1993 MLB draft, first contacted Jeter about his experiences as a high-first round pick. The two became friends to the extent that The New York Times journalist Jack Curry commented "[r]arely have two higher-profile opponents been as close." Rodriguez described Jeter as being "like my brother," even though they were on-field adversaries.

Before the 1997 season, Jeter and the Yankees agreed on a $540,000 contract with performance bonuses. Becoming the Yankees' leadoff batter, Jeter batted .291, with 10 home runs, 70 RBIs, 116 runs, and 190 hits. Though he hit two home runs during the 1997 American League Division Series, the Yankees lost to the Cleveland Indians, three games to two.

Jeter earned $750,000 for the 1998 season. That year, Jeter was selected for his first All-Star Game. In the regular season, he batted .324 with a league-leading 127 runs, 19 home runs, and 84 RBIs, for a team that won 114 games during the regular season and is widely considered to be one of the greatest of all time. In the playoffs, Jeter hit only .176 in the 1998 ALDS and ALCS, but batted .353 in the World Series, as the Yankees defeated the San Diego Padres in four games. At season's end, Jeter finished third in voting for the AL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award.

1999–2002
Jeter in his distinctive early career upright batting stance at the new Comiskey Park, 1999

Eligible for salary arbitration for the first time before the 1999 season, Jeter was awarded a $5 million salary. Jeter led the AL in hits that season with 219, while finishing second in the league in batting average (.349) and runs scored (134), appearing in his second All-Star game that year. His season totals in batting average, runs, hits, runs batted in, doubles (37), triples (9), home runs (24), SLG (.552), and OBP (.438) are all personal bests. Jeter, who for part of the year hit third in the batting order, also drove in 102 runs, becoming only the second Yankee shortstop to do so, following Lyn Lary's 107 RBIs in 1931. In the postseason, Jeter batted .455 in the ALDS, .350 in the ALCS, and .353 in the World Series, as the Yankees defeated the Braves to win another championship, Jeter's third.

During the 1999–2000 offseason, the Yankees negotiated with Jeter, tentatively agreeing to a seven-year, $118.5 million contract. However, because Steinbrenner did not want to set a record for the largest contract, Steinbrenner waited while Juan González and the Detroit Tigers negotiated on a reported eight-year, $143 million contract extension. When that agreement fell through, so did Jeter's tentative deal. To avoid arbitration, Jeter and the Yankees agreed to a one-year deal worth $10 million.

Jeter batted a team-best .339 in the 2000 regular season and added 15 home runs, 73 RBIs, 119 runs scored, and 22 stolen bases. In the 2000 MLB All-Star Game, he recorded three hits, including a two-run single that gave his team the lead and victory. The performance earned him the All-Star Game MVP Award, the first time a Yankee won the award. During the postseason, he batted only .211 in the Division Series but rebounded to hit .318 in the Championship Series against the Seattle Mariners, and .409 in the World Series against the New York Mets. Jeter added two home runs, a triple, and two doubles in the World Series, including a leadoff home run on the first pitch of Game 4 and a triple later in the third inning. His home run in Game 5 tied the game and extended his World Series hitting streak to 14 games.The Yankees defeated the Mets in five games for their third consecutive title and fourth in Jeter's first five full seasons. Jeter won the World Series MVP Award, becoming the only player to win the All-Star Game MVP and World Series MVP Awards in the same season.

With one year remaining until he would become eligible for free agency, Jeter signed a ten-year, $189 million contract before the 2001 season to remain with the Yankees. Alex Rodriguez had signed a ten-year, $252 million contract with the Texas Rangers earlier in the offseason, setting the market for Jeter's negotiations. Jeter became the second-highest-paid athlete across all team sports and auto racing, trailing only Rodriguez. The $18.9 million average annual value of Jeter's contract was the third-highest in baseball, behind only Rodriguez ($25.2 million) and Manny Ramirez ($20 million).

In 2001, Jeter posted another strong season, batting .311 with 21 home runs, 74 RBIs, 110 runs scored, and 27 stolen bases, making his fourth All-Star appearance Jeter made a notable defensive assist in Game 3 of the 2001 American League Division Series against the Oakland Athletics. With Jeremy Giambi on first base, Oakland right fielder Terrence Long hit a double off Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina into the right-field corner. As Giambi rounded third base and headed for home plate, Yankees right fielder Shane Spencer retrieved the ball and made a wild throw that missed cut-off man Tino Martinez and dribbled down the first-base line. Jeter ran from shortstop to grab the ball and flipped it backhanded to catcher Jorge Posada, rather than throwing it overhand. Posada tagged Giambi out on the leg just before he crossed home plate, preserving the Yankees' one-run lead. Facing elimination, the Yankees eventually won the game, as well as the series. The play, known as "The Flip," was later voted seventh in Baseball Weekly's 10 Most Amazing Plays of all time, and won the 2002 Best Play ESPY Award.
Jeter chats with President George W. Bush before Game 3 of the 2001 World Series

Jeter batted .297, with 18 home runs, 75 RBIs, 124 runs scored, 191 hits, and a career-best 32 stolen bases during the 2002 regular season. He led the majors in stolen base percentage (91.4%), getting caught only three times. He made his fifth All-Star appearance. In the 2002 postseason, the Anaheim Angels defeated the Yankees in the ALDS on their way to winning the World Series.

2003–2008

On Opening Day of the 2003 season, Jeter dislocated his left shoulder when he collided with Toronto Blue Jays catcher Ken Huckaby at third base. He was placed on the disabled list for six weeks and missed 36 games; he had never played fewer than 148 games in the prior seven full seasons. Jeter returned to bat .324, finishing third in batting average to Bill Mueller, who batted .326. Ramirez finished second.

Steinbrenner named Jeter the captain of the Yankees on June 3, 2003, following eight seasons without a captain after Don Mattingly retired in 1995. That postseason, Jeter batted .314 with two home runs, five RBIs, and 10 runs scored across 17 playoff games, including three hits in Game 3 of the 2003 World Series against the Florida Marlins – the only three hits Josh Beckett allowed during the game. Jeter committed a crucial error in a Game 6 loss, and the Marlins won the series in six games.
Jeter during batting practice before a game in 2004

The Yankees acquired Rodriguez from the Texas Rangers during the 2003–04 offseason. Rodriguez had won two Gold Glove Awards at shortstop and was considered the best shortstop in baseball. Jeter—who had no Gold Gloves at the time—remained the team's starting shortstop while Rodriguez moved to third base. Rodriguez's fielding range allowed Jeter to cede ground to his right to Rodriguez and cheat to his left: fielding balls hit to his left is a weakness identified by scouts. The 2004 season began with Jeter mired in a slump, at one point getting only one hit in a span of 36 at-bats; through April, he batted .168. His batting average improved to .277 by the All-Star break in July.

Jeter made the All-Star team and finished the season with a .292 average; 23 home runs, the second-most of his career; 78 RBIs; 111 runs scored; and a career-best 44 doubles, which broke the Yankee single-season record for doubles by a shortstop, besting Tony Kubek's 38 in 1961. He batted .316 with a team-leading four RBIs as the Yankees defeated the Minnesota Twins in the 2004 ALDS. Jeter struggled in the 2004 ALCS, batting .200 with one extra base hit, as the Yankees lost the series to the Red Sox in seven games, despite winning the first three games.

In the 12th inning of a tied game on July 1, 2004, against their rivals, the Boston Red Sox, Trot Nixon hit a pop fly down the left field line. Jeter ran from his position at shortstop and made an over-the-shoulder catch. He launched himself over the third-base side railing and two rows of seats, receiving a lacerated chin and bruised face. The Yankees went on to win the game in the bottom of the 13th inning. This was voted the Play of the Year in the This Year in Baseball Awards competition, as voted on by fans at MLB.com. Following the 2004 season, Jeter was presented with his first Gold Glove Award; his diving catch on July 1 was cited as a reason for the award. Though Jeter was fourth among shortstops in fielding percentage and errors, two traditional fielding statistics, critics pointed to his lower ratings in the more advanced sabermetric statistics, such as range factor and ultimate zone rating (UZR).

Jeter was second in the AL in runs scored (122) in the 2005 season, and was third in the league in both at bats (654) and hits (202). Though his critics continued to see Jeter as a liability defensively, he won his second consecutive Gold Glove in 2005. Orlando Cabrera of the Angels had a higher fielding percentage and committed fewer errors, but voters noted that Jeter had more assists. Though Jeter batted .333 during the 2005 ALDS, the Yankees lost to the Angels.
Jeter connects for a hit against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2006

For the 2006 season, the Yankees signed Johnny Damon to play center field and lead off, moving Jeter to the second position in the batting lineup. During the 2006 season, Jeter recorded his 2,000th career hit, becoming the eighth Yankee to reach the milestone. Jeter finished the season second in the AL in both batting average (.343) and runs scored (118), third in hits (214), and fourth in OBP (.417), earning his seventh All-Star selection. Jeter batted .500 with one home run in the 2006 ALDS, including a perfect 5-for-5 performance in Game 1, making him the sixth player to record five hits in one postseason game. The Yankees lost to the Detroit Tigers, three games to one.

Many expected Jeter would win the AL MVP Award for 2006. In a close vote, Jeter finished second in the voting to Justin Morneau of the Twins. It was his sixth top-10 finish in the MVP balloting in 11 full seasons through 2006. Though he lost the MVP Award, he won the Hank Aaron Award, given for superior offensive performance. He also won his third consecutive Gold Glove Award.
Jeter in 2007

Though the Yankees continued to struggle with postseason failures, Jeter remained a consistent contributor. During the 2007 season, Jeter was third in the AL with 203 hits, his third consecutive season and sixth overall, with at least 200 hits. He also finished ninth in batting average (.322). He was selected for his eighth All-Star appearance. In the field, he was involved in turning a career-high 104 double plays. He struggled during the 2007 ALDS, batting 3-for-17 (.176) with one RBI, as the Indians defeated the Yankees.

Jeter hit his 400th career double on June 27, 2008, and his 200th home run on July 12. Jeter's slugging percentage (SLG) dropped to .410 in the 2008 season, his lowest mark since 1997. His offense took an upward turn after May as he hit .322 with a .824 OPS after June 1. Jeter was elected to his ninth All-Star game as the starting shortstop. He finished the season with a .300 batting average.

Jeter tied Lou Gehrig's record for hits at Yankee Stadium (1,269) with a home run off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher David Price on September 14, 2008. On September 16, he broke the record against Chicago White Sox pitcher Gavin Floyd.The Yankees were eliminated from postseason contention, the only full season in Jeter's career where he did not compete in the playoffs. Following the final game in Yankee Stadium history, Jeter made a speech at the request of the Yankees, thanking the Yankees fans for their support—a moment later voted by fans as the Moment of the Year in MLB.com's This Year in Baseball Awards:

From all of us up here, it's a huge honor to put this uniform on every day and come out here and play. Every member of this organization, past and present, has been calling this place home for 85 years. There's a lot of tradition, a lot of history and a lot of memories. The great thing about memories is you're able to pass them along from generation to generation. Although things are going to change next year and we're going to move across the street, there are a few things with the New York Yankees that never change. That's pride, tradition and most of all, we have the greatest fans in the world. We're relying on you to take the memories from this stadium and add them to the new memories we make at the new Yankee Stadium and continue to pass them on from generation to generation. We just want to take this moment to salute you, the greatest fans in the world.

2009–2013

For the 2009 season, Yankees manager Joe Girardi switched Jeter and Damon in the batting order, with Damon moving to second and Jeter to the leadoff role. Jeter batted .334, third-best in the AL, with a .406 OBP, an .871 OPS, 18 home runs, 66 RBIs, 30 stolen bases in 35 attempts, 107 runs scored, 72 walks, and 212 hits (second in MLB). Defensively, Jeter committed a career-low eight errors, and his .986 fielding percentage was his career best. The addition of Gold Glove-winning first baseman Mark Teixeira allowed second baseman Robinson Canó to shift his focus to his right, helping Jeter. During the season, the Sporting News named Jeter eighth on their list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball.
Jeter saluting the crowd after becoming the all-time Yankees hits leader in 2009

Jeter achieved two career hit milestones in the second half of the 2009 season. On August 16, 2009, against the Seattle Mariners, Jeter doubled down the right-field line for his 2,675th hit as a shortstop, breaking Luis Aparicio's previous major league record. Then, Jeter became the all-time hits leader as a member of the Yankees (2,722), passing Lou Gehrig on September 11, 2009. The hit was a single off Baltimore Orioles pitcher Chris Tillman in the third inning.

In the 2009 postseason, Jeter batted .355, including .407 in the 2009 World Series, as he won his fifth World Series championship. He was named Sportsman of the Year for 2009 by Sports Illustrated, and won the Roberto Clemente Award, Hank Aaron Award, his fourth Gold Glove Award and his fourth Silver Slugger Award. Jeter also finished third in the AL MVP voting, behind Minnesota's Joe Mauer and Yankee teammate Mark Teixeira. It was also the fifth championship for Pettitte, Posada, and Rivera, who along with Jeter were referred to as the "Core Four."

In 2010, Jeter, along with Posada and Rivera, became the first trio of teammates in any of the four major league sports in North America (MLB, NFL, NBA, or NHL) to play in at least 16 consecutive seasons on the same team as teammates. The 2010 season was statistically Jeter's worst in many respects. The Yankee captain batted .270 with a .340 OBP and .370 SLG, all career lows, as he hit more ground balls than usual. Despite this, Jeter was elected to start at shortstop in the All-Star Game. He rebounded to bat .342 in his last 79 at-bats after making adjustments to his swing with the help of Kevin Long, the Yankees hitting coach, who had successfully helped Nick Swisher and Curtis Granderson make adjustments that improved their production. With Long, Jeter changed the way he strode with his left leg Following the season, Jeter won his fifth Gold Glove award. Jeter committed six errors during the season, his lowest total in 15 full seasons.

"He might go down, when it's all over, as the all-time Yankee."

—Don Zimmer, September 13, 2009

After the 2010 season, Jeter became a free agent for the first time in his career. At age 36, Jeter appeared to be in decline; Joe Sheehan of Baseball Prospectus suggested that Jeter, once a "good, not great" shortstop, had declined to become "below average" defensively. to the extent that he would likely need to change positions; Cashman later acknowledged that Jeter might need to shift to the outfield. Though Jeter stated that he wanted to remain with the Yankees, negotiations became tense. Jeter's agent, Casey Close, stated that he was "baffled" by the Yankees' approach to the negotiations, and Cashman, now the team's general manager, responded publicly that Jeter should test the open market to ascertain his value, which angered Jeter. According to reports, Jeter initially sought a four-year contract worth between $23 million and $25 million per season. He reached an agreement with the Yankees on a three-year contract for $51 million with an option for a fourth year. He spent the offseason working with Long on adjustments to his swing.

The adjustments left Jeter frustrated, as he batted .242 in the first month of the 2011 season. As he struggled, it appeared that the 2011 season was the continuation of Jeter's decline. Jeter broke Rickey Henderson's franchise record for stolen bases when he stole his 327th base against the Mariners on May 28, 2011. He suffered a calf injury on June 13 that required his fifth stint on the 15-day disabled list, and his first since 2003 At that point, he was batting .260 for the 2011 season with a .649 OPS. Rehabilitating from his injury in Tampa, Jeter worked on his swing with Denbo, his former minor league manager. With Denbo, Jeter returned to the mechanics he used in his minor league days. Following his activation from the disabled list, he hit .326 with an .806 OPS in his last 64 games of the season. Jeter finished the year with a .297 batting average, six home runs, 61 runs batted in, 84 runs, and 16 stolen bases He credited the turnaround to his work with Denbo; Log acknowledged that his attempt to adjust Jeter's swing did not work.
Jeter crosses home plate after recording his 3,000th hit in 2011, his teammates waiting to congratulate him

On July 9, 2011, Jeter recorded his 3,000th career hit, a home run off of David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays. Jeter finished the day with five hits in five at-bats, the second player to have five hits on the day he achieved his 3,000th hit (the first was Craig Biggio). He also became the second player to hit a home run for his 3,000th hit, Wade Boggs having done so in 1999. The last of Jeter's five hits proved to be the game-winning hit. He is the only member of the 3,000 hit club to record all of his hits with the New York Yankees, and the only player to join the club as a Yankee. Jeter joined Honus Wagner as only the second regular shortstop to reach the 3,000 hit plateau. Only Ty Cobb, Hank Aaron, and Robin Yount were younger than Jeter on the day of their 3,000th hit. MLB and HBO produced Derek Jeter 3K, a documentary that profiled his path to 3,000 hits and originally aired on July 28, 2011.

Fatigued from the stress of chasing 3,000 career hits and wanting to rest his calf, Jeter opted not to attend the 2011 MLB All-Star Game. Jeter and Posada played their 1,660th game together on July 14, 2011, breaking the previous franchise record of 1,659 by Gehrig and Tony Lazzeri. Jeter played his 2,402nd game with the Yankees on August 29, 2011, breaking Mickey Mantle's record for most games played as a Yankee. He finished the 2011 season with 162 hits, his 16th consecutive season with 150 hits, which tied him with Pete Rose for the second-most consecutive 150-hit seasons, one behind Hank Aaron for the MLB record Jeter was honored with the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award, given in recognition of charitable endeavors.

Despite continuing concerns about his age, the beginning of the 2012 season saw Jeter on a hot streak: he batted .420 through April 25. Rodriguez commented that Jeter is playing as he did in 1999, while Girardi said Jeter looks like he is 25 years old In the 2012 MLB All-Star Game, Jeter recorded his 11th All-Star hit, passing Mantle for the most All-Star Game hits in Yankees history. Jeter went 1-for-2 in the game, moving into fourth all-time with a .458 average among players with a minimum of 12 plate appearances in the All-Star Game.

Jeter finished the 2012 season with the most hits in MLB (216). Against the Tampa Bay Rays on September 14 of that year, he moved into the Top 10 on the all-time hit list, surpassing Willie Mays by beating out an infield single for his 3,284th career hit. After hitting .364 in the 2012 ALDS, Jeter fractured his left ankle during Game 1 of the 2012 ALCS against the Detroit Tigers reaching for a ground ball, an injury which ended his season. Jeter had received a cortisone shot to treat a bone bruise in his left foot in September, which could have contributed to the break. Jeter had surgery on his broken left ankle on October 20, with an expected recovery time of four to five months.

While rehabilitating, Jeter suffered a small crack in the area of his previous ankle fracture. As a result, Jeter began the 2013 season on the disabled list. The Yankees activated Jeter on July 11, but after playing in one game, Jeter returned to the disabled list with a quadriceps strain. He returned to the Yankees lineup on July 28, hitting a home run on the first pitch off of Matt Moore of Tampa Bay. Jeter was again placed on the 15-day disabled list on August 5 due to a Grade 1 calf strain, and after a brief return to the lineup, he was placed on the 15-day disabled list for a third time on September 11 due to problems with his ankle, ending his season. On September 14, 2013, Jeter was transferred to the 60-day disabled list. Jeter batted .190 in only 17 games played during the 2013 season.

Final season (2014)
A fan holding a sign honoring Jeter during his final season

Jeter re-signed with the Yankees on a one-year, $12 million contract for the 2014 season. Jeter announced on his Facebook page on February 12, 2014, that the 2014 season would be his last. During his final season, each opposing team honored Jeter with a gift during his final visit to their city, which has included donations to Jeter's charity, the Turn 2 Foundation.

On July 10, Jeter recorded his 1,000th career multi-hit game, becoming the fourth player to do so. He was elected to start at shortstop in the 2014 All-Star Game, and batted leadoff for the AL. Jeter went 2-for-2, scored one run and received two standing ovations in the four innings he played at the 2014 All-Star Game.As a result, Jeter's .481 career All-Star batting average (13-for-27) ranked him fifth all-time (among players with at least 10 at-bats). At 40, Jeter also became the oldest player to have two or more hits in an All-Star Game. In July, Jeter broke Omar Vizquel's MLB career record of 2,609 games started at shortstop, and Gehrig's franchise career record of 534 doubles. On July 17, Derek scored the 1,900th run of his career becoming the 10th player in MLB history to do so. Jeter passed Carl Yastrzemski for seventh place on MLB's all-time career hit list on July 28 and on August 11 he passed Honus Wagner climbing to sixth on the all-time hits list.
Jeter saluting the crowd during his final All Star Game appearance in the 2014 All Star Game

The Yankees honored Jeter with a pregame tribute on September 7. Beginning with that day's game, the Yankees wore a patch on their hats and uniforms honoring Jeter for the remainder of the season. In the final week of Jeter's career, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig honored him as the 15th recipient of the Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award for being "one of the most accomplished shortstops of all-time."

During Jeter's final series at Yankee Stadium, Louisville Slugger announced they would retire their "P72" model baseball bat, the bat Jeter uses, though it will be sold under the name "DJ2," in Jeter's honor. The average ticket price for Jeter's final home game, on September 25, reached $830 on the secondary market. In his final game at Yankee Stadium, Jeter hit a walk-off single against Orioles pitcher Evan Meek to win the game, 6–5.

Jeter decided to play exclusively as the designated hitter in the final series of his career, at Fenway Park in Boston, so that his final memories of playing shortstop would be at Yankee Stadium. The Red Sox honored Jeter with a pregame ceremony including Red Sox retired stars Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice, Fred Lynn, Luis Tiant and Rico Petrocelli, the Boston Bruins' Bobby Orr, New England Patriots receiver Troy Brown and the Boston Celtics' Paul Pierce, while many Boston fans at Fenway Park loudly cheered for Jeter and gave him a standing ovation. In his final at-bat, he hit an RBI infield single against Clay Buchholz, before being substituted for pinch runner Brian McCann; he received an ovation from the Red Sox fans as he exited the field.

World Baseball Classic

Jeter started at shortstop for the United States national baseball team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. He hit 9-for-20 (.450) and scored five runs in six games. Only teammate Ken Griffey Jr. (.524) and Cuba's Yoandy Garlobo (.480) had a higher batting average with a minimum of 20 at-bats. Jeter's play earned him recognition as the shortstop selection on the All-Tournament Team.

In the 2009 World Baseball Classic, Jeter again started at shortstop. He was named captain of the United States team by manager Davey Johnson, and he batted 8-for-29 (.276) in eight games. Jeter and the United States team faced the Yankees at Steinbrenner Field in an exhibition game, the only time Jeter played against the Yankees.

Player profile
Jeter signing autographs in Baltimore prior to his final game at Camden Yards

Jeter is considered to be one of the most consistent baseball players of all time. He played fewer than 145 games a season only three times in his career: when he dislocated his left shoulder on Opening Day 2003 (119 games), when he injured his calf in 2011 (131 games), and in 2013 when he struggled with a myriad of injuries (17 games). For his career, he averaged 204 hits, 113 runs scored and 21 stolen bases per 162 games. He is currently sixth on the all-time hits list in MLB history. Highly competitive, Jeter once said, "If you're going to play at all, you're out to win. Baseball, board games, playing Jeopardy!, I hate to lose." Jeter has been viewed as one of the best players of his generation.

"Derek Jeter has always been above the fray. As someone who's wallowed in it, 'foot-in-mouthed' it hundreds of times, said dumb things and backed up dumber ones, it's refreshing. He's shown up, played, and turned in a first-ballot Hall of Fame career in the hardest environment in sports to do any/all of the above."

—Curt Schilling, September 14, 2009

An aggressive hitter, Jeter swung at most pitches in the strike zone and many near it. Though right-handed hitters often pull the ball into left field, Jeter's signature inside-out swing, dubbed the "Jeterian Swing," resulted in most of his hits going to center and right field. Similarly, most of his home runs were hit to right field rather than to center or to left, as his swing took advantage of Yankee Stadium's close right-field fences.

Jeter is also known for his professionalism. In an age where professional athletes often find themselves in personal scandals, he mostly avoided major controversy in a high-profile career in New York City while maintaining a strong work ethic. Due to his style of play, opponents and teammates held him in high esteem. A clubhouse leader, Jeter often defused confrontations between teammates.

Postseason performance

Jeter is noted for his postseason performances and has earned the titles of "Captain Clutch," and "Mr. November" due to his outstanding postseason play. He had a career .309 postseason batting average, and a .321 batting average in the World Series. Except for 2008, 2013 and 2014, the Yankees qualified for the postseason every year of Jeter's major league career. He holds MLB postseason records for games played (158), plate appearances (734), at-bats (650), hits (200), singles (143), doubles (32), triples (5), runs scored (111), total bases (302) and strikeouts (135). Jeter is also third in home runs (20), fourth in runs batted in (61), fifth in base on balls (66) and sixth in stolen bases (18).

Defense
Jeter practices fielding in August 2011

Jeter won five Gold Glove Awards, trailing only Vizquel, Ozzie Smith, Luis Aparicio, Dave Concepción, and Mark Belanger for most by a shortstop He was credited with positioning himself well and for a quick release when he threw the ball. One of his signature defensive plays is the "jump-throw," by which he leapt and threw to first base while moving towards third base.

Despite this, Jeter's defense was the subject of criticism from a number of sabermetricians, including Rob Neyer and the publication Baseball Prospectus. The 2006 book The Fielding Bible by John Dewan contains an essay by Bill James in which he concluded that Jeter "was probably the most ineffective defensive player in the major leagues, at any position" over his entire career. A 2008 study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that, from 2002 through 2005, Jeter was the worst defensive shortstop in MLB. Two sites that rely on advanced defensive statistics, FanGraphs.com and FieldingBible.com, rated Jeter below middle-of-the-pack status in 2010, despite his receiving his fifth Gold Glove Award that season

Jeter committed 18 errors in 2007, his highest total since finishing with 24 in 2000. After the season, Cashman and his staff saw Jeter's defense as an area that needed to be addressed. At the Yankees' request, Jeter embarked on a rigorous training program to combat the effects of age, by focusing on lateral movement and first-step quickness. Jeter's ultimate zone rating (UZR) improved from worst in the AL for shortstops in 2007 to close to league average in 2008.

When asked to respond to criticism of his defense, Jeter replied: "I play in New York, man. Criticism is part of the game, you take criticism as a challenge." Jeter further asserted that many defensive factors cannot be quantified. The controversy over Jeter's fielding became a flash point for the debate over whether the analyses of statistics or subjective observation is the better method to assess a player's defensive ability and for criticism of the Gold Glove Award.

Personal life

Jeter maintains homes in Marlboro Township, New Jersey; Greenwood Lake, New York; and the Davis Islands neighborhood of Tampa, Florida He previously owned a penthouse apartment in Manhattan's Trump World Tower. Jeter settled a tax dispute regarding his official residence with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance in 2008. New York State alleged that Jeter should have paid state income tax from 2001 to 2003, as Jeter resided in the Manhattan apartment he bought in 2001; Jeter claimed to have established his residence in Tampa Bay, Florida, in 1994, and that he was still a resident of Florida at the time. Florida has no state income tax. Jeter and his wife (the former Hannah Davis) currently reside in Miami. In September 2020, the couple listed their waterfront Tampa home for $29 million. They subsequently listed their Greenwood Lake home in March 2021.

In December 2002, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner criticized Jeter for staying out until 3 a.m. at a birthday party during the 2002 season, saying that his star shortstop "wasn't totally focused" and that "it didn't sit well" with him. The two mocked the incident in a May 2003 Visa commercial, similar to the manner in which Steinbrenner and former Yankees manager Billy Martin made light of their feud in a Miller Lite commercial during the 1970s.
Jeter in 2007

Jeter's personal life has been a frequent topic in gossip columns and celebrity magazines since his rookie year in 1996. He had a well-publicized relationship with singer-songwriter Mariah Carey from 1997 to 1998. Carey cowrote the song The Roof (Back in Time) about their first kiss. Jeter has also dated model Vida Guerra, former Miss Universe Lara Dutta singer Joy Enriquez, television personality Vanessa Minnillo, and the actresses Jordana Brewster, Jessica Biel, and Minka Kelly.

Jeter is Catholic, having been raised in the faith, attending Catholic schools as a child and identifying with the faith while playing for the Yankees.

Jeter and model Hannah Davis, who had been dating since 2012, became engaged in 2015. In July 2016, the two married. On February 13, 2017, Hannah announced that she was pregnant with a daughter. Their first child was born in August 2017. Their second daughter was born in January 2019.

Business interests

During his injury-shortened 2013 season, Jeter arranged a partnership with Simon & Schuster to form an imprint called Jeter Publishing. He called it "the blueprint for postcareer." It will begin publishing nonfiction books for adults, children's picture books, elementary grade fiction, and books for children who are learning to read. Eventually, the partnership could lead to film and television productions.

On October 1, 2014, Jeter's new website, ThePlayersTribune.com, appeared online; it was billed as "a new media platform that will present the unfiltered voice of professional athletes, bringing fans closer to the games they love than ever before." It was reported by the Tampa Bay Business Journal in March 2015 that Jeter had partnered with Concessions Tampa to bid for a space within the Tampa International Airport, and plans to open a restaurant named after his website.

Jeter also serves as a brand development officer for Luvo Inc.[260] and has investment interests in multi-channel video network company, Whistle Sports Network.e explored purchasing the Buffalo Bills football team in 2014.

Jeter joined the board of Rockefeller Capital Management in April 2021.

Miami Marlins

In July 2017, Jeter engaged in the bidding for ownership of the Miami Marlins.[265] In August 2017, Jeter and Bruce Sherman finalized a deal to purchase the Miami Marlins. The sale was completed in September 2017, following unanimous approval of the other 29 MLB team owners. Though Jeter only owns a 4% stake in the franchise, he was named chief executive officer of the team, and controlling owner Bruce Sherman entrusted him to oversee day-to-day operations of the team.

Appearances outside of baseball
Jeter joking with other players during Spring training in 2007
Philanthropy

Jeter created the Turn 2 Foundation, a charitable organization, in 1996. It was established to help children and teenagers avoid drug and alcohol addiction, and to reward those who show high academic achievement. In 2012, Jeter received an honorary doctorate from Siena College honoring him for his foundation's work.

Since 2009, Jeter has served as an ambassador for Weplay, a website designed to encourage children to get involved in sports. Jeter, along with Japanese baseball player Hideki Matsui, took part in a charity baseball game at Tokyo Dome to raise funds for survivors of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.

In 2018, Jeter donated furniture and household items to families forced to relocate by Hurricane Irma.

In July 2019, Jeter donated $3.2 million from the Turn 2 Foundation to the Kalamazoo Public School District to renovate the school's baseball and softball complex.
Endorsements

Jeter has appeared in national ad campaigns for Nike, Gatorade, Fleet Bank, Ford, VISA,Discover Card, Florsheim, Gillette, Skippy, and XM Satellite Radio He endorses a cologne named Driven, designed in collaboration with and distributed by Avon. Jeter has his own Jumpman shoe. To commemorate Jeter's final year, the Jordan brand made a tribute commercial titled "#RE2PECT," which had many baseball players (such as Jon Lester) and celebrities, even rival Boston Red Sox fans tip their caps.

In 2006, Jeter was the second-highest paid endorser in baseball, behind Ichiro Suzuki, who received endorsement deals in Japan. He was ranked as the most marketable player in baseball according to the 2003, 2005, and 2010 Sports Business Surveys. A 2011 list by the marketing firm Nielsen ranked Jeter as the most marketable player in baseball, accounting for personal attributes such as sincerity, approachability, experience, and influence.

Other appearances

Jeter has appeared on television as a guest actor in the sitcom Seinfeld in the episode titled, "The Abstinence" and Saturday Night Live, a late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show, in episode 7 during season 27. He had cameo appearances in the comedy films Anger Management and The Other Guys. Jeter was the subject of a 2005 segment on the TV news magazine 60 Minutes and a 2014 episode of Finding Your Roots, a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) public television series. Jeter also appears as a character in the Broadway play Bronx Bombers. Jeter made an appearance alongside Peyton Manning to celebrate Saturday Night Live's 40th Anniversary in February 2015.

Video games have featured Jeter on their cover, including 2K Sports' MLB 2K5, MLB 2K6, and MLB 2K7, Acclaim Entertainment's All-Star Baseball series of video games and Gameloft's wireless phone baseball game, Derek Jeter Pro Baseball 2008. A wax figure immortalizes Jeter at the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in New York, and a sculpture at the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory in Louisville, Kentucky.

Career highlights

Honors
Derek Jeter's number 2 was retired by the New York Yankees in 2017.

Kalamazoo Central High School inducted Jeter into its athletic hall of fame in 2003 and renamed its baseball field in his honor in 2011. In 2015, Jeter was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. The Yankees retired Jeter's uniform number and unveiled a plaque in his honor that was installed at Monument Park in a pregame ceremony on May 14, 2017.

On January 21, 2020, Jeter was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame as part of its class of 2020 in his first year of eligibility, only one vote shy of being only the second unanimous selection in Hall of Fame history. His 99.7% of the vote was second only to Mariano Rivera (100%), and ahead of Ken Griffey (99.3%) in the history of Hall of Fame voting. He was formally enshrined in a ceremony on September 8, 2021 in Cooperstown, New York.

Awards
Jeter receives his 2009 World Series Championship ring
Jeter warming up before a game in 2011
Award / HonorTime(s)Date(s)AL All-Star 14 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014
New York Yankees Player of the Year 5 1998, 1999, 2000, 2006, 2009
AL Gold Glove Award (SS) 5 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010
AL Silver Slugger Award (SS) 5 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012
GIBBY Awards Moment of the Year 2 2008, 2009
Hank Aaron Award 2 2006, 2009
GIBBY Awards Performance of the Year 1 2011
GIBBY Awards Moment of the Year 1 2014
GIBBY Awards Walk-Off of the Year 1 2014
Lou Gehrig Memorial Award 1 2010
Sporting News All-Decade Team (shortstop) 1 2009
Sports Illustrated MLB All-Decade Team (shortstop) 1 2009
Roberto Clemente Award 1 2009
Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year 1 2009
ESPY Awards Best MLB Player 1 2007
Inductee in Kalamazoo Central High School Athletic Hall of Fame 1 2007
Baseball Digest Player of the Year 1 2006
GIBBY Awards Hitter of the Year Award 1 2006
Baseball America 1st-Team Major League All-Star (SS) 1 2006
GIBBY Awards Play of the Year 1 2004
Players Choice Award Rookie of the Year 1 2004
The Sporting News "Good Guy in Sports" Award 1 2002
ESPY Awards Best Play ESPY Award 1 2002
Babe Ruth Award 1 2000
All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award 1 2000
World Series Most Valuable Player Award 1 2000
Joan Payson Award for Community Service 1 1997
AL Rookie of the Year 1 1996
International League All-Star 1 1995
Florida State League All-Star 1 1994
Florida State League Most Valuable Player 1 1994
Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year 1 1994
The Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year 1 1994
Topps/NAPBL Minor League Player of the Year 1 1994
New York Yankees Minor League Player of the Year 1 1994
South Atlantic League All-Star1 1993
South Atlantic League's Best Defensive Shortstop, Most Exciting Player, Best Infield Arm. 1 1993
American Baseball Coaches Association High School Player of the Year 1 1992
USA Today High School Player of the Year 1 1992
Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year 1 1992

Deepak Prakash

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Deepak Prakash

Personal information

Date of birth 10 March 1992

Place of birth Bangalore, India

Playing position(s) Midfielder

Club information

Current team Students Union

Youth career

2007–2010 TFA

2010–2011 Mumbai F.C.

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2011–2012 HAL 2 (0)

2012–2013 Pailan Arrows 0 (0)

2013 → DSK Shivajians (loan)

2014– Students Union

National team

2012 India U23 1 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Deepak Prakash (born 10 March 1992 in Bangalore, Karnataka) is an Indian footballer who currently plays for Students Union of the Bangalore Super Division.

Career

Early career

Deepak got addicted to football when he was in class IV in the Corporation Government School in Jogpalya.

The talented youngster was forced to quit studies when in Class X but it got him more and more into football and the beautiful game showed him the way forward.

"After reading the news about the selection for the state U-16 side he went for the trials and got selected. In 2006, he was called for the national camp and then got selected to the Tata FA in 2007.

"He was the top-scorer when Karnataka finished runners-up in the South Zone and reached the semifinals of the U-16 nationals in 2007.

He emerged as the joint top-scorer for Jharkhand in the junior nationals in Mandya.

After passing out from Tata FA in 2010, Deepak played for Mumbai F.C.. In 2011-12 season was a homecoming of sorts for the talented Murphy Town boy when he signed for the Aircraftmen. However, he had a barren season for HAL as he was hardly seen playing in I-League.

Pailan Arrows

On 13 August 2012 it was officially confirmed that Prakash had signed for Pailan Arrows of the I-League after HAL S.C. were relegated from the I-League.

While with Arrows, Prakash was loaned out to I-League 2nd Division side DSK Shivajians for the 2013 I-League 2nd Division season.

Debabrata Roy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Full name Debabrata Roy

Date of birth 4 November 1986

Place of birth Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Position(s) Right Back

Club information

Current team Mohun Bagan

Number 2

Youth career

2000–2002 Sporting Union Club

2002–2004 Tata FA

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2004–2005 Mahindra United 19 (0)

2005–2009 East Bengal

2009 → United SC (loan)

2009–2010 Mahindra United

2010 Dempo 53 (1)

2014 → FC Goa (loan) 15 (0)

2015–2016 FC Goa 14 (0)

2016 Chennai City (loan) 14 (0)

2017–2018 Mohun Bagan 1 (0)

National team

2004– India 16 (1)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:59, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

Debabrata Roy (born 4 November 1986 in Kolkata, West Bengal) is an Indian football player. He is currently playing for FC Goa in the I-League as a Right Back.

Career

Roy started his career playing in the Subroto Cup and the under-16 league in West Bengal for Sporting Union Club. His prodigious talent prompted his coaches to despatch him to the prestigious Tata Football Academy in 2000. His first taste of NFL/I-League action came while playing for Mahindra United in 2004-05 where the jeepmen finished a creditable fourth.

In 2005-06, he transferred home to East Bengal F.C. for whom he played for three years before joining United S.C. on a three-month loan spell in 2009. In 2009-10, he returned to Mahindra United who seemed destined for I-League glory till Dempo spoiled their party. After the Mumbai outfit disbanded, he joined Dempo S.C. in 2010-11 and continues to serve them with distinction. He has represented India at all levels right from the age groups teams to the senior team in a host of tournaments.

Deepak Tanwar

Achievement list

Team captain of Maratha Yoddhas in Super Boxing League - Season 1

Lead the team Maratha Yoddhas by winning his 4 fights out of 5 fights in Super Boxing League and became season 1 champions

Won Gold medal in Junior National Championship - 2008

Won Silver medal in All India Super Cup - 2010

Won consecutive Gold medals at the Youth National Championships - 2011, 2012

The man who captained team ‘Maratha Yoddhas’ to win Super Boxing Leagues & movie ‘MukkaBaaz’ – Know the story Boxer Deepak Tanwar

Known As

Deepak Tanwar

Mother's Name

Usha Devi

Father's Name

Manjit Singh

Birthday :7th January 1994

Bhiwani, Haryana

Proudly says ‘imd1’ for

Boxing, Sport

Climbing the success ladder is not a cakewalk but, this young and talented boxer sure has taken some steps of it. Deepak Tanwar is all about what youngsters of today are. Focused, determined and hardworking. Not only has he garnered appreciation for his boxing skills, but this young lad has seen some fame from his last venture as an actor in the recently released Anurag Kashyap flick ‘Mukkabaaz’. Coming from a simple background, this youngster is nothing short of an upcoming legend. In little time he boasts of achievements that otherwise takes years for people to make happen. Let us draw some inspiration from Deepak and take a step each day to make life worth living. In conversation with the young hot-blooded boxer, let’s find out his story.

We are keen to know; how did your journey begin?

It all started in 2003, one of my cousin brothers would play boxing. He was a professional boxer before that but early 2003 was the time when he gained recognition and appraisal from near and dear ones in the field of sports he had chosen. He was my main inspiration why I chose to be a boxer in the first place. I would see him winning medals and coming home to accolades and it was a proud moment. That really got me going and I told my parents about my decision. They were a little apprehensive at first, because I had a fractured hand and so they were worried. After about a year of convincing them, I got a chance to do what I wanted to. That is where it all began, the pride a sports person brings to his country is unmatchable to anything else.

What’s your success mantra?

Hard work and trying to remain optimistic. No matter what the situation is, I remind myself that not all days are the same, times will change and bring good fortune. I can do what is in control of me - give it my 100% and work hard to achieve it.

Beyond Boxing

Your Quote for life

I thrive to give the best I can in my field

Favorite Personalities

Vasyl Lomachenko

Inspiration

My parents

Food I Love,

Aloo Paratha and Tomato chutney

Food I Hate

Bottle Gourd

Had I not been a Boxer then…

Army Officer

Like Vacations at

I travel a lot for boxing tournaments, so I always look forward to coming back home

Favorite Pass time

Helping and serving other people as it makes me happy

Favorite Dialogue

“Pata hai na kaun hai hum? Mike Tyson hai Uttar Pradesh ke” from the movie Mukkabaaz

Favorite Movies / Series

Sport movies like Dangal, Mukkabaaz

What were the hardships / hurdles your encountered and the way you overcame in your journey?

Initially when I started my career, I had to face a lot of financial hurdles. My father couldn’t afford getting me a boxing kit. There have also been days when I would skip my meals at school to save that money. I cut down my expenses and started living off a minimalistic and simple life. I have seen the days where I would buy clothes from the street vendors. But all the sacrifices have paid off well and today I can proudly say the financial hurdle has made me strong enough to fight whatever life throws at me.

Success is incomplete without its share of failures. How should one overcome them to move on?

The year 2010 has been a major setback for me. I had won State Championships in 2009, but due to some politics, I couldn’t make it to nationals. The entire year went by in training and at one point of time I felt I wouldn’t be able to do boxing again. That really hit me hard. But I kept pushing myself into believing this was only a phase and will soon pass. It did pass after 12 long months. Finally, in December 2010, I won consecutively gold medals twice in championships that fueled my passion and helped me overcome the setback.

Do you think Boxing and its learning’s can be helpful in life even if one does not want to consider it as a career goal?

In today’s times it is essential for girls to learn boxing. Not just boxing but learning any sport will help to build stamina. Boxing teaches you perseverance and take control of your reaction to a situation and how to combat it. The techniques of boxing are very important for girls to defend themselves in times of despair.

Who has been your influencer in this journey & how?

My inspiration and influencer has been Vasyl Lomachenko, renowned boxer from Ukraine who is a two times Olympic medalist. I admire him for his techniques and his strategies. In fact, many a times I try to copy his form and techniques. That does help me improve my game.

Which was “that” moment when you considered yourself as “I Am The 1”?

I have played different tournaments and championships. But none of them was as satisfying as an individual for me. Maybe because I failed to get due recognition. But until recently in the year 2017, Indian Boxing League where I represented my team Maratha Yoddhas and played 5 matches and won them all. People started appreciating my caliber as a boxer. That was my “I Am The 1” moment for me.

Did you get any formal training and how was that journey?

It started in Bhiwani where all my cousins would train, and I grew up watching them. So, I began training in my hometown. it was in 2006, that I shift base to Pune to learn from the Army Sports Institute. The institute provides for all the facilities and equipments one needs for formal training. I was there for about 3 years. After which again I went back to Bhiwani in 2009 and continued training there. At first it was a little difficult training in Bhiwani, since I was a junior but later, after I came back to the town it was very refreshing and the training was reinstated in full form. So, it was good to be back.

Could you reflect on the importance of systematic training in Boxing?

Systematic training is crucial. From personal experiences I can say, it is important to have guidance and a systematic and disciplined approach in your field. I didn’t have the guidance or assistance and followed my instincts to survive. Had I got the systematic backing since beginning, my career graph could have been better.

What are the pre-coaching essentials e.g. Right age, mindset or any other?

Right age certainly is one of the key pre-coaching essentials in any field of sports. Nurturing young minds is relatively easy and it helps bring them to focusing on the right energy. When you start training a child from a young age it helps them discipline as they can grasp things more aptly. so ideally, one should start training from the age of 10 years.

Technology and scientific training has been changing the way people get trained in Boxing. What’s your take?

As time is pacing so is the technology and scientific approach to things. Earlier boxing was all about physical strength and how boxers can use it to their full ability. Trainings used to be extensively focused on building a solid physique that would bring strength and stamina to compete against your opponent. But now things are changing for better. It is a good thing. Nowadays, boxing is not only about winning with your physical strength but also using your mind effectively, so you don’t end up wasting time or energy, but win strategically.

What according to you, can be a scope for improvement in training for Boxing in India?

Gradually things are improving in terms of training in India. Earlier there was limited scope. But today, due to globalization Indian coaches too have an impetus in upgrading their skills. And that ultimately benefits the students. The scope of improvement is vast, and I can proudly say that we are taking progressive steps towards attaining it fully.

Your piece of advice to parents and new generation especially when some people are skeptical about career in extra curriculum.

Education is necessary, but sports too is equally important for the development of your child. Being able to play a sport teaches so much more than a book will ever teach. It inculcates values of dedication, being hardworking, being disciplined and most importantly being able to give your best shot always. Precisely I would only request parents to help your child take up a child since his/her tender age because sports are all about leading a healthy lifestyle, with a fit body and mind in coordination.

One thing which you feel you want to change from the past while you walk down memory lane…

There are many such things that I want to walk down in past and change. One such event happened in 2015 when the World Military Games were to be held and I had registered myself for another air force course. And somehow the timings clashed with one another of the two events and I chose to go for the latter. Which I regret now, because I wasn’t appropriately in my form as I was all alone without my team. They had gone for the championship, but I resented. And thus, in a bid to accomplish more I lost an opportunity that could have won me accolades and brought me on top of my game. My other team members who participated in the championship have made it big for themselves, while I could do so, things went haywire for me. So yes, given a chance I would want to go back and undo my wrong decision.

Durga Boro

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Durga BoroPersonal information

Date of birth 28 June 1987

Place of birth Gendrabil, Assam, India

Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)

Playing position Striker

Club information

Current team Ozone

Number 7

Youth career

SAI

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2004–2009 Oil India

2009–2012 Churchill Brothers

2012–2014 Mumbai Tigers

2014 → Shillong Lajong (loan) 6 (1)

2014– Shillong Lajong 13 (1)

2014 → NorthEast United FC (loan) 11 (1)

2015 club Anonymous 12 (7)

2015–16 Guwahati F.C. 7 (3)

2017– Ozone 4 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14:14, 3 March 2018 (UTC)

Durga Boro (born 28 June 1987) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Ozone F.C. of the I-League 2nd Division.

Career

Early career

Born in the small village of Gendrabil, in the Kokrajhar district of Assam, Boro started playing his football for the Kokrajhar HNMP School, for which he played for the team in the Subroto Cup under-14 tournament. Then, after impressing during the Subroto Cup, Boro started to train with the Sports Authority of India in Guwahati. In 2004 Boro signed with Oil India and played with them in the Assam State Premier League and the I-League 2nd Division while also working for the company itself.

Churchill Brothers

After an impressive performance during the Federation Cup in Kolkata in 2009 in which Boro and Oil India played against I-League sides such as Mohun Bagan, Vasco, and Air India, he signed his first professional contract with fellow I-League side, Churchill Brothers. The move to a professional club was massive for Boro as that meant he would be granted one-year leave from his former day-job with Oil India and he would move into a more professional footballing environment which included free food and travel. Boro scored his first professional goal for Churchill Brothers on 8 January 2011 against Salgaocar, however, his 34th-minute strike could not prevent Churchill Brothers from losing 3–4.

Mumbai Tigers

After spending two seasons with Churchill Brothers, Boro made a surprising move by signing for upstart I-League 2nd Division club Mumbai Tigers, then known as Dodsal FC. While with Mumbai Tigers, Boro played for the side during the I-League 2nd Division season.

Shillong Lajong

After Mumbai Tigers disbanded, on 6 February 2014 Boro made his return to the I-League after he signed for Shillong Lajong. This was Lajong's third attempt at signing Boro after they attempted to sign him in both 2009 and 2012. He made his debut for Shillong Lajong on 23 February 2014 against United. Boro started the match and even scored a goal as Shillong Lajong drew the match 2–2.

NorthEast United (loan)

In the summer of 2014 it was announced that Boro and a bunch of other Shillong Lajongplayers would sign on loan for the Indian Super League side NorthEast United. Boro made his debut for NorthEast United during the teams first ever game on 13 October 2014 against Kerala Blasters. He started the match and played 62 minutes as NorthEast United won 1–0. Boro eventually scored his first goal for the team on 27 November 2014 against Chennaiyin. His 10th-minute strike contributed to a 3–0 victory for NorthEast United

Dilip Tirkey

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dilip Tirkey

MP of Rajya Sabha for Odisha

In office

4 April 2012 – 3 April 2018

Succeeded by Prasanta Nanda, BJD

Personal details

Born 25 November 1977

Sundargarh, Odisha

Political party Biju Janata Dal

Dilip Tirkey (born 25 November 1977), is a former Indian field hockey player and his playing position was of full back. He was best known for his penalty corner hit. Dilip was one of the most difficult defenders (because of his tight marking skill near goal post) to beat in the world. He was an ex-captain of Indian hockey team. On 22 March 2012, he was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha as one of the three Biju Janata Dal (BJD) candidates to the Upper House of Indian Parliament. Presently, Dilip Tirkey is working as chairman of Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC).

Personal life

Dilip Tirkey was born to Vincent Tirkey a former Odia hockey player and Regina Tirkey on 25 November 1977. His twin younger brothers Anoop Tirkey and Ajit Tirkey play for Railways. He is married to Meera Tirkey and He was appointed as Deputy Manager in Air India (Bhubaneswar) in 1996. Tirkey is a Roman Catholic Christian.

Career

He made his debut in 1995 against England. He represented India in 1996 Atlanta, 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Olympics and had a total of 412 international caps. He is the only Adivasi to represent India in three Olympics.

On 2 May 2010, he announced his retirement from the international arena.

He declined to become a national selector on 16 July 2010, three days after he was offered the post by Indian Hockey Federation.

Awards and honours

Padma Shree, 2004

Arjun Award, 2002

Ekalavya Award, 1996

ONGC-Hockey Year Book Award, 1998

Biju Patnaik Sportsperson of the Year Award, 2004

Ricoh Hockey Star of the Year, 2009

Showcase Odisha Awards, 2012

Honours

Included in the Junior World XI in 1997

Included in the Asian XI in 2002

Selected for World All-Star team in 2006

Selected for World All-Star team in 2007

Received the 2nd Ricoh Hockey Star of the Year Award in Bhubaneswar on 6 July 2010

Received the honorary Doctorate from Sambalpur University on 15 July 2010

Received the Odisha Living Legend Award from Orissadiary.com on 11 Nov 2011

Achievements

First-ever tribal to get Padma Shree Award

India's highest capped (412 matches) hockey international and second highest in the world

Only Adivasi to represent India in 3 Olympic Games.

1995: 7th SAF Games at Chennai (Champions)

1996: Olympic Games at Atlanta, USA (8th place)

1997: Under-21 Test Series against Germany (Winners)

1997: Under-21 Challengers Cup Tournament at Poznan, Poland (Winners)

1997: Junior World Cup at Milton Keynes, England (Runners-up)

1998: Asian Games at Bangkok (Gold medal)

1999: Asia Cup at Kuala Lumpur (Bronze medal)

2000: Olympic Games at Sydney (7th place)

2000: 10th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Tournament at Kuala Lumpur (Bronze medal)

2002: Champions Trophy at Cologne, Germany (4th place), as Captain

2002: Asian Games at Busan, South Korea ( Silver medal ), as Captain

2003: Asia Cup at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Champions)

2003: Afro-Asian Games at Hyderabad (Gold medal), as Captain

2004: Olympic Games at Athens, Greece (7th place), as Captain

2011: Odisha Living Legend Award

Divakar Ram

Diwakar Ram is a teen-age sensation in present hockey. Recently, he top-scored in the inter-petroleum tournament, that led to his ONGC team win the event for the first time.

Diwakar Ram scored 7 goals in Sydney at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival. He was among the goals in all the league matches, by which the team has ensured its place in Final.

He is a good defender and also emerging as a shrewd penalty corner converter. AHF recently honoured him with Rising Star of Asia award

An up and coming defender, Diwakar Ram of Uttar Pradesh is being hailed as a bright future prospect. He is a good defender and also emerging as a shrewd penalty corner converter.

Diwakar Ram hails from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, had his preliminary introduction to hockey at the UP Sports Hostel, Lucknow. He made his junior international debut at the Monchengladbach 8-Nation tournament in 2007, and the senior debut in 2008 in the Belgium Test Series. He scored 12 goals through penalty corners at the Kuala Lumpur 8-Nation Invitation Tournament (2008) and four in the silver winning Azlan Shah Cup, May 2008. Long term material, bright future awaits.

Diwakar also scored the golden goal in the 6th Junior Asia Cup for India to successfully defend the title at Hyderabad in July 2008. Asian Hockey Federation declared him as the 'Upcoming Star of Asia' in Dec.2008.

Last International Appearance: 2010 World Cup

Profile updated upto 31-12-2010 ie after the 2010 Asian Games

Dutee Chand

From Wikipedia

Dutee ChandPersonal information

Born 3 February 1996

Gopalpur, Odisha, India

Sport

Country India

Sport Athletics

Event(s) 100 metres

Club ONGC

Achievements and titles

Personal best(s) 100 m: 11.24

(Almaty 2016)

200 m: 23.73

(Ranchi 2013)

4X100 m relay: 43.42

(Almaty 2016)

Asian Championships

2013 Pune 200 m

Updated on 20 August 2016.

Dutee Chand (born 3 February 1996) is an Indian professional sprinter and current national champion in the women's 100 metres event. She is the third Indian woman to ever qualify for the Women's 100 metres event at the Summer Olympic Games, having qualified for the event in the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Early life

Chand was born on 3 February 1996 to Chakradhar Chand and Akhuji Chand in Gopalpur, Odisha, in the Jajpur district of Odisha. She is from a below poverty line weavers family. Her source of inspiration comes from her elder sister Saraswati Chand, who was an athlete herself. In 2013, she enrolled in the KIIT University to pursue law.

Career breaks

Dutee Chand in 2012 became a national champion in the under-18 category when she clocked 11.8 seconds in the 100 metres event. Clocking 23.811 seconds, Chand won the bronze in the 200 metres event at the Asian Championships in Pune. The year also saw her become the first Indian to reach the final of a global athletics 100 metres final, when she reached the final in the 2013 World Youth Championships. In the same year, she became the national champion in 100 metres and 200 metres when she won the events clocking 11.73 s in the final in 100 metres and a career-best 23.73 s in 200 metres at the National Senior Athletics Championships in Ranchi.

Dutee clocked 11.33 secs in women’s 100m dash to win the gold and erase Rachita Mistry’s 16-year-old earlier national record of 11.38 secs in the 2016 Federation Cup National Athletics Championships in New Delhi, however she missed the Rio Olympics qualification norm of 11.32 secs by one-hundredth of a second. But finally on 25 June 2016, Dutee broke the very same National record twice in one day after clocking 11.24 at the XVI International Meeting G Kosanov Memorial in Almaty, Kazakhstan, thereby qualifying for the Olympic Games.

Commonwealth Games controversy

Chand was dropped from the 2014 Commonwealth Games contingent at the last minute after the Athletic Federation of India stated that hyperandrogenism made her ineligible to compete as a female athlete. There has been no suggestion that Chand has been involved in cheating or doping—the decision was made in compliance with International Olympic Committee (IOC) regulations on “female hyperandrogenism” designed to address a perceived advantage for female athletes with high androgen levels. The decision has been condemned by Australian intersex advocates. The Athletic Federation of India and IAAF’s actions were widely criticised as an affront to Chand’s privacy and human rights.

“They have tested Dutee at the last minute, humiliated her and broken her heart, all sorts of things have been written about her. Now, if she re-enters the sports field, things will not be normal. Even if she takes treatment, people will kill her with their suspicious gaze. The matter could have been dealt with discreetly. That things became public, is wrong. Would they have done it if it was their daughter? Who is responsible for her future now? The job and the money are secondary problems. Think about how much she would have suffered. She is not from a wealthy or powerful family; just another ordinary family. Even if she gets help from the State association, can she stay in peace in her village? She will find it tough to get married. Dutee is not the problem but the system is problem, a athlete cannot fail their gender.”— Santhi Soundarajan about Dutee Chand

The Indian government appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on behalf of Chand, and in July 2015 the CAS issued a decision to suspend the hyperandrogenism regulation for female track and field sports for two years, stating that insufficient evidence had been produced to indicate that there is any link between enhanced androgen levels and improved athletic performance.The court allowed two further years for convincing evidence to be submitted by the IAAF, after which the regulation will be automatically revoked if evidence has not been provided. This effectively removes the suspension of Chand from competition, clearing her to race again.

Dutee Chand

Dutee Chand renewed our faith that indeed anything is possible

Born into a poor family of weavers, Dutee missed the Olympics qualifying score by 0.01 seconds but clocked 11.30 seconds in Almaty, Kazakhstan to qualify for the Summer Games.

The Orissa-born sprinter who competes in 100m belongs to a tribal village in Odisha. She was the national champion before her world came crashing down in 2014. A few days before her first major international tournament (Commonwealth Games), the ace sprinter was found to have 'hyperandrogenism'. The 20-year-old was asked by AFI to quit racing but she filed a case and won in 2015.

She beat the Rio Olympics qualification mark of 11.32 secs at XXVI International Meeting G.Kosanov Memorial and booked an August date in Rio. Let's hope Dutee gains experience in Brazil for the 2018 Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.

Deepika Kumari

Deepika Kumari comes from India's tribal heartland - Jharkhand. She is a symbol of how far we have come as a nation. As a child, Deepika Kumari used to target fruit on the mango trees in Ratu Chati, 15 kms from Ranchi, Jharkhand's capital.

At the London 2012 Games, she was the number one archer in the recurve category and one of India's medal hopefuls. But she failed to hit a single bulls eye and went down tamely in the first round.

Four years later, she is again a name to reckon with in world archery after innumerable success in the past couple of years. Recently she equalled the feat of London Olympic gold medalist, Ki Bo Bae of Korea to set a new world record.

The only thing that eludes her is an Olympic medal, and, with it, sporting history. Will she finally hit the Olympic bull’s-eye in August? Only time will tell.

Devindar Walmiki

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Devindar WalmikiPersonal information

Born 28 May 1992 (age 25)

Bombay, Maharashtra, India

Playing position Midfielder

National team

2014-present India

Medal record

Men’s Field Hockey

Representing India

Hockey Champions Trophy

2016 London Men's team

Last updated on: 8 July 2016

Devindar Sunil Walmiki (born 28 May 1992) is an Indian field hockey player who plays as a midfielder. He was named in the Indian squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Walmiki's elder brother Yuvraj Walmiki has also played field hockey for India.

India has come a long way in the world of sports and that is very much evident from what the women of a few places have accomplished. The women have broken free from barricades of their villages in the tribal regions and marched forward to establish a name for themselves in the world.

They have successfully made a mark on the international arena and are winning recognition along with fame and accolades. Let's have a look at five such women from the Indian Olympic contingent who come from tribal regions of India:

Dipsan Tirkey

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dipsan TirkeyPersonal information

Born 15 October 1998 (age 20)

Sundergarh district, Orissa, India

Playing position Defender

National team

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2017– India

Medal record

Men’s field hockey

Representing India

Asia Cup

2017 Dhaka

Junior World Cup

2016 Lucknow

Dipsan Tirkey (born 15 October 1998) is an Indian field hockey player who plays as a defender. He was the vice-captain of the Indian squad that won the 2016 Men's Hockey Junior World Cup.

Life and career

Tirkey was born on 15 October 1998 in Saunamara village of Sundergarh district to a farmer father and housewife mother. Due to his family's difficult financial situation, he had to practice hockey with a borrowed hockey stick on the village roads. Inspired by his elder brother Prashant to take up the sport, he joined the State Sports Hostel in Rourkela in 2009 where he learned the game.

Tirkey first played for the India junior team at the 2014 Sultan of Johor Cup. The same year, he was picked by the Kalinga Lancers franchise in the Hockey India League. He also captained the Indian junior team for EurAsia Cup in Russia and England tour in July 2016.

Tirkey was the vice-captain and the youngest member of the Indian squad that went unbeaten en route to the title at the 2016 Men's Hockey Junior World Cup in Lucknow.

Dulal Biswas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dulal BiswasPersonal information

Full name Dulal Biswas

Date of birth 17 November 1973

Place of birth Kolkata, India

Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)

Position(s) Defender

Club information

Current team Prayag United S.C.

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2007–present Prayag United S.C. ?? (??)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Dulal Biswas (born 17 November 1973) is an Indian footballer who once coached Peerless F.C. in the Calcutta Football League.

Debashree Mazumdar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Debashree Mazumdar

Debashree in 2017

Personal information

Nationality Indian

Born 6 April 1991

India

Weight 53

Sport

Country India

Sport Athletics

Event(s) Sprint Athlete

Team India

Coached by Mr. Tapan Kumar Bhandari

Now coaching Mr.Amit Khanna

Achievements and titles

World finals 1.Gold medalist - Asian championship in 4*400 meters relay races in 2017 at bhubaneswar In India . 2. Silver medalist - Asian championship in 4*400 meters relay races in 2015 at whuhan China.

Debashree Mazumdar (born 6 April 1991) is an Indian sprint athlete from Kolkata who specializes in 4 × 400 metres relay races.

Career

Debashree Mazumdar works for the Income Tax department as an Income Tax Inspector in Delhi.

In 2017 she was part of the winning 4 × 400 m relay team at the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships in Bhubaneshwar along with M. R. Poovamma, Jisna Mathew and Nirmala Sheoran.

Dipsan Tirkey

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dipsan TirkeyPersonal information

Born 15 October 1998

Sundergarh district, Orissa, India

Playing position Defender

National team

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2017– India

Men’s field hockey

Representing India

2017 Dhaka

2016 Lucknow

Dipsan Tirkey (born 15 October 1998) is an Indian field hockey player who plays as a defender. He was the vice-captain of the Indian squad that won the 2016 Men's Hockey Junior World Cup.

Life and career

Tirkey was the vice-captain and the youngest member of the Indian squad that went unbeaten en route to the title at the 2016 Men's Hockey Junior World Cup in Lucknow.

Erik Karlsson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Erik Karlsson

Karlsson with the Ottawa Senators in 2017

Born 31 May 1990

Landsbro, Sweden

Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)

Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)

Position Defence

Shoots Right

NHL team

Former teams San Jose Sharks

Frölunda HC

Ottawa Senators

Jokerit

National team Sweden

NHL Draft 15th overall, 2008

Ottawa Senators

Playing career 2008–present

Erik Sven Gunnar Karlsson (pronounced [ˈêːrɪk ˈkɑ̌ːɭsɔn]; born 31 May 1990) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Karlsson was drafted in the first round, 15th overall, by the Ottawa Senators at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, with whom he spent his first nine NHL seasons. Karlsson is a two-time winner of the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the NHL's best defenceman, winning the award in 2012 and 2015.

Playing career

Sweden

Karlsson with Frölunda HC in 2008.

Karlsson made his Elitserien debut for Frölunda HC on 1 March 2008, recording 8:48 of ice time during a sold out home game in Scandinavium against league leaders HV71. Karlsson scored the game-winning goal, assisted by Tomi Kallio and Magnus Kahnberg, with a slap shot in overtime during a man advantage. The win secured a playoff berth for Frölunda with three games remaining in the regular season.

Karlsson finished the season with Frölunda's J20 team playing in the J20 SuperElit playoffs, where Frölunda took home the Anton Cup when they won, two games to one, against Brynäs IF's J20 team in the Swedish Junior Ice Hockey Championship final.

Ottawa Senators

Prior to the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, Karlsson was ranked fourth among European skaters by the NHL's Central Scouting Service.He was ultimately drafted 15th overall by the Ottawa Senators in front of their hometown fans at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa. The selection was made by Ottawa's captain Daniel Alfredsson, a native of Gothenburg, who played for Frölunda before entering the NHL. Then-Ottawa general manager Bryan Murray traded Ottawa's first-round pick, 18th overall, and their third-round pick in 2009 to the Nashville Predators in exchange for the Predators' first-round pick, 15th overall, to ensure that no other team would select Karlsson before them.

A few weeks before the 2008–09 Elitserien season premiere, Frölunda announced that Karlsson was brought up to the senior team as a regular roster player.

In September 2009, Karlsson attended the Senators' training camp ahead of the 2009–10 season. On 29 September 2009, the Senators announced that Karlsson had made the team's NHL roster. After struggling in nine regular season games with Ottawa, he was assigned to the team's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Binghamton Senators. On 27 November 2009, exactly one month after being sent down, Karlsson was recalled from Binghamton. He would score his first NHL goal against the Minnesota Wild's Niklas Bäckström in a 4–1 win for Ottawa on 19 December 2009, and would remain in the NHL for the remainder of the season and play in all of Ottawa's 2010 Stanley Cup playoff games.

Karlsson was selected to participate in the 2011 NHL All-Star Game, set for 30 January 2011, at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, having recorded 25 points in 41 games.

The 2011–12 season saw Karlsson continue his development. On 16 December 2011, with his third assist of the night, Karlsson registered his 100th regular-season NHL point (in 168 games) in a game against the rival Pittsburgh Penguins. Karlsson was the NHL's leading vote-getter in All-Star voting, receiving 939,951 fan votes and becoming one of four Senators players selected to partake in the 2012 NHL All-Star Game. Karlsson finished the season as the leading scorer among NHL defencemen, leading second-place Dustin Byfuglien and Brian Campbell by 25 points. Karlsson was being mentioned as a James Norris Memorial Trophy candidate, if not the favourite for the award.

Karlsson during his NHL debut on 28 November 2009

On 19 June 2012, Karlsson signed a reported seven-year, $45.5 million contract with the Senators The following day, Karlsson was announced as the winner of the James Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenceman, beating Zdeno Chára of the Boston Bruins and Shea Weber of the Nashville Predators. He became the second Swede after seven-time winner Nicklas Lidström to win the award, joining the ranks of Hall of Famers Bobby Orr and Denis Potvin as the only players to win the award under age 23.

Karlsson with Jokerit, a team he signed with during the 2012–13 NHL lockout

During the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Karlsson signed with Jokerit of the Finnish SM-liiga. He received a one-game suspension for allegedly throwing his stick at a referee following a game on 8 December 2012. He finished his stint in Jokerit with 9 goals and 25 assists (34 points) in 30 games, leading all defencemen in scoring. Once the lockout ended and the NHL season commenced, Karlsson promptly recorded a goal and two assists as Ottawa defeated the Winnipeg Jets 4–1 in their season opener. On 13 February 2013, Karlsson's Achilles tendon was lacerated when Pittsburgh Penguins forward Matt Cooke had his skate land on the back of Karlsson's left leg, requiring surgery and taking him out of Ottawa's lineup indefinitely. Cooke had been suspended several times previously for much-criticized incidents resulting in injury to opposing players, but was not suspended for this incident. At the time of the injury, Karlsson led all NHL defencemen with six goals. Though initial estimates had him out of the lineup for four-to-six months, Karlsson returned to the Ottawa lineup against the Washington Capitals on 25 April 2013, ten weeks to the day after the injury occurred. The Senators made the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs but were eliminated by Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference Semifinal, with Karlsson registering one goal and seven assists in ten games.

Karlsson appeared in all 82 games during the 2013–14 season and finished the season with 20 goals and 74 points, resulting in Karlsson being the first defenceman since Brian Leetch in 2000–01 to have at least 20 goals and 50 assists in the same season. However, the Senators would fail to qualify for the 2014 playoffs.

On 2 October 2014, the Senators organization announced that Karlsson would serve as the ninth captain in the team's modern history, replacing the recently-traded Jason Spezza. In his first season as team captain, Karlsson led all NHL defencemen in points for the third time in four seasons, including a career-high 21 goals. He also played in all 82 of Ottawa's games for the second season in a row and ranked third in the NHL in total ice time (2,234:55) and average ice time (27:15) to carry the Senators to a 23–4–4 record on the way to an unlikely playoff spot. On 24 June 2015, it was announced Karlsson won his second Norris Trophy, beating out fellow nominees Drew Doughty and P. K. Subban.

Karlsson appeared in all 82 games for the third-straight season during the 2015–16 season and led the league in assists with a career high 66 assists and set a career high in points (82), finishing fourth in the league in scoring alongside San Jose Sharks forward Joe Thornton. With his 81st point, Karlsson broke the record for most points in a single season by a Swedish defenceman, which was previously set by Nicklas Lidström during the 2005–06 season. Karlsson was also the first defenceman since Paul Coffey in the 1985–86 season to finish in the top five in scoring and the first since Bobby Orr in the 1974–75 season to lead the league in assists. Karlsson's performance earned him his third Norris Trophy nomination, though Drew Doughty won the trophy with Karlsson finishing in second place in vote totals.

Karlsson playing in a game against the Penguins, during the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs

During the 2016–17 season, Karlsson set a Senators record on 4 March 2017 when he appeared in his 312th consecutive game, breaking the previous set by defenceman Chris Phillips. However, he would miss his first game in almost four years in late March 2017 after sustaining an injury from blocking a shot during a game against the Philadelphia Flyers, ending his consecutive game streak at 324 games. Karlsson finished the regular season in third place among defencemen in points and second place among defencemen in assists and blocked shots, earning him his fourth Norris Trophy nomination. Karlsson would finish second in voting, with the award going to Brent Burns. Karlsson's performance continued into the 2017 playoffs, helping the Senators reach the Eastern Conference Final, the first time the team had done so since 2007. Although the Senators would be eliminated by the Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games, Karlsson was praised for his performance during the Senators' playoff run and how he continued playing despite suffering two hairline fractures in his left heel. Karlsson would also set a playoff team record for most assists and points for a defenceman in the playoffs.

Shortly after the Senators were eliminated from the playoffs, Karlsson had surgery to repair torn tendons in his left foot, resulting in him missing the beginning of the 2017–18 season. Karlsson's productivity dwindled in this season, finishing the season with 62 points in 71 games, partly due to coping with injuries and the loss of his child towards the end of the season. Despite his lower-than-average performance, Karlsson moved into third place on the franchise's all-time points list (with 492 points) on 8 February 2018 after a 4–3 win over the Nashville Predators. The Senators also struggled during the season, finishing the season in 30th place in the league. In the midst of a rebuild, the Senators attempted to trade Karlsson before the NHL trade deadline, as his seven-year contract was ending in 2019 and the organization was uncertain about re-signing him, though a deal could not be reached before the deadline. However, the day after the deadline, Karlsson expressed his interest in staying in Ottawa and said that he never requested a trade.

San Jose Sharks

On 13 September 2018, Karlsson (along with Francis Perron) was traded to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Chris Tierney, Dylan DeMelo, Josh Norris, Rūdolfs Balcers, the Sharks' first-round pick in 2020, second-round pick in 2019 and a conditional second-round pick in 2021.[40] He scored his first goal with the Sharks on 18 November in a 4–0 win over the St. Louis Blues. After a slow start to the season, Karlsson became the fifth defenceman in league history to have at least one assist in 14 consecutive games following a 7–2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on 8 January 2019. On 23 December, Karlsson was suspended for the first time in his career for two games for an illegal check to the head of Los Angeles Kings player Austin Wagner. A groin injury resulted in Karlsson missing many games near the end of the season before returning for the last game of the season against the Colorado Avalanche. He would finish the season with 45 points in 53 games, his lowest point tally since the 2012–13 season. Karlsson assisted San Jose in reaching the Western Conference Finals during the 2019 playoffs, though he sustained another groin injury in a game against the St. Louis Blues, resulting in him missing San Jose's final game of the playoffs when the team lost 5–1 in Game 6. He would finish the playoffs with 16 points in 19 games. On 31 May, he underwent groin surgery.

On 17 June 2019, Karlsson signed a new eight-year, $92 million contract to remain with the Sharks, with an annual value of $11.5 million. His new contract made Karlsson the highest-paid defenceman in league history and the third highest-paid player in the league at the time, behind Auston Matthews ($11.6 million annually) and Connor McDavid ($12.5 million annually). He broke his thumb on 14 February 2020, in a game against the Winnipeg Jets. He was placed on injured reserve and would miss the remainder of the 2019–20 season.

Style of play

Karlsson skating forward during a game. Karlsson has been noted for his speed.

Karlsson's performance has been widely acclaimed by current and former ice hockey players, head coaches and the media. He is well known for his speed, such as his ability to lead a rush and be the first man to return to defend, and for making plays. In 2012, Bobby Orr praised Karlsson for his fast skating and performance, comparing him to former defencemen such as Larry Robinson and Paul Coffey, while Coffey himself praised Karlsson as an "elite player" and one of the best players in the NHL. Ken Hitchcock praised Karlsson for his skating skill and reading of plays, saying that he is "ahead of the curve everywhere". Henrik Lundqvist also called Karlsson "one of the best players in the game", complimenting his skating skills and vision of the game. Despite his performance, he has also been criticized for not playing a more defensive role as a defenceman.

Karlsson is known as being a more offensive defenceman. He has earned more than 70 points in four different seasons and is the second defenceman in league history to lead his team in scoring in four consecutive campaigns.

Karlsson has also shown his grit and toughness as he has played in numerous games and playoff series with very noticeable injuries. In the Ottawa Senators playoff run in 2017, Karlsson was reported to have played on a broken heel which he had to get a surgery the following off season. Karlsson also rushed himself back from a groin injury in the 2019 NHL playoffs to help with the San Jose Sharks playoff run which also ended in the conference final series. Karlsson is recognized for using Snus, a Swedish form of dipping tobacco, during the games.

International play

Medal record

Representing Sweden

2014 Sochi

2010 Cologne

2009 Ottawa

Karlsson was selected as the tournament's best defenceman at the 2008 IIHF World U18 Championships. He was the tournament's plus/minus leader with a plus eight rating. He led team Sweden in assists, finishing third overall in the tournament with seven in six games,which also tied him for first place in defencemen scoring. During the 2008 U20 4-Nations tournament which Sweden won, Karlsson scored one goal and one assist which tied him with David Rundblad, Viktor Ekbom and Tim Erixon as Sweden's defenceman scoring leader.[ A the 2009 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, Karlsson was selected to the all-star team, and as the tournament's best defenceman. With two goals and seven assists in six games, he led all Swedish players in points,and was tied for the tournament lead among defencemen.

Karlsson played at the 2010 World Championships and was the highest scoring defenceman for Sweden with one goal and three assists in nine games.

Karlsson tied for fourth in team scoring with Senators teammate Daniel Alfredsson at the 2012 World Championship with seven points and led all Swedish defencemen in that category. He also finished tied for fifth in points and tied third in goals by defencemen overall in the tournament.

At the 2014 Olympic Tournament held in Sochi, Karlsson led all players with eight points and was tied for second in goals. On 21 February 2014, Karlsson's scored a powerplay goal in the semi-final against Finland to earn Sweden a spot in the gold medal final against Canada. The Swedes would later lose 3–0. Along with a silver medal, Karlsson was named the Best Defenceman of the tournament and was selected to the All-Star team.

Karlsson declined an invitation to play for Sweden at the 2015 World Championship due to an undisclosed injury.

On 1 March 2016, Karlsson was announced to represent Sweden at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. In September, he was named alternate captain alongside Daniel Sedin.

Personal life

Karlsson and his first wife, Therese, were divorced in 2013. He married his second wife, Melinda Currey, in Ottawa in August 2017. On 22 November 2017, Karlsson and Currey announced via Instagram that they were expecting their first child, and on 18 December, they revealed it was a boy. On 20 March 2018, the Karlssons announced that their son was stillborn. On 3 October 2019, Karlsson and Melinda announced the birth of a daughter.

On 12 June 2018, Karlsson's wife filed a protection order against Monika Caryk, girlfriend of Senators' teammate Mike Hoffman, for harassment both before and after the passing of their son. The nature of the alleged harassment included using fake accounts to direct over 1,000 malicious comments towards the Karlssons, including some made regarding the stillbirth of the Karlssons' son. The situation would soon result in legal action against Caryk and the trades of both Karlsson and Hoffman from the Senators' organization.

During a 2018 court deposition, Caryk burst into tears and threatened to leave the room during questioning. She told the court that she and Melinda Karlsson began as friends and that the Karlssons were never outwardly hostile towards her. When asked how the friendship deteriorated, Caryk stated that she became offended after her Facebook and Instagram posts stopped receiving "likes" from Melinda Karlsson, and Caryk became more upset when she stopped receiving invitations to team dinners organized for wives and girlfriends of Senators' players. The deposition revealed that wives and girlfriends of several players associated with the Senators and other organizations had contacted Caryk privately before the matter went public, admonishing her for her continued and increasing hostility towards the Karlssons.

Later that year, Karlsson and his wife organized the charity "Can't Dim My Light" to raise funds and awareness about bullying in schools.

Karlsson's childhood idols included Nicklas Lidström, Daniel Alfredsson, Mats Sundin and Peter Forsberg. He is a supporter of English Premier League football club Arsenal.

F Lalrinpuia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

F LalrinpuiaPersonal information

Date of birth 3 October 1989

Place of birth Mizoram, India, Republic veng

Position(s) Forward

Club information

Current team Mizoram Police

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2012–2015 Mizoram Police

2015 Chanmari

2016 Aizawl 10 (0)

2016– Mizoram Police

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:40, 20 March 2018 (UTC)

F Lalrinpuia (born 3 October 1989) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Mizoram Police in the Mizoram Premier League.

Career

Born in Mizoram, Lalrinpuia began his career with Mizoram Police in the Mizoram Premier League. He then joined Chanmari, where he played for the side in the I-League 2nd Division. He also represented Mizoram in the Santosh Trophy and helped the state win their first championship in the tournament.

On 16 January 2016 Lalrinpuia made his professional debut with newly promoted I-League club, Aizawl, against Bengaluru FC. He came on as a 79th minute substitute as Aizawl lost 1–0.

Mizoram Police

After spending the season with Aizawl, Lalrinpuia returned to Mizoram Police for the 2016–17 and 2017–18 Mizoram Premier League seasons.

Lalrinpuia was also part of the Mizoram side that participated in the Santosh Trophy in 2016, 2017, and 2018. On 20 March 2018, Lalrinpuia scored the equalizer for Mizoram in their opening match of the 2017–18 edition against Goa.

G. Muthuraj

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Muthuraj

Born 1 July 1927

Bangalore

Died 21 May 2006 (aged 78)

Spouse(s) Padmavathy

G. Muthuraj (1 July 1927 – 21 May 2006) was a football player from Karnataka, India.

Footballing career

Fondly known as Muthu, Muthuraj started his career as a defender with the Bangalore Mars in 1947. He also became the captain of the Karnataka state team and played for his state for nearly a decade. he made his international debut in an away series in 1953 against Myanmar (then called Burma).

He represented India at the 1954 Asian Games in Manila.

Professional career

Muthu joined the 515 Army Base Workshop in 1950 and retired in 1962. From then on, he coached the Army team until he quit in 1990.

Personal life

Muthuraj is survived by two sons, both of whom were footballers, and three daughters.

Grace Dangmei

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Grace DangmeiPersonal information

Date of birth 5 February 1996

Place of birth Dimdailong, Churachandpur, Manipur, india

Position(s) Forward

Club information

Current team Gokulam Kerala FC

Number 11

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2016–2018 KRYPHSA 9 (8)

2019 Sethu 7 (8)

2021 Gokulam Kerala 0 (0)

National team‡

2014 India U19 3 (1)

2013– India 43 (12)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23 May 2019

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 2 December 2021

Grace Dangmei (born 5 February 1996) is an Indian footballer, who plays as a forward for the India Women's National Football Team. She was part of the team at the 2014 Asian Games and at the 2016 South Asian Games where she scored two goals against Sri Lanka. During the 2016 SAFF Women's Championship, she scored a goal in the first half of the final, helping India clinch its fourth consecutive title at the tournament.

Early life

Grace Dangmei was born to Simon Dangmei and Rita Dangmei and belongs to Rongmei Tribe from Dimdailong Village, Kangvai Sub-Division, Churachandpur District, Manipur.

Career

International career

Grace played her debut international match in AFC Qualifiers on 2013. Then she becomes regular members of women's national team.

Club career

Dangmei played the inaugural edition of Indian Women's League with Kryphsa F.C. and also 2nd edition. She joined Sethu FC in 2019 for 3rd edition of IWL.During the 2018 Indian Women's League she was awarded as Emerging Player Award. She scored a brace in her first match with Sethu FC against Manipur Police Sports Club on 6 May 2019.

Gopi Sonkar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gopi SonkarPersonal information

Full name Gopi Kumar Sonkar

Ethnicity Khatik

Citizenship India

Born 10 April 2000

Banaras

Residence Banaras

Occupation sport

Sport

Country India

Sport Hockey

Position Midfielder

Team Uttar Pradesh Hockey

Gopi Sonkar (born 10 April 2000), also known as Gopi Kumar, is an Indian field hockey player and a member of Indian field hockey team. He represented India in 2018 Sultan of Johor Cup held at Malaysia.

He also participated in 9th Hockey India Junior Men National Championship 2019 (Div ‘A’) held at the Sports Authority of India, Western Training Centre, Aurangabad.

Early life and career

He started training at Vivek Singh Academy, then joined Saifai Sports Hostel where his maternal uncle Rajesh trained him. He is the elder between two sisters and three brothers.[ His father Pyarelal Sonkar used to sell fruits at Pandeypur Chowk.

Gaurav Solanki

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gaurav Solanki

Statistics

Weight(s) Flyweight

Nationality Indian

Born 21 January 1997

Ballabgarh, Faridabad, Haryana, India

Men's amateur boxing

Representing India

2018 Gold Coast Flyweight

Gaurav Solanki (born 21 January 1997) is an Indian boxer. He competes in the 52 kg category. In the year 2018, at the Commonwealth Games held in Gold Coast, Queensland, he won the gold medal in boxing's flyweight 52 kg category. He hails from Ballabgarh, Faridabad, Haryana.

Primary and personal life

Gaurav Solanki was born on 21 January 1997 in Ballabgarh, Faridabad. His father, Vijay Pal Singh, is an electrician and has an electric shop. His younger brother, Saurav is a boxer and trains at a local boxing academy in the 46-49 kg category. Her elder sister, Neelam was the national level boxing champion from 2013 to 2015.

In Ballabgarh village, there was a lack of sports culture and very few people came forward to inspire Gaurav to pursue boxing. His school started boxing training as a sport and in order to have fun Gaurav joined, and soon boxing became his profession. Though in the initial days, there was a big problem in his family finances, i.e., in order to be a good boxer one needs enough financial support to have good food and training. In 2012, when Gaurav started showing the spark of becoming a boxer, his father sold his 50-yard land to financially support Gaurav's boxing career. So, when Gaurav decided to become a boxer, his family came forward to help him in every possible way so he could pursue his dream without giving him a hint of the financial crisis of the family.

Career

2018, Commonwealth Games, Gold Coast, Australia

On 9 April 2018, in the last 16 rounds, Gaurav beat Ghana's Empiyar Akimos Annang Ampiah with a score of 4-0.

On 11 April 2018, in the quarter-finals, Gaurav beat Papua New Guinea's Charles Keama with a score of 5-0.

On 13 April 2018, in the semifinals Gaurav beat Sri Lankan M. Vidanalange Ishan Bandra with a score of 4-0 margin.

On 14 April, in the final, Gaurav beat Ireland's Brendan Irvine with a final score of 4-1.

After the bout, the final scores made by five judges were 29-28, 30-25, 29-28, 28-29, 29-28, giving the gold medal in the Flyweight 52 kg category of male boxing event to Gaurav and making him the first Indian male boxer to win a gold medal in the 2018 Commonwealth Games.[citation needed] After winning the gold medal, he said, "Today I am dedicating my medal to my mother and I want to represent Tokyo Olympics 2020 and I want to stay there when the Indian flag is raised."

Gurcharan Singh Grewal

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lt. Colonel Gurcharan Singh Garewal (May 4, 1911 – February 7, 1949) was an Indian field hockey player who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics.

In 1936 he was a member of the Indian field hockey team, which won the gold medal. He played one match as back.

Gadde Ruthvika Shivani

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gadde Ruthvika Shivani

గద్దె రుత్విక శివాని

Personal information

Birth name Gadde Ruthvika Shivani

Country India

Born 26 March 1997

Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India

Residence Khammam, Telangana, India

Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)

Weight 60 kg (132 lb)

Handedness Right handed

Coach Pullela Gopichand

Women's singles

Career title(s) 5

Highest ranking 49 (1 December 2016)

Women's badminton

Representing India

Uber Cup

2016 Kunshan Women's team

2018 Gold Coast Mixed team

2016 Guwahati-Shillong Women's singles

2016 Guwahati-Shillong Women's team

2011 Lucknow Mixed team

Gadde Ruthvika Shivani (born 26 March 1997) is an Indian badminton player who currently plays singles. She trains at the Gopichand Badminton Academy.

Childhood and Early Training

Gadde Ruthvika Shivani, the daughter of G. Bhavani Prasad and G. Prameela Rani, was born in a Telugu family on 26 March 1997. Her father is a small business man and her mother is a homemaker and Shivani's elder brother is G. S. Chaitanya Prasad. Shivani getting interested in playing badminton at the age of five, she used to go along with his father to play with club members at Khammam's Sequel Resorts. Her father and his friends noticed her keen interest to the sport, from then she started playing it every single day and make it as a career.

In 2002, Shivani initially took in the nuts and bolts of the game with the direction of club coach Prem Singh at Khammam's Sequel Resorts. Later, she joined in the Sports Authority Academy, Khammam, in 2004 under the guidance of coach G. Sudhakar Reddy till 2011. During her training she sharpened her repertoire of mix-and-match shots to bait and confuse her opponents. One of the others things she did was to play singles and doubles with boys. While their physicality made Shivani work harder, her techniques refined her game, making her stand out.

Soon after Shivani joined in the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy in 2012, she won several medals after joining in the Gopichand Badminton Academy, one of the biggest triumph is winning the women's singles title in Russian Grand Prix. About Shivani's performance at the Russian Grand Prix, Gopichand said: "She had the habit of playing against the boys in her early days". "So, her fitness and power is automatically developed and it is likely to make the difference from the other students of this academy. And after she joined the academy, I did not overwrite her game style. Rather I tried to polish it".

Shivani was National Champion at sub-junior, junior, senior level categories in all age groups and in all formats of badminton events, respectively she won 115 national medals. In the international level she won 20 medals. Shivani completed her schooling from Harvest Public School, Khammam. She completed her 11th, 12th standards from Jubilee Hills Public School, Hyderabad and B.Com from St. Ann's College for Women, at present she is pursuing her M.B.A in the same college located in Hyderabad.

Career

In the international circuit, Shivani made her first international sub-junior debut in 2010, she was a bronze medallist in women's doubles category at the Badminton Asia Youth U17 & U15 Championships held in Chiba, Japan, that was her first medal in international level. In the same year she was a silver medallist in women's doubles category at the Li-Ning Singapore Youth International held in Singapore. In 2011, Shivani was a silver medallist in women's singles category at the Badminton Asia Youth U17 & U15 Championships held in Chiba, Japan. She was also a silver medallist in women's doubles category at the DJARUM SIRNAS REG.IV FLY POWER PERTAMINA JATIM OPEN held in Surabaya, Indonesia.

2011

In 2011, Shivani made her first international junior debut at Ramenskoe Junior International held in Ramenskoe, Russia. She vanquished Russian Player Evgeniya Kosetskaya and won women's singles title. She was also a bronze medallist in women's doubles. At Asian Junior Championships she was a bronze medallist in mixed team event.

2012

In 2012, Sushant Chipalkatti Memorial India Junior International held in Pune, Maharastra. She won the women's singles title by defeating Rituparna Das in straight sets and also won the women's doubles title.

2013

In the 2013 Indian Badminton League, She was the team member of the Awadhe Warriors. Her team lost in finals against Hyderabad HotShots and finished as runner's-up. Shivani won women's singles title at Sushant Chipalkatti Memorial India Junior International held in Pune, Maharastra. By defeating Liang Xiaoyu in finals. She won in women's doubles at Vankina Anjana Devi Memorial All India Senior Ranking Badminton Tournament held in Hyderabad, Telangana.

2014

In December, Shivani won the Tata Open India International women's singles title after beating her opponent Arundhati Pantawane in the final. This was her first international challenge title held in Mumbai, Maharastra. On 7 September 2014 she won her third consecutive year of winning women's singles title in Sushant Chipalkatti Memorial India Junior International held in Pune, Maharastra defeating her opponent Karthik Reshma in the final. Winner in women’s singles at All India Senior Ranking Badminton Tournament held in Gandhidham, Gujarat.

2015

At the 2015 December, Yonex-Sunrise Bangladesh Open International held in Dhaka, Bangladesh. She won the women's singles title by defeating top seeded player Iris Wang of United States. In October, Sofia, Bulgaria she was a bronze medallist in women's singles at the Babolat Bulgarian International. In September, playing at the Sushant Chipalkatti Memorial India Junior International held in Pune, Maharastra. She defeated second seeded player Supamart Mingchua in the final and winning the women's singles title for the fourth consecutive year. At Radhey Shyam Gupta Memorial All India Senior Ranking Badminton Tournament held in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh she was winner in women's singles.

2016

At the 2016 South Asian Games held in Guwahati and Shillong, she won two gold medals, in women's team and women's singles. Rising star Shivani created the biggest upset by defeating P. V. Sindhu in straight games and won the women's singles title. She was a women's team member in India's national team at the 2016 Uber Cup and secured bronze medal in 2016 Thomas & Uber Cup World Team Championships Finals held in Kunshan, China. In the quarter finals she defeated Thailand's top player Nichaon Jindapol by 21-18, 21-16[9] with that victory Indian women's team secured bronze medal in Uber Cup. Later, they lost in semi-finals against china. In the 2016 Premier Badminton league, Shivani was the team member of the Mumbai Rockets. Her team finished as runner's-up after losing in finals against Delhi Acers. On 9 October 2016, Shivani won Russian Open women's singles title, beating her opponent from Russia Evgeniya Kosetskaya in finals. This is Shivani's maiden Grand Prix title held in Vladivostok, Russia. Shivani was a silver medallist in Sats-Yonex Sunrise India International Series held in Hyderabad, Telangana. In Pune, Maharashtra she was winner in women’s singles at V. V. Natu Memorial All India Senior Ranking Badminton Tournament.

International Achievements (Senior)

International Senior Medals (6)

S. No.YearTournamentOpponent/Opponent in finalScoreResult

1 2014 Tata Open India International Arundhati Pantawane 19–21, 21–18, 21–14 Gold

2 2015 Babolat Bulgarian International Maria Ulitina 20-22, 15-21 Bronze

3 2015 Yonex-Sunrise Bangladesh Open International Iris Wang 23–21, 19–21, 21–18 Gold

4 2016 South Asian Games P.V.Sindhu 21–11, 22–20 Gold

5 2016 Russian Open Evgeniya Kosetskaya 21-10, 21-13 Gold

6 2016 Sats-Yonex Sunrise India International Series Rituparna Das 7-11, 11-8, 7-11, 12-14 Silver

7 2017 Tata Open India International Mukherjee Riya 21-12, 23-21 Gold

Recent achievements: Won tata open India international challenge in 2017 Grand Prix International Challenge International Series

Gaurav Natekar

From Wikipedia

Gaurav Natekar (born 4 April 1972) is a seven-time Indian National Tennis Champion. He was awarded the Arjuna Award in 1996 for Tennis.

His father, Nandu M. Natekar, was a national-level Indian badminton champion.

Achievements

Represented the country in Davis Cup from 1992-97. Was member of the team that reached the semi-final in '93

Double gold medallist at the Hiroshima Asian Games in 1994 (team event and doubles with Leander Paes)

Double gold medallist in SAF Games in Colombo '93, Dhaka '95, and Madras '97.

Won the National hard & grasscourt titles in singles and doubles in the same year (1992)

Two National singles, seven doubles and five junior titles. Highest ATP ranking: singles 272, doubles 167.

Gouranga Biswas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gouranga Biswas

Personal information

Full name Gouranga Biswas

Date of birth 17 December 1987

Place of birth Kolkata, India

Height 1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)

Playing position(s) Midfielder

Club information

Current team Eagles F.C. (on loan)

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2006–2008 East Bengal

2008–2009 Air India

2009–2013 Prayag United

2013– (on loan) Eagles

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Gouranga Biswas (born 17 December 1987 in Kolkata) is an Indian footballer who is currently playing for Eagles F.C. on loan from IMG RELIANCE as a midfielder.

Hari Shankar Roy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hari Shankar RoyPersonal information

Full name Hari Shankar Roy

Nationality Indian

Born 4 April 1986 (age 36)

Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, India

Sport

Country India

Sport Track and field

Event(s) High jump

Achievements and titles

Personal best(s) outdoor: 2.25 m

(2004)

Updated on 19 September 2009.

Hari Shankar Roy (born 4 April 1986) is an Indian track and field athlete from West Bengal who specialises in the high jump. He held the previous national record of 2.25 metres (7 ft 4.58 in) set on 28 September 2004 in Singapore during the Asian All-Stars Athletic Championship. Which was broken by Tejaswin Shankar on 10 November 2016 in Coimbatore at the National Jr athletics championships, as a 17 year old.

Career

Harishankar was born 4 April 1986 in Dhupjhora, a village in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal. In 2003, Harishankar participated in the 3rd IAAF World Youth Championships in Athletics in Sherbrooke, Canada. He was eliminated in the qualifying round after failing to clear 1.95 m. In July 2004 during the 44th inter-state national athletics meet in Chennai, he broke the 11-year-old national record in men’s high jump by clearing a height of 2.18 m. The previous mark of 2.17 m, set in 1993 in Bangalore, stood in the name of Chander Pal Singh of Haryana. In the same meet, Benedict Starly of Tamil Nadu also managed to clear 2.18 m, however, gold was awarded to Shankar Roy on the account of fewer number of attempts. On 28 September 2004, during the Asian All-Stars Athletic Championship in Singapore, India's best high jumper broke his own National record with a height of 2.25 m to take the silver behind Hu Tong of China. In 2007, both Hari Shanakar and Benedict Starly sailed past a height of 2.14 m during the 33rd National Games, held in Guwahati. Yet again it was Roy who won the gold on the count-back.

He won the gold medal in the high jump at the 2010 South Asian Games, clearing a height of 2.16 m.

On 10 Nov 2016, Roy's long standing record of 12 years was broken by 17-year-old boy Tejaswin Shankar at the National Jr athletics championships in Coimbatore.

Hridayeshwar Singh Bhati

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hridayeshwar Singh Bhati

Bhati age 11, with his chess variants

Born 3 September 2002

Jaipur, India

Nationality Indian

Known for Inventing six-, twelve-, and sixty-player circular chess variants

Website Hridayeshwarsinghbhati.com

Hridayeshwar Singh Bhati (born 3 September 2002) is an Indian student who invented a six-player variant of chess at the age of 9 with assistance from his father. He earned a patent for his invention in 2012, making him the youngest patent-holder in India at that time. For his invention Bhati received the CavinKare Ability Special Recognition Award and the Sri Balaji Society's Child Innovator Award. He has since designed and received patents for twelve- and sixty-player versions of his game, with his boards capable of 100 distinct variations altogether.

Besides circular chess, Bhati has developed a ramp system enabling easy access to vehicles for the disabled In 2014 he was presented a Dr. Batra's Positive Health Award by Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Bhati suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy and uses a wheelchair. He credits his passion for invention to his admiration of British physicist Stephen Hawking: "I want to be like Hawking who became a famous scientist despite suffering from motor neuron disease."

Six-player circular chess

Bhati's version of multiplayer chess is played on a circular board with 228 black and white cells (or spaces). The 12 red spaces are not used. Up to six players in teams of two or three can play. Bhati's design employs all the standard chess pieces and their moves. Individual armies are distinguished by colour.

Six-player circular chess, starting setup

Rules

Each player starts the game with the same number and types of pieces as in standard chess. Non-pawn pieces start in their normal positions on the back ranks (the 8×1 extensions at the board perimeter), with queens always placed to the left of kings. Pawns are placed on the rank in front of the pieces as in standard chess.

Red spaces cannot be occupied or passed through when moving or capturing. The multicoloured central area can be passed through but not occupied. It is considered a single "null" space, so a cell bordering it is considered adjacent to the cell on the direct opposite side of the null area. (E.g., a pawn on a cell bordering the null space that moves one step straight forward, will end its move on the opposite side of the null space on the same-coloured cell.)

The king, knight, and pawn have their standard chess moves, unaffected when crossing the central null space, where a cell directly across is considered adjacent. A pawn promotes as normal when reaching any player's back rank. A rook moves horizontally along concentric rings of cells, and vertically along files, including crossing the central null space and continuing along the same file in a straight line. When moving horizontally, a rook cannot end its move on the same cell it started from. The queen moves horizontally and vertically the same as a rook. When a queen or bishop moves diagonally and then crosses the central null space to the opposite side, it must continue from a cell of the same colour it started from: it is moved one cell clockwise or anticlockwise after passing the null space, consistent with whether it began its diagonal movement in a clockwise or anticlockwise direction.

When a player is checkmated or resigns, all their remaining pieces are removed from play. In games where teams compete, the last team standing is the winner.

Hima Das

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hima Das

Das at the 2018 World U20 Championships

Personal information

Native name হিমা দাস (অসমীয়া)

Birth name Hima Das

Nickname(s) Dhing Express

Mon Jai

Nationality Indian

Born 9 January 2000

Dhing, Nagaon, Assam, India

Height 167 cm (5 ft 6 in)

Weight 54 kg (119 lb)

Sport

Country India

Sport Track and field

Event(s) 100 m

200 m

400 m

Coached by Nipon Das

Galina Bukharina

Achievements and titles

Personal best(s) 100 m – 11.74 (2018)

200 m – 23.10 (2018)

400 m – 51.46 (2018)

Updated on 21 July 2019.

Hima Das (born 9 January 2000), nicknamed the Dhing Express, is an Indian sprinter from the state of Assam. She holds the current Indian national record in 400 metres with a timing of 50.79 s that she clocked at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia. She is the first Indian athlete to win a gold medal in a track event at the IAAF World U20 Championships..

Early life

Hima Das was born at Kandhulimari village, near the town of Dhing in her home state of Assam to Ronjit Das and Jonali Das. They belong to the indigenous Kaibbarta community of Assam. Her parents are farmers by profession. She is the youngest of five siblings. She attended the Dhing Public high School and was initially interested in playing football. She used to play football with the boys at her school and had always wanted to pursue a career in football. However, she did not see any prospects for herself in women's football scene in India. Later, upon advice from a school physical education teacher, she changed to sprint running.

Das passed her 12th board exams in May .

Career

In April 2018, Das competed in the 2018 Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast, Australia, in the 400 metres and the 4×400 metres relay.

On 12 July 2018, Das won the 400 m final at the World U-20 Championships 2018 held at Tampere, Finland, clocking a superb 51.46 seconds and becoming the first Indian sprinter to win a gold medal at an international track event.

At the 2018 Asian Games, Das qualified for the 400 m final, after clocking 51.00 in heat 1 and setting a new Indian national record. On 26 August 2018 she improved the national record to 50.79 s in the 400 m final however she could win only the silver medal. Later on 30 August 2018, she, along with M. R. Poovamma, Sarita Gayakwad and V. K. Vismaya won the women's 4 × 400 metres relay clocking 3:28.72. Hima also won a silver medal in the 4 × 400 m mixed relay, which was held for the first time at Asian Games.

Das continued her success in 2019 winning the 200m gold in Poznan Grand Prix in Poland, on 2 July 2019, with a time of 23.65 seconds.

On 13 July, she won 200m gold at the Kladno Meet in the Czech Republic with a time of 23.43 seconds.

On 20 July 2019, she achieved her third gold in a month, and fifth gold, in her 400-meter race in Nové Město, Czech Republic completing the race in 52.09 seconds.[16]

She was named for the World Championships to be held at Doha in October 2019. However a month before, she was ruled out of participation due to a back problem, that had started right after she competed at the Asian games the previous year.

Awards and accolades

President Ram Nath Kovind (right) presenting the Arjuna Award to Das (left) in 2018

Conferred with Arjuna Award by the President of India on 25 September 2018.

Das appeared in India's famous TV reality-show conducted by actor Amitabh Bachchan called Kaun Banega Crorepati on 1 November 2019.

Das is the second athlete from Assam after Bhogeswar Baruah to win a gold medal at an international event.

I. M. Vijayan

(Inivalappil Mani Vijayan (Malayalam: അയിനിവളപ്പില്‍ മണി വിജയന്‍)

Senior career*

Years Team Apps† (Gls)†

1987–1991 Kerala Police

1991–1992 Mohan Bagan A.C.

1992–1993 Kerala Police

1993–1994 Mohan Bagan A.C.

1994–1997 JCT Mills Phagwara

1997–1998 FC Kochin

1998–1999 Mohan Bagan A.C.

1999–2001 FC Kochin

2001–2002 East Bengal Club 6 (1)

2002–2004 JCT Mills Phagwara 34 (10)

2004–2005 Churchill Brothers SC

2005–2006 East Bengal Club

National team

1989–2004 India 79 (40)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (Goals).

Inivalappil Mani Vijayan (Malayalam: അയിനിവളപ്പില്‍ മണി വിജയന്‍) (born 25 April 1969) is a former professional Indian football player. Playing in the striker position, he formed a successful attacking partnership with Baichung Bhutia for the Indian national team in the late nineties and early 2000s. Vijayan was crowned Indian Player of the Year in 1993, 1997 and 1999, the first player to win the award multiple times.He was also awarded the Arjuna award in 2003.

Vijayan started out as a seller of soda in the Thrissur Municipal Corporation Stadium, Kerala earning 10 paise (0.02 Cents) a bottle. Eventually he was chosen to play for the Kerala Police club and rose to become one of the top names in domestic football. A highly aggressive player, he eventually became the highest earner in Indian club football as well as a regular in the India team. He scored one of the fastest ever international goals in a match against Bhutan in the 1999 SAF Games, when he managed to do the same in 12 seconds. Faster international goals on record include ones by Davide Gualtieri in 8 seconds and Hakan Şükür in 11 seconds. Vijayan's talents attracted interest from clubs in Malaysia and Thailand, although he spent his entire career in India until retirement. By the end of his career he had scored 40 international goals in 79 matches for India. Since retiring Vijayan has set up a football academy to train young players in his home town.

Vijayan was born in a back ward Pulaya community on 25 April 1969 at Thrissur City, Kerala. He began his life in a gravely poor environment, and had to sell soda bottles in the Thrissur Municipal Corporation Stadium for helping his family. He studied in CMSHS Thrissur. He had a passion for the game of football, and somehow caught the eye of the then DGP of Kerala, M.K. Joseph who got him selected for the Kerala Police football club at the age of 17 years. Vijayan delivered brilliant performance for Kerala Police at Quilon Nationals 1987, and was able to impress the national football fraternity very soon with his impeccable skills and highly aggressive style of playing. He continued to play for Kerala Police until the year 1991, when he switched to Mohun Bagan He came back to Kerala Police in 1992 and the next year switched back to Mohun Bagan. The very next year in 1994 he joined JCT Mills Fagwara, and stayed with them for 3 years till 1997, when he left JCT to join FC Kochin. After spending a one year tenure with the club, he again moved to Mohun Bagan in 1998 and came back to FC Kochin in 1999.Early

Life & Domestic Career

Vijayan left FC Cochin in 2001 and joined East Bengal Club, which he left in 2002 to join JCT Mills Phagwara once again. After finishing a two year stint with the club, he left JCT in 2004 and joined Churchill Brothers S.C. He left the club after one year and moved to East Bengal Club in 2005, which was his last professional football club as an active football player. He left East Bengal in the year 2006.

International career

Shri I.M. Vijayan made his debut in international football in the year 1989 and played in a number of tournaments such as Nehru Cup, pre-Olympics, pre-World Cup, SAAF Cup and SAF Games. Vijayan and Baichung Bhutia formed one of the deadliest forward lines the Indian Football team had ever seen, and helped the team score various vital goals in international tournaments. Vijayan was part of the victorious Indian team in the 1999 South Asian Football Federation Cup and scored one of the fastest international goals in history during the tournament, hitting the net against Bhutan after only 12 seconds. He also finished top scorer in the Afro-Asian Games event held in India in 2003 with four goals. Vijayan formally retired from international football after the Afro-Asian Games of 2003.

Kalo Harin

The unmatching rags to riches story of Vijayan translated into celluloid in 1998. The film, Kalo Harin, was directed by Cherian Joseph. Other members of the team: A. N. Raveendra Das, N. P. Chandrasekharan (Script), N. P. Chandrasekharan (Lyrics), K. Raghavan Master (Music) and P. J. Cherian (Cinimatography). The title of the film which means black buck is a reference to Vijayan's popular nickname during his playing days in Kolkata. This film finds the life of Vijayan as the struggle for existence and expression by a poor Dalit in modern India. This film won the National Award and the John Abraham Award in 1999. It also attracted mass appeal in Kerala, the home state of Vijayan at that time. Even though a short non feature film, it was exhibited in local theaters through ticket selling. That was a new episode in the history of Malayalam Film Industry. And, the songs of this film, with their folk touch and Dalit vigour, also became hits then.

Acting career

Vijayan acted as the leading character in internationally acclaimed Indian film "Shantham" (Peace) which won the national award for best film, playing a young man who kills his friend and then is tormented by remorse.His second movie is along with Kalabhavan Mani in Akashathile paravakal, in which he played a negative role. He is currently building a reputation for his character roles in Malayalam movies. He has also acted in some Tamil films, Thimiru being one.

Other Activities

After retirement from active football, Vijayan concentrated his attention upon his Football School that he had opened in Thrissur. In 2010 Vijayan formally took over a coaching job with Southern Samity, a premier division side in the Calcutta Football League. He was also a member of the now defunct National Congress

Ignace Tirkey

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ignacious ("Ignace") Tirkey is an Indian field Hockey player. He plays as a Fullback and has captained the Indian team.

He also serves the Madras Engineering Group (Madras Sappers corps of engineers) Indian army as a commissioned officer. He holds the rank of Captain.

Early life

Ignace Tirkey's younger brother Prabodh Tirkey also represented India in hockey. He is a product of Panposh Sports Hostel, Rourkela where he was spotted by Indian Army to help him pursue his career.

Career

Tirkey made his debut for the national side in February 2001 at the Akbar el Yom Tournament in Cairo against Belgium. He was a member of Indian team that participated in the Athens Olympic in 2004, where India finished seventh. In club hockey, Tirkey played for Services.

He is most remembered for his goal that he scored between Pakistan's ace striker, Sohail Abbas's legs in the final minutes of 2003 Asia Cup final to give India the winning lead after both teams were locked at 2-2 (India eventually added a 4th goal in the last minute). The match won India its first gold in Asia Cups.

Another highlight of his was in the Muruguppa Gold Cup in Aug 2001, where he scored a golden goal to win final, and thereafter in December 2002 during the National Games in Hyderabad.

Awards

Ignacious TirkeyPersonal information

Born 10 May 1981 (age 37)

Lulkidihi, Navapara, Sundergarh

Orissa, India

Playing position Fullback

Senior career

Years Team Apps (Gls)

Services

2005–? Chennai Veerans

2007–2008 Orissa Steelers

National team

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2001–2012 India 250+

Medal record

Men’s field hockey

Representing India

Asia Cup

2003 Kuala Lumpur Team

Asian Champions Trophy

2011 Ordos Team

S.No.AwardsYear

1 Padma Shree 2010

2 Arjuna Award 2009

3 Ekalavya Puraskar 2003

4 Services Sportsman of the Year 2004

Jim Thorpe

Thorpe won Olympic gold medals in the decathlon and pentathlon in the 1912 Olympics.

His accomplishments didn't end there.

He also played professional football, baseball and basketball.

Former President Dwight Eisenhower said this about him after a Carlisle/Army football game in which Thorpe scored 22 out of his team's 27 points: "My memory goes back to Jim Thorpe. He never practiced in his life, and he could do anything better than any other football player I ever saw."

Jyoti Sunita Kullu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jyoti Sunita KulluPersonal information

Born 9 September 1978

Sundargarh, Odisha

Women’s Field Hockey

Representing India

2002 Johannesburg Team

2002 Manchester Team

2004 New Delhi Team

2006 Doha Team

Jyoti Sunita Kullu (born 9 September 1978[1] in Sundargarh, Odisha [2]) is a female field hockey player from India, who made her international debut for her native country in 1996 in Delhi at the Indira Gandhi Gold Cup. In 2002, she became the topscorer of the Champions Challenge tournament in Johannesburg, South Africa, with five goals in six matches. In the same year Kullu won the golden medal with India at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England.

International Senior Tournaments

1996 – Indira Gandhi Gold Cup, New Delhi

1997 – World Cup Qualifier, Harare (4th)

1998 – World Cup, Utrecht (12th)

1998 – Commonwealth Games, Kuala Lumpur (4th)

1998 – Asian Games, Bangkok (2nd)

1999 – Hockey Asia Cup, New Delhi (2nd)

2000 – Olympic Qualifier, Milton Keynes (10th)

2001 – World Cup Qualifier, Amiens/Abbeville (7th)

2002 – Champions Challenge, Johannesburg (3rd)

2002 – Commonwealth Games, Manchester (1st)

2002 – Asian Games, Busan (4th)

2003 – Afro-Asian Games, Hyderabad (1st)

2004 – Hockey Asia Cup, New Delhi (1st)

2006 – Commonwealth Games, Melbourne (2nd)

2006 – World Cup, Madrid (11th)

Awards

The President, Smt. Pratibha Patil presenting the Arjuna Award -2006 to Ms. Jyoti Sunita Kullu for Hockey (Women) at a glittering function, in New Delhi on August 29, 2007

Arjuna Award, 2007

Joseph Barss (ice hockey)

From Wikipedia

Joseph Barss

Barss from 1924 Michiganensian

Born

Joseph Barss

February 27, 1892

Madras, British India

Died January 26, 1971 (aged 78)

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States

Occupation Ice hockey coach, Medical doctor and surgeon

Joseph Ernest Barss (February 27, 1892 – January 26, 1971) was an ice hockey player and coach. He was the first head coach of the Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey team, holding the position from 1922 to 1927. He was later employed as a medical doctor and surgeon in the Chicago area.

Early years

Barss was born in Madras, India (now known as Chennai) in February 1892. His father, John Howard Barss (born Wolfville, Nova Scotia) was ordained in July 1891 and traveled to India as a Baptist missionary. In 1893, while still an infant, Barss returned to Canada with his parents. He traveled with his parents from Liverpool, England, arriving in New York on October 30, 1893. They returned to their home in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, where Barss' father operated a grocery store and served as a Baptist minister. Barss was enrolled at Acadia University in Wolfville, receiving his degree in 1912. After graduating from Acadia, Barss played professional hockey for the Montreal Wanderers of the National Hockey Association.

World War I

Barss in World War I uniform posing with his parents.

In April 1915, Barss entered the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force following the outbreak of World War I. At that time, he listed his occupation as clerk and indicated that he had three years of prior military service. In his history of the University of Michigan's hockey program, author John U. Bacon provides a lengthy account of Barss' war-time service and its impact on his decision to become a medical doctor. According to Bacon, Barss was wounded by shrapnel and gassed at the Second Battle of Ypres in April and May 1915. However, Barss' military records indicate that Barss' Attestation Paper for the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force was completed on April 30, 1915 in Montreal. Accordingly, it appears that Barss likely did not see combat action at the Second Battle of Ypres. Barss' Service Record states that he was wounded on June 2, 1916. He was a machine gunner sergeant with the P.P.C.L.I and badly wounded in Sanctuary Wood during the first day of the Battle of Mt. Sorrel on the eastern border of Ypres, Belgium. According to Bacon, Barss suffered permanent lung damage and a severe abdominal injury from shrapnel while serving in Belgium. After a lengthy hospitalization in France, Barss was sent to Camp Hill Hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia in November 1917. Barss arrived in Halifax weeks before the Halifax Explosion, an explosion of a ship in Halifax harbor loaded with 10 tons of gunpowder, 35 tons of airplane fuel and 200 tons of TNT. More than 1,700 people were killed in the explosion. Barss was not injured and helped tend to the injured in the aftermath of the disaster.

University of Michigan

In 1919, Barss enrolled at the University of Michigan as a graduate student in bacteriology. In 1920, he enrolled at the Medical School, receiving a medical degree from the university in 1924.

While attending medical school at Michigan, Barss also served as the first coach of the Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey team. According to Wilfred Byron Shaw's four-volume history of the University of Michigan, hockey had its beginning at Michigan in 1921 with Barss as the coach. Other sources indicate that Barss became the coach of the Michigan hockey team in 1922 According to Bacon, Barss officiated many of the games for the 1922 team and then asked athletic director Fielding H. Yost if he could start a varsity hockey team. Bacon wrote that Yost "might not have known much about hockey, but he knew a natural coach when he met one" and accepted Barss' offer.

It was not until 1923 that the Michigan hockey team received formal recognition as a varsity sport. The first "official" college hockey game played west of the Alleghenies was a game between Michigan and Wisconsin, played on January 12, 1923, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The game went into overtime with Michigan prevailing by a score of 2-1.

Barss coached the Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey team during its first five years as a formal varsity sport. During those five years (1923 to 1927), the Michigan hockey team compiled a record of 26-21-4.

As the popularity of college hockey grew in the early 1920s, other colleges looked to Barss' pupils for coaching candidates. In January 1923, former Michigan hockey star Russell Barkell was hired as the coach of the hockey team at Williams College.

In February 1924, after a 3-0 victory by Michigan over Wisconsin, a Madison newspaper praised the defensive play of the Barss-coached Wolverines: "With an almost air-tight defense and a definite scoring attack the Michigan hockey team defeated the Badger six by a score of 3 to 0 yesterday afternoon. Wisconsin could not stop Michigan's fast team work and was unable to penetrate their defense to take any close shots at the goal."

By January 1925, the Michigan ice hockey team had four returning letter men from the prior year's team, and a call for candidates by Coach Barss "brought out 20 aspirants."

Medical career

After retiring as Michigan's hockey coach in 1927, Barss moved to Riverside, Illinois. He worked at the Hines Veteran Hospital in Maywood, Illinois, eventually becoming the chief of surgery there. In June 1930, Barss became a naturalized United States citizen. That same year, U.S. Census records show that Barss was living in Riverside, Illinois with his wife, Helen Kolb Barss, and two children, Joseph (age 6) and Elizabeth (age 2) In his registration card for the draft at the time of World War II, Barss indicated that he was a physician and surgeon residing in Riverside and having his place of business at 1011 Lake Street in Oak Park, Illinois.

Later years and death

Barss retired from his medical practice in 1962 and moved to Florida. In 1971, Barss died of Alzheimer's disease in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at age 79.

Jeje Lalpekhlua

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jeje Lalpekhlua

Lalpekhlua in 2011

Personal information

Full name Jeje Lalpekhlua Fanai

Date of birth 7 January 1991

Place of birth Hnahthial, Mizoram, India

Height 173 cm (5 ft 8 in)

Position(s) Forward

Club information

Current team East Bengal

Number 12

Youth career

2007–2008 Pune

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2008–2013 Pune 54 (16)

2010–2011 → Pailan Arrows (loan) 15 (13)

2013–2014 Dempo 18 (5)

2014–2015 Mohun Bagan 12 (1)

2014 → Chennaiyin (loan) 13 (4)

2015–2020 Chennaiyin 56 (19)

2016 → Mohun Bagan (loan) 14 (4)

2017 → Mohun Bagan (loan) 17 (5)

2020– East Bengal 7 (1)

National team‡

2008–2009 India U19 2 (0)

2010–2011 India U23 13 (6)

2011– India 56 (23)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 05:05, 16 June 2021 (UTC)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 28 November 2019

Jeje Lalpekhlua (born 7 January 1991) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a central forward for the India national football team and SC East Bengal in the Indian Super League.

He is the second-highest Indian goalscorer in the Indian Super League since its inception, and he is the record highest goalscorer for Chennaiyin FC. In 2015, he won the I-league with Mohun Bagan and the Indian Super League with Chennaiyin, and was subsequently named the FPAI Football Player of the Year.

Career

Youth career

Born in the small village of Hnahthial in Mizoram, Lalpekhlua was born in a football fanatic family. His father and elder brother played for a local Mizoram club – The Model Sporting Club, while his uncle represented Mizoram in the Santosh Trophy. Lalpekhlua made his debut for the Model Sporting Club four months after his father had retired from the club.

Despite as initial hesitation from his parents in pursuing football professionally, Lalpekhlua came to light after a spectacular performance at the Wai Wai Cup held in Mizoram. On account of his strong performance, Lalpekhlua made it to the Mizoram U-19 team. He impressed youth coach Colm Toal at the U-19 selection camp in Gwalior and got selected for U19 qualifiers.

I-League

Pune

Jeje was spotted by the Pune FC scouts and he signed for the Red Lizards at the age of 16. Initially playing in their youth setup, Jeje would make his senior debut for Pune, who were then in the I-League 2nd Division, during the 2009 I-League 2nd Division season. The then 18-year old, scored against Sporting Goa on 17 October 2009 in a 2-2 draw, during the 2009–10 I-League season. He scored again in the same season against Chirag United in a 1-1 draw.

2010-11 season: Pailan Arrows (loan)

On 1 July 2010, Jeje signed for I-League newcomers Pailan Arrows on a one-year loan basis from parent club Pune for the 2010-11 I-League season. The Pailan Arrows team was only made up of Indian under-19 players. During the 2010 Indian Federation Cup, he scored 1 goal for Pailan Arrows in the two games he played. On 3 December 2010, Jeje took part in Pailan Arrows first I-League game, against Chirag United, in a 2-1 loss. On 8 December 2010, Lalpekhlua scored his first ever goal for Pailan Arrows against ONGC FC in a 1-1 draw. After that, Jeje went on a huge goal-scoring run and earned a lot of praise by many top AIFF personnel. On 13 March 2011, Jeje scored 4 goals against Air India in an I-League match which ended in a 5–2 win. He again scored 4 goals against Mohun Bagan in a thrilling 5-4 win, on 29 May which also was his last match for the club. He finished his stellar season with 13 goals in 15 appearances, also becoming the top-scoring Indian player of the season. On 26 September 2011, he won the FPAI Best Young Player Award for the 2010–11 season, beating out players like Raju Gaikwad and Lenny Rodrigues.

2011-12 season: Back to Pune

Lalpekhlua in 2011

On 7 July 2011, it was announced that Lalpekhlua was to return to his parent club Pune for the 2011-12 I-League season Lalpekhlua made his first start and his first overall game for Pune since his return from Pailan Arrows, on 17 September 2011 during the Federation Cup group stage match against Dempo in a 2-1 win Jeje then scored his second goal in the Federation Cup on 19 September 2011 against East Bengal at the Salt Lake Stadium in a 2-1 loss. Jeje started the 2011–12 I-League season as a regular starter for Pune. In the second game of the season he scored his first goal in the 78th minute to make the score a 1–2 against Sporting Goa, which ended 2–2 on 28 October 2011. Jeje continued his scoring form in the next match as he scored against Chirag United in what was Pune's first win of the season in a 3–1 win on 1 November 2011. He then scored another goal in the I-League against Dempo in the 26th minute on 19 November 2011. Despite the goal, Pune still lost the match 3–1. On 3 January 2012, Jeje came on as a substitute and scored in the 36th minute against Mohun Bagan in a 2-1 win, which also was his last goal of the season. He finished the season with 5 goals.

2012-13 season

Jeje scored his first goal of the season in the 51st minute, against now dissolved United Sikkim in the 2012 Indian Federation Cup in a 1-0 win, on 20 September 2012. Jeje then scored in the club's first game of the 2012-13 I-League season on 8 October 2012, in a 3-2 win against ONGC when he converted from the spot kick. He again scored 3 days after, against Mumbai in another 3-2 win. He made his final appearance for the club against Air India on 28 April 2012. He finished the I-League season with 5 goals in 19 appearances.

Dempo

On 15 June 2013, Jeje signed for Dempo on a two-year contract. Jeje made his debut for the Goan side during the 2013-14 I-League season, on 22 September 2013 against Shillong Lajong, in which he came on as a substitute for Mandar Rao Dessai in the 55th minute, as Dempo lost the match 3-0. He scored his first goal of the club, a week later, against Mumbai in a 1-1 draw. He scored his 5th and final goal for the club against his former club Pune, on 28 April 2014 in a 3-0 win.

Mohun Bagan

On 28 May 2014, it was announced that Jeje would sign a one-year deal with Mohun Bagan. On 11 August 2014, Jeje scored in his debut, in the 41st minute by earning and converting a penalty, in what proved to be the only goal in a 1–0 win in a match against Tollygunge Agragami in the Calcutta Football League. On 11 August 2014, Jeje scored in his debut, in the 41st minute by earning and converting a penalty, in what proved to be the only goal in a 1–0 win in a match against Tollygunge Agragami in the Calcutta Football League.

Chennaiyin (loan)

In 1 September 2014, Jeje was loaned out to Chennaiyin for the inaugural 2014 ISL season by Mohun Bagan. On 15 October 2014, Jeje made his debut for the club against Goa, coming on as a substitute for Balwant Singh in the 80th minute. He scored his first goal for the club on 28 October 2014, against Mumbai City in the 26th minute in a thumping 5-1 win. On 16 December 2014, Jeje scored a crucial goal for Chennaiyin against Kerala Blasters in the 2nd leg semi-final playoffs, which took the game to extra time, but they unfortunately lost the game in the extra time period due to a 117th minute goal from [[Stephen Pearson ]]. He finished the season with 4 goals in 13 appearances, which also made him the top-scoring Indian of the season.

Return to Mohun Bagan

On 31 December 2014, Jeje returned to his parent club Mohun Bagan after his loan spell with Chennaiyin for the 2014–15 I-League season. On 28 January 2015, he made his I-League debut for Mohun Bagan against Salgaocar, coming on a substitute for Balwant Singh in the 76th minute in a 0-0 draw. He scored his only goal of the 2014-15 I-League season against his former club Pune on 25 April 2015 in a 2-0 win.

Chennaiyin

Jeje was retained by Chennaiyin for the 2015 Indian Super League season. He scored his first goal of the season in the opening match on 3 October 2015, against defending champions ATK in a 3-2 loss. He scored his first career ISL brace against then ISL club Delhi Dynamos on 24 November 2015 in a 4-0 thrashing. He also scored in the 1st leg of the semi-final playoffs against ATK on 12 December 2015 in a 3-0 win. He played in the 2015 Indian Super League Final on 20 December 2015, winning the 2015 ISL title for the first time. He finished the season with 6 goals and 3 assists in 11 appearances. He was also chosen as the Emerging Player of the Season.

Mohun Bagan (loan)

On 8 January 2016, Jeje was loaned to Mohun Bagan by parent club Chennaiyin for the 2015-16 I-League campaign. On his return, he scored his first goal against Tampines Rovers in the preliminary round of the qualifying stage for the 2016 AFC Champions League group stage, which ended in a 3-1 win. He then scored his first league goal of the season on 13 February 2016, against eventual champions Bengaluru in a 2-0 win. On 24 February 2016, Jeje scored a brace against Maziya in the 2016 AFC Cup group stage match, in a 5-2 drubbing. He again scored a brace against Yangon United in the 2016 AFC Cup group stage match, on 16 March 2016, in a thrilling 3-2 win. He finished the 2015-16 I-League season with 4 goals in 14 appearances, finishing runner-up to Bengaluru in the process. He also had a productive AFC Cup campaign, chipping in with 6 goals in 7 appearances. He started the 2015–16 Indian Federation Cup campaign by scoring a brace against Salgaocar in the quarter-final 1st leg 3-2 win. He then scored a hat-trick against Shillong Lajong in the semi-final 1st leg 5-0 drubbing, on 8 May 2016. On 21 May 2016, he capped off his exceptional season with Mohun Bagan, by scoring in the final against Aizawl and winning his first Federation Cup trophy. He was adjudged as the top goal-scorer of the 2015-16 Indian Federation Cup campaign with 8 strikes. He was named as the Best Indian Player by his fellow professionals for his stupendous 2016-17 season.

Chennaiyin

Lalpekhlua started the first match of the 2016 Indian Super League season away from home against Kolkata, providing an assist in a match that ended 2–2. He scored his first goal of the season against Pune from a long ball from Jerry which he lobbed above Pune goalkeeper Edel.

International

Lalpekhlua playing for India

On 23 February 2011 Lalpekhlua played his first game and scored his first goal for the Indian U-23 team in the 2–1 victory over the Myanmar U-23 team. On 21 March 2011, Lalpekhlua made his debut for the senior India national football team in the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualification against Chinese Taipei and scored a goal. On 23 March 2011, Lalpekhlua scored two more goals in his second match for the Indian national football team against Pakistan in another AFC Challenge Cup Qualification match. On 25 March he scored 4th goal of his international career against Turkmenistan which helped India tie the match. During India's second leg of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers against the United Arab Emirates on 28 July 2011, Lalpekhlua scored a goal to help India to a 2–2 draw at the Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi, India but India still were knocked-out 5–2 on aggregate after losing the away leg 3–0. Then on 16 November 2011, Lalpekhlua scored in the 47th minute for India against Malaysia in a Friendly played at the Salt Lake Stadium. The match ended 3–2 in favour of India. After impressing in a trial with Rangers of Scotland, Lalpekhlua participated in his first competitive tournament, the SAFF Cup and started the first match of the tournament against Afghanistan on 3 December 2011. He then scored his first goal of the tournament on 7 December 2011 against Sri Lanka. Then he followed it up by scoring his second goal of the tournament in the Final as India managed to beat Afghanistan 4–0 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on 11 December 2011. He played a sensational game against Lebanon U22 and scored brace in that match, he came up in 65min from the bench. He scored his 10th and 11th goal against Maldives in the Saff Cup semifinals. He recently scored a goal against Puerto Rico in an International friendly played in Mumbai, making it 7 goals in his last 7 games for the Indian National side. He scored only goal for India against Kyrgyzstan on 27 March 2018 but later his goal proved to be just a consolation goal for INDIA since India lost 2-1 to Kyrgyzstan in their last Asian cup qualifier game.

He scored the only goal in a win against Afghanistan in the SAFF Cup group stage match in Bangladesh. He led the Indian U19 team to the South Asian games in Sri Lanka. In the last group stage match he scored a hat-trick against Pakistan in a 5–1 win. He also scored four goals in his first three senior appearances for the India national football team. He also played a crucial role in India's 2011 SAFF Cup championship victory. In the 2015 SAFF Cup, he scored 3 goals, including an equalizer in the final as India won 2–1 after extra time.

International Career statistics

As of 14 January 2019

India national team

YearAppsGoals

2011 15 8

2012 0 0

2013 6 0

2014 0 0

2015 10 3

2016 6 5

2017 9 4

2018 7 2

2019 3 1

Total5623

International goals

As of 6 January 2019

Under–23

showGoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition

Senior team

Scores and results list India's goal tally first.

showNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition

Unofficial international goal

showNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResult

Honours

International

India

SAFF Cup (3): 2009, 2011, 2015

Intercontinental Cup: 2018

Club

Mohun Bagan

I-League: 2014–15

Federation Cup: 2015–16Chennaiyin

Indian Super League: 2015

Indian Super League: 2017-18

Individual

FPAI Best Young Player Award: 2010–11

AIFF Emerging Player of the Year: 2013

Indian Super League Emerging Player of the League: 2015

Federation Cup Top Goalscorer: 2015–16

Federation Cup Best Player: 2015–16

FPAI Indian Player of the Year: 2015–16

AIFF Player of the Year: 2016

Indian Super League Fans' Player of the Month: December 2017

JASVIR SINGH BANGAR

www.ambedkartimes.com congratulates Mr. Jasvir Singh (Banger) (Olympic Participant in

JASVIR SINGH BANGAR WON THE GOLD MEDAL

IN THE NORTH AMERICAN OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP 2008 had won all rounds of Senior Canadian Weightlifting Championship on

May 16th & 17 th, 2009 in Kelowna, B.C. (Canada)

Vancouver: Mr. Jasvir Singh won Gold Medal in North American Open Championship, Chandler ( Arizona ) USA. He was in the weight lifting category and lifted 62 kilograms. The championship was December 4th -7th, 2008. Mr. Jasvir Singh lifted the weights on December 5th, 2008 and he was represented by Canada. Mr. Bangar was honored in the Annual Christmas Party which was organized by the Indian Community at Fraserview Banquet Hall in Vancouver ( Canada ) on Saturday night of December 20th, 2008.

Jyoti (wrestler)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

JyotiPersonal information

Nationality Indian

Born 17 December 1985 (age 33)

Delhi, India

Weight 75 kg (165 lb)

Sport

Sport Sport wrestling

Event(s) Freestyle

Medal record

Women's freestyle wrestling

Representing India

Asian Championships

2013 New Delhi 72 kg

2014 Astana 75 kg

2017 New Delhi 75 kg

Commonwealth Championship

2005 Stellenbosch 72 kg

2007 London 67 kg

Jyoti (born 17 December 1985) is an Indian wrestler. She represented India in the women's freestyle 75 kg category at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in which she placed fourth

जयपाल सिंह मुंडा

जन्म 03 जनवरी 1903

Takra Pahantoli, रांची, बिहार प्रान्त

(अब झारखण्ड), भारत[1]

मृत्यु 20 मार्च 1970 (उम्र 67)

नई दिल्ली, भारत

खेलने का स्थान Defender

Senior career

वर्ष टीम Apps (Gls)

– Wimbledon Hockey Club

राष्ट्रीय टीम : India

Men's Field Hockey

साँचा:Flaglink के प्रत्याशी

Olympic Games

स्वर्ण 1928 Amsterdam Team Competition

जयपाल सिंह मुंडा (संताली:ᱡᱚᱭᱯᱟᱞ ᱥᱤᱝ ᱢᱩᱸᱰᱟᱹ) (3 जनवरी 1903 – 20 मार्च 1970) भारतीय आदिवासियों और झारखंड आंदोलन के एक सर्वोच्च नेता थे। वे एक जाने माने राजनीतिज्ञ, पत्रकार, लेखक, संपादक, शिक्षाविद् और 1925 में ‘ऑक्सफोर्ड ब्लू’ का खिताब पाने वाले हॉकी के एकमात्र अंतरराष्ट्रीय खिलाड़ी थे। उनकी कप्तानी में 1928 के ओलिंपिक में भारत ने पहला स्वर्ण पदक प्राप्त किया।। ओपनिवेशिक भारत में जयपाल सिंह मुंडा सर्वोच्च सरकारी पद पर थे ।

जीवन यात्रा

जयपाल सिंह छोटा नागपुर (अब झारखंड) राज्य की मुंडा जनजाति के थे। मिशनरीज की मदद से वह ऑक्सफोर्ड के सेंट जॉन्स कॉलेज में पढ़ने के लिए गए। वह असाधारण रूप से प्रतिभाशाली थे। उन्होंने पढ़ाई के अलावा खेलकूद, जिनमें हॉकी प्रमुख था, के अलावा वाद-विवाद में खूब नाम कमाया।

उनका चयन भारतीय सिविल सेवा (आईसीएस) में हो गया था। आईसीएस का उनका प्रशिक्षण प्रभावित हुआ क्योंकि वह 1928 में एम्सटरडम में ओलंपिक हॉकी में पहला स्वर्णपदक जीतने वाली भारतीय टीम के कप्तान के रूप में नीदरलैंड चले गए थे। वापसी पर उनसे आईसीएस का एक वर्ष का प्रशिक्षण दोबारा पूरा करने को कहा गया, उन्होंने ऐसा करने से इनकार कर दिया।

उन्होंने बिहार के शिक्षा जगत में योगदान देने के लिए तत्कालीन बिहार कांग्रेस अध्यक्ष डा. राजेन्द्र प्रसाद को इस संबंध में पत्र लिखा. परंतु उन्हें कोई सकारात्मक जवाब नहीं मिला. 1938 की आखिरी महीने में जयपाल ने पटना और रांची का दौरा किया. इसी दौरे के दौरान आदिवासियों की खराब हालत देखकर उन्होंने राजनीति में आने का फैसला किया.

1938 जनवरी में उन्होंने आदिवासी महासभा की अध्यक्षता ग्रहण की जिसने बिहार से इतर एक अलग झारखंड राज्य की स्थापना की मांग की। इसके बाद जयपाल सिंह देश में आदिवासियों के अधिकारों की आवाज बन गए। उनके जीवन का सबसे बेहतरीन समय तब आया जब उन्होंने संविधान सभा में बेहद वाकपटुता से देश की आदिवासियों के बारे में सकारात्मक ढंग से अपनी बात रखी।

Jahar Das

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jahar Das

Personal information

Date of birth 5 April 1947

Place of birth West Bengal, India

Playing position(s) Striker

Club information

Current team Aizawl (Head Coach)

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

Port Commissioner

Mohun Bagan

Teams managed

West Bengal

India U17

2005–2006 Mohun Bagan

2016-2017 Aizawl

2019- Peerless

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Jahar Das (born 5 April 1947) is a former Indian football player and is the current head coach of Indian I-League side Aizawl. During his playing days, Das played for Mohun Bagan in the seventies.

Playing career

Born in West Bengal, Das had played for Port Commissioner and Mohun Bagan as a striker.

Coaching career

Das began his coaching career managing the West Bengal football team in the Santosh Trophy. He also had a spell as coach of the India under-17 side. In 2005, after the departure of Sukhwinder Singh, Das was reportedly one of the candidates put up for the vacant India senior head coach position. The position was eventually given to Syed Nayeemuddin.

On 7 December 2005, Das was given the head coaching job at National Football League side, Mohun Bagan. His first match in charge came in the club's opening NFL game of the season against Mahindra United, a 0–0 draw. Das was eventually relieved of his duties on 6 March 2006 after Mohun Bagan found themselves in ninth place in the NFL table. Das would return to his previous post at Mohun Bagan as the technical director of their academy.

On 20 August 2015 it was announced that Das would become the "Head of Youth Development" at newly promoted I-League club, Aizawl. Then, on 7 February 2016, after Aizawl sacked head coach, Manuel Retamero Fraile, Das was announced as the new head coach.

Joshna Chinappa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Joshna Chinappa

Born 15 September 1986

Chennai, India

Turned Pro 2003

Coached by Hadrian Stiff

Racquet used Harrow

Women's singles

Highest ranking No. 10 (July 2016)

Current ranking No. 14 (November 2018)

Title(s) 7

Tour final(s) 14

Women's squash

Representing India

2014 Glasgow Doubles

2018 Gold Coast Doubles

2014 Incheon Team

2018 Jakarta Team

2010 Guangzhou Team

2018 Jakarta Singles

Asian Individual Championships

2016 India Singles

2017 Chennai Singles

2019 Kuala Lumpur Singles

Last updated: April 2019.

Joshna Chinappa (born 15 September 1986) is an Indian professional squash player. She reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 10 in July 2016. She was the first Indian to win the British Junior Squash Championship title in 2005 in the under-19 category and was also the youngest Indian women's national champion. She is the current record-holder of most national championship wins, with 18 titles.

At the 2014 Commonwealth Games Joshna, along with Dipika Pallikal Karthik, won the squash women's doubles gold medal, India's first-ever Commonwealth Games medal in the sport The pair won a silver medal at the event's 2018 Gold Coast edition, losing to team New Zealand, Joelle King and Amanda Landers-Murphy. Joshna trains at the Indian Squash Academy, Chennai. At the 2017 Women's Asian Individual Squash Championships, she won the gold medal, becoming the first Asian Squash Champion from India.

In April 2018, Joshna upset Nicol David in the second round, in straight games, of the El Gouna World Series Event. This was one of her more prominent upsets.

Early life

Joshna Chinnappa was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, on 15 September 1986. Her father Anjan Chinappa runs a coffee plantation at Coorg.[8] Her great granduncle, K.M. Cariappa, who was the first commander-in-chief of the Indian Army in independent India, grandfather, and father were all squash players. Joshna started playing squash at the age of seven. When she was eight, she considered whether to pursue badminton or tennis. Eventually, she chose squash which she started playing at the Madras Cricket Club. Her father, who represented the Tamil Nadu squash team, was also her first coach.

Joshna was the first beneficiary of the Mittal Champions Trust established by Mahesh Bhupati with funding from Lakshmi Mittal.

Career

Joshna receiving a prize from Sunil Dutt, Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, after winning the 2005 British Junior Open

2000–2008

In 2000, Joshna won her first junior and senior national championship titles. She became the youngest player to hold both titles at the age of 14. In 2003, Joshna made history by winning the British Junior Open title in the U17 category when she was 16. The next year, she reached the final of the U19 category of the same competition, losing to Egypt's Omneya Abdel Kawy. In 2005, she came back to the same tournament again and clinched the title after beating Tenille Swartz of South Africa. In July 2005, Joshna competed in the World Junior Squash Championships in Belgium, reaching the finals. She was defeated by Raneem El Weleily of Egypt. She had also played this tournament in 2003, when she reached the last eight.

In 2007, Joshna said that she had decided to change coaches from Mohammad Medhaat to Malcolm Willstrop. Joshna won her first WISPA tour title in 2008 when she won the NSC Super Satellite No 3 in Malaysia, by beating Low Wee Wern. The following week, she defeated Wern again in the NSC Super Satellite to claim her second tour title. At this time, she was at her career best PSA World rank of 39.

2010–2012

In 2010, Joshna won the German Ladies Open, beating Gaby Schmohl 11–6, 11–7, 11–6 at Saarbrücken. This was her fourth tour title and first in Europe. In 2011, she won the Windy City Open by beating her compatriot Dipika Pallikal 3–2 in the final.

Joshna faced an injury layoff in August while playing in the Hamptons Open. When she came back after a seven-month break in May 2012, she clinched the WISPA title in the 2012 Chennai Open in her hometown Joshna defeated Sarah Jane Perry of England 9–11, 11–4, 11–8, 12–10.

2014

Joshna with Dipika Pallikal

In February, Joshna won the Winter Club Women's Open. In April, she won the Richmond Open, upsetting Australia's former world champion Rachael Grinham 11–9, 11–5, 11–8. This was her first win against Rachael in six meetings. In March, she reached her new career-high PSA world ranking of 19.

In August, Joshna and Dipika entered the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow as the fifth-seeds in women's doubles. After winning every match in the group stage, they advanced to quarterfinals, in which they beat Joelle King and Amanda Land-Murphy in straight games They beat the second-seeded Australian pair of Rachael Grinham and Kasey Brown in the semifinals to reach the final, where they defeated the English pair of Jenny Duncalf and Laura Massaro. They accomplished the upset win against the top-seeded pair in less than 28 minutes with scores of 11–6, 11–8. Joshna and Dipika made history by winning the gold medal at the event. This was India's first-ever squash medal in the Commonwealth Games.

2015

In May, Joshna reached the semifinals at the 2015 HKFC International, but failed to beat Annie Au from Hong Kong. In August, she won the Victorian Open in Australia for her tenth tour title. She beat Line Hansen from Denmark 11–5, 11–4, 11–9.[28] In September, she won the NSCI Open title, by beating Egypt's Habiba Mohamed 11–8, 11–9, 11–6. Joshna was injured during the second game of the match, after Mohamed unintentionally struck her on the face with the racket.

In October, Joshna beat Salma Hany from Egypt 11–9, 8–11, 5–11, 11–8, 11–9 to reach the semifinals of the 2015 Carol Weymuller Open Joshna was defeated by Joelle King in the semifinals. In the first round of the Qatar Classic, Joshna defeated Raneem El Welily from Egypt, the World No. 1 at the time. In December 2015, Joshna achieved her career-high world rank of 13. She become the highest-ranked Indian woman player, overtaking Dipika in rankings for the first time.

2016

Joshna after winning the gold medal at the 2016 South Asian Games, Guwahati, 2016

In February, Joshna participated in the 2016 Cleveland Classic in the United States, where she was knocked out by Camille Serme in the quarterfinals. Then she competed at the 2016 South Asian Games in Guwahati as the top-seed. She won gold after defeating her Pakistani rival Maria Toorpaki Wazir 10–12, 11–7, 11–9, 11–7.

In May, Joshna reached the semifinals of the 2016 HKFC International in Hong Kong. This time she was able to beat Annie Au 3–2, to whom she had lost the same title the previous year. However, she lost in the finals to New Zealand's Joelle King. In July, Joshna rose to her new career-high ranking of 10, becoming the second Indian to break into the world's top 10 after Dipika. In August, Joshna participated in the 2016 SRAM Invitational in Malaysia. She managed to reach the finals after beating Joelle King in the semifinal, but was defeated by Malaysian Nicol David in the final.

In October, Joshna reached the finals of the 2016 Otters International in Mumbai after beating Tesni Evans 3–1, 11–6, 15–13, 9–11, 11–8. She lost to Hong Kong rival Annie Au in the finals 9–11, 11–13, 7–11. In November, she participated in the 2016 World Team Squash Championships in Paris with Dipika, Akanksha Salunkhe, and Sunayna Kuruvilla on the women's team.The Indian team did not qualify for the knockout stage of the championship.

2017

In March, Joshna competed in the 2017 British Open Squash Championship. She lost in the second round match against Raneem El Welily. In April, she participated in the 2017 Asian Individual Squash Championships, which took place in Chennai. She reached the finals where she faced Palikkal. Joshna won the long match 13–15, 12–10, 11–13, 11–4, 11–4, becoming the first Asian Squash Champion from India. In an interview, she said that winning this title was her biggest achievement.

In August, Joshna partnered with Dipika to play in the World Doubles Squash Championship. As the second-seeds, they cruised into the quarterfinals and beat Samantha Cornett and Nikole Todd 10–11, 11–6, 11–8 to enter the semifinals. They settled for a bronze medal after being defeated by Jenny Duncalf and Alison Waters.

In September, Joshna won her 15th national championship title at the 74th National Squash Championships which took place in Greater Noida. This put her only one title short of the record for most number of national championship titles. Later that month, she played in the 2017 HKFC International as the third-seed. She advanced to the final, but lost to Nour El Tayebl.

2018

In April, Joshna participated in the 2018 Commonwealth Games. She reached the quarterfinals of the women's singles event after beating Tamika Saxby from Australia, but lost to Joelle King 11–5, 11–6, 11–9. In April, Joshna won her second-round match at El Gouna International against the eight-time world champion Nicol David in straight games. She lost in the quarterfinals In August, Joshna reached the semifinals at the 2018 Asian Games. She won the semifinal match against Nicol David 12–10, 11–9, 6–11, 10–12, 11–9. She lost to Sivasangari Subramaniam in the final, and settled for the silver medal. In October, Joshna reached the quarterfinals of the Carol Weymuller Open.

2019

In March, Joshna reached the quarterfinals of the Black Ball Open, where she lost to Joelle King. She went down in the semifinals of the Macau Open in April. In May, she won the 2019 Asian Individual Squash Championships, after beating Annie Au in the final.[ won her 17th national squash champion title in June, breaking the record held by Bhuvneshwari Kumari who had won the national title 16 times. In the World Squash Championship which took place in October, Joshna lost to Nour El Sherbini of Egypt in the pre-quarterfinal.

2020

In February, Joshna won her 18th national title in the 77th Senior National Championship.

Titles

On 2 February 2014, Joshna won the Winnipeg Winter Open trophy – her maiden WSA world title, by defeating Egypt's Heba El Torky 11-13 11-8 11-5 3-11 12–10 in the final. Her other titles are:

Asian Games, 2018 - Bronze (Singles), Silver (Team)

Commonwealth Games, 2018 - Silver (Doubles)

Asian Squash Title, 2017- Winner

NSC Series No. 6 (Tour 12) 2009 – Winner

British Junior Open, 2005 – Winner

Asian Junior, 2005 – Winner

World Junior Championships, Belgium, 2005 – Runner-up

British Open Junior, 2004 – Runner-up

SAF Games, Pakistan, 2004 – Gold

Hong Kong event, 2004 – Runner-up

Asian Championship, 2004 – Bronze

Malaysian Junior, 2004 – Winner

Indian National Junior, 2004 – Winner

Indian National Senior, 2004 – Winner

Rivalry with Dipika Pallikal Karthik

Joshna and Dipika are India's best and most talented women players of all time, as they were both ranked in the top 10 in the world. Joshna says that the so-called rivalry between the two is hyped up by the media. They are both competitive but get along well, as they are often roommates for events, and teammates in events such as the Commonwealth Games.

Jerry Rice

Wikipedia

Jerry Rice
Rice in 2016
No. 80
Position: Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: October 13, 1962
Starkville, Mississippi
Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight: 200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High school: Moor (Oktoc, Mississippi)
College: Mississippi Valley State
NFL Draft: 1985 / Round: 1 / Pick: 16
Career history

San Francisco 49ers (1985–2000)
Oakland Raiders (2001–2004)
Seattle Seahawks (2004)
Denver Broncos (2005)*
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards

3× Super Bowl champion (XXIII, XXIV, XXIX)
Super Bowl MVP (XXIII)
NFL Most Valuable Player – NEA, PFWA, SN (1987)
2× NFL Offensive Player of the Year (1987, 1993)
10× First-team All-Pro (1986–1990, 1992–1996)
Second-team All-Pro (2002)
13× Pro Bowl (1986–1996, 1998, 2002)
6× NFL receiving yards leader (1986, 1989, 1990, 1993–1995)
2× NFL receptions leader (1990, 1996)
6× NFL receiving touchdowns leader (1986, 1987, 1989–1991, 1993)
NFL 1980s All-Decade Team
NFL 1990s All-Decade Team
NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team
NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team
San Francisco 49ers No. 80 retired
San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame
Bert Bell Award (1987)
2× KCC NFC Offensive Player of the Year (1986, 1987)
NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year (1985)
Sports Illustrated Player of the Year (1986)
2× First-team I-AA All-American (1983, 1984)NFL records
1,549 career receptions
22,895 career receiving yards
197 career receiving touchdowns
208 total touchdowns
23,546 career all-purpose yards
Career NFL statistics

Receptions: 1,549
Receiving yards: 22,895
Yards per reception: 14.8
Receiving touchdowns: 197

Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Pro Football Hall of Fame

College Football Hall of Fame

Jerry Lee Rice Sr. (born October 13, 1962) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. He played college football at Mississippi Valley State and was selected by the 49ers in the first round of the 1985 NFL Draft, 16th overall, where he spent 16 seasons. Rice was also a member of the Oakland Raiders and Seattle Seahawks. Due to his numerous records, accomplishments, and accolades, he is widely regarded as the greatest wide receiver in NFL history, and one of the greatest players in NFL history.

Rice is the career leader in most major statistical categories for wide receivers, including receptions, touchdown receptions, and receiving yards, once being the leader for total yards and touchdowns in a season. He has scored more points than any other non-kicker in NFL history with 1,256. Rice was selected to the Pro Bowl 13 times (1986–1996, 1998, 2002) and named All-Pro 12 times in his 20 NFL seasons. He won three Super Bowls with the 49ers and an AFC Championship with the Raiders. As of 2017, Rice holds over 100 NFL records, the most of any player by a wide margin. In 1999, The Sporting News listed Rice second behind Jim Brown on its list of "Football's 100 Greatest Players". In 2010, he was chosen by NFL Network's NFL Films production The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players as the greatest player in NFL history. Rice was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006. Rice was also inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 2007, and in that same year inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame.

Early years

Jerry Lee Rice was born in Starkville, Mississippi, and grew up in the town of Crawford, as the son of a brick mason. He attended B. L. Moor High School in Oktoc, Mississippi. According to his autobiography Rice, his mother did not allow him to join the school's football team in his freshman year. When Rice was a sophomore, the school's principal caught Rice being truant. After Rice sprinted away, the principal told the school's football coach about Rice's speed and he was offered a place on the team. While at B. L. Moor, Rice also played basketball and was on the track and field team.

College career

Rice attended Mississippi Valley State University from 1981 to 1984. He became a standout receiver and acquired the nickname "World" due to "his ability to catch anything near him." In 1982, Rice played his first season with redshirt freshman quarterback Willie Totten. Rice caught 66 passes for 1,133 yards and seven touchdowns as a sophomore that year. Together, Totten and Rice became known as "The Satellite Express" and set numerous NCAA records in the spread offense of coach Archie Cooley, nicknamed "The Gunslinger"

Rice had a record-setting 1983 campaign, including NCAA marks for receptions (102) and receiving yards (1,450), and was named a first-team Division I-AA All-American. He also set a single-game NCAA record by catching 24 passes against Louisiana's Southern University. As a senior in 1984, he broke his own Division I-AA records for receptions (112) and receiving yards (1,845). His 27 touchdown receptions in that 1984 season set the NCAA record for all divisions.

The 1984 Delta Devils scored 628 points in 11 games, an average of more than 57 per game. Subsequent to an August practice experiment, Cooley had Totten call all the plays at the line of scrimmage without a huddle. The result was even more staggering offensive numbers. Rice caught 17 passes for 199 yards against Southern, 17 for 294 against Kentucky State, and 15 for 285 against Jackson State. He scored five touchdowns in a single game twice that year. Rice was named to every Division I-AA All-America team (including the Associated Press squad) and finished ninth in Heisman Trophy balloting in 1984. In the Blue–Gray Classic all-star game played on Christmas Day, he earned MVP honors. He finished his career with 301 catches for 4,693 yards and 50 touchdowns; his NCAA record for total career touchdown receptions stood until 2006, when University of New Hampshire wide receiver David Ball recorded his 51st career receiving touchdown.

Rice became a member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity at the Delta Phi chapter while at Valley. In the spring of 1999, the school renamed its football stadium from Magnolia Stadium to Rice–Totten Stadium in honor of Rice and Totten. Rice was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006, and he was in the inaugural class of the Black College Football Hall of Fame in 2010.

Professional career in football
San Francisco 49ers

Rice's record-breaking season at Mississippi Valley State caught the attention of many NFL scouts. Sources vary on his 40-yard dash time, which was measured as fast as 4.45, though later reported as slow as 4.71 seconds. Nevertheless, the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers showed interest in him. In the first round of the 1985 NFL Draft, Dallas had the 17th selection and San Francisco, as Super Bowl champion from the previous season, had the last. 49ers coach Bill Walsh reportedly sought Rice after watching highlights of Rice the Saturday night before San Francisco was to play the Houston Oilers on October 21, 1984. On draft day, the 49ers traded its first two picks for the New England Patriots' first-round choice, the 16th selection overall, and selected Rice before, as some report, the Cowboys were intending to pick him. Rice was prized more highly by the United States Football League (USFL), where the Birmingham Stallions selected him with the No. 1 overall pick of the 1985 USFL Draft, but the league folded after its 1986 season.
Rice's No. 80 jersey from December 1987, when he set a new record for touchdowns and receptions with the 49ers

Although he struggled at times (dropping numerous passes), Rice impressed the NFL in his rookie season for the 49ers in 1985, especially after a 10-catch, 241-yard game against the Los Angeles Rams in December. For that rookie season, he recorded 49 catches for 927 yards, averaging 18.9 yards per catch and was named the NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year by United Press International (UPI). The following season, he caught 86 passes for a league-leading 1,570 yards and 15 touchdowns. It was the first of six seasons in which Rice led the NFL in receiving yards and touchdown receptions. In 1987, he was named the NFL's MVP by the Newspaper Enterprise Association—which was voted on by NFL players—and the Pro Football Writers Association. The AP deemed him the Offensive Player of the Year. He was also awarded the Bert Bell Award from the Maxwell Football Club as the NFL player of the year. Despite playing in only 12 games that year due to an NFL players strike, he still managed to gain 1,078 receiving yards and an NFL-record 22 touchdown receptions which stood until 2007 when it was broken by Randy Moss (with Moss catching 23 touchdowns in 16 games). In 1987, the runner-up to Rice in touchdown receptions was Philadelphia Eagles receiver Mike Quick with 11. This marked the first time in post-NFL–AFL merger history that a category leader doubled the total of his nearest competitor.

In 1988, Rice averaged a career-high 20.4 yards per catch (64 passes for 1,306 yards) and 9 touchdowns. The 49ers once again won the NFC West with a 10–6 record. In the postseason, he was instrumental in the 49ers' 28–3 win over the Chicago Bears in the NFC title game, recording 5 catches for 123 yards and 2 touchdowns. But his performance in Super Bowl XXIII was even better. In possibly his finest performance ever, Rice caught 11 passes for 215 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 5 yards, helping the 49ers to a narrow 20–16 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. His receptions and receiving yards were both Super Bowl records. For his performance, he became the third wide receiver to earn Super Bowl MVP honors.

In 1989, San Francisco made it back to the Super Bowl, aided by Rice's 82 receptions for 1,483 yards and 17 touchdowns during the season, and his 12 catches for 169 yards and two touchdowns in their two playoff games. He was once again a major factor in the 49ers championship win, finishing Super Bowl XXIV with seven catches for 148 yards and a Super Bowl record three touchdown receptions.

Rice had another superb season in 1990, leading the NFL in receptions (100), receiving yards (1,502), and receiving touchdowns (13) and becoming the first player to lead the NFL in all three categories in the Super Bowl Era. Only Sterling Sharpe (1992) and Steve Smith Sr. (2005) have managed the feat since. In a week-six match-up with the Atlanta Falcons, Rice caught a career-best 5 touchdowns. San Francisco finished the year with an NFL-best 14–2 record, but failed to "3-peat" as Super Bowl champions, losing to the New York Giants 15–13 in the NFC title game.

After seasons of 80 catches for 1,206 yards and 14 touchdowns in 1991, 84 catches for 1,201 yards and 10 touchdowns in 1992 (during which he broke the record for receiving touchdowns with his 101st, exceeding the then-record 100 set by Steve Largent), and 98 catches for 1,503 yards and 15 touchdowns in 1993, Rice made it back to the Super Bowl with the 49ers in the 1994 season, recording a career-high 112 receptions for 1,499 yards and 13 touchdowns. During the 49ers' first game of that season against the Los Angeles Raiders, he caught 7 passes for a season-high 169 yards and two touchdowns (and rushed for one more), moving into first place in the NFL records for career touchdowns, with 127. In Week 3, his 147 receiving yards moved him past Art Monk as the NFL's active leader, and also past Charlie Joiner for 3rd all-time. He would pass Steve Largent for 2nd place in Week 16. Although he only caught 6 passes in San Francisco's 2 playoff games that year, he proved to be a vital component in their 49–26 victory over the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX, recording 10 receptions for 149 yards and 3 touchdowns—despite playing with a separated shoulder for much of the game.99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999

In 1995, Rice caught a career-high 122 passes for a then-NFL record 1,848 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns (along with 1 touchdown each by way of running, passing, and recovering a fumble). However, the 49ers lost in the divisional playoffs to the Green Bay Packers, despite Rice's impressive 11-catch, 117-yard performance. The following year, he recorded 108 receptions (again leading the NFL) for 1,254 yards and eight touchdowns. San Francisco won in the wild card round, but once more lost to the Packers in the divisional playoffs. In his three seasons between 1994 and 1996, Rice had racked up 342 catches for 4,601 yards and 36 touchdowns.

During the 49ers' opening game of the 1997 season, he tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee on a reverse. Warren Sapp of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers grabbed Rice by the face-mask and wrenched him to the ground with it, drawing a 15-yard personal foul. The injury broke his streak of 189 consecutive games played. Fourteen weeks later, he made his return, much earlier than doctors wanted him to. He scored a touchdown, but when he came down with the catch, he cracked the patella in his left kneecap. He was forced to miss the Pro Bowl for the first time in 11 years. However, he made a full recovery, coming back in 1998 to record 82 catches for 1,157 yards and nine touchdowns and being named to his 12th Pro Bowl.

The 1999 season was the first that Rice failed to reach 1,000 yards receiving while playing in all 16 games. The same thing happened in 2000, his final season in San Francisco.

Oakland Raiders

With the emergence of Terrell Owens in San Francisco, and because of their desire to rebuild the team and clear salary, Rice left the 49ers and signed with the Oakland Raiders, following the conclusion of the 2000 season. He joined a Raiders team coming off a loss in the AFC playoffs, to form one of the oldest receiver duos with Tim Brown.

The two played well together, as Rice caught 83 passes for 1,139 yards and nine touchdowns. In 2002, he caught 92 passes for 1,211 yards and seven touchdowns, was named to his 13th Pro Bowl, and assisted Oakland to an AFC championship and appearance in Super Bowl XXXVII. His team lost 48–21 to the Buccaneers in the Super Bowl, with Rice recording five receptions for 77 yards and a touchdown. His 48-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter made him the first player to catch a touchdown pass in four Super Bowls.

On November 11, 2002, against the Denver Broncos, Rice scored his 200th career touchdown, and surpassed Walter Payton to become the NFL's career leader in total yardage. Oakland dropped from an 11–5 record in 2002 to a 4–12 record in 2003, leading to frustration from Rice about his role on the team. He eventually requested to be traded.

Seattle Seahawks

Rice was traded to the Seattle Seahawks six games into the 2004 season, in exchange for a conditional 2005 7th round pick (condition not met) and was reunited with Seattle head coach Mike Holmgren, who had previously worked with Rice as San Francisco's offensive coordinator. After speaking with Hall of Fame wide receiver Steve Largent, Rice was granted permission to wear Largent's retired jersey number 80.

In a Monday Night Football game against the Dallas Cowboys, Rice set the career NFL record for combined net yards by catching a 27-yard touchdown pass from Matt Hasselbeck He finished that game with 8 catches for 145 yards and a touchdown. Rice played his last non-preseason professional game for Seattle—a wildcard loss to the St. Louis Rams in which he did not catch a pass.

In total Rice had 362 receiving yards and three touchdowns with the Seahawks. At the age of 41, he managed to play 17 games in a 16-game season. He was traded before Oakland's bye week and after Seattle's, and never missed a game, so he played 6 games for the Raiders and 11 for the Seahawks.

Denver Broncos

At the conclusion of the 2004 season, Rice signed a one-year contract with the Denver Broncos. Rice never played for the Broncos.

Retirement

On September 5, 2005, Rice announced his retirement.

In August 2006, the 49ers announced that Rice would sign a contract with them, allowing him to retire as a member of the team where his NFL career began. On August 24, he officially retired as a 49er, signing a one-day contract for $1,985,806.49. The number represented the year Rice was drafted (1985), his number (80), the year he retired (2006), and the 49ers (49). The figure was ceremonial, and Rice received no money. There was a halftime ceremony to honor him during the 49ers' match-up with the Seattle Seahawks on November 19, 2006.

Over the course of his career, Rice played more games than any non-placekicker or punter in NFL history, playing 303 games overall. (Quarterback George Blanda played 340 games, but he was also a placekicker.)

Legacy
Rice with Joe Montana at Super Bowl 50

Rice holds numerous NFL receiving records. His 1,549 career receptions are 117 receptions ahead of the second place record held by Larry Fitzgerald as of the conclusion of the 2020 NFL season. His 22,895 career receiving yards are 5,403 yards ahead of the second place spot held by Larry Fitzgerald as of the conclusion of the 2020 NFL season. His 197 career touchdown receptions are 41 scores more than the second place record of 156 touchdown receptions by Randy Moss, and his 208 total touchdowns (197 receiving, 10 rushing, and one fumble recovery) are 33 scores ahead of Emmitt Smith's second place total of 175. He also threw a touchdown pass against the Atlanta Falcons in a 1995 regular season game. His 1,256 career points scored make him the highest-scoring non-kicker in NFL history. During a career spanning two decades, Rice averaged 75.6 receiving yards per game.

Rice is remembered also as one of the best clutch players in football history. He was a crucial part of the 49ers victory in Super Bowl XXIII. Down 16–13 with less than three minutes to play, quarterback Joe Montana led the 49ers in the game-winning drive with 36 seconds left on the clock. Rice was instrumental in that drive, catching three passes, and was voted the Super Bowl MVP. Rice often made game winning catches throughout his career. Known as one of the best blockers at his position, there was no aspect of playing wide receiver at which Rice did not excel.

Rice is also remembered for his work ethic and dedication to the game. In his 20 NFL seasons, Rice missed only 17 regular season games, 14 of them in the 1997 season, and the other 3 in the strike-shortened season of 1987. His 303 games are by far the most ever played by an NFL wide receiver. In addition to staying on the field, his work ethic showed in his dedication to conditioning and running precise routes, with coach Dennis Green calling him "the best route runner I've ever seen." One of the best known examples of his dedication and ethic may be "The Hill", a long and steep hill in Edgewood County Park & Natural Preserve, that is "two and a half miles up". Rice would sprint across the hill literally every day to improve his abilities. "The Hill" has served as an inspiration for many other players in the 49ers organization, among them former first-round pick wide receiver A.J. Jenkins, who neglected to train with Rice on "The Hill", and was subsequently traded.

In 1999, Rice was ranked number two on the Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, behind only Jim Brown, and was 35 places ahead of the next-highest-ranked player then active, Deion Sanders. In 2000, Rice won the ESPY Award for Pro Football Player of the Decade for the 1990s. On November 4, 2010, he was ranked number one on The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players.

In 2011, The Sports Network awarded the inaugural Jerry Rice Award, to be given each year to the most outstanding freshman Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) player. The inaugural winner was Towson running back Terrance West.

In January 2015, Rice stated that he put Stickum, a substance that makes the ball easier to catch and hold on to, on his gloves during his career, saying "I know this might be a little illegal, guys, but you put a little spray, a little stickum on them, to make sure that texture is a little sticky". Stickum was banned in the NFL in 1981, four years before Rice joined the league. His comments that "all players" in his era used stickum were rebutted by Pro Football Hall of Fame contemporaries Cris Carter and Michael Irvin. Rice retracted his claim shortly thereafter, stating that "[He] never used Stickum."

Rice was selected for induction in the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2010 in his first year of eligibility. He was inducted in Canton, Ohio on August 7, 2010, alongside Emmitt Smith, Floyd Little, Russ Grimm, Rickey Jackson, Dick LeBeau, and John Randle. On September 20, 2010, during halftime of a game against the Saints, the 49ers retired Rice's No. 80 jersey.

NFL records

As of the end of the 2020 NFL season, Rice holds the following league records:

Most career regular season games played by a position player: 303
Most career receiving yards: 22,895
Most career receptions: 1,549
Most career touchdown receptions: 197
Most career yards from scrimmage: 23,540 (22,895 receiving, 645 rushing)
Most career touchdowns from scrimmage: 207 (197 receiving, 10 rushing)
Most career all purpose yards: 23,546 (22,895 receiving, 645 rushing, 6 kick returns)
Most career all purpose touchdowns: 208 (197 receiving, 10 rushing, 1 fumble recovery)
Most seasons of 1,000 or more receiving yards: 14
Fastest player to reach 100 touchdown receptions: 120 GP
Fastest player to reach 13,000 receiving yards: 156 GP
Fastest player to reach 14,000 receiving yards: 164 GP
Fastest player to reach 15,000 receiving yards: 172 GP

Media work

Rice and quarterback Steve Young appeared together in Visa, All Sport, and Gatorade commercials when they were both playing for the 49ers.

During the 2005–2006 broadcasting season, Rice competed in the reality show Dancing with the Stars. He was paired with dancer Anna Trebunskaya, and they reached the final two before losing to singer Drew Lachey and his partner Cheryl Burke. In 2009, Rice portrayed Hal Gore in the film Without a Paddle: Nature's Calling. In the same year, he guest starred as himself in the episode "Lyin' King" on the sitcom Rules of Engagement.

Rice has co-authored two books about his life: Rice (with Michael Silver, published 1996, ISBN 0-312-14795-3) and Go Long: My Journey Beyond the Game and the Fame (with Brian Curtis, published 2007, ISBN 0-345-49611-6). He co-hosts Sports Sunday with NBC sportscaster Raj Mathai, a prime time sports show shown in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Rice and his dog, Nitus, were featured in Jerry Rice & Nitus' Dog Football, a video game for the Wii that was released on August 16, 2011.

Rice served as an alumni captain for Team Rice during the 2014 Pro Bowl [59] and 2016 Pro Bowl.

Personal life

Jerry married Jacqueline Bernice Mitchell on September 8, 1987. Jacqueline Rice filed for divorce in June 2007, which became final in late December 2009. They have three children together: Jacqui Bonet (born 1987), Jerry Rice, Jr. (born 1991), and Jada Symone (born 1996). Jerry Jr., who attended high school at Menlo School in Atherton, California, graduated in 2009. Jerry Jr. was a walk-on at UCLA and redshirted his first season. After three seasons and limited playing time, Jerry Rice Jr. graduated from UCLA and transferred to UNLV and was eligible to play immediately. Jerry Jr. played wide receiver for the Rebels, and had participated in a 49ers local pro day prior to the 2014 NFL Draft, but was not drafted. As of October 21, 2019, Rice is married to Latisha Pelayo whom he has dated since 2008.

Rice has played golf for over 20 years and would wake up early to play golf during his football career. He competed in the Fresh Express Classic at TPC Stonebrae on the Nationwide Tour on April 15–16, 2010. He received a sponsor's exemption to play in the tournament. Rice missed the cut and finished one shot ahead of last place; 17-over and 151st among the 152 players who completed two rounds. He also competed as a team captain on The Big Break Puerto Rico, where his team won.
Johnny Gaudreau
a.k.a. "Johnny Hockey"

SCORING LEADERS
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Player Facts
Date of Birth
Aug 13, 1993
Position
LW
Age : 28
Height : 175 cm / 5'9"
Place of Birth
Salem, NJ, USA
Weight : 75 kg / 165 lbs
Nation
USA
Shoots
L
Youth Team
-
NHL Rights

Calgary Flames / Signed
Drafted
2011 round 4 #104 overall by Calgary Flames
Agency
PREMIUM

"Johnny Hockey" is a diminutive, offensively dominant winger with an incredibly high level of skill. Possesses the elusiveness to avoid being taken out, and the creativity to start and finish plays. Exhibits incredible puck control, strength on his skates, stickhandling ability, and a very good forehand and backhand shot which is off of his stick in the blink of an eye. All-in-all, the prototypical offensive winger that can put up points, and be relied upon to create scoring chances, whenever he is on the ice. (Curtis Joe, EP 2014)
Jack Eichel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jack Eichel
Eichel with the Buffalo Sabres in 2016
Born October 28, 1996
North Chelmsford, Massachusetts, U.S.
Position Center
Shoots Right
NHL team Buffalo Sabres
National team United States
NHL Draft 2nd overall, 2015
Buffalo Sabres
Playing career 2015–present

Jack Eichel (born October 28, 1996) is an American professional ice hockey center and captain of the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed the "Eichel Tower" for his dominating presence, Eichel was selected second overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres. Before entering the league, Eichel was described at the age of 17 as "the new face of American hockey," and he is considered a member of a rising class of generational talents in the sport, along with fellow 2015 draftee Connor McDavid.

Eichel was the recipient of the 2015 Hobey Baker Award, given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player. He was the second freshman to win the award and the first since Paul Kariya who won it first in 1993.

Playing career

Amateur

Eichel grew up in North Chelmsford, Massachusetts. He played for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program team during the 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons, and was recognized for his outstanding play during the 2013–14 season when he was named to the United States Hockey League Second All-Star Team. After his second season within the Development Program, Eichel signed a letter of intent to commit to Boston University of the Hockey East on April 29, 2014.

On April 10, 2015, Eichel became the second freshman to win the Hobey Baker Award, which was previously won by Paul Kariya in 1993. In 40 games with Boston University, Eichel led the nation in scoring with 26 goals, 45 assists, and 71 points. Eichel was also the Hockey East scoring champion, Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, First Team Hockey East and a member of the All-Rookie Team, and was named MVP of the conference tournament. Eichel was projected to be the second overall selection in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft behind projected first overall pick Connor McDavid.

Professional

Buffalo Sabres

On June 26, 2015, Eichel was selected 2nd overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, one pick after the Edmonton Oilers selected Connor McDavid. In the months leading up to the draft, considerable interest and hype arose surrounding Eichel and McDavid, both seen as generational talents. For example, the sports section of the Buffalo News regularly published the "McEichel Derby," a graphic of the teams at the bottom of the standings. On July 1, 2015, Eichel signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Sabres.

On August 13, 2015, Eichel signed a sponsorship deal with Bauer Hockey, which states Eichel will wear its equipment exclusively and Bauer will provide him with its apparel.

Eichel scored his first NHL goal on October 8, 2015, becoming the youngest player in Sabres history to do so, in his first game in the NHL against the Ottawa Senators. He finished his rookie campaign with 24 goals and 56 points in 81 games, being the Sabres' top goalscorer and second in points (after Ryan O'Reilly) and second in both criteria among rookies, after Artemi Panarin. On October 12, 2016, Eichel suffered a severe high ankle sprain to his left ankle in practice and had to be helped off of the ice; he missed the first two months of the season before making his season debut on November 29. He finished the year with 24 goals and 33 assists in just 61 games.

Before the 2017–18 season, on October 3, 2017, the Sabres signed Eichel to an eight-year, $80 million contract extension worth $10 million annually which began at the start of the 2018–19 season. On December 15, 2017, Eichel scored his first career hat trick against the Carolina Hurricanes in a 5–4 loss. On January 11, 2018, Eichel was selected as the sole representative of the Sabres for the 2018 NHL All-Star game. This was the first NHL All-Star game of Eichel's career. During a game in February against the Boston Bruins, Eichel sprained his ankle and was ruled out for 4–6 weeks. He returned 15 games later to help the Sabres beat the Chicago Blackhawks for the first time since 2009. Eichel finished the 2017–18 season with 25 goals and 39 assists for a total of 64 points in only 67 games.

During the summer before the 2018–19 season, Eichel changed his jersey number from 15 to 9, the same number he wore at Boston University. On October 3, 2018, before the beginning of the regular season, Eichel was named the captain of the Sabres. On March 10, 2019, Eichel was suspended for two games for illegally checking Colorado Avalanche player Carl Söderberg in the head. On March 28, 2019, Eichel scored his 100th career goal in a 5–4 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings.

On November 16, 2019, Eichel scored four goals in a 4–2 win over the Ottawa Senators. He was the seventh Sabres player to record four goals in one game and first since Thomas Vanek did it on April 10, 2010. On December 7, Eichel recorded two assists to reach 300 career points in a 6–5 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks.[29] On January 2, 2020, Eichel became the first player in Sabres history to score a penalty shot goal in overtime, and also set a franchise record for goals scored in overtime, as the Sabres won 3–2 against the Edmonton Oilers. On February 1, Eichel scored the eighth overtime goal of his career in a 2–1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets, improving the previous franchise record for most regular-season overtime goals.

On April 14, 2021, it was announced that Eichel would miss the remainder of the 2020–21 season in order to recover from surgery required to repair a spinal disc herniation. In May, Eichel, along with Sam Reinhart, expressed their frustration with the Sabres. He stated, "I have a lot of thinking to do in this offseason... there's a lot I have to consider."

International play

Medal record
Representing United States
Ice hockey
World Championships
2015 Czech Republic
IIHF World U18 Championship
2014 Finland
2013 Russia

As a 15-year-old Eichel represented the United States at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics. He won a bronze medal with Team USA at the 2013 World U-17 Hockey Challenge and a silver medal at the 2013 IIHF World U18 Championships. The following season he helped the USA squad capture the gold medal at the 2014 IIHF World U18 Championships, and he competed as a 17-year-old as Team USA's youngest player at the 2014 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. Eichel represented Team USA in the 2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship.

At the conclusion of his freshman season with the Terriers, Eichel was named to make his full international debut with Team USA at the 2015 World Championships. Eichel scored 2 goals, including a game winner in the group stage against Slovakia, and 5 assists during the tournament, where Team USA won bronze. Eichel was selected to the 2017 Team USA IIHF World Championship roster. Team USA was eliminated in the quarter finals and placed 5th overall. Eichel recorded zero goals and five assists in eight games at the championship.

On April 19, 2019, Eichel was selected to represent Team USA at the 2019 IIHF World Championship, held in Bratislava and Kosice, Slovakia.

Jackie Robinson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jackie Robinson

Robinson with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1954

Second baseman

Born: January 31, 1919

Cairo, Georgia, U.S.

Died: October 24, 1972 (aged 53)

Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.

Batted: Right Threw: Right

Professional debut

NgL: 1945, for the Kansas City Monarchs

MLB: April 15, 1947, for the Brooklyn Dodgers

Last MLB appearance

October 10, 1956, for the Brooklyn Dodgers

MLB statistics

Batting average .313

Home runs 141

Runs batted in 761

Teams

Negro leagues

Kansas City Monarchs (1945)Major League Baseball

Brooklyn Dodgers (1947–1956)

Career highlights and awards

NgL All-Star (1945)

6× All-Star (1949–1954)

World Series champion (1955)

NL MVP (1949)

MLB Rookie of the Year (1947)

NL batting champion (1949)

2× NL stolen base leader (1947, 1949)

Los Angeles Dodgers No. 42 retired

No. 42 retired by all MLB teams

Monument Park honoree

Major League Baseball All-Century Team

Member of the National

Baseball Hall of Fame

Induction 1962

Vote 77.5% (first ballot)

Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. When the Dodgers signed Robinson, it heralded the end of racial segregation in professional baseball that had relegated black players to the Negro leagues since the 1880s. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.

During his 10-year MLB career, Robinson won the inaugural Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, was an All-Star for six consecutive seasons from 1949 through 1954, and won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1949—the first black player so honored. Robinson played in six World Series and contributed to the Dodgers' 1955 World Series championship.

In 1997, MLB retired his uniform number 42 across all major league teams; he was the first professional athlete in any sport to be so honored. MLB also adopted a new annual tradition, "Jackie Robinson Day", for the first time on April 15, 2004, on which every player on every team wears No. 42.

Robinson's character, his use of nonviolence, and his talent challenged the traditional basis of segregation that had then marked many other aspects of American life. He influenced the culture of and contributed significantly to the civil rights movement. Robinson also was the first black television analyst in MLB and the first black vice president of a major American corporation, Chock full o'Nuts. In the 1960s, he helped establish the Freedom National Bank, an African-American-owned financial institution based in Harlem, New York. After his death in 1972, Robinson was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal and Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of his achievements on and off the field.

Early life

Family and personal life

Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919, into a family of sharecroppers in Cairo, Georgia. He was the youngest of five children born to Mallie (McGriff) and Jerry Robinson, after siblings Edgar, Frank, Matthew (nicknamed "Mack"), and Willa Mae. His middle name was in honor of former President Theodore Roosevelt, who died 25 days before Robinson was born.After Robinson's father left the family in 1920, they moved to Pasadena, California.

The extended Robinson family established itself on a residential plot containing two small houses at 121 Pepper Street in Pasadena. Robinson's mother worked various odd jobs to support the family. Growing up in relative poverty in an otherwise affluent community, Robinson and his minority friends were excluded from many recreational opportunities. As a result, Robinson joined a neighborhood gang, but his friend Carl Anderson persuaded him to abandon it.

John Muir High School

In 1935, Robinson graduated from Washington Junior High School and enrolled at John Muir High School (Muir Tech). Recognizing his athletic talents, Robinson's older brothers Mack (himself an accomplished athlete and silver medalist at the 1936 Summer Olympics)[20] and Frank inspired Jackie to pursue his interest in sports.

At Muir Tech, Robinson played several sports at the varsity level and lettered in four of them: football, basketball, track, and baseball. He played shortstop and catcher on the baseball team, quarterback on the football team, and guard on the basketball team. With the track and field squad, he won awards in the broad jump. He was also a member of the tennis team.

In 1936, Robinson won the junior boys singles championship in the annual Pacific Coast Negro Tennis Tournament and earned a place on the Pomona annual baseball tournament all-star team, which included future Hall of Famers Ted Williams and Bob Lemon. In late January 1937, the Pasadena Star-News newspaper reported that Robinson "for two years has been the outstanding athlete at Muir, starring in football, basketball, track, baseball and tennis."

Pasadena Junior College

After Muir, Robinson attended Pasadena Junior College (PJC), where he continued his athletic career by participating in basketball, football, baseball, and track. On the football team, he played quarterback and safety. He was a shortstop and leadoff hitter for the baseball team, and he broke school broad-jump records held by his brother Mack. As at Muir High School, most of Jackie's teammates were white. While playing football at PJC, Robinson suffered a fractured ankle, complications from which would eventually delay his deployment status while in the military. In 1938, he was elected to the All-Southland Junior College Team for baseball and selected as the region's Most Valuable Player.

That year, Robinson was one of 10 students named to the school's Order of the Mast and Dagger (Omicron Mu Delta), awarded to students performing "outstanding service to the school and whose scholastic and citizenship record is worthy of recognition." Also while at PJC, he was elected to the Lancers, a student-run police organization responsible for patrolling various school activities.

An incident at PJC illustrated Robinson's impatience with authority figures he perceived as racist—a character trait that would resurface repeatedly in his life. On January 25, 1938, he was arrested after vocally disputing the detention of a black friend by police.Robinson received a two-year suspended sentence, but the incident—along with other rumored run-ins between Robinson and police—gave Robinson a reputation for combativeness in the face of racial antagonism. While at PJC, he was motivated by a preacher (the Rev. Karl Downs) to attend church on a regular basis, and Downs became a confidant for Robinson, a Christian. Toward the end of his PJC tenure, Frank Robinson (to whom Robinson felt closest among his three brothers) was killed in a motorcycle accident. The event motivated Jackie to pursue his athletic career at the nearby University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he could remain closer to Frank's family.

UCLA and afterward

Robinson doing the long jump for UCLA

After graduating from PJC in spring 1939, Robinson enrolled at UCLA, where he became the school's first athlete to win varsity letters in four sports: baseball, basketball, football, and track.

He was one of four black players on the Bruins' 1939 football team; the others were Woody Strode, Kenny Washington, and Ray Bartlett. Washington, Strode, and Robinson made up three of the team's four backfield players. At a time when only a few black students played mainstream college football, this made UCLA college football's most integrated team. They went undefeated with four ties at 6–0–4.

In track and field, Robinson won the 1940 NCAA championship in the long jump at 24 ft 10+1⁄4 in (7.58 m). Baseball was Robinson's "worst sport" at UCLA; he hit .097 in his only season, although in his first game he went 4-for-4 and twice stole home.

While a senior at UCLA, Robinson met his future wife, Rachel Isum (b.1922), a UCLA freshman who was familiar with Robinson's athletic career at PJC. He played football as a senior, but the 1940 Bruins won only one game. In the spring, Robinson left college just shy of graduation, despite the reservations of his mother and Isum. He took a job as an assistant athletic director with the government's National Youth Administration (NYA) in Atascadero, California.

After the government ceased NYA operations, Robinson traveled to Honolulu in the fall of 1941 to play football for the semi-professional, racially integrated Honolulu Bears. After a short season, Robinson returned to California in December 1941 to pursue a career as running back for the Los Angeles Bulldogs of the Pacific Coast Football League. By that time, however, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor had taken place, which drew the United States into World War II and ended Robinson's nascent football career.

Military career

In 1942, Robinson was drafted and assigned to a segregated Army cavalry unit in Fort Riley, Kansas. Having the requisite qualifications, Robinson and several other black soldiers applied for admission to an Officer Candidate School (OCS) then located at Fort Riley. Although the Army's initial July 1941 guidelines for OCS had been drafted as race neutral, few black applicants were admitted into OCS until after subsequent directives by Army leadership. As a result, the applications of Robinson and his colleagues were delayed for several months. After protests by heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis (then stationed at Fort Riley) and with the help of Truman Gibson (then an assistant civilian aide to the Secretary of War), the men were accepted into OCS. The experience led to a personal friendship between Robinson and Louis. Upon finishing OCS, Robinson was commissioned as a second lieutenant in January 1943. Shortly afterward, Robinson and Isum were formally engaged.

Robinson, wearing his Army uniform, receives a military salute from his nephew Frank during a visit to his home in Pasadena, California, circa 1943.

After receiving his commission, Robinson was reassigned to Fort Hood, Texas, where he joined the 761st "Black Panthers" Tank Battalion. While at Fort Hood, Robinson often used his weekend leave to visit the Rev. Karl Downs, President of Sam Huston College (now Huston–Tillotson University) in nearby Austin, Texas; in California, Downs had been Robinson's pastor at Scott United Methodist Church while Robinson attended PJC.

An event on July 6, 1944, derailed Robinson's military career. While awaiting results of hospital tests on the ankle he had injured in junior college, Robinson boarded an Army bus with a fellow officer's wife; although the Army had commissioned its own unsegregated bus line, the bus driver ordered Robinson to move to the back of the bus. Robinson refused. The driver backed down, but after reaching the end of the line, summoned the military police, who took Robinson into custody. When Robinson later confronted the investigating duty officer about racist questioning by the officer and his assistant, the officer recommended Robinson be court-martialed.

After Robinson's commander in the 761st, Paul L. Bates, refused to authorize the legal action, Robinson was summarily transferred to the 758th Battalion—where the commander quickly consented to charge Robinson with multiple offenses, including, among other charges, public drunkenness, even though Robinson did not drink.

By the time of the court-martial in August 1944, the charges against Robinson had been reduced to two counts of insubordination during questioning. Robinson was acquitted by an all-white panel of nine officers.

Although his former unit, the 761st Tank Battalion, became the first black tank unit to see combat in World War II, Robinson's court-martial proceedings prohibited him from being deployed overseas; thus, he never saw combat action.

After his acquittal, he was transferred to Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky, where he served as a coach for army athletics until receiving an honorable discharge in November 1944. While there, Robinson met a former player for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League, who encouraged Robinson to write the Monarchs and ask for a tryout. Robinson took the former player's advice and wrote to Monarchs co-owner Thomas Baird.

Post-military

After his discharge, Robinson briefly returned to his old football club, the Los Angeles Bulldogs. Robinson then accepted an offer from his old friend and pastor Rev. Karl Downs to be the athletic director at Samuel Huston College in Austin, then of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The job included coaching the school's basketball team for the 1944–45 season. As it was a fledgling program, few students tried out for the basketball team, and Robinson even resorted to inserting himself into the lineup for exhibition games. Although his teams were outmatched by opponents, Robinson was respected as a disciplinarian coach, and drew the admiration of, among others, Langston University basketball player Marques Haynes, a future member of the Harlem Globetrotters.

Playing career

Negro leagues and major league prospects

Robinson during his stint in the Negro leagues with the Kansas City Monarchs

In early 1945, while Robinson was at Sam Huston College, the Kansas City Monarchs sent him a written offer to play professional baseball in the Negro leagues. Robinson accepted a contract for $400 per month. Although he played well for the Monarchs, Robinson was frustrated with the experience. He had grown used to a structured playing environment in college, and the Negro leagues' disorganization and embrace of gambling interests appalled him. The hectic travel schedule also placed a burden on his relationship with Isum, with whom he could now communicate only by letter In all, Robinson played 47 games at shortstop for the Monarchs, hitting .387 with five home runs, and registering 13 stolen bases. He also appeared in the 1945 East–West All-Star Game, going hitless in five at-bats.

During the season, Robinson pursued potential major league interests. No black man had played in the major leagues since Moses Fleetwood Walker in 1884, but the Boston Red Sox nevertheless held a tryout at Fenway Park for Robinson and other black players on April 16. The tryout, however, was a farce chiefly designed to assuage the desegregationist sensibilities of powerful Boston City Councilman Isadore H. Y. Muchnick. Even with the stands limited to management, Robinson was subjected to racial epithets. He left the tryout humiliated, and more than 14 years later, in July 1959, the Red Sox became the last major league team to integrate its roster.

Other teams, however, had more serious interest in signing a black ballplayer. In the mid-1940s, Branch Rickey, club president and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, began to scout the Negro leagues for a possible addition to the Dodgers' roster. Rickey selected Robinson from a list of promising black players and interviewed him for possible assignment to Brooklyn's International League farm club, the Montreal Royals. Rickey was especially interested in making sure his eventual signee could withstand the inevitable racial abuse that would be directed at him. In a famous three-hour exchange on August 28, 1945, Rickey asked Robinson if he could face the racial animus without taking the bait and reacting angrily—a concern given Robinson's prior arguments with law enforcement officials at PJC and in the military. Robinson was aghast: "Are you looking for a Negro who is afraid to fight back?" Rickey replied that he needed a Negro player "with guts enough not to fight back." After obtaining a commitment from Robinson to "turn the other cheek" to racial antagonism, Rickey agreed to sign him to a contract for $600 a month, equal to $8,625 today. Rickey did not offer compensation to the Monarchs, instead believing all Negro league players were free agents due to the contracts not containing a reserve clause. Among those with whom Rickey discussed prospects was Wendell Smith, writer for the black weekly Pittsburgh Courier, who, according to Cleveland Indians owner and team president Bill Veeck, "influenced Rickey to take Jack Robinson, for which he's never completely gotten credit."

Although he required Robinson to keep the arrangement a secret for the time being, Rickey committed to formally signing Robinson before November 1, 1945. On October 23, it was publicly announced that Robinson would be assigned to the Royals for the 1946 season On the same day, with representatives of the Royals and Dodgers present, Robinson formally signed his contract with the Royals. In what was later referred to as "The Noble Experiment", Robinson was the first black baseball player in the International League since the 1880s. He was not necessarily the best player in the Negro leagues, and black talents Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson were upset when Robinson was selected first. Larry Doby, who broke the color line in the American League the same year as Robinson, said, "One of the things that was disappointing and disheartening to a lot of the black players at the time was that Jack was not the best player. The best was Josh Gibson. I think that's one of the reasons why Josh died so early—he was heartbroken."

Rickey's offer allowed Robinson to leave behind the Monarchs and their grueling bus rides, and he went home to Pasadena. That September, he signed with Chet Brewer's Kansas City Royals, a post-season barnstorming team in the California Winter League. Later that off-season, he briefly toured South America with another barnstorming team, while his fiancée Isum pursued nursing opportunities in New York City. On February 10, 1946, Robinson and Isum were married by their old friend, the Rev. Karl Downs.

Minor leagues

In 1946, Robinson arrived at Daytona Beach, Florida, for spring training with the Montreal Royals of the Class AAA International League. Clay Hopper, the manager of the Royals, asked Rickey to assign Robinson to any other Dodger affiliate, but Rickey refused.

Robinson with the Montreal Royals in July 1946, the year before he was called up to the Majors

Robinson's presence was controversial in racially segregated Florida. He was not allowed to stay with his white teammates at the team hotel, and instead lodged at the home of Joe and Dufferin Harris, a politically active African American couple who introduced the Robinsons to civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune. Since the Dodgers organization did not own a spring training facility, scheduling was subject to the whim of area localities, several of which turned down any event involving Robinson or Johnny Wright, another black player whom Rickey had signed to the Dodgers' organization in January. In Sanford, Florida, the police chief threatened to cancel games if Robinson and Wright did not cease training activities there; as a result, Robinson was sent back to Daytona Beach In Jacksonville, the stadium was padlocked shut without warning on game day, by order of the city's Parks and Public Property director. In DeLand, a scheduled day game was postponed, ostensibly because of issues with the stadium's electrical lighting.

After much lobbying of local officials by Rickey himself, the Royals were allowed to host a game involving Robinson in Daytona Beach. Robinson made his Royals debut at Daytona Beach's City Island Ballpark on March 17, 1946, in an exhibition game against the team's parent club, the Dodgers. Robinson thus became the first black player to openly play for a minor league team against a major league team since the de facto baseball color line had been implemented in the 1880s.

Robinson (holding bats) playing in Montreal

Later in spring training, after some less-than-stellar performances, Robinson was shifted from shortstop to second base, allowing him to make shorter throws to first base. Robinson's performance soon rebounded. On April 18, 1946, Roosevelt Stadium hosted the Jersey City Giants' season opener against the Montreal Royals, marking the professional debut of the Royals' Jackie Robinson and the first time the color barrier had been broken in a game between two minor league clubs. Pitching against Robinson was Warren Sandel who had played against him when they both lived in California. During Robinson's first at bat, the Jersey City catcher, Dick Bouknight, demanded that Sandel throw at Robinson, but Sandel refused. Although Sandel induced Robinson to ground out at his first at bat, Robinson ended up with four hits in his five trips to the plate; his first hit was a three-run home run in the game's third inning. He also scored four runs, drove in three, and stole two bases in the Royals' 14–1 victory. Robinson proceeded to lead the International League that season with a .349 batting average and .985 fielding percentage, and he was named the league's Most Valuable Player. Although he often faced hostility while on road trips (the Royals were forced to cancel a Southern exhibition tour, for example) the Montreal fan base enthusiastically supported Robinson.2Whether fans supported or opposed it, Robinson's presence on the field was a boon to attendance; more than one million people went to games involving Robinson in 1946, an astounding figure by International League standards. In the fall of 1946, following the baseball season, Robinson returned home to California and briefly played professional basketball for the short-lived Los Angeles Red Devils.

Major leagues

Breaking the color barrier (1947)

In 1947, the Dodgers called Robinson up to the major leagues six days before the start of the season. With Eddie Stanky entrenched at second base for the Dodgers, Robinson played his initial major league season as a first baseman. Robinson made his debut in a Dodgers uniform wearing number 42 on April 11, 1947, in a preseason exhibition game against the New York Yankees at Ebbets Field with 24,237 in attendance. On April 15, Robinson made his major league debut at the relatively advanced age of 28 at Ebbets Field before a crowd of 26,623 spectators, more than 14,000 of whom were black.Although he failed to get a base hit, he walked and scored a run in the Dodgers' 5–3 victory. Robinson became the first player since 1884 to openly break the major league baseball color line. Black fans began flocking to see the Dodgers when they came to town, abandoning their Negro league teams.

Robinson's promotion met a generally positive, although mixed, reception among newspapers and white major league players. However, racial tension existed in the Dodger clubhouse. Some Dodger players insinuated they would sit out rather than play alongside Robinson. The brewing mutiny ended when Dodgers management took a stand for Robinson. Manager Leo Durocher informed the team, "I do not care if the guy is yellow or black, or if he has stripes like a fuckin' zebra. I'm the manager of this team, and I say he plays. What's more, I say he can make us all rich. And if any of you cannot use the money, I will see that you are all traded."

Robinson was also derided by opposing teams. According to a press report, the St. Louis Cardinals threatened to strike if Robinson played and to spread the walkout across the entire National League. Existence of the plot was said to have been leaked by the Cardinals' team physician, Robert Hyland, to a friend, the New York Herald Tribune's Rutherford "Rud" Rennie. The reporter, concerned about protecting Hyland's anonymity and job, in turn leaked it to his Tribune colleague and editor, Stanley Woodward, whose own subsequent reporting with other sources protected Hyland. The Woodward article made national headlines. After it was published, National League President Ford Frick and Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler let it be known that any striking players would be suspended. "You will find that the friends that you think you have in the press box will not support you, that you will be outcasts," Frick was quoted as saying. "I do not care if half the league strikes. Those who do it will encounter quick retribution. All will be suspended and I don't care if it wrecks the National League for five years. This is the United States of America and one citizen has as much right to play as another." Woodward's article received the E. P. Dutton Award in 1947 for Best Sports Reporting. The Cardinals players denied that they were planning to strike, and Woodward later told author Roger Kahn that Frick was his true source; writer Warren Corbett said that Frick's speech "never happened". Regardless, the report led to Robinson receiving increased support from the sports media. Even The Sporting News, a publication that had backed the color line, came out against the idea of a strike.

Robinson nonetheless became the target of rough physical play by opponents (particularly the Cardinals). At one time, he received a seven-inch gash in his leg from Enos Slaughter. On April 22, 1947, during a game between the Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies, Phillies players and manager Ben Chapman called Robinson a "nigger" from their dugout and yelled that he should "go back to the cotton fields". Rickey later recalled that Chapman "did more than anybody to unite the Dodgers. When he poured out that string of unconscionable abuse, he solidified and united thirty men."

Robinson did, however, receive significant encouragement from several major league players. Robinson named Lee "Jeep" Handley, who played for the Phillies at the time, as the first opposing player to wish him well. Dodgers teammate Pee Wee Reese once came to Robinson's defense with the famous line, "You can hate a man for many reasons. Color is not one of them." In 1947 or 1948, Reese is said to have put his arm around Robinson in response to fans who shouted racial slurs at Robinson before a game in Boston or Cincinnati. A statue by sculptor William Behrends, unveiled at KeySpan Park on November 1, 2005, depicts Reese with his arm around Robinson. Jewish baseball star Hank Greenberg, who had to deal with ethnic epithets during his career, also encouraged Robinson. Following an incident where Greenberg collided with Robinson at first base, he "whispered a few words into Robinson's ear", which Robinson later characterized as "words of encouragement." Greenberg had advised him to overcome his critics by defeating them in games. Robinson also talked frequently with Larry Doby, who endured his own hardships since becoming the first black player in the American League with the Cleveland Indians, as the two spoke to one another via telephone throughout the season.

Robinson finished the season having played in 151 games for the Dodgers, with a batting average of .297, an on-base percentage of .383, and a .427 slugging percentage. He had 175 hits (scoring 125 runs) including 31 doubles, 5 triples, and 12 home runs, driving in 48 runs for the year. Robinson led the league in sacrifice hits, with 28, and in stolen bases, with 29. His cumulative performance earned him the inaugural Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award (separate National and American League Rookie of the Year honors were not awarded until 1949).

MVP, Congressional testimony, and film biography (1948–1950)

Following Stanky's trade to the Boston Braves in March 1948, Robinson took over second base, where he logged a .980 fielding percentage that year (second in the National League at the position, fractionally behind Stanky). Robinson had a batting average of .296 and 22 stolen bases for the season. In a 12–7 win against the St. Louis Cardinals on August 29, 1948, he hit for the cycle—a home run, a triple, a double, and a single in the same game. The Dodgers briefly moved into first place in the National League in late August 1948, but they ultimately finished third as the Braves went on to win the league title and lose to the Cleveland Indians in the World Series.

Robinson in 1950

Racial pressure on Robinson eased in 1948 when a number of other black players entered the major leagues. Larry Doby (who broke the color barrier in the American League on July 5, 1947, just 11 weeks after Robinson) and Satchel Paige played for the Cleveland Indians, and the Dodgers had three other black players besides Robinson. In February 1948, he signed a $12,500 contract (equal to $134,643 today) with the Dodgers; while a significant amount, this was less than Robinson made in the off-season from a vaudeville tour, where he answered pre-set baseball questions and a speaking tour of the South. Between the tours, he underwent surgery on his right ankle. Because of his off-season activities, Robinson reported to training camp 30 pounds (14 kg) overweight. He lost the weight during training camp, but dieting left him weak at the plate. In 1948, Wendell Smith's book, Jackie Robinson: My Own Story, was released.

In the spring of 1949, Robinson turned to Hall of Famer George Sisler, working as an advisor to the Dodgers, for batting help. At Sisler's suggestion, Robinson spent hours at a batting tee, learning to hit the ball to right field. Sisler taught Robinson to anticipate a fastball, on the theory that it is easier to subsequently adjust to a slower curveball. Robinson also noted that "Sisler showed me how to stop lunging, how to check my swing until the last fraction of a second". The tutelage helped Robinson raise his batting average from .296 in 1948 to .342 in 1949. In addition to his improved batting average, Robinson stole 37 bases that season, was second place in the league for both doubles and triples, and registered 124 runs batted in with 122 runs scored. For the performance Robinson earned the Most Valuable Player Award for the National League. Baseball fans also voted Robinson as the starting second baseman for the 1949 All-Star Game—the first All-Star Game to include black players

That year, a song about Robinson by Buddy Johnson, "Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?", reached number 13 on the charts; Count Basie recorded a famous version. Ultimately, the Dodgers won the National League pennant, but lost in five games to the New York Yankees in the 1949 World Series.

Summer 1949 brought an unwanted distraction for Robinson. In July, he was called to testify before the United States House of Representatives' Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) concerning statements made that April by black athlete and actor Paul Robeson. Robinson was reluctant to testify, but he eventually agreed to do so, fearing it might negatively affect his career if he declined.

Lobby card for The Jackie Robinson Story, 1950, with Minor Watson (left, playing Dodgers president Branch Rickey) and Robinson

In 1950, Robinson led the National League in double plays made by a second baseman with 133. His salary that year was the highest any Dodger had been paid to that point: $35,000 ($376,480 in 2020 dollars). He finished the year with 99 runs scored, a .328 batting average, and 12 stolen bases. The year saw the release of a film biography of Robinson's life, The Jackie Robinson Story, in which Robinson played himself, and actress Ruby Dee played Rachel "Rae" (Isum) Robinson. The project had been previously delayed when the film's producers refused to accede to demands of two Hollywood studios that the movie include scenes of Robinson being tutored in baseball by a white man. The New York Times wrote that Robinson, "doing that rare thing of playing himself in the picture's leading role, displays a calm assurance and composure that might be envied by many a Hollywood star.

Robinson's Hollywood exploits, however, did not sit well with Dodgers co-owner Walter O'Malley, who referred to Robinson as "Rickey's prima donna". In late 1950, Rickey's contract as the Dodgers' team President expired. Weary of constant disagreements with O'Malley, and with no hope of being re-appointed as President of the Dodgers, Rickey cashed out his one-quarter financial interest in the team, leaving O'Malley in full control of the franchise. Rickey shortly thereafter became general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Robinson was disappointed at the turn of events and wrote a sympathetic letter to Rickey, whom he considered a father figure, stating, "Regardless of what happens to me in the future, it all can be placed on what you have done and, believe me, I appreciate it."

Pennant races and outside interests (1951–1953)

Before the 1951 season, O'Malley reportedly offered Robinson the job of manager of the Montreal Royals, effective at the end of Robinson's playing career. O'Malley was quoted in the Montreal Standard as saying, "Jackie told me that he would be both delighted and honored to tackle this managerial post"—although reports differed as to whether a position was ever formally offered

During the 1951 season, Robinson led the National League in double plays made by a second baseman for the second year in a row, with 137. He also kept the Dodgers in contention for the 1951 pennant. During the last game of the regular season, in the 13th inning, he had a hit to tie the game and then hit a home run in the 14th inning, which proved to be the winning margin. This forced a best-of-three playoff series against the crosstown rival New York Giants.

Jackie Robinson comic book, issue No. 5, 1951

Despite Robinson's regular-season heroics, on October 3, 1951, the Dodgers lost the pennant on Bobby Thomson's famous home run, known as the Shot Heard 'Round the World. Overcoming his dejection, Robinson dutifully observed Thomson's feet to ensure he touched all the bases. Dodgers sportscaster Vin Scully later noted that the incident showed "how much of a competitor Robinson was." He finished the season with 106 runs scored, a batting average of .335, and 25 stolen bases.

Robinson had what was an average year for him in 1952. He finished the year with 104 runs, a .308 batting average, and 24 stolen bases. He did, however, record a career-high on-base percentage of .436. The Dodgers improved on their performance from the year before, winning the National League pennant before losing the 1952 World Series to the New York Yankees in seven games. That year, on the television show Youth Wants to Know, Robinson challenged the Yankees' general manager, George Weiss, on the racial record of his team, which had yet to sign a black player. Sportswriter Dick Young, whom Robinson had described as a "bigot", said, "If there was one flaw in Jackie, it was the common one. He believed that everything unpleasant that happened to him happened because of his blackness." The 1952 season was the last year Robinson was an everyday starter at second base. Afterward, Robinson played variously at first, second, and third bases, shortstop, and in the outfield, with Jim Gilliam, another black player, taking over everyday second base duties. Robinson's interests began to shift toward the prospect of managing a major league team. He had hoped to gain experience by managing in the Puerto Rican Winter League, but according to the New York Post, Commissioner Happy Chandler denied the request.

In 1953, Robinson had 109 runs, a .329 batting average, and 17 steals, leading the Dodgers to another National League pennant (and another World Series loss to the Yankees, this time in six games). Robinson's continued success spawned a string of death threats. He was not dissuaded, however, from addressing racial issues publicly. That year, he served as editor for Our Sports magazine, a periodical focusing on Negro sports issues; contributions to the magazine included an article on golf course segregation by Robinson's old friend Joe Louis. Robinson also openly criticized segregated hotels and restaurants that served the Dodger organization; a number of these establishments integrated as a result, including the five-star Chase Park Hotel in St. Louis.

World Championship and retirement (1954–1956)

In 1954, Robinson had 62 runs scored, a .311 batting average, and 7 steals. His best day at the plate was on June 17, when he hit two home runs and two doubles.The following autumn, Robinson won his only championship when the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in the 1955 World Series. Although the team enjoyed ultimate success, 1955 was the worst year of Robinson's individual career. He hit .256 and stole only 12 bases. The Dodgers tried Robinson in the outfield and as a third baseman, both because of his diminishing abilities and because Gilliam was established at second base. Robinson, then 36 years old missed 49 games and did not play in Game 7 of the World Series. Robinson missed the game because manager Walter Alston decided to play Gilliam at second and Don Hoak at third base. That season, the Dodgers' Don Newcombe became the first black major league pitcher to win twenty games in a year.

In 1956, Robinson had 61 runs scored, a .275 batting average, and 12 steals.[159] By then, he had begun to exhibit the effects of diabetes and to lose interest in the prospect of playing or managing professional baseball. Robinson ended his major league career when he struck out to end Game 7 of the 1956 World Series. After the season, the Dodgers traded Robinson to the arch-rival New York Giants for Dick Littlefield and $35,000 cash (equal to $333,164 today). The trade, however, was never completed; unbeknownst to the Dodgers, Robinson had already agreed with the president of Chock full o'Nuts to quit baseball and become an executive with the company. Since Robinson had sold exclusive rights to any retirement story to Look magazine two years previously, his retirement decision was revealed through the magazine, instead of through the Dodgers organization.

Legacy

Robinson and his son David are interviewed during the March on Washington, August 28, 1963.

Further information: History of baseball in the United States § Racial integration in baseball

Robinson's major league debut brought an end to approximately sixty years of segregation in professional baseball, known as the baseball color line. After World War II, several other forces were also leading the country toward increased equality for blacks, including their accelerated migration to the North, where their political clout grew, and President Harry Truman's desegregation of the military in 1948. Robinson's breaking of the baseball color line and his professional success symbolized these broader changes and demonstrated that the fight for equality was more than simply a political matter. Civil rights movement leader Martin Luther King Jr. said that he was "a legend and a symbol in his own time", and that he "challenged the dark skies of intolerance and frustration." According to historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, Robinson's "efforts were a monumental step in the civil-rights revolution in America ... [His] accomplishments allowed black and white Americans to be more respectful and open to one another and more appreciative of everyone's abilities.

Beginning his major league career at the relatively advanced age of 28, he played only ten seasons from 1947 to 1956, all of them for the Brooklyn Dodgers During his career, the Dodgers played in six World Series, and Robinson himself played in six All-Star Games. In 1999, he was posthumously named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

Robinson's career is generally considered to mark the beginning of the post–"long ball" era in baseball, in which a reliance on raw power-hitting gave way to balanced offensive strategies that used footspeed to create runs through aggressive baserunning. Robinson exhibited the combination of hitting ability and speed which exemplified the new era. He scored more than 100 runs in six of his ten seasons (averaging more than 110 runs from 1947 to 1953), had a .311 career batting average, a .409 career on-base percentage, a .474 slugging percentage, and substantially more walks than strikeouts (740 to 291). Robinson was one of only two players during the span of 1947–56 to accumulate at least 125 steals while registering a slugging percentage over .425 (Minnie Miñoso was the other). He accumulated 197 stolen bases in total, including 19 steals of home. None of the latter were double steals (in which a player stealing home is assisted by a player stealing another base at the same time). Robinson has been referred to by author David Falkner as "the father of modern base-stealing".

I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me ... all I ask is that you respect me as a human being.

—Robinson, on his legacy

Historical statistical analysis indicates Robinson was an outstanding fielder throughout his ten years in the major leagues and at virtually every position he played. After playing his rookie season at first base, Robinson spent most of his career as a second baseman. He led the league in fielding among second basemen in 1950 and 1951. Toward the end of his career, he played about 2,000 innings at third base and about 1,175 innings in the outfield, excelling at both.

Assessing himself, Robinson said, "I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me ... all I ask is that you respect me as a human being." Regarding Robinson's qualities on the field, Leo Durocher said, "Ya want a guy that comes to play. This guy didn't just come to play. He come to beat ya. He come to stuff the goddamn bat right up your ass."

Portrayals on stage, film and television

Depiction of Robinson in lobby card for The Jackie Robinson Story

Robinson portrayed himself in the 1950 motion picture The Jackie Robinson Story. Other portrayals include:

John Lafayette, in the 1978 ABC television special "A Home Run for Love" (broadcast as an ABC Afterschool Special).

David Alan Grier, in the 1981 Broadway production of the musical The First

Michael-David Gordon, in the 1989 Off-Broadway production of the musical Play to Win

Andre Braugher, in the 1990 TNT television movie The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson.

Blair Underwood, in the 1996 HBO television movie Soul of the Game.

Antonio Todd in "Colors", a 2005 episode of the CBS television series Cold Case.

Chadwick Boseman, in the 2013 motion picture

Robert Hamilton in "Sundown", a 2020 episode of the HBO television series Lovecraft Country.

Robinson was also the subject of a 2016 PBS documentary, Jackie Robinson, which was directed by Ken Burns and features Jamie Foxx doing voice-over as Robinson.

Post-baseball life

Robinson once told future Hall of Fame inductee Hank Aaron that "the game of baseball is great, but the greatest thing is what you do after your career is over." Robinson retired from baseball at age 37 on January 5, 1957. Later that year, after he complained of numerous physical ailments, he was diagnosed with diabetes, a disease that also afflicted his brothers. Although Robinson adopted an insulin injection regimen, the state of medicine at the time could not prevent the continued deterioration of Robinson's physical condition from the disease.

In October 1959, Robinson entered the Greenville Municipal Airport's whites-only waiting room. Airport police asked Robinson to leave, but he refused. At a National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) speech in Greenville, South Carolina, Robinson urged "complete freedom" and encouraged black citizens to vote and to protest their second-class citizenship. The following January, approximately 1,000 people marched on New Year's Day to the airport, which was desegregated shortly thereafter.

In his first year of eligibility for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, Robinson encouraged voters to consider only his on-field qualifications, rather than his cultural impact on the game He was elected on the first ballot, becoming the first black player inducted into the Cooperstown museum.

Robinson as an ABC sports announcer, 1965

In 1965, Robinson served as an analyst for ABC's Major League Baseball Game of the Week telecasts, the first black person to do so. In 1966, Robinson was hired as general manager for the short-lived Brooklyn Dodgers of the Continental Football League. In 1972, he served as a part-time commentator on Montreal Expos telecasts.

On June 4, 1972, the Dodgers retired his uniform number, 42, alongside those of Roy Campanella (39) and Sandy Koufax (32) From 1957 to 1964, Robinson was the vice president for personnel at Chock full o'Nuts; he was the first black person to serve as vice president of a major American corporation. Robinson always considered his business career as advancing the cause of black people in commerce and industry. Robinson also chaired the NAACP's million-dollar Freedom Fund Drive in 1957, and served on the organization's board until 1967. In 1964, he helped found, with Harlem businessman Dunbar McLaurin, Freedom National Bank—a black-owned and operated commercial bank based in Harlem. He also served as the bank's first chairman of the board. In 1970, Robinson established the Jackie Robinson Construction Company to build housing for low-income families.

Robinson was active in politics throughout his post-baseball life. He identified himself as a political independent, although he held conservative opinions on several issues, including the Vietnam War (he once wrote to Martin Luther King Jr. to defend the Johnson Administration's military policy). After supporting Richard Nixon in his 1960 presidential race against John F. Kennedy, Robinson later praised Kennedy effusively for his stance on civil rights. Robinson was angered by conservative Republican opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He became one of six national directors for Nelson Rockefeller's unsuccessful campaign to be nominated as the Republican candidate for the 1964 presidential election. After the party nominated Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona instead, Robinson left the party's convention commenting that he now had "a better understanding of how it must have felt to be a Jew in Hitler's Germany". He later became special assistant for community affairs when Rockefeller was re-elected governor of New York in 1966. Switching his allegiance to the Democrats, he subsequently supported Hubert Humphrey against Nixon in 1968.

A still from a color movie featuring Robinson in the 1960s in The Torch of Friendship promo

Robinson protested against the major leagues' ongoing lack of minority managers and central office personnel, and he turned down an invitation to appear in an old-timers' game at Yankee Stadium in 1969. He made his final public appearance on October 15, 1972, throwing the ceremonial first pitch before Game 2 of the World Series at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. He gratefully accepted a plaque honoring the twenty-fifth anniversary of his MLB debut, but also commented, "I'm going to be tremendously more pleased and more proud when I look at that third base coaching line one day and see a black face managing in baseball." This wish was only fulfilled after Robinson's death: following the 1974 season, the Cleveland Indians gave their managerial post to Frank Robinson (no relation to Jackie), a Hall of Fame-bound player who would go on to manage three other teams. Despite the success of these two Robinsons and other black players, the number of African-American players in Major League Baseball has declined since the 1970s.

Family life and death

After Robinson's retirement from baseball, his wife Rachel Robinson pursued a career in academic nursing. She became an assistant professor at the Yale School of Nursing and director of nursing at the Connecticut Mental Health Center. She also served on the board of the Freedom National Bank until it closed in 1990 She and Jackie had three children: Jackie Robinson Jr. (1946–1971), Sharon Robinson (b. 1950), and David Robinson (b. 1952).

Robinson's family gravesite in Cypress Hills Cemetery. Robinson is buried alongside his mother-in-law Zellee Isum and his son Jackie Robinson, Jr.

Robinson's eldest son, Jackie Robinson Jr., had emotional trouble during his childhood and entered special education at an early age. He enrolled in the Army in search of a disciplined environment, served in the Vietnam War, and was wounded in action on November 19, 1965. After his discharge, he struggled with drug problems. Robinson Jr. eventually completed the treatment program at Daytop Village in Seymour, Connecticut, and became a counselor at the institution. On June 17, 1971, he was killed in an automobile accident at age 24. The experience with his son's drug addiction turned Robinson Sr. into an avid anti-drug crusader toward the end of his life.

Robinson did not long outlive his son. Complications from heart disease and diabetes weakened Robinson and made him almost blind by middle age. On October 24, 1972, Robinson died of a heart attack at his home on 95 Cascade Road in North Stamford, Connecticut; he was 53 years old. Robinson's funeral service on October 27, 1972, at Upper Manhattan's Riverside Church in Morningside Heights, attracted 2,500 mourners.Many of his former teammates and other famous baseball players served as pallbearers, and the Rev. Jesse Jackson gave the eulogy. Tens of thousands of people lined the subsequent procession route to Robinson's interment site at Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York, where he was buried next to his son Jackie and mother-in-law Zellee Isum.Twenty-five years after Robinson's death, the Interboro Parkway was renamed the Jackie Robinson Parkway in his memory. This parkway bisects the cemetery in close proximity to Robinson's gravesite.

After Robinson's death, his widow founded the Jackie Robinson Foundation, and she remains an officer as of 2021. On April 15, 2008, she announced that in 2010 the foundation would open a museum devoted to Jackie in Lower Manhattan. Robinson's daughter, Sharon, became a midwife, educator, director of educational programming for MLB, and the author of two books about her father. His youngest son, David, who has ten children, is a coffee grower and social activist in Tanzania.

Awards and recognition

Memorial in the Jackie Robinson Rotunda inside Citi Field, dedicated April 15, 2009

According to a poll conducted in 1947, Robinson was the second most popular man in the country, behind Bing Crosby. In 1999, he was named by Time on its list of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. Also in 1999, he ranked number 44 on the Sporting News list of Baseball's 100 Greatest Players and was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team as the top vote-getter among second basemen. Baseball writer Bill James, in The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, ranked Robinson as the 32nd greatest player of all time strictly on the basis of his performance on the field, noting that he was one of the top players in the league throughout his career. Robinson was among the 25 charter members of UCLA's Athletics Hall of Fame in 1984. In 2002, Molefi Kete Asante included Robinson on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans. Robinson has also been honored by the United States Postal Service on three separate postage stamps, in 1982, 1999, and 2000.

The City of Pasadena has recognized Robinson with a baseball diamond and stadium named Jackie Robinson Field in Brookside Park next to the Rose Bowl, and with the Jackie Robinson Center (a community outreach center providing health services). In 1997, a $325,000 bronze sculpture (equal to $523,948 today) by artists Ralph Helmick, Stu Schecter, and John Outterbridge depicting oversized nine-foot busts of Robinson and his brother Mack was erected at Garfield Avenue, across from the main entrance of Pasadena City Hall; a granite footprint lists multiple donors to the commission project, which was organized by the Robinson Memorial Foundation and supported by members of the Robinson family.

Jackie Robinson Stadium, with the No. 42 on the center field wall

Major League Baseball has honored Robinson many times since his death. In 1987, both the National and American League Rookie of the Year Awards were renamed the "Jackie Robinson Award" in honor of the first recipient (Robinson's Major League Rookie of the Year Award in 1947 encompassed both leagues). On April 15, 1997, Robinson's jersey number, 42, was retired throughout Major League Baseball, the first time any jersey number had been retired throughout one of the four major American sports leagues. Under the terms of the retirement, a grandfather clause allowed the handful of players who wore number 42 to continue doing so in tribute to Robinson, until such time as they subsequently changed teams or jersey numbers. This affected players such as the Mets' Butch Huskey and Boston's Mo Vaughn. The Yankees' Mariano Rivera, who retired at the end of the 2013 season, was the last player in Major League Baseball to wear jersey number 42 on a regular basis. Since 1997, only Wayne Gretzky's number 99, retired by the NHL in 2000, has been retired league-wide in any of the four major sports. There have also been calls for MLB to retire number 21 league-wide in honor of Roberto Clemente, a sentiment opposed by the Robinson family.

As an exception to the retired-number policy, MLB began honoring Robinson by allowing players to wear number 42 on April 15, Jackie Robinson Day, which is an annual observance that started in 2004. For the 60th anniversary of Robinson's major league debut, MLB invited players to wear the number 42 on Jackie Robinson Day in 2007. The gesture was originally the idea of outfielder Ken Griffey, Jr., who sought Rachel Robinson's permission to wear the number. After Griffey received her permission, Commissioner Bud Selig not only allowed Griffey to wear the number, but also extended an invitation to all major league teams to do the same. Ultimately, more than 200 players wore number 42, including the entire rosters of the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers, and Pittsburgh Pirates. The tribute was continued in 2008, when, during games on April 15, all members of the Mets, Cardinals, Washington Nationals, and Tampa Bay Rays wore Robinson's number 42.On June 25, 2008, MLB installed a new plaque for Robinson at the Baseball Hall of Fame commemorating his off-the-field impact on the game as well as his playing statistics. In 2009, all of MLB's uniformed personnel (including players) wore number 42 on April 15; this tradition has continued every year since on that date.

Planned home of the Jackie Robinson Museum and Learning Center

At the November 2006 groundbreaking for Citi Field, the new ballpark for the New York Mets, it was announced that the main entrance, modeled on the one in Brooklyn's old Ebbets Field, would be called the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. The rotunda was dedicated at the opening of Citi Field on April 16, 2009. It honors Robinson with large quotations spanning the inner curve of the facade and features a large freestanding statue of his number, 42, which has become an attraction in itself. Mets owner Fred Wilpon announced that the Mets—in conjunction with Citigroup and the Jackie Robinson Foundation—will create a Jackie Robinson Museum and Learning Center, located at the headquarters of the Jackie Robinson Foundation at One Hudson Square, along Canal Street in lower Manhattan. Along with the museum, scholarships will be awarded to "young people who live by and embody Jackie's ideals."The museum hopes to open by 2020. At Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, a statue of Robinson was introduced in 2017. The New York Yankees honor Robinson with a plaque in Monument Park.

Since 2004, the Aflac National High School Baseball Player of the Year has been presented the "Jackie Robinson Award".

Robinson has also been recognized outside of baseball. In December 1956, the NAACP recognized him with the Spingarn Medal, which it awards annually for the highest achievement by an African-American. President Ronald Reagan posthumously awarded Robinson the Presidential Medal of Freedom on March 26, 1984, and on March 2, 2005, President George W. Bush gave Robinson's widow the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award bestowed by Congress; Robinson was only the second baseball player to receive the award, after Roberto Clemente. On August 20, 2007, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver, announced that Robinson was inducted into the California Hall of Fame, located at The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts in Sacramento.

Rachel Robinson (holding the award) accepts the posthumous Congressional Gold Medal for her husband from President George W. Bush in a March 2, 2005, ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda. Also pictured are Nancy Pelosi and Dennis Hastert.

A number of buildings have been named in Robinson's honor. The UCLA Bruins baseball team plays in Jackie Robinson Stadium, which, because of the efforts of Jackie's brother Mack, features a memorial statue of Robinson by sculptor Richard H. Ellis. The stadium also unveiled a new mural of Robinson by Mike Sullivan on April 14, 2013. City Island Ballpark in Daytona Beach, Florida was renamed Jackie Robinson Ballpark in 1990 and a statue of Robinson with two children stands in front of the ballpark. His wife Rachel was present for the dedication on September 15. 1990. A number of facilities at Pasadena City College (successor to PJC) are named in Robinson's honor, including Robinson Field, a football/soccer/track facility named jointly for Robinson and his brother Mack. The New York Public School system has named a middle school after Robinson, and Dorsey High School plays at a Los Angeles football stadium named after him. His home in Brooklyn, the Jackie Robinson House, was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976, and Brooklyn residents sought to turn his home into a city landmark. In 1978, Colonial Park in Harlem was renamed after Robinson. Robinson also has an asteroid named after him, 4319 Jackierobinson. In 1997, the United States Mint issued a Jackie Robinson commemorative silver dollar, and five-dollar gold coin. That same year, New York City renamed the Interboro Parkway in his honor. A statue of Robinson at Journal Square Transportation Center in Jersey City, New Jersey, was dedicated in 1998.

In 2011, the U.S. placed a plaque at Robinson's Montreal home to honor the ending of segregation in baseball.[ The house, at 8232 avenue de Gaspé near Jarry Park, was Robinson's residence when he played for the Montreal Royals during 1946. In a letter read during the ceremony, Rachel Robinson, Jackie's widow, wrote: "I remember Montreal and that house very well and have always had warm feeling for that great city. Before Jack and I moved to Montreal, we had just been through some very rough treatment in the racially biased South during spring training in Florida. In the end, Montreal was the perfect place for him to get his start. We never had a threatening or unpleasant experience there. The people were so welcoming and saw Jack as a player and as a man."

On November 22, 2014, UCLA announced that it would officially retire the number 42 across all university sports, effective immediately. While Robinson wore several different numbers during his UCLA career, the school chose 42 because it had become indelibly identified with him. The only sport this did not affect was men's basketball, which had previously retired the number for Walt Hazzard (although Kevin Love was actually the last player in that sport to wear 42, with Hazzard's blessing). In a move paralleling that of MLB when it retired the number, UCLA allowed three athletes (in women's soccer, softball, and football) who were already wearing 42 to continue to do so for the remainder of their UCLA careers. The school also announced it would prominently display the number at all of its athletic venues.

A jersey that Robinson brought home with him after his rookie season ended in 1947 was sold at an auction for $2.05 million on November 19, 2017. The price was the highest ever paid for a post-World War II jersey.

Jamie Benn

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Jamie Benn

Benn with the Dallas Stars in 2016

Born July 18, 1989

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Jamie Randolph Benn (born July 18, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey winger and captain of the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). Benn played his junior hockey career with the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League (WHL) prior to turning professional. He represented Canada at the 2009 World Junior Championships, where he helped capture a gold medal. With Team Canada, he won a gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. He is the younger brother of defenseman Jordie Benn, who plays for the Minnesota Wild, and is a former teammate of Jamie's. In the 2014–15 season, Benn was awarded the Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading scorer with 87 points. The Dallas Stars went to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020 under the leadership of Jamie Benn.

Playing career

Junior

Benn grew up playing hockey for the Peninsula Eagles minor hockey association and attended Stelly's Secondary School as a teenager. He played for the Peninsula Panthers of the VIJHL, a local Junior B team located in North Saanich, British Columbia, during the 2005–06 season. Following this, he played for the Victoria Grizzlies of the Junior A British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) for parts of three seasons from 2006-2008.

Kelowna Rockets

Benn was drafted by the Dallas Stars 129th overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft from the Victoria Grizzlies. Following his draft, Benn began his major junior career with the Kelowna Rockets in the WHL. He scored 65 points in his rookie season in 2007–08, then improved to a team-high 46 goals to go with 36 assists and 82 points in just 56 games in 2008–09. After being named to the WHL West First All-Star Team, Benn paced the Rockets with a playoff-leading 33 points en route to the 2009 Ed Chynoweth Cup title. In the subsequent 2009 Memorial Cup tournament, held in Rimouski, Quebec, Benn notched a four-goal game and added an assist in the second round-robin match against the Drummondville Voltigeurs, a 6–4 win, to secure the Rockets a berth in the tournament final. Although Benn's Rockets lost to the Windsor Spitfires 4–1 in the Final, Benn was named to the Tournament All-Star Team, along with teammate Tyler Myers.

Professional hockey player

Dallas Stars

Benn in his second NHL regular-season game, October 2009

Benn made the Stars' roster for the 2009–10 season and scored his first NHL goal on October 11, 2009, against Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks. Benn tied the score 3–3 late in the game, but the Stars lost later in the shootout.

At the end of his rookie season, he was sent down to the Stars' AHL affiliate Texas Stars in the suburbs of Austin for the 2010 Calder Cup playoffs. He scored 14 goals and had 26 points in 24 playoffs games as Texas fell to the Hershey Bears in the Calder Cup Finals. Benn later spoke of the experience, "I had a fun summer here...it was a big part of my hockey career and helped me develop my game. I definitely loved playing here."

Benn took an opportunity in February 2011 after teammate Brad Richards' concussion to take a leading role with the team. During the All Star Game's SuperSkills Competition, Benn participated in the Accuracy Shooting contest and won his leg against Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Drouin then the finals against Philadelphia Flyers rookie Matt Read with times of 13.583 and 10.204 seconds respectively.

With the 2012–13 season delayed due to the labour lock-out, Benn signed a contract for the duration of the dispute with the Hamburg Freezers of the German DEL on October 2, 2012. Unable to initially agree to a contract with the Stars, Benn missed the first four games of the shortened NHL season before re-signing to a five-year, $26.25 million contract on January 24, 2013.

Benn during the 2013–14 season. Benn was named the captain of the Dallas Stars during the 2013 off-season.

Benn was named the sixth captain of the Dallas Stars on September 19, 2013.

On April 11, 2015, Benn scored 4 points in the Stars' last regular-season game to finish with 87 points on the season and win the Art Ross Trophy. His final point, a secondary assist with 8.5 seconds left in the game, allowed him to overtake John Tavares for the award.

On July 15, 2016, Benn agreed to an eight-year, $76 million contract extension with Dallas that runs through the 2024–25 NHL season at an average annual value of $9.5 million.

International play

Playing in his second WHL season, Benn was named to Team Canada, along with Kelowna Rockets teammate Tyler Myers, for the 2009 World Junior Championships in Ottawa. He contributed 4 goals and 2 assists in 6 games, helping Canada to its record-tying fifth straight gold medal, defeating Sweden 5–1 in the final. Benn first represented the senior team at the 2012 IIHF World Championship.

On January 7, 2014, Benn was named to the Canadian Olympic hockey team for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi despite not being invited to the orientation camp during the summer of 2013. In his first game as an Olympian, Benn scored the game-winning goal in Canada's first game against Norway in a 3–1 victory. He scored the only goal in a 1–0 win against the United States in the semi-final, to advance Canada to the gold medal game, where they eventually beat Sweden 3–0.

Awards and honours

AwardYear

CHL / WHL

West First All-Star Team 2008–09

Ed Chynoweth Trophy – Memorial Cup Leading Scorer 2009

Ed Chynoweth Cup 2008–09

CHL Memorial Cup All-Star Team 2009

NHL

NHL All-Star Game 2012, 2016

NHL First All-Star Team 2014, 2016

Art Ross Trophy 2015

NHL Second All-Star Team 2015

Jaideep Deswal

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jaideep Deswal

Birth name Jaideep Deswal

Nationality Indian

Born 30 December 1989

Rohtak, Haryana India

Sport

Country India

Sport Athletics F-42,

Event(s) Discus throw

Club Haryana Paralympic Association: India

Coached by Vijay Munishwar

Men's Discus throw

Representing India

Asia Oceania Athletics Championships

Dubai Discus Throw

Jaideep Singh Deswal (born 30 December 1989) is an Indian athletics competitor, representing India at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom, in the discus throw event under F42 classification. He underwent training at Cardiff Metropolitan University, Wales, for the Games. He is supported by GoSports Foundation through the Para champions programme.

Early Life & Background

Jaideep was 4 months old when he was given wrong vaccination for his fever by the doctor resulting in loss of strength in his left leg. Retaining a keen interest in the sport from an early age, Jaideep started practising and competing in the discus throw in 2007 upon suggestions from his friends. His father, recently retired from Rajasthan police and his family, living in a small village on the outskirts of Rohtak, was not familiar with sports before. However, egged on by his uncle, Jaideep used to be a regular trainer in the fields of his native village.

Career

Jaideep idolizes Hockey Legend Major Dhyanchand and his sporting career has seen him represent India at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, 2014 Asian Para and Commonwealth Games and the 2015 World Para Athletics Championships. Last year Jaideep took to powerlifting as well and has recently represented his country at the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships in the Discus throw, also qualified for the 2017 World Powerlifting Championships

Jonathan Toews

(Wikipedia)

Jonathan Toews

Toews with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2009

Born April 29, 1988

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Position Centre

Shoots Left

NHL team Chicago Blackhawks

National team Canada

NHL Draft 3rd overall, 2006

Chicago Blackhawks

Playing career 2007–present

Jonathan Bryan Toews OM (/ˈteɪvz/ TAYVZ; born April 29, 1988) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and captain of the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Nicknamed "Captain Serious", Toews was selected by the Blackhawks with the third overall pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. He joined the team in 2007–08 and was nominated for the Calder Memorial Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year. The following season he was named team captain, becoming the second-youngest captain in NHL history (after Sidney Crosby) at the time. Toews won the Stanley Cup in 2010, along with the Conn Smythe Trophy for the most valuable player in the playoffs. After winning the Cup, Toews passed Peter Forsberg as the youngest player to join the Triple Gold Club. He won the Stanley Cup again in 2013 and 2015.

Toews competes internationally for Team Canada and has won gold medals at the 2005 World U-17 Hockey Challenge, 2006 and 2007 World Junior Championships, 2007 World Championships, the 2010 Winter Olympics (a tournament in which he was named best forward) and the 2014 Winter Olympics. In 2017, he was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players.

Playing career

Amateur

Toews was selected first overall in the 2003 WHL Bantam Draft by the Tri-City Americans,[4] but chose instead to play midget AAA hockey at Shattuck-Saint Mary's, a boarding school in Faribault, Minnesota, during the 2003–04 and 2004–05 seasons. The decision enabled him to retain his NCAA eligibility. Toews scored 110 points in 64 games in his second season with Shattuck-Saint Mary's before moving on to play college ice hockey.

Toews played two seasons at the University of North Dakota, compiling 85 points (40 goals and 45 assists), a +38 plus-minus rating and a 56.7% faceoff winning percentage in 76 games. He helped UND reach the NCAA Frozen Four in both 2006 and 2007, serving as an alternate captain in his sophomore season. Toews registered 39 points as a freshman and earned Rookie of the Week honours twice. He helped North Dakota capture the Broadmoor Trophy as Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) conference champions and also was named West Regional MVP after tallying five points.

Going into the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Toews was ranked third among North American prospects by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau,[and was ultimately chosen third overall by the Chicago Blackhawks.

Professional

Chicago Blackhawks

In 2007–08, he opted out of his final two years of college hockey eligibility to debut with the Blackhawks after signing a three-year, entry-level contract on May 16, 2007. He scored his first career NHL goal on his first shot in his first game on October 10, 2007, against the San Jose Sharks. He then recorded the second-longest point-scoring streak to start an NHL career, registering a point in each of his first ten games (five goals and five assists). On January 1, 2008, Toews sprained his knee in a game against the Los Angeles Kings. Despite missing 16 games from the injury, Toews led all rookies in goal-scoring and finished third in points. Toews finished second in team scoring behind fellow rookie Patrick Kane. Toews and Kane battled all season for the lead in team and rookie scoring before Toews went down to injury. The two were both nominated for the Calder Memorial Trophy as NHL rookie of the year along with Washington Capitals forward Nicklas Bäckström; Toews finished as a runner-up to winner Kane.

Toews with the Blackhawks during their home opener for the 2010–11 season on October 9, 2010

Following his successful rookie campaign, Toews was named team captain of the Blackhawks on July 18, 2008. At 20 years and 79 days, he became the third-youngest team captain in NHL history, behind Sidney Crosby and Vincent Lecavalier. This feat was later surpassed by Gabriel Landeskog and Connor McDavid.[9] Toews had previously been named an alternate captain in December 2007, during the 2007–08 season. In the subsequent season, he was voted as a starter, along with teammates Patrick Kane and Brian Campbell, for the 2009 NHL All-Star Game in Montreal, Quebec. He netted his first career hat-trick in the NHL on February 27, 2009, in a 5–4 overtime loss to Pittsburgh. Toews finished the 2008–09 season with 69 points in 82 games, helping the Blackhawks to their first Stanley Cup playoff appearance since 2002. He then added 13 points in 17 playoff games as the Blackhawks advanced to the Western Conference Finals, where they were eliminated by the Detroit Red Wings in five games.

Less than a month into the 2009–10 season, Toews was sidelined with concussion-like symptoms after receiving an open-ice hit from defenceman Willie Mitchell in a 3–2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on October 21, 2009. Toews had his head down while receiving a pass in the neutral zone when Mitchell left the penalty box and checked him with his shoulder. Toews was sidelined for several games before returning to the line-up.

In the final year of his contract, Toews, as well as teammates Duncan Keith and Patrick Kane, agreed to extensions in early December 2009. His deal was structured similarly to Kane's, worth about $6.5 million annually for five seasons. Toews finished the season with 68 points in 76 games.

During the 2010 playoffs, Toews recorded his second career hat-trick, along with two assists, leading the Blackhawks in a 7–4 playoff victory against Vancouver on May 7, 2010. On June 9, 2010, Toews led Chicago to the franchise's first Stanley Cup championship since 1961, defeating the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 6 of the Finals. He became the second-youngest captain in the history of the NHL to win the Cup, behind Sidney Crosby, who led the Pittsburgh Penguins to the championship the previous season. Toews scored seven goals and 29 points in the playoffs, and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. By winning the Stanley Cup, he also became the youngest player, at 22 years of age, to become a member of the Triple Gold Club (Olympic gold, the Stanley Cup and World Championship).

In the off-season, Toews was selected to be the cover player for EA Sports' video game NHL 11 on June 21, 2010. It marked the first time in EA Sports history that two players of the same team were featured on a video game cover two years in a row, as teammate Patrick Kane had been on the cover of NHL 10.

Toews at the NHL Store in New York City in 2011.

During the 2010–11 season, Toews recorded a career-high 76 points in 80 games. Due to salary cap constraints, the Blackhawks were forced to trade away many of their players from the previous season's championship-winning team, including Antti Niemi, Dustin Byfuglien, Kris Versteeg and Andrew Ladd. As a result, the Blackhawks narrowly made the 2011 playoffs, ending the regular season as the eighth and final seed in the Western Conference. Down three games to none in the opening round against the Vancouver Canucks, the Blackhawks won three straight games to force a deciding Game 7. In the contest, Toews scored a short-handed game-tying goal with 1:26 remaining in regulation. The Canucks, however, went on to score five minutes into the ensuing overtime period to eliminate the Blackhawks.Toews had four points in the seven-game series.

Toews was to play in the 2012 All-Star Game, but an injury sustained during a 5–2 loss to the Nashville Predators kept him from playing; he was replaced by Scott Hartnell. Toews finished the 2011–12 season with 57 points in an injury-shortened year. He returned to play at the start of the 2012 playoffs, where he scored the overtime winner in Game 5 to send the series back to Chicago for Game 6, where the opposition Phoenix Coyotes won 4–0 to eliminate the Blackhawks from the playoffs.

In the lockout-shortened season of 2013, Toews returned to top form. He helped the Blackhawks win the Presidents' Trophy as the team with the best regular-season record. In the 2013 playoffs, Toews led the Blackhawks to a Finals over the Boston Bruins, Chicago's second title in three seasons. At the end of the year, he was also awarded the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the League's top defensive forward and was named to the NHL Second All-Star Team.

Toews with the Blackhawks during a preseason game, September 2013

Toews scored the second natural hat-trick of his NHL career on October 29, 2013, against Craig Anderson of the Ottawa Senators. The 2013–14 season finished as another productive campaign for Toews. In 76 games, he scored 28 goals and 40 assists for 68 points. The Blackhawks' 2014 playoff run lasted to overtime of Game 7 of the Western Conference Final, and Toews put up 17 points (nine goals and eight assists) in 19 games. For the second year in a row, he finished as a finalist for the Selke Trophy, though he came third in voting behind the winner Patrice Bergeron and first runner-up Anže Kopitar.

On July 9, 2014, the Blackhawks announced that Toews, along with teammate Patrick Kane, had signed an eight-year extension with the Blackhawks at an average annual salary of $10.5 million. The contract will come into effect on July 1, 2015, for the 2015–16 season.

During Game 7 of the 2015 Western Conference Final, Toews scored the game's first two goals en route to a 5–3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. In the Finals, Toews led the Blackhawks to their third Stanley Cup championship in six seasons after the team's Game 6 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2–0. On June 24, Toews was named the recipient of the Mark Messier Leadership Award, awarded to the individual "in recognition of his commitment and service to charities in his community," as well as exemplifying a superior leadership ability in hockey, beating-out fellow finalists Ryan Getzlaf and Andrew Ladd. Toews also won an ESPY Award for 'Best NHL Player' in 2015. Electronic Arts selected Toews to appear on the cover of NHL 16.

Toews was selected to play in the 2016 All-Star Game, but missed the game on account of illness. He was suspended for one game per NHL rules for not attending the All-Star game.

During the 2016–17 Chicago Blackhawks season, Toews suffered a back injury that forced him to miss nine games. He was voted into the 2017 National Hockey League All-Star Game.

Toews' productivity declined during the 2017–18 season, where he posted a career-low 52 points He revealed he adopted a new training regiment and nutrition plan to help him better prepare for the upcoming season. A rejuvenated Toews tallied a career-high 81 points while appearing in all 82 games for Chicago during the 2018–19 season.

Toews appeared in 70 games during the 2019–20 Chicago Blackhawks season, which was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He recorded 18 goals and 42 assists during the campaign while eclipsing the 800-career point milestone. Toews also totaled a team-high nine points in nine games during the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Before the start of the 2020–21 season, the Blackhawks announced Toews would be out indefinitely while recovering from an undisclosed illness. He missed the entire season before announcing in June 2021 that he was diagnosed with chronic immune response syndrome and that he plans to return for the 2021–22 season. In September 2021, he said an antibody test revealed he had COVID-19 at some point.

International play

Toews with the Canadian national men's hockey team in the 2010 Winter Olympics

Medal record

Representing Canada

2014 Sochi

2010 Vancouver

2008 Canada

2007 Russia

Canada Cup / World Cup

2016 Toronto

World U-17 Hockey Challenge

2007 Sweden

2006 Canada

Representing Canada West

2005 Alberta

In 2005, Toews captained Canada West at the World U-17 Hockey Challenge to a gold medal. He scored the game-winning goal in a 3–1 win over Canada Pacific in the championship game. He finished with 12 points, ranked first in tournament scoring, and was named tournament MVP.

In his draft year, Toews competed on Canada's junior team at the 2006 World Junior Championships as the youngest player on the team. He tallied two assists during the tournament, both against Norway in preliminary play, as Canada ultimately defeated Russia in the gold medal game, 5–0.

In 2007, Toews earned a second-straight World Junior gold medal. In the tournament semi-final against the United States, Toews scored three times in the shootout to advance to the final. With seven points, Toews led Canada in scoring and was named to the Tournament All-Star Team alongside teammate Carey Price. Shortly after his gold medal win, Toews was honoured by his hometown American Hockey League (AHL) team, the Manitoba Moose, on February 3, 2007, as he was presented with an honorary jersey for his tournament efforts.

Toews guards the puck from Ryan Suter during the 2010 Winter Olympics.

That same year, Toews also made his senior international debut at the 2007 World Championships and recorded seven points in nine games competing against mostly professional players after just his second year of college hockey (at the time of selection, Toews had not yet turned professional). Canada earned gold over Finland 4–2 in the championship game. After the victory, Toews became the first Canadian to win a World Junior championship and a World Championship in the same year. On June 29, 2007, Toews was awarded the Order of the Buffalo Hunt, an award given by the Province of Manitoba in honour of sporting achievements, for his play in the junior and senior world championships.

After Toews' rookie year in the NHL, he competed in his second World Championships in 2008.

On December 30, 2009, Toews was selected to play for Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia. He was named to the squad along with Blackhawks teammates Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith. He ended the tournament with a team-leading eight points, while his seven assists tied with Pavol Demitra of Slovakia for the tournament lead. Toews' lone goal of the tournament opened the scoring in Canada's 3–2 overtime win in the gold medal game against the United States. As a result, he was awarded Best Forward and tournament all-star team honours. At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, he scored the first goal in the gold medal game against Sweden on the way to Canada's second-straight Olympic gold medal.

Personal life

Jonathan was born to Brian Toews, an electrician at the University of Manitoba, and Andrée Gilbert, a native of Sainte-Marie, Quebec, who was the managing director and finance expert for a credit union in the Winnipeg region before retiring to oversee Toews' media relations. He is bilingual, speaking fluent French and English.

Like Toews, his brother David also attended Shattuck-Saint Mary's and began his freshman year at the University of North Dakota in 2008–09.His cousin Kai Toews is a professional basketball player.

In January 2007, Toews and former North Dakota teammate T. J. Oshie received alcohol-related citations for being minors in a Grand Forks, North Dakota, tavern. Toews and Oshie pleaded guilty to the charges. The two were later placed on probation and ordered to perform community service.

In the spring of 2010, a large mural of Toews visible from the Eisenhower Expressway in Chicago received a degree of notoriety.The mural depicted Toews with an abnormally shaped nose and mouth, posed beside a picture of the Stanley Cup (appropriately, Toews would end up holding the Cup after winning it later that year) Toews commented on the mural, stating: "I guess it's from a picture and they must have embellished it a little bit. They're not helping me by any means."

Following the celebration of Toews bringing the Stanley Cup to his hometown of Winnipeg, the Province of Manitoba announced that it would be naming a northern lake after Toews in honour of his success.The lake is located 150 km (93 mi) north of Flin Flon and is named Toews Lake. The same day, the Dakota Community Centre in St. Vital where Toews first played organized hockey was renamed the Jonathan Toews Community Centre. Additionally, he was given the Keys to the City to honour his achievement and strong work ethic.

Awards, honours and championships

Toews holds onto the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to him after the Stanley Cup Finals; as his teammate, Patrick Kane, hoists the Stanley Cup during the 2010 Stanley Cup victory parade

Toews hoists the Stanley Cup during the 2013 Stanley Cup victory parade

Toews hoists the Stanley Cup during the 2015 Stanley Cup victory rally

AwardYear

All-WCHA Second Team 2006–07

AHCA West First-Team All-American 2006–07

WCHA All-Tournament Team 2007

Championships

2010 Stanley Cup Champion

2013 Stanley Cup Champion

2015 Stanley Cup Champion

World U-17 Hockey Challenge MVP — 2005 World U-17 Hockey Challenge — 2005

WCHA Rookie of the Week — twice in 2005–2006

NCAA West Regional MVP — 2006

World Junior All-Star Team — 2007

Nominated for the Calder Memorial Trophy — 2008

5× NHL All-Star (2009, 2011, 2012,* 2015, 2016*, 2017)

* – Did not attend due to injury/illness.

All-Star selection of the 2010 Olympic Hockey Tournament

2010 Winter Olympics — Gold Medalist, Best Forward

2010 Conn Smythe Trophy winner

Second-youngest to win the Conn Smythe Trophy (22 years, 41 days; only Patrick Roy was younger); youngest captain to win the Conn Smythe Trophy.

Youngest person to gain entry into the Triple Gold Club (22 years, 41 days at time last component was achieved)

Named full captain of an NHL team after only 64 NHL games; fifth-youngest full captain (Connor McDavid, Gabriel Landeskog, Sidney Crosby and Vincent Lecavalier being the others) in NHL history.

One of only eight players to win Olympic gold and the Stanley Cup in the same year.

2013 Frank J. Selke Trophy winner

2013 NHL Second All-Star Team

2014 Winter Olympics — Gold Medalist

2015 Mark Messier Leadership Award winner

2015 ESPY Best NHL Player

2016 World Cup of Hockey gold medal

Named on 100 Greatest NHL Players list for NHL's Centennial Anniversary

NHL 11 cover athlete

NHL 16 cover athlete

Jack Johnson

- First Black Heavyweight Boxing Champ

Jack Johnson

Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Known as the "Galveston Giant," Jack Johnson lived his life fearlessly as one of the most famous and scandalous Black athletes in America.

With the Jim Crow era in full force, Johnson's 1910 match-up with undefeated white opponent James J. Jeffries was coined the "fight of the century." After Johnson knocked Jeffries out in the 15th round, race riots exploded all over the country.

Although he lived in dangerous times, Johnson didn't flinch when taking advantage of his celebrity. When he wasn't knocking out his opponents, he was busy expanding his businesses and banking on endorsement deals. He also had a penchant for white women, which eventually landed him in legal trouble (caused by racist laws). After he fled the country for seven years, he returned in 1920 and served jail time in federal prison.

In 2018, President Donald Trump posthumously pardoned him.

https://www.biography.com/news/jackie-robinson-black-athletes-first-sports

Jack Johnson (boxer)

(Wikipedia)

Jack Johnson

Johnson in 1915

Statistics

Nickname(s) Galveston Giant

Weight(s) Heavyweight

Height 6 ft 1⁄2 in (184.2 cm)

Reach 74 in (188 cm)

Born March 31, 1878

Galveston, Texas, U.S.

Died June 10, 1946 (aged 68)

Franklinton, North Carolina, U.S.

Stance Orthodox

Boxing record

Total fights 95

Wins 72

Wins by KO 38

Losses 11

Draws 11

No contests 3

John Arthur Johnson (March 31, 1878 – June 10, 1946), nicknamed the "Galveston Giant", was an American boxer who, at the height of the Jim Crow era, became the first Black American world heavyweight boxing champion (1908–1915). Widely regarded as one of the most influential boxers of all time, his 1910 fight against James J. Jeffries was dubbed the "fight of the century". According to filmmaker Ken Burns, "for more than thirteen years, Jack Johnson was the most famous and the most notorious African-American on Earth". Transcending boxing, he became part of the culture and history of racism in the United States.

In 1912, Johnson opened a successful and luxurious "black and tan" (desegregated) restaurant and nightclub, which in part was run by his wife, a white woman. Major newspapers of the time soon claimed that Johnson was attacked by the government only after he became famous as a black man married to a white woman, and was linked to other white women. Johnson was arrested on charges of violating the Mann Act—forbidding one to transport a woman across state lines for "immoral purposes"—a racially motivated charge that embroiled him in controversy for his relationships, including marriages, with white women. Sentenced to a year in prison, Johnson fled the country and fought boxing matches abroad for seven years until 1920 when he served his sentence at the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth.

Johnson continued taking paying fights for many years, and operated several other businesses, including lucrative endorsement deals. He died in a car crash on June 10, 1946, at the age of 68. He is buried at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago. On May 24, 2018, Johnson was formally pardoned by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Early life

Johnson was the third child of nine born to Henry and Tina Johnson, former slaves who worked service jobs as a janitor and a dishwasher. His father had served as a civilian teamster of the Union's 38th Colored Infantry. He was described by his son as the "most perfect physical specimen that he had ever seen", although Henry had been left with an atrophied right leg from his service in the war.

Growing up in Galveston, Texas, Johnson attended five years of school. As a young man, Johnson was frail though, like all of his siblings, he was expected to work.

Although Johnson grew up in the South, he said that segregation was not an issue in the somewhat secluded city of Galveston, as everyone living in the 12th Ward was poor and went through the same struggles.Johnson remembers growing up with a "gang" of white boys, in which he never felt victimized or excluded. Remembering his childhood, Johnson said: "As I grew up, the white boys were my friends and my pals. I ate with them, played with them and slept at their homes. Their mothers gave me cookies, and I ate at their tables. No one ever taught me that white men were superior to me."

After Johnson quit school, he began a job working at the local docks. He made several other attempts at working other jobs around town until one day he made his way to Dallas, finding work at the race track exercising horses. Jack stuck with this job until he found a new apprenticeship with a carriage painter by the name of Walter Lewis. Lewis enjoyed watching friends spar, and Johnson began to learn how to box. Johnson later declared that it was thanks to Lewis that he became a boxer.

At 16, Johnson moved to New York City and found living arrangements with Barbados Joe Walcott, a welterweight fighter from the West Indies. Johnson again found work exercising horses for the local stable, until he was fired for exhausting a horse. On his return to Galveston, he was hired as a janitor at a gym owned by German-born heavyweight fighter Herman Bernau. Johnson eventually put away enough money to buy boxing gloves, sparring every chance he got.

At one point, Johnson was arrested for brawling with a man named Davie Pearson, a "grown and toughened" man who accused Johnson of turning him in to the police over a game of craps. When both of them were released from jail, they met at the docks, and Johnson beat Pearson before a large crowd. Johnson then fought in a summer boxing league against a man named John "Must Have It" Lee. Because prize fighting was illegal in Texas, the fight was broken up and moved to the beach, where Johnson won his first fight and a prize of one dollar and fifty cents.

Boxing career

Johnson made his debut as a professional boxer on November 1, 1898, in Galveston, when he knocked out Charley Brooks in the second round of a 15-round bout for what was billed as "The Texas State Middleweight Title". In his third pro fight on May 8, 1899, he faced "Klondike" (John W. Haynes, or Haines), an African American heavyweight known as "The Black Hercules", in Chicago. Klondike (so called as he was considered a rarity, like the gold in the Klondike), who had declared himself the "Black Heavyweight Champ", won on a technical knockout (TKO) in the fifth round of a scheduled six-rounder. The two fighters met twice again in 1900, with the first rematch resulting in a draw, as both fighters were on their feet at the end of 20 rounds. Johnson won the third fight by a TKO when Klondike refused to come out for the 14th round. Johnson did not claim Klondike's unrecognized title.

Joe Choynski

Johnson standing behind Choynski in Chicago in 1909

On February 25, 1901, Johnson fought Joe Choynski in Galveston. Choynski, a popular and experienced heavyweight, knocked out Johnson in the third round. Prizefighting was illegal in Texas at the time and they were both arrested. Bail was set at $5,000, which neither could afford. The sheriff permitted both fighters to go home at night so long as they agreed to spar in the jail cell. Large crowds gathered to watch the sessions. After 23 days in jail, their bail was reduced to an affordable level and a grand jury refused to indict either man. Johnson later stated that he learned his boxing skills during that jail time. The two would remain friends.

Johnson attested that his success in boxing came from the coaching he received from Choynski. The aging Choynski saw natural talent and determination in Johnson and taught him the nuances of defense, stating: "A man who can move like you should never have to take a punch".

Top contender

Johnson beat former black heavyweight champion Frank Childs on October 21, 1902. Childs had twice won the black heavyweight title and continued to claim that he was the true black champion despite having lost his title in a bout with George Byers and then, after retaking the title from Byers, losing it again to Denver Ed Martin. He also claimed the unrecognized black heavyweight title as well.[citation needed] Johnson won by a TKO in the 12th round of the scheduled 20-rounder, when Childs's seconds signaled he could not go on, claiming a dislocated elbow. The defeat by Johnson forever ended Childs's pretensions to the black heavyweight crown.

World colored heavyweight champ

Jack Johnson, Sydney, c. 1908

Johnson in 1908 (photograph by Otto Sarony)

By 1903, though Johnson's official record showed him with nine wins against three losses, five draws and two no contests, he had won at least 50 fights against both white and black opponents. Johnson won his first title on February 3, 1903, beating Denver Ed Martin on points in a 20-round match for the World Colored Heavyweight Championship. Johnson held the title until it was vacated when he won the world heavyweight title from Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia on Boxing Day 1908. His reign of 2,151 days was the third longest in the 60-year-long history of the colored heavyweight title. Only Harry Wills at 3,103 days and Peter Jackson at 3,041 days held the title longer. A three-time colored heavyweight champion, Wills held the title for a total of 3,351 days.

Johnson defended the colored heavyweight title 17 times, which was second only to the 26 times Wills defended the title. While colored champ, he defeated colored ex-champs Denver Ed Martin and Frank Childs again and beat future colored heavyweight champs Sam McVey three times and Sam Langford once. He beat Langford on points in a 15-rounder and never gave him another shot at the title, when he was either colored champ or the world heavyweight champ.

Johnson, Jeanette and Langford

Johnson fought Joe Jeanette a total of seven times, all during his reign as colored champion before he became the world's heavyweight champion, winning four times and drawing twice (three of the victories and one draw were newspaper decisions). In their first match in 1905, they had fought to a draw, but in their second match on November 25, 1905, Johnson lost as he was disqualified in the second round of a scheduled six-round fight. Johnson continued to claim the title because of the disqualification.

After Johnson became the first African-American Heavyweight Champion of the World on December 26, 1908, his World Colored Heavyweight Championship was vacated. Jeanette fought Sam McVey for the title in Paris on February 20, 1909, and was beaten, but he later took the title from McVey in a 49-round bout on April 17 of that year in Paris for a $6,000 purse. Sam Langford subsequently claimed the title during Jeanette's reign after Johnson refused to defend the World Heavyweight Championship against him. Eighteen months later, Jeanette lost the title to Langford.

During his reign as world champion, Johnson never again fought Jeanette, despite numerous challenges, and avoided Langford, who won the colored title a record five times. In 1906 Jack Johnson fought Sam Langford. Langford took severe punishment and was knocked down 3 times; however, he lasted the 15-round distance.

On November 27, 1945, Johnson finally stepped back into the ring with Joe Jeanette. The 67-year-old Johnson squared off against the 66-year-old Jeanette in an exhibition held at a New York City rally to sell war bonds. Fellow former colored heavyweight champ Harry Wills also participated in the exhibition.

World heavyweight champion

Johnson's efforts to win the world heavyweight title were initially thwarted, as at the time world heavyweight champion James J. Jeffries refused to face him, and retired instead. However, Johnson did fight former champion Bob Fitzsimmons in July 1907, and knocked him out in two rounds

Johnson finally won the world heavyweight title on December 26, 1908, a full six years after lightweight champion Joe Gans became the first African American boxing champion. Johnson's victory over the reigning world champion, Canadian Tommy Burns, at the Sydney Stadium in Australia, came after following Burns around the world for two years and taunting him in the press for a match. Burns agreed to fight Johnson only after promoters guaranteed him $30,000. The fight lasted fourteen rounds before being stopped by the police in front of over 20,000 spectators, and Johnson was named the winner.

Johnson arriving in Vancouver on March 9, 1909 as the World Heavyweight Champion

After Johnson's victory over Burns, racial animosity among whites ran so deep that some called for a "Great White Hope" to take the title away from Johnson. While Johnson was heavyweight champion, he was covered more in the press than all other notable black men combined. The lead-up to the bout was peppered with racist press against Johnson. Even the New York Times wrote of the event, "If the black man wins, thousands and thousands of his ignorant brothers will misinterpret his victory as justifying claims to much more than mere physical equality with their white neighbors." As title holder, Johnson thus had to face a series of fighters each billed by boxing promoters as a "great white hope", often in exhibition matches. In 1909, he beat Tony Ross, Al Kaufman, and the middleweight champion Stanley Ketchel.

The match with Ketchel was originally thought to have been an exhibition, and in fact it was fought by both men that way, until the 12th round, when Ketchel threw a right to Johnson's head, knocking him down. Quickly regaining his feet, and very annoyed, Johnson immediately dashed straight at Ketchell and threw a single punch, an uppercut, a punch for which he was famous, to Ketchel's jaw, knocking him out. The punch knocked out Ketchell's front teeth; Johnson can be seen on film removing them from his glove, where they had been embedded.

"Fight of the Century"

In 1910, former undefeated heavyweight champion James J. Jeffries came out of retirement to challenge Johnson, saying "I am going into this fight for the sole purpose of proving that a white man is better than a Negro".[32] He had not fought in six years and he also had to lose well over 100 pounds in order to get back to his championship fighting weight. Efforts to persuade Jeffries to "retrieve the honor of the white race" began immediately after the Burns-Johnson fight. Initially Jeffries had no interest in the fight, being quite happy as an alfalfa farmer. On October 29, 1909, Johnson and Jeffries signed an agreement to "box for the heavyweight championship of the world" and called promoters to bid for the right to orchestrate the event.

In early December 1909, Johnson and Jeffries selected a bid from the nation's top boxing promoters—Tex Rickard and John Gleason. The bid guaranteed a purse of $101,000 to be divided 75% to the winner and 25% to the loser, as well as two-thirds of the revenues collected from the sales of the right to film the fight (each boxer received one third of the equity rights).Although it was well understood that a victory for Jeffries was likely to be more profitable than a victory for Johnson, there were no doubts that the event would produce record profits.. Legal historian Barak Orbach argues that in "an industry that promoted events through the dramatization of rivalries, a championship contest between an iconic representative of the white race and the most notorious [black fighter] was a gold mine."

James J. Jeffries fights Johnson in 1910

Jeffries mostly remained hidden from media attention until the day of the fight, while Johnson soaked up the spotlight. John L. Sullivan, who made boxing championships a popular and esteemed spectacle, stated that Johnson was in such good physical shape compared to Jeffries that he would only lose if he had a lack of skill on the day of the fight. Before the fight, Jeffries remarked, "It is my intention to go right after my opponent and knock him out as soon as possible." While his wife added, "I'm not interested in prizefighting but I am interested in my husband's welfare, I do hope this will be his last fight." Johnson's words were "May the best man win."

Racial tension was brewing in the lead up to the fight and in order to prevent any harm from coming to either boxer, guns were prohibited within the arena along with the sale of alcohol and anyone who was under the effects of alcohol. Apples were also banned as well as any weapon whatsoever. Behind the racial attitudes which were being instigated by the media was a major investment in gambling for the fight, with 10–7 odds in favor of Jeffries.

The fight took place on July 4, 1910, in front of 20,000 people, at a ring which was built just for the occasion in downtown Reno, Nevada. Jeffries proved unable to impose his will on the younger champion and Johnson dominated the fight. By the 15th round, after Jeffries had been knocked down twice for the first time in his career, Jeffries' corner threw in the towel to end the fight and prevent Jeffries from having a knockout on his record.

Johnson later remarked he knew the fight was over in the 4th round when he landed an uppercut and saw the look on Jeffries face, stating, "I knew what that look meant. The old ship was sinking." Afterwards, Jeffries was humbled by the loss and what he'd seen of Johnson in their match. "I could never have whipped Johnson at my best", Jeffries said. "I couldn't have hit him. No, I couldn't have reached him in 1,000 years."

The "Fight of the Century" earned Johnson $65,000 (over $1.8 million in 2020 dollars) and silenced the critics, who had belittled Johnson's previous victory over Tommy Burns as "empty", claiming that Burns was a false champion since Jeffries had retired undefeated. John L. Sullivan commented after the fight that Johnson won deservedly, fairly, and convincingly:

The fight of the century is over and a black man is the undisputed champion of the world. It was a poor fight as fights go, this less than 15-round affair between James J. Jeffries and Jack Johnson. Scarcely has there ever been a championship contest that was so one-sided. All of Jeffries much-vaunted condition amounted to nothing. He wasn't in it from the first bell tap to the last ... The negro had few friends, but there was little demonstration against him. (Spectators) could not help but admire Johnson because he is the type of prizefighter that is admired by sportsmen. He played fairly at all times and fought fairly. ... What a crafty, powerful, cunning left hand (Johnson) has. He is one of the craftiest, cunningest boxers that ever stepped into the ring. ... They both fought closely all during the 15 rounds. It was just the sort of fight that Jeffries wanted. There was no running or ducking like Corbett did with me in New Orleans (1892). Jeffries did not miss so many blows, because he hardly started any. Johnson was on top of him all the time.... (Johnson) didn't get gay at all with Jeffries in the beginning, and it was always the white man who clinched, but Johnson was very careful, and he backed away and took no chances, and was good-natured with it all ... The best man won, and I was one of the first to congratulate him, and also one of the first to extend my heartfelt sympathy to the beaten man.

Riots and aftermath

The LA Times noted the explosive nature of Johnson's victory by featuring this cartoon in which a stick of dynamite suggests that it would not have caused as much violence as the fight did.

The outcome of the fight triggered race riots that evening—the Fourth of July—all across the United States, from Texas and Colorado to New York and Washington, D.C. Johnson's victory over Jeffries had dashed white dreams of finding a "great white hope" to defeat him. Many whites felt humiliated by the defeat of Jeffries.

Blacks, on the other hand, were jubilant, and celebrated Johnson's great victory as a victory for racial advancement. Black poet William Waring Cuney later highlighted the black reaction to the fight in his poem "My Lord, What a Morning". Around the country, blacks held spontaneous parades and gathered in prayer meetings.

Race riots erupted in New York, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Atlanta, St. Louis, Little Rock and Houston. In all, riots occurred in more than 25 states and 50 cities. At least twenty people were killed across the US from the riots,[40] and hundreds more were injured.

Film of the bout

The Johnson–Jeffries Fight film received more public attention in the United States than any other film to date and for the next five years, until the release of The Birth of a Nation. In the United States, many states and cities banned the exhibition of the Johnson–Jeffries film. The movement to censor Johnson's victory took over the country within three days after the fight.

Two weeks after the match former President Theodore Roosevelt, an avid boxer and fan, wrote an article for The Outlook in which he supported banning not just moving pictures of boxing matches, but a complete ban on all prize fights in the US. He cited the "crookedness" and gambling that surrounded such contests and that moving pictures have "introduced a new method of money getting and of demoralization". The controversy surrounding the film directl motivated Congress to ban distribution of all prizefight films across state lines in 1912; the ban was lifted in 1940.

In 2005, the film of the Jeffries–Johnson "Fight of the Century" was entered into the United States National Film Registry as being worthy of preservation.

The six fights for which the major films were made, starring Johnson, were:

Johnson–Burns, released in 1908

Johnson–Ketchel, released in 1909

Johnson–Jeffries, released in 1910

Johnson–Flynn, released in 1912

Johnson–Moran, released in 1914

Johnson–Willard, released in 1915

Maintaining the color bar

The color bar remained in force even under Johnson. Once he was the world's heavyweight champ, Johnson did not fight a black opponent for the first five years of his reign. He denied matches to black heavyweights Joe Jeanette (one of his successors as colored heavyweight champ), Sam Langford (who beat Jeanette for the colored title), and the young Harry Wills, who was colored heavyweight champ during the last year of Johnson's reign as world's heavyweight champ.

Blacks were not given a chance at the title allegedly because Johnson felt that he could make more money fighting white boxers. In August 1913, as Johnson neared the end of his troubled reign as world heavyweight champ, there were rumors that he had agreed to fight Langford in Paris for the title, but it came to naught. Johnson said that Langford was unable to raise $30,000 for his guarantee.

Because black boxers with the exception of Johnson had been barred from fighting for the heavyweight championship because of racism, Johnson's refusal to fight African-Americans offended the African-American community, since the opportunity to fight top white boxers was rare. Jeanette criticized Johnson, saying, "Jack forgot about his old friends after he became champion and drew the color line against his own people."

Johnson v. Johnson

When Johnson finally agreed to take on a black opponent in late 1913, it was not Sam Langford, the current colored heavyweight champ, that he gave the title shot to. Instead, Johnson chose to take on Battling Jim Johnson, a lesser-known boxer who, in 1910, had lost to Langford and had a draw and loss via KO to Sam McVey, the former colored champ. Battling Jim fought former colored champ Joe Jeanette four times between July 19, 1912 and January 21, 1913 and lost all four fights. The only fighter of note who he did beat during that period was the future colored champ Big Bill Tate, whom he KO-ed in the second round of a scheduled 10-round bout. It was Tate's third pro fight.

In November 1913, the International Boxing Union had declared the world heavyweight title held by Jack Johnson to be vacant. The fight, scheduled for 10 rounds, was held on December 19, 1913 in Paris. It was the first time in history that two blacks had fought for the world heavyweight championship.

While the Johnson v. Johnson fight had been billed as a world heavyweight title match, in many ways, it resembled an exhibition. A sportswriter from the Indianapolis Star at the fight reported that the crowd became unruly when it was apparent that neither boxer was putting up a fight.

Jack Johnson, the heavyweight champion, and Battling Jim Johnson, another colored pugilist, of Galveston, Texas, met in a 10-round contest here tonight, which ended in a draw. The spectators loudly protested throughout that the men were not fighting, and demanded their money back. Many of them left the hall. The organizers of the fight explained the fiasco by asserting that Jack Johnson's left arm was broken in the third round. There is no confirmation of a report that Jack Johnson had been stabbed and no evidence at the ringside of such an accident. During the first three rounds he was obviously playing with his opponent. After that it was observed that he was only using his right hand. When the fight was over he complained that his arm had been injured. Doctors who made an examination, certified to a slight fracture of the radius of the left arm. The general opinion is that his arm was injured in a wrestling match early in the week, and that a blow tonight caused the fracture of the bone.

Because of the draw, Jack Johnson kept his championship. After the fight, he explained that his left arm was injured in the third round and he could not use it.

Title loss

A panorama of the Willard - Johnson fight, Havana, Cuba

On April 5, 1915, Johnson lost his title to Jess Willard, a working cowboy from Kansas who started boxing when he was twenty-seven years old. With a crowd of 25,000 at Oriental Park Racetrack in Havana, Cuba, Johnson was knocked out in the 26th round of the scheduled 45 round fight. Johnson, although having won almost every round, began to tire after the 20th round, and was visibly hurt by heavy body punches from Willard in rounds preceding the 26th-round knockout.

Johnson is said by many a year after the fight to have spread rumors that he took a dive. but Willard is widely regarded as having won the fight outright. Many people thought Johnson purposely threw the fight because Willard was white, in an effort to have his Mann Act charges dropped. Willard ironically responded, "If he was going to throw the fight, I wish he'd done it sooner. It was hotter than hell out there."

Post-championship

After losing his world heavyweight championship, Johnson never again fought for the colored heavyweight crown.[clarification needed] His popularity remained strong enough that he recorded for Ajax Records in the 1920s. Johnson continued fighting, but age was catching up with him. He fought professionally until 1938 at age 60 when he lost 7 of his last 9 bouts, losing his final fight to Walter Price by a 7th-round TKO. It is often suggested that any bouts after the age of 40—which was a very venerable age for boxing in those days—not be counted on his actual record, since he was performing in order to make a living.

He also indulged in what was known as "cellar" fighting, where the bouts, unadvertised, were fought for private audiences, usually in cellars, or other unrecognized places. There are photographs existing of one of these fights. Johnson made his final ring appearance at age 67 on November 27, 1945, fighting three one-minute exhibition rounds against two opponents, Joe Jeanette and John Ballcort, in a benefit fight card for U.S. War Bonds.

Boxing style

Throughout his career Johnson built a unique fighting style of his own, which was not customary in boxing during this time. Though he would typically strike first, he would fight defensively, waiting for his opponents to tire out, although becoming more aggressive as the rounds went on. He often fought to punish his opponents through the rounds rather than knocking them out, and would continuously dodge their punches. He would then quickly strike back with a blow of his own. Johnson often made his fights look effortless, and as if he had much more to offer, but when pushed he could also display some powerful moves and punches. There are films of his fights in which he can be seen holding up his opponent, who otherwise might have fallen, until he recovered.

Personal life

Jack Johnson, c. 1910–1915

Johnson earned considerable sums endorsing various products, including patent medicines, and had several expensive hobbies such as automobile racing and tailored clothing, as well as purchasing jewelry and furs for his wives. He challenged champion racer Barney Oldfield to a match auto race at the Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn dirt track. Oldfield easily out-distanced Johnson. Once, when he was pulled over for a $50 speeding ticket, he gave the officer a $100 bill; when the officer protested that he couldn't make change for that much, Johnson told him to keep the change as he was going to make his return trip at the same speed. In 1920, Johnson opened the Club Deluxe, a Black and Tan night club in Harlem; he sold it three years later to a gangster, Owney Madden, who renamed it the Cotton Club.

Johnson's behavior was looked down upon by the African-American community, especially by the black scholar Booker T. Washington who said it "is unfortunate that a man with money should use it in a way to injure his own people, in the eyes of those who are seeking to uplift his race and improve its conditions, I wish to say emphatically that Jack Johnson's actions did not meet my personal approval and I am sure they do not meet with the approval of the colored race."

Johnson flouted conventions regarding the social and economic "place" of blacks in American society. As a black man, he broke a powerful taboo in consorting with white women and would verbally taunt men (both white and black) inside and outside the ring. Asked the secret of his staying power by a reporter who had watched a succession of women parade into, and out of, the champion's hotel room, Johnson supposedly said "Eat jellied eels and think distant thoughts".

In 1911 Johnson, through an acquaintance, attempted to become a Freemason in Dundee. Although he was admitted as a member of the Forfar and Kincardine Lodge No 225 in the city, there was considerable opposition to his membership, principally on the grounds of his race, and the Forfarshire Lodge was suspended by the Grand Lodge of Scotland. Johnson's fees were returned to him and his admission was ruled illegal.

In July 1912, Johnson opened an interracial nightclub in Chicago called Café de Champion.

Johnson wrote two memoirs of his life: Mes combats in 1914 and Jack Johnson in the Ring and Out in 1927.

In 1943, Johnson attended at least one service at the Angelus Temple in Los Angeles, California. In a public conversion, while Detroit, Michigan, burned in race riots, he professed his faith to Christ in a service conducted by evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson. She embraced him as "he raised his hand in worship".

Marriages

Johnson with his wife Etta, who killed herself in 1912

Johnson engaged in various relationships including three documented marriages. All of his documented wives were white. At the height of his career, Johnson was excoriated by the press for his flashy lifestyle and for having married white women.

According to Johnson's 1927 autobiography, he married Mary Austin, a black woman from Galveston, Texas. No record exists of this marriage.

While in Philadelphia in 1903, Johnson met Clara Kerr, a black prostitute. According to Johnson's autobiography, Kerr left him for Johnson's friend, a racehorse trainer named William Bryant. They took Johnson's jewelry and clothing when they left. Johnson tracked the couple down and had Kerr arrested on burglary charges. Johnson and Kerr reconciled for a while before she left him again.

During a three-month tour of Australia in 1907, Johnson had a brief affair with Alma "Lola" Toy, a white woman from Sydney. Johnson confirmed to an American journalist that he intended to marry Toy. When The Referee printed Johnson's plans to marry Toy, it caused controversy in Sydney. Toy demanded a retraction and later won a libel lawsuit from the newspaper.

After returning from Australia, Johnson said that "the heartaches which Mary Austin and Clara Kerr caused me led me to forswear colored women and to determine that my lot henceforth would be cast only with white women."

Johnson met Etta Terry Duryea, a Brooklyn socialite and former wife of Clarence Duryea, at a car race in 1909. In 1910, Johnson hired a private investigator to follow Duryea after suspecting she was having an affair with his chauffeur. On Christmas Day, Johnson confronted Duryea and beat her to the point of hospitalization. They reconciled and were married on January 18, 1911. Prone to depression, her condition worsened due to Johnson's abuse and infidelity in addition to the hostile reaction to their interracial relationship. Duryea attempted suicide twice before she died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on September 11, 1912.

In the summer of 1912 Johnson met Lucille Cameron, an 18-year-old prostitute from Minneapolis who relocated to Chicago, at his nightclub Café de Champion. Johnson hired her as his stenographer, but shortly after Duryea's funeral they were out in public as a couple. They married on December 3, 1912, 3:00 in the afternoon. Cameron filed for divorce in 1924 due to his infidelity.

Johnson met Irene Pineau at the race track in Aurora, Illinois in 1924. After she divorced her husband the following year, they were married in Waukegan in August 1925. Johnson and Pineau were together until his death in 1946. When asked by a reporter at Johnson's funeral what she had loved about him, she replied: "I loved him because of his courage. He faced the world unafraid. There wasn't anybody or anything he feared."

Prison sentence

Johnson with his wife Lucille in 1921. Their relationship led to Johnson's first 1912 arrest.

On October 18, 1912, Johnson was arrested on the grounds that his relationship with Lucille Cameron violated the Mann Act against "transporting women across state lines for immoral purposes" due to her being an alleged prostitute. Her mother also swore that her daughter was insane. Cameron, soon to become his second wife, refused to cooperate and the case fell apart. Less than a month later, Johnson was arrested again on similar charges.

This time, the woman, another alleged prostitute named Belle Schreiber, with whom he had been involved in 1909 and 1910, testified against him. In the courtroom of Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the future Commissioner of Baseball who perpetuated the baseball color line until his death, Johnson was convicted by an all-white jury in June 1913, despite the fact that the incidents used to convict him took place before passage of the Mann Act. He was sentenced to a year and a day in prison.

Johnson skipped bail and left the country, joining Lucille in Montreal on June 25, before fleeing to France. To flee to Canada, Johnson posed as a member of a black baseball team. For the next seven years, they lived in exile in Europe, South America and Mexico. Johnson returned to the U.S. on July 20, 1920. He surrendered to federal agents at the Mexican border and was sent to the United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth to serve his sentence in September 1920. He was released on July 9, 1921.

Presidential pardon

There were recurring proposals to grant Johnson a posthumous presidential pardon before one was granted in 2018. A bill which requested that President George W. Bush pardon Johnson passed the House in 2008, but failed to pass in the Senate. In April 2009, Senator John McCain, along with Representative Peter King, film maker Ken Burns and Johnson's great-niece, Linda Haywood, requested a presidential pardon for Johnson from President Barack Obama. In July of that year, Congress passed a resolution calling on President Obama to issue a pardon.

In 2016, another petition for Johnson's pardon was issued by McCain, King, Senator Harry Reid and Congressman Gregory Meeks to President Obama, marking the 70th anniversary since the boxer's death. This time citing a provision of the Every Student Succeeds Act, signed by the president in December 2015, in which Congress expressed that this boxing great should receive a posthumous pardon, and a vote by the United States Commission on Civil Rights passed unanimously a week earlier in June 2016 to "right this century-old wrong."

Mike Tyson, Harry Reid and John McCain lent their support to the campaign, starting a Change.org petition asking President Obama to posthumously pardon the world's first African-American boxing champion for his racially motivated 1913 felony conviction.

After various attempts by the former WBC president, Jose Sulaiman, who reached out to presidential administrations dating back to Ronald Reagan's, in April 2018, President Donald Trump announced that he was considering granting a full pardon to Johnson after speaking with a World Boxing Council committee, along with actor Sylvester Stallone. Trump pardoned Johnson on May 24, 2018, 105 years after his conviction during a ceremony which included special guests Mauricio Sulaiman (WBC President), Hector Sulaiman (President of the Board of Advisors of Scholas Occurrentes), Sylvester Stallone (actor), Deontay Wilder (then current WBC Champion) and Lennox Lewis (WBC Former Champion).

Monkey wrench

A persistent hoax on social media claims that Johnson invented the monkey wrench and it was named a monkey wrench as a racial slur. Johnson received a patent for improvements which he made in the monkey wrench, but the first patent for a monkey wrench was awarded in the 1840s, around 30 years before he was born.

Death

Graves of boxer Jack Johnson and Etta

On June 10, 1946, Johnson was involved in a car crash on U.S. Highway 1 near Franklinton, North Carolina (36°5′41.96″N 78°27′40.81″W) after driving angrily away from a segregated diner which had refused to serve him His friend survived the high-speed collision with a telegraph pole but an injured Johnson was taken to the nearest black hospital, Saint Agnes Hospital, 25 miles away in Raleigh where he died. He was 68 years old.

Johnson was buried next to his first wife, Etta Duryea Johnson who died of suicide in 1912, at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago. His grave was initially unmarked, but later it was marked with a large stone which only bore the name "Johnson." This marker was replaced with a new marker after Ken Burns released a film about Johnson's life in 2005. Johnson's (new, smaller) gravestone reads [top] "Jack / John A. Johnson / 1878-1946" [front] "First black heavyweight / champion of the world". Johnson's signature is on the back of the stone.

Legacy

Jack Johnson Park -- Galveston

Jack Johnson Bronze Statue in Jack Johnson Park -- Galveston

Johnson was an inaugural 1954 inductee to The Ring magazine's Boxing Hall of Fame (disbanded in 1987), and was inducted to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1993. In 2005, the United States National Film Preservation Board deemed the film of the 1910 Johnson-Jeffries fight "historically significant" and put it in the National Film Registry.

During his boxing career, Jack Johnson fought 114 fights, winning 80 matches, 45 by knockouts. BoxRec ranked him among the world's 10 best heavyweights 12 times, and placed him at No.1 from 1905 to 1909.

In the short term, the boxing world reacted against Johnson's legacy. But Johnson foreshadowed one of the most famous boxers of all time, Muhammad Ali. In fact, Ali often spoke of how he was influenced by Jack Johnson. Ali identified with Johnson because he felt America ostracized him in the same manner because of his opposition to the Vietnam War and affiliation with the Nation of Islam.

In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Jack Johnson on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans.

In 2012, the City of Galveston dedicated a park in Johnson's memory as Galveston Island's most famous native son. The park, called Jack Johnson Park, includes a life-size, bronze statue of Johnson.

Popular culture

The first filmed fight of Johnson's career was his bout with Tommy Burns, which was turned into a contemporary documentary The Burns-Johnson Fight in 1908.

Folksinger and blues singer Lead Belly referenced Johnson in a song about the Titanic: "Jack Johnson wanna get on board, Captain said I ain't hauling no coal. Fare thee, Titanic, fare thee well. When Jack Johnson heard that mighty shock, mighta seen the man do the Eagle rock. Fare thee, Titanic, fare thee well" (The Eagle Rock was a popular dance at the time). In 1969, American folk singer Jaime Brockett reworked the Lead Belly song into a satirical talking blues called "The Legend of the S.S. Titanic." There is no convincing evidence that Johnson was in fact refused passage on the Titanic because of his race, as these songs allege.

Johnson's story is the basis of the play The Great White Hope and its 1970 film adaptation, starring James Earl Jones as "Jack Jefferson", and Jane Alexander as his love interest. Both Jones and Alexander won Tonys and were nominated for Oscars.

Also in 1970, Jimmy Jacobs and Bill Cayton brought together much of the rare archive footage of Johnson which they had saved and restored, and made the film Jack Johnson, with Johnson's words voiced by Brock Peters, and music by Miles Davis. Davis' score later became the 1971 album named after the boxer. It features the actor Peters (as Johnson) saying:

I'm Jack Johnson. Heavyweight champion of the world.

I'm black. They never let me forget it.

I'm black all right! I'll never let them forget it!

In 2005, filmmaker Ken Burns produced a two-part documentary about Johnson's life, Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson, based on the 2004 nonfiction book of the same name by Geoffrey C. Ward, and with music by Wynton Marsalis. The book won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year (2006).

Jack Johnson's life was the subject of a three-part series of the podcast History on Fire by historian Daniele Bolelli.

Several hip-hop activists have also reflected on Johnson's legacy, most notably in the album The New Danger, by Mos Def, in which songs like "Zimzallabim" and "Blue Black Jack" are devoted to the artist's pugilistic hero. Additionally, both Southern punk rock band This Bike is a Pipe Bomb and alternative country performer Tom Russell have songs dedicated to Johnson. Russell's piece is both a tribute and a biting indictment of the racism Johnson faced: "here comes Jack Johnson, like he owns the town, there's a lot of white Americans like to see a man go down ... like to see a black man drown." In Run the Jewels' 4th album (RTJ4) Killer Mike (Michael Render) reinvokes his image: "I'm Jack Johnson, I beat a slave-catcher snaggletooth." Tiger Flowers appears in the next line.

In the trenches of World War One, Johnson's name was used by British troops to describe the impact of German 150 mm heavy artillery shells which had a black color. In his letters home to his wife, Rupert Edward Inglis (1863–1916), a former rugby international who was a Forces Chaplain, describes passing through the town of Albert:

We went through the place today (2 October 1915) where the Virgin Statue at the top of the Church was hit by a shell in January. The statue was knocked over, but has never fallen, I sent you a picture of it. It really is a wonderful sight. It is incomprehensible how it can have stayed there, but I think it is now lower than when the photograph was taken, and no doubt will come down with the next gale. The Church and village are wrecked, there's a huge hole made by a Jack Johnson just outside the west door of the Church.

Jack Johnson was painted several times by Raymond Saunders.

In Joe R. Lansdale's short story The Big Blow, Johnson is featured fighting a white boxer brought in by Galveston, Texas's boxing fans to defeat the African American fighter during the 1900 Galveston Hurricane. The story won a Bram Stoker Award and was expanded into a novel.

Johnson is a major character in the novel The Killings of Stanley Ketchel (2005), by James Carlos Blake.

The Royale, a play by Marco Ramirez, uses the life of Jack Johnson as inspiration for its main character, Jay Jackson. It premiered in March 2016 at Lincoln Center Theater directed by Rachel Chavkin, and was nominated for a Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Play, Outstanding Director of a Play, and a Special Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble.

Jesse Owens

- Five-Time World Record Holder in Track

Born: 12 September 1913, Oakville, Alabama, United States

Died: 31 March 1980, Tucson, Arizona, United States

Jesse Owens

Photo: Getty Images

In his lifetime, Jesse Owens was widely considered the greatest track and field athlete in history.

On May 25, 1935, Owens, who was a student at Ohio State University, attended the Big Ten collegiate track conference in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and set a stunning five world records and equaled another in both sprints and long jump — all within 45 minutes.

Owens continued his supernatural winning streak at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, where he would emerge as the most decorated athlete, winning four gold medals.

How Jesse Owens Foiled Hitler's Plans for the 1936 Olympics
The African American track star hardly derailed Nazi plans for global disruption, but Jesse Owens did emerge as the standout figure of the Fuhrer's signature Olympic Games.
TIM OTT

In 1933, shortly after assuming power as chancellor of Germany, Adolf Hitler moved forward with plans to turn the 1936 Summer and Winter Olympics into showcases for his regime. He ordered the construction of a massive new stadium in Berlin and channeled funds toward the completion of an airport to welcome international visitors.

Additionally, the Summer Games were meant to be the first to reach audiences around the world via television, as well as the first to feature the now-traditional element of the Olympic torch relay.

Of course, while the Olympics are ostensibly designed to bring a multitude of races and cultures together in a spectacle of competition, the Fuhrer had little use for such notions of unification. In fact, he deliberately hurt his country's chances for success by keeping Jews out of athletic clubs and events, eliminating potential Olympic medalists like high-jumper Gretel Bergmann.

Hitler saw African American track stars as a threat

American runner Jesse Owens running in the 200-meter sprint, setting a new Olympic record, August 1936.

Austrian Archives/Imagno/Getty Images

Meanwhile, Jesse Owens had emerged as a track and field sensation in the States. He tied the world record in the 100-yard dash while still in high school, and his performance at the 1935 Big Ten Championships, in which he established three world records and matched a fourth over a span of 45 minutes, remains one of the most extraordinary accomplishments in collegiate sports history.

He wasn't the only African American athlete making waves. Ralph Metcalfe was a silver medalist at the 1932 Olympics and at one point shared the world record in the 100-meter dash.

And a Temple University sprinter named Eulace Peacock emerged as a highly formidable opponent to Owens, even beating him multiple times in head-to-head competition in 1935, before suffering a hamstring injury that squashed his 1936 Olympic hopes.

The United States almost boycotted the 1936 Olympics

Owens nearly didn't get the chance to make Olympic history. With American decision-makers aware of Hitler's discriminatory policies against Jews – but not yet aware of the scope of the horrors to come – a fierce debate raged about whether to boycott the 1936 games.

Amateur Athletic Union president Jeremiah Mahoney argued that participation amounted to support of the Third Reich, but he was outdone by the American Olympic Committee head Avery Brundage, who insisted that the Games were for the athletes and not the politicians.

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Like other elite Black athletes who grew up in an unequal society, Owens considered the moral stance against Germany to be hypocritical and wasn't inclined to surrender the chance to shine on a global stage. He eventually expressed his desire to compete in the Games, a position that drew the condemnation of African American publications and NAACP head Walter White.

Owens became the first American to win four gold medals in track and field

The gold, silver and bronze medal winners in the long jump competition salute from the victory stand at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. From left, Japan's Naoto Tajima (bronze), American Jesse Owens (gold) who set an Olympic record in the event and Germany's Luz Long (silver) giving a Nazi salute, August 8, 1936.

Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

From almost the get-go, Owens seized the reins as the star of the 1936 Summer Olympics. He coasted to a gold medal in his first event, the 100-meter dash, and followed with a highly publicized victory over German champion Luz Long in the long jump (an event embellished by the tall tale of Long offering advice to help his opponent win).

After setting an Olympic record in the 200-meter dash en route to a third gold medal, Owens put the exclamation point on his showing by running the opening leg of a record-shattering U.S. 4x100 relay performance. He became the first American of any race to win four gold medals in track and field in a single Olympics, an achievement that stood unaccompanied until Carl Lewis matched him in 1984.

Although it was largely reported that Hitler "snubbed" Owens for upstaging his prized Aryan athletes, in reality, he responded to a request to treat the winners equally and declined to publicly congratulate anyone after the first day of competition. Other reports indicated that the Fuhrer did salute Owens from afar, possibly influenced by the adoring reception the athlete received from fans.

Despite Hitler's snub, Owens left a global legacy

As with the so-called Hitler snub, the narrative of the 1936 Olympics has been softened and simplified over the years. Despite the accomplishments of Owens and his teammates, Germany could still claim athletic superiority by winning the most medals.

More crucially, the Games succeeded as a form of propaganda, spotlighting the Nazi Party as welcoming and orderly even as it was on the precipice of launching another war and exterminating millions of Jews.

On a personal level, the spotlight of the Olympics was an outlier in the career of Owens, who returned to the cold reality of being a Black man in Great Depression-era America. His commercial opportunities failing to materialize, he was forced to race against horses and take on other demeaning jobs for years, until finally catching a break as a government ambassador in the 1950s.

Still, the story of his triumphant showing in those Games endures. While he didn't halt the machinations of the Nazi regime, Owens undoubtedly stole the spotlight from the host country's zealous leader.

Furthermore, he showed that Black man could thrive with the eyes of the world upon him, an effort that paved the way for future African American sporting stars like baseball's Jackie Robinson, and pushed the door open a little wider for the civil rights movement to eventually emerge.

BY TIM OTT

Tim Ott has written for Biography and other A+E sites since 2012.

Jayant Rajora

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Inline Speed Skater

Citizenship India

Born November 6, 1994

Delhi, India

Education Post Graduate

Alma mater University of Delhi

Occupation Coach at Guru Training Academy

Years active 2006 - present

Employer Roller Skating Federation of India

Sport

Country India

Sport Speed Skating

Coached by Rahul Kaush

Achievements and titles

World finals World Roller Games 2017

Jayant Rajora is an Indian Inline Speed Skater who represented India in World Roller Games Championship 2017, held at Nanjing, China.

Early life & education

He has completed Graduation and Post Graduation from University of Delhi in sports science.

Competitions

Representing IndiaYearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes

2009 CBSE National Championship

2011 CBSE National Championship Jagran Public School, Noida 1st 500 mtr

2011 School National Championship Delhi 3rd 3,000 mtr

2012 School National Championship Delhi 2nd 3,000 mtr

2012 Senior National Championship Virar, Mumbai 3rd 3,000 mtr

2016 Senior National Championship Bangalore 3rd 20,000 mtr, Road Elimination

2017 World Roller Game China

Event specialty & performance

Track Elimination Race (15000 meters)

Track Points Race (10000 meters)

Road Elimination Race (20000 meters)

Road Points Race (10000 meters)

Medical history

Neuro-Surgery due to injury during training session, 2010

Tibial wound, 2018

Jaspal Parmar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jaspal Singh

Personal information

Full name Jaspal Parmar Singh

Date of birth 6 August 1984

Place of birth Hoshiarpur, Punjab, India

Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)

Position(s) Defender

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2006–2010 JCT

2010–2012 Salgaocar 36 (1)

2012–2013 East Bengal 0 (0)

National team

2011– India 3 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Jagpal Singh (born 6 August 1984, in Punjab) is an Indian football player who last played as a defender for East Bengal F.C. in the I-League

John Tavares

From Wikipedia

John Tavares

Tavares with the New York Islanders in 2018

Born September 20, 1990

Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

NHL team

Former teams Toronto Maple Leafs

New York Islanders

SC Bern

National team Canada

NHL Draft 1st overall, 2009

New York Islanders

Playing career 2009–present

John Tavares (born September 20, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected first overall by the New York Islanders in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, where he spent nine seasons and served as captain for five seasons.

Previously, Tavares competed at the major junior level as a member of the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) before being traded to the London Knights at the 2009 OHL trading deadline along with Michael Del Zotto. Tavares broke into the OHL after gaining "exceptional player" status at age 14, allowing the Generals to select him in the OHL Priority Draft as an underage player in 2005. Tavares was named the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Rookie of the Year in 2006 and CHL Player of the Year in 2007. In 2009, he finished the season with a career total of 215 goals, breaking Peter Lee's OHL record by two.

Tavares was the focus of an unsuccessful push to have the NHL's draft rules changed to allow him to participate in the 2008 Entry Draft, as well as an attempt to allow him to play in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a 17-year-old in 2007. Tavares was ranked as the top prospect for the 2009 Draft by both the NHL Central Scouting Bureau and International Scouting Services.

Tavares has represented Canada at five International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF)-sanctioned events, including the 2010 and 2011 World Championships. At the under-20 level, he won gold medals at the 2008 and 2009 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. He was named the most valuable player of the 2009 tournament after scoring eight goals and 15 points in six games. He also participated in the 2006 IIHF World U18 Championships, but failed to medal. Additionally, Tavares represented Team Ontario at the 2006 World U-17 Hockey Challenge and 2007 Super Series. On January 7, 2014, he was named to the 2014 Canadian Olympic Hockey Team, winning a gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics despite an injury preventing him from participating in the final two games.

Early career

Tavares was born on September 20, 1990 in Mississauga, Ontario, to Barbara and Joe Tavares, who are of Polish and Portuguese descent, respectively. His maternal grandparents, Bolesław and Josephine Kowal, immigrated from Poland to Sudbury, Ontario, and his paternal grandparents Manuel and Dorotea Tavares immigrated from Portugal to Toronto, Ontario. At a very young age, Tavares moved to Oakville, Ontario. This is where he was first exposed to minor hockey through the Minor Oaks Hockey Association. Tavares also played soccer and lacrosse, and his highly competitive nature often led him to fight with other players. Tavares excelled at lacrosse, following in the footsteps of his uncle John Tavares, the all-time scoring leader in the National Lacrosse League (NLL), and was a ball boy for his uncle's NLL team, the Buffalo Bandits. The younger Tavares credits his uncle with teaching him the importance of remaining unselfish, stating what he learned by following his uncle with the Bandits has made him better both as a person and a hockey player. Many skills he learned in lacrosse—such as spinning off checks and battling in traffic—transferred to ice hockey and improved Tavares' abilities as a goal scorer.

In Oakville, Tavares attended St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School.[5] He lived five minutes from Sam Gagner, who later signed a contract with the Edmonton Oilers, and the two quickly established a friendship. Gagner's father, former NHL player Dave Gagner, built a backyard ice rink on which Tavares spent much of his time honing ice hockey skills. In the OHL, Tavares placed an emphasis on his education, earning honours as well as the Oshawa Generals' Scholastic Player of the Year in 2007–08. Tavares also spends some of his time working with the Special Olympics.

Tavares showed such promise as a hockey player that when he was seven, his parents moved him up one age group and he began playing with older children. From there, he moved on to the Mississauga Braves of the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL). After playing the 1998–99 season with the Braves' novice team, Tavares moved to the Mississauga Senators of the GTHL the following season. With the Senators' AAA minor atom team, Tavares won the GTHL minor atom championship in the 1999–2000 season. Tavares eventually moved to the Toronto Marlboros of the GTHL. During the 2003–04 season Tavares was teammates with his friend Sam Gagner, and scored 95 goals and 187 points in 90 games to lead the Marlboros' bantam team to the 2004 Bantam AAA Provincial Hockey Championships, where the Marlboros defeated Drew Doughty and the London Jr. Knights 5–0 in the championship game. Tavares scored one goal in the game and was named the tournament's top forward. The following season, Tavares joined the Marlboros' minor midget team, where he recorded 91 goals and 158 points in 72 games. For his achievements, Tavares shared the Buck Houle Award with Bryan Cameron, "in recognition of outstanding on ice performance, leadership and loyalty". During this season, he also played 16 games with the Milton Icehawks of the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League (OPJHL), during which he recorded 11 goals and 23 points. Tavares' debut with the Icehawks came while he was only 13, making him one of the youngest players to ever play junior hockey.

Playing career

Junior

Tavares takes a face-off during the 2006–07 OHL season. During that season he was selected as an OHL representative for the ADT Canada-Russia Challenge.

Tavares petitioned to gain eligibility to play major junior in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in the spring of 2005. As OHL rules did not allow for players under age 15 to be drafted, the OHL introduced an "exceptional player" clause, allowing the 14-year-old Tavares to be drafted one year sooner than he would otherwise have been eligible. Consequently, Tavares is the youngest player to ever be drafted in the OHL, although Bobby Orr was signed and had played at a younger age. The Canadian Hockey League (CHL), the umbrella organization which governs major junior hockey in Canada, sent a proposal to Hockey Canada recommending that the rule be expanded across junior hockey, which eventually was granted. To date, only five other players—Aaron Ekblad, Connor McDavid, Sean Day, Joe Veleno and Shane Wright—have been granted the same status.

The Oshawa Generals held the first pick in the 2005 draft, and they selected Tavares, earning him the Jack Ferguson Award, which is given to the player picked first overall in the OHL Priority Selection. Tavares played his first OHL game on September 23, 2005, scoring his first OHL goal in a game held just three days after his 15th birthday. He showed he could play in the OHL immediately, scoring ten goals in his first nine games with the Generals, and finished the 2005–06 season with 77 points, including 45 goals. Tavares was named to the OHL's all-rookie team, and won both the Emms Family Award and CHL Rookie of the Year awards as the top first-year player in both the OHL and CHL respectively.

As a 16-year-old in 2006–07, Tavares was selected to represent the OHL for two games in January for the annual ADT Canada-Russia Challenge, including one game in Oshawa. Later that month, on January 25, 2007, Tavares registered a seven-point night in a 9–6 win against the Windsor Spitfires. He scored four goals and three assists, including his 50th goal of the season in his 44th game. Towards the end of the season, on March 16, 2007, Tavares recorded his 70th and 71st goals of the season, breaking Wayne Gretzky's OHL record for most goals by a 16-year-old. He was awarded the Red Tilson Trophy as the most outstanding player in the league, and named the CHL Player of the Year.

Tavares scored 40 goals in 59 games for the Generals during the 2007–08 season, while his 118 points was placed him third in OHL scoring. Tavares led the OHL in scoring until he missed several games to represent the Canada men's national junior ice hockey team at the 2008 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. As Tavares was participating in the 2009 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, it was speculated that the Generals were ready to trade him to the London Knights. Tavares' future with the Generals had been questioned since the beginning of the season as the Generals were not expected to seriously contend for the championship, while the Knights were among the league leaders. The deal was made official on January 8, 2009, as Oshawa sent Tavares, Michael Del Zotto and Darryl Borden to the Knights in exchange for Scott Valentine, Christian Thomas, Michael Zador and six draft picks.

Tavares with Oshawa Generals in November 2008. He was later traded to the London Knights in January 2009.

Tavares made his debut with the Knights on January 11 against the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors. Making his return to Oshawa at the 2009 CHL Top Prospects Game as captain of Team Orr, he recorded an assist in a 6–1 win over Team Cherry, but injured his shoulder after Zack Kassian of the Peterborough Petes checked him behind the net. On March 8, 2009, Tavares set the OHL goal-scoring record with his 214th goal, passing the previous record held by Peter Lee. The next day, he received his third OHL Player of the Week recognition of the season.

Professional

Although he was born five days after the September 15 cutoff date for eligibility in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, there was a significant effort made to allow Tavares into the Draft. Following his 72-goal campaign in 2006–07, Tavares' agents asked the NHL and NHL Players' Association (NHLPA) to make an exception for Tavares similar to the one the OHL had made in 2005. The attempt was unsuccessful and Tavares was required to wait until 2009 to participate in the NHL Entry Draft. In October 2007, it was reported that then-Toronto Maple Leafs general manager John Ferguson Jr. had offered the 17-year-old Tavares a spot with the team's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. However, like the NHL, the AHL declined to amend its by-laws and Tavares subsequently returned to the OHL.

The NHL International Scouting Services ranked Tavares as the top draft prospect in the world, ahead of defenceman Victor Hedman and forwards Magnus Pääjärvi-Svensson and Matt Duchene in its March 2009 update. The 2009 draft class was led by Tavares, who was selected first overall by the New York Islanders.

New York Islanders (2009–2018)

Tavares as a rookie with the New York Islanders in the 2009–10 season.

On July 15, 2009, Tavares signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Islanders. His first NHL game was in the pre-season in a game against the Edmonton Oilers. He spent 22 minutes and 50 seconds on the ice alongside linemates Doug Weight and Sean Bergenheim in the Islanders' 3–2 loss. Weight, a veteran NHLer, said, "John's going to be a big piece of [an Islander rebuilding effort]." Tavares scored his first career NHL goal and assist in his first ever professional game, scoring on a backhander against Marc-André Fleury of the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 3, 2009.

Tavares led NHL rookies in scoring throughout much of his first season. In December 2009, he scored five consecutive Islanders goals over a four-game span to tie the club record for most consecutive goals by one player. He scored an empty-net goal against the Atlanta Thrashers on December 3, and both Islanders goals on both December 9 against the Philadelphia Flyers and December 10 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The record was originally set by Bryan Trottier, when he scored five consecutive goals in a 1982 game against Philadelphia. On March 17, 2010, Tavares scored five points (two goals and three assists) in a 5–2 win over the Vancouver Canucks. At the end of the season, Tavares finished second in rookie scoring, behind Matt Duchene, with 54 points.

As New York opened up their season at home against the Dallas Stars on October 9, 2010, Tavares suffered a mild concussion late during the first period. The Stars' Adam Burish bumped into Tavares, and the latter was unable to return to the game. He scored his first career hat-trick on October 23, 2010, in a loss to the Florida Panthers. He then scored his second career NHL hat-trick, as well as his first career natural hat-trick, on January 15, 2011, in a win against the Buffalo Sabres.

Tavares in his second year as the Islanders' alternate captain. He was named to the position during the 2011–12 season.

On September 14, 2011, Tavares signed a new six-year, $33 million contract with the Islanders effective from the 2012–13 season through to the end of the 2017–18 season. After being held pointless in the first two games of the 2011–12 season, Tavares had back-to-back four-point games against the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers. From December 29, 2011, to January 21, 2012, Tavares had 21 points in a 12-game point streak, seven of which were multi-point games. He was selected to play in the 2012 NHL All-Star Game. In his first career All-Star Game, he recorded one goal and one assist. Additionally, during the 2011–12 season, Tavares was named as an alternate captain for New York.

Tavares played with Mark Streit in Switzerland for SC Bern while the 2012–13 NHL lock-out took place. During the shortened 2012–13 season, Tavares was third in the NHL with 28 goals. He helped the Islanders reach the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2007, scoring 47 points in 48 games. Tavares was also named a finalist for the 2013 Hart Memorial Trophy, awarded to the NHL's most valuable player, on May 10, 2013. Tavares scored his first career Stanley Cup playoff goal against Pittsburgh goaltender Marc-André Fleury in Game 3 of the 2013 playoffs. He would finish with three goals and five points in six games as the Islanders were eliminated by the Penguins.

On September 9, 2013, Tavares was named as the 14th captain in New York Islanders history, replacing former Islander Mark Streit of the Philadelphia Flyers, who served as team captain since 2011. On February 19, 2014, during the 2014 Winter Olympics, Tavares suffered a torn medial collateral ligament (MCL) and a torn meniscus in his knee during the quarterfinal game against Latvia, forcing him to miss the remainder of the Olympics as well as the remainder of the Islanders' season. At the time of his injury, Tavares ranked third in the NHL with 66 points in 59 games. The following season, he was selected for the 2015 NHL All-Star Game, along with teammate Jaroslav Halák. Tavares finished the 2014–15 NHL season as runner up for the Art Ross Trophy with 86 points, one point behind the recipient, Dallas Stars forward Jamie Benn. Additionally, Tavares was named a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy for the second time in his career; ultimately ceding the award to Carey Price.

Tavares during the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs.

On April 19, 2015, Tavares scored 15 seconds into overtime against Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals of the 2015 playoffs. The goal, which gave the Islanders a 2–1 victory, was the first game-winning overtime goal in the playoffs for the Islanders since 1993. Despite this, the Capitals won the series in seven games.

Tavares scored the first regular season goal for the Islanders at Barclays Center in a 3–2 overtime loss to the Chicago Blackhawks during the first game of the 2015–16 NHL season. On March 12, 2016, Tavares scored his 200th career NHL goal in a game against the Boston Bruins. That season, he was also named to the NHL All-Star Game for the third time in his career and was voted captain of the Metropolitan Division.

On April 24, 2016, Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Florida Panthers, trailing 1–0 in the final minute of play, assisted by Nikolay Kulemin and Nick Leddy, Tavares scored the game-tying goal off a loose puck in the crease with 53.2 seconds left in regulation. He finished the job by scoring the series-clinching goal in double overtime, winning a playoff series for the Islanders for the first time since 1993.

On January 13, 2017, in a game against Florida, Tavares scored his 500th NHL point in his 550th career NHL game, making him the first player from his draft class to reach the milestone.

Tavares during the 2017–18 season, his last with the Islanders.

Tavares' contract with the Islanders was set to expire following the completion of the 2017–18 season, during which he recorded 84 points in 82 games. With Tavares set to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career, he decided to test the free-agent market by meeting with six teams in the days leading up to the opening of the signing window on July 1, including a meeting with the Islanders to contemplate re-signing before hitting free agency. Although many analysts predicted that Tavares would sign a new contract with New York before he hit the open market, the re-sign deadline passed without a new contract being signed, and Tavares officially became a free agent at noon (EDT) on July 1. Many publications called Tavares the biggest free agent in the modern history of the NHL. Just before 1 pm, almost one hour into the free agency period, it became public knowledge that Tavares had informed the Islanders he would be leaving the team and signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Toronto Maple Leafs (2018–present)

On July 1, 2018, it was announced that Tavares had signed a seven-year, $77 million contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Tavares cited Toronto's chances as a Stanley Cup contender, as well as living out his childhood dream to play for his hometown team, as his reason for signing the contract. Tavares rejected higher-paying offers in favour of joining the Maple Leafs, such as the San Jose Sharks (one of the six teams vying for his services), who offered him a seven-year, $91 million contract. The Sharks' contract offer would have made Tavares the highest-paid player in the NHL. Tavares' decision to sign with the Maple Leafs proved to be divisive. Many were critical of the signing due to Tavares' decision to leave the Islanders despite the then-recent hirings of Hall of Fame general manager Lou Lamoriello and Stanley Cup-winning head coach Barry Trotz. Many argued Tavares abandoned the team that drafted him after coming to the conclusion he could not win with them, but others countered with the notion that the Islanders had never put competent rosters and management around Tavares to give him the chance to win, and by the time they attempted to change the culture of the organization with the Lamoriello and Trotz hirings, it was too late to change Tavares' mind. Regardless, the signing was, and continues to be, one of the most controversial free-agent signings in league history. Sentiment in the Islanders organization continued to be bitter regarding the signing, as evidenced by Tavares' former number with the Islanders, "91", being retired in honor of Butch Goring, in 2020.

In his debut for the Maple Leafs on October 4 against the Montreal Canadiens, Tavares scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 overtime win. On October 7, Tavares recorded his ninth career NHL hat-trick (and first for Toronto) in a 7–6 overtime victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. Tavares made his first return to Long Island to play the Islanders on February 28, 2019, in a highly-publicized, sold-out game. Tavares was relentlessly booed and heckled by Islanders fans throughout the match, including during his tribute video, and items were thrown at Tavares on the ice. The Islanders would win the game 6–1, scoring six unanswered goals after Toronto initially scored early in the game. On March 17, Tavares recorded his 700th career NHL point with his 40th goal of the season in a 6–2 loss to the Ottawa Senators; in scoring that goal, Tavares also became the third player in Maple Leaf history to record 40 goals in his first season with the team. On March 26, Tavares recorded his tenth career NHL hat-trick (and first four-goal game) in a 7–5 win over the Florida Panthers. In so doing, he became just the third player in modern team history (since 1943) to record multiple hat-tricks in his debut season with the club, following Wilf Paiement and Daniel Marois. In the Maple Leafs' next game against the Islanders, Tavares recorded his 87th point of the season (a new career-high and his first point against his former team) in the 2–1 win, which clinched a playoff berth for Toronto.

Prior to the 2019–20 season, Tavares was granted leave from the teams first pre-season game in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador to spend with his wife and newborn son. On October 2, 2019, just before the first game of the NHL season, Tavares was named the 25th captain in the history of the Maple Leafs, filling a position that had been vacant for more than 3+1⁄2 years.

On April 5, 2021, Tavares recorded his 800th career NHL point with an assist in the Maples Leafs' 5–3 win over the Calgary Flames.

On May 20, 2021, in the Leafs' opening Stanley Cup Playoff game against the Canadiens, Tavares was upended by Canadiens defencemen Ben Chiarot. While laying on the ice, Canadiens forward Corey Perry attempted to jump over Tavares' head, however, Perry's knee clipped Tavares in the head. Ultimately, Tavares was stretchered off the ice and was transported to the hospital. After the game, Perry felt remorse for his role on the incident: "I don’t know what else to do there. I tried to jump. I know Johnny pretty well and just hope he’s OK." Tavares was taken to St. Michael's Hospital, and was discharged the following day, but was ruled out indefinitely with concussion. In his absence, the Leafs would lose the series to the Canadiens in seven games, surrendering a 3–1 series lead in the process.

International play

Medal record

Representing Canada

Olympic Games

2014 Sochi

2008 Czech Republic

2009 Canada

Canada Cup / World Cup

2016 Toronto

Spengler Cup

2012 Davos

Junior

During his rookie season in the OHL, Tavares competed for Team Ontario in the 2006 World U-17 Hockey Challenge in Saskatchewan as a 15-year-old, but failed to medal. Later that year, at the end of the 2005–06 season, he was selected to join Canada's under-18 team for the 2006 IIHF World U18 Championships in Sweden, but failed to medal once more, falling to the Czech Republic in the bronze medal game. Later in the off-season, he was invited to the under-18 team's summer training camp to prepare for the 2006 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, though an injury ultimately prevented him from participating.

During the following season, Tavares was invited to Canada's national junior selection camp in preparation for the 2007 World Junior Championships, but was not named to the final roster. After completing his second OHL season, however, Tavares was named to the Canada's junior team for the 2007 Super Series against Russian junior players. He scored four goals and one assist as Canada won the series 7–0–1.

Tavares earned another invite to the selection camp for the 2008 World Junior Championships and made the final roster for the tournament on his second attempt. He scored four goals to help Canada to its fourth-straight gold medal in the competition. Returning the next year, along with Zach Boychuk, P. K. Subban and Thomas Hickey from the previous year's gold medal-winning team, Tavares was selected to compete in the 2009 World Junior Championships in Ottawa, Ontario. He scored three points in the first round-robin game against the Czech Republic, an 8–1 win, and was named Player of the Game. In the final round-robin game against the United States, Tavares scored a hat-trick for his 12th career goal of the tournament to tie Eric Lindros and Jeff Carter for the all-time Canadian junior record. In doing so, Tavares helped propel Canada to a 7–4 win that gave them the top spot in their pool and a subsequent bye to the tournament semifinal. He was also named Player of the Game for the second time in the tournament for his performance on the night. Meeting Russia in the semifinal and down 5–4 with less than ten seconds left in regulation, Tavares fought off two Russian players along the boards and backhanded a shot towards the goal. The shot was blocked by defenceman Dmitri Kulikov a few feet in front of the net, but after the puck came loose, teammate Jordan Eberle retrieved it and sent it into the right side of the net to dramatically tie the game with 5.4 seconds left. Then, as the game was forced into a shootout, Tavares scored to put Canada up 2–0 in the tie-breaker and into the gold medal game against Sweden. Recording an assist in the final, he helped Canada defeat the Swedes 5–1 to capture their fifth-straight gold medal. Tavares finished the tournament with eight goals and seven assists for 15 points in six games, second only to teammate Cody Hodgson in tournament scoring. Tavares was also named one of the top three players on the Canadian team by its coaching staff, as well as a tournament All-Star, Top Forward and MVP.

Senior

Tavares as a member of the Canadian ice hockey team during the 2012 Spengler Cup.

As the New York Islanders failed to qualify for the playoffs in Tavares' rookie season in the NHL, he was selected to the Canadian men's team for the 2010 IIHF World Championship in Germany. Canada General Manager Mark Messier made a specific effort to assemble a young team; as a result, Tavares was one of five teenagers on the final roster. With seven goals in seven games, Tavares led all tournament players in goal-scoring. Despite recording no assists, he ranked fifth in points. He helped Canada to the quarterfinal against Russia, where they were defeated 5–2.

The following year, Tavares returned to the national team for the 2011 IIHF World Championship in Slovakia. He improved to nine points over seven games with five goals and four assists to lead Canada in scoring; he ranked fifth among all tournament players for the second consecutive year. As Canada again reached the quarterfinal, they were eliminated once more by Russia, losing 2–1. Tavares was chosen by coaches as one of the three best players on Team Canada, along with defenceman Alex Pietrangelo and forward Andrew Ladd.

Tavares played for SC Bern in Switzerland during the 2012–13 NHL lock-out and quickly became the PostFinance Top Scorer, tallying 42 points—including 17 goals—in just 28 games. He also played for Team Canada at the 2012 Spengler Cup, which the nation ultimately won after defeating HC Davos in the final.

At the 2014 Winter Olympics, Tavares injured his knee in Canada's quarterfinal match, rendering him unable to play for the remainder of the tournament as well as the 2013–14 NHL season.

On 26 April 2019, it was announced that Tavares had committed to play for Team Canada at the 2019 IIHF World Championship in Slovakia. However, shortly before the first game of the tournament, it was announced on 9 May 2019 that Tavares had suffered an oblique injury and would be returning to Toronto.

Playing style

Tavares (left) races Olli Maatta for the puck during a game in the 2017–18 season.

Tavares has been praised by his coaches for his ability to anticipate the play since he joined the OHL. A lack of speed had been the most common criticism of Tavares' play, something he spent his junior career attempting to improve. Tavares' skating speed is something he greatly improved since turning professional, and he is now considered one of the NHL’s faster skaters.

The media hype he has encountered has led Tavares to remain guarded when speaking to the media, while his teammates and family attempt to shield him from the spotlight where they can. However, Tavares is regarded as a natural leader on the ice, and a player who puts his team first. The Oshawa Generals named Tavares their team captain in 2008, while he also served as the alternate captain with the Canadian junior team in 2009

Jose Canseco

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jose Canseco

Canseco in 2009

Outfielder / Designated hitter

Born: July 2, 1964

Havana, Cuba

Batted: Right

Threw: Right

MLB debut

September 2, 1985, for the Oakland Athletics

Last MLB appearance

October 6, 2001, for the Chicago White Sox

MLB statistics

Batting average .266

Home runs 462

Runs batted in 1,407

Teams

Oakland Athletics (1985–1992)

Texas Rangers (1992–1994)

Boston Red Sox (1995–1996)

Oakland Athletics (1997)

Toronto Blue Jays (1998)

Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1999–2000)

New York Yankees (2000)

Chicago White Sox (2001)

Career highlights and awards

6× All-Star (1986, 1988–1990, 1992, 1999)

2× World Series champion (1989, 2000)

AL MVP (1988)

AL Rookie of the Year (1986)

4× Silver Slugger Award (1988, 1990, 1991, 1998)

2× MLB home run leader (1988, 1991)

MLB RBI leader (1988)

José Canseco Capas Jr. (born July 2, 1964) is a Cuban-American former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder and designated hitter. During his time with the Oakland Athletics, he established himself as one of the premier power hitters in the game. He won the Rookie of the Year (1986), and Most Valuable Player award (1988), and was a six-time All-Star. Canseco is a two-time World Series champion with the Oakland A's (1989) and the New York Yankees (2000).

In 1988 Canseco became the first player to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in one season and won the Silver Slugger award four times: three as an AL outfielder (1988, 1990, 1991), and once as a designated hitter (1998). He ranks 4th all time in A's history with 254 home runs and is one of 14 players in MLB history with 400 home runs and 200 stolen bases. Despite his many injuries during the later part of his career, Canseco averaged 40 home runs, 120 RBIs and 102 runs scored every 162 games.

As of 2021, Canseco's 462 career home runs rank him 37th on the MLB all-time list, among active players, slugger Edwin Encarnacion is the closest to Canseco on the list, with 424 home runs. At one time Canseco was the all-time leader in home runs among Latino players; but was later surpassed by Manny Ramirez, Albert Pujols, David Ortiz, Carlos Delgado, Rafael Palmeiro, Alex Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa, and Miguel Cabrera. He was the first player to hit 30 home runs for four different teams: Oakland (1986–88, 1990, 1991), Texas (1994), Toronto (1998), and Tampa Bay (1999). This record was later surpassed by Fred McGriff and Gary Sheffield who did it for five different teams.

Canseco admitted using performance-enhancing drugs during his major-league playing career, and in 2005 wrote a tell-all book, Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big, in which he claimed that the vast majority of MLB players use steroids. After retiring from Major League Baseball, he also competed in boxing and mixed martial arts.

Although he has not played Major League Baseball since 2001, Canseco has played for numerous minor-league teams over the years, most recently in 2018, when he was 53 years of age, for the Normal CornBelters of the Independent Frontier League. In recent years, he has usually played just a few games per season, but in 2011, he played 64 out of 88 games for the Yuma Scorpions of the North American League. Canseco has played 30 seasons of professional baseball over a span of 36 years between 1982 and 2018.(Wikipedia)

JOSE CANSECO STATS

Jose Canseco was born on Thursday, July 2, 1964, in Havana, Cuba. Canseco was 21 years old when he broke into the big leagues on September 2, 1985, with the Oakland Athletics. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Jose Canseco baseball stats page.

"Oakland outfielder Jose Canseco is hitting .330 at home and .290 on the road, while first baseman Mark McGwire is hitting .258 at home and .290 on the road. Said Athletics Manager Tony La Russa: 'I think that's because McGwire's a married man. McGwire gets more rest on the road, and Canseco gets more rest at home.'" - McLemore, Ivy. Columnist. The Houston Post: Around the Majors. 5 June 1988.

Jose Canseco

Jose 'Parkway Joe' Canseco Autograph on a 1988 Donruss Baseball Card (#302)

Career All-Star Wild Card Division LCS World Series Trades Awards Videos Cards

Biographical Data

Birth Name: José Canseco (Twitter: @JoseCanseco)

Nickname: Parkway Joe

Born On: 07-02-1964 (Cancer)

Born In: Havana, Cuba

Died On: Still Living (500 Oldest Living)

Died In: Still Living

Cemetery: n/a

High School: Miami Coral Park High School (Miami, FL)

College: None Attended

Bats: Right Throws: Right

Height: 6-04 Weight: 240

First Game: 09-02-1985 (Age 21)

Last Game: 10-06-2001

Draft: 1982 : 15th Round (391st)

Early life

Canseco was born in Havana, Cuba, the son of Jose Sr. and Barbara Canseco. He has a twin brother Ozzie Canseco, who is also a former major league player. When Fidel Castro came into power in 1959, Jose Sr., a territory manager for the oil and gasoline corporation Esso as well as a part-time English teacher, lost his job and eventually his home. The family was allowed to leave Cuba in 1965, when the twins were barely 1 year old, and settled in the Miami area, where Jose Sr. became a territory manager for another oil and gasoline concern, Amoco, and a part-time security guard.

The younger Jose Canseco played baseball at Miami Coral Park High School, where he failed to make the varsity team until his senior year. He was named Most Valuable Player of the junior varsity team in his junior year, and of the varsity team the following year. He graduated in 1982.

Baseball career (1982–2001)

Minor League Baseball (1982–1985)

The Oakland Athletics drafted Canseco in the 15th round of the 1982 Major League Baseball draft. He made his professional baseball debut with the Miami Marlins of the Florida State League and also played Minor League Baseball with the Medford A's, Madison Muskies, Idaho Falls A's, and the Modesto A's, along with the Tacoma Tigers. Canseco started the 1985 season with the Class-AA Huntsville Stars and became known as "Parkway Jose" for his long home runs (25 in half a season) that went close to the Memorial Parkway behind Joe Davis Stadium.[2] Canseco was nicknamed "The Natural", with some analysts saying he was the best prospect since Willie Mays. Oakland A's hitting coach Bob Watson said that Canseco was a mixture of Roberto Clemente, Dale Murphy, and Reggie Jackson. Others touted Canseco as the next Mickey Mantle.

Major League Baseball (1985–2001)

Oakland Athletics (1985–92)

In 1985, Canseco won the Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year Award, and was a late season call-up for the Oakland Athletics. He made his Major League debut on September 2 and struck out in his one at-bat against the Baltimore Orioles. His first hit was off Ron Guidry of the New York Yankees on September 7. and his first home run was off Jeff Russell of the Texas Rangers on September 9. He played in 29 games in the major leagues in 1985. He established himself in 1986, his first full season, being named the American League's Rookie of the Year (the first by an Athletic since Harry Byrd in 1952 with what were then the Philadelphia Athletics), with 33 home runs and 117 RBIs. In 1987, Mark McGwire joined Canseco on the Athletics; McGwire hit 49 home runs that year and was also named the American League Rookie of the Year. Together, he and Canseco formed a fearsome offensive tandem, known as the "Bash Brothers". He followed his rookie season with an equal performance in 1987, his sophomore year. He improved his batting average from .240 in '86 to .257 in '87, hitting 31 home runs, 113 runs batted in (6th in the AL), 35 doubles (10th) in 691 at bats (9th), while missing only 3 games the entire season. He was also 5th in the league with 157 strike outs. He finished 23rd in the MVP ballot. He combined with Mark McGwire for a total of 80 home runs and 236 runs batted in, making the young tandem (Canseco was 22 years old and McGwire 23) the most dangerous in years to come, drawing comparisons to the likes of Mickey Mantle/Roger Maris and Hank Aaron/Eddie Mathews.

Canseco with the A's in 1989

In April 1988, Canseco guaranteed he would hit at least 40 home runs and steal at least 40 bases in the upcoming season. He went on to record 42 home runs and 40 steals becoming the first player in MLB history to hit the 40–40 mark in a single season (a fact unknown to him at that time). In recognition of his record, the street in front of his former high school was named after him but was later rescinded in 2008 after he admitted to previously using drugs throughout his career. That same year the Athletics swept the Boston Red Sox in 4 games in the ALCS, for the series Canseco had a .313 batting average with 3 home runs in 4 games. The A's met the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, a matchup that would feature the best hitter in the AL facing the best pitcher and eventual NL Cy Young Award winner Orel Hershiser, the Dodgers prevailed, upsetting the A's in five games. Canseco hit a grand slam in Game 1 on his first official World Series at-bat (second plate appearance, he was hit by a pitch in the first inning) but it would be his only hit in the Series. He was unanimously named the American League's Most Valuable Player in 1988, with a .307 batting average, 120 runs scored, 124 RBIs, 42 home runs a .569 Slugging Percentage and 40 stolen bases. He also won his first Silver Slugger Award and was a starter in the outfield in the all star game, batting cleanup.

In 1989, Canseco missed 97 games of the regular season, most of them because of a broken wrist during the preseason. Despite not playing a single game in the first half of year, he was voted as one of the starting outfielders for the American League All-Star squad. He managed to hit 17 home runs with 57 RBIs in barely 65 games played (an equivalent to 40+ home runs and 130+ RBIs had he played a full season) as the Athletics won the AL West and their first World Series since 1974, beating the San Francisco Giants in four games. Canseco had a solid postseason hitting for a .323 batting average and 2 home runs including one in the ALCS against the Blue Jays that reached the upper deck of the SkyDome. Against the Giants, in the World Series, he hit for a .357 average with a home run in Game 3. The 1989 Series was interrupted before Game 3 by a major earthquake in the San Francisco Bay Area.

As the reigning World Series Champs, the Oakland Athletics were favorites to repeat, and they were hopeful that Canseco would remain healthy throughout the 1990 season. Canseco started to have back problems, an issue that would become recurrent. Despite missing over 20 games due to injury during the first part of the season, he received a then-record 5-year, $23.5 million dollar contract, making him the highest paid player in Major League history. By the All Star Break, he had played only in 64 games, hitting .258 with 18 home runs (10 behind the American League leader Cecil Fielder). Despite a subpar first half, Canseco was voted to start in the All Star Game with the most votes in the American League. He finished 3rd in the league with 37 home runs, behind Fielder (52) and teammate Mark McGwire (39). In 131 games he had 101 runs batted in and 19 stolen bases. It was the 4th time in 5 years that he had 100+ RBIs. The Oakland A's won their division with a league-best 103 wins and were the favorites to win the World Series. Canseco had a discrete ALCS hitting .182 (2 for 11) with 5 strikeouts, but the A's swept the Boston Red Sox 4 games to 0, and moved on to play in their third World Series in a row, this time against the Cincinnati Reds. Canseco struggled both at the plate and in the outfield, missing on two key plays in game 2. In the same game, he had his only hit of the series, a 2-run home run against Danny Jackson. After going 0 for 4 in game 3, and 1 for 11 in the series, Canseco was benched in game 4. Manager Tony LaRussa cited Jose's sore back and injured middle finger as the reasons for taking him out of the lineup, but there was speculation that his own teammates requested LaRussa to bench Canseco due to his poor outfield performance. Down 2 runs to 1 and facing elimination in game 4, Canseco entered as a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the 9th, but he grounded out to third for the second out of the inning. One batter later, the Reds completed the sweep over a heavily-favored Oakland team. At the end of the year, Canseco won his second Silver Slugger award and finished 12th in the AL MVP ballot.

Canseco continued to be productive the following year; by the All-Star break of the '91 season he was leading the league with 21 home runs (tied with Cecil Fielder) and had 63 RBIs but inexplicably did not receive All-Star Game considerations by either the fans or as a back up, as his own A's skipper Tony LaRussa, managing the AL for the 3rd straight year, did not selected Jose as a substitute. Fans instead went with Athletics outfielder Dave Henderson, who had lesser offensive numbers than Jose, and LaRussa selected Kirby Puckett, Joe Carter and Ruben Sierra. Canseco not being selected by his own manager lead many to believe that the relationship between Canseco and LaRussa had started to deteriorate. His best month that season was July, hitting 10 home runs in 27 games (1 every 11.1 at bats) with a .315 batting average. He finished the 1991 season batting .266 with 44 home runs earning the second home run crown of his career (tied with Detroit's Cecil Fielder), 122 RBI, 26 stolen bases and a .556 slugging while finishing 4th in the MVP ballot. He won his 3rd Silver Slugger Award in 4 years. Towards the end of the season, there were mixed opinions from the Oakland fans in regards to Jose, some would boo him and some would cheer. On a home game on September 20th and after rumors that Jose was on his way out from Oakland, he received a standing ovation by the fans. Canseco responded with his 42nd home run of the season against the Toronto Blue Jays, tying his career-best. The Athletics however missed the playoffs for the first time in three years, finishing 4th in the AL West.

The Athletics returned to contention in 1992 and with 18 home runs by the All-Star break, Canseco was voted to start his 4th Mid Summer Classic in 5 years but he was unable to play due to injury and was replaced with Joe Carter.

From 1986 to 1992 with the A's and despite missing roughly 120 games between 1989 and 1990 and about 20 more during the first half of the 1992 season, Canseco averaged 32 home runs a year, had 100+ RBIs 5 times, also averaged 40 Home Runs, 125 RBI and 22 Stolen Bases per every 162 games played, captured AL Rookie of the Year honors, 2 home run titles, an MVP award, 3 Silver Slugger Awards, 3 American League Pennants, a World Series ring, and was selected to 5 All-Star Games in his first 7 full Major League seasons. His 7 career postseason home runs are the all-time record for the Athletics franchise (1901–2021)

Texas Rangers (1992–94)

On August 31, 1992, in the middle of a game and while Canseco was in the on-deck circle, the A's traded him to the Texas Rangers for Rubén Sierra, Jeff Russell, Bobby Witt, and cash. At the moment of the trade, the A's were leading the American League West Division by 6 1/2 games, and the Oakland front office was looking to fortify their pitching down the stretch. A's general manager Sandy Alderson announced the trade while the Athletics were still playing the Orioles that night. The trade caught fans, the media and people throughout Major League Baseball, as Canseco was considered at the time the best player, but also the most scrutinized. From 1986 until the date of the trade no other player had hit more home runs (226) in the major leagues. In Texas Canseco joined Latino stars Rafael Palmeiro, Juan González and Iván Rodríguez. He had a good start with the Rangers, hitting .367 (11 of 30) with 3 home runs and 11 RBI in his first 8 games, but had only 6 hits in his last 43 at bats (.140) and one home run. Despite injuries and the trade to the Rangers, Canseco managed to hit 26 home runs and had 87 runs batted in, playing 115 games in 1992 for the Athletics and the Rangers. From 1986 until the end of 1992 Canseco’s 230 home runs were the most by any major league player in that span.

On May 26, 1993, during a game against the Cleveland Indians, Carlos Martínez hit a fly ball that Canseco lost sight of as he was crossing the warning track. The ball hit him in the head and bounced over the wall for a home run. The cap Canseco was wearing on that play, which This Week in Baseball rated in 1998 as the greatest blooper of the show's first 21 years, is in the Seth Swirsky collection. After the incident, the Harrisburg Heat offered him a soccer contract. Three days later, Canseco asked his manager, Kevin Kennedy, to let him pitch the eighth inning of a runaway loss to the Boston Red Sox; in his inning-long appearance, he injured his arm, requiring Tommy John surgery and putting himself out of the lineup for the remainder of the season. In his pitching appearance, Canseco allowed three earned runs on two hits and three walks, throwing 33 pitches, but only 12 for strikes. He finished the '93 season hitting .256 with 10 home runs and 46 RBIs in 60 games.

In the 1994 strike-shortened season, Canseco again returned to his former status of a power hitter with 31 home runs and 90 RBIs in 111 games. Canseco also stole 15 bases and posted a .282 batting average. He was named The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year in 1994 and finished in 11th place in the American League Most Valuable Player voting.

Boston Red Sox (1995–1996)

After playing with the Rangers from 1992 to 1994, Canseco moved on to play with the Boston Red Sox in 1995 along with 1986 AL MVP Roger Clemens and Mo Vaughn, the MVP of the ‘95 season. The Red Sox captured the AL East Division title to advance to the ALDS, making it Canseco's first postseason in 5 years. The Red Sox were swept by the Cleveland Indians in the American League Division Series 3 games to 0. In Game 2, Canseco once again faced Orel Hershiser, going 0 for 3 with a Strikeout. Dating back to the ‘88 World Series, Canseco was 0 for 11 with 3 strikeouts against Hershiser, lifetime in 3 postseason matchups. During the regular season, he hit 24 home runs with a .306 batting average, his highest since 1988. His last home run of the '95 season against Jesse Orosco was the 300th of his career.

Canseco had a great first half to the 1996 season, hitting 26 home runs by the All-Star break (3rd in the league at that point), but he was sidelined during August and part of September due to a back injury. He finished the season with a .289/.400/.589 slash line with 28 home runs, 82 runs batted in and 22 doubles in 96 games.

Although he was productive when he was in the lineup, Canseco missed over 100 games during his 2-year tenure with Boston, playing 102 and 96 games in the ‘95 and ‘96 seasons. He averaged 43 home runs, 134 RBIs, 108 runs, 39 doubles and a .289 batting average per every 162 games played with the Red Sox.

Return to Oakland (1997)

In January 1997, he was traded to the Oakland Athletics, reuniting him with Bash Brother Mark McGwire. Health-wise, he had a promising start to the season, playing in 83 games in the first half with 18 home runs by the All-Star break but he suffered a back injury yet again. In his book Juiced, Canseco mentioned that upon his return from injury during the '97 season, he was informed by manager Art Howe that the front office instructed him not to play Canseco to prevent him from getting the minimum plate appearances that would trigger the renewal of his contract for the following year.

Canseco's 23 home runs that season gave him a total of 254 in an A's uniform, placing him 4th in franchise history.

Toronto Blue Jays (1998)

After signing a one-year/$3.8 million contract, Canseco had a productive season again with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1998 playing alongside former Red Sox teammate Roger Clemens. For the first time in his career he wore a number other than his traditional #33, switching to #44 for the first part of the season (long-time Blue Jay and World Series hero Ed Sprague wore #33 for the Jays until he was traded later in the '98 season). He finished the season playing 151 games, his highest in 8 years. Splitting duties as DH and in the outfield, he hit a career-high 46 home runs, 3rd best in the AL, and stole 29 bases, the most he had stolen since the 40 he stole in 1988. He also led the league in strikeouts with 159. He won the AL Silver Slugger award (4th of his career) but his comeback was missed by most fans because of the home run race in the National League between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.

Final seasons (1999–2001)

Despite hitting a career-high 46 home runs in 1998, Canseco drew minimal attention in the free agent market. In 1999, he signed a three-year contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The contract included a clause stating that if Canseco were to be elected to the Hall of Fame he would be depicted as a member of the Devil Rays. That year he took the American League by storm, hitting 10 home runs in April, and leading the AL with 31 by the All-Star break, including number 400 for his career against Toronto's Kelvim Escobar. On pace for 60+ homers for the season, he was voted to the AL All-Star team as the starting DH for the American League, making his first All Star selection in 7 years. At that point, Canseco was the 14th player in MLB history to hit 30+ Home Runs before the All Star Break (After Shohei Ohtani did it in 2021, he's now 1 of 31 players to do so) However, he injured his back days before the mid-summer classic and missed the game, as well as the Home Run Derby in Fenway Park. He finished the season with 34 home runs for the 1999 season.

Despite missing around 350 games due to injury, by the end of 1999 Canseco had a total of 303 home runs (in 1145 games), which placed him 8th in the majors for the 90’s decade.

In February 2000 before the start of spring training for the following MLB season, Canseco played in the MLBPA organized Big League Challenge home run derby in Las Vegas at Cashman Field. He competed against a field of 12 that included notable sluggers such as Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Mike Piazza Canseco won the tournament, defeating Rafael Palmeiro in the final.

Canseco began the 2000 season with the Devil Rays, hitting only 9 home runs in 61 games, and, by August, was claimed off waivers by the New York Yankees, which caught many, including Yankees manager Joe Torre, off guard, as the Yankees had four other players who fulfilled a similar role as Canseco, such as Dave Justice and Glenallen Hill. Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman made the claim to prevent the Athletics, Red Sox and Blue Jays, who were in a close race with the Yankees, from acquiring Canseco.

In a lesser role, splitting duties as an outfielder, DH and pinch hitter, Canseco played in 37 games hitting .243 with 6 home runs. He struck out in his only plate appearance in the 2000 World Series against the New York Mets, but earned his second World Series ring when they defeated the Mets in five games. Despite this achievement Canseco later called his Yankees tenure "the worst time of [his] life" due to receiving limited playing time. His short stint with the Yankees marked the third time he was Roger Clemens's teammate, a fact later magnified by the media due to the steroid controversy, the Mitchell Report and the infamous pool party at Canseco's house two years prior while both played with the Blue Jays.

The Anaheim Angels cut Canseco in spring training in 2001. Coincidentally, he lost the DH spot to Glenallen Hill, with whom he shared at-bats with the Yankees. (Hill finished the season hitting .136, with 1 Home Run in 16 games). He spent half of the season with the Newark Bears of the independent Atlantic League before joining the Chicago White Sox. As the White Sox DH, he finished the season with 16 home runs and 49 RBI in only 76 games (a rate of 34 home runs and 104 RBIs had he played the entire season), including the last multi-home run game of his career against the Kansas City Royals on August 1. His 462nd and final career home run came against Mike Mussina of the New York Yankees. In 2002, Canseco was signed by the Montreal Expos, at that time owned by Major League Baseball and had Omar Minaya as General Manager and Frank Robinson as Manager. He was expected to be their left fielder, and DH during inter-league play, in what would have been Canseco's first time playing for a National League team; however, he was again released prior to the regular season beginning, this time on March 27. Opening Day was scheduled to be March 31. With very little time before the season started, Canseco did not find a team looking for a DH and signed a minor league contract with the White Sox, but did not appear in a major league game for the 2002 season.

38 home runs shy of 500 for his career, Canseco officially retired from Major League Baseball in May 2002 after spending some time playing for the White Sox Triple-A affiliate Charlotte Knights. He made a brief comeback attempt in 2004, but was not offered a spot with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Independent League career (2006–present)

Canseco pitching for the Yuma Scorpions

On June 29, 2006, the independent Golden Baseball League announced Canseco had agreed to a one-year contract to play with the San Diego Surf Dawgs. The League said Canseco had agreed to be subjected to its drug-testing policy "that immediately expels any players found using steroids or illegal drugs." After playing one game for the Surf Dawgs, Canseco was traded to the Long Beach Armada on July 5, 2006. He requested the trade due to "family obligations." On July 31, 2006, Canseco won the Golden Baseball League's Home Run Derby.

Canseco signed a short team deal with the Laredo Broncos of the United Baseball League on August 14, 2010. He served as bench coach and designated hitter.

On April 11, 2011, Canseco signed a deal as a player/manager for the Yuma Scorpions of the North American League. At the age of 46, he played 64 out of 88 games and batted .258 with 8 home runs and 46 RBI. He was not the oldest player on the team: his twin brother Ozzie appeared in 12 games, mostly as a designated hitter, and 52-year-old Tony Phillips appeared in 24 games, mostly as a third baseman.

Canseco joined the Quintana Roo Tigres of the Mexican League in 2012, but was reportedly banned for using testosterone.

On April 20, 2012, the Worcester Tornadoes, of the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, announced that they had signed Canseco to a one-season contract for a salary of one thousand dollars a month. In the beginning of August 2012, Canseco left the Tornadoes due to concerns of not receiving his salary, a conflict which led him to sue the team. Canseco quickly signed with the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings of the North American League. However, his debut was delayed due to a family emergency.

In early 2013 Canseco played in the Texas Winter League but was only 3 for 16 at the plate. He signed with the Fort Worth Cats of the United League to start the 2013 season.

In 2015, 2016 and 2017, Canseco had short playing stints in the Pacific Association, mostly with the Pittsburg Diamonds. He played three games for the Frontier League's Normal CornBelters in 2018.

Amateur Adult Baseball (2011 and 2016)

In March 2011, Canseco played a few games with the Valley Rays in the Pacific Coast Baseball League in Los Angeles.

In May 2016, Canseco made an appearance for the SoCal Glory in the 35+ MSBL Las Vegas Open – National Tournament.

Performance-enhancing drugs

In 2005, Canseco admitted to using anabolic steroids with Jorge Delgado, Damaso Moreno, and Manuel Collado in a tell-all book, Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big. Canseco also claimed that up to 85% of major league players took steroids, a figure disputed by many in the game. In the book, Canseco specifically identified former teammates Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Jason Giambi, Iván Rodríguez, and Juan González as fellow steroid users, and admitted that he injected them. Most of the players named in the book initially denied steroid use, though Giambi admitted to steroid use in testimony before a grand jury investigating the BALCO case and on January 11, 2010, McGwire admitted publicly to using steroids.

At a Congressional hearing on the subject of steroids in sports, Palmeiro categorically denied using performance-enhancing drugs, while McGwire repeatedly refused to answer questions on his own suspected use, saying he "didn't want to talk about the past." Canseco's book became a New York Times bestseller. On August 1, 2005, Palmeiro was suspended for 10 days by Major League Baseball after testing positive for steroids.

On December 13, 2007, José Canseco and Jorge Delgado were cited in the Mitchell Report (The Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation into the Illegal Use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball). On December 20, 2007, Canseco was also named in Jason Grimsley's unsealed affidavit as a user of steroids. Canseco and Grimsley were teammates on the 2000 New York Yankees.

On December 30, 2007, it was announced that Canseco had reached a deal for his sequel to Juiced. The sequel is titled Vindicated, which hit bookstores by Opening Day 2008. This book has information on Alex Rodriguez and Albert Belle, as suggested by Canseco. The book was a "clarification" of names that should've been mentioned in the Mitchell Report.

In 2010 Canseco spoke out against PEDs that was covered by ESPN and other news outlets by advocating baseball's youth to not try them and criticized their effectiveness overall:

"These kids don't need steroids to become players... we overemphasize the steroids and not the athletic ability and skills of these people. We're taking away the hard work the athlete puts in and saying he became great just because of steroids. Let me give you a perfect example. I have an identical twin brother, Ozzie. He is the closest thing to me genetically. And in my prime I was a super athlete". "My twin brother used the same chemicals, same workouts, the same nutrition. Why didn't he make it in the big leagues? That is the perfect example that we are giving steroids way too much credit. If steroids are that great it would have made him a superstar."

In a 2012 Sportsnet Interview article, Canseco said one of his only seasons without performance-enhancing drugs was in 1998 with the Toronto Blue Jays because he was in the process of a divorce and "didn't want to use steroids while handling breakup-induced depression".

Outside baseball

While still a player, he was a guest star on The Simpsons and Nash Bridges. Since his retirement, Canseco has appeared on Late Show with David Letterman, 60 Minutes, The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, "Boomer and Carton", Howard Stern, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, CMI: The Chris Myers Interview, and Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List. In 2003, he was featured in the reality-TV special Stripper's Ball: Jenna Jameson with Dennis Rodman and Magic Johnson. He was a cast member in Season 5 of The Surreal Life with Janice Dickinson, Pepa of Salt-N-Pepa, Bronson Pinchot, Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth, Caprice Bourret, and Carey Hart. Canseco has a film cameo playing himself in the 2017 basketball drama Slamma Jamma as a judge in a slam dunk competition.

In 2007, he received 6 Hall of Fame votes. This accounted for 1.1% of the ballots, failing to reach the 5% threshold necessary to stay on the ballot for another year. However, he can be elected to the Hall of Fame by the Committee of Baseball Veterans.

In May 2008, Philadelphia sportscaster and former NFL football player Vai Sikahema accepted a challenge from Canseco to fight him for $30,000. Canseco claims to have earned black belts in kung fu and taekwondo, while Sikahema fought in the Golden Gloves tournament won by Sugar Ray Leonard. The fight took place on July 12 in Atlantic City at the Bernie Robbins stadium. The 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Sikahema knocked out the 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Canseco in the first round.

On January 24, 2009, Canseco fought radio personality and former child actor Danny Bonaduce in Aston Township, Pennsylvania; the three-round match ended in a majority draw.

Canseco claims to hold black belts in karate and taekwondo, and to practice Muay Thai, as well as describing himself as "an expert with nunchakus". He made his mixed martial arts debut at Dream 9 on May 26, 2009, where he fought 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) kickboxer Hong-man Choi as part of Dream's Super Hulk Tournament. Canseco would lose the fight after slipping, and tapping out to Choi's ground and pound.

On November 6, 2009, Canseco defeated Todd Poulton in a Celebrity Boxing Federation bout in Springfield, Massachusetts. As of December 2010, he had launched a Twitter campaign in hopes of getting invited to spring training by Mets GM Sandy Alderson.

Beginning March 6, 2011, Canseco was a contestant on The Celebrity Apprentice. He quit the show on the April 3, 2011, citing his father's ailing health. Canseco later announced on Twitter that his father died shortly after he left the show. Canseco did earn $25,000 for his charity, the Baseball Assistance Team.

In 2012, Canseco accepted a home run derby challenge by Canadian Twitter user Evan Malamud, father of an autistic child, as part of a fundraiser for an initiative called Home Runs For Autism. Canseco still remains active with the charity as their spokesperson.

He is also a columnist for Vice magazine.

Lane Patorti and Edward Stoney Landon finished a reality show concept based on former professional athletes being placed into smalltown sports leagues. TMZ reported Canseco was in talks to star in the show, A League of His Own.

In May 2013, Canseco provided the foreword to the novel Air Force Gator 2: Scales of Justice by Dan Ryckert. In it, he claims the book about the alcoholic alligator pilot is a "weakly veiled" metaphor for his own life.

On October 28, 2014, Canseco accidentally shot himself on his left hand injuring one of his fingers while attempting to clean his gun at home in Las Vegas. After having surgery performed he was able to recover the full use of the hand.

Canseco was also portrayed by Andy Samberg in The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience alongside Mark McGwire (portrayed by Akiva Schaffer). The visual poem describes the two baseball players' careers and rampant steroid use in the 1980s.

On October 26, 2019, Canseco opened up his own car wash in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he signs autographs every Wednesday.

Canseco fought Billy Football from Barstool Sports in a boxing match on February 5, 2021, and was knocked out in the first round.

Legal issues and controversies

On February 10, 1989, Canseco was arrested in Florida for reckless driving after allegedly leading an officer on a 15-mile chase. He was found guilty and fined $500.

On April 11, 1989, Canseco was arrested in California for carrying a loaded semi-automatic pistol in his car. He was released on $2,500 bail and pleaded no contest.

On February 13, 1992, Canseco was charged with aggravated battery for ramming his Porsche into a BMW driven by his then-wife Esther Canseco after a verbal altercation. On March 19, 1992, Canseco pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated assault and later underwent counseling and fulfilled a community-service requirement.

In November 1997, Canseco was arrested for beating his then-wife Jessica Canseco. In January 1998, he pleaded no contest and was sentenced to one year of probation and required to attend counseling.

In October 2001, Canseco and his brother, Ozzie, got into a fight with two men at a Miami Beach nightclub that left one man with a broken nose and another needing 20 stitches in his lip; both were charged with two counts of aggravated battery. The brothers both pleaded guilty and received both probation and community service.

Following his retirement in May 2002, Canseco speculated about having been "blackballed" from Major League Baseball; it was then he announced he was writing a tell-all book about his baseball career and the increasing usage of anabolic steroids in baseball.

In March 2003, Canseco missed a court appearance while in California working out a custody dispute over his 6-year-old. The judge revoked his probation and sentenced him to two years under house arrest followed by three years' probation.

In June 2003, Canseco was arrested at his home for probation violation after he tested positive for steroids. Canseco spent a month in jail without bail.

In May 2008, Canseco revealed that he had lost his house in Encino, California to foreclosure saying his two divorces had cost him $7 to $8 million each.

On October 10, 2008, Canseco was detained by immigration officials at a San Diego border crossing as he tried to bring a fertility drug from Mexico. He stated the drug was to help with his hormone replacement therapy, needed due to his use of steroids. On November 4, 2008, Canseco pleaded guilty in Federal court and was sentenced to 12 months' unsupervised probation by U.S. Magistrate Judge Ruben B. Brooks.

The 2008 A&E Network documentary Jose Canseco: Last Shot chronicles Canseco's attempts to end his steroid use. In it he also regrets ever writing his tell-all books and naming former teammates as steroid users, as he was never given the opportunity to participate in MLB-affiliated baseball. Since, he has tried unsuccessfully to reach out to former Bash Brother Mark McGwire and other ex-teammates. In 2014, he returned to the Oakland Coliseum to take part in the reunion celebrating the 25th anniversary of the 1989 World Series championship team; this marked the first time Canseco took part in an official Major League Baseball event in almost 13 years. Mark McGwire, at the time coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers, did not attend the event.

On May 22, 2013, Canseco was named as a suspect in a rape allegation in Las Vegas. He broke the news himself on Twitter, denying the allegations and posting pictures and defamatory information about his accuser. On June 7, 2013, Canseco was cleared of any wrongdoing following an investigation. He was never charged.

Jhano Hansdah

Archer

QUICK FACTS

Date of Birth October 24, 1975

Place of Birth

Country India

Religion Not Available

Age 46 Years, 0 Months, 11 Days

Horoscope

Jhano Hansdah Birthday Countdown

Jhano Hansdah net worth, birthday, age, height, weight, wiki, fact 2020-21! In this article, we will discover how old is Jhano Hansdah? Who is Jhano Hansdah dating now & how much money does Jhano Hansdah have?

Jhano Hansdah Biography

Jhano Hansdah (born (1975-10-24 ) 24 October 1975) is an Indian female compound archer and part of the national team. She competed at the 2013 World Archery Championships.

Jhano Hansdah Net Worth

Jhano Hansdah is one of the richest Archer & listed on most popular Archer. According to our analysis, Wikipedia, Forbes & Business Insider, Jhano Hansdah net worth is approximately $1.5 Million.

JHANO HANSDAH NET WORTH & SALARY

Net Worth $1.5 Million

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Facts & Trivia

Ranked on the list of most popular Archer. Also ranked in the elit list of famous celebrity born in India. Jhano Hansdah celebrates birthday on October 24 of every year.

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Jauna Murmu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jauna Murmu

Personal information

Full name Jauna Murmu

Nationality India

Born August 16, 1990

Mayurbhanj, Odisha, India

Sport

Country India

Sport Sprinter, Hurdler

Event(s) 400 metres, 400 metre hurdles

2016 Guwahati 400m Hurdles

Jauna Murmu (born 16 August 1990) is an Indian sprint runner and hurdler from Odisha who specializes in 400 metres and 400 metres hurdles. She belongs to Mayurbhanj District of Odisha. She has received coaching from Arun Kumar Das and Subash Chandra Dasmohapatra. She is presently employed by with ONGC

Achievements

She has multiple International and national achievements.

International

Finished 4th in 400m hurdles in 2010 Asian Games held in Guangzhou, China.

Won one gold medal in women’s 400 metre hurdles event, clocking 57.39 seconds and claimed one bronze in 400 metres sprint with a timing of 53.17 seconds in the 3rd Asian All Star Athletics Meet, which concluded at New Delhi on July 30, 2010.

Two gold medals in the 2016 South Asian Games: in the 400m hurdles and the 4 × 400 m relay.

National

Won the silver medal in women's 400m event of the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championship, clocking 52.78 seconds at Patiala, Punjab on August 6, 2010.

Doping

Murmu tested positive for the anabolic steroid Methandienone in an out of competition test 25 May 2011 and was subsequently handed a two-year doping ban

Kalpana Devi Thoudam

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kalpana Devi Thoudam

Full name Kalpana Devi Thoudam

Born 24 December 1989

Imphal East, Manipur, India

Women's Judo

Representing India

New York City, New York

2014 Glasgow –52 kg

Updated on 25 July 2014.

Kalpana Devi Thoudam (born 24 December 1989) is an Indian judoka, born in Imphal East, Manipur. She won the bronze medal in the women's 52 kg weight class at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.

Career

In her career as a judoka, Thoudam won a silver at the sub-junior national championship in Guwahati in 1998. She then won four gold medals at the junior national championships and one gold at junior Asian judo championship. In 2007, she placed second at the Asian U20 Championships, held in Hyderabad. In 2010, she won a bronze at the International Judo Federation World Cup in Tashkent. In the same year, she won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Judo Championships in Singapore. In 2013, she became the first Indian to win a medal at the IJF Grand Prix in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, when she won a bronze medal. She defeated Zarifa Sultanova of Uzbekistan, but lost to Israeli Gili Cohen. In the repechage round she defeated Raquel Silva from Brazil. Additionally, she has served as the Head Constable of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police.

In the 2014 Commonwealth Games, she won bronze in the 52 kg weight class. She has also won gold medals at the Indian Championships in 2017 and 2018, held in Chennai and Jammu, respectively.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Abdul-Jabbar in 2014

Personal information

Born April 16, 1947

Nationality American

Listed height 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)

Listed weight 225 lb (102 kg)

Career information

High school Power Memorial

(Manhattan, New York)

College UCLA (1966–1969)

NBA draft 1969 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1st overall

Selected by the Milwaukee Bucks

Playing career 1969–1989

Position Center

Number 33

Coaching career 1998–2011

Career history

As player:

1969–1975 Milwaukee Bucks

1975–1989 Los Angeles Lakers

As coach:

1998–1999 Alchesay HS (assistant)

2000 Los Angeles Clippers (assistant)

2002 Oklahoma Storm

2005–2011 Los Angeles Lakers (assistant)

As head coach:

USBL champion (2002)

As assistant coach:

2× NBA champion (2009, 2010)

Career NBA statistics

Points 38,387 (24.6 ppg)

Rebounds 17,440 (11.2 rpg)

Assists 5,660 (3.6 apg)

Stats at NBA.com

Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Basketball Hall of Fame as player

College Basketball Hall of Fame

Inducted in 2006

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr.; April 16, 1947) is an American former professional basketball player who played 20 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers. During his career as a center, Abdul-Jabbar was a record six-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), a record 19-time NBA All-Star, a 15-time All-NBA selection, and an 11-time NBA All-Defensive Team member. A member of six NBA championship teams as a player and two more as an assistant coach, Abdul-Jabbar twice was voted NBA Finals MVP. In 1996, he was honored as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. NBA coach Pat Riley and players Isiah Thomas and Julius Erving called him the greatest basketball player of all time.

With him on the team, parochial high school Power Memorial, in New York City, won 71 consecutive basketball games. He was recruited by Jerry Norman, the assistant coach at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he played for coach John Wooden on three consecutive national championship teams. He was a record three-time MVP of the NCAA Tournament. Drafted with the first overall pick by the one-season-old Bucks franchise in the 1969 NBA draft, Alcindor spent six seasons in Milwaukee. After leading the Bucks to its first NBA championship at age 24 in 1971, he took the Muslim name Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Using his trademark "skyhook" shot, he established himself as one of the league's top scorers. In 1975, he was traded to the Lakers, with whom he played the final 14 seasons of his career in which they won five additional NBA championships. Abdul-Jabbar's contributions were a key component in the "Showtime" era of Lakers basketball. Over his 20-year NBA career, his teams succeeded in making the playoffs 18 times and got past the first round 14 times; his teams reached the NBA Finals on 10 occasions.

At the time of his retirement at age 42 in 1989, Abdul-Jabbar was the NBA's all-time leader in points scored (38,387), games played (1,560), minutes played (57,446), field goals made (15,837), field goal attempts (28,307), blocked shots (3,189), defensive rebounds (9,394), career wins (1,074), and personal fouls (4,657). He remains the all-time leader in points scored, field goals made, and career wins. He is ranked third all-time in both rebounds and blocked shots. ESPN named him the greatest center of all time in 2007, the greatest player in college basketball history in 2008, and the second best player in NBA history (behind Michael Jordan) in 2016. Abdul-Jabbar has also been an actor, a basketball coach, a best-selling author, and a martial artist, having trained in Jeet Kune Do under Bruce Lee and appeared in his film Game of Death (1972). In 2012, Abdul-Jabbar was selected by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to be a U.S. global cultural ambassador. In 2016, President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Early life

Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. was born in New York City, the only child of Cora Lillian, a department store price checker, and Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Sr., a transit police officer and jazz musician. He grew up in the Dyckman Street projects in the Inwood neighborhood of Upper Manhattan. At birth, Alcindor weighed 12 lb 11 oz (5.75 kg) and was 22+1⁄2 inches (57 cm) long. He was always very tall for his age. By age nine, he was already 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) tall. Alcindor was often depressed as a teenager because of the stares and comments about his height. By the eighth grade (age 13–14), he had grown to 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) and could already slam dunk a basketball.

Alcindor began his record-breaking basketball accomplishments when he was in high school, where he led coach Jack Donohue's Power Memorial Academy team to three straight New York City Catholic championships, a 71-game winning streak, and a 79–2 overall record. This earned him "The Tower from Power" nickname. His 2,067 total points were a New York City high school record. The team won the national high school boys basketball championship when Alcindor was in 10th and 11th grade and was runner-up his senior year. He had a strained relationship in his final year with Donohue after the coach called him a nigger.

College career

Alcindor with the reverse two-hand dunk against Stanford.

Now 7-foot-1-inch (2.16 m) tall, Alcindor was relegated to the freshman team in his first year at UCLA, as freshman were ineligible to play varsity until 1972. The freshman squad included fellow high school All-Americans Lucius Allen, Kenny Heitz and Lynn Shackelford. On November 27, 1965, Alcindor made his first public performance in UCLA's annual varsity–freshman exhibition game, attended by 12,051 fans in the inaugural game at the Bruins' new Pauley Pavilion. The 1965–66 varsity team was the two-time defending national champions and the top-ranked team in preseason polls. The freshman team won 75–60 behind Alcindor's 31 points and 21 rebounds. It was the first time a freshman team had beaten the UCLA varsity squad. The varsity had lost Gail Goodrich and Keith Erickson from the championship squad to graduation, and starting guard Freddie Goss was out sick. After the game, UPI wrote: "UCLA's Bruins open defense of their national basketball title this week, but right now they're only the second best team on campus." The freshman team was 21–0 that year, dominating against junior college and other freshman teams.

Alcindor versus USC

He made his varsity debut as a sophomore in 1966 and received national coverage: Sports Illustrated described him as "The New Superstar" after he scored 56 points in his first game, which broke the UCLA single-game record held by Gail Goodrich.He averaged 29 points per game during the season and led UCLA to an undefeated 30–0 record and a national championship. After the season, the dunk was banned in college basketball in an attempt to curtail his dominance.The rule was not rescinded until the 1976–77 season. Alcindor was the main contributor to the team's three-year record of 88 wins and only two losses: one to the University of Houston in which Alcindor had an eye injury, and the other to crosstown rival USC who played a "stall game"; there was no shot clock in that era, allowing the Trojans to hold the ball as long as it wanted before attempting to score. They limited Alcindor to only four shots and 10 points.

During his college career, Alcindor was a three-time national player of the year (1967–1969); was a three-time unanimous first-team All-American (1967–1969); played on three NCAA basketball champion teams (1967, 1968 and 1969); was honored as the Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Tournament three times and became the first-ever Naismith College Player of the Year in 1969. He was the only player to win the Helms Foundation Player of the Year award three times.

Alcindor had considered transferring to Michigan because of unfulfilled recruiting promises. UCLA player Willie Naulls introduced Alcindor and teammate Lucius Allen to athletic booster Sam Gilbert, who convinced the pair to remain at UCLA.

During his junior year, Alcindor suffered a scratched left cornea on January 12, 1968, in a game against Cal when he was struck by Tom Henderson in a rebound battle. He would miss the next two games against Stanford and Portland. This happened right before the showdown game against Houston. His cornea would again be scratched during his pro career, which subsequently caused him to wear goggles for eye protection.

At the time, the NBA did not allow college underclassmen to declare early for the draft. He completed his studies and earned a Bachelor of Arts with a major in history in 1969. In his free time, he practiced martial arts. He studied aikido in New York between his sophomore and junior year, before learning Jeet Kune Do under Bruce Lee in Los Angeles.

Game of the Century

Alcindor performs ceremonial net cutting at Freedom Hall in Louisville in 1969 after a 20-point win over Purdue and Rick Mount in unprecedented third-straight national title en route to seven consecutive national championships for UCLA.

On January 20, 1968, Alcindor and the UCLA Bruins faced coach Guy Lewis's Houston Cougars in the first-ever nationally televised regular-season college basketball game, with 52,693 in attendance at the Astrodome. Cougar forward Elvin Hayes scored 39 points and had 15 rebounds, while Alcindor, who suffered from a scratch on his left cornea, was held to just 15 points as Houston won 71–69. The Bruins' 47-game winning streak ended in what has been called the "Game of the Century". Hayes and Alcindor had a rematch in the semi-finals of the NCAA Tournament, where UCLA, with a healthy Alcindor, defeated Houston 101–69 en route to the national championship. UCLA limited Hayes, who was averaging 37.7 points per game, to only ten points. Wooden credited his assistant, Jerry Norman, for devising the diamond-and-one defense that contained Hayes. Sports Illustrated ran a cover story on the game and used the headline: "Lew's Revenge: The Rout of Houston."

Conversion to Islam and 1968 Olympic boycott

During the summer of 1968, Alcindor took the shahada twice and converted to Sunni Islam from Catholicism. He adopted the Arabic name Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, though he did not begin using it publicly until 1971. He boycotted the 1968 Summer Olympics by deciding not to try out for the United States Men's Olympic Basketball team, who went on to easily win the gold medal. Alcindor's decision to stay home during the 1968 Games was in protest of the unequal treatment of African-Americans in the United States.

An episode of Black Journal produced by WNET and broadcast on May 2, 1972, features Kareem Abdul Jabbar discussing his boycott of the 1968 Olympics to his practice of the Islamic religion.

Though he denied any connection with the radical Nation of Islam, Jabbar was linked to them in a story that appeared in Sports Illustrated dated February 19, 1973, specifically to members of the group in Washington D.C..

School records

As of the 2019–2020 season, he still holds or shares a number of individual records at UCLA:

Highest career scoring average: 26.4

Most career field goals: 943 (tied with Don MacLean)

Most points in a season: 870 (1967)

Highest season scoring average: 29.0 (1967)

Most field goals in a season: 346 (1967) (also, the second most: 303 (1969), and third: 294 (1968))

Most free throw attempts in a season: 274 (1967)

Most points in a single game: 61

Most field goals in a single game: 26 (vs. Washington State, February 25, 1967)

He is represented in the top ten in a number of other school records, including season and career rebounds, second only to Bill Walton.

Professional career

Milwaukee Bucks (1969–1975)

Alcindor displaying the sky-hook over Wes Unseld of the Baltimore Bullets. The shot was almost impossible to block.

The Harlem Globetrotters offered Alcindor $1 million to play for them, but he declined and was picked first in the 1969 NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, who were in only their second season of existence. The Bucks won a coin-toss with the Phoenix Suns for first pick. He was also chosen first overall in the 1969 American Basketball Association draft by the New York Nets. The Nets believed that they had the upper hand in securing Alcindor's services because he was from New York; however, when Alcindor told both the Bucks and the Nets that he would accept only one offer from each team, the Nets bid too low. Sam Gilbert negotiated the contract along with Los Angeles businessman Ralph Shapiro at no charge. After Alcindor chose the Milwaukee Bucks' offer of $1.4 million, the Nets offered a guaranteed $3.25 million. Alcindor declined the offer, saying, "A bidding war degrades the people involved. It would make me feel like a flesh peddler, and I don't want to think like that."

Alcindor's presence enabled the 1969–70 Bucks to claim second place in the NBA's Eastern Division with a 56–26 record (improved from 27–55 the previous year). On February 21, 1970, he scored 51 points in a 140-127 win over the SuperSonics. Alcindor was an instant star, ranking second in the league in scoring (28.8 ppg) and third in rebounding (14.5 rpg), for which he was awarded the title of NBA Rookie of the Year. In the series-clinching game against the 76ers, he recorded 46 points and 25 rebounds. With that, he joins Wilt Chamberlain as the only rookies to record at least 40 points and 25 rebounds in a playoff game in their rookie season.[citation needed] He also set an NBA rookie record with 10 or more games of 20+ points scored during the playoffs, tied by Jayson Tatum in 2018.

The next season, the Bucks acquired All-Star guard Oscar Robertson. Milwaukee went on to record the best record in the league with 66 victories in the 1970–71 season, including a then-record 20 straight wins. Alcindor was awarded his first of six NBA Most Valuable Player Awards, along with his first scoring title (31.7 ppg). He also led the league in total points, with 2,596. The Bucks won the NBA title, sweeping the Baltimore Bullets 4–0 in the 1971 NBA Finals. Alcindor posted 27 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in Game 4, and he was named the Finals MVP after averaging 27 points per game on 60.5% shooting in the series. During the offseason, Alcindor and Robertson joined Bucks head coach Larry Costello on a three-week basketball tour of Africa on behalf of the State Department. In a press conference at the State Department on June 3, 1971, he stated that going forward, he wanted to be called by his Muslim name, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Arabic: كريم عبد الجبار‎, Karīm Abd al-Jabbār), its translation roughly "noble one, servant of the Almighty [i.e., servant of Allah]". He had converted to Islam while at UCLA.

Abdul-Jabbar lines up a free-throw. He started wearing goggles in order to avoid damage to his corneas.

Abdul-Jabbar remained a dominant force for the Bucks. The following year, he repeated as scoring champion (34.8 ppg and 2,822 total points) and became the first player to be named the NBA Most Valuable Player twice in his first three years. In 1974, Abdul-Jabbar led the Bucks to their fourth consecutive Midwest Division title, and he won his third MVP Award in four years. He was among the top five NBA players in scoring (27.0 ppg, third), rebounding (14.5 rpg, fourth), blocked shots (283, second), and field goal percentage (.539, second).

Robertson, who became a free agent in the offseason, retired in September 1974 after he was unable to agree on a contract with the Bucks. On October 3, Abdul-Jabbar privately requested a trade to the New York Knicks, with his second choice being the Washington Bullets (now the Wizards) and his third, the Los Angeles Lakers. He had never spoken negatively of the city of Milwaukee or its fans, but he said that being in the Midwest did not fit his cultural needs. Two days later in a pre-season game before the 1974–75 season against the Boston Celtics in Buffalo, New York, Abdul-Jabbar caught a fingernail in his left eye from Don Nelson and suffered a corneal abrasion; this angered him enough to punch the backboard stanchion, breaking two bones his right hand. He missed the first 16 games of the season, during which the Bucks were 3–13, and returned in late November wearing protective goggles. On March 13, 1975, sportscaster Marv Albert reported that Abdul-Jabbar requested a trade to either New York or Los Angeles, preferably to the Knicks. The following day after a loss in Milwaukee to the Lakers, Abdul-Jabbar confirmed to reporters his desire to play in another city. He averaged 30.0 points during the season, but Milwaukee finished in last place in the division at 38–44.

Los Angeles Lakers (1975–1989)

In 1975, the Lakers acquired Abdul-Jabbar and reserve center Walt Wesley from the Bucks for center Elmore Smith, guard Brian Winters, blue-chip rookies Dave Meyers and Junior Bridgeman, and cash. In the 1975–76 season, his first with the Lakers, he had a dominating season, averaging 27.7 points per game and leading the league in rebounding (16.9), blocked shots (4.12), and total minutes played (3,379). His 1,111 defensive rebounds remains the NBA single-season record (defensive rebounds were not recorded prior to the 1973–74 season). He earned his fourth MVP award, becoming the first winner in Lakers' franchise history, but missed the post-season for the second straight year as the Lakers finished 40–42.

Abdul-Jabbar (33) receiving a pass from Magic Johnson during the 1985 NBA Finals.

Afer acquiring a cast of no-name free agents, the Lakers were projected to finished near the bottom of the Pacific Division in 1976–77. However, Abdul-Jabbar helped lead the team to the best record (53–29) in the NBA. He won his fifth MVP award, tying Bill Russell's record. Abdul-Jabbar led the league in field goal percentage (.579), was third in scoring (26.2), and was second in rebounds (13.3) and blocked shots (3.18). In the playoffs, the Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference semi-finals, setting up a confrontation with the Portland Trail Blazers. The result was a memorable matchup, pitting Abdul-Jabbar against a young, injury-free Bill Walton. Although Abdul-Jabbar dominated the series statistically, Walton and the Trail Blazers (who were experiencing their first-ever run in the playoffs) swept the Lakers, behind Walton's skillful passing and timely plays.

Two minutes into the opening game of the 1977–78 season, Abdul-Jabbar broke his right hand punching Milwaukee's Kent Benson in retaliation to the rookie's elbow to his stomach. Benson suffered a black right eye and required two stitches. According to Benson, Abdul-Jabbar initiated the elbowing, but there were no witnesses and it was not captured on replays. Abdul-Jabbar, who broke the same bone in 1975 after he punched the backboard support, was out for almost two months and missed 20 games. He was fined a then-league record $5,000 but was not suspended. Benson missed one game but was not punished by the league] The Lakers were 8–13 when Abdul-Jabbar returned. He was not named to the 1978 NBA All-Star Game, the only time in his 20-year career he was not selected to an All-Star Game.Chicago's Artis Gilmore and Detroit's Bob Lanier were chosen as reserves for the West, with Walton starting at center. Amid criticism from the media over his performance, Abdul-Jabbar had 39 points, 20 rebounds, six assists and four blocks in a win over the Philadelphia 76ers the day the All-Star rosters were announced. He added 37 points and 30 rebounds in a victory over the New Jersey Nets (now Brooklyn) in the final game before the All-Star break.

Abdul-Jabbar's play remained strong during the next two seasons, being named to the All-NBA Second Team twice, the All-Defense First Team once, and the All-Defense Second Team once. The Lakers, however, continued to be stymied in the playoffs, being eliminated by the Seattle SuperSonics in both 1978 (first round) and 1979 (semifinals).

In 1979, the Lakers selected Magic Johnson with the first overall pick of the draft. They had acquired the pick from the New Orleans Jazz (later Utah) in 1976, when league rules required that they compensate Los Angeles for their signing of free agent Gail Goodrich The addition of Johnson paved the way for a Laker dynasty of the 1980s, appearing in the finals eight times and winning five NBA championships. While less dominant than in his younger years, Abdul-Jabbar reinforced his status as one of the greatest basketball players ever adding an additional four All-NBA First Team selections and two All-Defense First Team honors. He won his record sixth MVP award in 1980 and continued to average 20 or more points per game in the following six seasons. At age 38, he won his second Finals MVP in 1985. On April 5, 1984, Abdul-Jabbar broke Chamberlain's record for most career points. Later in his career, he bulked up to about 265 pounds (120 kg), to be able to withstand the strain of playing the highly physical center position into his early 40s.

Abdul-Jabbar against the Boston Celtics in the 1980s

While in Los Angeles, Abdul-Jabbar started doing yoga in 1976 to improve his flexibility, and was notable for his physical fitness regimen. He says, "There is no way I could have played as long as I did without yoga."

In 1983, Abdul-Jabbar's house burned down. Many of his belongings, including his beloved jazz LP collection of about 3,000 albums, were destroyed. Many Lakers fans sent and brought him albums, which he found uplifting.

The Lakers made the NBA Finals in each of Abdul-Jabbar's final three seasons, defeating Boston in 1987, and Detroit in 1988. The Lakers lost to the Pistons in a four-game sweep in his final season. After winning Game 7 of the 1988 finals, the 41-year-old Abdul-Jabbar announced in the locker room that he would return for one more season before retiring His points, rebounds, and minutes had dropped in his 19th season, and there were reports prior to the game that he was retiring after the contest. On his "retirement tour" he received standing ovations at games, both home and away, and gifts ranging from a yacht that said "Captain Skyhook" to framed jerseys from his career to a Persian rug. At the Forum against Seattle in his final regular season game, every Laker came onto the court wearing Abdul-Jabbar's trademark goggles.

At the time of his retirement, Abdul-Jabbar held the record for most games played by a single player in the NBA; this would later be broken by Robert Parish. He also was the all-time record holder for most points (38,387), most field goals made (15,837), and most minutes played (57,446).

Post-NBA career

In 1995, Abdul-Jabbar began expressing an interest in coaching and imparting knowledge from his playing days. His opportunities were limited despite the success he enjoyed during his playing days. However, during his playing years, Abdul-Jabbar had developed a reputation for being introverted and sullen. He was often unfriendly with the media. His sensitivity and shyness created a perception of him being aloof and surly. At the time, his mentality was that he either did not have the time or did not owe anything to anyone. Magic Johnson recalled as a kid being brushed off after asking him for an autograph. Abdul-Jabbar might freeze out a reporter if they touched him, and he once refused to stop reading the newspaper while giving an interview.

Abdul-Jabbar believes that his reputation as a difficult person might have impacted his chances of being a head coach in the NBA or NCAA. In his words, he said he had a mindset he could not overcome, and proceeded through his career oblivious to the effect his reticence might have on his future coaching prospects. Abdul-Jabbar said: "I didn't understand that I also had affected people that way and that's what it was all about. I always saw it like they were trying to pry. I was way too suspicious and I paid a price for it."

Abdul-Jabbar worked as an assistant for the Los Angeles Clippers and the Seattle SuperSonics, helping mentor, among others, their young centers, Michael Olowokandi and Jerome James. Abdul-Jabbar was the head coach of the Oklahoma Storm of the United States Basketball League in 2002, leading the team to the league's championship that season, but he failed to land the head coaching position at Columbia University a year later. He then worked as a scout for the New York Knicks. He returned to the Lakers as a special assistant coach to Phil Jackson for six seasons (2005–2011). Early on, he mentored their young center, Andrew Bynum. Abdul-Jabbar also served as a volunteer coach at Alchesay High School on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation in Whiteriver, Arizona, in 1998. He moved on from coaching in 2013 after unsuccessfully lobbying for open head coach positions with UCLA and the Milwaukee Bucks.

In 2016, he performed a tribute to friend Muhammad Ali along with Chance the Rapper.

Player profile

On offense, Abdul-Jabbar was a dominant low-post threat. In contrast to other low-post specialists like Wilt Chamberlain, Artis Gilmore or Shaquille O'Neal, Abdul-Jabbar was a relatively slender player, standing 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) tall but weighing only 225 lb (102 kg) (though in his latter years the Lakers listed Abdul-Jabbar's weight as 265 pounds (120 kg)). However, he made up for his relative lack of bulk by showing textbook finesse, and was famous for his ambidextrous skyhook shot. It contributed to his high .559 field goal accuracy, making him the eighth-most accurate scorer of all time and a feared clutch shooter. Abdul-Jabbar was also quick enough to run the Showtime fast break led by Magic Johnson and was well-conditioned, standing on the hardwood an average 36.8 minutes. In contrast to other big men, Abdul-Jabbar also could reasonably hit his free throws, finishing with a career 72% average.

Abdul-Jabbar maintained a dominant presence on defense. He was selected to the NBA All-Defensive Team eleven times. He frustrated opponents with his superior shot-blocking ability and denied an average of 2.6 shots a game. After the pounding he endured early in his career, his rebounding average fell to between six or eight a game in his latter years.

As a teammate, Abdul-Jabbar exuded natural leadership and was affectionately called "Cap" or "Captain" by his colleagues. He had an even temperament, which Riley said made him coachable. A strict fitness regime made him one of the most durable players of all time. In the NBA, his 20 seasons and 1,560 games are performances surpassed only by former Celtics center Robert Parish.

Abdul-Jabbar began wearing his trademark goggles after getting poked in the eye during preseason in 1975. He continued wearing them for years until abandoning them in the 1979 playoffs. He resumed wearing goggles in October 1980 after being accidentally poked in the right eye by Houston's Rudy Tomjanovich. After years of being jabbed in the eyes, Abdul-Jabbar developed corneal erosion syndrome, occasionally experiencing pain when his eyes dry up. He missed three games in December 1986 due to the condition.

Skyhook

Abdul-Jabbar was well known for his trademark "skyhook", a hook shot in which he bent his entire body (rather than just the arm) like a straw in one fluid motion to raise the ball and then release it at the highest point of his arm's arching motion. With his long arms and great height, the skyhook was difficult for a defender to block without committing a goaltending violation. As a right-handed player, he was stronger shooting the skyhook with his right hand than he was with his left, although he was adept at shooting it with either hand, making it a reliable and feared offensive weapon. According to Abdul-Jabbar, he learned the move in fifth grade after practicing with the Mikan Drill and soon learned to value it, as it was "the only shot I could use that didn't get smashed back in my face".

Legacy

Abdul-Jabbar is the NBA's all-time leading scorer with 38,387 points, and he won a league-record six MVP awards.He earned six championship rings, two Finals MVP awards, 15 NBA First or Second Teams, a record 19 NBA All-Star call-ups and averaging 24.6 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.6 blocks per game. He is ranked as the NBA's third leading all-time rebounder (17,440). He is also the third all-time in registered blocks (3,189), which is especially impressive because this stat was not recorded until the fourth year of his career (1974).

Abdul-Jabbar combined dominance during his career peak with the longevity and sustained excellence of his later years. He credited Bruce Lee with teaching him "the discipline and spirituality of martial arts, which was greatly responsible for me being able to play competitively in the NBA for 20 years with very few injuries." After claiming his sixth and final MVP in 1980, Abdul-Jabbar continued to average above 20 points in the following six seasons, including 23 points per game in his 17th season at age 38. He made the NBA's 35th Anniversary Team, and was named one of its 50 greatest players of all time in 1996. Abdul-Jabbar is regarded as one of the best centers ever, and league experts and basketball legends frequently mentioned him when considering the greatest player of all time. Former Lakers coach Pat Riley once said, "Why judge anymore? When a man has broken records, won championships, endured tremendous criticism and responsibility, why judge? Let's toast him as the greatest player ever." Isiah Thomas remarked, "If they say the numbers don't lie, then Kareem is the greatest ever to play the game." Julius Erving in 2013 said, "In terms of players all-time, Kareem is still the number one guy. He's the guy you gotta start your franchise with." In 2015, ESPN named Abdul-Jabbar the best center in NBA history, and ranked him No. 2 behind Michael Jordan among the greatest NBA players ever. While Jordan's shots were enthralling and considered unfathomable, Abdul-Jabbar's skyhook appeared automatic, and he himself called the shot "unsexy". Abdul-Jabbar's only recognized rookie card became the most expensive basketball card ever sold when it went for $501,900 at auction in 2016. That record has since been surpassed.

NBA career statistics

Legend GP Games played GS Games started MPG Minutes per game

FG% Field goal percentage 3P% 3-point field goal percentage FT% Free throw percentage

RPG Rebounds per game APG Assists per game SPG Steals per game

BPG Blocks per game PPG Points per game Bold Career high

† Won an NBA championship * Led the league NBA record

Source:

Athletic honors

Main article: List of career achievements by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (May 15, 1995)

College:

2× Associated Press College Basketball Player of the Year (1967, 1969)

2× Oscar Robertson Trophy winner (1967, 1968)

2× UPI College Basketball Player of the Year (1967, 1969)

Three-time First Team All-American (1967–1969)

Three-time NCAA champion (1967–1969)

Most Outstanding Player in NCAA Tournament (1967–1969)

Naismith College Player of the Year (1969)

3× First-team All-Pac-8 (1967–1969)

National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame (2007)

National Basketball Association:

Rookie of the Year (1970)

Six-time NBA champion (1971, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988)

NBA MVP (1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1980)

Sporting News NBA MVP (1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1980)

Finals MVP (1971, 1985)

Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" (1985)

One of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History (1996)

First player in NBA history to play 20 seasons

Ranked No.2 in ESPN's 100 greatest NBA players of all time #NBArank

November 16, 2012 – A statue of Abdul-Jabbar was unveiled in front of Staples Center on Chick Hearn Court, in Los Angeles.

Film and television

Actor Shavar Ross and Abdul-Jabbar on the set of Diff'rent Strokes, circa 1982

Playing in Los Angeles facilitated Abdul-Jabbar's trying his hand at acting. He made his film debut in Bruce Lee's 1972 film Game of Death, in which his character Hakim fights Billy Lo (played by Lee).

In 1980, he played co-pilot Roger Murdock in Airplane!. Abdul-Jabbar has a scene in which a little boy looks at him and remarks that he is in fact Abdul-Jabbar, spoofing the appearance of football star Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch as an airplane pilot in the 1957 drama that served as the inspiration for Airplane!, Zero Hour!. Staying in character, Abdul-Jabbar states that he is merely Roger Murdock, an airline co-pilot, but the boy continues to insist that Abdul-Jabbar is "the greatest", but that, according to his father, he doesn't "work hard on defense" and that he does not "really try, except during the playoffs". This causes Abdul-Jabbar's character to snap, "The hell I don't!", then grabs the boy and snarls that he has "been hearing that crap ever ever since I was at UCLA" and been "busting my buns every night!". He instructs the boy to "Tell your old man old man to drag [Bill] Walton and [Bob] Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes". When Murdock loses consciousness later in the film, he collapses at the controls wearing Abdul-Jabbar's goggles and yellow Lakers' shorts. In 2014, Abdul-Jabbar and Airplane! co-star Robert Hays (character Ted Striker) reprised their Airplane! roles in a parody commercial promoting Wisconsin tourism.

Abdul-Jabbar (center) at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear with Comedy Central hosts Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart

Abdul-Jabbar has had numerous other television and film appearances, often playing himself. He has had roles in movies such as Fletch, Troop Beverly Hills and Forget Paris, and television series such as Full House, Living Single, Amen, Everybody Loves Raymond, Martin, Diff'rent Strokes (his height humorously contrasted with that of diminutive child star Gary Coleman), The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Scrubs, 21 Jump Street, Emergency!, Man from Atlantis, and New Girl. Abdul-Jabbar played a genie in a lamp in a 1984 episode of Tales from the Darkside. He also played himself on the February 10, 1994, episode of the sketch comedy television series In Living Color.

He also appeared in the television version of Stephen King's The Stand, played the Archangel of Basketball in Slam Dunk Ernest, and had a brief non-speaking cameo appearance in BASEketball. Abdul-Jabbar was also the co-executive producer of the 1994 TV film The Vernon Johns Story. He has also made appearances on The Colbert Report, in a 2006 skit called "HipHopKetball II: The ReJazzebration Remix '06" and in 2008 as a stage manager who is sent out on a mission to find Nazi gold. Abdul-Jabbar also voiced himself in a 2011 episode of The Simpsons titled "Love Is a Many Strangled Thing". He had a recurring role as himself on the NBC series Guys with Kids, which aired from 2012 to 2013. On Al Jazeera English he expressed his desire to be remembered not just as a player, but also as somebody who used their mind and made other contributions.

In February 2019, he appeared in season 12 episode 16 of The Big Bang Theory, "The D&D Vortex".

Abdul-Jabbar made a guest appearance as himself in a season 2 episode of Dave. The episode he appeared in was also named after him.

Writing

In September 2018, Abdul-Jabbar was announced as one of the writers for the July 2019 revival of Veronica Mars.

Documentaries

On February 10, 2011, Abdul-Jabbar debuted his film On the Shoulders of Giants, documenting the tumultuous journey of the famed yet often-overlooked Harlem Renaissance professional basketball team, at Science Park High School in Newark, New Jersey. The event was simulcast live throughout the school, city, and state.

In 2015, he appeared in an HBO documentary on his life, Kareem: Minority of One.

In 2020, Abdul-Jabbar was the executive producer and narrator of the History channel special Black Patriots: Heroes of the Revolution. He was nominated for an Emmy Award for his narration.

Reality television

Abdul-Jabbar participated in the 2013 ABC reality series Splash, a celebrity diving competition.

In April 2018, Abdul-Jabbar competed in the all-athlete season of season 26 of Dancing with the Stars and partnered with professional dancer Lindsay Arnold.

Writing and activism

Abdul-Jabbar at a book signing in 2007

Abdul-Jabbar became a best-selling author and cultural critic. He published several books, mostly on African-American history. His first book, his autobiography Giant Steps, was written in 1983 with co-author Peter Knobler. The book's title is an homage to jazz great John Coltrane, referring to his album Giant Steps. Others include On the Shoulders of Giants: My Journey Through the Harlem Renaissance, co-written with Raymond Obstfeld, and Brothers in Arms: The Epic Story of the 761st Tank Battalion, World War II's Forgotten Heroes, co-written with Anthony Walton, which is a history of an all-black armored unit that served with distinction in Europe.

Abdul-Jabbar has also been a regular contributor to discussions about issues of race and religion, among other topics, in national magazines and on television. He has written a regular column for Time, for example, and he appeared on Meet the Press on Sunday, January 25, 2015, to talk about a recent column, which pointed out that Islam should not be blamed for the actions of violent extremists, just as Christianity has not been blamed for the actions of violent extremists who profess Christianity. When asked about being Muslim, he said: "I don't have any misgiving about my faith. I'm very concerned about the people who claim to be Muslims that are murdering people and creating all this mayhem in the world. That is not what Islam is about, and that should not be what people think of when they think about Muslims. But it's up to all of us to do something about all of it.

In November 2014, Abdul-Jabbar published an essay in Jacobin magazine calling for just compensation for college athletes, writing, "in the name of fairness, we must bring an end to the indentured servitude of college athletes and start paying them what they are worth."

Commenting on Donald Trump's 2017 travel ban, he strongly condemned it, saying, "The absence of reason and compassion is the very definition of pure evil because it is a rejection of our sacred values, distilled from millennia of struggle."

Government appointments

Cultural ambassador

Hillary Clinton and Abdul-Jabbar, 2012

In January 2012, United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that Abdul-Jabbar had accepted a position as a cultural ambassador for the United States. During the announcement press conference, Abdul-Jabbar commented on the historical legacy of African-Americans as representatives of U.S. culture: "I remember when Louis Armstrong first did it back for President Kennedy, one of my heroes. So it's nice to be following in his footsteps." As part of this role, Abdul-Jabbar has traveled to Brazil to promote education for local youths.

President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition

Former President Barack Obama announced in his last days of office that he has appointed Abdul-Jabbar along with Gabrielle Douglas and Carli Lloyd to the President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition.

Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee

In January 2017, Abdul-Jabbar was appointed to the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee by United States Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin. According to the United States Mint, Abdul-Jabbar is a keen coin collector whose interest in the life of Alexander Hamilton had led him into the hobby. He resigned in 2018 due to what the Mint described as "increasing personal obligations".

Personal life

Abdul-Jabbar surrounded by children's division players during an exhibition at Club Ferro Carril Oeste of Buenos Aires, 1993

Abdul-Jabbar (below, far right) and other former NBA players visit the New York NBA Store in January 2005

Abdul-Jabbar met Habiba Abdul-Jabbar (born Janice Brown) at a Lakers game during his senior year at UCLA. They eventually married and together had three children: daughters Habiba and Sultana and son Kareem Jr., who played basketball at Western Kentucky after attending Valparaiso. Abdul-Jabbar and Janice divorced in 1978. He has another son, Amir, with Cheryl Pistono. Another son, Adam, made an appearance on the TV sitcom Full House with him.

Religion and name

At age 24 in 1971, he converted to Islam and became Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, which means "noble one, servant of the Almighty." He was named by Hamaas Abdul Khaalis. Abdul-Jabbar purchased and donated 7700 16th Street NW, a house in Washington, D.C., for Khaalis to use as the Hanafi Madh-Hab Center. Eventually, Kareem "found that [he] disagreed with some of Hamaas' teachings about the Quran, and [they] parted ways." He then studied the Quran on his own, and “emerged from this pilgrimage with my beliefs clarified and my faith renewed.”

Abdul-Jabbar has spoken about the thinking that was behind his name change when he converted to Islam. He stated that he was "latching on to something that was part of my heritage, because many of the slaves who were brought here were Muslims. My family was brought to America by a French planter named Alcindor, who came here from Trinidad in the 18th century. My people were Yoruba, and their culture survived slavery... My father found out about that when I was a kid, and it gave me all I needed to know that, hey, I was somebody, even if nobody else knew about it. When I was a kid, no one would believe anything positive that you could say about black people. And that's a terrible burden on black people, because they don't have an accurate idea of their history, which has been either suppressed or distorted."

In 1998, Abdul-Jabbar reached a settlement after he sued Miami Dolphins running back Karim Abdul-Jabbar (now Abdul-Karim al-Jabbar, born Sharmon Shah) because he felt Karim was profiting off the name he made famous by having the Abdul-Jabbar moniker and number 33 on his Dolphins jersey. As a result, the younger Abdul-Jabbar had to change his jersey nameplate to simply "Abdul" while playing for the Dolphins. The football player had also been an athlete at UCLA.

Health problems

Abdul-Jabbar suffers from migraines, and his use of cannabis to reduce the symptoms has had legal ramifications.

In November 2009, Abdul-Jabbar announced that he was suffering from a form of leukemia, Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. The disease was diagnosed in December 2008, but Abdul-Jabbar said his condition could be managed by taking oral medication daily, seeing his specialist every other month and having his blood analyzed regularly. He expressed in a 2009 press conference that he did not believe that the illness would stop him from leading a normal life. Abdul-Jabbar is now a spokesman for Novartis, the company that produces his cancer medication, Gleevec.

In February 2011, Abdul-Jabbar announced via Twitter that his leukemia was gone and he was "100% cancer free". A few days later, he clarified his misstatement. "You're never really cancer-free and I should have known that," Abdul-Jabbar said. "My cancer right now is at an absolute minimum."

In April 2015, Abdul-Jabbar was admitted to hospital when he was diagnosed with cardiovascular disease. Later that week, on his 68th birthday, he underwent quadruple coronary bypass surgery at the UCLA Medical Center.

Non-athletic honors

In 2016, Abdul-Jabbar was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by outgoing U.S. President Barack Obama.

In 2011, Abdul-Jabbar was awarded the Double Helix Medal for his work in raising awareness for cancer research. Also in 2011, Abdul-Jabbar received an honorary degree from New York Institute of Technology.

In 2020, Abdul-Jabbar was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Narrator for his work on the documentary special Black Patriots: Heroes of The Revolution.

Khumukcham Sanjita Chanu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Khumukcham Sanjita Chanu

Nationality Indian

Born 2 January 1994

Kakching Khunou, Kakching district, Manipur, India

Height 1.50 m (4 ft 11 in) (2014)

Weight 48 kg (106 lb) (2014)

Sport

Country India

Sport Weightlifting

Event(s) 53 kg

Women's weightlifting

Representing India

Professional wrestling career

2014 Glasgow 48 kg

2018 Gold Coast 53 kg

Updated on 6 April 2018.

Khumukcham Sanjita Chanu (born 2 January 1994) is an Indian weightlifter. Born in Kakching Khunou, Kakching district, Manipur, she is a two time Commonwealth Games Champion. Chanu won the gold medals at the 2014 Glasgow and the 2018 Gold Coast events in the women's 48 kg and 53 kg weight category respectively. She holds the Commonwealth Games record of 84 kg for the Snatch segment in the latter weight category.

Background

She was born to a Hindu Meitei family. Sanjita took up the sport weightlifting in 2006 in Manipur. She considers pioneering weightlifter and fellow Manipuri, Kunjarani Devi, her hero.

Career

2014

Khumukcham Sanjita Chanu won a gold in women's 48kg weightlifting at the 2014 Commonwealth Games; it was India's first medal on the second day of the competition. She started with an attempt at 72 kg and later lifted 77 kg, not dropping any weight in snatch. Chanu took an unassailable lead with a 96 kg lift in the clean and jerk event to secure the gold medal with a total weight of 173 kg. Chanu's total of 173 kg missed the Games record (held by the 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medal winner Augustina Nkem Nwaokolo) by two kilograms. However, her 77 kg lift in the snatch segment equalled Nwaokolo's Commonwealth Games record.

2018

Chanu won her second successive gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in the 2018 edition held in Gold Coast, Australia. She had moved to a higher weight category of 53 kg and secured the title with a total lift of 192 kg, 10 kg more than second-placed Dika Toua. En route to her gold medal, she bettered her performance from 2014 Commonwealth Games and broke the Games record for the snatch category with a lift of 84 kg; she lifted a weight of 108 kg in the clean and jerk segment.

On 30 May, Chanu was provisionally suspended by the IWF after testing positive for testosterone. In 2020 she was cleared after the charge was dropped.

Kelly Slater

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kelly Slater

Slater in 2017

Personal information

Born Robert Kelly Slater

February 11, 1972

Cocoa Beach, Florida, U.S.

Residence California, U.S.

Hawaii, U.S.

Los Angeles, California U.S.

Height 5'8 ft (173cm)

Weight 160 lb (73 kg)

Surfing career

Years active 1989–present

Best year Ranked 1st on the World Surf League: 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011

Career earnings $4,071,360 (as of 4th January 2018)

Surfing specifications

Favorite maneuvers Barrels

Website www.kellyslater.com

Robert Kelly Slater (born February 11, 1972) is an American professional surfer, best known for his unprecedented 11 world surfing championship wins. He is widely regarded as the greatest professional surfer of all time.

Early years and personal life

Slater grew up in Cocoa Beach, Florida, where he still lives. He is the son of Judy Moriarity and Stephen Slater. He has two brothers, Sean and Stephen, and a daughter, Taylor, born in 1996.

The son of a bait-store proprietor, Slater grew up near the water, and he began surfing at age five. By age 10 he was winning age-division events up and down the Atlantic coast, and in 1984 he won his first age-division United States championship title. Two years later he finished third in the junior division at the world amateur championships in England, and he won the Pacific Cup junior championship in Australia the following year.

After turning professional in 1990, Slater struggled during his first two years on the professional tour, finishing 90th and 43rd in the world rankings those years. In 1992 he secured podium (top-three) finishes in three of his first five events before winning his first professional tour event, the Rip Curl Pro, in France. His win in that year's prestigious Pipeline Masters in Hawaii secured his first world title, and at age 20 he became the youngest surfing world champion ever. Slater finished sixth in the 1993 rankings but came back in 1994 to win the world tour during 1994–1998, during which time televised surfing events had become increasingly popular. He then took a break from competitive surfing at the end of 1998, before returning to the world pro tour in 2002.

Accomplishments

Surfing

Slater, having grown up in Florida, was never truly comfortable in waves of consequence until a trip to Oahu in 1987. A giant northwest swell was pounding the coast, closing out breaks from Waimea to Sunset. He drove to Makaha, where he was greeted with 40' (Hawaiian scale) waves breaking across the bay. Slater parked and saw charger[clarification needed] Brandon "Big Wave" Davis waxing up his 11' board. Big Wave Davis simply gave Slater a wink and they paddled out, trading waves all afternoon. Slater credits Davis in his biography stating "Brandon's knowledge and poise in large surf had a huge impact on my career. Anytime I'm dropping in a big wave, I think back to that wink in the Makaha parking lot and I push myself over the ledge."

Slater at Trestles, San Clemente State Beach, California

Some of his favorite surf spots include Mondos in Ventura, California, Pipeline in Hawaii, Kirra in Australia, Jeffreys Bay in South Africa, Minis in Ireland, Taghazout in Morocco, Veiny's in New Zealand, Soup Bowls in Barbados, and Sebastian Inlet near his home in Florida.

Musical appearances and collaborations

Slater plays guitar and ukulele, and has performed with Jack Johnson and Angus Stone. Kelly Slater joined Rob Machado and Peter King in a band called The Surfers.

Slater performed a song with Ben Harper during Harper's concert in Santa Barbara on August 1, 2006. He also performed Rockin' in the Free World with grunge band Pearl Jam on July 7, 2006 in San Diego.

In 1999, he appeared alongside Garbage singer Shirley Manson in the promotional video for the band's single "You Look So Fine". He played a man washed up on a seashore, then rescued by Manson.

Mixed media

Slater played the recurring character Jimmy Slade on twenty-seven episodes of the popular TV show Baywatch in the early 1990s. He appeared in an episode of the reality show The Girls Next Door, and has starred in many surf films during his career.

In the late 1990s Slater, with friends and fellow pro surfers Rob Machado and Peter King, formed a band called The Surfers. The trio released an album in 1998 titled Songs from the Pipe, a reference to the famous surf spot Pipeline on Oahu, Hawaii. Slater toured Australia with his band, performing in venues such as the Opera House and parliament house.

A video game named Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer by Treyarch and published by Activision was released in 2002. Slater also appeared as a playable character in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 prior to this, complete with a surfboard.

In addition to the ASP tour, Slater competed in the X-Games in 2003 and 2004 winning back to back Gold Medals.

Environmentalism and philanthropy

Slater is an advocate of a sustainable and clean living lifestyle. Slater is also a fundraiser and spokesperson for suicide prevention awareness. He has surfed in celebrity events for Surfers Against Suicide, telling sports website 'Athletes Talk': "I've lost a couple of friends myself to suicide and it's just a horrible thing that can be prevented. People get in this dark place and they don't know what to do so it's always nice to see a non-profit that isn't turning into anything else other than just trying to help people."

Slater is passionate about preserving oceans globally and protecting temperate reefs in California through his relationship with Reef Check.

In February 2017, Slater and fellow competitive surfer Jérémy Florès called for a daily cull of bull sharks by French authorities on Réunion following eight shark-related fatalities over the preceding six years. Environmentalists criticized the proposal, with Dr. Ken Collins of the University of Southampton describing it as “insane”.

On May 8, 2010, the United States House of Representatives honored Slater in H. Res. 792 for his "outstanding and unprecedented achievements in the world of surfing and for being an ambassador of the sport and excellent role model." This resolution, sponsored by Florida representative Bill Posey and sponsored by 10 representatives, passed without objection by a voice vote.

Slater is on the Board of Advisors (the Ocean Advocacy Advisory Board) of ocean conservation organization Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

Professional development

Slater historically and exclusively rode Channel Islands Surfboards equipped with his own signature series of FCS fins. As the media hype grew around Slater's lack of board stickers in 2015, Slater had been seen riding unlabelled Firewire surfboards, acquiring the company in 2014. In 2016 Slater released his own line of boards. As of August 2017 there are four Slater Designs models in the Firewire range: the Gamma, Cymatic, Omni and Sci-fi.

Since 1990 Slater had been sponsored primarily by surfwear industry giant Quiksilver until his departure on April 1, 2014 to collaborate with fashion brand conglomerate Kering. In a statement released on his social media accounts, Slater states "For years I've dreamt of developing a brand that combines my love of clean living, responsibility and style. The inspiration for this brand comes from the people and cultures I encounter in my constant global travels and this is my opportunity to build something the way I have always wanted to." After Leaving Quiksilver, Slater, in collaboration with Kering, established the eco-friendly and sustainable apparel company 'Outerknown'.

Slater also established the beverage company Purps, and became a brand ambassador for The Chia Co.

Wave Pool

Wave Pool was a ten-year 'experiment' to create the perfect inland wave situated in inland California. Kelly modeled the wave after a combination of Lower Trestles, California, a tubing wave on Oahu, Hawaii, and a secret right in Micronesia in the Marshall Islands. The project was a success and the surfing world was abuzz with the possibilities, mostly due to the wave's perfect shape and speed. In 2016 the World Surf League (WSL) acquired a majority stake in the Kelly Slater Wave Company (KSWC) for an undisclosed sum. The WSL held a test event for professional surfers, including Filipe Toledo, Mick Fanning, Kanoa Igarashi, Gabriel Medina and others, at the Kelly Slater Surf Ranch on Tuesday, September 19, 2017. The Surf Ranch also hosted the WSL Founders Cup on May 5–6, 2018. The contest featured five teams - US, Brazil, Australia, Europe and World - made up of men's and women's surfers from the WSL Championship Tour. The WSL Surf Ranch was constructed outside of Lemoore, California and has remained private and exclusive.

There is speculation he is developing Surf Ranch Florida, a man-made surfing lake in Palm Beach County. County commissioners unanimously approved plans for the county to evaluate the proposed surf facility in 2017. Brian Waxman, project leader for Surf Ranch Florida, said the World Surf League is considering bringing the wave lake to the Sunshine State for its weather and heritage of world-class surfers. It would encompass an 80-acre industrial lot east of Jupiter Farms, near the Pine Glades natural area.

Coral Mountain is a proposed $200-million complex on 400 acres (160 ha) in La Quinta, California that would include a hotel and housing built around a surfing basin created by Kelly Slater Wave Co.

Competitive achievements

Slater with fellow pro surfers Rob Machado and Christiaan Bailey

Slater has been crowned World Surf League Champion a record 11 times, including five consecutive titles in 1994–98. He is the youngest (at age 20) and the oldest (at age 39) to win the WSL men's title. Upon winning his fifth world title in 1997, Slater passed Australian surfer Mark Richards to become the most successful male champion in the history of the sport. In 2007 he also became the all-time leader in career event wins by winning the Boost Mobile Pro event at Lower Trestles near San Clemente, California. The previous record was held by Slater's childhood hero, three-time world champion Tom Curren. After earlier being awarded the title prematurely as a result of a miscalculation by the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP), on November 6, 2011 Slater officially won his eleventh ASP world title at the Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco, by winning his 4th round heat.

Slater competing at the US Open at Huntington Beach, 2011

In May 2005, in the final heat of the Billabong Tahiti Pro contest at Teahupo'o, Slater became the first surfer ever to be awarded two perfect scores for a total 20 out of 20 points under the ASP two-wave scoring system (fellow American Shane Beschen made the first perfect score under the previous three-wave system in 1996).

Slater did it again in June 2013 at the quarter finals at the Volcom Fiji Pro with two perfect ten waves, only the fourth person in history to do so.

Slater is also the oldest surfer to perform a 10 point ride in World Surf League competition at the age of 47 at the 2019 Billabong Pipe Masters.

2013 stats and results

World ranking: 1st

Points: 54,150

Event results in 2013 Quiksilver Pro (Gold Coast, Australia): 1st

Rip Curl Pro (Bells Beach, Victoria, Australia): 13th

Volcom Fiji Pro (Tavarua/Namotu, Fiji): 1st

Oakley Pro Bali (Keramas, Bali, Indonesia): 9th

Billabong Pro Teahupoo (Teahupoo, Taiarapu, French Polynesia): 2nd

Billabong Pipeline Masters (Pipeline, Oahu, Hawaii): 1st

He also won many other surfing titles.

2012 stats and results

World ranking: 2nd

Points: 55,450

Event results in 2012

Quiksilver Pro presented by Land Rover (Gold Coast, Snapper Rocks, Australia): 5th

Rip Curl Pro presented by Ford Ranger (Bells Beach, Victoria, Australia): 2nd

Billabong Rio Pro (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil): INJ

Volcom Fiji Pro (Tavarua/Namotu, Fiji): 1st

Billabong Pro Tahiti (Teahupoo, Tahiti): 13th

Hurley Pro (Lower Trestles, San Clemente, California): 1st

Quiksilver Pro France (Hossegor-Landes, France): 1st

Rip Curl Pro (Peniche, Portugal): 13th

O'Neill Coldwater Classic Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, California): 9th

Billabong Pipeline Masters (Pipeline, Oahu, Hawaii): 3rd

2011 stats and results

World ranking: 2011 Champion

Points: 68,100

Event results in 2011

Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast (Snapper Rocks, Australia): 1st

Rip Curl Pro, Bells Beach, (Victoria, Australia): 5th

Billabong Rio Pro (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil): 13th

Nike Pro US Open (Huntington Beach, California, US): 1st

Billabong Pro Teahupoo (Teahupoo, Tahiti): 1st

Quiksilver Pro New York (Long Beach, New York, US): 2nd

Hurley Pro (Lower Trestles, San Clemente, California, US): 1st

Quiksilver Pro France (Hossegor, France): 5th

Rip Curl Pro Portugal (Peniche, Portugal): 2nd

Rip Curl Search (Ocean Beach, San Francisco, US): 5th

Billabong Pipeline Masters (Pipeline, Oahu, Hawaii): 3rd

2010 stats and results

World ranking: 2010 Champion

Points: 69000

Event results in 2010

Quiksilver Pro, Gold Coast (Snapper Rocks, Australia): 9th

Rip Curl Pro, Bells Beach (Australia): 1st

Hang Loose Pro (Santa Catarina, Brasil): 2nd

Billabong Pro (Jeffreys Bay, South Africa): 17th

Billabong Pro Teahupoo (Teahupoo, Tahiti): 3rd

Hurley Pro (Lower Trestles, San Clemente, California): 1st

Quiksilver Pro France (Hossegor, France): 2nd

Rip Curl Pro Portugal (Peniche, Portugal): 1st

Rip Curl Pro Search 2010 (Middles Beach, Isabela, Puerto Rico): 1st

Billabong Pipeline Masters (Pipeline, Oahu, Hawaii): 3rd

2009 stats and results

World ranking: 6th.

Event results in 2009

Quiksilver Pro, Gold Coast (Snapper Rocks, Australia): 17th

Rip Curl Pro, Bells Beach (Australia): 17th

Billabong Pro, Tahiti (Teahupoo, Tahiti): 17th

Hang Loose Pro (Santa Catarina, Brasil): 1st

Billabong Pro (Jeffreys Bay, South Africa): 9th

Hurley Pro (Lower Trestles, San Clemente, California): 3rd

Quiksilver Pro France (Hossegor, France): 5th

Billabong Pro, Mundaka (Mundaka, Spain): 3rd

Rip Curl Search (Peniche, Portugal): 17th

Billabong Pipeline Masters (Pipeline, Oahu, Hawaii): 2nd

2008 stats and results

World ranking: 2008 Champion

Points: 8832

Event results

Quiksilver Pro, Gold Coast (Snapper Rocks, Australia): 1st

Rip Curl Pro, Bells Beach (Australia): 1st

Billabong Pro, Tahiti (Teahupoo, Tahiti): 17th

Globe Pro, Fiji (Tavarua, Fiji): 1st

Billabong Pro, J-Bay (Jeffreys Bay, South Africa): 1st

Rip Curl Search (Bali, Indonesia): 17th

Boost Mobile Pro (Lower Trestles, San Clemente, California): 1st

Quiksilver Pro France (Hossegor, France): 2nd

Billabong Pro, Mundaka (Mundaka, Spain): 9th

Hang Loose Pro (Santa Catarina, Brasil): DNS

Billabong Pipeline Masters (Pipeline, Oahu, Hawaii): 1st

History of wins

2019

Triple Crown of Surfing (Specialty-Hawaii)

2016

Billabong Pro (Teahupoo, Tahiti) - WT

2014

Volcom Pipe Pro (Pipeline, Hawaii) - QS 5-Stars

2013

Quiksilver Pro (Gold Coast, Australia) - WT

Volcom Fiji Pro (Tavarua/Namotu, Fiji) - WT

Billabong Pipeline Masters (Pipeline, Hawaii) - WT

2012

Volcom Fiji Pro (Tavarua, Fiji) - WT

Hurley Pro (Trestles, California) - WT

Quiksilver Pro France (South West Coast, France) - WT

2011

Quiksilver Pro (Gold Coast, Australia) - WT

Billabong Pro (Teahupoo, Tahiti) - WT

Hurley Pro (Trestles, California) - WT

Nike US Open of Surfing (Huntington Beach, California) - QS Prime

2010

Rip Curl Pro (Bells Beach, Australia) - WT

Hurley Pro (Trestles, California) - WT

Rip Curl Pro (Peniche, Portugal) - WT

Rip Curl Search (Middles, Isabela, Puerto Rico) - WT

2009

Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro (Santa Catarina, Brasil) - WT

2008

Quiksilver Pro (Gold Coast, Australia) - WT

Rip Curl Pro (Bells Beach, Australia) - WT

Globe Pro (Tavarua, Fiji) - WT

Billabong Pro (Jeffreys Bay, South Africa) - WT

Boost Mobile Pro (Trestles, California) - WT

Billabong Pipeline Masters (Pipeline, Hawaii) - WT

2007

Boost Mobile Pro (Trestles, California) - WT

2006

Quiksilver Pro (Gold Coast, Australia) - WT

Rip Curl Pro (Bells Beach, Australia) - WT

2005

Billabong Pro (Teahupoo, Tahiti) - WT

Globe Pro Fiji (Tavarua, Fiji) - WT

Billabong Pro (Jeffreys Bay, South Africa) - WT

Boost Mobile Pro (Trestles, California) - WT

2004

X-Games SRF The Game

Snickers Australian Open - QS

Energy Australia Open - QS

2003

X-Games SRF The Game

Billabong Pro (Teahupoo, Tahiti) - WT

Billabong Pro (Jeffreys Bay, South Africa) - WT

Billabong Pro (Mundaka, Spain) - WT

Nova Schin Festival (Santa Catarina, Brazil) - WT

2002

Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau (Specialty-Hawaii)

2000

Gotcha Pro Tahiti (Teahupoo, Tahiti) - WT

1999

Mountain Dew Pipeline Masters (Pipeline, Hawaii) - WT

1998

Billabong Pro (Gold Coast, Australia) - WT

Triple Crown of Surfing (Specialty-Hawaii)

1997

Coke Surf Classic (Manly Beach, Australia) - QS 6-Stars

Billabong Pro (Gold Coast, Australia) - WT

Tokushima Pro (Tokushima, Japan) - WT

Marui Pro (Chiba, Japan) - WT

Kaiser Summer Surf (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) - WT

Grand Slam (Specialty-Australia)

Typhoon Lagoon Surf Challenge (Specialty-US)

1996

Coke Surf Classic (Narrabeen, Australia)

Rip Curl Pro Saint Leu (Saint Leu, Reunion Island)

CSI presents Billabong Pro (Jeffreys Bay, South Africa)

U.S. Open of Surfing (Huntington Beach, California)

Rip Curl Pro Hossegor (Hossegor, France)

Quiksilver Surfmasters (Biarritz, France)

Chiemsee Gerry Lopez Pipe Masters (Pipeline, Hawaii)

Sud Ouest Trophee (Specialty-France)

Da Hui Backdoor Shootout (Specialty-Hawaii)

1995

Quiksilver Pro (Grajagan, Indonesia)

Chiemsee Pipe Masters (Pipeline, Hawaii)

Triple Crown of Surfing (Specialty-Hawaii)

1994

Rip Curl Pro (Bells Beach, Australia)

Gotcha Lacanau Pro (Lacanau, France)

Chiemsee Gerry Lopez Pipe Masters (Pipeline, Hawaii)

Bud Surf Tour Seaside Reef (WQS-US)

Bud Surf Tour Huntington (WQS-US)

Sud Ouest Trophee (Specialty-France)

1993

Marui Pro (Chiba, Japan)

1992

Rip Curl Pro Landes (Hossegor, France)

Marui Pipe Masters (Pipeline, Hawaii)

1990

Body Glove Surfbout (Trestles, California)

Personal life

Slater is an avid golfer and practices the sport of Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

His surfing inspirations are said to be Andy Irons, Shane Dorian, Josh Kerr, and Dane Reynolds, Andrew Bloom, Drew Phelps, Ken Wells, and Hunter Collins.

Filmography

Films

Surfers – The Movie (1990)

Kelly Slater in Black and White (1991)

Momentum 1 (1992)

Focus (1994)

Endless Summer II (1994)

Factory Seconds (1995)

Momentum 2 (1996)

Good Times (1996)

Kelly Slater In Kolor (1997)

The Show (1997) gas

Loose Change (1999)

Hit & Run (2000)

Thicker than Water (2000)

One Night at McCool's (2001)

September Sessions (2002)

Step into Liquid (2003)

Campaign 1 (2003)

Riding Giants (2004)

Doped Youth 'Groovy Avalon' (2004)

Young Guns 1, 2 & 3 (2004–2008)

Campaign 2 (2005)

Burn (2005)

Letting Go (2006)

Surf's Up (2007)

Down the Barrel (2007)

Bra Boys: Blood is Thicker than Water (2007)

Bustin' Down the Door (2008)

One Track Mind (2008)

Kelly Slater Letting Go (2008)

Waveriders (2008)

The Ocean (2008)

A Fly in the Champagne (2009) (featuring Kelly Slater and Andy Irons)

Cloud 9 (2009)

Keep Surfing (2009)

Ultimate Wave Tahiti (2010)

Fighting Fear (2011)

Wave Warriors 3

View from a Blue Moon (2015)

Momentum Generation (2018)

Cameo appearances

"You Look So Fine" - Garbage music video (1999)

"Surf's Up" (2007)

View From A Blue Moon (2015)

Television

Baywatch, 27 episodes (1992–1996)

The Jersey, surfing episode 18 (2001)

The Girls Next Door, "Surf's Up" 1 episode

Kenchappa Varadaraj

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kenchappa VaradarajPersonal information

Date of birth 7 May 1924

Date of death 20 December 2011 (aged 87)

Place of death Rajajinagar, India

Position(s) Goalkeeper

K. V. Varadaraj (7 May 1924 – 20 December 2011) was an Indian footballer. He competed for India at the 1948 Summer Olympics.

Kavita Devi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kavita Devi

Devi in April 2018

Birth name Kavita Dalal

Born 20 September 1986

Malvi, Jind District, Haryana, India

Ring name(s) Hard KD

Kavita

Kavita Devi

Billed height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)

Billed from Haryana, India

Trained by The Great Khali

WWE Performance Center

Sara Del Rey

Debut 2016

Kavita Dalal (born 20 September 1986) is an Indian professional wrestler who performed in the WWE under the ring name Kavita Devi, on their developmental territory NXT between 2017 and 2021. Devi is the first female professional wrestler of Indian nationality to wrestle in WWE. Devi previously wrestled on the independent circuit under the ring names Kavita and Hard KD, most notably for Continental Wrestling Entertainment.

Personal life

Kavita Devi Dalal, one of the five siblings, was born in Malvi village of Julana tehsil of Jind district [5] of Haryana state of India. She got married in 2009 and gave birth to a child in 2010, after which she wanted to quit sports but inspired by her husband she continued playing.

Weightlifting and powerlifting career

Kavita Dalal

Women's Weightlifting

Representing India

2016 Guwahati and Shillong Freestyle (– 75 kg)

Devi has represented India in international competition, she won gold in the 75 kg category at the 2016 South Asian Games.

Awards

12th South Asian Games

Gold in women's weightlifting 75 kg

Professional wrestling career

Continental Wrestling Entertainment (2016–2017)

On 24 February 2016, Kavita Dalal entered the promotion of The Great Khali named Continental Wrestling Entertainment, to begin her training as a professional wrestler. Devi made her debut for the promotion in June 2016, under the ring name Kavita, accepting the "Open Challenge" of B. B. Bull Bull before attacking her. On 25 June, she appeared with a new ring name, Hard KD, teaming with Sahil Sangwan in a losing effort against B. B. Bull Bull and Super Khalsa in the first mixed tag team match in promotion. Kavita cites her trainer The Great Khali as her main inspiration to become a professional wrestler.

WWE (2017–2021)

On 13 July, she was announced as one of the participants for the Mae Young Classic tournament. On 28 August, Kavita was eliminated in the first round by Dakota Kai.

On 15 October 2017, WWE announced that Devi had signed a contract, and will start training at their Performance Center in January 2018. On 8 April 2018, Devi made her first appearance as part of the company while also making her WrestleMania debut at WrestleMania 34 competing during the inaugural WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal in which she was eliminated by Sarah Logan. On 19 April, Devi made her NXT Live event debut as a heel, teaming with Aliyah against Dakota Kai and Steffanie Newell in a losing effort. She participated in the Mae Young Classic 2018 but lost in the first round against a returning Kaitlyn. On 19 May 2021, it was announced that Devi was released from WWE.

Business ventures

In January 2019, she started trials for selecting players to launch a WWE Super League in India.

Kunzang Bhutia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kunzang BhutiaPersonal information

Full name Kunzang Bhutia

Date of birth 3 January 1994

Place of birth Lachung, Sikkim, India

Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)

Playing position(s) Goalkeeper

Kunzang Bhutia (born 3 January 1994) is an Indian professional footballer who last played as a goalkeeper for Hyderabad FC in the Indian Super League.

Career

Born in Lachung, Sikkim, Bhutia was inspired by his uncle and aunt to play football. He started playing the game as a defender before being converted into a goalkeeper. He led the Sikkim under-16 side during the junior nationals in Goa. He then joined the Sports Authority of India and played matches for the academy in Delhi before joining the youth side at Royal Wahingdoh. Bhutia then represented his state of Sikkim in the 2010 Santosh Trophy at the age of 17. He then joined Shillong Lajong in 2013.

Despite not playing a single match in the I-League for Shillong Lajong, Bhutia was signed on loan by NorthEast United of the Indian Super League. After returning from loan, Bhutia made his professional debut for Shillong Lajong in the I-League on 28 March 2015 against Sporting Goa. He came on in the 52nd minute for forward, David Ngaihte, after Shillong's starting goalkeeper, Vishal Kaith, was sent off. Bhutia went on to play the rest of the match and not concede as Shillong Lajong drew the match 1–1. After the season, Bhutia went out on loan again in the Indian Super League, this time to Atlético de Kolkata. After returning from loan and playing the 2015–16 season with Shillong Lajong, Bhutia signed with Calcutta Football League side Tollygunge Agragami.

In November 2016, Bhutia signed with I-League 2nd Division side Fateh Hyderabad. He made his debut for the side in their season opener against Pride Sports on 21 January 2017. He started the match and kept the clean sheet as Fateh Hyderabad won 2–0.

In July 2017, Bhutia was drafted by Indian Super League franchise ATK.

Career statistics

As of 22 April 2018

ClubSeasonLeagueLeague CupDomestic CupContinentalTotal

DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals

Shillong Lajong 2014–15 I-League 5 0 — — — — — — 5 0

2015–15 I-League 1 0 — — — — — — 1 0

Total6000000060

NorthEast United (loan) 2014 Indian Super League 0 0 — — — — — — 0 0

Atlético de Kolkata (loan) 2015 Indian Super League 0 0 — — — — — — 0 0

Fateh Hyderabad 2016–17 I-League 2nd Division 5 0 — — — — — — 5 0

ATK 2017–18 Indian Super League 0 0 — — — — — — 0 0

Career total110000000110

Kishan Tadvi

Kishan Tadvi capped off the Maharashtra State Athletic Championships with his third gold medal - this time in the cross-country event (5000m) - at the Sports Authority of India's Kandivli campus

Tadvi, who finished with a timing of 15:17.9 seconds yesterday, had clinched the gold medals in the boys U-17 1500m and 3000m events as well.u00a0In fact, Tadvi broke his own national record of 4:08.1 with a time of 04:05.6 in the 1500m on Thursday.

“It was a special feeling to break my own record and that too at a state meet. I hope I am able to do well in the nationals,” Tadvi told MiD DAY.

The Class X student, who belongs to the Tadvi Bhil tribe in Akkalkuwa (Nandurbar), added that he was grateful to the state government’s scholarship scheme devised to give free education to bright students from tribal belt.

“I was studying in Janta School (in Dindori village of Nashik district) till Class V. For me, life was about going to school and living with my parents, who are farmers, in a village near Akkalkuwa. As I was good in studies, I was one of the 40 students selected under the state’s tribal scholarship scheme in 2008 and was admitted to the Bhonsala Military School in Nashik. Since then my life has changed for good.”

Kishan narrated how the family was sometimes forced to starve during his childhood. “My father has some land on a hill-top. Agriculture depends on rains and there have been times when, due to scanty rainfall, we haven’t consumed food for many days.

“I don’t starve in Nashik. Sports gave a new meaning to my life. I want to win an Olympic medal for my country some day and make my parents proud,” said Kishan.

He explained how training with 2010 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Kavita Raut’s coach, Vijender Singh, gave his life a new direction.

“I was always a good student. But I was lonely staying at the hostel away from my parents. I used to see Vijender sir train other kids at school. That’s when I approached him to train me. Today, with his help, I am confident that I can be a good athlete and win laurels for the country.”

Athletics - Kisan Narshi Tadvi (born 10 January 1998

Lalrindika Ralte

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lalrindika Ralte

Dika with East Bengal FC in 2019

Personal information

Full name Lalrindika Ralte

Date of birth 7 September 1992

Place of birth Lunglei, Mizoram, India

Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)

Position(s) Attacking midfielder

Club information

Current team Real Kashmir

Number 20

Youth career

2004-2009 IFA Academy

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2009–2012 Churchill Brothers 18 (7)

2010–2011 → Pailan Arrows (loan) 7 (3)

2012–2017 East Bengal 93 (18)

2014 → Mumbai City (loan) 14 (1)

2015 → Mumbai City (loan) 0 (0)

2016 → Atlético Kolkata (loan) 13 (1)

2017–2018 NorthEast United 12 (0)

2018–2020 East Bengal 42 (4)

2021- Real Kashmir 10 (1)

National team‡

2007–2008 India U16 7 (3)

2009 India U19 5 (2)

2011 India U23 9 (1)

2011– India 16 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 25 March 2021

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16:49, 17 March 2015 (UTC)

Lalrindika Ralte (born 7 September 1992 in Lunglei, Mizoram) popularly known as Dika, is an Indian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Real Kashmir in the I-League.

Career

Churchill Brothers and Pailan Arrows

Ralte started his career at Churchill Brothers in 2009 and scored his first professional goal for the club on 1 April 2010 against JCT in the I-League in a 6–0 win. Ralte signed for Pailan Arrows on a season-long loan for the 2010–11 season. He scored his first goal for the Arrows on 3 December 2010 against Prayag United in Arrows' first ever professional match in the I-League. Ralte then scored a brace for the Arrows on 7 May 2011 against Mumbai to help Arrows win 2–1.

Ralte moved back to Churchill for the 2011-12 I-League after his year-long loan and on 1 November 2011, scored his first goal since his return against Prayag United at the Fatorda Stadium to help Churchill draw the match 1–1 in the I-League. He then scored again on 17 December 2011 against Shillong Lajong in the I-League to help Churchill to a 6–0 win. He would then score on 15 January 2012 against Mohun Bagan in the I-League in a 2–3 loss. while he continued to play regular football and impressed, he did not score again until 1 April 2012, when he scored against Prayag United at the Fatorda Stadium again in a 5–2 victory. He scored his 5th goal of the season 15 days later on 15 April 2012 against Pune in a 2–0 away victory. He then scored his last goal of the season on 6 May 2012 against his former club, Pailan Arrows, in the 50th minute in a match that ended 3–2 in favor of his team.

East Bengal

Dika's signed for East Bengal in May 2012 and made his debut for the club on 21 September 2012 against Sporting Goa in the first match of the 2012 Federation Cup, coming on as a 70th-minute substitute for Ishfaq Ahmed. It did not take him long to make a huge contribution to the team as he scored the solitary goal in the semi-final of the Federation Cup on 27 September 2012 against his former team, Churchill Brothers, in the 111th minute of extra-time to send them into the final, which East Bengal would eventually go onto win 3–2 over Dempo in Siliguri. He then scored his first I-League goal for East Bengal in the second match of the season on 11 October 2012 against United Sikkim at the Paljor Stadium in Gangtok from an 82nd-minute free kick in a 1–0 win. He scored his second goal for the club on 24 November 2012 against ONGC at the Salt Lake Stadium in a convincing 5–0 win. On 27 February 2013, he scored his first goal in continental competitions in the 2013 AFC Cup against Selangor FA in a 1–0 home win for East Bengal; a left footed striker from outside the box, beating the Malaysian goalkeeper Norazlan Razali on the 43rd minute. On 9 April 2013, he scored a 25-yard long curling left-footer on the 86th minute to secure a 2–1 home win over Tampines Rovers FC in the AFC Cup group stage. Ralte then would score his fourth goal of the AFC Cup against Kuwait SC on 1 October 2013 in the away leg of the 2013 AFC Cup semi-final match with a right-footed shot from the left of the box. With the goal against Kuwait SC, he became the joint highest Indian scorer of the tournament with Bhaichung Bhutia.

Mumbai City(loan)

Ralte was picked up by Mumbai City on loan for the 2014 Indian Super League as one of the most expensive signings. He started in Mumbai City FC's first ever game against Atletico de Kolkata. He assisted teammate Andre Moritz twice in a 5–0 win over derby rivals FC Pune City. Dika scored his first goal for Mumbai City on 7 December 2014 against Atletico de Kolkata in a 2–1 win.

International

Ralte has played for India at the under-16, under-19, under-23, and senior levels. He made his under-16 debut on 27 October 2007 during the 2008 AFC U-16 qualifiers against Sri Lanka in which India's under-16s won 6–0. He then scored his first goal at that level on 4 November 2007 during the qualifiers against Saudi Arabia in the 65th minute to provide India's under-16s a 3–0 win. Ralte then scored a brace for the India under-16s on 4 October 2008 against South Korea in the opening match of the 2008 AFC U-16 Championship but he could not stop India losing in the end 5–2. Ralte then made his under-19 debut on 5 November 2009 against Iraq during the 2010 AFC U-19 Qualifiers in which India's under-19s lost 5–0. Ralte then scored a brace for India's under-19s on 10 November 2009 against Oman in the U19 qualifiers in which Ralte scored in the 15th and 19th minute but could not stop India losing 4–3 in the end. Then on 23 February 2011 Ralte made his debut for the under-23 side against Myanmar in the 2012 Olympic qualifiers in which India U23s won 2–1. Ralte then scored his first goal at the under-23 level on 30 June 2012 during the 2013 AFC U-22 Asian Cup qualifiers against Turkmenistan in which Ralte scored from a 36th-minute penalty to give India U23s a 4–1 victory.

Ralte made his debut for the senior side on 10 July 2011 against Maldives in a friendly in which he came on as a sub for Syed Nabi; India drew the match 1–1. Ralte then made his tournament debut for India during the opening match of the 2011 SAFF Championship on 3 December 2011 against Afghanistan at the Nehru Stadium in Delhi; India drew 1–1 in that match.

Career statistics

National team statistics

Statistics accurate as of 17 March 2015

India national team

YearAppsGoals

2011 9 0

2012 1 0

2013 2 0

2015 2 0

Total140

Honours

Churchill Brothers

Durand Cup (1): 2011 East Bengal

I-League Runners-up (2): 2013-14, 2018-19

Federation Cup (1): 2012

Calcutta Football League (3): 2012-13, 2013-14, 2016-17

IFA Shield (1): 2012 Atletico de Kolkata

ISL (1): 2015

Len Aiyappa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Len Aiyappa

Personal information

Full name Len Aiyappa Ballachanda Madappa

Born 31 March 1979

Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)

Playing position Fullback

Senior career

Years Team Apps (Gls)

BPCL

Air India

2005 Telekom Malaysia HC

2005 - 2008 Bangalore Hi-Fliers

2012 - present Karnataka Lions

National team

Years Team Apps (Gls)

? - 2005 India

Last updated on: 17 January 2013

Len Aiyappa (born 31 March 1979) is an Indian professional field hockey player. He remained one of India's best drag-flickers until he retired from the national team following a fallout with the Indian Hockey Federation in 2006. He last played for India during the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in 2005.

Career

Aiyappa, playing for Karnataka Lions in the inaugural season of the World Series Hockey, became the top scorer for the team and third overall by scoring 13 goals in 12 games. He joined the team on the insistence of Dhanraj Pillay and the coach of Karnataka Lions, Jude Felix and scored a hat-trick in the game against Chandigarh Comets.

Personal life

He is married.

Lalthuammawia Ralte

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lalthuammawia RaltePersonal information

Full name Lalthuammawia Ralte

Date of birth 28 November 1992

Place of birth Champhai,[1] Mizoram, India

Height 1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)

Position(s) Goalkeeper

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2011–2014 Shillong Lajong 40 (0)

2014–2018 Bengaluru FC 28 (0)

2015 → NorthEast United (loan) 0 (0)

2018–2020 FC Goa 0 (0)

2018-2019 → Kerala Blasters(loan) 0 (0)

2019 → East Bengal (loan) 9 (0)

2020—2021 Bengaluru FC 1 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:14, 29 February 2020 (UTC)

Lalthuammawia Ralte (born 28 November 1992), known as Mawia, is an Indian footballer who plays as the goalkeeper for Bengaluru FC in the Indian Super League.

Shillong Lajong

In the summer of 2011 Ralte signed with newly promoted club Shillong Lajong to play in the I-League. He then made his debut for the club against Churchill Brothers on 17 September 2011 in the 2011 Indian Federation Cup. The match ended 3-1 to Churchill. He helped the club then reach the semi-finals of the Federation Cup against Salgaocar where Lajong would lose 1-0 on 25 September 2011 at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata.

Bengaluru FC

In the summer of 2014 Ralte joined defending I-League champions, Bengaluru FC. On 17 January 2015, Mawia made his debut for Bengaluru FC against Dempo at Bangalore Football Stadium in which he was able to kept his first clean sheet. In his debut season with Bengaluru, he has made 20 appearances and has helped them to win I-League. On 4 February 2015, Mawia made his AFC Champions League debut against Johor Darul Ta'zim at Larkin Stadium Malaysia. He signed a two-year contract with Bengaluru at the end of the season, which would keep him at the club until the end of the 2016-17 I-League season.

NorthEast United FC (loan)

In July 2015 Ralte was drafted to play for NorthEast United FC in the 2015 Indian Super League.

FC Goa

In January after zero games plays with FC Goa, he was loaned to Kerala Blasters FC.

Kerala Blasters FC

Ralte was signed in into the Blasters courtesy of swapping deal midway through the 2018-19 Indian Super League season by FC Goa and them. Ralte was sent on loan to Blasters while then Kerala Blasters goalkeeper Naveen Kumar was sent on loan to FC Goa from Blasters. Still Ralte didn't feature in a single game for the club and returned to Goa after the loan period.

East Bengal FC (loan)

In June 2019 Ralte is drafted to play for East Bengal in the 2019-20 I-League season.

Bengaluru FC

In the summer of 2020 Ralte joined his former club and 2018-19 Indian Super League champions, Bengaluru FC

Laldanmawia Ralte

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Laldanmawia Ralte

Ralte with East Bengal in 2019

Personal information

Full name Laldanmawia Ralte

Date of birth 19 December 1992

Place of birth Mizoram, India

Position(s) Winger

Club information

Current team NorthEast United

Number 17

Youth career

2012–2014 Dinthar Football Club

2014–2015 Chanmari Football Club

2015 Chanmari West

2016 Madras Sporting Union

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2016–2017 Aizawl 15 (3)

2017–2019 East Bengal 52 (17)

2019–2021 Hyderabad 7 (0)

2021– NorthEast United 4 (1)

National team‡

2018– India 5 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 07:30, 13 December 2021 (UTC)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13 November 2018

Laldanmawia Ralte (born 19 December 1992) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Indian Super League club NorthEast United.

Career

Born in Mizoram, Laldanmawia began his career in the Mizoram Premier League with Dinthar where he won the Best Midfielder of the Season award and was tied for the top goalscorer in the league's first season. While playing club football, Laldanmawia also represented the Mizoram football team in various competitions. He is an important player of the Mizoram, Santosh Trophy champion team.

In early 2016, Laldanmawia left Mizoram to play in Tamil Nadu for MSU in the Chennai Super Division. After the season, he returned to Mizoram to sign with Chenmari West in the Mizoram Premier League.

In December 2016 it was revealed that Laldanmawia had signed with I-League side Aizawl for the 2016–17 season. He made his professional debut for the side in the league on 13 January 2017 against Minerva Punjab. He came on as a 62nd-minute substitute for Albert Zohmingmawia as Aizawl came out as 1–0 winners.

NorthEast United

On 3 September 2021, NorthEast United announced that they had completed the signing of Danmawia on a two-year deal. He made his debut for the club on 20 November against Bengaluru FC in a 4–2 loss. He scored his first goal on 13 December in a 1–5 lost against Hyderabad FC.

International career

In June 2018, he was called up to the national team for the Intercontinental Cup (India), where he made his debut in the final against Kenya in a 2–0 win for his team.

Lako Phuti Bhutia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lako Phuti Bhutia

Date of birth 20 October 1995

Place of birth Sribadam, Sikkim, India

Position(s) Defender

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2014 New Radiant

2017– Gokulam Kerala

National team

2012 India U19

2012– India 8

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Lako Phuti Bhutia (born 20 October 1994 in Sikkim) is an Indian women footballer who currently plays for Gokulam Kerala FC and the India women's national football team.

Career[edit]

Bhutia who hails from Sribadam, a remote place in West Sikkim is a product of the Mangalbari Women’s Football Academy. The defender horned her skills under coach Palden Bhutia.

She also played for Maldivian club New Radiant S.C. in 2014. Then she joined Gokulam Kerala FC for 2017–18 Indian Women's League season.

International

In 2012 she was called up to the Under-19 National Team for the 2013 AFC U-19 Women's Championship qualification in Malaysia. She became the 4th Girl from the state to represent the National Team after Pushpa Chetri, Anuradha Chetri and Nima Lhamu Bhutia. She attended a one-month coaching camp at Gandhinagar, Gujarat with the U-19 squad before leaving for Malaysia.

She along with her sister Nima Lhamu Bhutia was selected for the Senior Women’s National Football Coaching Camp, which was held from 1 April 2013. This Camp was held for the selection of the Senior National Team for the Asian Cup Qualifying Round. Her sister could not attend the camp due to personal reasons. Lako has represented the National Team 8 times and has 1 goal to her credit.

Laishram Sarita Devi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Laishram SaritaPersonal information

Full name Sarita Devi

Nationality Indian

Born 1 March 1982

Thoubal khunou, Thoubal, Manipur, India

Height 168 cm (5 ft 6 in)

Weight 60 kg (132 lb)

Sport

Sport Boxing

Weight class Lightweight

Club All India Police

show

Medal record

Laishram Sarita Devi (born 1 March 1982) is an Indian boxer from Manipur. She is a national champion and a former world champion in the lightweight class. In 2009, she was awarded Arjuna award by the government of India for her achievement.

Early life

Sarita Devi was born in Thoubal Khunou Thoubal into an agricultural family as the sixth of eight siblings. She used to spend her time helping her parents in collecting firewood and in the fields, which helped her build the stamina she has today. Sarita completed her high school in Waithou Mapal High School till the eighth standard and then went to Bal Baidya Mandir, Thoubal to complete her matriculation. She then went to an open-school to complete her twelfth standard to cope with her busy boxing schedule.

Career

Devi turned professional in boxing in 2000, inspired by the achievements of Muhammad Ali. The following year, she represented India at the Asian Boxing Championships in Bangkok, and won a silver medal in her weight class. Following this victory, she won medals in various tournaments, including a gold at the 2006 World Championships in New Delhi. In 2005, she was offered the post of Sub-Inspector (SI) by the police department of Manipur, for winning a bronze medal in the 3rd World Women Boxing Championship, Russia and was promoted to the rank of DSP in February, 2010. She also won the silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

She failed to qualify for 2016 Rio Olympics, after losing to Victoria Torres, with a score of 0–3. In 2018, she won Silver Medal at Indian Open International Championships, New Delhi and bagged a Gold Medal at Sr. National Boxing Championships, Rohtak. She also won in Women's World Boxing Championship with a split 4-0 verdict against Sandra Diana.

2014 Asian Games controversy

Devi entered the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, competing in the lightweight category. With a win margin of 3–0 both in the Round of 16 and Quarterfinals, she entered the semifinals to face South Korea's Park Ji-Na on 30 September. After the match, she was handed a 0–3 defeat verdict by the judges of the match, which turned out to be hugely controversial, considering that Devi had knocked Park out in the third round and also a convincing fourth round, before having rained heavy blows on Park throughout the first two rounds. Following this, the Indian team lodged a protest against the decision, which was rejected by the AIBA's technical committee. At the medal awarding ceremony, Devi refused to accept her bronze medal and handed it over to the silver medallist, Park. However, she accepted the medal later. This was followed by provisional suspension of her coaches by the AIBA. She was handed a one-year ban by the AIBA.

Lance Armstrong

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lance Armstrong
Armstrong before the 2009 Tour Down Under
Personal information
Full name Lance Edward Armstrong
Nickname Le Boss
Big Tex
Born Lance Edward Gunderson
September 18, 1971
Richardson, Texas, U.S.
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Weight 75 kg (165 lb)
Team information
Discipline Road
Role Rider
Rider type All-rounder
Amateur teams
1990–1991 Subaru–Montgomery
1991 US National Team
Professional teams
1992–1996 Motorola
1997 Cofidis
1998–2005 U.S. Postal Service
2009 Astana
2010–2011 Team RadioShack
Major wins
Grand Tour Tour de France2 individual stages (1993, 1995)

Stage races Tour de Luxembourg (1998)Tour DuPont (1995, 1996)

One-day races and Classics World Road Race Championships (1993)National Road Race Championships (1993)Clásica de San Sebastián (1995)La Flèche Wallonne (1996)Trofeo Laigueglia (1993)

Lance Edward Armstrong (né Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road racing cyclist. Armstrong was stripped of his seven consecutive Tour de France titles from 1999 to 2005 after a doping investigation and his admission to using performance enhancing drugs.

At age 16, Armstrong began competing as a triathlete and was a national sprint-course triathlon champion in 1989 and 1990. In 1992, he began his career as a professional cyclist with the Motorola team. He had success between 1993 and 1996 with the World Championship in 1993, the Clásica de San Sebastián in 1995, Tour DuPont in 1995 and 1996, and a handful of stage victories in Europe, including stage 8 of the 1993 Tour de France and stage 18 of the 1995 Tour de France. In 1996, he was diagnosed with a potentially fatal metastatic testicular cancer. After his recovery, he founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation (now the Livestrong Foundation) to assist other cancer survivors.

Returning to cycling in 1998, Armstrong was a member of the US Postal/Discovery team between 1998 and 2005 when he won his seven Tour de France titles. Armstrong retired from racing at the end of the 2005 Tour de France, but returned to competitive cycling with the Astana team in January 2009, finishing third in the 2009 Tour de France later that year. Between 2010 and 2011, he raced with Team Radio Shack, and retired for a second time in 2011. These wins and titles would be later stripped after the doping investigations.

Armstrong became the subject of doping allegations after he won the 1999 Tour de France. For years, he denied involvement in doping. In 2012, a United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) investigation concluded that Armstrong had used performance-enhancing drugs over the course of his career and named him as the ringleader of "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen". While maintaining his innocence, Armstrong chose not to contest the charges, citing the potential toll on his family. He received a lifetime ban from all sports that follow the World Anti-Doping Code, ending his competitive cycling career. The International Cycling Union (UCI) upheld USADA's decision and decided that his stripped wins would not be allocated to other riders. In January 2013, Armstrong publicly admitted his involvement in doping. In April 2018, Armstrong settled a civil lawsuit with the United States Department of Justice and agreed to pay US$5 million to the U.S. government after whistleblower proceedings were commenced by Floyd Landis, a former team member.

Early life

Armstrong was born Lance Edward Gunderson on September 18, 1971, at Methodist Hospital in Richardson, Texas, the son of Linda Gayle (née Mooneyham), a secretary, and Eddie Charles Gunderson (died 2012),[citation needed] a route manager for The Dallas Morning News. He is of Canadian, Dutch, and Norwegian descent  He was named after Lance Rentzel, a Dallas Cowboys wide receiver. His parents divorced in 1973 when Lance was two. The next year, his mother married Terry Keith Armstrong, a wholesale salesman, who adopted Lance that year.

Career
Early career
Armstrong (center left) during the amateur race at the 1990 UCI Road World Championships

At the age of 12, Armstrong started his sporting career as a swimmer at the City of Plano Swim Club and finished fourth in Texas state 1,500-meter freestyle. He stopped swimming-only races after seeing a poster for a junior triathlon, called the Iron Kids Triathlon, which he won at age 13.

In the 1987–1988 Tri-Fed/Texas ("Tri-Fed" was the former name of USA Triathlon), Armstrong was ranked the number-one triathlete in the 19-and-under group; second place was Chann McRae, who became a US Postal Service cycling teammate and the 2002 USPRO national champion. Armstrong's total points in 1987 as an amateur were better than those of five professionals ranked higher than he was that year. At 16, Lance Armstrong became a professional triathlete and became national sprint-course triathlon champion in 1989 and 1990 at 18 and 19, respectively.

Motorola: 1992–96

In 1992, Armstrong turned professional with the Motorola Cycling Team, the successor of 7-Eleven team. In 1993, Armstrong won 10 one-day events and stage races, but his breakthrough victory was the World Road Race Championship held in Norway. Before his World Championships win, he took his first win at the Tour de France, in the stage from Châlons-sur-Marne to Verdun. He was 97th in the general classification when he retired after stage 12. He collected the Thrift Drug Triple Crown of Cycling: the Thrift Drug Classic in Pittsburgh, the K-Mart West Virginia Classic, and the CoreStates USPRO national championship in Philadelphia. He is alleged by another cyclist competing in the CoreStates Road Race to have bribed that cyclist so that he would not compete with Armstrong for the win.

In 1994, he again won the Thrift Drug Classic and came second in the Tour DuPont in the United States. His successes in Europe occurred when he placed second in Liège–Bastogne–Liège and the Clásica de San Sebastián, where just two years before, he had finished in last place at his first all-pro event in Europe. He finished the year strongly at the World Championships in Agrigento, finishing in 7th place less than a minute behind winner Luc Leblanc.

In a 2016 speech to University of Colorado, Boulder professor Roger A. Pielke, Jr.'s Introduction to Sports Governance class, Armstrong stated he began doping in "late Spring of 1995".

He won the Clásica de San Sebastián in 1995, followed by an overall victory in the penultimate Tour DuPont and a handful of stage victories in Europe, including the stage to Limoges in the Tour de France, three days after the death of his teammate Fabio Casartelli, who crashed on the descent of the Col de Portet d'Aspet on the 15th stage. After winning the stage, Armstrong pointed to the sky in honor of Casartelli.

Armstrong's successes were much the same in 1996. He became the first American to win the La Flèche Wallonne and again won the Tour DuPont. However, he was able to compete for only five days in the Tour de France. In the 1996 Olympic Games, he finished 6th in the time trial and 12th in the road race. In August 1996 following the Leeds Classic, Armstrong signed a 2-year, $2 million deal with the French Cofidis Cycling Team. Joining him in signing contracts with the French team were teammates Frankie Andreu and Laurent Madouas. Two months later, in October 1996, he was diagnosed with advanced testicular cancer.

Cancer diagnosis, treatment and recovery

On October 2, 1996, at the age of 25, Armstrong was diagnosed with stage three (advanced) testicular cancer (embryonal carcinoma). The cancer had spread to his lymph nodes, lungs, brain, and abdomen. He visited urologist Jim Reeves in Austin, Texas for diagnosis of his symptoms, including a headache, blurred vision, coughing up blood and a swollen testicle. On October 3, Armstrong had an orchiectomy to remove the diseased testicle. When Reeves was asked in a later interview what he thought Armstrong's chances of survival were, he said, "Almost none. We told Lance initially 20 to 50% chance, mainly to give him hope. But with the kind of cancer he had, with the x-rays, the blood tests, almost no hope."

After receiving a letter from Steven Wolff, an oncologist at Vanderbilt University, Armstrong went to the Indiana University medical center in Indianapolis  and decided to receive the rest of his treatment there. The standard treatment for Armstrong's cancer was a "cocktail" of the drugs bleomycin, etoposide, and cisplatin (or Platinol) (BEP). The first chemotherapy cycle that Armstrong underwent included BEP, but for the three remaining cycles, he was given an alternative, vinblastine etoposide, ifosfamide, and cisplatin (VIP), to avoid lung toxicity associated with bleomycin.[28] Armstrong credited this with saving his cycling career. At Indiana University, Lawrence Einhorn had pioneered the use of cisplatin to treat testicular cancer. Armstrong's primary oncologist there was Craig Nichols. On October 25 his brain lesions, which were found to contain extensive necrosis, were surgically removed by Scott A. Shapiro, a professor of neurosurgery at Indiana University.

Armstrong's final chemotherapy treatment took place on December 13, 1996. In January 1997, Armstrong unexpectedly appeared at the first training camp of the Cofidis team at Lille, riding 100 km (62 mi) with his new teammates before returning to the United States. In February 1997, he was declared cancer-free. In October, Cofidis announced that his contract would not be extended, after negotiations broke down over a new deal. A former boss at Subaru Montgomery offered him a contract with the US Postal team at a salary of $200,000 a year. By January 1998, Armstrong was engaged in serious training for racing, moving to Europe with the team.

US Postal/Discovery: 1998–2005

Before his cancer treatment, Armstrong had participated in four Tour de France races, winning two stages. In 1993, he won the eighth stage and in 1995; he took stage 18 which he dedicated to teammate Fabio Casartelli who had crashed and died on stage 15. Armstrong dropped out of the 1996 Tour after the fifth stage after becoming ill, a few months before his diagnosis.[citation needed]
Armstrong finishing third in Sète, taking over the Yellow Jersey at Grand Prix Midi Libre.

Armstrong's cycling comeback began in 1998 when he finished fourth in the Vuelta a España. In 1999 he won the Tour de France, including four stages. He beat the second place rider, Alex Zülle, by 7 minutes 37 seconds. However, the absence of Jan Ullrich (injury) and Marco Pantani (drug allegations) meant Armstrong had not yet proven himself against the biggest names in the sport. Stage wins included the prologue, stage eight, an individual time trial in Metz, an Alpine stage on stage nine, and the second individual time trial on stage 19.

In 2000, Ullrich and Pantani returned to challenge Armstrong. The race began a six-year rivalry between Ullrich and Armstrong and ended in victory for Armstrong by 6 minutes 2 seconds over Ullrich. Armstrong took one stage in the 2000 Tour, the second individual time trial on stage 19. In 2001, Armstrong again took top honors, beating Ullrich by 6 minutes 44 seconds. In 2002, Ullrich did not participate due to suspension, and Armstrong won by seven minutes over Joseba Beloki.
Armstrong riding the prologue of the 2004 Tour de France

The pattern returned in 2003, Armstrong taking first place and Ullrich second. Only a minute and a second separated the two at the end of the final day in Paris. U.S. Postal won the team time trial on stage four, while Armstrong took stage 15, despite having been knocked off on the ascent to Luz Ardiden, the final climb, when a spectator's bag caught his right handlebar. Ullrich waited for him, which brought Ullrich fair-play honors.

In 2004, Armstrong finished first, 6 minutes 19 seconds ahead of German Andreas Klöden. Ullrich was fourth, a further 2 minutes 31 seconds behind. Armstrong won a personal-best five individual stages, plus the team time trial. He became the first biker since Gino Bartali in 1948 to win three consecutive mountain stages; 15, 16, and 17. The individual time trial on stage 16 up Alpe d'Huez was won in style by Armstrong as he passed Ivan Basso on the way despite having set out two minutes after the Italian. He won sprint finishes from Basso in stages 13 and 15 and made up a significant gap in the last 250 m to nip Klöden at the line in stage 17. He won the final individual time trial, stage 19, to complete his personal record of stage wins.
Armstrong wearing the yellow jersey at the 2005 Tour de France

In 2005, Armstrong was beaten by American David Zabriskie in the stage 1 time trial by two seconds, despite having passed Ullrich on the road. His Discovery Channel team won the team time trial, while Armstrong won the final individual time trial. In the mountain stages, Armstrong's lead was attacked multiple times mostly by Ivan Basso, but also by T-mobile leaders Jan Ullrich, Andreas Kloden and Alexandre Vinokourov and former teammate Levi Leipheimer. But still, the American champion handled them well, maintained his lead and, on some occasions, increased it. To complete his record-breaking feat, he crossed the line on the Champs-Élysées on July 24 to win his seventh consecutive Tour, finishing 4 m 40s ahead of Basso, with Ullrich third. Another record achieved that year was that Armstrong completed the tour at the highest pace in the race's history: his average speed over the whole tour was 41.7 km/h (26 mph). In 2005, Armstrong announced he would retire after the 2005 Tour de France, citing his desire to spend more time with his family and his foundation. During his retirement he was unaware of professional cycling but whilst at a conference, in 2008, he saw Carlos Sastre's win on Alpe d'Huez and "felt a pang".

Comeback

Astana Pro Team: 2009

Armstrong announced on September 9, 2008, that he would return to pro cycling with the express goal of participating in the 2009 Tour de France. VeloNews reported that Armstrong would race for no salary or bonuses and would post his internally tested blood results online.
Armstrong riding for Astana on Stage 17 of the 2009 Tour de France

Australian ABC radio reported on September 24, 2008, that Armstrong would compete in the UCI Tour Down Under through Adelaide and surrounding areas in January 2009. UCI rules say a cyclist has to be in an anti-doping program for six months before an event, but UCI allowed Armstrong to compete. He had to retire from the 2009 Vuelta a Castilla y León during the first stage after crashing in a rider pileup in Baltanás, Spain, and breaking his collarbone.[46] Armstrong flew back to Austin, Texas, for corrective surgery, which was successful, and was back training on a bicycle within four days of his operation.

On April 10, 2009, a controversy emerged between the French anti-doping agency AFLD and Armstrong and his team manager, Johan Bruyneel, stemming from a March 17, 2009, encounter with an AFLD anti-doping official who visited Armstrong after a training ride in Beaulieu-sur-Mer. When the official arrived, Armstrong claims he asked—and was granted—permission to take a shower while Bruyneel checked the official's credentials. In late April, the AFLD cleared Armstrong of any wrongdoing. Armstrong returned to racing after his collarbone injury at the Tour of the Gila in New Mexico on April 29.

On July 7, in the fourth stage of the 2009 Tour de France, Armstrong narrowly failed to win the yellow jersey after his Astana team won the team time trial. His Astana team won the 39 km lap of Montpellier but Armstrong ended up just over two tenths of a second (0.22) outside Fabian Cancellara's overall lead. Armstrong finished the 2009 Tour de France in third place overall, 5:24 behind the overall winner, his Astana teammate Alberto Contador.

Team RadioShack: 2010–11
Armstong riding in the 2010 Tour de France in his RadioShack jersey

On July 21, 2009, Armstrong announced that he would return to the Tour de France in 2010. RadioShack was named as the main sponsor for Armstrong's 2010 team, named Team RadioShack. Armstrong made his 2010 season debut at the Tour Down Under where he finished 25th out of the 127 riders who completed the race. He made his European season debut at the 2010 Vuelta a Murcia finishing in seventh place overall. Armstrong was also set to compete in several classics such as the Milan–San Remo, Amstel Gold Race, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and the Tour of Flanders, but bouts with gastroenteritis forced his withdrawal from three of the four races.

Armstrong returned to the United States in mid-April to compete in the Tour of Gila and May's Tour of California, both as preparation for the Tour de France. However, he crashed outside Visalia early in stage 5 of the Tour of California and had to withdraw from the race. He showed fine shape after recovering from the Tour of California crash, placing second in the Tour of Switzerland and third in the Tour of Luxembourg.

On June 28, Armstrong announced via Twitter that the 2010 edition would be his final Tour de France. Armstrong put in an impressive performance in the Tour's prologue time trial, finishing fourth, but was plagued by crashes in later stages that put him out of general classification contention, especially a serious crash in stage 8. He rallied for the brutal Pyrenean stage 16, working as a key player in a successful break that included teammate Chris Horner. He finished his last tour in 23rd place, 39 minutes 20 seconds behind former winner Alberto Contador. He was also a key rider in helping Team RadioShack win the team competition, beating Caisse d'Epargne by 9 minutes, 15 seconds. In October, he announced the end of his international career after the Tour Down Under in January 2011. He stated that after January 2011, he will race only in the U.S. with the Radioshack domestic team.

Armstrong announced his retirement from competitive cycling 'for good' on February 16, 2011, while still facing a US federal investigation into doping allegations.

Collaboration of sponsors

Armstrong improved the support behind his well-funded teams, asking sponsors and suppliers to contribute and act as part of the team. For example, rather than having the frame, handlebars, and tires designed and developed by separate companies with little interaction, his teams adopted a Formula One relationship with sponsors and suppliers named "F-One", taking full advantage of the combined resources of several organizations working in close communication. The team, Trek, Nike, AMD, Bontrager (a Trek company), Shimano, Sram, Giro and Oakley, collaborated for an array of products.

Doping allegations, investigation and confession

For much of his career, Armstrong faced persistent allegations of doping. Armstrong denied all such allegations until January 2013, often claiming that he never had any positive test in the drug tests he has taken over his cycling career.

Armstrong has been criticized for his disagreements with outspoken opponents of doping such as Paul Kimmage and Christophe Bassons. Bassons was a rider for Festina at the time of the Festina affair and was widely reported by teammates as being the only rider on the team not to be taking performance-enhancing drugs. Bassons wrote a number of articles for a French newspaper during the 1999 Tour de France which made references to doping in the peloton. Subsequently, Armstrong had an altercation with Bassons during the 1999 Tour de France where Bassons said Armstrong rode up alongside on the Alpe d'Huez stage to tell him "it was a mistake to speak out the way I (Bassons) do and he (Armstrong) asked why I was doing it. I told him that I'm thinking of the next generation of riders. Then he said 'Why don't you leave, then?'"

Armstrong confirmed the story. On the main evening news on TF1, a national television station, Armstrong said, "His accusations aren't good for cycling, for his team, for me, for anybody. If he thinks cycling works like that, he's wrong and he would be better off going home". Kimmage, a professional cyclist in the 1980s who later became a sports journalist, referred to Armstrong as a "cancer in cycling". He also asked Armstrong questions in relation to his "admiration for dopers" at a press conference at the Tour of California in 2009, provoking a scathing reaction from Armstrong. This spat continued and is exemplified by Kimmage's articles in The Irish Independent.

Armstrong continued to deny the use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs for four more years, describing himself as the most tested athlete in the world. From his return to cycling in the fall of 2008 through March 2009, Armstrong claimed to have submitted to 24 unannounced drug tests by various anti-doping authorities.

Working with Michele Ferrari

Armstrong was criticized for working with controversial trainer Michele Ferrari. Ferrari claimed that he was introduced to Lance by Eddy Merckx in 1995. Greg LeMond described himself as "devastated" on hearing of them working together, while Tour de France organizer Jean-Marie Leblanc said, "I am not happy the two names are mixed." Following Ferrari's later-overturned conviction for "sporting fraud" and "abuse of the medical profession", Armstrong claimed he suspended his professional relationship with him, saying that he had "zero tolerance for anyone convicted of using or facilitating the use of performance-enhancing drugs" and denying that Ferrari had ever "suggested, prescribed or provided me with any performance-enhancing drugs."

Though Ferrari was banned from practicing medicine with cyclists by the Italian Cycling Federation, according to Italian law enforcement authorities, Armstrong met with Ferrari as late as 2010 in a country outside Italy. According to Cycling News, "USADA reveals an intimate role played by Dr. Michele Ferrari in masterminding Armstrong's Tour de France success". According to the USADA report, Armstrong paid Ferrari over a million dollars from 1996 to 2006, countering Armstrong's claim that he severed his professional relationship with Ferrari in 2004. The report also includes numerous eyewitness accounts of Ferrari injecting Armstrong with EPO on a number of occasions.

L.A. Confidentiel: 2004

In 2004, reporters Pierre Ballester and David Walsh published a book alleging Armstrong had used performance-enhancing drugs (L.A. Confidentiel – Les secrets de Lance Armstrong). Another figure in the book, Steve Swart, claims he and other riders, including Armstrong, began using drugs in 1995 while members of the Motorola team, a claim denied by other team members.

Among the allegations in the book were claims by Armstrong's former soigneur Emma O'Reilly that a backdated prescription for cortisone had been produced in 1999 to avoid a positive test. A 1999 urine sample at the Tour de France showed traces of corticosteroid. A medical certificate showed he used an approved cream for saddle sores which contained the substance. O'Reilly said she heard team officials worrying about Armstrong's positive test for steroids during the Tour. She said: "They were in a panic, saying: 'What are we going to do? What are we going to do?'"

According to O'Reilly, the solution was to get one of their compliant doctors to issue a pre-dated prescription for a steroid-based ointment to combat saddle sores. He said she would have known if Armstrong had saddle sores as she would have administered any treatment for it. O'Reilly said that Armstrong told her: "Now, Emma, you know enough to bring me down." O'Reilly said on other occasions she was asked to dispose of used syringes for Armstrong and pick up strange parcels for the team.

Allegations in the book were reprinted in The Sunday Times (UK) by deputy sports editor Alan English in June 2004. Armstrong sued for libel, and the paper settled out of court after a High Court judge in a pre-trial ruling stated that the article "meant accusation of guilt and not simply reasonable grounds to suspect." The newspaper's lawyers issued the statement: "The Sunday Times has confirmed to Mr. Armstrong that it never intended to accuse him of being guilty of taking any performance-enhancing drugs and sincerely apologized for any such impression." The same authors (Pierre Ballester and David Walsh) subsequently published L.A. Official and Le Sale Tour (The Dirty Trick), further pressing their claims that Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career.

On March 31, 2005, Mike Anderson filed a brief in Travis County District Court in Texas, as part of a legal battle following his termination in November 2004 as an employee of Armstrong. Anderson worked for Armstrong for two years as a personal assistant. In the brief, Anderson claimed that he discovered a box of androstenone while cleaning a bathroom in Armstrong's apartment in Girona, Spain. Androstenone is not on the list of banned drugs. Anderson stated in a subsequent deposition that he had no direct knowledge of Armstrong using a banned substance. Armstrong denied the claim and issued a counter-suit. The two men reached an out-of-court settlement in November 2005; the terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

In November 2012, Times Newspapers republished all of Walsh's articles as well as the original "LA Confidential" article by Alan English in Lanced: The shaming of Lance Armstrong. The Times is said to be considering taking action to recoup money from Armstrong in relation to the settlement and court costs.

In December 2012 The Sunday Times filed suit against Armstrong for $1.5 million. In its suit, the paper is seeking a return of the original settlement, plus interest and the cost of defending the original case.

In August 2013, Armstrong and The Sunday Times reached an undisclosed settlement.

Tour de France urine tests: 2005

On August 23, 2005, L'Équipe, a major French daily sports newspaper, reported on its front page under the headline "le mensonge Armstrong" ("The Armstrong Lie") that six urine samples taken from the cyclist during the prologue and five stages of the 1999 Tour de France, frozen and stored since at "Laboratoire national de dépistage du dopage de Châtenay-Malabry" (LNDD), had tested positive for erythropoietin (EPO) in recent retesting conducted as part of a research project into EPO testing methods.

Armstrong immediately replied on his website, saying, "Unfortunately, the witch hunt continues and tomorrow's article is nothing short of tabloid journalism. The paper even admits in its own article that the science in question here is faulty and that I have no way to defend myself. They state: 'There will therefore be no counter-exam nor regulatory prosecutions, in a strict sense, since defendant's rights cannot be respected.' I will simply restate what I have said many times: I have never taken performance enhancing drugs."

In October 2005, in response to calls from the International Olympic Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for an independent investigation, the UCI appointed Dutch lawyer Emile Vrijman to investigate the handling of urine tests by the French national anti-doping laboratory, LNDD. Vrijman was head of the Dutch anti-doping agency for ten years; since then he has worked as a defense attorney defending high-profile athletes against doping charges. Vrijman's report cleared Armstrong because of improper handling and testing. The report said tests on urine samples were conducted improperly and fell so short of scientific standards that it was "completely irresponsible" to suggest they "constitute evidence of anything."

The recommendation of the commission's report was no disciplinary action against any rider on the basis of LNDD research. It also called upon the WADA and LNDD to submit themselves to an investigation by an outside independent authority. The IOC Ethics Commission subsequently censured Dick Pound, the President of WADA and a member of the IOC, for his statements in the media that suggested wrongdoing by Armstrong. In April 2009, anti-doping expert Michael Ashenden said "the LNDD absolutely had no way of knowing athlete identity from the sample they're given. They have a number on them, but that's never linked to an athlete's name. The only group that had both the number and the athlete's name is the federation, in this case it was the UCI." He added "There was only two conceivable ways that synthetic EPO could've gotten into those samples. One, is that Lance Armstrong used EPO during the '99 Tour. The other way it could've got in the urine was if, as Lance Armstrong seems to believe, the laboratory spiked those samples. Now, that's an extraordinary claim, and there's never ever been any evidence the laboratory has ever spiked an athlete's sample, even during the Cold War, where you would've thought there was a real political motive to frame an athlete from a different country. There's never been any suggestion that it happened."

Ashenden's statements are at odds with the findings of the Vrijman report. "According to Mr. Ressiot, the manner in which the LNDD had structured the results table of its report – i.e. listing the sequence of each of the batches, as well as the exact number of urine samples per batch, in the same (chronological) order as the stages of the 1999 Tour de France they were collected at – was already sufficient to allow him to determine the exact stage these urine samples referred to and subsequently the identity of the riders who were tested at that stage." The Vrijman report also says "Le Monde of July 21 and 23, 1999 reveal that the press knew the contents of original doping forms of the 1999 Tour de France".
SCA Promotions case: 2005–2015

In June 2006, French newspaper Le Monde reported claims by Betsy and Frankie Andreu during a deposition that Armstrong had admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs to his physician just after brain surgery in 1996. The Andreus' testimony was related to litigation between Armstrong and SCA Promotions, a Texas company attempting to withhold a $5 million bonus; this was settled out of court with SCA paying Armstrong and Tailwind Sports $7.5 million, to cover the $5 million bonus plus interest and lawyers' fees. The testimony stated "And so the doctor asked him a few questions, not many, and then one of the questions he asked was ... have you ever used any performance-enhancing drugs? And Lance said yes. And the doctor asked, what were they? And Lance said, growth hormone, cortisone, EPO, steroids and testosterone."

Armstrong suggested Betsy Andreu may have been confused by possible mention of his post-operative treatment which included steroids and EPO that are taken to counteract wasting and red-blood-cell-destroying effects of intensive chemotherapy. The Andreus' allegation was not supported by any of the eight other people present, including Armstrong's doctor Craig Nichols, or his medical history. According to Greg LeMond (who has been embroiled with his own disputes with Armstrong), he (LeMond) had a recorded conversation, the transcript of which was reviewed by National Public Radio (NPR), with Stephanie McIlvain (Armstrong's contact at Oakley Inc.) in which she said of Armstrong's alleged admission 'You know, I was in that room. I heard it.' However, McIlvain has contradicted LeMond's allegations on the issue and denied under oath that the incident in question ever occurred in her sworn testimony.

In July 2006, the Los Angeles Times published a story on the allegations raised in the SCA case. The report cited evidence at the trial, including the results of the LNDD test and an analysis of these results by an expert witness. From the Los Angeles Times article: "The results, Australian researcher Michael Ashenden testified in Dallas, show Armstrong's levels rising and falling, consistent with a series of injections during the Tour. Ashenden, a paid expert retained by SCA Promotions, told arbitrators that the results painted a "compelling picture" that the world's most famous cyclist "used EPO in the '99 Tour."

Ashenden's finding were disputed by the Vrijman report, which pointed to procedural and privacy issues in dismissing the LNDD test results. The Los Angeles Times article also provided information on testimony given by Armstrong's former teammate, Swart, Andreu and his wife Betsy, and instant messaging conversation between Andreu and Jonathan Vaughters regarding blood-doping in the peloton. Vaughters signed a statement disavowing the comments and stating he had: "no personal knowledge that any team in the Tour de France, including Armstrong's Discovery team in 2005, engaged in any prohibited conduct whatsoever." Andreu signed a statement affirming the conversation took place as indicated on the instant messaging logs submitted to the court.SCA trial was settled out of court, and the Los Angeles Times reported: "Though no verdict or finding of facts was rendered, Armstrong called the outcome proof that the doping allegations were baseless." The Los Angeles Times article provides a review of the disputed positive EPO test, allegations and sworn testimony against Armstrong, but notes that: "They are filled with conflicting testimony, hearsay and circumstantial evidence admissible in arbitration hearings but questionable in more formal legal proceedings."

In October 2012, following the publication of the USADA reasoned decision, SCA Promotions announced its intention to recoup the monies paid to Armstrong totaling in excess of $7 million. Armstrong's legal representative Tim Herman stated in June: "When SCA decided to settle the case, it settled the entire matter forever. No backs. No re-dos. No do-overs. SCA knowingly and independently waived any right to make further claims to any of the money it paid." SCA's Jeff Dorough stated that on October 30, 2012, Armstrong was sent a formal request for the return of $12 million in bonuses. It is alleged that Armstrong's legal team has offered a settlement of $1 million.

On February 4, 2015 the arbitration panel decided 2–1 in SCA's favor and ordered Armstrong and Tailwind Sports Corp to pay SCA $10 million. The panel's decision was referred to the Texas 116th Civil District Court in Dallas on February 16, 2015 for confirmation. Panel members Richard Faulkner and Richard Chernick sided with SCA; Ted Lyon sided with Armstrong. Armstrong's attorney Tim Herman stated that the panel's ruling was contrary to Texas law and expected that the court would overturn it. The panel's decision said, in part, about Armstrong that, "Perjury must never be profitable" and "it is almost certainly the most devious sustained deception ever perpetrated in world sporting history."

On September 27, 2015, Armstrong and SCA agreed to a settlement. Armstrong issued a formal, public apology and agreed to pay SCA an undisclosed sum.

In a series of emails in May 2010, Floyd Landis admitted to doping and accused Armstrong and others of the same. Based on Landis's allegations, U.S. Justice Department federal prosecutors led an investigation into possible crimes conducted by Armstrong and the U.S. Postal Service Cycling Team. The Food and Drug Administration and federal agent Jeff Novitzky were also involved in the investigation. In June 2010, Armstrong hired a criminal defense attorney to represent him in the investigation. The hiring was first reported in July when Armstrong was competing in the 2010 Tour de France.

On February 3, 2012, federal prosecutors officially dropped their criminal investigation with no charges. The closing of the case was announced "without an explanation" by U.S. Attorney André Birotte, Jr. When Novitzky was asked to comment on it, he declined.

In February 2013, a month after Armstrong admitted to doping, the Justice Department joined Landis's whistleblower lawsuit to recover government funding given to Armstrong's cycling team.

USADA investigation and limited confession: 2011–2013

In June 2012, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) accused Armstrong of doping and trafficking of drugs, based on blood samples from 2009 and 2010, and testimony from witnesses including former teammates. Further, he was accused of putting pressure on teammates to take unauthorized performance-enhancing drugs as well. In October 2012, USADA formally charged him with running a massive doping ring. It also sought to ban him from participating in sports sanctioned by WADA for life. Armstrong chose not to appeal the findings, saying it would not be worth the toll on his family. As a result, he was stripped of all of his achievements from August 1998 onward, including his seven Tour de France titles. He also received a lifetime ban from all sports that follow the World Anti-Doping Code. As nearly all national and international sporting federations, including UCI, follow the World Anti-Doping Code, this effectively ended his competitive cycling career. The International Cycling Union (UCI) upheld USADA's decision and decided that his stripped wins would not be allocated to other riders.

After years of public denials, in a January 2013 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Armstrong reversed course and made a "limited confession" to doping. While admitting wrongdoing in the interview, he also said it was "absolutely not" true that he was doping in 2009 or 2010, and claimed that the last time he "crossed the line" was in 2005. He also denied pressuring team-mates into doping. In September 2013, he was asked by UCI's new president, Brian Cookson, to testify about his doping. Armstrong refused to testify until and unless he received complete amnesty, which Cookson said was most unlikely to happen.

After USADA's report, all of Armstrong's sponsors dropped him. He reportedly lost $75 million of sponsorship income in a day. On May 28, 2013, Nike announced that it would be cutting all ties to Livestrong. In the aftermath of Armstrong's fall from grace, a CNN article wrote that "The epic downfall of cycling's star, once an idolized icon of millions around the globe, stands out in the history of professional sports." In a 2015 interview with BBC News, Armstrong stated that if it was still 1995, he would "probably do it again".

Whistleblower lawsuit: 2010–2018

In 2010, one of Armstrong's former teammates, the American Floyd Landis, whose 2006 Tour De France victory was nullified after a positive doping test, sent a series of emails to cycling officials and sponsors admitting to, and detailing, his systematic use of performance-enhancing drugs during his career. The emails also claimed that other riders and cycling officials participated in doping, including Armstrong.

Landis filed a federal whistleblower lawsuit against Armstrong under the federal False Claims Act. The False Claims Act allows citizens to sue on behalf of the government alleging the government has been defrauded. The existence of the lawsuit, initially filed under seal, was first revealed by The Wall Street Journal in 2010. In the lawsuit, Landis alleged that Armstrong and team managers defrauded the US government when they accepted money from the US Postal Service. In January 2013, US Justice Department officials recommended joining the federal lawsuit aimed at clawing back money from Armstrong.

In February, the US Department of Justice joined the whistleblower lawsuit, which also accused former Postal Service team director Johan Bruyneel and Tailwind Sports, the firm that managed the US Postal Service team, of defrauding the US.

In April 2014, documents from the AIC case were filed by lawyers representing Landis in relation to the whistleblower suit. In these documents, Armstrong stated under oath that Jose "Pepi" Marti, Dr Pedro Celaya, Dr Luis Garcia del Moral and Dr Michele Ferrari had all provided him with doping products in the period up until 2005. He also named people who had transported or acted as couriers, as well as people that were aware of his doping practices. One week later, the USADA banned Bruyneel from cycling for ten years and Celaya and Marti for eight years.

In June 2014, US district judge Robert Wilkins denied Armstrong's request to dismiss the government lawsuit stating "The court denies without prejudice the defendants' motion to dismiss the government's action as time-barred."

In February 2017, the court determined that the federal government's US$100 million civil lawsuit against Armstrong, started by Landis, would proceed to trial. The matter was settled in April 2018 when Armstrong agreed to pay the United States Government US$5 million. During the proceedings it was revealed that the US Postal Service had paid US$31 million in sponsorship to Armstrong and Tailwind Sports between 2001 and 2004. The Department of Justice accused Armstrong of violating his contract with the USPS and committing fraud when he denied using performance-enhancing drugs. It was reported that Landis would receive US$1.1 million as a result of his whistleblower actions.

Other lawsuits: 2010 to present

In November 2013, Armstrong settled a lawsuit with Acceptance Insurance Company (AIC). AIC had sought to recover $3 million it had paid Armstrong as bonuses for winning the Tour de France from 1999 to 2001. The suit was settled for an undisclosed sum one day before Armstrong was scheduled to give a deposition under oath.

Personal life
Armstrong (center) on the set of College GameDay during the 2006 UT football season

Armstrong owns homes in Austin, Texas, and Aspen, Colorado, as well as a ranch in the Texas Hill Country.

Relationships and children

Armstrong met Kristin Richard in June 1997. They married on May 1, 1998, and had three children: a son (born October 1999) and twin daughters (born November 2001). The pregnancies were made possible through sperm Armstrong banked three years earlier, before chemotherapy and surgery. The couple divorced in 2003. At Armstrong's request, his children flew to Paris for the Tour de France podium ceremony in 2005, where his son Luke helped his father hoist the trophy, while his daughters (in yellow dresses) held the stuffed lion mascot and bouquet of yellow flowers.

Lance and Kristin Armstrong announced their divorce in 2003, the same year that Lance began dating singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow. The couple announced their engagement in September 2005 and their split in February 2006.

In July 2008, Armstrong began dating Anna Hansen after meeting through Armstrong's charity work. In December 2008, Armstrong announced that Hansen was pregnant with the couple's first child. Although it was believed that Armstrong could no longer father children due to having undergone chemotherapy for testicular cancer, the child was conceived naturally. They have a son (born June 2009) and a daughter (born October 2010).

Politics
President George W. Bush and Armstrong mountain biking at the president's Prairie Chapel Ranch.

In a The New York Times article, teammate George Hincapie hinted that Armstrong would run for Governor of Texas after cycling. In the July 2005 issue of Outside magazine, Armstrong hinted at running for governor, although "not in '06". Armstrong and former president George W. Bush, a Republican and fellow Texan, call themselves friends. Bush called Armstrong in France to congratulate him after his 2005 victory. In August 2005, The Times reported the President had invited Armstrong to his Prairie Chapel Ranch to go mountain biking. In a 2003 interview with The Observer, Armstrong said: "He's a personal friend, but we've all got the right not to agree with our friends."

In August 2005, Armstrong hinted he had changed his mind about politics. In an interview with Charlie Rose on PBS on August 1, 2005, Armstrong pointed out that running for governor would require the commitment that led him to retire from cycling. Also, in August 2005, Armstrong said that he was no longer considering politics:

The biggest problem with politics or running for the governor—the governor's race here in Austin or in Texas—is that it would mimic exactly what I've done: a ton of stress and a ton of time away from my kids. Why would I want to go from pro cycling, which is stressful and a lot of time away, straight into politics?

Armstrong created a YouTube video in 2007 with former President George H. W. Bush to successfully pass Proposition 15, a US$3 billion taxpayer bond initiative which created the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.
Armstrong and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi

Armstrong was co-chair of a California campaign committee to pass the California Cancer Research Act, a ballot measure defeated by California voters on June 5, 2012. Had it passed, the measure was projected to generate over $500 million annually for cancer research, smoking-cessation programs and tobacco law-enforcement by levying a $1-per-pack tax on tobacco products in California.

Armstrong endorsed Democratic Congressman Beto O'Rourke against Republican incumbent Senator Ted Cruz in the 2018 election.

Outside cycling

In 1997, Armstrong founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which supports people affected by cancer. The foundation raises awareness of cancer and has raised more than $325 million from the sale of yellow Livestrong bracelets. During his first retirement beginning after the 2005 season, he also maintained other interests. He was the pace car driver of the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 for the 2006 Indianapolis 500. In 2007, Armstrong with Andre Agassi, Muhammad Ali, Warrick Dunn, Jeff Gordon, Mia Hamm, Tony Hawk, Andrea Jaeger, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Mario Lemieux, Alonzo Mourning, and Cal Ripken, Jr. founded Athletes for Hope, a charity that helps professional athletes become involved in charitable causes and aims to inspire non-athletes to volunteer and support the community.

In August 2009, Armstrong headlined the inaugural charity ride "Pelotonia" in Columbus, Ohio, riding over 100 miles on Saturday with the large group of cyclists. He addressed the riders the Friday evening before the two-day ride and helped the ride raise millions for cancer research. Armstrong ran the 2006 New York City Marathon with two friends. He assembled a pace team of Alberto Salazar, Joan Benoit Samuelson, and Hicham El Guerrouj to help him reach three hours. He finished in 2h 59m 36s, in 856th place. He said the race was extremely difficult compared to the Tour de France. The NYC Marathon had a dedicated camera on Armstrong throughout the event which, according to Armstrong, pushed him to continue through points in which he would have normally "stopped and stretched". He also helped raise $600,000 for his LiveStrong campaign during the run. Armstrong ran the 2007 NYC Marathon in 2h 46m 43s, finishing 232nd. On April 21, 2008, he ran the Boston Marathon in 2h 50m 58s, finishing in the top 500.

Armstrong made a return to triathlon in 2011 by competing in the off-road XTERRA Triathlon race series. At the Championships Armstrong led for a time before crashing out on the bike and finishing in 23rd place. The following year, in 2012, Armstrong began pursuing qualification into the 2012 Ironman World Championship. He was scheduled to next participate in Ironman France on June 24. However, the June suspension by USADA and eventual ban by WADA prohibited Armstrong from further racing Ironman branded events due to World Triathlon Corporation anti-doping policies.

In July 2011 and July 2013, Armstrong participated in the non-competitive Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa.

Business and investments

"10/2" redirects here. For other uses, see 10/2 (disambiguation).

Armstrong owns a coffee shop in downtown Austin, Texas, called "Juan Pelota Cafe". The name is a joking reference to his testicular cancer, with the name "Juan" being considered by some a homophone for "one" and "Pelota" being the Spanish word for "ball". In the same building, Armstrong owns and operates a bike shop named "Mellow Johnny's", after another nickname of his derived from the Tour term "maillot jaune", which is French for yellow jersey, the jersey given to the leader of the general classification.

In 2001, Armstrong provided funding to launch Wonders & Worries, a non-profit organization in Austin, Texas that provides counseling and support for children who have a parent with a serious or life-threatening disease.

A line of cycling clothing from Nike, 10//2, was named after the date (October 2, 1996) that Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular cancer.

In 2008, Armstrong bought several million dollars of stock in the American bicycle component manufacturer SRAM Corporation, and has served as their technical advisor. SRAM bought those shares back from him in preparation for a public offering. Armstrong owns a small share of Trek Bicycle Corporation.

In 2009, Armstrong invested $100,000 into Uber when it was only valued at $3.7 million. In 2019, Uber achieved an IPO of $82 billion. According to CNBC, Armstrong said "it saved our family".

Media

In 2017, Armstrong started a podcast named "The Move", which provided daily coverage of the Tour de France in 2018 and 2019. He also appeared—without compensation—on NBC Sports Network's live Tour de France television broadcasts. The UCI indicated the podcast and NBC appearances did not violate the terms of his ban.

Career achievements

Major results
19911st  Road race, National Junior Road Championships19921st  Overall Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic1st Stage 21st Stage 6 Settimana Bergamasca1st Stage 4a Vuelta a Galicia1st Stage 2 Trittico Premondiale1st First Union Grand Prix2nd Züri–Metzgete19931st  Road race, UCI Road World Championships1st  Road race, National Road Championships1st Stage 8 Tour de France1st  Overall Kmart West Virginia Classic1st Prologue & Stage 11st  Overall Tour of America1st Trofeo Laigueglia1st Thrift Drug Classic2nd Overall Tour du Pont1st Stage 53rd Overall Tour of Sweden1st Stage 319941st Thrift Drug Classic1st Stage 7 Tour du Pont2nd Liège–Bastogne–Liège2nd Clásica de San Sebastián19951st Stage 18 Tour de France1st Clásica de San Sebastián1st Stage 5 Paris–Nice1st  Overall Tour du Pont1st  Mountains classification1st Stages 4, 5 & 91st  Overall Kmart West Virginia Classic1st Stage 419961st  Overall Tour du Pont1st Stages 2, 3b, 5, 6 & 121st La Flèche Wallonne2nd Overall Paris–Nice2nd Liège–Bastogne–Liège19981st  Overall Tour de Luxembourg1st Stage 11st  Overall Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt1st Cascade Cycling Classic1st Sprint 56K Criterium show Voided results from August 1998 onwardTriathlon & Ironman20115th XTERRA USA Championships20121st Ironman 70.3 Hawaii1st Ironman 70.3 Florida3rd Ironman 70.3 St. Croix7th Ironman 70.3 Texas2nd Ironman 70.3 Panama2nd Power of Four Mountain Bike Race

Voided results struck through.
Filmography
Road to Paris (2001), documentary
DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story (2004), cameo appearance
You, Me and Dupree (2006), cameo appearance
The Armstrong Lie (2013), documentary
Stop at Nothing-The Lance Armstrong Story (2014), documentary
The Program (2015), biographical drama film
Tour de Pharmacy (2017), appearing as himself, acting as parody of an anonymous source
Lance (2020), documentary

United States Olympic Committee (USOC) SportsMan of the Year (1999, 2001, 2002, 2003)
Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005)
World's Most Outstanding Athlete Award, Jesse Owens International Trophy (2000)
Reuters Sportsman of the Year (2003)
Prince of Asturias Award in Sports (2000)
Sports Ethics Fellows by the Institute for International Sport (2003)
Mendrisio d'Or Award in Switzerland (1999)
Premio Coppi-Bici d'Oro Trophy by the Fausto Coppi foundation in conjunction with La Gazzetta dello Sport (1999, 2000)
Marca Legend Award by Marca, a Spanish sports daily in Madrid (2004)
ESPY Award for Best Male Athlete (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006)
ESPY Award for GMC Professional Grade Play Award (2005)
ESPY Award for Best Comeback Athlete (2000)
ESPN/Intersport's ARETE Award for Courage in Sport (Professional Division) (1999)
ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year (1999)
Favorite Athlete award at Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards (2006)
Presidential Delegation to the XIX Olympic Winter Games (2002)
Sports Illustrated magazine's Sportsman of the Year (2002)
VeloNews magazine's International Cyclist of the Year (2000, 2001, 2003, 2004)
VeloNews magazine's North American Male Cyclist of the Year (1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2005)
William Hill Sports Book of the Year: It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life (2000)
Triathlon magazine's Rookie of the Year (1988)
Pace car driver for the Indianapolis 500 (2006)
An asteroid, 1994 JE9 was named 12373 Lancearmstrong in honor of him.
Six-mile Lance Armstrong Bikeway through downtown Austin, Texas, built by the city of Austin at a cost of $3.2 million.
Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias Courage Award presented by the United States Sports Academy (1999)
Samuel S. Beard Award for Greatest Public Service by an Individual 35 Years or Under, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards (2001)

Rescinded awards
BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year Award (2003)
Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, Tufts University (2006)
Key to the city of Adelaide, South Australia (2012)
Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman of the Year Winner (2003)
Laureus World Sports Award for Comeback of the Year Winner (2000)
Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman of the Year Nominated (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006)
Laureus World Sports Award for Comeback of the Year Nominated (2010)
Grand Prix Serge-Kampf de l'Académie des sports (France, 2004)
Légion d'honneur (France, 2005)
Vélo d'Or Award by Velo magazine in France (1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004
Lourembam Brojeshori Devi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lourembam Brojeshori Devi (1 January 1981 – 21 July 2013) was an Indian judoka who competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

Brojeshori Devi was born on 1 January 1981. She was from Khagempalli Huidrom Leikai in Imphal West of Manipur. She was the daughter of Lourembam Manglem Singh and Lorembam Ongbi Taruni Devi.

Brojeshori had participated in 20 international and 16 national judo championships. She won three gold medals at the international level apart from one silver and three bronzes. She had participated in the Women's Half-Lightweight category in the 2000 Olympic Games and reached the Semi-Finals against Liu Yuxiang of China.

Death

Brojeshori died on 21 July 2013 in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India due to pregnancy complications
Lalita Dahiya
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lalita Dahiya
Personal information
Country  India
Born 16 September 1997
Women's Singles
Women's doubles
Mixed doubles
Highest ranking 179 (Singles)
216 (doubles)
91 (Mixed doubles)
BWF profile

Lalita Dahiya (born 16 September 1997) is an Indian badminton player who currently plays Women's Singles, Women's doubles and Mixed doubles.
Lavmeet Katariya
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lavmeet Katariya
Personal information
Full name Lavmeet Katariya
Born 7 September 1990
Height 197 cm (6 ft 6 in)
Weight 88 kg (194 lb)
Spike 359 cm (141 in)
Block 330 cm (130 in)
Volleyball information
Position Universal & blocker
Current club Rajasthan
Number 10
Career

Teams
Rajasthan

National team

2009- Present India

Lavmeet Katariya, known simply as Lavmeet, is a member of India men's national volleyball team and wears the Number 10 jersey. Lavmeet plays as a middle blocker/middle hitter.

He has led the Rajasthan men's team in the Indian national volleyball meet, and the Indian men's team in the Asian Men's U20 Volleyball Championship.

He has won gold medal in 12th south Asian games winning the best blocker award. He won silver medal in 2014 Asia Cup.

Lalrindika Ralte

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Personal information

Lalrindika Ralte

Date of birth : 7 September 1992

Place of birth -Lunglei, Mizoram, India

Height - 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)

Playing position - Attacking midfielder

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 9 March 2019

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16:49, 17 March 2015 (UTC)

Lalrindika Ralte (born 7 September 1992 in Lunglei, Mizoram) popularly known as Dika, is an Indian footballer who plays midfielder but he primarily as an attacking midfielder and is the current captain of East Bengal FC.

Career

Churchill Brothers and Pailan Arrows

Ralte moved back to Churchill for the 2011-12 I-League after his year-long loan and on 1 November 2011, scored his first goal since his return against Prayag United at the Fatorda Stadium to help Churchill draw the match 1–1 in the I-League. He then scored again on 17 December 2011 against Shillong Lajong in the I-League to help Churchill to a 6–0 win. He would then score on 15 January 2012 against Mohun Bagan in the I-League in a 2–3 loss. while he continued to play regular football and impressed, he did not score again until 1 April 2012, when he scored against Prayag United at the Fatorda Stadium again in a 5–2 victory.He scored his 5th goal of the season 15 days later on 15 April 2012 against Pune in a 2–0 away victory. He then scored his last goal of the season on 6 May 2012 against his former club, Pailan Arrows, in the 50th minute in a match that ended 3–2 in favor of his team.

East Bengal

Dika's signed for East Bengal in May 2012 and made his debut for the club on 21 September 2012 against Sporting Goa in the first match of the 2012 Federation Cup, coming on as a 70th-minute substitute for Ishfaq Ahmed. It did not take him long to make a huge contribution to the team as he scored the solitary goal in the semi-final of the Federation Cup on 27 September 2012 against his former team, Churchill Brothers, in the 111th minute of extra-time to send them into the final, which East Bengal would eventually go onto win 3–2 over Dempo in Siliguri. He then scored his first I-League goal for East Bengal in the second match of the season on 11 October 2012 against United Sikkim at the Paljor Stadiumin Gangtok from an 82nd-minute free kick in a 1–0 win. He scored his second goal for the club on 24 November 2012 against ONGC at the Salt Lake Stadium in a convincing 5–0 win. On 27 February 2013, he scored his first goal in continental competitions in the 2013 AFC Cup against Selangor FA in a 1–0 home win for East Bengal; a left footed striker from outside the box, beating the Malaysian goalkeeper Norazlan Razali on the 43rd minute.On 9 April 2013, he scored a 25-yard long curling left-footer on the 86th minute to secure a 2–1 home win over Tampines Rovers FC in the AFC Cup group stage. Ralte then would score his fourth goal of the AFC Cup against Kuwait SC on 1 October 2013 in the away leg of the 2013 AFC Cup semi-final match with a right-footed shot from the left of the box. With the goal against Kuwait SC, he became the joint highest Indian scorer of the tournament with Bhaichung Bhutia.

Mumbai City(loan)

International

Ralte has played for India at the under-16, under-19, under-23, and senior levels. He made his under-16 debut on 27 October 2007 during the 2008 AFC U-16 qualifiers against Sri Lanka in which India's under-16s won 6–0. He then scored his first goal at that level on 4 November 2007 during the qualifiers against Saudi Arabia in the 65th minute to provide India's under-16s a 3–0 win. Ralte then scored a brace for the India under-16s on 4 October 2008 against South Korea in the opening match of the 2008 AFC U-16 Championship but he could not stop India losing in the end 5–2. Ralte then made his under-19 debut on 5 November 2009 against Iraq during the 2010 AFC U-19 Qualifiers in which India's under-19s lost 5–0. Ralte then scored a brace for India's under-19s on 10 November 2009 against Oman in the U19 qualifiers in which Ralte scored in the 15th and 19th minute but could not stop India losing 4–3 in the end. Then on 23 February 2011 Ralte made his debut for the under-23 side against Myanmar in the 2012 Olympic qualifiersin which India U23s won 2–1. Ralte then scored his first goal at the under-23 level on 30 June 2012 during the 2013 AFC U-22 Asian Cup qualifiers against Turkmenistan in which Ralte scored from a 36th-minute penalty to give India U23s a 4–1 victory.

Louis Saha

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Louis Saha

Saha in 2015

Personal information

Full name Louis Laurent Saha

Date of birth 8 August 1978

Place of birth Paris, France

Position(s) Striker

Youth career

1990-1995 FC Soisy-Andilly-Margency

1992–1995 Clairefontaine

1995–1997 Metz

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

1997–2000 Metz 47 (5)

1999 → Newcastle United (loan) 11 (1)

2000–2004 Fulham 117 (53)

2004–2008 Manchester United 86 (28)

2008–2012 Everton 97 (27)

2012 Tottenham Hotspur 10 (3)

2012–2013 Sunderland 11 (0)

2013 Lazio 6 (0)

Total 385 (117)

National team

1998–1999 France U21 12 (3)

2004–2012 France 20 (4)

Louis Laurent Saha (born 8 August 1978) is a French former professional footballer who played as a striker. Saha was capped 20 times for the France national team and scored four goals. A former scholar at the Clairefontaine football academy, he started his career at Metz before playing on loan at Newcastle United. Before the start of the 2000–01 season, Saha moved to Fulham where he established himself as first-choice striker, helping them to gain promotion to the Premier League in his first season with them.

His performances gained attraction from Manchester United, who eventually secured his signing for around £12.4 million midway through the 2003–04 season. Injuries plagued his Old Trafford career, however he did enjoy success with twice winning the Premier League, the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League and also scored six times en route to victory in the League Cup, including one goal in the final. Despite Saha's injury woes, United star Wayne Rooney stated on Sky Sports that Saha was one of his favourite strike partners.

After four-and-a-half years at United, Everton took him to Goodison Park, where he opened the scoring in the 2009 FA Cup Final after 25 seconds, setting the record for the fastest goal scored in FA Cup Final history. He moved to Tottenham Hotspur on a free transfer in the 2012 January transfer window. Saha made his France debut in 2004 in a 2–0 victory over Belgium. He represented France at UEFA Euro 2004 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup, at which they reached the final.

Early life

Saha was born in Paris. His parents were born on the island of Guadeloupe (a department of France), where his grandparents remain to this day. He has a younger sister and younger brother. Saha also revealed he and his siblings were brought up from a strict Caribbean culture.

His father worked as a mechanic for planes and his mother worked as a nurse. Growing up in Paris, Saha said his family had little money, leading him to "never take anything for granted", In return, he bought his parents a house in the West Indies, and covered his parents’ debt. Saha revealed that his father tried to make him balance his football with the rest of his education, but nevertheless, push him to make sure he "got enough education away from football" and supported him "all the way in helping him mature as a footballer and as a man".

Club career

Metz

Saha began his football career at FC Soisy-Andilly-Margency in the commune of Soisy-sous-Montmorency before he joined Clairefontaine. Later he moved to Metz at the age of 15 and then signed his first professional contract with the club at 17. Saha progressed to the senior team in 1997. Saha made his Metz debut on 8 August 1997, coming on as a late substitute against Bordeaux and scored the club's fourth goal of the game, in a 4–1 win. This turns out to be his only goal of the season, as FC Metz finished second place in the league behind RC Lens through goal differences. Overall, he made 25 appearances in all competitions. The 1998–99 season saw Saha made his first team opportunities, as he only made six appearances in all competitions.

Saha went on loan to Newcastle United in January 1999, scoring once against Coventry City and playing in a total of 11 league games, also scoring once in Newcastle's run to the 1999 FA Cup Final with the only goal in the fifth round clash against Blackburn Rovers. Saha was however left out of the cup final squad entirely by manager Ruud Gullit. He later reflected his time at Newcastle United, saying it made him acknowledge how hard he has to work as a footballer and gaining confidence.

At the completion of the 1998–99 season, Saha returned to Metz, where he made an impact, scoring seven goals in the 1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup, scoring against MŠK Žilina, Lokeren, Polonia Warsaw and West Ham. Saha's first goal for the club came on 7 August 1999, winning 3–0 against AJ Auxerre. Saha later three more goals later in the 1999–2000, as he made 33 appearances and scoring 11 times in all competitions. Despite being in a goal scoring form, Saha revealed that the club wanted him to "take on a lot more defensive duties", something that he was considered quitting football. By the time Saha left the club at the end of the 1999–2000 season, he netted five goals in 47 matches in a two-year spell.

Fulham

Saha, just after signing for Fulham, in a pre-season friendly against Tiverton Town

Saha returned to England, where he was transferred to Fulham for £2.1 million in 2000. Upon joining the club, Manager Jean Tigana said: "Louis is a very good signing. I have known him since he was 17 and he has great ability. I am sure he will follow the success of his contemporaries Thierry Henry and Nicolas Anelka. I believe he will be a very good player in the First Division and has the right qualities to be a success in the Premiership."

Saha quickly made an impact on his Fulham debut, scoring his first goal of the season, in a 2–0 win against Crewe Alexandra in the opening game of the season. This was followed up by scoring in a 3–1 win against Birmingham City. Since making his debut, Saha quickly established himself in the first team, becoming the club's first-choice striker and along with John Collins and Lee Clark, their performance described "world class" by the Evening Standard. He then scored eight goals in four matches between 5 September 2000 and 16 September 2000, scoring against Northampton Town (twice), Barnsley (hat–trick), Burnley (twice) and Nottingham Forest His goalscoring form continued with three goals in two matches against Grimsby Town on 25 November and Derby County on 29 November 2000. Saha scored two goals in two matches between 13 January 2001 and 20 January 2001 against Norwich City and Watford He then scored twice for the side, in a 4–1 win against Tranmere Rovers on 30 March 2001. Saha scored three goals in two matches between 21 April 2001 and 24 April 2001 against Portsmouth and Wolverhampton Wanderers In the promotion campaign of 2000–01 Saha scored 27 league goals to fire Fulham into the Premier League, making him the league top–scorer. At the end of the 2000–01 season, he made 48 appearances and scoring 32 times in all competitions. For his performance, Saha was named PFA Team of the Year.

At the start of the 2001–02 season, Saha scored three goals in the first two league matches of the season, coming against Manchester United and Sunderland. During his first month in the top flight he was named Premier League Player of the Month Saha continued to regain his first team place as the club's first choice striker, forming a partnership with Barry Hayles throughout the 2001–02 season. Although Saha did score in the League Cup match against Derby County on 10 October 2001, he went on a three months without scoring in the league before scoring against Newcastle United, winning 3–1 on 17 November 2001. However, Saha's goal scoring form continued to dip as the 2001–02 season. Despite this, he went on to score four more goals later in the 2001–02 season, including a brace against Chelsea. At the end of the season, Saha went on to make 44 appearances and scoring nine times in all competitions.

At the start of the 2002–03 season, Saha appeared in every match in the UEFA Intertoto Cup all up to the final and only scored once, coming against Egaleo on 20 July 2002. He played in both legs of the Intertoto Cup finals against Bologna, as they won 5–3 to win the tournament and qualify for the UEFA Cup. Saha scored his first league goal of the season, scoring from a penalty, in a 4–1 win against Bolton Wanderers in the opening game of the season. However, he suffered a hamstring injury that kept him out for the rest of 2002. It wasn't until on 5 January 2003 when Saha scored on his return, in a 3–1 win against Birmingham City in the third round of the FA Cup. However, his return was short–lived when he suffered another injury that saw him miss two matches. It wasn't until on 1 February 2003 when Saha returned to the first team, coming on as a 69th-minute substitute, in a 2–1 loss against Arsenal. He then scored his fourth goal of the season, in a 3–0 win against West Bromwich Albion. Following his return, Saha managed to regain his first team place for the rest of the 2002–03 season, playing in the striker position. He later scored three more goals later in the 2002–03 season, including scoring two goals in two matches between 1 March 2003 and 15 March 2003 against Sunderland and Southampton. As a result, he was less prolific in 2002–03 season, scoring seven goals in 28 appearances in all competitions.

Ahead of the 2003–04 season, it was announced by the club that Saha would be staying put. He started the season well, scoring in the opening game of the season, winning 3–2 win against Middlesbrough. Saha then scored three goals in three matches between 14 September 2003 and 28 September 2003, scoring against Birmingham City, Manchester City and Blackburn Rovers Throughout the first half of the season, he continued to be in the first team regular for Fulham, playing in the striker position His goal scoring form continued by the end of the year, including scoring three braces. As a result, Saha was named as the Player of the Month for December. In his final season at Fulham, he contributed 15 goals in only 22 appearances before leaving in the January transfer window.

It was announced on 23 December 2003 by the club that they rejected a bid from Manchester United to sign Saha, saying he was not for sale. It came after when his performance at Fulham's victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford in October 2003 was thought to be influential in persuading Alex Ferguson to sign him in 2004. Around this time, Saha revealed that he had a fallen out with Manager Chris Coleman as a result of forcing his way to leave Fulham. During a spell of nearly four years at the club, Saha scored 63 goals in total.

Manchester United

Saha was transferred to Manchester United for a fee of £12.4 million in 2004 having scored 15 goals so far that season and impressing Alex Ferguson in Fulham's 3–1 win at Old Trafford. Fulham were reluctant to sell Saha but he pushed for a deal and it eventually went through on 23 January 2004. A month later, however, FC Metz took their case to FIFA (and later Court of Arbitration for Sport) after they are entitled to a share from Fulham as a result of Saha's transfer move. Two years later, the Court of Arbitration for Sport was in favour of FC Metz and Fulham were ordered to pay.

Saha impressed early, with seven goals in his 10 starting appearances of the 2003–04 season and scoring on his debut against Southampton.[69] After the match, Manager Ferguson praised his performance. In the next match, versus Everton, Saha and Ruud van Nistelrooy each scored two goals in a 4–3 win. On 28 February 2004, he faced his former team for the first time, scoring the only goal for United in a 1–1 draw. Throughout the match, Saha received boos and jeers from Fulham supporters. He then played in both legs of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 against Porto, as Manchester United lost 3–2 on aggregate. After missing two matches due to an Achilles problem, Saha returned to the first team and scored in the next two matches against Arsenal and Birmingham City. Unfortunately, he was unable to play in the 2004 FA Cup Final win over Millwall, being cup-tied due to an earlier appearance with Fulham. Despite this, Saha went on to make 12 appearances and scoring seven times in all competitions at the end of the 2003–04 season.

The 2004–05 season was a stop-start season marred by constant injury for Saha. It wasn't until on 28 August 2004 when he made his first appearance of the season, coming on as a second half substitute, in a 1–1 draw against Blackburn Rovers However, Saha picked up a knee injury playing for France against the Faroe Islands which cost him a month It wasn't until on 16 October 2004 when he returned to the first team, starting the whole game, in a 0–0 draw against Birmingham City Saha then scored his first goal of the season, in a 2–0 win against Crystal Palace in the fourth round of the League Cup on 10 November 2004. Shortly after, he picked up the injury again, also playing for the national side and costing nearly two months out It wasn't until on 12 January 2005 when Saha returned to the starting the whole game, in a 0–0 draw against Chelsea in the first leg of the League Cup semi–fina Ten days later on 22 January 2005. He scored his second goal of the season, as well as, setting up the club's first goal of the game, in a 3–1 win against Aston Villa. However in February, the problem recurred, again leaving Saha out for a further two months. At the end of the 2004–05 season, Saha never really got going making only 11 starting appearances, 11 from the bench and scoring two goals.

Over the summer Saha suffered another hamstring strain which ruled him out for the first three months of the 2005–06 season It wasn't until on 30 November 2005 when he scored on his first appearance of the season, as well as, setting up the club's third goal of the game, in a 3–1 win against West Bromwich Albion Following his return, Saha eased back into side as a sub, making appearances in League Cup matches To the surprise of many, the French striker recaptured his initial good form and started banging in the goals Six goals in the League Cup run saw him usurp Van Nistelrooy as the first-choice strike partner for Wayne Rooney Saha was named a starter, over Van Nistelrooy, in the final against Wigan Athletic, and scored a goal Despite suffering from an injury along the way, he later scored four more goals later in the 2005–06 season, including a brace against West Bromwich Albion on 18 March 2006 At the end of the 2005–06 season, Saha went on to make 30 appearances and scoring 15 times in all competitions.

Saha, scorer of United's second goal, pictured during the 3–1 Manchester derby win on 9 December 2006.

Saha was chosen by Ferguson to partner alongside Rooney for the next season, after Van Nistelrooy's exit for Real Madrid during the summer transfer window He began the 2006–07 season by scoring only seven minutes into the first game against Fulham This was followed up by scoring his second goal of the season, in a 3–0 win against Charlton Athletic, as well as, setting up the club's second goal of the game Saha then scored twice for the side, as well as, setting up the club's third goal of the game, in a 3–2 win against Celtic in the UEFA Champions League He scored the winning goal away to Benfica in the UEFA Champions League and later scored in the return match Saha's goal scoring form continued for the rest of 2006 As a result, he signed an extension to his contract lasting to 2010, though soon after began suffering from more injury problems. Groin and hamstring injuries restricted appearances and meant he only scored one goal in the second half of the season. He returned as substitute at Roma but then soon picked up a knee injury and was therefore absent for United's 1–0 extra-time loss to Chelsea in the FA Cup final. Saha ended the season with 13 goals in all competitions, largely thanks to his pre-Christmas form.

In the 2007–08 season, Saha returned from injury and came as a substitute against Sunderland, scoring the winning goal. On 23 September 2007, Saha won and converted a penalty against Chelsea in Chelsea's first game with Avram Grant in charge. United won the game 2–0. This earned Saha a recall to the French national team after a year out. Against Arsenal, Saha came on to replace the under-performing Carlos Tevez in a 2–2 draw. He was key in setting up a goal as Cristiano Ronaldo gave United a 2–1 lead. Saha continued to make appearances off the bench, but when Wayne Rooney was ruled out for a few weeks he partnered Tevez up front. He then started in a match against Sunderland on Boxing Day, and scored twice, including a penalty, winning 2–0 to lift Manchester United to 1st position in the Premier League. After being sidelined with a knee injury that kept him out for a month, Saha made his return in an FA Cup clash versus Arsenal on 16 February 2008, winning 4–0. The following weekend, he came on as a substitute for Ronaldo, scoring the final goal in a 5–1 rout of Newcastle United. After returning to nearly full fitness, Saha's injury haunts returned and forced him off with a hamstring complaint during United's win over Bolton Wanderers at Old Trafford. Saha was ruled out for several weeks, missing key games. In the final game of the Premier League season against Wigan Athletic, Saha was named as a substitute, but played no part in the game. In May 2008, Saha admitted that he believed his United career was in doubt. Despite his desire to stay and love for the club, he was unsure of what the future held for him at Old Trafford.

Despite struggling with injuries in parts of the 2004–05 and latter parts of the 2006–07 and 2007–08 seasons, Saha still contributed 42 goals in all competitions for Manchester United in 120 appearances for the club.

Everton

Saha (right) alongside Sylvain Distin with Everton in 2009

Saha joined Everton in 2008 for an undisclosed fee, signing a two-year 'pay-as-you-play' deal. Not match-fit at his time of signing, Saha offered to train without being paid while injured.

Saha made his Everton debut on 22 September coming on as a substitute in a league game away to Hull City, before scoring his first goal, against his former club Fulham, at Goodison Park on 1 November. This was followed up by scoring a brace, as well as, setting up the club's first goal of the game, in a 3–1 win against West Ham United. However during a 1–0 win against Tottenham Hotspur on 30 November 2008, he suffered a knee injury and was substituted in the 60th minute. Following this, it was announced that Saha would be out for two months. It wasn't until on 22 February 2009 when Saha returned to the first team, coming on as a 74th-minute substitute, in a 0–0 draw against Newcastle United. This was followed up by scoring his fourth league goal of the season, in a 2–0 win against West Bromwich Albion. A week later on 8 March 2009, he came off the bench at half-time in that season's FA Cup quarter-final against Middlesbrough, scoring the winner and helping Everton reach the semi-finals for the first time since 1995. Two months later on 16 May 2009 against West Ham United, Saha scored twice for the second time this season, as the club won 3–1. Two weeks later in the FA Cup final, Saha scored the fastest goal in the final's history after 25 seconds, though opponents Chelsea came from behind to win 2–1.This broke Bob Chatt's record, set 114 years earlier in the 1895 Final. It was also the fastest goal in any match at the new Wembley Stadium, beating the previous record by Giampaolo Pazzini in March 2007 in an under-21 international for Italy. Throughout the 2008–09 season, he established himself in the starting 11, forming a striking partnership with Yakubu. At the end of the 2008–09 season, Saha went on to make 29 appearances and scoring eight times in all competitions.

Saha warming up prior to Everton's match against Fulham in 2009

Saha scored his first goal of the 2009–10 season, after coming on as a substitute, on the opening day of the season against Arsenal in a 6–1 defeat at Goodison. His goalscoring form continued for the next two months, adding a tally to seven goals, scoring against Sigma Olomouc (twice), Wigan Athletic, Blackburn Rovers (twice) and Portsmouth. He went on to a run of seven goals in seven games in all competitions by the end of the year. The next two months saw Saha earned two Player of the Month by the club. Saha signed a two-year contract extension with Everton on 5 February 2010, keeping him at the club until the end of the 2011–12 season. Five days later on 10 February 2010, he scored a brace for the side, in a 2–1 win against Chelsea. Throughout the 2009–10 season, he established himself in the starting 11, playing in the striker position, but found his goalscoring form dipped as the season progressed. Despite suffering from injuries during the season along the way, Saha made 40 appearances and scored 15 times in all competitions (13 in the league).

At the start of the 2010–11 season, Saha continued to regain his first team place for the first four matches, including scoring his first goal in a 5–1 win against Huddersfield Town in the second round of the League Cup. However, he suffered an injury while on international duty that kept him out for a month. It wasn't until on 23 October 2010 when Saha returned to the first team from injury, coming on as a 61st-minute substitute, in a 1–1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur. Since returning from injury, he was involved in the first team for the next three months, though at the same time, struggled to regain his goal scoring form. This last until Saha suffered a thigh injury that saw him miss one match. Saha scored his eighth goal in five starts against Chelsea on 29 January 2011, and continued his form in the next home game, against Blackpool on 5 February, when he netted four goals in a 5–3 victory. It was his first hat-trick in the Premier League. Saha scored again for Everton against Fulham on 19 March 2011 with a low right footed drive from a free kick, he was later stretchered off with an ankle injury and remained sidelined for the remainder of the season.At the end of the 2010–11 season, Saha made 26 appearances and scoring nine times in all competitions.[citation needed]

Saha made his return for the 2011–12 season on 30 July 2011 in a pre-season fixture against the recently relegated Birmingham City at St Andrews. He was substituted into the match in the second half and scored 3 minutes into his return from injury with a low right footed drive from outside the box. After missing four matches, Saha returned to the first team, coming on as a 66th-minute substitute, in a 2–0 loss against Manchester City on 24 September 2011.This was followed up by making his first start of the season for Everton in a home fixture against Liverpool. Everton lost the game 2–0. He then scored his first goal of the season in a 3–1 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage after coming on as a substitute. Saha continued his scoring in the following game on 26 October against Chelsea in a League Cup tie. He failed to score again for Everton, a drought that included 942 consecutive minutes of league football. Saha left Everton having scored 35 goals in 115 appearances.

Tottenham Hotspur

On 31 January 2012, Saha completed a free transfer move to Tottenham Hotspur, signing a six-month contract. He was given the number 15 jersey, last worn by Peter Crouch.

Less than a week later he made his debut against Liverpool coming on as a substitute for Emmanuel Adebayor in a 0–0 draw. He made his full debut in the very next league fixture against Newcastle United, scoring twice in a 5–0 win. On 26 February 2012, he made it three goals in three games for his new club when he scored the opening goal in Tottenham's North London derby defeat against Arsenal, 5-2.

He scored his fourth goal, in all competitions, for the club against Bolton Wanderers to make it 3–1 to Tottenham with the last kick of the game to send his side through to the FA Cup semi-finals against London rivals Chelsea. Following his successful short spell with Tottenham, Saha reported that he was desperate to seal a long term deal at White Hart Lane, citing Harry Redknapp as a big factor in his upturn in form. On 13 July 2012, it was confirmed that Saha was released after his contract expired at the end of the season.

Sunderland

Saha coming on for his Sunderland debut as a substitute

On 16 August 2012, Sunderland confirmed the signing of Saha on a one-year deal. He made his debut two days later, coming on as a substitute in a 0–0 draw with Arsenal. His contract was mutually terminated on transfer deadline day January 2013. During Saha's time at Sunderland, he made only 14 appearances and failed to score a single goal.

Lazio

On 6 February 2013, Saha signed a six-month contract with Italian club Lazio. The following day, he was presented by the club.

Saha made his debut for Lazio, coming on as a substitute on 9 February 2013 in a match against Napoli. However, he found his playing time limited, mostly coming on as a substitute, as he went on to make six appearances for the club. Despite being keen to stay at the club beyond the 2012–13 season, Saha was released at the end of the short-term deal.

Post-playing career

Saha playing alongside Jesper Blomqvist during Manchester United's charity match against Barcelona on 2 September 2017

On 8 August 2013, date of his birthday, Saha announced his retirement from professional football via Twitter. Saha joined other retired players at a Testimonial match for his former Spurs teammate Ledley King on 12 May 2014. Coming on as a second-half substitute he scored a hat-trick against a line-up of current Tottenham players. Three years later on 2 September 2017, he once again joined other retired players for a charity match against Barcelona that Manchester United won 3–0

Saha's speaking at the Web Summit in 2016

Following his retirement from professional football, Saha created a private network for pro athletes and entertainers called AxisStars.

In December 2015, Saha said he would be suing a UK bank after it was revealed that a botched investment scheme resulted in him losing "around six figures." He also published his first book titled "Thinking Inside the Box?".

International career

Saha represented France at various youth levels and scored the winning goal in the 1997 UEFA European Under-18 Championship against Portugal

Saha said he wanted to play for France and put his name in the short–list to be called up to the national squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup but due to his goal scoring form dip during the 2001–02 season, Saha acknowledged that he would be unlikely to be in the squad for the tournament, which turned out to be true. It was not until 2004 that Saha finally earned his first full cap, marking his debut with a goal in a 2–0 victory over Belgium on 18 February. That summer he was also selected for the UEFA Euro 2004 squad Saha then scored his second goal for France, scoring the national team's third goal of the game, in a 4–0 win against Andorra on 28 May 2004. Having appeared in the first two matches as an unused substitute in the Group Stage, he made his first appearance of the tournament against Switerzland, coming on as a 75th-minute substitute, and set up a goal for Thierry Henry to score the national team's second goal of the game, winning 3–1. However, Saha played 18 minutes, having come on as a 72nd-minute substitute, as France lost 1–0 against Greece in the quarter–finals, eliminating the national side from the UEFA Euro.

Two years later, Saha was called up to the national team squad for the FIFA World Cup, earning his first call-up in almost a year. He made his first appearance for the national side in almost a year, starting a match against Denmark on 31 May 2006 and set up France's first goal of the game, in a 2–0 win. Saha made his first appearance of the World Cup, coming on as a 69th-minute substitute, in a 0–0 draw against Switerzland. Saha contributed to France reaching the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final, but he was suspended for the final against Italy after receiving a yellow card during the semi-final victory over Portugal.

After the end of the World Cup tournament, Saha was called up to the France squad for the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, which he started the whole game, in a 2–1 win. Saha then followed up in his next appearance for the national side by scoring in a 3–0 win against Georgia. A month later on 11 October 2006, he scored his fourth goal for France, in a 5–0 win against Faroe Islands.

Saha was named in the squad picked for the Euro 2012 qualifiers (September 2011), which also included goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, Chelsea's Florent Malouda and nine other players who took part in France's disappointing 2010 World Cup campaign. Prior to this, he had not played for his national side since November 2006 (although he was called up by Raymond Domenech in February 2010, he withdrew from the squad due to injury). Saha made his first appearance for France for the first time in four years, coming on as a 79th-minute substitute, in a 1–0 loss against Belarus on 3 September 2010. Two years later on 29 February 2012, he made his return to the national team in a 2–1 win against Germany, in what turns out to be his last appearance for France.

Personal life

In addition to speaking French, Saha speaks fluent English. He learned the language after moving to Fulham in 2000, where he experienced some initial struggles before improving.

Saha has three children with his former partner: Stanley, Enzo and Lou. They split up post retirement. Having previously resided in Manchester, North west England, he has since resided in the south of France.

Laxmirani Majhi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Laxmirani Majhi

Born 26 January 1989

Bagula, Ghatshila, Jharkhand

Sport

Country India

Sport Archery

Event(s) recurve

Women's archery

Representing India

2015 Copenhagen Women's Team

Updated on 10 September 2015.

Laxmirani Majhi (born 26 January 1989) is an Indian female right handed recurve archer.

Early life

Laxmi is from the Santhal tribe; she grew up in Bagula village in East Singhbhum district, Jharkhand. Her first chance to become an archer was offered to her when the selectors for the archery academy visited her Government School. Laxmi work with Indian Railways in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh

Achievements

She competed in the individual recurve event and the 2015 World Archery Championships – She also finished 4th in the Individual Event, losing out on the Bronze Medal. In Women's Team Recurve event, she won the silver medal at the 2015 World Archery Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark.

She was the part of the team that qualified for 2016 Rio Olympics. The Indian women's recurve team, consisting of Laxmirani Majhi, Bombayla Devi Laishram and Deepika Kumari, finished 7th in the ranking round. The team won their match against Colombia in the round of 16 before losing the quarterfinal match against Russia.

In the individual event, she ranked 43rd in the ranking round. She then lost to Alexandra Longová of Slovakia in the round of 64.

Lal Mohan Hansda

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lal Mohan HansdaPersonal information

Date of birth 3 December 1983

Place of birth Bihar, India

Playing position(s) Forward

Club information

Current team Prayag United

Number 16

Senior career*

Years Team

Apps (Gls)

South Eastern Railway

Pathachakra

2013– Prayag United 3 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Lal Mohan Hansda (born 3 December 1983 in Jharkhand) is an Indian footballer

who plays as a forward for Prayag United S.C. in the I-League.

Career

Before playing for Prayag United S.C. Hansda played for the Jharkhand football team in the Santosh Trophy for many years, and then the Railways football team in the 2012 Santosh Trophy. Hansda also played club football for the South Eastern Railways for which he won the Inter-Railway Football Championship in 2007 after defeating South East Central Railway 2–0 with Hansda scoring the second goal for South Eastern Railway. He also played for Pathachakra in the fifth division of Kolkata Football before joining Prayag United.

Prayag United

In September 2012, Hansda signed with Prayag United of the I-League. On 27 January 2013 Hansda made his debut for the club in the I-League against Mohun Bagan when he came on for Kayne Vincent in the 67th minute as Prayag United went on to draw the match 1–1.

Manpreet Kaur

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Manpreet Kaur

Manpreet winning the Gold medal in 2017 Asian Athletics Championships, Bhubaneswar.

Personal information

Nationality Indian

Born 5 March 1990

Sport

Country India

Sport Shot put

Event(s) Athletics

Coached by Karamjit Singh

Achievements and titles

Regional finals Indian

National finals

2013 National Gold

Personal best(s) 18.86 (Gwangju 2017)

Women's athletics

Representing India

2017 Bhubaneswar Shot put

Basketball Hall of Fame as player

2016 Guwahati Shot Put

Updated on 7 July 2017.

Manpreet Kaur (born 5 March 1990) is an Indian professional Olympic shot putter. Born in Ambala, her gold-medal winning performance of 18.86m at the 2017 Asian Grand Prix in Jinhua, China turned out to be a world-leading throw, taking her to the No. 1 spot in the rankings. She also holds the Indian national record 17.96m in Women's Shot Put. Kaur was qualified to represented India at Summer Olympics at Rio 2016 in shot put.

Early life

Kaur is the eldest of three siblings. When she was 13 years old, her father passed away. Her mother was paralyzed in 2006.[4] She developed an interest in athletics through father and her cousins who were also into sports. One of her cousins was a university-level 100m sprinter and other is a discus thrower, while her sister-in-law was also a shot putter. She initially trained for a year in the 100m, but her brother whom she trained under felt she would do better in shot put and she switched. She hails from Sahauli village from Patiala and works at the Indian Railways.

Career

Kaur placed 9th in the 5th IAAF World Youth Championships in 2007 at Ostrova. In 2010, she took a 3-year hiatus and returned to break an 18-year-old national record in women's shot put. In 2015, she won the Gold medal scoring a 17.96m throw at the 55th National Open Athletics Championship at Kolkata.

2016 Summer Olympics

Kaur was the only Indian woman to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympics in her field.

Asian Grand Prix Athletics

Kaur clinched a gold in the first leg of the Asian Grand Prix Athletics Meet with a national record and world season-leading effort. She set the national record with her best throw of 18.86m. With this performance, she also qualified for the IAAF World Championships to be held in August in London. The entry standard for women's shot put in the World Championships stands at 17.75m.

Asian Athletics Championship

Kaur later took the Gold medal at the 2017 Asian Athletics Championship in Odisha in July.

Suspension

Kaur was tested positive for steroids four times in 2017. She began serving a 4 year period of suspension beginning July 20, 2017, and as a consequence she had to forfeit her gold medals and national record.

Personal

She is married to Karamjeet Singh, a university level shot putter who is also her trainer. The couple have a daughter.

Michael Jordan.

Michael Jordan

Jordan in 2014

Charlotte Hornets

Position Owner

League NBA

Personal information

Born February 17, 1963

Brooklyn, New York

Nationality American

Listed height 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)

Listed weight 216 lb (98 kg)

Career information

High school Emsley A. Laney

(Wilmington, North Carolina)

College North Carolina (1981–1984)

NBA draft 1984 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3rd overall

Selected by the Chicago Bulls

Playing career 1984–1993, 1995–1998, 2001–2003

Position Shooting guard

Number 23, 12, 45

Career history

1984–1993,

1995–1998 Chicago Bulls

2001–2003 Washington Wizards

Career highlights and awards

6× NBA champion (1991–1993, 1996–1998)

6× NBA Finals MVP (1991–1993, 1996–1998)

5× NBA Most Valuable Player (1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998)

14× NBA All-Star (1985–1993, 1996–1998, 2002, 2003)

3× NBA All-Star Game MVP (1988, 1996, 1998)

10× All-NBA First Team (1987–1993, 1996–1998)

All-NBA Second Team (1985)

NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1988)

9× NBA All-Defensive First Team (1988–1993, 1996–1998)

NBA Rookie of the Year (1985)

NBA All-Rookie First Team (1985)

10× NBA scoring champion (1987–1993, 1996–1998)

3× NBA steals leader (1988, 1990, 1993)

2× NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion (1987, 1988)

No. 23 retired by Chicago Bulls

No. 23 retired by Miami Heat

3× AP Athlete of the Year (1991–1993)

Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year (1991)

NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team (1996)

NCAA champion (1982)

National college player of the year (1984)

2× Consensus first-team All-American (1983, 1984)

ACC Player of the Year (1984)

2× First-team All-ACC (1983, 1984)

ACC Rookie of the Year (1982)

No. 23 retired by North Carolina Tar Heels

2× USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year (1983, 1984)

McDonald's All-American (1981)

First-team Parade All-American (1981)

Presidential Medal of Freedom (2016)

Career NBA statistics

Points 32,292 (30.1 ppg)

Rebounds 6,672 (6.2 rpg)

Assists 5,633 (5.3 apg)

Stats at NBA.com

Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

FIBA Hall of Fame as player

Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ is an American former professional basketball player and businessman. He is the principal owner and chairman of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and of 23XI Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. He played 15 seasons in the NBA, winning six championships with the Chicago Bulls. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time. He was integral in helping to popularize the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s, becoming a global cultural icon in the process.

Jordan played college basketball for three seasons under coach Dean Smith with the North Carolina Tar Heels. As a freshman, he was a member of the Tar Heels' national championship team in 1982. Jordan joined the Bulls in 1984 as the third overall draft pick, and quickly emerged as a league star, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring while gaining a reputation as one of the game's best defensive players. His leaping ability, demonstrated by performing slam dunks from the free throw line in Slam Dunk Contests, earned him the nicknames "Air Jordan" and "His Airness". Jordan won his first NBA championship with the Bulls in 1991, and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 and 1993, securing a "three-peat". Jordan abruptly retired from basketball before the 1993–94 NBA season to play Minor League Baseball but returned to the Bulls in March 1995 and led them to three more championships in 1996, 1997, and 1998, as well as a then-record 72 regular season wins in the 1995–96 NBA season. He retired for a second time in January 1999 but returned for two more NBA seasons from 2001 to 2003 as a member of the Washington Wizards.

Jordan's individual accolades and accomplishments include six NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) Awards, ten scoring titles (both all-time records), five MVP Awards, ten All-NBA First Team designations, nine All-Defensive First Team honors (joint record), fourteen NBA All-Star Game selections, three All-Star Game MVP Awards, three steals titles, and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. He holds the NBA records for career regular season scoring average (30.12 points per game) and career playoff scoring average (33.45 points per game). In 1999, he was named the 20th century's greatest North American athlete by ESPN, and was second to Babe Ruth on the Associated Press' list of athletes of the century. Jordan was twice inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, once in 2009 for his individual career and again in 2010 as part of the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team ("The Dream Team"). He became a member of the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2015.

One of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation, Jordan is also known for his product endorsements. He fueled the success of Nike's Air Jordan sneakers, which were introduced in 1984 and remain popular today. Jordan also starred as himself in the 1996 live-action animated film Space Jam, and is the central focus of the Emmy Award-winning documentary miniseries The Last Dance (2020). He became part-owner and head of basketball operations for the Charlotte Bobcats (now named the Hornets) in 2006, and bought a controlling interest in 2010. In 2014, Jordan became the first billionaire player in NBA history. With a net worth of $1.6 billion, he is the fifth-richest African American, behind Robert F. Smith, David Steward, Oprah Winfrey, and Kanye West.

Early life

Michael Jeffrey Jordan was born at Cumberland Hospital in the Fort Greene neighborhood of New York City's Brooklyn borough on February 17, 1963, the son of bank employee Deloris (née Peoples) and equipment supervisor James R. Jordan Sr. In 1968, he moved with his family to Wilmington, North Carolina. Jordan attended Emsley A. Laney High School in Wilmington, where he highlighted his athletic career by playing basketball, baseball, and football. He tried out for the varsity basketball team during his sophomore year; at 5'11" (1.80 m), he was deemed too short to play at that level. His taller friend Harvest Leroy Smith was the only sophomore to make the team.

Motivated to prove his worth, Jordan became the star of Laney's junior varsity team, and tallied several 40-point games. The following summer, he grew four inches (10 cm) and trained rigorously. Upon earning a spot on the varsity roster, Jordan averaged more than 25 points per game (ppg) over his final two seasons of high school play. As a senior, he was selected to play in the 1981 McDonald's All-American Game and scored 30 points, after averaging 27 points,12 rebounds, and 6 assists per game for the season. Jordan was recruited by numerous college basketball programs, including Duke, North Carolina, South Carolina, Syracuse, and Virginia. In 1981, he accepted a basketball scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he majored in cultural geography.

College career

Jordan going in for a slam dunk for the Laney High School varsity basketball team, 1979–80

Jordan's No. 23 jersey among others in the rafters of the Dean Smith Center, pictured in May 2005

As a freshman in coach Dean Smith's team-oriented system, Jordan was named ACC Freshman of the Year after he averaged 13.4 ppg on 53.4% shooting (field goal percentage). He made the game-winning jump shot in the 1982 NCAA Championship game against Georgetown, which was led by future NBA rival Patrick Ewing. Jordan later described this shot as the major turning point in his basketball career. During his three seasons with the Tar Heels, he averaged 17.7 ppg on 54.0% shooting, and added 5.0 rpg.

Jordan was selected by consensus to the NCAA All-American First Team in both his sophomore (1983) and junior (1984) seasons. After winning the Naismith and the Wooden College Player of the Year awards in 1984, Jordan left North Carolina one year before his scheduled graduation to enter the 1984 NBA draft. Jordan returned to North Carolina to complete his degree in 1986, when he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in geography. In 2002, Jordan was named to the ACC 50th Anniversary men's basketball team honoring the 50 greatest players in ACC history.

Professional career

Early NBA years (1984–1987)

The Chicago Bulls selected Jordan with the third overall pick of the 1984 NBA draft after Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets) and Sam Bowie (Portland Trail Blazers). One of the primary reasons why Jordan was not drafted sooner was because the first two teams were in need of a center. Trail Blazers general manager Stu Inman contended that it was not a matter of drafting a center but more a matter of taking Sam Bowie over Jordan, in part because Portland already had Clyde Drexler, who was a guard with similar skills to Jordan. Citing Bowie's injury-laden college career, ESPN, named the Blazers' choice of Bowie as the worst draft pick in North American professional sports history.

During his rookie season with the Bulls, Jordan averaged 28.2 ppg on 51.5% shooting, and helped make a team that had won 35% of games in the previous three seasons playoff contenders. He quickly became a fan favorite even in opposing arenas. Roy S. Johnson of The New York Times described him as "the phenomenal rookie of the Bulls" in November, and Jordan appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the heading "A Star Is Born" in December. The fans also voted in Jordan as an All-Star starter during his rookie season. Controversy arose before the All-Star game when word surfaced that several veteran players, led by Isiah Thomas, were upset by the amount of attention Jordan was receiving. This led to a so-called "freeze-out" on Jordan, where players refused to pass the ball to him throughout the game. The controversy left Jordan relatively unaffected when he returned to regular season play, and he would go on to be voted the NBA Rookie of the Year. The Bulls finished the season 38–44, and lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in four games in the First Round of the playoffs.

An often-cited moment was on August 26, 1985, when Jordan shook the arena during a Nike exhibition game in Trieste, Italy, by shattering the glass of the backboard with a dunk.The moment was filmed and is often referred to worldwide as an important milestone in Jordan's rise. The shoes Jordan wore during the game were auctioned in August 2020 and sold for $615,000, a record for a pair of sneakers. Jordan's second season was cut short when he broke his foot in the third game of the year, causing him to miss 64 games. The Bulls made the playoffs despite Jordan's injury and a 30–52 record, at the time the fifth-worst record of any team to qualify for the playoffs in NBA history. Jordan recovered in time to participate in the postseason and performed well upon his return. Against a 1985–86 Boston Celtics team that is often considered one of the greatest in NBA history, Jordan set the still-unbroken record for points in a playoff game with 63 in Game 2; however, the Celtics managed to sweep the series.

Jordan completely recovered in time for the 1986–87 season, and had one of the most prolific scoring seasons in NBA history; he became the only player other than Wilt Chamberlain to score 3,000 points in a season, averaging a league-high 37.1 points on 48.2% shooting. In addition, Jordan demonstrated his defensive prowess, as he became the first player in NBA history to record 200 steals and 100 blocked shots in a season. Despite Jordan's success, Magic Johnson won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award. The Bulls reached 40 wins, and advanced to the playoffs for the third consecutive year but were again swept by the Celtics.

Pistons roadblock (1987–1990)

Jordan (center) with the Bud Light Daredevils in 1987

Jordan again led the league in scoring during the 1987–88 season, averaging 35.0 ppg on 53.5% shooting and won his first league MVP Award. He was also named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, as he averaged 1.6 blocks and a league-high 3.1 steals per game. The Bulls finished 50–32, and made it out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time in Jordan's career, as they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games. However, the Bulls lost in five games to the more experienced Detroit Pistons, who were led by Isiah Thomas and a group of physical players known as the "Bad Boys".

In the 1988–89 season, Jordan again led the league in scoring, averaging 32.5 ppg on 53.8% shooting from the field, along with 8 rpg and 8 apg. During the season, Sam Vincent, Chicago's point guard, was having trouble running the offense, and Jordan expressed his frustration with head coach Doug Collins, who would put Jordan at point guard; in his time as a point guard, Jordan averaged 10 triple-doubles in eleven games, with 33.6 ppg, 11.4 rpg, 10.8 apg, 2.9 spg, and 0.8 bps on 51% shooting.

The Bulls finished with a 47–35 record, and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, defeating the Cavaliers and New York Knicks along the way. The Cavaliers series included a career highlight for Jordan when he hit "The Shot" over Craig Ehlo at the buzzer in the fifth and final game of the series. However, the Pistons again defeated the Bulls, this time in six games, by utilizing their "Jordan Rules" method of guarding Jordan, which consisted of double and triple teaming him every time he touched the ball.

The Bulls entered the 1989–90 season as a team on the rise, with their core group of Jordan and young improving players like Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant, and under the guidance of new coach Phil Jackson. On March 28, 1990, Jordan scored a career-high 69 points in a 117–113 road win over the Cavaliers. He averaged a league-leading 33.6 ppg on 52.6% shooting, to go with 6.9 rpg and 6.3 apg, in leading the Bulls to a 55–27 record. They again advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals after beating the Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers; despite pushing the series to seven games, the Bulls lost to the Pistons for the third consecutive season.

First three-peat (1991–1993)

In the 1990–91 season, Jordan won his second MVP award after averaging 31.5 ppg on 53.9% shooting, 6.0 rpg, and 5.5 apg for the regular season. The Bulls finished in first place in their division for the first time in sixteen years and set a franchise record with 61 wins in the regular season. With Scottie Pippen developing into an All-Star, the Bulls had elevated their play. The Bulls defeated the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers in the opening two rounds of the playoffs. They advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals where their rival, the Detroit Pistons, awaited them; this time, the Bulls beat the Pistons in a four-game sweep.

The Bulls advanced to the Finals for the first time in franchise history to face the Los Angeles Lakers, who had Magic Johnson and James Worthy, two formidable opponents. The Bulls won the series four games to one, and compiled a 15–2 playoff record along the way. Perhaps the best-known moment of the series came in Game 2 when, attempting a dunk, Jordan avoided a potential Sam Perkins block by switching the ball from his right hand to his left in mid-air to lay the shot into the basket. In his first Finals appearance, Jordan posted per game averages of 31.2 points on 56% shooting from the field, 11.4 assists, 6.6 rebounds, 2.8 steals, and 1.4 blocks Jordan won his first NBA Finals MVP award, and he cried while holding the Finals trophy.

Jordan and the Bulls continued their dominance in the 1991–92 season, establishing a 67–15 record, topping their franchise record from 1990 to 1991. Jordan won his second consecutive MVP award with averages of 30.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game on 52% shooting. After winning a physical seven-game series over the New York Knicks in the second round of the playoffs and finishing off the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Conference Finals in six games, the Bulls met Clyde Drexler and the Portland Trail Blazers in the Finals. The media, hoping to recreate a Magic–Bird rivalry, highlighted the similarities between "Air" Jordan and Clyde "The Glide" during the pre-Finals hype.

In the first game, Jordan scored a Finals-record 35 points in the first half, including a record-setting six three-point field goals. After the sixth three-pointer, he jogged down the court shrugging as he looked courtside. Marv Albert, who broadcast the game, later stated that it was as if Jordan was saying: "I can't believe I'm doing this." The Bulls went on to win Game 1 and defeat the Blazers in six games. Jordan was named Finals MVP for the second year in a row and finished the series averaging 35.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, and 6.5 apg, while shooting 52.6% from the floor.

Jordan in 1992

In the 1992–93 season, despite a 32.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg, and 5.5 apg campaign, including a second-place finish in Defensive Player of the Year voting, Jordan's streak of consecutive MVP seasons ended, as he lost the award to his friend Charles Barkley. Coincidentally, Jordan and the Bulls met Barkley and his Phoenix Suns in the 1993 NBA Finals. The Bulls won their third NBA championship on a game-winning shot by John Paxson and a last-second block by Horace Grant, but Jordan was once again Chicago's leader. He averaged a Finals-record 41.0 ppg during the six-game series, and became the first player in NBA history to win three straight Finals MVP awards. He scored more than 30 points in every game of the series, including 40 or more points in four consecutive games. With his third Finals triumph, Jordan capped off a seven-year run where he attained seven scoring titles and three championships, but there were signs that Jordan was tiring of his massive celebrity and all of the non-basketball hassles in his life.

Gambling

During the Bulls' 1993 NBA playoffs, Jordan was seen gambling in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the night before a game against the New York Knicks. The previous year, he admitted that he had to cover $57,000 in gambling losses, and author Richard Esquinas wrote a book in 1993 claiming he had won $1.25 million from Jordan on the golf course. NBA commissioner David Stern denied in 1995 and 2006 that Jordan's 1993 retirement was a secret suspension by the league for gambling, but the rumor spread widely.

In 2005, Jordan discussed his gambling with Ed Bradley of 60 Minutes and admitted that he made reckless decisions. Jordan stated: "Yeah, I've gotten myself into situations where I would not walk away and I've pushed the envelope. Is that compulsive? Yeah, it depends on how you look at it. If you're willing to jeopardize your livelihood and your family, then yeah." When Bradley asked him if his gambling ever got to the level where it jeopardized his livelihood or family, Jordan replied: "No." In 2010, Ron Shelton, director of Jordan Rides the Bus, said that he began working on the documentary believing that the NBA had suspended him, but that research "convinced [him it] was nonsense."

First retirement and stint in Minor League Baseball (1993–1994)

Michael Jordan

Jordan in training with the Scottsdale Scorpions in 1994

Birmingham Barons – No. 45, 35

Outfielder

Batted: Right

Threw: Right

Professional debut

Southern League: April 8, 1994, for the Birmingham Barons

Arizona Fall League: 1994, for the Scottsdale Scorpions

Last Southern League appearance

March 10, 1995, for the Birmingham Barons

Southern League statistics

(through 1994)

Batting average .202

Home runs 3

Runs batted in 51

Arizona Fall League statistics

Batting average .252

Runs batted in 8

Teams

Birmingham Barons (1994–1995)

Scottsdale Scorpions (1994)

On October 6, 1993, Jordan announced his retirement, saying that he lost his desire to play basketball. Jordan later said that the death of his father three months earlier helped shape his decision. James Jordan was murdered on July 23, 1993, at a highway rest area in Lumberton, North Carolina, by two teenagers, Daniel Green and Larry Martin Demery, who carjacked his Lexus bearing the license plate "UNC 0023". His body, dumped in a South Carolina swamp, was not discovered until August 3. Green and Demery were found after they made calls on James Jordan's cell phone convicted at a trial, and sentenced to life in prison.

Jordan was close to his father; as a child, he imitated the way his father stuck out his tongue while absorbed in work. He later adopted it as his own signature, often displaying it as he drove to the basket. In 1996, he founded a Chicago-area Boys & Girls Club and dedicated it to his father. In his 1998 autobiography For the Love of the Game, Jordan wrote that he was preparing for retirement as early as the summer of 1992 The added exhaustion due to the Dream Team run in the 1992 Olympics solidified Jordan's feelings about the game and his ever-growing celebrity status. Jordan's announcement sent shock waves throughout the NBA and appeared on the front pages of newspapers around the world.

Jordan further surprised the sports world by signing a Minor League Baseball contract with the Chicago White Sox on February 7, 1994. He reported to spring training in Sarasota, Florida, and was assigned to the team's minor league system on March 31, 1994. Jordan said that this decision was made to pursue the dream of his late father, who always envisioned his son as a Major League Baseball player. The White Sox were owned by Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who continued to honor Jordan's basketball contract during the years he played baseball.

In 1994, Jordan played for the Birmingham Barons, a Double-A minor league affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, batting .202 with three home runs, 51 runs batted in, 30 stolen bases, 114 strikeouts, 51 bases on balls, and 11 errors. He also appeared for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the 1994 Arizona Fall League, batting .252 against the top prospects in baseball. On November 1, 1994, his No. 23 was retired by the Bulls in a ceremony that included the erection of a permanent sculpture known as The Spirit outside the new United Center.

"I'm back": Return to the NBA (1995)

In the 1993–94 season, the Bulls achieved a 55–27 record without Jordan in the lineup, and lost to the New York Knicks in the second round of the playoffs The 1994–95 Bulls were a shell of the championship team of just two years earlier. Struggling at mid-season to ensure a spot in the playoffs, Chicago was 31–31 at one point in mid-March; however, the team received help when Jordan decided to return to the Bulls.

In March 1995, Jordan decided to quit baseball because he feared he might become a replacement player during the Major League Baseball strike. On March 18, 1995, Jordan announced his return to the NBA through a two-word press release: "I'm back." The next day, Jordan took to the court with the Bulls to face the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis, scoring 19 points. The game had the highest Nielsen rating of any regular season NBA game since 1975. Although he could have worn his original number even though the Bulls retired it, Jordan wore No. 45, his baseball number.

Despite his eighteen-month hiatus from the NBA, Jordan played well, making a game-winning jump shot against Atlanta in his fourth game back. He scored 55 points in his next game, against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on March 28, 1995. Boosted by Jordan's comeback, the Bulls went 13–4 to make the playoffs and advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Orlando Magic. At the end of Game 1, Orlando's Nick Anderson stripped Jordan from behind, leading to the game-winning basket for the Magic; he would later comment that Jordan "didn't look like the old Michael Jordan" and that "No. 45 doesn't explode like No. 23 used to."

Jordan responded by scoring 38 points in the next game, which Chicago won. Before the game, Jordan decided that he would immediately resume wearing his former No. 23. The Bulls were fined $25,000 for failing to report the impromptu number change to the NBA. Jordan was fined an additional $5,000 for opting to wear white sneakers when the rest of the Bulls wore black. He averaged 31 points per game in the playoffs, but Orlando won the series in six games.

Second three-peat (1995–1998)

Jordan was freshly motivated by the playoff defeat, and he trained aggressively for the 1995–96 season. The Bulls were strengthened by the addition of rebound specialist Dennis Rodman, and the team dominated the league, starting the season at 41–3. The Bulls eventually finished with the best regular season record in NBA history, 72–10, a mark broken two decades later by the 2015–16 Golden State Warriors. Jordan led the league in scoring with 30.4 ppg, and he won the league's regular season and All-Star Game MVP awards.

In the playoffs, the Bulls lost only three games in four series (Miami Heat 3–0, New York Knicks 4–1, and Orlando Magic 4–0), as they defeated the Seattle SuperSonics 4–2 in the NBA Finals to win their fourth championship. Jordan was named Finals MVP for a record fourth time, surpassing Magic Johnson's three Finals MVP awards; he also achieved only the second sweep of the MVP awards in the All-Star Game, regular season, and NBA Finals after Willis Reed in the 1969–70 season. Upon winning the championship, his first since his father's murder, Jordan reacted emotionally, clutching the game ball and crying on the locker room floor.

In the 1996–97 season, the Bulls started out 69–11 but missed out on a second consecutive 70-win season by losing their final two games to finish 69–13. The Bulls again advanced to the Finals, where they faced the Utah Jazz. That team included Karl Malone, who had beaten Jordan for the NBA MVP award in a tight race (986–957). The series against the Jazz featured two of the more memorable clutch moments of Jordan's career. He won Game 1 for the Bulls with a buzzer-beating jump shot. In Game 5, with the series tied at 2, Jordan played despite being feverish and dehydrated from a stomach virus. In what is known as the "Flu Game", Jordan scored 38 points, including the game-deciding 3-pointer with 25 seconds remaining. The Bulls won 90–88 and went on to win the series in six games For the fifth time in as many Finals appearances, Jordan received the Finals MVP award During the 1997 NBA All-Star Game, Jordan posted the first triple double in All-Star Game history in a victorious effort; however, he did not receive the MVP award.

Jordan with coach Phil Jackson in 1997

Jordan and the Bulls compiled a 62–20 record in the 1997–98 season. Jordan led the league with 28.7 points per game, securing his fifth regular season MVP award, plus honors for All-NBA First Team, First Defensive Team, and the All-Star Game MVP. The Bulls won the Eastern Conference Championship for a third straight season, including surviving a seven-game series with the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals; it was the first time Jordan had played in a Game 7 since the 1992 Eastern Conference Semifinals with the Knicks. After winning, they moved on for a rematch with the Jazz in the Finals.

The Bulls returned to the Delta Center for Game 6 on June 14, 1998, leading the series 3–2. Jordan executed a series of plays, considered to be one of the greatest clutch performances in NBA Finals history. With 41.9 seconds remaining and the Bulls trailing 86–83, Phil Jackson called a timeout. When play resumed, Jordan received the inbound pass, drove to the basket, and sank a shot over several Jazz defenders, cutting Utah's lead to 86–85. The Jazz brought the ball upcourt and passed the ball to Malone, who was set up in the low post and was being guarded by Rodman. Malone jostled with Rodman and caught the pass, but Jordan cut behind him and stole the ball out of his hands.

Jordan then dribbled down the court and paused, eyeing his defender, Jazz guard Bryon Russell. With 10 seconds remaining, Jordan started to dribble right, then crossed over to his left, possibly pushing off Russell, although the officials did not call a foul. With 5.2 seconds left, Jordan made the climactic shot of his Bulls career, giving Chicago an 87–86 lead with a jumper over Russell. Afterwards, the Jazz' John Stockton narrowly missed a game-winning three-pointer, and the buzzer sounded as Jordan and the Bulls won their sixth NBA championship, achieving a second three-peat in the decade. Once again, Jordan was voted Finals MVP, having led all scorers by averaging 33.5 points per game, including 45 in the deciding Game 6. Jordan's six Finals MVPs is a record; LeBron James is in second place with four. The 1998 Finals holds the highest television rating of any Finals series in history; Game 6 also holds the highest television rating of any game in NBA history.

Second retirement (1999–2001)

Plaque at the United Center that chronicles Jordan's career achievements

With Phil Jackson's contract expiring, the pending departures of Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman looming, and being in the latter stages of an owner-induced lockout of NBA players, Jordan retired for the second time on January 13, 1999. On January 19, 2000, Jordan returned to the NBA not as a player but as part owner and president of basketball operations for the Washington Wizards. Jordan's responsibilities with the Wizards were comprehensive, as he controlled all aspects of the Wizards' basketball operations, and had the final say in all personnel matters; opinions of Jordan as a basketball executive were mixed. He managed to purge the team of several highly paid, unpopular players (such as forward Juwan Howard and point guard Rod Strickland) but used the first pick in the 2001 NBA draft to select high schooler Kwame Brown, who did not live up to expectations and was traded away after four seasons.

Despite his January 1999 claim that he was "99.9% certain" that he would never play another NBA game,[74] in the summer of 2001 Jordan expressed interest in making another comeback, this time with his new team. Inspired by the NHL comeback of his friend Mario Lemieux the previous winter, Jordan spent much of the spring and summer of 2001 in training, holding several invitation-only camps for NBA players in Chicago. In addition, Jordan hired his old Chicago Bulls head coach, Doug Collins, as Washington's coach for the upcoming season, a decision that many saw as foreshadowing another Jordan return

Washington Wizards comeback (2001–2003)

Jordan as a member of the Washington Wizards, April 14, 2003

On September 25, 2001, Jordan announced his return to the NBA to play for the Washington Wizards, indicating his intention to donate his salary as a player to a relief effort for the victims of the September 11 attacks. In an injury-plagued 2001–02 season, Jordan led the team in scoring (22.9 ppg), assists (5.2 apg), and steals (1.42 spg), and was an MVP candidate, as he led the Wizards to a winning record and playoff contention; he would eventually finish 13th in the MVP ballot. After suffering a torn cartilage in his right knee and subsequent knee soreness, the Wizards missed the playoffs, and Jordan's season ended after only 60 games, the fewest he had played in a regular season since playing 17 games after returning from his first retirement during the 1994–95 season. Jordan started 53 of his 60 games for the season, averaging 24.3 points, 5.4 assists, and 6.0 rebounds, and shooting 41.9% from the field in his 53 starts. His last seven appearances were in a reserve role, in which he averaged just over 20 minutes per game. The Wizards finished the season with a 37–45 record, an 18-game improvement.

Playing in his 14th and final NBA All-Star Game in 2003, Jordan passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the all-time leading scorer in All-Star Game history, a record since broken by Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. That year, Jordan was the only Washington player to play in all 82 games, starting in 67 of them, and coming from off the bench in 15. He averaged 20.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. He also shot 45% from the field, and 82% from the free-throw line. Even though he turned 40 during the season, he scored 20 or more points 42 times, 30 or more points nine times, and 40 or more points three times. On February 21, 2003, Jordan became the first 40-year-old to tally 43 points in an NBA game. During his stint with the Wizards, all of Jordan's home games at the MCI Center were sold out, and the Wizards were the second most-watched team in the NBA, averaging 20,172 fans a game at home and 19,311 on the road. However, neither of Jordan's final two seasons resulted in a playoff appearance for the Wizards, and Jordan was often unsatisfied with the play of those around him. At several points, he openly criticized his teammates to the media, citing their lack of focus and intensity, notably that of Kwame Brown, the number-one draft pick in the 2001 NBA draft.

With the recognition that 2002–03 would be Jordan's final season, tributes were paid to him throughout the NBA. In his final game at the United Center in Chicago, which was his old home court, Jordan received a four-minute standing ovation. The Miami Heat retired the No. 23 jersey on April 11, 2003, even though Jordan never played for the team. At the 2003 All-Star Game, Jordan was offered a starting spot from Tracy McGrady and Allen Iverson but refused both; in the end, he accepted the spot of Vince Carter. Jordan played in his final NBA game on April 16, 2003, in Philadelphia. After scoring 13 points in the game, Jordan went to the bench with 4 minutes and 13 seconds remaining in the third quarter and his team trailing the Philadelphia 76ers 75–56. Just after the start of the fourth quarter, the First Union Center crowd began chanting "We want Mike!" After much encouragement from coach Doug Collins, Jordan finally rose from the bench and re-entered the game, replacing Larry Hughes with 2:35 remaining. At 1:45, Jordan was intentionally fouled by the 76ers' Eric Snow, and stepped to the line to make both free throws. After the second foul shot, the 76ers in-bounded the ball to rookie John Salmons, who in turn was intentionally fouled by Bobby Simmons one second later, stopping time so that Jordan could return to the bench. Jordan received a three-minute standing ovation from his teammates, his opponents, the officials, and the crowd of 21,257 fans.

National team career

Jordan on the "Dream Team" in 1992

Jordan made his debut for the United States national team at the 1983 Pan American Games in Caracas, Venezuela. He led the team in scoring with 17.3 ppg as the U.S., coached by Jack Hartman, won the gold medal in the competition.A year later, he won another gold medal in the 1984 Summer Olympics. The team was coached by Bob Knight and featured players such as Patrick Ewing, Sam Perkins, Chris Mullin, Steve Alford, and Wayman Tisdale. Jordan led the team in scoring, averaging 17.1 ppg for the tournament.

In 1992, he was a member of the star-studded squad that was dubbed the "Dream Team", which included Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. The team went on to win two gold medals: the first one in the 1992 Tournament of the Americas, and the second one in the 1992 Summer Olympics. Jordan was the only player to start all eight games in the Olympics and averaged 14.9 ppg, finishing second on the team in scoring. Team USA never lost a single game in the four tournaments in which Jordan played.

Player profile

Jordan dunking the ball, 1987–88

Jordan was a shooting guard who could also play as a small forward (the position he would primarily play during his second return to professional basketball with the Washington Wizards), and as a point guard. Jordan was known throughout his career as a strong clutch performer. With the Bulls, he decided 25 games with field goals or free throws in the last 30 seconds, including two NBA Finals games and five other playoff contests. His competitiveness was visible in his prolific trash-talk and well-known work ethic Jordan often used perceived slights to fuel his performances. Sportswriter Wright Thompson described him as "a killer, in the Darwinian sense of the word, immediately sensing and attacking someone's weakest spot." As the Bulls organization built the franchise around Jordan, management had to trade away players who were not "tough enough" to compete with him in practice. To help improve his defense, he spent extra hours studying film of opponents. On offense, he relied more upon instinct and improvization at game time.

Noted as a durable player, Jordan did not miss four or more games while active for a full season from 1986–87 to 2001–02, when he injured his right knee. Of the 15 seasons Jordan was in the NBA, he played all 82 regular season games nine times. Jordan has frequently cited David Thompson, Walter Davis, and Jerry West as influences. Confirmed at the start of his career, and possibly later on, Jordan had a special "Love of the Game Clause" written into his contract, which was unusual at the time, and allowed him to play basketball against anyone at any time, anywhere.

Jordan had a versatile offensive game and was capable of aggressively driving to the basket as well as drawing fouls from his opponents at a high rate; his 8,772 free throw attempts are the 11th-highest total in NBA history. As his career progressed, Jordan also developed the ability to post up his opponents and score with his trademark fadeaway jump shot, using his leaping ability to "fade away" from block attempts. According to Hubie Brown, this move alone made him nearly unstoppable. Despite media criticism as a "selfish" player early in his career, Jordan was willing to defer to this teammates, with a career average of 5.3 assists per game and a season-high of 8 assists per game. For a guard, Jordan was also a good rebounder, finishing with 6.2 rebounds per game. Defensively, he averaged 2.3 steals and 0.8 blocks.

Three-point field goal was not Jordan's strength, especially in his early years; his 16% shooting record (5-for-30) in the 1990 Three-Point Contest gave him the worst percentage of points ever in that competition. He improved his three-point shooting over time, and finished his career with a respectable 32% success rate. After shooting under 30% from three-point range in his first five seasons in the NBA, including a career-low 13% in the 1987–88 season, Jordan improved to a career-high 50% in the 1994–95 season. The three-point shot became more of a focus of his game from 1994–95 to 1996–97, when the NBA shortened its three-point line from 23 ft 9 in (7.24 m) to 22 ft (6.7 m). His three-point field-goal percentages ranged from 35% to 43% in seasons in which he attempted at least 230 three-pointers between 1989–90 and 1996–97. Jordan's effective field goal percentage was 50%, and he had six seasons with at least 50% shooting, five of which consecutively (1988–1992); he also shot 51% and 50%, and 30% and 33% from the three-point range, throughout his first and second retirements, respectively, finishing his career with 49% shooting.

Unlike NBA players such as Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, often compared to Jordan and who had a similar three-point percentage, he did not shoot as much as they did, as he did not need it in order to be effective on offense; three-point shooting was only introduced in 1979 and would not be a more fundamental aspect of the game until the first decades of the 21st century, with the NBA having to briefly shorten the line to incentivize more shots. Jordan's three-point shooting was better selected, resulting in three-point field goals made in important games during the playoffs and the Finals, such as hitting six consecutive three-point shots in Game 1 of the 1992 NBA Finals. Jordan shot 37%, 35%, 42%, and 37% in all the seasons he shot over 200 three-pointers, and also shot 38.5%, 38.6%, 38.9%, 40.3%, 19.4%, and 30.2% in the playoffs during his championship runs, improving his shooting even after the three-point line was reverted to the original line.

In 1988, Jordan was honored with the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award and became the first NBA player to win both the Defensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards in a career. In addition, he set both seasonal and career records for blocked shots by a guard, and combined this with his ball-thieving ability to become a standout defensive player. He ranks third in NBA history in total steals with 2,514, trailing John Stockton and Jason Kidd. Jerry West often stated that he was more impressed with Jordan's defensive contributions than his offensive ones. Doc Rivers declared Jordan "the best superstar defender in the history of the game."

Jordan was known to have strong eyesight; broadcaster Al Michaels said that he was able to read baseball box scores on a 27-inch (69 cm) television clearly from about 50 feet (15 m) away. During the 2001 NBA Finals, Phil Jackson compared Jordan's dominance to Shaquille O'Neal, stating that "Michael would get fouled on every play and still have to play through it and just clear himself for shots instead and would rise to that occasion."

Legacy

Michael Jordan

Jordan's talent was clear from his first NBA season; by November 1984, he was being compared to Julius Erving. Larry Bird said that rookie Jordan was the best player he ever saw, and that he was "one of a kind", and comparable to Wayne Gretzky as an athlete. In his first game in Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks, Jordan received a near minute-long standing ovation. After establishing the single game playoff record of 63 points against the Boston Celtics on April 20, 1986, Bird described him as "God disguised as Michael Jordan."

Jordan led the NBA in scoring in 10 seasons (NBA record) and tied Wilt Chamberlain's record of seven consecutive scoring titles. He was also a fixture of the NBA All-Defensive First Team, making the roster nine times (NBA record shared with Gary Payton, Kevin Garnett, and Kobe Bryant).Jordan also holds the top career regular season and playoff scoring averages of 30.1 and 33.4 points per game, respectively. By 1998, the season of his Finals-winning shot against the Jazz, he was well known throughout the league as a clutch performer. In the regular season, Jordan was the Bulls' primary threat in the final seconds of a close game and in the playoffs; he would always ask for the ball at crunch time. Jordan's total of 5,987 points in the playoffs is the second-highest in NBA history. He retired with 32,292 points in regular season play, placing him fifth on the NBA's all-time scoring list behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, LeBron James, and Kobe Bryant.

With five regular season MVPs (tied for second place with Bill Russell—only Abdul-Jabbar has won more, with six), six Finals MVPs (NBA record), and three All-Star Game MVPs, Jordan is the most decorated player in NBA history. Jordan finished among the top three in regular season MVP voting 10 times, and was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996. He is one of only seven players in history to win an NCAA championship, an NBA championship, and an Olympic gold medal (doing so twice with the 1984 and 1992 U.S. men's basketball teams). Since 1976, the year of the NBA's merger with the American Basketball Association, Jordan and Pippen are the only two players to win six NBA Finals playing for one team. In the All-Star Game fan ballot, Jordan received the most votes nine times, more than any other player.

"There's Michael Jordan and then there is the rest of us."

—Magic Johnson

Many of Jordan's contemporaries have said that Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time. In 1999, an ESPN survey of journalists, athletes and other sports figures ranked Jordan the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century, above Babe Ruth and Muhammad Ali. Jordan placed second to Babe Ruth in the Associated Press' December 1999 list of 20th century athletes. In addition, the Associated Press voted him the greatest basketball player of the 20th century. Jordan has also appeared on the front cover of Sports Illustrated a record 50 times. In the September 1996 issue of Sport, which was the publication's 50th-anniversary issue, Jordan was named the greatest athlete of the past 50 years.

Statue of Michael Jordan inside the United Center

Jordan's athletic leaping ability, highlighted in his back-to-back Slam Dunk Contest championships in 1987 and 1988, is credited by many people with having influenced a generation of young players. Several NBA players, including LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, have stated that they considered Jordan their role model while they were growing up. In addition, commentators have dubbed a number of next-generation players "the next Michael Jordan" upon their entry to the NBA, including Penny Hardaway, Grant Hill, Allen Iverson, Bryant, Vince Carter, James, and Wade. Some analyists, such as The Ringer's Dan Devine, drew parallels between Jordan's experiment at point guard in the 1988–89 season and modern NBA; for Devine, it "inadvertently foreshadowed the modern game's stylistic shift toward monster-usage primary playmakers", such as Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Luka Dončić, and LeBron James. Don Nelson stated: "I would've been playing him at point guard the day he showed up as a rookie."

Although Jordan was a well-rounded player, his "Air Jordan" image is also often credited with inadvertently decreasing the jump shooting skills, defense, and fundamentals of young players, a fact Jordan himself has lamented: "I think it was the exposure of Michael Jordan; the marketing of Michael Jordan. Everything was marketed towards the things that people wanted to see, which was scoring and dunking. That Michael Jordan still played defense and an all-around game, but it was never really publicized." During his heyday, Jordan did much to increase the status of the game; television ratings increased only during his time in the league. The popularity of the NBA in the U.S. declined after his last title. As late as 2020, Finals ratings had not returned to the level reached during his last championship-winning season.

In August 2009, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, opened a Michael Jordan exhibit that contained items from his college and NBA careers as well as from the 1992 "Dream Team"; the exhibit also has a batting glove to signify Jordan's short career in Minor League Baseball. After Jordan received word of his acceptance into the Hall of Fame, he selected Class of 1996 member David Thompson to present him. As Jordan would later explain during his induction speech in September 2009, when he was growing up in North Carolina, he was not a fan of the Tar Heels and greatly admired Thompson, who played at rival North Carolina State. In September, he was inducted into the Hall with several former Bulls teammates in attendance, including Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Charles Oakley, Ron Harper, Steve Kerr, and Toni Kukoč. Two of Jordan's former coaches, Dean Smith and Doug Collins, were also among those present. His emotional reaction during his speech—when he began to cry—was captured by Associated Press photographer Stephan Savoia and would later go viral on social media as the Crying Jordan Internet meme. In 2016, President Barack Obama honored Jordan with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

NBA career statistics

Legend GP Games played GS Games started MPG Minutes per game

FG% Field goal percentage 3P% 3-point field goal percentage FT% Free throw percentage

RPG Rebounds per game APG Assists per game SPG Steals per game

BPG Blocks per game PPG Points per game Bold Career high

† Won an NBA championship * Led the league NBA record

Awards and honors

Further information: List of career achievements by Michael Jordan

James Worthy, Jordan, and Dean Smith in 2007 at a North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball game honoring the 1957 and 1982 men's basketball teamsNBA

Six-time NBA champion – 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998

Six-time NBA Finals MVP – 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998

Five-time NBA MVP – 1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998

NBA Defensive Player of the Year – 1987–88

NBA Rookie of the Year – 1984–85

10-time NBA scoring leader – 1987–1993, 1996–1998

Three-time NBA steals leader – 1988, 1990, 1993

14-time NBA All-Star – 1985–1993, 1996–1998, 2002, 2003

Three-time NBA All-Star Game MVP – 1988, 1996, 1998

10-time All-NBA First Team – 1987–1993, 1996–1998

One-time All-NBA Second Team – 1985

Nine-time NBA All-Defensive First Team – 1988–1993, 1996–1998

Two-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion – 1987, 1988

Two-time IBM Award winner – 1985, 1989

Named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996

No. 23 retired by the Chicago Bulls

No. 23 retired by the Miami Heat

Two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee:

Class of 2009 – individual

Class of 2010 – as a member of the "Dream Team"

Statue in front of the United CenterUSA Basketball

Two-time Olympic gold medal winner – 1984, 1992

United States Olympic Hall of Fame – Class of 2009 (as a member of the "Dream Team")

Two-time FIBA Hall of Fame inductee:

Class of 2015 – individual

Class of 2017 – as a member of the "Dream Team"

Tournament of the Americas gold medal winner – 1992

Pan American Games gold medal winner – 1983 NCAA

NCAA national championship – 1981–82

ACC Freshman of the Year – 1981–82

Two-time Consensus NCAA All-American First Team – 1982–83, 1983–84

ACC Men's Basketball Player of the Year – 1983–84

USBWA College Player of the Year – 1983–84

Naismith College Player of the Year – 1983–84

Adolph Rupp Trophy – 1983–84

John R. Wooden Award – 1983–84

No. 23 retired by the North Carolina Tar Heels Media

Three-time Associated Press Athlete of the Year – 1991, 1992, 1993

Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year – 1991

Ranked No. 1 by Slam magazine's "Top 50 Players of All-Time"

Ranked No. 1 by ESPN SportsCentury's "Top North American Athletes of the 20th Century"

10-time ESPY Award winner (in various categories)

1997 Marca Leyenda winner National

2016 Presidential Medal of Freedom State/local

Section of Madison Street in Chicago renamed Michael Jordan Drive – 1994

North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame

Post-retirement

Jordan on a golf course in 2007

After his third retirement, Jordan assumed that he would be able to return to his front office position as Director of Basketball Operations with the Wizards. However, his previous tenure in the Wizards' front office had produced mixed results and may have also influenced the trade of Richard "Rip" Hamilton for Jerry Stackhouse, although Jordan was not technically Director of Basketball Operations in 2002. On May 7, 2003, Wizards owner Abe Pollin fired Jordan as the team's president of basketball operations. Jordan later stated that he felt betrayed, and that if he had known he would be fired upon retiring, he never would have come back to play for the Wizards.

Jordan kept busy over the next few years. He stayed in shape, played golf in celebrity charity tournaments, and spent time with his family in Chicago. He also promoted his Jordan Brand clothing line and rode motorcycles. Since 2004, Jordan has owned Michael Jordan Motorsports, a professional closed-course motorcycle road racing team that competed with two Suzukis in the premier Superbike championship sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) until the end of the 2013 season.

Charlotte Bobcats / Hornets

On June 15, 2006, Jordan bought a minority stake in the Charlotte Bobcats (now known as the Hornets), becoming the team's second-largest shareholder behind majority owner Robert L. Johnson. As part of the deal, Jordan took full control over the basketball side of the operation, with the title Managing Member of Basketball Operations. Despite Jordan's previous success as an endorser, he has made an effort not to be included in Charlotte's marketing campaigns. A decade earlier, Jordan had made a bid to become part-owner of Charlotte's original NBA team, the Charlotte Hornets, but talks collapsed when owner George Shinn refused to give Jordan complete control of basketball operations.

In February 2010, it was reported that Jordan was seeking majority ownership of the Bobcats. As February wore on, it became apparent that Jordan and former Houston Rockets president George Postolos were the leading contenders for ownership of the team. On February 27, the Bobcats announced that Johnson had reached an agreement with Jordan and his group, MJ Basketball Holdings, to buy the team from Johnson pending NBA approval. On March 17, the NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved Jordan's purchase, making him the first former player to become the majority owner of an NBA team. It also made him the league's only African-American majority owner.

During the 2011 NBA lockout, The New York Times wrote that Jordan led a group of 10 to 14 hardline owners who wanted to cap the players' share of basketball-related income at 50 percent and as low as 47. Journalists observed that, during the labor dispute in 1998, Jordan had told Washington Wizards then-owner Abe Pollin: "If you can't make a profit, you should sell your team." Jason Whitlock of FoxSports.com called Jordan a "sellout" for wanting "current players to pay for his incompetence." He cited Jordan's executive decisions to draft disappointing players Kwame Brown and Adam Morrison.

During the 2011–12 NBA season that was shortened to 66 games by the lockout, the Bobcats posted a 7–59 record. The team closed out the season with a 23-game losing streak; their .106 winning percentage was the worst in NBA history. Before the next season, Jordan said: "I'm not real happy about the record book scenario last year. It's very, very frustrating."

During the 2019 NBA offseason, Jordan sold a minority piece of the Hornets to Gabe Plotkin and Daniel Sundheim, retaining the majority of the team for himself as well as the role of chairman.

23XI Racing

On September 21, 2020, Jordan and NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin announced they would be fielding a NASCAR team with Bubba Wallace driving, beginning competition in the 2021 season. On October 22, the team's name was confirmed to be 23XI Racing (pronounced twenty-three eleven) and the team's entry would bear No. 23.

Personal life

Jordan receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama at the White House

Jordan is the fourth of five children. He has two older brothers, Larry Jordan and James R. Jordan Jr., one older sister, Deloris, and one younger sister, Roslyn. James retired in 2006 as the Command Sergeant Major of the 35th Signal Brigade of the XVIII Airborne Corps in the U.S. Army. Jordan's nephew through Larry, Justin Jordan, played Division I basketball at UNC Greensboro and is a scout for the Charlotte Hornets.

Jordan married Juanita Vanoy in September 1989. They had two sons, Jeffrey and Marcus, and a daughter, Jasmine. The Jordans filed for divorce on January 4, 2002, citing irreconcilable differences, but reconciled shortly thereafter. They again filed for divorce and were granted a final decree of dissolution of marriage on December 29, 2006, commenting that the decision was made "mutually and amicably". It is reported that Juanita received a $168 million settlement (equivalent to $216 million in 2020), making it the largest celebrity divorce settlement on public record at the time.

In 1991, Jordan purchased a lot in Highland Park, Illinois, on which he planned to build a 56,000 square-foot (5,200 m2) mansion. It was completed in 1995. He listed the mansion for sale in 2012. His two sons attended Loyola Academy, a private Catholic school in Wilmette, Illinois. Jeffrey graduated in 2007 and played his first collegiate basketball game for the University of Illinois on November 11, 2007. After two seasons, he left the Illinois basketball team in 2009. He later rejoined the team for a third season, then received a release to transfer to the University of Central Florida, where Marcus was attending. Marcus transferred to Whitney Young High School after his sophomore year at Loyola Academy and graduated in 2009. He began attending UCF in the fall of 2009, and played three seasons of basketball for the school.

On July 21, 2006, a judge in Cook County, Illinois, determined that Jordan did not owe his alleged former lover Karla Knafel $5 million in a breach of contract claim. Jordan had allegedly paid Knafel $250,000 to keep their relationship a secret. Knafel claimed Jordan promised her $5 million for remaining silent and agreeing not to file a paternity suit after Knafel learned she was pregnant in 1991; a DNA test showed Jordan was not the father of the child.

Jordan proposed to his longtime girlfriend, Cuban-American model Yvette Prieto, on Christmas 2011, and they were married on April 27, 2013, at Bethesda-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church. It was announced on November 30, 2013, that the two were expecting their first child together. On February 11, 2014, Prieto gave birth to identical twin daughters named Victoria and Ysabel. In 2019, Jordan became a grandfather when his daughter Jasmine gave birth to a son, whose father is professional basketball player Rakeem Christmas.

Media figure and business interests

Endorsements

Jordan in 2008

Jordan is one of the most marketed sports figures in history. He has been a major spokesman for such brands as Nike, Coca-Cola, Chevrolet, Gatorade, McDonald's, Ball Park Franks, Rayovac, Wheaties, Hanes, and MCI. Jordan has had a long relationship with Gatorade, appearing in over 20 commercials for the company since 1991, including the "Be Like Mike" commercials in which a song was sung by children wishing to be like Jordan.

Nike created a signature shoe for Jordan, called the Air Jordan, in 1984. One of Jordan's more popular commercials for the shoe involved Spike Lee playing the part of Mars Blackmon. In the commercials, Lee, as Blackmon, attempted to find the source of Jordan's abilities and became convinced that "it's gotta be the shoes". The hype and demand for the shoes even brought on a spate of "shoe-jackings" where people were robbed of their sneakers at gunpoint. Subsequently, Nike spun off the Jordan line into its own division named the "Jordan Brand". The company features an impressive list of athletes and celebrities as endorsers. The brand has also sponsored college sports programs such as those of North Carolina, California, Georgetown, and Marquette.

Jordan also has been associated with the Looney Tunes cartoon characters. A Nike commercial shown during 1992's Super Bowl XXVI featured Jordan and Bugs Bunny playing basketball. The Super Bowl commercial inspired the 1996 live action/animated film Space Jam, which starred Jordan and Bugs in a fictional story set during the former's first retirement from basketball. They have subsequently appeared together in several commercials for MCI. Jordan also made an appearance in the music video for Michael Jackson's "Jam" (1992).

Jordan's yearly income from the endorsements is estimated to be over $40 million In addition, when Jordan's power at the ticket gates was at its highest point, the Bulls regularly sold out both their home and road games. Due to this, Jordan set records in player salary by signing annual contracts worth in excess of US$30 million per season. An academic study found that Jordan's first NBA comeback resulted in an increase in the market capitalization of his client firms of more than $1 billion.

Most of Jordan's endorsement deals, including his first deal with Nike, were engineered by his agent, David Falk. Jordan has described Falk as "the best at what he does" and that "marketing-wise, he's great. He's the one who came up with the concept of 'Air Jordan.'"

Business ventures

In June 2010, Jordan was ranked by Forbes magazine as the 20th-most powerful celebrity in the world with $55 million earned between June 2009 and June 2010. According to the Forbes article, Jordan Brand generates $1 billion in sales for Nike. In June 2014, Jordan was named the first NBA player to become a billionaire, after he increased his stake in the Charlotte Hornets from 80% to 89.5%. On January 20, 2015, Jordan was honored with the Charlotte Business Journal's Business Person of the Year for 2014. In 2017, he became a part owner of the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball.

Forbes designated Jordan as the athlete with the highest career earnings in 2017. From his Jordan Brand income and endorsements, Jordan's 2015 income was an estimated $110 million, the most of any retired athlete. As of 2021, his net worth is estimated at $1.6 billion by Forbes, making him the fifth-richest African-American, behind Robert F. Smith, David Steward, Oprah Winfrey, and Kanye West.

Jordan co-owns an automotive group which bears his name. The company has a Nissan dealership in Durham, North Carolina, acquired in 1990, and formerly had a Lincoln–Mercury dealership from 1995 until its closure in June 2009.The company also owned a Nissan franchise in Glen Burnie, Maryland. The restaurant industry is another business interest of Jordan's. Restaurants he has owned include a steakhouse in New York City's Grand Central Terminal, among others; that restaurant closed in 2018. Jordan is the majority investor in a golf course, Grove XXIII, under construction in Hobe Sound, Florida.

In September 2020, Jordan became an investor and advisor for DraftKings.

Philanthropy

From 2001 to 2014, Jordan hosted an annual golf tournament, the Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational, that raised money for various charities. In 2006, Jordan and his wife Juanita pledged $5 million to Chicago's Hales Franciscan High School. The Jordan Brand has made donations to Habitat for Humanity and a Louisiana branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation named Jordan its Chief Wish Ambassador in 2008. In 2013, he granted his 200th wish for the organization. As of 2019, he has raised more than $5 million for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

In 2015, Jordan donated a settlement of undisclosed size from a lawsuit against supermarkets that had used his name without permission to 23 different Chicago charities. In 2017, Jordan funded two Novant Health Michael Jordan Family Clinics in Charlotte, North Carolina, by giving $7 million, the biggest donation he had made at the time. In 2018, after Hurricane Florence damaged parts of North Carolina, including his former hometown of Wilmington, Jordan donated $2 million to relief efforts. He gave $1 million to aid the Bahamas' recovery following Hurricane Dorian in 2019.

On June 5, 2020, in the wake of the protests following the murder of George Floyd, Jordan and his brand announced in a joint statement that they would be donating $100 million over the next 10 years to organizations dedicated to "ensuring racial equality, social justice and greater access to education."

Film and television

Jordan played himself in the 1996 comedy film Space Jam. The film received mixed reviews, but it was a box office success, making $230 million worldwide, and earned more than $1 billion through merchandise sales.

In 2000, Jordan was the subject of an IMAX documentary about his career with the Chicago Bulls, especially the 1998 championship season, entitled Michael Jordan to the Max. Two decades later, the same period of Jordan's life was covered in much greater and more personal detail by the Emmy Award-winning The Last Dance, a 10-part TV documentary which debuted on ESPN in April and May 2020. The Last Dance relied heavily on about 500 hours of candid film of Jordan's and his teammates' off-court activities which an NBA Entertainment crew had shot over the course of the 1997–98 NBA season for use in a documentary. The project was delayed for many years because Jordan had not yet given his permission for the footage to be used He was interviewed at three homes associated with the production and did not want cameras in his home or on his plane as "there are certain aspects of his life that he wants to keep private", according to director Jason Hehir. Jordan granted rapper Travis Scott permission to film a music video for his single "Franchise" at his home in Highland Park, Illinois, "without hesitation."

Books

Jordan has authored several books focusing on his life, basketball career, and world view.

Rare Air: Michael on Michael, with Mark Vancil and Walter Iooss (Harper San Francisco, 1993).

I Can't Accept Not Trying: Michael Jordan on the Pursuit of Excellence, with Mark Vancil and Sandro Miller (Harper San Francisco, 1994).

For the Love of the Game: My Story, with Mark Vancil (Crown Publishers, 1998).

Driven from Within, with Mark Vancil (Atria Books, 2005).(Wikipedia)

Manju Rani
From Wikipedia
Manju Rani
Rani with Kalaivani Srinivasan at 2nd India Open International Boxing Tournament Guwahati

Statistics
Weight class Light flyweight
Nationality Indian
Born 26 October 1999

Boxing record
Total fights 4
Wins 3
Wins by KO 0
Losses 1
Draws 0

Women's amateur boxing
Representing India
World Championships
2019 Ulan-Ude Light flyweight

Manju Rani (born 26 October 1999) is an Indian boxer. She won a silver medal at the 2019 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships. She also won a silver medal at the Strandja Memorial Boxing Tournament 2019 held in Bulgaria and bronze medals at the Thailand Open 2017 and India Open 2017.

Background

Rani hails from Rithal Phogat village in the Rohtak district of Haryana. Her father was a Border Security Force officer who died of cancer in 2010. The Rani had initially started playing kabaddi, but her coach advised her to switch to boxing. Inspired by Indian boxer MC Mary Kom's bronze-winning performance at the 2012 London Summer Olympics, Rani made a shift to boxing.

Sports

Rani won a silver medal at the Strandja Memorial Boxing Tournament 2019, Bulgaria in 48 kg category after losing finals against Josie Gabuco of Philippines. She also won a silver medal at the 2019 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships after losing Light flyweight final to Russia's Ekaterina Paltceva.

In 2019 Rani signed up with sports management firm Infinity Optimal Solutions (IOS) which will handle her endorsements and commercial interests. In November 2020, Rani served a notice of termination of contract on IOS Sports and Entertainment for not fulfilling the sponsorship deal.

Manu Bhaker

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Manu Bhaker

Bhaker at the ISSF Junior World Cup in Sydney, 2018

Personal information

Born 18 February 2002

Goria, Jhajjar district, Haryana, India

Education BA 2 nd Year

Weight 60 kg (132 lb)

Sport

Sport Shooting

Representing India

Women's shooting

Event1st2nd3rd

World Cup 9 2 0

Youth Olympic Games 1 1 0

ISSF Junior World Championships 4 0 1

Commonwealth Games 1 0 0

Total 15 3 1

2019 Putian China 10m air pistol

2019 Putian China 10m air pistol mixed team

Asian Shooting Championships

2018 Guadalajara 10 m air pistol

2018 Guadalajara 10 m air pistol mixed team

2019 New Delhi 10 m air pistol mixed team

2019 Beijing 10m air pistol mixed team

2019 Munich 10m air pistol mixed team

2019 Rio de Janeiro 10m air pistol mixed team

2021 New Delhi 10 m air pistol mixed team

2021 New Delhi 10m air pistol

2021 Osijek 10m air pistol mixed team

2019 Doha 10 m air pistol

2019 Doha 10 m air pistol mixed team

Asian Airgun Championships

2019 Taoyuan Taiwan 10m air pistol

2019 Taoyuan Taiwan Mixed team 10m air pistol

Commonwealth games

2018 Goldcoast 10 m air pistol

Youth Olympic Games

2018 Buenos Aires 10 m air pistol

2018 Buenos Aires 10 m air pistol mixed team

ISSF Junior World Championships

2021 Lima 10 m air pistol

2021 Lima 10 m air pistol team

2021 Lima 10 m air pistol mixed team

2021 Lima 25 m air pistol team

2021 Lima 25 m air pistol

ISSF Junior World Cup

2018 Sydney 10m air pistol

2018 Suhl 10m air pistol

2018Sydney Mixed team 10m air pistol

2018 Suhl Mixed team 10m air pistol

Manu Bhaker is an Indian Olympian who competes at airgun shooting. She represented India at the 2018 ISSF World Cup and won two gold medals. She is the youngest Indian to win a gold medal at the ISSF World Cup. She won the gold medal in women's 10 m air pistol event at 2018 Commonwealth Games just at the age of 16 in her maiden Commonwealth Games appearance.

Early life

She is from Goria village in the Haryana district of Jhajjar. Her father, Ram Kishan Bhaker, works as a chief engineer in the Merchant Navy. Until the age of 14 Bhaker excelled in other sports like Huyen langlon, a Manipuri martial art, as well as boxing, tennis and skating, winning medals at the national games in these events.

Career

With an investment of ₹150000 by her father, Bhaker decided to take up competitive shooting. She first tasted success at the international level when she won the silver medal at the 2017 Asian Junior Championships. In the 2017 National games held at Kerala, Bhaker won nine gold medals and defeated multiple World Cup medalist Heena Sidhu and broke Sidhu's record of 240.8 points, scoring 242.3 points in the final.

In the 2018 International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup held at Guadalajara, Mexico. Bhaker won the gold medal in the Women's 10-meter air pistol, defeating Mexico's Alejandra Zavala, a two-time champion. Bhaker scored 237.5 the final match against Zavalaa, who scored 237.1. By winning the gold medal at age 16, Bhaker became the youngest Indian to win a gold medal at the World Cup.

Bhaker won her second gold medal at the World Cup in the 10-meter Air Pistol mixed team event. She was paired with fellow countrymen Om Prakash Mitharval. The pair shot a score of 476.1 points, defeating Sandra Reitz and Christian Reitz who scored 475.2.

Bhaker scored 388/400 points at 2018 Commonwealth Games in women's 10m air pistol qualifying round and qualified for the finals. In the final round of the women's 10m air pistol event during the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, she secured the gold medal with setting a new Commonwealth Games record of 240.9 points.

In 2018 Asian Games, she scored a game's record score of 593 in the qualification round of 25m Air pistol event. But she failed to win a medal there, as she finished 6th in the final. Eventually, her compatriot Rahi Sarnobat clinched the Gold in this event.

At the Youth Olympics 2018, Manu Bhaker shot 236.5 to stand at the top of the points table in the women's 10m air pistol event. The Indian flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the Youth Olympics is also the World Cup and Commonwealth Games gold medalist. The 16-year-old Manu became the first shooter from India and the first female athlete from India to grab a gold medal at the Youth Olympics games.

In February 2019 she won the gold medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event at 2019 ISSF World Cup in Delhi.

In May 2019 she qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the 10m pistol event via a fourth place finish at the Munich ISSF World Cup. This came days after her pistol jammed in the finals of the 25m pistol event when she was leading, eventually forcing her to forfeit due to her gun not being able to fire.

In all the four Pistol & Rifle ISSF World Cups in 2019, she won the gold medal in the 10m air pistol mixed event with Saurabh Chaudhry as her partner, making the pair a strong contender for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Martina Navratilova
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Martina Navratilova
Navratilova at the Prague Open, in May 2006

Country (sports) Czechoslovakia
(1956–1975)
United States
Residence Miami, Florida, U.S.
Born October 18, 1956
Prague, Czechoslovakia
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Turned pro 1975
Retired 2006
Plays Left-handed (one-handed backhand), born right-handed
Prize money US$21,626,089
17th in all-time rankings
Int. Tennis HoF 2000 (member page)
Singles
Career record 1,442–219 (86.8%)
Career titles 167 WTA, 1 ITF (Open era record)
Highest ranking No. 1 (July 10, 1978)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open W (1981, 1983, 1985)
French Open W (1982, 1984)
Wimbledon W (1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990)
US Open W (1983, 1984, 1986, 1987)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals W (1978, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986Mar, 1986Nov)
Doubles
Career record 747–143 (83.9%)
Career titles 177 WTA, 9 ITF (Open era record)
Highest ranking No. 1 (September 10, 1984)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open W (1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989)
French Open W (1975, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988)
Wimbledon W (1976, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986)
US Open W (1977, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990)
Other doubles tournaments
Tour Finals W (1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986Nov, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991)
Olympic Games QF (2004)
Mixed doubles
Career titles 15
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian Open W (2003)
French Open W (1974, 1985)
Wimbledon W (1985, 1993, 1995, 2003)
US Open W (1985, 1987, 2006)
Team competitions
Fed Cup W (1975, 1982, 1986, 1989)
Coaching career (2014–2015)

Agnieszka Radwańska (2014–2015)

Martina Navratilova (Czech: Martina Navrátilová [ˈmarcɪna ˈnavraːcɪlovaː] (listen); née Šubertová [ˈʃubɛrtovaː]; born October 18, 1956) is a Czech-American former professional tennis player and coach. Widely considered among the greatest female tennis players of all time, Navratilova won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, 31 major women's doubles titles, and 10 major mixed doubles titles, for a combined total of 59 major titles, marking the Open Era record for the most Grand Slam titles won by a single player. She reached the Wimbledon singles final 12 times, including for nine consecutive years from 1982 through 1990, and won the women's singles title at Wimbledon a record nine times (surpassing Helen Wills Moody's eight Wimbledon titles), including a run of six consecutive titles.

Navratilova was world No. 1 for a total of 332 weeks in singles, second behind Steffi Graf, and a record 237 weeks in doubles, making her the only player in history to have held the top spot in both singles and doubles for over 200 weeks. Navratilova is one of the three female tennis players, along with Margaret Court and Doris Hart, to have accomplished a Career Grand Slam in women's singles and doubles, and mixed doubles, called the career "Grand Slam Boxed Set". Navratilova, Margaret Court and Maureen Connolly share the record for the most consecutive major singles titles. She won her last major title in 2006, adding the mixed doubles crown at the 2006 US Open to her resume just a few weeks before her 50th birthday, 32 years after her first Grand Slam title in 1974.

Originally from Czechoslovakia, she was stripped of her citizenship when, in 1975 at age 18, she asked the United States for political asylum and was granted temporary residence. At the time, Navratilova was told by the Czechoslovak Sports Federation that she was becoming too Americanized, and she should go back to school and make tennis secondary. Navratilova became a US citizen in 1981. On January 9, 2008, she reacquired Czech citizenship. She stated she has not renounced her U.S. citizenship nor does she plan to do so, and that reclaiming Czech nationality was not politically motivated.

I love my birth country and the fact that it is now a free country and a true democracy. But my home is here, in the U.S. I have lived in America since 1975 and I intend to always live here. This is my home and it feels almost gratuitous to me that I have to affirm my love for the USA. I live here, I vote here, I pay my taxes here and yes, I will do my jury duty ... any reports stating I am leaving and most of all, denouncing my U.S. citizenship are simply not true and quite frankly, insulting.

— Martina Navatilova

Early life and background

Navratilova was born Martina Šubertová in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Her parents divorced when she was three, and her mother, an accomplished gymnast, tennis player, and ski instructor, moved the family to Řevnice. In 1962, her mother Jana married Miroslav Navrátil, who became her first tennis coach. Martina then took the name of her stepfather (adding the feminine suffix -ová), thus becoming Martina Navrátilová. Her father, Mirek (officially Miroslav Šubert), was a ski instructor.

Navratilova has a younger sister, Jana, and an older paternal half-brother. Her grandmother, Agnes Semanska, was a tennis player for the Czechoslovak Federation before the Second World War and had a ranking as high as No. 2 among Czech women during her amateur career.

When Navratilova was four, she was hitting a tennis ball off a concrete wall and started to play tennis regularly at age seven. In 1972, at the age of 15, Navratilova won the Czechoslovakia national tennis championship. In 1973, aged 16, she made her debut on the United States Lawn Tennis Association professional tour but did not turn professional until 1975. Although perhaps most renowned for her mastery of fast low-bouncing grass, her best early showing at majors was on the red clay at the French Open, where she would go on to reach the final six times. In 1973, she made the quarterfinals where she lost 6–7, 4–6 to Evonne Goolagong. She made the quarterfinals the next year and lost to Helga Masthoff (née Niessen), after again losing the first set in a tiebreak.

Professional tennis career

Navratilova won her first professional singles title in Orlando, Florida, in 1974, at the age of 17. Upon arriving in the United States, Navratilova first lived with former Vaudeville actress, Frances Dewey Wormser, and her husband, Morton Wormser, a tennis enthusiast.

Navratilova was the runner-up at two major singles tournaments in 1975; the Australian Open (won by Goolagong) and the French Open (won by Chris Evert in three sets). After losing to Evert in the semifinals of the US Open in September, the 18-year-old Navratilova went to the offices of the Immigration and Naturalization Service in New York City and informed them that she wished to defect from Communist Czechoslovakia. Within a month, she received a green card and in 1981 became a US citizen. Also, in 1975, Navratilova teamed with world number one Evert to win the French Open women's doubles title, Navratilova's first major title outside of mixed doubles. They teamed again in 1976 to win the Wimbledon women's doubles title over Billie Jean King and Bette Stove.

Navratilova won her first major singles title at Wimbledon in 1978, where she defeated Evert in three sets in the final and captured the world No. 1 ranking for the first time on the WTA computer, a position she held until Evert took it back in January 1979. Navratilova successfully defended her Wimbledon title in 1979, again beating Evert in the final in straight sets, and earned the World No. 1 ranking at the end of the year for the first time. Just before Wimbledon in 1979, Navratilova and Evert played possibly the highest scoring women's professional match ever in the Eastbourne final, in which Evert edged Navratilova 7–5, 5–7, 13–11 after facing match points herself. In April 1981, Evert defeated Navratilova in the finals of the Women's Tennis Association championships, held on clay at Amelia Island, 6–0, 6–0. It was Navratilova's only professional double bagel loss (one she later avenged with a crushing 6–2, 6–0 defeat of Evert in the finals of the same Amelia Island event in 1984). It was at this point that Navratilova began working with Nancy Lieberman to improve her fitness and toughen her mental approach to better compete with Evert and fulfill her true potential In 1981, Navratilova won her third major singles title by defeating Evert in the final of the Australian Open. Navratilova also defeated Evert to reach the final of the US Open, where she lost a third set tiebreak to Tracy Austin. Navratilova won both Wimbledon and the French Open in 1982.

After adopting basketball player Nancy Lieberman's exercise plan and using Yonex isometric midsize graphite-fiberglass composite racquets, Navratilova became the most dominant player in women's tennis. After losing in the fourth round of the first major event of 1983, the French Open, she captured the year's three remaining major titles (the Australian Open was held in December at that time). Navratilova's loss at the French Open was her only singles defeat during that year, during which she established an 86–1 record. Her winning percentage was the best ever for a post-1968 professional tennis player. During 1982, 1983, and 1984, Navratilova lost a total of only six singles matches. This included a run of 13 consecutive victories over her closest rival and world-ranked No. 2, Chris Evert. Navratilova's reign from 1982 to 1986 is the most dominant unbroken spell in the professional era.

Navratilova won the 1984 French Open, thus holding all four major singles titles simultaneously. Her accomplishment was declared a "Grand Slam" by Philippe Chatrier, president of the International Tennis Federation, although some tennis observers countered that it was not a true slam because the titles had not been won in a single calendar year. Navratilova extended her major singles tournament winning streak to a record-equalling six following wins at Wimbledon and the US Open. Navratilova's victory meant she became the first player to win majors on clay, grass and hard court on the same year. She entered the 1984 Australian Open with a chance of winning all four titles in the same year. In the semifinals, however, Helena Suková ended Navratilova's 74-match winning streak (a record for a professional) 1–6, 6–3, 7–5.

A left-hander, Navratilova completed a calendar grand slam in women's doubles in 1984, partnering right-handed Pam Shriver, a tall and talented player whose most noted stroke was a slice forehand, a shot virtually unheard of in the game today. This was part of a record 109-match winning streak that the pair achieved between 1983 and 1985. (Navratilova was ranked the world No. 1 doubles player for a period of over three years in the 1980s.) From 1985 through 1987, Navratilova reached the women's singles final at all 11 major tournaments held during those three years, winning six of them. From 1982 through 1990, she reached the Wimbledon final nine consecutive times. She reached the US Open final five consecutive times from 1983 through 1987 and appeared in the French Open final five out of six years from 1982 through 1987.

In 1985, Navratilova played in what many consider to be perhaps the best woman's match of all time, the French Open final against Chris Evert. Navratilova battled back from 3–6, 2–4 down to 5–5 all in the third set, before Evert hit a winning backhand passing shot on match point to defeat Navratilova 6–3, 6–7(4–7), 7–5. This was a major turnaround for Evert, who was so outmatched the year earlier in the final that Bud Collins remarked as a TV commentator that the sport needed to create a higher league for Navratilova to compete in. In outdoor matches against Evert, Navratilova led 10–5 on grass and 9–7 on hard courts, while Evert was up 11–3 on clay. On indoor courts, however, Navratilova had a decisive 21–14 lead. At the end of what is widely regarded as the greatest rivalry in women's tennis, Navratilova led Evert 43–37 in total matches, 14–8 in Grand Slams, and 10–4 in Grand Slam finals.

In 1986 at the U.S. Open, Navratilova prevailed over sixteen-year-old German Steffi Graf in a close semi-final winning 6–1, 6-7(7–3), 7–6(10–8), before handily winning the final over Helena Sukova 6–3, 6–2. Navratilova, with partner Pam Shriver, also won the women's doubles title. Navratilova also defeated Graf in straight sets at the WTA Tour Championship and with an 89–3 record, earned the number-one ranking for the fifth consecutive year.

Graf dominated the first half of the 1987 season including defeating Navratilova in straight sets in the semi-finals of the Miami Open and in the final of the French Open, 6–4, 4–6, 8–6. However, Navratilova defeated Graf in straight sets in the finals of both Wimbledon and the US Open (and at the US Open became only the third player in the Open Era, joining tennis legends Margaret Court and Billie Jean King, to win the women's singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles at the same event—the rare "Triple Crown"). Navratilova reached all four Grand Slam finals in 1987, winning two of them (she lost the Australian Open to Hana Mandlikova). Graf's two losses to Navratilova were her only losses of the year and with 11 tournament wins over the year versus 4 for Navratilova she was able to obtain year-end world No. 1 ranking ahead of Navratilova at No. 2. Graf eventually broke Navratilova's records of 156 consecutive weeks and 331 total weeks as the world No. 1 singles player but fell 60 short of Navratilova's record of 167 singles titles. Including doubles, Navratilova won almost three times as many titles as Graf with a record doubles/mixed/singles combined total of 344 titles to Graf's 118.

In 1988, Graf won all four major singles titles, beating the 31-year-old Navratilova 5–7, 6–2, 6–1 in the Wimbledon final, their only match of the year, recovering from a set and a break down. Navratilova did not reach the finals of any of the other Grand Slam events but did win nine tournaments enabling her to claim the No. 2 ranking behind Graf.

In 1989, Graf and Navratilova met in the finals of both Wimbledon and the US Open, with Graf winning both encounters 6–1 in the third set. Graf also defeated Navratilova in the finals of the WTA Tour Championships their third and final match of the year. Navratilova, who skipped the French Open that year, did win eight titles and was able to capture the No. 2 ranking behind Graf for the third straight year. Despite the 13 year age difference between the two players, and Graf's comparative lack of investment in doubles and mixed doubles, Navratilova won 9 of the 18 career singles matches with Graf and 5 of the 9 major singles matches with her. At age 34, Navratilova defeated Graf the last time they played in a major in the semifinals of the 1991 US Open 7–6(7–2), 6–7(6–8), 6–4, to end their Grand Slam rivalry 5-4 up, although it is noteworthy that all 4 of Graf's Grand Slam victories over Navratilova came in the finals of a Slam. This is reflected in the Grand Slams Finals chart below.
Navratilova and Sukova playing doubles

Navratilova's final Grand Slam singles triumph was in 1990. In the final at Wimbledon, the 33-year-old Navratilova swept Zina Garrison 6–4, 6–1 to claim an all-time record ninth Wimbledon singles crown. She won four other tournaments that year, although she did not participate in the Australian or French Opens, and finished the year ranked No. 3 in the world, narrowly edged out by sixteen-year-old Monika Seles for the No. 2 spot. Though that was her last major singles title, Navratilova reached two additional major singles finals during the remainder of career: in 1991, she lost in the US Open final to the new world No. 1, Monica Seles; and, in 1994, at age 37, Navratilova reached the Wimbledon final, where she lost in three sets to Conchita Martínez. In November that year, after losing to Gabriela Sabatini in the first round of the WTA Tour Championships, she retired from full-time competition on the singles tour. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2000.

In 2000, Navratilova returned to the tour to mostly play doubles events, while rarely also playing singles. In her first singles performance in eight years, at Eastbourne in 2002, she beat world No. 22, Tatiana Panova, before losing in the next round to Daniela Hantuchová in three sets. In 2003, she won the mixed doubles titles at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon, partnering Leander Paes. This made her the oldest ever major champion (aged 46 years, 8 months). The Australian Open victory made her the third player in history to complete a "boxed set" of major titles by winning the singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles at all four majors. The Wimbledon win allowed her to equal Billie Jean King's record of 20 Wimbledon titles (in singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles combined) and extended her overall number of major titles to 58 (second only to Margaret Court, who won 62). Navratilova made a return to singles at the 2004 French Open after an absence of 10 years, but she was defeated by Gisela Dulko in the first round. Shortly afterwards, and despite being criticized for receiving a wildcard, Navratilova won a singles match over Catalina Castaño 6–0 6–1 at the first round of Wimbledon in 2004, aged 47 years and eight months, to make her the oldest player to win a professional singles match in the open era. Navratilova then lost her second round match with the same player who had beaten her at the French Open the previous month, Gisela Dulko, in three sets.

On Thursday, July 6, 2006, Navratilova played her last matches at Wimbledon, with partner Liezel Huber losing a quarterfinal match in women's doubles to fourth seeds and eventual champions Yan Zi and Zheng Jie, and later in the same day with partner Mark Knowles losing in the third round of mixed doubles to eventual champions Andy Ram and Vera Zvonareva.She had said that her last Wimbledon wasn't about breaking her record shared with Billie Jean King of 20 championships. In an interview, Navratilova was quoted as saying, "People keep saying that, but it so wasn't. I just wanted to win one more title here, period."

Navratilova capped off her career by winning the mixed doubles title, her 41st major doubles title (31 in women's doubles and 10 in mixed doubles) and 177th overall, at the 2006 US Open with American doubles specialist Bob Bryan. At the time, she was only about a month shy of her 50th birthday and broke her own record as the oldest ever major champion (aged 49 years, 10 months).

Navratilova won 167 top-level singles titles (more than any other player in the open era) and 177 doubles titles. Her last title in women's doubles came on August 21, 2006, at the Tier I Rogers Cup in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where she partnered Nadia Petrova. Navratilova won 18 major singles titles: nine at Wimbledon, four at the US Open, three at the Australian Open, and two at the French Open. Her overall record in 67 major singles events was 306–49 (120–14 at Wimbledon, 89–17 at the US Open, 51–11 at the French Open, and 46–7 at the Australian Open). Some observers argue that the very few singles match she played in her forties should be counted separately in her career statistics. She is the only player to have won at least one tour event for 21 consecutive years and won the singles and doubles at the same event a record 84 times. She was ranked in the world's top 3 in singles for 15 years between 1977 and 1993. Her career singles match win total of 1,442 is the most during the open era.

In September 1992, the 35-year-old Navratilova played 40-year-old Jimmy Connors in the third Battle of the Sexes tennis match at Caesars Palace in Paradise, Nevada. Connors was allowed only one serve per point and Navratilova was allowed to hit into half the doubles court. Connors won 7–5, 6–2. She played for the Boston Lobsters in the World TeamTennis pro league through the 2009 season.

Playing style and coaches

Navratilova had an attacking serve and volley. Under Renée Richards, she improved her game tactics.

Evert said that "Martina revolutionized the game by her superb athleticism and aggressiveness ... She brought athleticism to a whole new level with her training techniques — particularly cross-training, the idea that you could go to the gym or play basketball to get in shape for tennis."

Throughout her long career, Navratilova had many coaches. They included: Miroslav Navrátil, George Parma, Věra Suková, Renée Richards (1981–1983), Mike Estep (1983–1986), and Craig Kardon (1988–1994)

Coaching career

In December 2014, it was announced that Navratilova had joined Agnieszka Radwańska's coaching staff. However, in April 2015, after Radwańska struggled in the first half of the season, the pair decided to part ways.

Personal life

In 1985, Navratilova released an autobiography, co-written with The New York Times sports columnist George Vecsey, titled Martina in the U.S. and Being Myself in the rest of the world. She had earlier co-written a tennis instruction book with Mary Carillo in 1982, entitled Tennis My Way. She later wrote three mystery novels with Liz Nickles: The Total Zone (1994), Breaking Point (1996) and Killer Instinct (1997). Navratilova's most recent literary effort was a health and fitness book entitled Shape Your Self, which came out in 2006. An ESPN Documentary was produced about her rivalry with Chris Evert titled, Unmatched. Her rivalry and friendship with Evert is also detailed in the book, The Rivals by Johnette Howard and the children's book, Martina and Chrissie by Phil Bildner.

Sexuality and relationships

In 1981, shortly after becoming a United States citizen, Navratilova gave an interview to New York Daily News sports reporter Steve Goldstein, coming out as bisexual and revealing that she had a sexual relationship with Rita Mae Brown, but asked him not to publish the article until she was ready to come out publicly. However, the New York Daily News published the article on July 30, 1981. Navratilova and Nancy Lieberman, her girlfriend at the time, gave an interview to Dallas Morning News columnist Skip Bayless, where Navratilova reiterated that she was bisexual and Lieberman identified herself as straight. Navratilova has since re-identified herself as a lesbian.

From 1984 to 1991, Navratilova had a long-term relationship with Judy Nelson, whom she met at a tournament in Fort Worth in 1982. Their split in 1991 resulted in a televised palimony lawsuit which was settled out of court.

On September 6, 2014, Navratilova proposed to her long-time girlfriend Julia Lemigova at the US Open They married in New York on December 15, 2014.

Health problems

According to the New York Times' Jane E. Brody, in September 1982, an acute attack of toxoplasmosis "contributed to Martina Navratilova's defeat during the United States Open tennis tournament", in which No. 1 seed Navratilova unexpectedly lost to No. 7 seed Pam Shriver in the quarterfinal round. (Shriver—Navratilova's doubles partner in the same tournament—subsequently lost to No. 5 seed Hana Mandlíková in the semifinal. Mandlíková was then defeated in the final by Navratilova's longtime rival, No. 2 seed Chris Evert.) By late October, Navratilova had "apparently recovered".

Navratilova began to wear glasses in 1985 and recalled that her vision had begun to deteriorate in 1984. She continued to wear glasses for tennis for many years. Few tennis players wear sunglasses regularly for tennis and Navratilova is one of them. Although she achieved so much prior to using glasses, her glasses have become iconic. Some sports writers have said that they made her, as with other top athletes who had imperfect health, seem more vulnerable and human.

On April 7, 2010, Navratilova announced that she was being treated for breast cancer. A routine mammogram in January 2010 revealed that she had a ductal carcinoma in situ in her left breast, which she was informed of on February 24, and in March she had the tumour surgically removed; she received radiation therapy in May.

In December 2010, Navratilova was hospitalized after developing high altitude pulmonary edema while attempting a climb of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

Activism and opinions

Navratilova is involved with various charities that benefit animal rights, underprivileged children, and gay rights.

Navratilova has described herself as a vegetarian. In an April 2006 interview, however, she said she had recently begun eating fish again because she found it hard to get enough protein while on the road.

Navratilova is a Democrat, and has donated more than $25,000 to Democratic campaigns.

Gay rights

Navratilova participated in a lawsuit against Amendment 2, a successful 1992 ballot proposition in Colorado designed to prevent sexual orientation from being a protected class.

In 1993, Navratilova spoke before the March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation. Navratilova serves as the Health and Fitness Ambassador for AARP in an alliance created to help AARP's millions of members lead active, healthy lives.

In 2000, she was the recipient of National Equality Award from the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay and lesbian activist/lobbying group.

Navratilova in September 2011

Communism and Republicans

She has spoken out on a number of volatile political issues, including tort/litigation reform, but perhaps her most consistent theme—aside from gay and lesbian rights—has been her unstinting opposition to Communism, and unrelenting opposition to the former Eastern Bloc power structure that compelled her to flee her native Czechoslovakia. She has denounced the Soviet Union's control over Czechoslovakia, maintaining that she refuses to speak Russian to this day because of the Soviet Union's former hegemony over Eastern Europe.

Whenever people go into politics and they try to say that Communism was a good thing, I say, 'Go ahead and live in a Communist country then, if you think it's so great.' "

Navratilova was a guest on CNN's Connie Chung Tonight show on July 17, 2002. During the show, Chung quoted a German newspaper which quoted Navratilova as saying:

The most absurd part of my escape from the unjust system is that I have exchanged one system that suppresses free opinion for another. The Republicans in the U.S. manipulate public opinion and sweep controversial issues under the table. It's depressing. Decisions in America are based solely on the question of how much money will come out of it and not on the questions of how much health, morals or environment suffer as a result.

Navratilova said that the remarks referred to what she perceived as a trend of centralization of government power and a loss of personal freedom. In the discussion that followed, Chung stated:

Can I be honest with you? I can tell you that when I read this, I have to tell you that I thought it was un-American, unpatriotic. I wanted to say, go back to Czechoslovakia. You know, if you don't like it here, this a country that gave you so much, gave you the freedom to do what you want.

Navratilova responded,

And I'm giving it back. This is why I speak out. When I see something that I don't like, I'm going to speak out because you can do that here. And again, I feel there are too many things happening that are taking our rights away.

Navratilova was quoted in 2007 as being ashamed of the US under President George W. Bush because unlike the communist regime in Czechoslovakia, Bush was democratically elected.

Transgender athletes

Navratilova is critical of allowing trans women to compete in women's sports. She rejects accusations of transphobia, and says she deplores "a growing tendency among transgender activists to denounce anyone who argues against them and to label them all as 'transphobes.'" Following an article on the subject that Navratilova wrote for The Times in February 2019, Athlete Ally, an LGBTQ athlete advocacy group, removed Navratilova from their advisory board, stating her comments "are transphobic [and] based on a false understanding of science and data".

In March 2019, Navratilova apologized for using the term "cheating" when discussing whether transgender athletes should be allowed to compete in women's sport. She also called for "a debate, a conversation that includes everyone and is based, as I have said, not on feeling or emotion but science."

In an April 2019 article for The Washington Post, she opined that the Equality Act, in its current form, "would make it unlawful to differentiate among girls and women in sports on the basis of sex for any purpose".

In June 2019, the BBC broadcast "The Trans Women Athlete Dispute with Martina Navratilova", where she interviewed people including trans women athletes and sports researchers, presenting evidence on both sides of the debate of whether trans women have any advantage in elite sports. Her closing remarks were

"The way I started this journey, I just wanted to see if there are any big surprises, any misconceptions that I had.

And what I think I have come to realise, the biggest thing for me, is just that the level of difficulty that trans people go through cannot be underestimated. The fight for equality and recognition is just huge. That being said, still, for me, the most important thing in sports... and you have to remember, trans rights and elite sports are two different things, although of course they are connected. What's the right way to set rules so that everybody feels like they have a fighting chance? It feels to me that it is impossible to come to any real conclusions or write any meaningful rules until more research is done.

"But for now, I think we need to include as many transgender athletes as possible within elite sports, while keeping it as level a playing field as possible. Look, society has changed so much. Things evolve, things change and maybe I need to evolve, I need to change. The rules certainly need to evolve. If you don't adapt, you've got problems. And so we'll just keep adapting and try to find a happy way forward."

In August 2020, Navratilova along with 300+ women signed a letter to the National Collegiate Athletic Association in support of an Idaho law that bans trans women student athletes from competing in female sports.

In 2021, Navratilova became a leader of the Women's Sports Policy Working Group, formed in response to President Joe Biden's executive order that mandates blanket inclusion for all trans women athletes, whose goal is protecting the girls’ and women's competitive categories, while crafting accommodations for trans athletes into sport wherever possible.

Mariappa Kempaiah

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mariappa KempaiahPersonal information

Full name Mariappa Kempaiah

Date of birth 4 March 1932

Place of birth Bangalore, now Bengaluru, India

Date of death 2 July 2008

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

– East Bengal

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Mariappa Kempaiah (Kannada: ಮರಿಯಪ್ಪ ಕೆಂಪಯ್ಯ) (4 March 1932) is commonly known by his nickname Kempiah Da (Bengali) as an Indian international footballer and athlete. He was born in Bangalore. As a wing half, represented the country in the 1956 Melbourne and 1960 Rome Olympics. He had also played for the country in the International Quadrangle Football tournament, played in the now Bangladesh in 1955 and in Asian Games held in Japan in 1958.

At club level he played for Bangalore Muslims before periods with the Calcutta clubs. He also played for Mysore in the inter-provincial Santosh Trophy. In 1956, he moved to Calcutta and played till 1964 with distinction for East Bengal and Mohun Bagan two of the giants of Indian soccer. He played alongside great players like Jarnail Singh, Arun Ghosh, Chuni Goswami, P.K. Banerjee, Balaram, Kannan, Abdul Rehman and Syed Azizuddin.

Individual honours and appreciations

Kempaiah won numerous awards during his playing career as well as after retirement for his contribution towards Indian football.

The major awards won by him are

1962 Best Wing half Award

1968 Facilitated by the Karnataka chief minister for his achievement in sports.

1983 Award from the Karnataka Football association

2000 Sportsman of the Millennium

Other activities

Kempaiah was a very versatile person. He was a boxer before choosing football as a career. He had a lot of long distance runs to his calibre before his passion for football arose.

Publish Date:Wed, 02 Oct 2019 03:46 PM (IST)Author: Sujeet Kumar Suman

Michael Jordan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Michael Jordan (disambiguation).
Michael Jordan
Jordan in 2014
Charlotte Hornets
Position Owner
League NBA
Personal information
Born February 17, 1963
Brooklyn, New York
Nationality American

Men's basketball
Representing the United States
Olympic Games
1984 Los Angeles Men's basketball
1992 Barcelona Men's basketball
Tournament of the Americas
1992 Portland Men's basketball
Pan American Games
1983 Caracas Men's basketball

Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American former professional basketball player and businessman. He is the principal owner and chairman of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and of 23XI Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. He played 15 seasons in the NBA, winning six championships with the Chicago Bulls. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time." He was integral in helping to popularize the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s becoming a global cultural icon in the process.

Jordan played college basketball for three seasons under coach Dean Smith with the North Carolina Tar Heels. As a freshman, he was a member of the Tar Heels' national championship team in 1982. Jordan joined the Bulls in 1984 as the third overall draft pick, and quickly emerged as a league star, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring while gaining a reputation as one of the game's best defensive players. His leaping ability, demonstrated by performing slam dunks from the free throw line in Slam Dunk Contests, earned him the nicknames "Air Jordan" and "His Airness". Jordan won his first NBA championship with the Bulls in 1991, and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 and 1993, securing a "three-peat". Jordan abruptly retired from basketball before the 1993–94 NBA season to play Minor League Baseball but returned to the Bulls in March 1995 and led them to three more championships in 1996, 1997, and 1998, as well as a then-record 72 regular season wins in the 1995–96 NBA season. He retired for a second time in January 1999 but returned for two more NBA seasons from 2001 to 2003 as a member of the Washington Wizards.

Jordan's individual accolades and accomplishments include six NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) Awards, ten scoring titles (both all-time records), five MVP Awards, ten All-NBA First Team designations, nine All-Defensive First Team honors (joint record), fourteen NBA All-Star Game selections, three All-Star Game MVP Awards, three steals titles, and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. He holds the NBA records for career regular season scoring average (30.12 points per game) and career playoff scoring average (33.45 points per game). In 1999, he was named the 20th century's greatest North American athlete by ESPN, and was second to Babe Ruth on the Associated Press' list of athletes of the century. Jordan was twice inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, once in 2009 for his individual career and again in 2010 as part of the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team ("The Dream Team"). He became a member of the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2015.

One of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation, Jordan is also known for his product endorsements. He fueled the success of Nike's Air Jordan sneakers, which were introduced in 1984 and remain popular today. Jordan also starred as himself in the 1996 live-action animated film Space Jam, and is the central focus of the Emmy Award-winning documentary miniseries The Last Dance (2020). He became part-owner and head of basketball operations for the Charlotte Bobcats (now named the Hornets) in 2006, and bought a controlling interest in 2010. In 2014, Jordan became the first billionaire player in NBA history. With a net worth of $1.6 billion, he is the fifth-richest African American, behind Robert F. Smith, David Steward, Oprah Winfrey, and Kanye West.

Early life

Michael Jeffrey Jordan was born at Cumberland Hospital in the Fort Greene neighborhood of New York City's Brooklyn borough on February 17, 1963 the son of bank employee Deloris (née Peoples) and equipment supervisor James R. Jordan Sr. In 1968, he moved with his family to Wilmington, North Carolina. Jordan attended Emsley A. Laney High School in Wilmington, where he highlighted his athletic career by playing basketball, baseball, and football. He tried out for the varsity basketball team during his sophomore year; at 5'11" (1.80 m), he was deemed too short to play at that level. His taller friend Harvest Leroy Smith was the only sophomore to make the team.

Motivated to prove his worth, Jordan became the star of Laney's junior varsity team, and tallied several 40-point games. The following summer, he grew four inches (10 cm) and trained rigorously. Upon earning a spot on the varsity roster, Jordan averaged more than 25 points per game (ppg) over his final two seasons of high school play. As a senior, he was selected to play in the 1981 McDonald's All-American Game and scored 30 points, after averaging 27 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists per game for the season. Jordan was recruited by numerous college basketball programs, including Duke, North Carolina, South Carolina, Syracuse, and Virginia. In 1981, he accepted a basketball scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he majored in cultural geography.

College career
Jordan going in for a slam dunk for the Laney High School varsity basketball team, 1979–80
Jordan's No. 23 jersey among others in the rafters of the Dean Smith Center, pictured in May 2005

As a freshman in coach Dean Smith's team-oriented system, Jordan was named ACC Freshman of the Year after he averaged 13.4 ppg on 53.4% shooting (field goal percentage). He made the game-winning jump shot in the 1982 NCAA Championship game against Georgetown, which was led by future NBA rival Patrick Ewing. Jordan later described this shot as the major turning point in his basketball career. During his three seasons with the Tar Heels, he averaged 17.7 ppg on 54.0% shooting, and added 5.0 rpg.

Jordan was selected by consensus to the NCAA All-American First Team in both his sophomore (1983) and junior (1984) seasons. After winning the Naismith and the Wooden College Player of the Year awards in 1984, Jordan left North Carolina one year before his scheduled graduation to enter the 1984 NBA draft. Jordan returned to North Carolina to complete his degree in 1986, when he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in geography. In 2002, Jordan was named to the ACC 50th Anniversary men's basketball team honoring the 50 greatest players in ACC history.

Professional career
Early NBA years (1984–1987)

The Chicago Bulls selected Jordan with the third overall pick of the 1984 NBA draft after Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets) and Sam Bowie (Portland Trail Blazers). One of the primary reasons why Jordan was not drafted sooner was because the first two teams were in need of a center. Trail Blazers general manager Stu Inman contended that it was not a matter of drafting a center but more a matter of taking Sam Bowie over Jordan, in part because Portland already had Clyde Drexler, who was a guard with similar skills to Jordan. Citing Bowie's injury-laden college career, ESPN, named the Blazers' choice of Bowie as the worst draft pick in North American professional sports history.

During his rookie season with the Bulls, Jordan averaged 28.2 ppg on 51.5% shooting, and helped make a team that had won 35% of games in the previous three seasons playoff contenders. He quickly became a fan favorite even in opposing arenas. Roy S. Johnson of The New York Times described him as "the phenomenal rookie of the Bulls" in November, and Jordan appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the heading "A Star Is Born" in December. The fans also voted in Jordan as an All-Star starter during his rookie season Controversy arose before the All-Star game when word surfaced that several veteran players, led by Isiah Thomas, were upset by the amount of attention Jordan was receiving This led to a so-called "freeze-out" on Jordan, where players refused to pass the ball to him throughout the game The controversy left Jordan relatively unaffected when he returned to regular season play, and he would go on to be voted the NBA Rookie of the Year. The Bulls finished the season 38–44, and lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in four games in the First Round of the playoffs.

An often-cited moment was on August 26, 1985, when Jordan shook the arena during a Nike exhibition game in Trieste, Italy, by shattering the glass of the backboard with a dunk.The moment was filmed and is often referred to worldwide as an important milestone in Jordan's rise. The shoes Jordan wore during the game were auctioned in August 2020 and sold for $615,000, a record for a pair of sneakers. Jordan's second season was cut short when he broke his foot in the third game of the year, causing him to miss 64 games The Bulls made the playoffs despite Jordan's injury and a 30–52 record, at the time the fifth-worst record of any team to qualify for the playoffs in NBA history. Jordan recovered in time to participate in the postseason and performed well upon his return. Against a 1985–86 Boston Celtics team that is often considered one of the greatest in NBA history, Jordan set the still-unbroken record for points in a playoff game with 63 in Game 2; however, the Celtics managed to sweep the series

Jordan completely recovered in time for the 1986–87 season, and had one of the most prolific scoring seasons in NBA history; he became the only player other than Wilt Chamberlain to score 3,000 points in a season, averaging a league-high 37.1 points on 48.2% shooting. In addition, Jordan demonstrated his defensive prowess, as he became the first player in NBA history to record 200 steals and 100 blocked shots in a season. Despite Jordan's success, Magic Johnson won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award. The Bulls reached 40 wins, and advanced to the playoffs for the third consecutive year but were again swept by the Celtics.

Pistons roadblock (1987–1990)
Jordan (center) with the Bud Light Daredevils in 1987

Jordan again led the league in scoring during the 1987–88 season, averaging 35.0 ppg on 53.5% shooting and won his first league MVP Award. He was also named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, as he averaged 1.6 blocks and a league-high 3.1 steals per game. The Bulls finished 50–32, and made it out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time in Jordan's career, as they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games. However, the Bulls lost in five games to the more experienced Detroit Pistons, who were led by Isiah Thomas and a group of physical players known as the "Bad Boys".

In the 1988–89 season, Jordan again led the league in scoring, averaging 32.5 ppg on 53.8% shooting from the field, along with 8 rpg and 8 apg. During the season, Sam Vincent, Chicago's point guard, was having trouble running the offense, and Jordan expressed his frustration with head coach Doug Collins, who would put Jordan at point guard; in his time as a point guard, Jordan averaged 10 triple-doubles in eleven games, with 33.6 ppg, 11.4 rpg, 10.8 apg, 2.9 spg, and 0.8 bps on 51% shooting.

The Bulls finished with a 47–35 record, and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, defeating the Cavaliers and New York Knicks along the way. The Cavaliers series included a career highlight for Jordan when he hit "The Shot" over Craig Ehlo at the buzzer in the fifth and final game of the series. However, the Pistons again defeated the Bulls, this time in six games, by utilizing their "Jordan Rules" method of guarding Jordan, which consisted of double and triple teaming him every time he touched the ball.

The Bulls entered the 1989–90 season as a team on the rise, with their core group of Jordan and young improving players like Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant, and under the guidance of new coach Phil Jackson. On March 28, 1990, Jordan scored a career-high 69 points in a 117–113 road win over the Cavaliers. He averaged a league-leading 33.6 ppg on 52.6% shooting, to go with 6.9 rpg and 6.3 apg, in leading the Bulls to a 55–27 record. They again advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals after beating the Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers; despite pushing the series to seven games, the Bulls lost to the Pistons for the third consecutive season.

First three-peat (1991–1993)

In the 1990–91 season, Jordan won his second MVP award after averaging 31.5 ppg on 53.9% shooting, 6.0 rpg, and 5.5 apg for the regular season. The Bulls finished in first place in their division for the first time in sixteen years and set a franchise record with 61 wins in the regular season. With Scottie Pippen developing into an All-Star, the Bulls had elevated their play. The Bulls defeated the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers in the opening two rounds of the playoffs. They advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals where their rival, the Detroit Pistons, awaited them this time, the Bulls beat the Pistons in a four-game sweep.

The Bulls advanced to the Finals for the first time in franchise history to face the Los Angeles Lakers, who had Magic Johnson and James Worthy, two formidable opponents. The Bulls won the series four games to one, and compiled a 15–2 playoff record along the way. Perhaps the best-known moment of the series came in Game 2 when, attempting a dunk, Jordan avoided a potential Sam Perkins block by switching the ball from his right hand to his left in mid-air to lay the shot into the basket. In his first Finals appearance, Jordan posted per game averages of 31.2 points on 56% shooting from the field, 11.4 assists, 6.6 rebounds, 2.8 steals, and 1.4 blocks. Jordan won his first NBA Finals MVP award and he cried while holding the Finals trophy.

Jordan and the Bulls continued their dominance in the 1991–92 season, establishing a 67–15 record, topping their franchise record from 1990 to 1991. Jordan won his second consecutive MVP award with averages of 30.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game on 52% shooting After winning a physical seven-game series over the New York Knicks in the second round of the playoffs and finishing off the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Conference Finals in six games, the Bulls met Clyde Drexler and the Portland Trail Blazers in the Finals. The media, hoping to recreate a Magic–Bird rivalry, highlighted the similarities between "Air" Jordan and Clyde "The Glide" during the pre-Finals hype.

In the first game, Jordan scored a Finals-record 35 points in the first half, including a record-setting six three-point field goals. After the sixth three-pointer, he jogged down the court shrugging as he looked courtside. Marv Albert, who broadcast the game, later stated that it was as if Jordan was saying: "I can't believe I'm doing this." The Bulls went on to win Game 1 and defeat the Blazers in six games. Jordan was named Finals MVP for the second year in a row and finished the series averaging 35.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, and 6.5 apg, while shooting 52.6% from the floor.
Jordan in 1992

In the 1992–93 season, despite a 32.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg, and 5.5 apg campaign, including a second-place finish in Defensive Player of the Year voting, Jordan's streak of consecutive MVP seasons ended, as he lost the award to his friend Charles Barkley. Coincidentally, Jordan and the Bulls met Barkley and his Phoenix Suns in the 1993 NBA Finals. The Bulls won their third NBA championship on a game-winning shot by John Paxson and a last-second block by Horace Grant, but Jordan was once again Chicago's leader. He averaged a Finals-record 41.0 ppg during the six-game series, and became the first player in NBA history to win three straight Finals MVP awards. He scored more than 30 points in every game of the series, including 40 or more points in four consecutive games. With his third Finals triumph, Jordan capped off a seven-year run where he attained seven scoring titles and three championships, but there were signs that Jordan was tiring of his massive celebrity and all of the non-basketball hassles in his life.

Gambling

During the Bulls' 1993 NBA playoffs, Jordan was seen gambling in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the night before a game against the New York Knicks. The previous year, he admitted that he had to cover $57,000 in gambling losses, and author Richard Esquinas wrote a book in 1993 claiming he had won $1.25 million from Jordan on the golf course. NBA commissioner David Stern denied in 1995 and 2006 that Jordan's 1993 retirement was a secret suspension by the league for gambling, but the rumor spread widely.

In 2005, Jordan discussed his gambling with Ed Bradley of 60 Minutes and admitted that he made reckless decisions. Jordan stated: "Yeah, I've gotten myself into situations where I would not walk away and I've pushed the envelope. Is that compulsive? Yeah, it depends on how you look at it. If you're willing to jeopardize your livelihood and your family, then yeah." When Bradley asked him if his gambling ever got to the level where it jeopardized his livelihood or family, Jordan replied: "No." In 2010, Ron Shelton, director of Jordan Rides the Bus, said that he began working on the documentary believing that the NBA had suspended him, but that research "convinced [him it] was nonsense."

First retirement and stint in Minor League Baseball (1993–1994)
Michael Jordan
Jordan in training with the Scottsdale Scorpions in 1994
Birmingham Barons – No. 45, 35
Outfielder

Batted: Right Threw: Right

Professional debut
Southern League: April 8, 1994, for the Birmingham Barons
Arizona Fall League: 1994, for the Scottsdale Scorpions
Last Southern League appearance
March 10, 1995, for the Birmingham Barons
Southern League statistics
(through 1994)
Batting average .202
Home runs 3
Runs batted in 51
Arizona Fall League statistics
Batting average .252
Runs batted in 8
Teams

Birmingham Barons (1994–1995)
Scottsdale Scorpions (1994)

On October 6, 1993, Jordan announced his retirement, saying that he lost his desire to play basketball. Jordan later said that the death of his father three months earlier helped shape his decision. James Jordan was murdered on July 23, 1993, at a highway rest area in Lumberton, North Carolina, by two teenagers, Daniel Green and Larry Martin Demery, who carjacked his Lexus bearing the license plate "UNC 0023". His body, dumped in a South Carolina swamp, was not discovered until August 3. Green and Demery were found after they made calls on James Jordan's cell phone, convicted at a trial, and sentenced to life in prison.

Jordan was close to his father; as a child, he imitated the way his father stuck out his tongue while absorbed in work. He later adopted it as his own signature, often displaying it as he drove to the basket. In 1996, he founded a Chicago-area Boys & Girls Club and dedicated it to his father. In his 1998 autobiography For the Love of the Game, Jordan wrote that he was preparing for retirement as early as the summer of 1992. The added exhaustion due to the Dream Team run in the 1992 Olympics solidified Jordan's feelings about the game and his ever-growing celebrity status. Jordan's announcement sent shock waves throughout the NBA and appeared on the front pages of newspapers around the world.

Jordan further surprised the sports world by signing a Minor League Baseball contract with the Chicago White Sox on February 7, 1994. He reported to spring training in Sarasota, Florida, and was assigned to the team's minor league system on March 31, 1994. Jordan said that this decision was made to pursue the dream of his late father, who always envisioned his son as a Major League Baseball player. The White Sox were owned by Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who continued to honor Jordan's basketball contract during the years he played baseball.

In 1994, Jordan played for the Birmingham Barons, a Double-A minor league affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, batting .202 with three home runs, 51 runs batted in, 30 stolen bases, 114 strikeouts, 51 bases on balls, and 11 errors. He also appeared for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the 1994 Arizona Fall League, batting .252 against the top prospects in baseball. On November 1, 1994, his No. 23 was retired by the Bulls in a ceremony that included the erection of a permanent sculpture known as The Spirit outside the new United Center.

"I'm back": Return to the NBA (1995)

In the 1993–94 season, the Bulls achieved a 55–27 record without Jordan in the lineup, and lost to the New York Knicks in the second round of the playoffs. The 1994–95 Bulls were a shell of the championship team of just two years earlier. Struggling at mid-season to ensure a spot in the playoffs, Chicago was 31–31 at one point in mid-March; however, the team received help when Jordan decided to return to the Bulls

In March 1995, Jordan decided to quit baseball because he feared he might become a replacement player during the Major League Baseball strike. On March 18, 1995, Jordan announced his return to the NBA through a two-word press release: "I'm back." The next day, Jordan took to the court with the Bulls to face the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis, scoring 19 points. The game had the highest Nielsen rating of any regular season NBA game since 1975. Although he could have worn his original number even though the Bulls retired it, Jordan wore No. 45, his baseball number.

Despite his eighteen-month hiatus from the NBA, Jordan played well, making a game-winning jump shot against Atlanta in his fourth game back. He scored 55 points in his next game, against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on March 28, 1995. Boosted by Jordan's comeback, the Bulls went 13–4 to make the playoffs and advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Orlando Magic. At the end of Game 1, Orlando's Nick Anderson stripped Jordan from behind, leading to the game-winning basket for the Magic; he would later comment that Jordan "didn't look like the old Michael Jordan" and that "No. 45 doesn't explode like No. 23 used to."

Jordan responded by scoring 38 points in the next game, which Chicago won. Before the game, Jordan decided that he would immediately resume wearing his former No. 23. The Bulls were fined $25,000 for failing to report the impromptu number change to the NBA. Jordan was fined an additional $5,000 for opting to wear white sneakers when the rest of the Bulls wore black. He averaged 31 points per game in the playoffs, but Orlando won the series in six games.

Second three-peat (1995–1998)

Jordan was freshly motivated by the playoff defeat, and he trained aggressively for the 1995–96 season. The Bulls were strengthened by the addition of rebound specialist Dennis Rodman, and the team dominated the league, starting the season at 41–3. The Bulls eventually finished with the best regular season record in NBA history, 72–10, a mark broken two decades later by the 2015–16 Golden State Warriors. Jordan led the league in scoring with 30.4 ppg, and he won the league's regular season and All-Star Game MVP awards.

In the playoffs, the Bulls lost only three games in four series (Miami Heat 3–0, New York Knicks 4–1, and Orlando Magic 4–0), as they defeated the Seattle SuperSonics 4–2 in the NBA Finals to win their fourth championship. Jordan was named Finals MVP for a record fourth time, surpassing Magic Johnson's three Finals MVP awards; he also achieved only the second sweep of the MVP awards in the All-Star Game, regular season, and NBA Finals after Willis Reed in the 1969–70 season. Upon winning the championship, his first since his father's murder, Jordan reacted emotionally, clutching the game ball and crying on the locker room floor.

In the 1996–97 season, the Bulls started out 69–11 but missed out on a second consecutive 70-win season by losing their final two games to finish 69–13. The Bulls again advanced to the Finals, where they faced Karl Malone's Utah Jazz who had beaten Jordan for the NBA MVP award in a tight race (986–957)[ The series against the Jazz featured two of the more memorable clutch moments of Jordan's career. He won Game 1 for the Bulls with a buzzer-beating jump shot. In Game 5, with the series tied at 2, Jordan played despite being feverish and dehydrated from a stomach virus. In what is known as the "Flu Game", Jordan scored 38 points, including the game-deciding 3-pointer with 25 seconds remaining. The Bulls won 90–88 and went on to win the series in six games. For the fifth time in as many Finals appearances, Jordan received the Finals MVP award. During the 1997 NBA All-Star Game, Jordan posted the first triple double in All-Star Game history in a victorious effort; however, he did not receive the MVP award.
Jordan with coach Phil Jackson in 1997

Jordan and the Bulls compiled a 62–20 record in the 1997–98 season. Jordan led the league with 28.7 points per game, securing his fifth regular season MVP award, plus honors for All-NBA First Team, First Defensive Team, and the All-Star Game MVP. The Bulls won the Eastern Conference Championship for a third straight season, including surviving a seven-game series with the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals; it was the first time Jordan had played in a Game 7 since the 1992 Eastern Conference Semifinals with the Knicks. After winning, they moved on for a rematch with the Jazz in the Finals.

The Bulls returned to the Delta Center for Game 6 on June 14, 1998, leading the series 3–2. Jordan executed a series of plays, considered to be one of the greatest clutch performances in NBA Finals history. With 41.9 seconds remaining and the Bulls trailing 86–83, Phil Jackson called a timeout. When play resumed, Jordan received the inbound pass, drove to the basket, and sank a shot over several Jazz defenders, cutting Utah's lead to 86–85. The Jazz brought the ball upcourt and passed the ball to Malone, who was set up in the low post and was being guarded by Rodman. Malone jostled with Rodman and caught the pass, but Jordan cut behind him and stole the ball out of his hands.

Jordan then dribbled down the court and paused, eyeing his defender, Jazz guard Bryon Russell. With 10 seconds remaining, Jordan started to dribble right, then crossed over to his left, possibly pushing off Russell, although the officials did not call a foul. With 5.2 seconds left, Jordan made the climactic shot of his Bulls career, giving Chicago an 87–86 lead with a jumper over Russell. Afterwards, the Jazz' John Stockton narrowly missed a game-winning three-pointer, and the buzzer sounded as Jordan and the Bulls won their sixth NBA championship, achieving a second three-peat in the decade. Once again, Jordan was voted Finals MVP, having led all scorers by averaging 33.5 points per game, including 45 in the deciding Game 6. Jordan's six Finals MVPs is a record; LeBron James is in second place with four. The 1998 Finals holds the highest television rating of any Finals series in history; Game 6 also holds the highest television rating of any game in NBA history.

Second retirement (1999–2001)
Plaque at the United Center that chronicles Jordan's career achievements

With Phil Jackson's contract expiring, the pending departures of Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman looming, and being in the latter stages of an owner-induced lockout of NBA players, Jordan retired for the second time on January 13, 1999. On January 19, 2000, Jordan returned to the NBA not as a player but as part owner and president of basketball operations for the Washington Wizards. Jordan's responsibilities with the Wizards were comprehensive, as he controlled all aspects of the Wizards' basketball operations, and had the final say in all personnel matters; opinions of Jordan as a basketball executive were mixed. He managed to purge the team of several highly paid, unpopular players (such as forward Juwan Howard and point guard Rod Strickland) but used the first pick in the 2001 NBA draft to select high schooler Kwame Brown, who did not live up to expectations and was traded away after four seasons.

Despite his January 1999 claim that he was "99.9% certain" that he would never play another NBA game, in the summer of 2001 Jordan expressed interest in making another comeback, this time with his new team. Inspired by the NHL comeback of his friend Mario Lemieux the previous winter, Jordan spent much of the spring and summer of 2001 in training, holding several invitation-only camps for NBA players in Chicago. In addition, Jordan hired his old Chicago Bulls head coach, Doug Collins, as Washington's coach for the upcoming season, a decision that many saw as foreshadowing another Jordan return.

Washington Wizards comeback (2001–2003)
Jordan as a member of the Washington Wizards, April 14, 2003

On September 25, 2001, Jordan announced his return to the NBA to play for the Washington Wizards, indicating his intention to donate his salary as a player to a relief effort for the victims of the September 11 attacks. In an injury-plagued 2001–02 season, Jordan led the team in scoring (22.9 ppg), assists (5.2 apg), and steals (1.42 spg), and was an MVP candidate, as he led the Wizards to a winning record and playoff contention; he would eventually finish 13th in the MVP ballot. After suffering a torn cartilage in his right knee, and subsequent knee soreness, the Wizards missed the playoffs, and Jordan's season ended after only 60 games, the fewest he had played in a regular season since playing 17 games after returning from his first retirement during the 1994–95 season. Jordan started 53 of his 60 games for the season, averaging 24.3 points, 5.4 assists, and 6.0 rebounds, and shooting 41.9% from the field in his 53 starts. His last seven appearances were in a reserve role, in which he averaged just over 20 minutes per game. The Wizards finished the season with a 37–45 record, an 18-game improvement.

Playing in his 14th and final NBA All-Star Game in 2003, Jordan passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the all-time leading scorer in All-Star Game history, a record since broken by Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. That year, Jordan was the only Washington player to play in all 82 games, starting in 67 of them, and coming from off the bench in 15. He averaged 20.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. He also shot 45% from the field, and 82% from the free-throw line. Even though he turned 40 during the season, he scored 20 or more points 42 times, 30 or more points nine times, and 40 or more points three times. On February 21, 2003, Jordan became the first 40-year-old to tally 43 points in an NBA game. During his stint with the Wizards, all of Jordan's home games at the MCI Center were sold out, and the Wizards were the second most-watched team in the NBA, averaging 20,172 fans a game at home and 19,311 on the road. However, neither of Jordan's final two seasons resulted in a playoff appearance for the Wizards, and Jordan was often unsatisfied with the play of those around him. At several points, he openly criticized his teammates to the media, citing their lack of focus and intensity, notably that of Kwame Brown, the number-one draft pick in the 2001 NBA draft.

With the recognition that 2002–03 would be Jordan's final season, tributes were paid to him throughout the NBA. In his final game at the United Center in Chicago, which was his old home court, Jordan received a four-minute standing ovation The Miami Heat retired the No. 23 jersey on April 11, 2003, even though Jordan never played for the team. At the 2003 All-Star Game, Jordan was offered a starting spot from Tracy McGrady and Allen Iverson but refused both; in the end, he accepted the spot of Vince Carter. Jordan played in his final NBA game on April 16, 2003, in Philadelphia. After scoring 13 points in the game, Jordan went to the bench with 4 minutes and 13 seconds remaining in the third quarter and his team trailing the Philadelphia 76ers 75–56. Just after the start of the fourth quarter, the First Union Center crowd began chanting "We want Mike!" After much encouragement from coach Doug Collins, Jordan finally rose from the bench and re-entered the game, replacing Larry Hughes with 2:35 remaining. At 1:45, Jordan was intentionally fouled by the 76ers' Eric Snow, and stepped to the line to make both free throws. After the second foul shot, the 76ers in-bounded the ball to rookie John Salmons, who in turn was intentionally fouled by Bobby Simmons one second later, stopping time so that Jordan could return to the bench. Jordan received a three-minute standing ovation from his teammates, his opponents, the officials, and the crowd of 21,257 fans.

National team career
Jordan on the "Dream Team" in 1992

Jordan made his debut for the United States national team at the 1983 Pan American Games in Caracas, Venezuela. He led the team in scoring with 17.3 ppg as the U.S., coached by Jack Hartman, won the gold medal in the competition. A year later, he won another gold medal in the 1984 Summer Olympics. The team was coached by Bob Knight and featured players such as Patrick Ewing, Sam Perkins, Chris Mullin, Steve Alford, and Wayman Tisdale. Jordan led the team in scoring, averaging 17.1 ppg for the tournament.

In 1992, he was a member of the star-studded squad that was dubbed the "Dream Team", which included Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. The team went on to win two gold medals: the first one in the 1992 Tournament of the Americas, and the second one in the 1992 Summer Olympics. Jordan was the only player to start all eight games in the Olympics and averaged 14.9 ppg, finishing second on the team in scoring. Team USA never lost a single game in the four tournaments in which Jordan played.

Player profile
Jordan dunking the ball, 1987–88

Jordan was a shooting guard who could also play as a small forward (the position he would primarily play during his second return to professional basketball with the Washington Wizards), and as a point guard. Jordan was known throughout his career as a strong clutch performer. With the Bulls, he decided 25 games with field goals or free throws in the last 30 seconds, including two NBA Finals games and five other playoff contests. His competitiveness was visible in his prolific trash-talk and well-known work ethic. Jordan often used perceived slights to fuel his performances. Sportswriter Wright Thompson described him as "a killer, in the Darwinian sense of the word, immediately sensing and attacking someone's weakest spot." As the Bulls organization built the franchise around Jordan, management had to trade away players who were not "tough enough" to compete with him in practice. To help improve his defense, he spent extra hours studying film of opponents. On offense, he relied more upon instinct and improvization at game time.

Noted as a durable player, Jordan did not miss four or more games while active for a full season from 1986–87 to 2001–02, when he injured his right knee. Of the 15 seasons Jordan was in the NBA, he played all 82 regular season games nine times. Jordan has frequently cited David Thompson, Walter Davis, and Jerry West as influences. Confirmed at the start of his career, and possibly later on, Jordan had a special "Love of the Game Clause" written into his contract, which was unusual at the time, and allowed him to play basketball against anyone at any time, anywhere.

Jordan had a versatile offensive game and was capable of aggressively driving to the basket as well as drawing fouls from his opponents at a high rate; his 8,772 free throw attempts are the 11th-highest total in NBA history. As his career progressed, Jordan also developed the ability to post up his opponents and score with his trademark fadeaway jump shot, using his leaping ability to "fade away" from block attempts. According to Hubie Brown, this move alone made him nearly unstoppable. Despite media criticism as a "selfish" player early in his career, Jordan was willing to defer to this teammates, with a career average of 5.3 assists per game and a season-high of 8 assists per game. For a guard, Jordan was also a good rebounder, finishing with 6.2 rebounds per game. Defensively, he averaged 2.3 steals and 0.8 blocks.

Three-point field goal was not Jordan's strength, especially in his early years; his 16% shooting record (5-for-30) in the 1990 Three-Point Contest gave him the worst percentage of points ever in that competition. He improved his three-point shooting over time, and finished his career with a respectable 32% success rate. After shooting under 30% from three-point range in his first five seasons in the NBA, including a career-low 13% in the 1987–88 season, Jordan improved to a career-high 50% in the 1994–95 season. The three-point shot became more of a focus of his game from 1994–95 to 1996–97, when the NBA shortened its three-point line from 23 ft 9 in (7.24 m) to 22 ft (6.7 m). His three-point field-goal percentages ranged from 35% to 43% in seasons in which he attempted at least 230 three-pointers between 1989–90 and 1996–97. Jordan's effective field goal percentage was 50%, and he had six seasons with at least 50% shooting, five of which consecutively (1988–1992); he also shot 51% and 50%, and 30% and 33% from the three-point range, throughout his first and second retirements, respectively, finishing his career with 49% shooting.

Unlike NBA players such as Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, often compared to Jordan and who had a similar three-point percentage, he did not shoot as much as they did, as he did not need it in order to be effective on offense; three-point shooting was only introduced in 1979 and would not be a more fundamental aspect of the game until the first decades of the 21st century, with the NBA having to briefly shorten the line to incentivize more shots. Jordan's three-point shooting was better selected, resulting in three-point field goals made in important games during the playoffs and the Finals, such as hitting six consecutive three-point shots in Game 1 of the 1992 NBA Finals. Jordan shot 37%, 35%, 42%, and 37% in all the seasons he shot over 200 three-pointers, and also shot 38.5%, 38.6%, 38.9%, 40.3%, 19.4%, and 30.2% in the playoffs during his championship runs, improving his shooting even after the three-point line was reverted to the original line.

In 1988, Jordan was honored with the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award and became the first NBA player to win both the Defensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards in a career. In addition, he set both seasonal and career records for blocked shots by a guard, and combined this with his ball-thieving ability to become a standout defensive player. He ranks third in NBA history in total steals with 2,514, trailing John Stockton and Jason Kidd. Jerry West often stated that he was more impressed with Jordan's defensive contributions than his offensive ones. Doc Rivers declared Jordan "the best superstar defender in the history of the game."

Jordan was known to have strong eyesight; broadcaster Al Michaels said that he was able to read baseball box scores on a 27-inch (69 cm) television clearly from about 50 feet (15 m) away. During the 2001 NBA Finals, Phil Jackson compared Jordan's dominance to Shaquille O'Neal, stating that "Michael would get fouled on every play and still have to play through it and just clear himself for shots instead and would rise to that occasion."

Legacy

This article is part of a series about
Michael Jordan

Jordan's talent was clear from his first NBA season; by November 1984, he was being compared to Julius Erving. Larry Bird said that rookie Jordan was the best player he ever saw, and that he was "one of a kind", and comparable to Wayne Gretzky as an athlete. In his first game in Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks, Jordan received a near minute-long standing ovation. After establishing the single game playoff record of 63 points against the Boston Celtics on April 20, 1986, Bird described him as "God disguised as Michael Jordan."

Jordan led the NBA in scoring in 10 seasons (NBA record) and tied Wilt Chamberlain's record of seven consecutive scoring titles. He was also a fixture of the NBA All-Defensive First Team, making the roster nine times (NBA record shared with Gary Payton, Kevin Garnett, and Kobe Bryant). Jordan also holds the top career regular season and playoff scoring averages of 30.1 and 33.4 points per game, respectively. By 1998, the season of his Finals-winning shot against the Jazz, he was well known throughout the league as a clutch performer. In the regular season, Jordan was the Bulls' primary threat in the final seconds of a close game and in the playoffs; he would always ask for the ball at crunch time. Jordan's total of 5,987 points in the playoffs is the second-highest in NBA history.[208] He retired with 32,292 points in regular season play, placing him fifth on the NBA's all-time scoring list behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, LeBron James, and Kobe Bryant.

With five regular season MVPs (tied for second place with Bill Russell—only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has won more, with six), six Finals MVPs (NBA record), and three All-Star Game MVPs, Jordan is the most decorated player in NBA history. Jordan finished among the top three in regular season MVP voting 10 times, and was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996. He is one of only seven players in history to win an NCAA championship, an NBA championship, and an Olympic gold medal (doing so twice with the 1984 and 1992 U.S. men's basketball teams). Since 1976, the year of the NBA's merger with the American Basketball Association, Jordan and Pippen are the only two players to win six NBA Finals playing for one team. In the All-Star Game fan ballot, Jordan received the most votes nine times, more than any other player.

"There's Michael Jordan and then there is the rest of us."

—Magic Johnson [5]

Many of Jordan's contemporaries have said that Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time. In 1999, an ESPN survey of journalists, athletes and other sports figures ranked Jordan the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century, above Babe Ruth and Muhammad Ali. Jordan placed second to Babe Ruth in the Associated Press' December 1999 list of 20th century athletes. In addition, the Associated Press voted him the greatest basketball player of the 20th century. Jordan has also appeared on the front cover of Sports Illustrated a record 50 times. In the September 1996 issue of Sport, which was the publication's 50th-anniversary issue, Jordan was named the greatest athlete of the past 50 years.
Statue of Michael Jordan inside the United Center

Jordan's athletic leaping ability, highlighted in his back-to-back Slam Dunk Contest championships in 1987 and 1988, is credited by many people with having influenced a generation of young players. Several NBA players, including LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, have stated that they considered Jordan their role model while they were growing up. In addition, commentators have dubbed a number of next-generation players "the next Michael Jordan" upon their entry to the NBA, including Penny Hardaway, Grant Hill, Allen Iverson, Bryant, Vince Carter, James, and Wade. Some analyists, such as The Ringer's Dan Devine, drew parallels between Jordan's experiment at point guard in the 1988–89 season and modern NBA; for Devine, it "inadvertently foreshadowed the modern game's stylistic shift toward monster-usage primary playmakers", such as Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Luka Dončić, and LeBron James. Don Nelson stated: "I would've been playing him at point guard the day he showed up as a rookie."

Although Jordan was a well-rounded player, his "Air Jordan" image is also often credited with inadvertently decreasing the jump shooting skills, defense, and fundamentals of young players, a fact Jordan himself has lamented: "I think it was the exposure of Michael Jordan; the marketing of Michael Jordan. Everything was marketed towards the things that people wanted to see, which was scoring and dunking. That Michael Jordan still played defense and an all-around game, but it was never really publicized." During his heyday, Jordan did much to increase the status of the game; television ratings increased only during his time in the league. The popularity of the NBA in the U.S. declined after his last title. As late as 2020, Finals ratings had not returned to the level reached during his last championship-winning season.

In August 2009, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, opened a Michael Jordan exhibit that contained items from his college and NBA careers as well as from the 1992 "Dream Team"; the exhibit also has a batting glove to signify Jordan's short career in Minor League Baseball. After Jordan received word of his acceptance into the Hall of Fame, he selected Class of 1996 member David Thompson to present him. As Jordan would later explain during his induction speech in September 2009, when he was growing up in North Carolina, he was not a fan of the Tar Heels and greatly admired Thompson, who played at rival North Carolina State. In September, he was inducted into the Hall with several former Bulls teammates in attendance, including Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Charles Oakley, Ron Harper, Steve Kerr, and Toni Kukoč. Two of Jordan's former coaches, Dean Smith and Doug Collins, were also among those present. His emotional reaction during his speech—when he began to cry—was captured by Associated Press photographer Stephan Savoia and would later go viral on social media as the Crying Jordan Internet meme. In 2016, President Barack Obama honored Jordan with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
NBA career statistics
Legend GP Games played GS Games started MPG Minutes per game
FG% Field goal percentage 3P% 3-point field goal percentage FT% Free throw percentage
RPG Rebounds per game APG Assists per game SPG Steals per game
BPG Blocks per game PPG Points per game Bold Career high
† Won an NBA championship * Led the league NBA record

Awards and honors
Further information:
List of career achievements by Michael Jordan

Post-retirement
Jordan on a golf course in 2007

After his third retirement, Jordan assumed that he would be able to return to his front office position as Director of Basketball Operations with the Wizards. However, his previous tenure in the Wizards' front office had produced mixed results and may have also influenced the trade of Richard "Rip" Hamilton for Jerry Stackhouse, although Jordan was not technically Director of Basketball Operations in 2002. On May 7, 2003, Wizards owner Abe Pollin fired Jordan as the team's president of basketball operations. Jordan later stated that he felt betrayed, and that if he had known he would be fired upon retiring, he never would have come back to play for the Wizards.

Jordan kept busy over the next few years. He stayed in shape, played golf in celebrity charity tournaments, and spent time with his family in Chicago. He also promoted his Jordan Brand clothing line and rode motorcycles. Since 2004, Jordan has owned Michael Jordan Motorsports, a professional closed-course motorcycle road racing team that competed with two Suzukis in the premier Superbike championship sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) until the end of the 2013 season.
Charlotte Bobcats / Hornets

On June 15, 2006, Jordan bought a minority stake in the Charlotte Bobcats (now known as the Hornets), becoming the team's second-largest shareholder behind majority owner Robert L. Johnson. As part of the deal, Jordan took full control over the basketball side of the operation, with the title Managing Member of Basketball Operations. Despite Jordan's previous success as an endorser, he has made an effort not to be included in Charlotte's marketing campaigns. A decade earlier, Jordan had made a bid to become part-owner of Charlotte's original NBA team, the Charlotte Hornets, but talks collapsed when owner George Shinn refused to give Jordan complete control of basketball operations.

In February 2010, it was reported that Jordan was seeking majority ownership of the Bobcats. As February wore on, it became apparent that Jordan and former Houston Rockets president George Postolos were the leading contenders for ownership of the team. On February 27, the Bobcats announced that Johnson had reached an agreement with Jordan and his group, MJ Basketball Holdings, to buy the team from Johnson pending NBA approval. On March 17, the NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved Jordan's purchase, making him the first former player to become the majority owner of an NBA team. It also made him the league's only African-American majority owner.

During the 2011 NBA lockout, The New York Times wrote that Jordan led a group of 10 to 14 hardline owners who wanted to cap the players' share of basketball-related income at 50 percent and as low as 47. Journalists observed that, during the labor dispute in 1998, Jordan had told Washington Wizards then-owner Abe Pollin: "If you can't make a profit, you should sell your team." Jason Whitlock of FoxSports.com called Jordan a "sellout" for wanting "current players to pay for his incompetence." He cited Jordan's executive decisions to draft disappointing players Kwame Brown and Adam Morrison.

During the 2011–12 NBA season that was shortened to 66 games by the lockout, the Bobcats posted a 7–59 record. The team closed out the season with a 23-game losing streak; their .106 winning percentage was the worst in NBA history. Before the next season, Jordan said: "I'm not real happy about the record book scenario last year. It's very, very frustrating."

During the 2019 NBA offseason, Jordan sold a minority piece of the Hornets to Gabe Plotkin and Daniel Sundheim, retaining the majority of the team for himself as well as the role of chairman.

23XI Racing

On September 21, 2020, Jordan and NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin announced they would be fielding a NASCAR team with Bubba Wallace driving, beginning competition in the 2021 season. On October 22, the team's name was confirmed to be 23XI Racing (pronounced twenty-three eleven) and the team's entry would bear No. 23.

Personal life
Jordan receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama at the White House

Jordan is the fourth of five children. He has two older brothers, Larry Jordan and James R. Jordan Jr., one older sister, Deloris, and one younger sister, Roslyn. James retired in 2006 as the Command Sergeant Major of the 35th Signal Brigade of the XVIII Airborne Corps in the U.S. Army. Jordan's nephew through Larry, Justin Jordan, played Division I basketball at UNC Greensboro and is a scout for the Charlotte Hornets.

Jordan married Juanita Vanoy in September 1989. They had two sons, Jeffrey and Marcus, and a daughter, Jasmine. The Jordans filed for divorce on January 4, 2002, citing irreconcilable differences, but reconciled shortly thereafter. They again filed for divorce and were granted a final decree of dissolution of marriage on December 29, 2006, commenting that the decision was made "mutually and amicably". It is reported that Juanita received a $168 million settlement (equivalent to $216 million in 2020), making it the largest celebrity divorce settlement on public record at the time.

In 1991, Jordan purchased a lot in Highland Park, Illinois, on which he planned to build a 56,000 square-foot (5,200 m2) mansion. It was completed in 1995. He listed the mansion for sale in 2012. His two sons attended Loyola Academy, a private Catholic school in Wilmette, Illinois. Jeffrey graduated in 2007 and played his first collegiate basketball game for the University of Illinois on November 11, 2007. After two seasons, he left the Illinois basketball team in 2009. He later rejoined the team for a third season,then received a release to transfer to the University of Central Florida, where Marcus was attending. Marcus transferred to Whitney Young High School after his sophomore year at Loyola Academy and graduated in 2009. He began attending UCF in the fall of 2009, and played three seasons of basketball for the school.

On July 21, 2006, a judge in Cook County, Illinois, determined that Jordan did not owe his alleged former lover Karla Knafel $5 million in a breach of contract claim. Jordan had allegedly paid Knafel $250,000 to keep their relationship a secret. Knafel claimed Jordan promised her $5 million for remaining silent and agreeing not to file a paternity suit after Knafel learned she was pregnant in 1991; a DNA test showed Jordan was not the father of the child.

Jordan proposed to his longtime girlfriend, Cuban-American model Yvette Prieto, on Christmas 2011, and they were married on April 27, 2013, at Bethesda-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church. It was announced on November 30, 2013, that the two were expecting their first child together. On February 11, 2014, Prieto gave birth to identical twin daughters named Victoria and Ysabel. In 2019, Jordan became a grandfather when his daughter Jasmine gave birth to a son, whose father is professional basketball player Rakeem Christmas.

Media figure and business interests
Endorsements
Jordan in 2008

Jordan is one of the most marketed sports figures in history. He has been a major spokesman for such brands as Nike, Coca-Cola, Chevrolet, Gatorade, McDonald's, Ball Park Franks, Rayovac, Wheaties, Hanes, and MCI. Jordan has had a long relationship with Gatorade, appearing in over 20 commercials for the company since 1991, including the "Be Like Mike" commercials in which a song was sung by children wishing to be like Jordan.

Nike created a signature shoe for Jordan, called the Air Jordan, in 1984. One of Jordan's more popular commercials for the shoe involved Spike Lee playing the part of Mars Blackmon. In the commercials, Lee, as Blackmon, attempted to find the source of Jordan's abilities and became convinced that "it's gotta be the shoes". The hype and demand for the shoes even brought on a spate of "shoe-jackings" where people were robbed of their sneakers at gunpoint. Subsequently, Nike spun off the Jordan line into its own division named the "Jordan Brand". The company features an impressive list of athletes and celebrities as endorsers. The brand has also sponsored college sports programs such as those of North Carolina, California, Georgetown, and Marquette.

Jordan also has been associated with the Looney Tunes cartoon characters. A Nike commercial shown during 1992's Super Bowl XXVI featured Jordan and Bugs Bunny playing basketball. The Super Bowl commercial inspired the 1996 live action/animated film Space Jam, which starred Jordan and Bugs in a fictional story set during the former's first retirement from basketball. They have subsequently appeared together in several commercials for MCI. Jordan also made an appearance in the music video for Michael Jackson's "Jam" (1992).

Jordan's yearly income from the endorsements is estimated to be over $40 million. In addition, when Jordan's power at the ticket gates was at its highest point, the Bulls regularly sold out both their home and road games. Due to this, Jordan set records in player salary by signing annual contracts worth in excess of US$30 million per season. An academic study found that Jordan's first NBA comeback resulted in an increase in the market capitalization of his client firms of more than $1 billion.

Most of Jordan's endorsement deals, including his first deal with Nike, were engineered by his agent, David Falk. Jordan has described Falk as "the best at what he does" and that "marketing-wise, he's great. He's the one who came up with the concept of 'Air Jordan.'"
Business ventures

In June 2010, Jordan was ranked by Forbes magazine as the 20th-most powerful celebrity in the world with $55 million earned between June 2009 and June 2010. According to the Forbes article, Jordan Brand generates $1 billion in sales for Nike. In June 2014, Jordan was named the first NBA player to become a billionaire, after he increased his stake in the Charlotte Hornets from 80% to 89.5%. On January 20, 2015, Jordan was honored with the Charlotte Business Journal's Business Person of the Year for 2014. In 2017, he became a part owner of the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball.

Forbes designated Jordan as the athlete with the highest career earnings in 2017. From his Jordan Brand income and endorsements, Jordan's 2015 income was an estimated $110 million, the most of any retired athlete. As of 2021, his net worth is estimated at $1.6 billion by Forbes, making him the fifth-richest African-American, behind Robert F. Smith, David Steward, Oprah Winfrey, and Kanye West.

Jordan co-owns an automotive group which bears his name. The company has a Nissan dealership in Durham, North Carolina, acquired in 1990, and formerly had a Lincoln–Mercury dealership from 1995 until its closure in June 2009. The company also owned a Nissan franchise in Glen Burnie, Maryland. The restaurant industry is another business interest of Jordan's. Restaurants he has owned include a steakhouse in New York City's Grand Central Terminal, among others; that restaurant closed in 2018. Jordan is the majority investor in a golf course, Grove XXIII, under construction in Hobe Sound, Florida.

In September 2020, Jordan became an investor and advisor for DraftKings.
Philanthropy

From 2001 to 2014, Jordan hosted an annual golf tournament, the Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational, that raised money for various charities. In 2006, Jordan and his wife Juanita pledged $5 million to Chicago's Hales Franciscan High School. The Jordan Brand has made donations to Habitat for Humanity and a Louisiana branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation named Jordan its Chief Wish Ambassador in 2008. In 2013, he granted his 200th wish for the organization. As of 2019, he has raised more than $5 million for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

In 2015, Jordan donated a settlement of undisclosed size from a lawsuit against supermarkets that had used his name without permission to 23 different Chicago charities. In 2017, Jordan funded two Novant Health Michael Jordan Family Clinics in Charlotte, North Carolina, by giving $7 million, the biggest donation he had made at the time. In 2018, after Hurricane Florence damaged parts of North Carolina, including his former hometown of Wilmington, Jordan donated $2 million to relief efforts. He gave $1 million to aid the Bahamas' recovery following Hurricane Dorian in 2019.

On June 5, 2020, in the wake of the protests following the murder of George Floyd, Jordan and his brand announced in a joint statement that they would be donating $100 million over the next 10 years to organizations dedicated to "ensuring racial equality, social justice and greater access to education."

Film and television

Jordan played himself in the 1996 comedy film Space Jam. The film received mixed reviews, but it was a box office success, making $230 million worldwide, and earned more than $1 billion through merchandise sales.

In 2000, Jordan was the subject of an IMAX documentary about his career with the Chicago Bulls, especially the 1998 championship season, entitled Michael Jordan to the Max. Two decades later, the same period of Jordan's life was covered in much greater and more personal detail by the Emmy Award-winning The Last Dance, a 10-part TV documentary which debuted on ESPN in April and May 2020. The Last Dance relied heavily on about 500 hours of candid film of Jordan's and his teammates' off-court activities which an NBA Entertainment crew had shot over the course of the 1997–98 NBA season for use in a documentary. The project was delayed for many years because Jordan had not yet given his permission for the footage to be used. He was interviewed at three homes associated with the production and did not want cameras in his home or on his plane as "there are certain aspects of his life that he wants to keep private", according to director Jason Hehir. Jordon granted rapper Travis Scott permission to film a music video for his single "Franchise" at his home in Highland Park, Illinois, "without hesitation."

Books

Jordan has authored several books focusing on his life, basketball career, and world view.
Rare Air: Michael on Michael, with Mark Vancil and Walter Iooss (Harper San Francisco, 1993).
I Can't Accept Not Trying: Michael Jordan on the Pursuit of Excellence, with Mark Vancil and Sandro Miller (Harper San Francisco, 1994).
For the Love of the Game: My Story, with Mark Vancil (Crown Publishers, 1998).
Driven from Within, with Mark Vancil (Atria Books, 2005).

मोहन कुमार राजा

मोहन कुमार राजा एक भारतीय धावक हैं जो 2016 ग्रीष्मकालीन ओलंपिक में भारत की छह सदस्यीय 4 × 400 मीटर रिले टीम का हिस्सा थे। विकिपीडिया (अंग्रेज़ी)

मूल विवरण देखें

जन्म की तारीख और समय: 14 दिसंबर 1996 , अम्बत्तूर, चेन्नई

शिक्षा: द्वारका दोस गोवर्धन दोस वैष्णव कॉलेज

इवेंट: 400 मीटर

मरियप्पन थंगावेलु (Mariyappan Thangavelu)

By : Jivani.org

मरियप्पन थंगावेलु का जन्म 28 जून, 1995 को तमिलनाडु के सलेम ज़िले में हुआ था। महज पांच साल की उम्र में मरियप्पन थंगावेलु को अपनी एक टांग गंवानी पड़ी थी। वह अपने घर के बाहर खेल रहे थे, जब एक बस ने उन्हें टक्कर मार दी। इस हादसे में उनकी दायीं टांग घुटने से नीचे पूरी तरह कुचली गई। उनका पैर पूरी तरह बेकार हो चुका था। एक साक्षात्कार में मरियप्पन ने बताया कि बस का चालक नशे में था, लेकिन इस बात से आखिर क्या फर्क पड़ता है? मेरा पैर पूरी तरह बेकार हो चुका था। मेरी टांग फिर कभी ठीक नहीं हुई। उनका परिवार आज भी सरकारी ट्रांसपोर्ट कंपनी के खिलाफ कोर्ट में केस लड़ रहा है। लेकिन यह हादसा भी मरियप्पन को रोक नहीं पाया। वह अब 21 साल के हो चुके हैं। 9 सितम्बर, 2016 को उन्होंने पुरुषों की टी42 ऊँची कूद में स्वर्ण पदक जीतकर इतिहास रच दिया। ब्राजील की राजधानी रियो डी जनेरो में हो रहे पैरालिंपिक खेलों में मरियप्पन ने सोने की छलांग लगाई।

एक बस ने पांच-वर्षीय मरियप्पन को टक्कर मार दी। इस दुर्घटना में उनका एक पैर कट गया। 17 वर्ष तक अदालत के कई चक्कर काटने के बाद मरियप्पन के परिवार को 2 लाख रुपए मुआवज़ा मिला। पर इसमें से 1 लाख रुपए वकीलों की फीस में चले गए। बाके के 1 लाख रुपए सरोज अम्मा ने मरियप्पन के भविष्य के लिए एक बैंक खाते में जमा कर दिए। सरोजा देवी ने मरियप्पन के इलाज के लिए 3 लाख का ऋण लिया था जो 2016 तक चुकाया नहीं गया है।

गरीबी के वजह से मरियप्पन के बड़े भाई टी कुमार स्कूल के आगे नहीं पढ़ पाए। लेकिन मरियप्पन ने छात्रवृत्ति के बल पर ए.वी.एस. महाविद्यालय से बीबीए की डिग्री पूरी की। इसी महाविद्यालय के द्रविड़ शारीरिक शिक्षा निदेशक ने उनकी प्रतिभा को पहचाना और उन्हें प्रोत्साहन दिया। इसके बाद बैंगलुरू के द्रविड प्रशिक्षक सत्या नारायण ने मरियप्पन को दो साल तक हर महीने 10 हज़ार रुपए और प्रशिक्षण दिया।

खेल करियर

बचपन में मारियप्पन को वॉलीबॉल खेलना अच्छा लगता था और अपने एक पैरे के खराब हो जाने के बावजूद वे इसे खेलते रहे। एक बार इनके शिक्षक ने कहा कि वे ऊंची कूद में हाथ क्यों नहीं आजमाते। मारियप्पन को बात जंच गई और 14 साल की उम्र में इन्होंने पहली बार ऊंची कूद की प्रतिस्पर्धा में हिस्सा लिया, वो भी सामान्य एथलीटों के खिलाफ। उस प्रतिस्पर्धा में वे दूसरे स्थान पर रहे।

2016 पैरालंपिक

2016 में मरियप्पन के चयन पैरालम्पिक खेलों की भारतीय टीम में हो गया। वरुण सिंह भाटी ने इस स्पर्धा में कांस्य पदक ही जीत पाए। केंद्र सरकार ने मरियप्पन को 75 लाख रुपये दिए, वहीं तमिलनाडु की मुख्यमंत्री श्रीमती जयललिता ने उन्हें बतौर पुरस्कार 2 करोड़ रुपये देने की घोषणा की है।

पुष्ट कैरियर

Mariyappan एक छात्र के रूप में वॉलीबॉल खेल मज़ा आया; बाद में, उनके स्कूल के शारीरिक शिक्षा अध्यापक ने उन्हें उच्च कूदने का प्रयास करने के लिए प्रोत्साहित किया। 14 वर्ष की आयु की अपनी पहली प्रतियोगी स्पर्धा में, वह सक्षम शरीर के प्रतिद्वंद्वियों के क्षेत्र में दूसरे स्थान पर रहे, जिसके बाद उन्होंने सालेम जिले में अपने सहपाठियों और अन्य लोगों से मजबूत प्रोत्साहन प्राप्त किया। 2013 में, उनके वर्तमान कोच श्री। सतयानरायण, जो कि भारत के खेल अकादमी के लिए अलग-अलग तरीके से समर्थित थे, ने पहले भारतीय राष्ट्रीय पैरा-एथलेटिक्स चैंपियनशिप में अपना प्रदर्शन देखा और औपचारिक रूप से उन्हें 2015 में एक छात्र के रूप में ले लिया, उन्हें बेंगलुरु पहुंचा दिया आगे कोचिंग के लिए

मार्च 2016 में, मारियप्पा ने ट्यूनीशिया में आईपीसी ग्रांड प्रिक्स में पुरुषों की ऊंची छलांग टी 42 प्रतियोगिता में 1.78 मीटर (5 फुट 10 डिग्री) की दूरी तय कर रियो पैरालिंपिक्स के लिए क्वालीफाइंग किया। रियो पैरालिंपिक्स में, उन्होंने 1.8 9 मीटर (6 फीट 2 डिग्री) की छलांग के साथ पुरुषों की ऊंची छलांग टी 42 स्पर्धा में स्वर्ण पदक जीता।

व्यक्तिगत जीवन

2015 में, मारिआप्पन ने एवीएस कॉलेज ऑफ आर्ट्स एंड साइंस से बिजनेस एडमिनिस्ट्रेशन में स्नातक की डिग्री पूरी की। वह उसी संस्थान से एमबीए पूरा करने की योजना बना रहा है।

उनकी एक बड़ी बहन सुधा और दो छोटे भाई कुमार और गोपी हैं।

पुरस्कार

मार्च, 2016 में मरियप्पन थंगावेलु ने 1.78 मीटर की छलांग लगाकर रियो के लिए क्वॉलिफाइ किया था, जबकि क्वॉलिफिकेश मार्क 1.60 मीटर था। उनके प्रदर्शन से इस बात का अंदाजा लग गया था कि ओलिंपिक का पदक उनकी पहुंच से दूर नहीं है। मरियप्पन को भारत सरकार की ओर से पैरालिंपिक में स्वर्ण पदक जीतने पर 75 लाख रुपये की इनामी राशि तो मिली ही है, साथ ही तमिलनाडु सरकार ने भी उन्हें दो करोड़ रुपये का पुरस्कार देने का ऐलान किया है

पुरस्कार और मान्यता

पद्म श्री (2017) - भारत का चौथा उच्चतम राष्ट्रीय सम्मान

तमिलनाडु सरकार की ओर से Ã 2 ¤ 2 à à à à ¡¤ ¼ (यूएस $ 3,10,000)

युवा मामलों और खेलों के मंत्रालय से 75% से अधिक (यूएस $ 120,000)

सामाजिक न्याय और अधिकारिता मंत्रालय से 30% से अधिक राशि (यूएस $ 47,000)

सचिन तेंदुलकर द्वारा स्थापित निधि से 15,000,000 डॉलर (23,000 अमेरिकी डॉलर) विभिन्न निगमों

यशराज फिल्म्स से 10 लाख रुपये से अधिक (यूएस $ 16,000)

दिल्ली गोल्फ क्लब से 10 लाख रुपये से अधिक (यूएस $ 16,000)अनिवासी भारतीय व्यापारी Mukkattu सेबस्टियन से 5 साल की अवधि में 7,800 डॉलर

Michael Phelps

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Michael Phelps
Phelps at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Full name Michael Fred Phelps II
Nickname(s) "The Baltimore Bullet"
"Flying Fish"
National team  United States
Born June 30, 1985
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight 194 lb (88 kg)
Spouse(s) Nicole Johnson
Sport
Sport Swimming
Strokes Butterfly, individual medley, freestyle, backstroke
Club North Baltimore Aquatic Club
Coach Bob Bowman

Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold medals (23), Olympic gold medals in individual events (13), and Olympic medals in individual events (16). When Phelps won eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games, he broke fellow American swimmer Mark Spitz's 1972 record of seven first-place finishes at any single Olympic Games. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Phelps already tied the record of eight medals of any color at a single Games by winning six gold and two bronze medals. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Phelps won four gold and two silver medals, and at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, he won five gold medals and one silver. This made him the most successful athlete of the Games for the fourth Olympics in a row.

Phelps is the long course world record holder in the men's 400-meter individual medley as well as the former long course world record holder in the 200-meter freestyle, 100-meter butterfly, 200-meter butterfly, and 200-meter individual medley. He has won 82 medals in major international long course competitions, of which 65 were gold, 14 silver, and three bronze, spanning the Olympics, the World Championships, and the Pan Pacific Championships. Phelps's international titles and record-breaking performances have earned him the World Swimmer of the Year Award eight times and American Swimmer of the Year Award eleven times, as well as the FINA Swimmer of the Year Award in 2012 and 2016. Phelps earned Sports Illustrated magazine's Sportsman of the Year award due to his unprecedented Olympic success in the 2008 Games.

After the 2008 Summer Olympics, Phelps started the Michael Phelps Foundation, which focuses on growing the sport of swimming and promoting healthier lifestyles. Phelps retired following the 2012 Olympics, but he made a comeback in April 2014. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro his fifth Olympics, he was selected by his team to be the flag bearer of the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations. He announced his second retirement on August 12, 2016, having won more medals than 161 countries. He is widely regarded as the greatest swimmer of all time and is often considered to be one of the greatest athletes of all time.

Early life

Phelps was born in Baltimore, Maryland,[6] and raised in the Rodgers Forge neighborhood of nearby Towson. He attended Rodgers Forge Elementary, Dumbarton Middle School, and Towson High School. Phelps is the youngest of three children. His mother, Deborah Sue "Debbie" Phelps (née Davisson), is a middle school principal. His father, Michael Fred Phelps, is a retired Maryland State Trooper who played football in high school and college and tried out for the Washington Football Team in the 1970s. Phels is of English, German, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh descent His parents divorced in 1994 when he was nine years old, and his father remarried in 2000. Phelps later revealed that the divorce had a severe negative impact on him and his siblings, and his relationship with his father was distant for a few years after the divorce. He graduated from Towson High School in 2003.

Phelps began swimming at the age of seven, partly because of the influence of his sisters and partly to provide him with an outlet for his energy. After retirement in 2016, he stated "The only reason I ever got in the water was my mom wanted me to just learn how to swim. My sisters and myself fell in love with the sport, and we decided to swim." When Phelps was in the sixth grade, he was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). By the age of 10, he held a national record for his age group (in the 100-meter butterfly) and began to train at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club under coach Bob Bowman. More age group records followed, and as of August 21, 2018, Phelps still held 11 age group records, eight in long course, and three in short course.

Career
2000 Summer Olympics

Phelps's rapid improvement culminated when he qualified for the 2000 Summer Olympics at the age of 15, as he became the youngest male (since Ralph Flanagan in 1932) to make a U.S. Olympic swim team in 68 years. While he did not win a medal, he did make the finals and finished fifth in the 200-meter butterfly.

2001 World championships
2001 World Championships
200 m butterfly 1:54.58 (WR)

At the World Championship Trials for the 2001 World Aquatics Championships, on March 30, Phelps broke the world record in the 200-meter butterfly to become, at 15 years and 9 months, the youngest male ever to set a world record in swimming. Previously the youngest male had been Ian Thorpe, who captured the 400-meter freestyle world record at 16 years, 10 months. At the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, Phelps broke his own world record in the 200-meter butterfly while en route to become a world champion for the first time.

2002 Pan Pacific championships
Phelps in 2002
2002 Pan Pacific Championships
200 m medley 1:59.70
400 m medley 4:12.48
4×100 m medley 3:33.48 (WR)
200 m butterfly 1.55.41
4×200 m freestyle 7:11.81

At Nationals, the selection meet for the 2002 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Phelps set an American record in the 200-meter individual medley and was just off the world record in the 200-meter butterfly. In the 400-meter individual medley, Phelps bettered the world record held by Tom Dolan with a time of 4:11.09, just ahead of Erik Vendt, who finished second with a time of 4:11.27, also below the old world record. In the 200-meter freestyle, Phelps was barely beaten by Klete Keller and in the 100-meter butterfly, Phelps beat Ian Crocker.

At the 2002 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Yokohama, Japan, Phelps won three gold medals and two silvers. In his first event, the 400-meter individual medley, Phelps won gold ahead of Erik Vendt with a time of 4:12.48. In the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps lost to Tom Malchow, finishing behind him 1:55.41 to 1:55.21. Phelps said he lost because he did not take butterfly training seriously after he broke the world record. In the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps won with a time of 1:59.70. In the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, Phelps, along with Nate Dusing, Klete Keller, and Chad Carvin, won the silver medal with a time 7:11.81 finishing behind Australia. The U.S. 4×100-meter medley relay team consisted of Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, Phelps, and Ian Crocker. In the final for the medley relay, Phelps swam a 51.1 split, at the time the fastest split in history. The final time of 3:33.48 was a world record.

2003 World championships
2003 World Championships
200 m butterfly 1:54.35
200 m medley 1:56.04 (WR)
400 m medley 4:09.09 (WR)
4×100 m medley 3:31.54 (WR) (Phelps swam in heats only)
100 m butterfly 51.10
4×200 m freestyle 7:10.26

At Nationals, Phelps won the 200-meter freestyle, 200-meter backstroke, and the 100-meter butterfly. He became the first American swimmer to win three different races in three different strokes at a national championship. At the 2003 Duel in the Pool, a meet that pits swimming stars from Australia and the United States, Phelps broke the world record in the 400-meter individual medley with a time of 4:10.73 and almost broke the world record in the 100-meter butterfly, just missing the record by 0.03 seconds. At a meet in Santa Clara County, California, Phelps broke the world record in the 200-meter individual medley with a time of 1:57.94. Phelps said he broke the 200-meter individual medley world record after Don Talbot said Phelps was unproven, using his words as motivation.

At the 2003 World Aquatics Championships, Phelps won four gold medals, two silver medals, and broke five world records. Phelps broke his first world record on July 22 in the semi-finals for the 200-meter butterfly. Phelps swam a 1:53.93 to break his own world record of 1:54.58 set in 2001 and became the first man to swim under 1:54.00. In the final of the 200-meter butterfly, on July 23, Phelps easily won the gold medal, but did not come close to his world record with a time of 1:54.35. Less than an hour later, Phelps swam the lead-off leg for the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. Phelps put up a solid time of 1:46.60 (an American record) but the Americans could not match the depth of the Australians and ultimately finished second 7:10.26 to 7:08.58. In the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps dominated. On July 24, in the semi-finals of the 200-meter individual medley, he broke his own world record with a time of 1:57.52. On July 25, in the final of the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps smashed his own record with a time of 1:56.04 to win the gold medal and finished almost 3 seconds ahead of Ian Thorpe. About an hour before the final of the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps swam in the semi-finals of the 100-meter butterfly. Phelps dominated again, finishing in the top seed position with a world record time of 51.47. However, in the final of the 100-meter butterfly, on July 26, Ian Crocker erased Phelps's world record with a time of 50.98, to become the first man under 51 seconds. Phelps swam a 51.10 (also under his former world record), but had to settle for silver. In the final of the 400-meter individual medley, on July 27, Phelps broke his own world record with a time of 4:09.09 to easily claim the gold medal. About half an hour later, Phelps earned his final gold medal when the United States team won the 4×100-meter medley relay. Phelps did not swim in the finals, but still earned a medal because he swam in the heats.

2004 Summer Olympics
Trials

At the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Phelps competed in six events; the 200- and 400-meter individual medley, the 100- and 200-meter butterfly, the 200-meter freestyle, and the 200-meter backstroke. In his first event, the 400-meter individual medley, Phelps easily won with a world record time of 4:08.41. Two days later, in the 200-meter freestyle, Phelps won with a time of 1:46.27, finishing sixth-tenths of a second ahead of Klete Keller. Phelps, however, was not pleased with the result and wanted to be in the 1:45s and was uncertain if he would swim the event in Athens. The following day, Phelps won in the 200-meter butterfly with a time of 1:54.31, three seconds ahead of second-place finisher Tom Malchow. After two days off, Phelps was back in the pool and finished second to Aaron Peirsol (who broke the world record) in the 200-meter backstroke. Less than half an hour later, Phelps won the 200-meter individual medley title ahead of Ryan Lochte by 2.70 seconds. The following day, Phelps finished second to Ian Crocker in the 100-meter butterfly. Crocker won in a time of 50.76, a world record and 0.39 seconds ahead of Phelps. When the Trials were over, Phelps became the first person to qualify in six individual events for a U.S. Olympic team. However, Phelps dropped the 200-meter backstroke to focus on the 200-meter freestyle because he wanted to race Ian Thorpe. Even though Phelps did not compete in the 100-meter freestyle at the Trials, he was still selected for the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. Gary Hall, Jr. thought this was unfair and said Phelps did not deserve a spot on the relay. Phelps argued his program was too crowded to compete in 100-meter freestyle and was at least among the top four swimmers because he had beaten the top-seeded Jason Lezak the last time he had swum against him.

2004 Summer Olympics
100 m butterfly 51.25 (OR)
200 m butterfly 1:54.04 (OR)
200 m medley 1:57.14 (OR)
400 m medley 4:08.26 (WR)
4×200 m freestyle 7:07.33 (NR)
4×100 m medley 3:30.68 (WR) (Phelps swam in heats only)
200 m freestyle 1:45.32 (NR)
4×100 m freestyle 3:14.62

Athens

In his first event, the 400-meter individual medley, Phelps won his first Olympic gold medal in the world record time of 4:08.26. The following day, Phelps, along with Ian Crocker, Neil Walker, and Jason Lezak, finished in third place in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay with a time of 3:14.62. Crocker's lead-off time of 50.05 was the worst among the field and was blamed on sickness. In the event many were calling The Race of the Century, the 200-meter freestyle that was held the following day, Phelps finished in third place behind Ian Thorpe and Pieter van den Hoogenband. Although this race ended the chance to match Spitz's record, Phelps had savored the challenge even though it was not his strongest event, saying "How can I be disappointed? I swam in a field with the two fastest freestylers of all time". In his fourth event, the 200-meter butterfly, held the following day, Phelps won a gold medal with a time of 1:54.04, breaking Tom Malchow's Olympic record. About an hour later, in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, Phelps, along with Ryan Lochte, Peter Vanderkaay, and Klete Keller, finished in first place with a time of 7:07.33. Two days later, in the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps finished first with a time of 1:57.14, an Olympic record In the 100-meter butterfly final, held the following day, Phelps defeated American teammate Ian Crocker (who held the world record in the event at the time) by just 0.04 seconds with a time of 51.25. Traditionally, the American who places highest in an individual event will be automatically given the corresponding leg in the 4×100-meter medley relay final. This gave Phelps an automatic entry into the medley relay, but he deferred and Crocker swam instead. Phelps's gesture gave Crocker a chance to make amends (for a mistake at the start of a previous race) as well, getting his final shot at a gold medal. The American medley team went on to win the event in world-record time, and, since Phelps had raced in a preliminary heat of the medley relay, he was also awarded a gold medal along with the team members who competed in the final. In winning six gold and two bronze medals, Phelps, still a teenager, had the second-best performance ever at a single Olympics, behind Mark Spitz's seven gold medals at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Also, he became the second male swimmer ever to win more than two individual titles at a single Games with four, tying Spitz's four from 1972.
2005 World championships
Victory lap of the 100 m butterfly during the 2005 FINA World Championships in Montréal. Phelps is far right.

2005 World Aquatics Championships
200 m freestyle 1:45.20 (NR)
200 m medley 1:56.68
4×100 m freestyle 3:13.77 (CR)
4×200 m freestyle 7:06.58
4×100 m medley 3:31.85 (Phelps swam in heats only)
100 m butterfly 51.65

At the 2005 World Championship Trials, Phelps decided to drop his specialty events, the 400-meter individual medley and the 200-meter butterfly, and experiment with the 400-meter freestyle and the 100-meter freestyle. Phelps went on to win the 400-meter freestyle, the 200-meter freestyle, the 100-meter butterfly, the 100-meter freestyle, and the 200-meter individual medley at the Trials.

At the 2005 World Aquatics Championships, Phelps won a total of six medals, five golds and one silver. In the 400-meter freestyle, Phelps did not make it past the preliminary heats and finished 18th overall with a time of 3:50.53. Later that day, in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, Phelps won his first gold in the Championships. Two days later, on July 26, Phelps won his second gold in the 200-meter freestyle with a new American national record (NR) time of 1:45.20, finishing ahead of Grant Hackett.Two days later, on July 28, Phelps finished seventh in the 100-meter freestyle final. Later that day, Phelps won his third gold in the 200-meter individual medley. On July 29, Phelps, along with Ryan Lochte, Peter Vanderkaay and Klete Keller, won the gold in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay with a time of 7:06.58. This was the fourth gold medal for Phelps. On July 30, Phelps swam in his last individual event, the 100-meter butterfly. In the final, Phelps could not match the speed of Ian Crocker and had to settle for silver, finishing 51.65 to 50.40, a new world record for Crocker. On July 31, Phelps earned his final gold medal when the United States team won the 4×100-meter medley relay. Phelps did not swim in the finals but still earned a medal because he swam in the heats.

2006 Pan Pacific championships

2006 Pan Pacific Championships
200 m butterfly 1:53.80 (WR)
200 m medley 1:55.84 (WR)
400 m medley 4:10.47 (CR)
4×100 m freestyle 3:12.46 (WR)
4×200 m freestyle 7:05.28 (CR)
200 m backstroke 1:56.81

At the 2006 National Championships, Phelps won three events. In his first event, the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps won with a championship record of 1:54.32. In his second event, the 100-meter butterfly, Phelps just edged out Ian Crocker 51.51 (another championship record) to 51.73. In his third event, the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps won with a time of 1:56.50, just ahead of Ryan Lochte's time of 1:56.78.

At the 2006 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Victoria, British Columbia, Phelps won five gold medals and one silver. In his first event, the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps won in a world record time of 1:53.80, his first world record in two years. In his second event, the 400-meter individual medley, Phelps easily won with a time of 4:10.47, 3.38 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Robert Margalis. In his third event, the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, Phelps, along with Ryan Lochte, Peter Vanderkaay, and Klete Keller, won the gold medal with a time of 7:05.28. In his fourth event, the 200-meter backstroke, Phelps won the silver medal, finishing behind Aaron Peirsol 1:56.81 to 1:54.44 (a new world record). In his fifth event, the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, Phelps, along with Neil Walker, Cullen Jones, and Jason Lezak, won the gold medal with a world-record time 3:12.46. In his sixth event, the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps won with a world record time of 1:55.84, breaking his record of 1:55.94 set in 2003.

2007 World championships

At the 2007 World Aquatics Championships, Phelps won seven gold medals, tying the record for a global long-course championship held by Mark Spitz since the 1972 Summer Olympics, and broke five world records.Ph elps first gold medal came in the 4×100-meter freestyle. Phelps swam the lead-off leg in 48.42 seconds and Neil Walker, Cullen Jones and Jason Lezak each expanded the lead to win in a Championship record of 3:12.72, just missing the world record of 3:12.46 set the previous year. His lead-off time was faster than the winning time in the individual 100-meter freestyle final later in the meet. Phelps set his first world record in the Championships in the 200-meter freestyle, his second race. Phelps won the gold ahead of Pieter van den Hoogenband and broke Ian Thorpe's six-year-old world record with a time of 1:43.86. For his third race, the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps won the gold and bettered his own world record of 1:53.71 with a time of 1:52.09. For his fourth race, the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps set his third world record with a time of 1:54.98, bettering his own world-record time of 1:55.84 For his fifth race, the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, Phelps swam the lead-off leg in 1:45.36 as the American team of Ryan Lochte, Klete Keller, and Peter Vanderkaay went on to win the gold medal and beat the previous world record set by Australia in 2001 with a time 7:03.24. For his sixth race, the 100-meter butterfly, Phelps edged out Ian Crocker 50.77 to 50.82 to win his sixth gold medal. For his seventh event, the 400-meter individual medley, Phelps won the gold medal in a world-record time of 4:06.22, more than 3.5 seconds ahead of Ryan Lochte. By winning seven gold medals, Phelps broke the record of six set by Ian Thorpe at the 2001 World Championships. The 4×100-meter medley relay team received a disqualification for a false start during a changeover in the heats, ending Phelps's chance of eight gold medals.

Even though Phelps competed in the backstroke in international competition only once (at the 2006 Pan Pacific Championships), he was among the best backstroke swimmers in the world. This is illustrated by his personal best times set in 2007, four months after the World Championships. At the US Nationals in Indianapolis on August 1, 2007, Phelps swam a 1:54.65 in the 200-meter backstroke, which was the third fastest of all time in the event, 0.33 of a second off the world record of 1:54.32 held by Ryan Lochte. Two days later Phelps swam a time of 53.01 sec in the 100-meter backstroke, 0.03 of a second short of the world record of 52.98 held by Aaron Peirsol and the second-fastest performance of all time. In 2007 Phelps swam into the all-time top three performances in seven individual events, four of these being world records.

2008 Summer Olympics

2008 Summer Olympics
200 m freestyle 1:42.96 (WR)
100 m butterfly 50.58 (OR)
200 m butterfly 1:52.03 (WR)
200 m medley 1:54.23 (WR)
400 m medley 4:03.84 (WR)
4×100 m freestyle 3:08.24 (WR)
4×200 m freestyle 6:58.56 (WR)
4×100 m medley 3:29.34 (WR)

Trials

At the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Phelps competed in six individual events. In his first event, the 400-meter individual medley, Phelps broke his own world record of 4:06.22 with a time of 4:05.25. In his second event, the 200-meter freestyle, Phelps won with a time of 1:44.10, ahead of Peter Vanderkaay's time 1:45.85. In his third event, the 100-meter freestyle, Phelps placed second in his heat with a time of 47.92, ensuring him a spot on the relay. In his fourth event, the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps won with a time of 1:52.20. In his fifth event, the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps broke his own world record of 1:54.98 with a time of 1:54.80. In his sixth and final event, the 100-meter butterfly, Phelps won with a time of 50.89. When asked about his chances of winning eight gold medals in Beijing, Phelps said, "I am going to prepare for that meet just like I do every other meet ... There is only so much I can do in a month and then I am going to prepare myself the best that I can."
Beijing

Phelps set an Olympic record in the preliminary heats of the 400-meter individual medley. He followed that up in the final by winning the gold medal, as well as breaking his previous world record by nearly two seconds.

Phelps swam the first leg of the 4×100-meter freestyle relay in a time of 47.51 seconds (an American record for the 100-meter freestyle), and won his second gold medal of the 2008 Olympics, as well as setting his second world record of the Olympics (3:08.24). Teammate Jason Lezak, after beginning the anchor leg more than half a body length behind Alain Bernard, managed to finish ahead of the favored French swimmer by eight hundredths of a second. The top five teams in the final finished ahead of the world record of 3:12.23 set the previous day by the American B team in a preliminary heat. Phelps remarked that Bernard's pre-race comments of "smashing the Americans" had "fired me up more than anything else". Le Nouvel Observateur noted "Phelps taking the time to applaud and console Bernard" and wrote that this sportsmanship was "proof that the person who swims in the wake of Mark Spitz is also a great gentleman."

For his third race, Phelps broke his previous world record in the 200-meter freestyle by nearly a second and won his third gold medal. He also set his third world record at the Olympics, 1:42.96, winning by nearly two seconds over silver medalist Park Tae-hwan. In this race, Phelps became the fifth Olympic athlete in modern history to win nine gold medals, joining Mark Spitz, Larisa Latynina, Paavo Nurmi, and Carl Lewis.
Phelps holds his gold medal on the podium on August 10, 2008. Pictured with Ryan Lochte and László Cseh.

The next day, Phelps participated in two finals. In his first event, the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps made it four gold medals and world records in four events by swimming the final in 1:52.03, defeating silver medalist László Cseh by almost seven-tenths of a second despite his goggles' having filled up with water and being unable to "see anything for the last 100 meters. This fourth gold medal was his tenth, and made him the all-time leader for most Olympic gold medals won by an individual in the modern Olympic era. Moreover, Phelps became the first swimmer, male or female, to win three Olympic butterfly titles, after his two titles in the Athens 2004 Olympics. He also became the first swimmer to successfully defend an Olympic butterfly title.

Less than one hour after his gold medal victory in the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps swam the lead-off leg of the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. With Lochte, Ricky Berens, and Peter Vanderkaay, he won his fifth gold and set his fifth world record as the American team finished first with a time of 6:58.56. The Americans were the first team to break the seven-minute mark in the relay, and broke the previous record, set in Melbourne, Australia, by more than four and a half seconds.

After taking a day off from finals (Phelps did swim in qualifying heats), Phelps won his sixth gold of the Beijing Games on August 15 by winning the 200-meter individual medley with a world record time of 1:54.23, finishing ahead of Cseh by over two seconds.
Seventh gold medal
Phelps (in black cap) starting the 4 x 100m relay at the Beijing Olympic Games, August 11, 2008

Before the final of the 100-meter butterfly, US born Serbian swimmer Milorad Čavić caused a minor stir when he said it would be "good" if Phelps lost. "It'd be good for him if he loses. It would be nice if historians talk about Michael Phelps winning seven gold medals and losing the eighth to 'some guy.' I'd like to be that guy", Čavić said. Phelps responded, "When people say things like that, it fires me up more than anything." On August 16, Phelps won his seventh gold medal of the Games in the men's 100-meter butterfly, setting an Olympic record for the event with a time of 50.58 seconds and edging out his nearest competitor Čavić, by one hundredth (0.01) of a second.

Unlike all six of his previous events in the 2008 Games, Phelps did not set a new world record, leaving intact Ian Crocker's world-record time of 50.40 seconds, set in 2005.

Phelps's finish 0.01 seconds ahead of Čavić prompted the Serbian delegation to file a protest. Subsequent analysis of the video by the FINA panel, which required analyzing frames shot 1/10,000th of a second apart, was used to officially confirm Phelps's victory, but the images were not immediately released to the press. The initial refusal by official timekeeper Omega to release underwater photos of the finish also raised questions due to Phelps's sponsorship relationship with Omega. Čavić later wrote in his blog, "People, this is the greatest moment of my life. If you ask me, it should be accepted and we should move on. I've accepted defeat, and there's nothing wrong with losing to the greatest swimmer there has ever been."

Epic. It goes to show you that not only is this guy the greatest swimmer of all time and the greatest Olympian of all time, he's maybe the greatest athlete of all time. He's the greatest racer who ever walked the planet. (2008)

—Mark Spitz (on Phelps winning his 7th gold medal)

Phelps's seventh gold medal of the Games tied Mark Spitz's record for gold medals won in a single Olympic Games, set in the 1972 Olympics. It was also his fifth individual gold medal in Beijing, tying the record for individual gold medals at a single Games originally set by Eric Heiden in the 1980 Winter Olympics and equaled by Vitaly Scherbo at the 1992 Summer Games. Said Phelps upon setting his seventh-straight Olympic record of the Games in as many events, "Dream as big as you can dream, and anything is possible ... I am sort of in a dream world. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure it is real."
Michael Phelps celebrates with his teammates after winning his 8th gold medal.
All-time record

On August 17, Phelps won his eighth gold medal in the 4×100-meter medley relay, breaking Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals won in a single Olympic Games, which had stood since 1972. Phelps, along with teammates Brendan Hansen, Aaron Peirsol, and Jason Lezak, set a new world record in the event with a time of 3 minutes and 29.34 seconds, 0.7 seconds ahead of second-place Australia and 1.34 seconds faster than the previous record set by the United States at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. When Phelps dived in to swim the 100-meter butterfly leg, the third leg of the 400-meter medley, the United States had been trailing Australia and Japan. Phelps completed his split in 50.1 seconds, the fastest butterfly split ever for the event, giving teammate Jason Lezak a more than half-second lead for the final leg, which he held onto to clinch the event in world record time. Said Phelps, upon completing the event that awarded him his eighth gold medal and eighth Olympic record in as many events, "Records are always made to be broken no matter what they are ... Anybody can do anything that they set their mind to."

2009 World championships

2009 World Championships
100 m butterfly 49.82 (WR)
200 m butterfly 1:51.51 (WR)
4×100 m freestyle 3:09.21 (CR)
4×200 m freestyle 6:58.55 (WR)
4×100 m medley 3:27.28 (WR)
200 m freestyle 1:43.22

At the 2009 National Championships, Phelps drastically shortened his program, swimming in only three individual events. In his first event, the 200-meter freestyle, Phelps won with a time of 1:44.23. In his second event, the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps easily won with a time of 1:52.76, 0.88 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. In his third event, the 100-meter butterfly, Phelps won with a world-record time of 50.22.
Phelps (center) before the start of the 200-meter butterfly semi-final during 2009 FINA World Championships

At the 2009 World Aquatics Championships, Phelps won a total of 6 medals, 5 golds and 1 silver. In his first event, the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, Phelps swam the lead-off leg in 47.78, well off his 47.51 performance in Beijing, but the American team was able to edge out Russia and France for the gold. For his second race, the 200-meter freestyle, Phelps lost his first race in four years to Germany's Paul Biedermann. Phelps touched second in 1:43.22, but Biedermann smashed Phelps's record of 1:42.96 set in Beijing a year ago with a time of 1:42.00. Phelps took the silver graciously, but coach Bob Bowman threatened to withdraw Phelps from international competition because Bowman claimed Biedermann had an unfair advantage because he was wearing a full polyurethane swimsuit, specifically an Arena X-Glide. Bowman said, "It took me five years to get Michael from 1:46 to 1:42 and this guy has done it in 11 months. That's an amazing training performance. I'd like to know how to do that."Phelps rebounded from this loss and for his third race, the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps won the gold and broke his own world record of 1:52.03 with a time of 1:51.51. For his fourth race, the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, Phelps swam the lead-off leg in 1:44.49 as the team went on to win the gold medal and break the world record set the previous year. After his loss in the 200-meter freestyle, many thought Phelps was vulnerable coming into the final for the 100-meter butterfly. His closest competitor, Milorad Čavić, who wore an Arena X-Glide (the same suit Biedermann beat Phelps with), thought people were making excuses for Phelps because he was wearing an LZR Racer. Čavić even offered to buy Phelps a new suit. For his fifth race, the 100-meter butterfly, Phelps won the gold and became the first man to complete it in under 50 seconds, beating Čavić 49.82 to 49.95. The victory prompted a fierce celebration from Phelps. For his final event, the 4×100-meter medley relay, Phelps won his fifth gold medal. Phelps, along with teammates Aaron Peirsol, Eric Shanteau, and David Walters, set a new world record in the event with a time of 3 minutes, 27.28 seconds.

2010 Pan Pacific championships

2010 Pan Pacific Championships
100 m butterfly 50.86
200 m butterfly 1:54.11
4×100 m freestyle 3:11.74
4×200 m freestyle 7:03.84
4×100 m medley 3:32.48

At the 2010 National Championships, Phelps competed in five individual events. In the 200-meter freestyle, Phelps won ahead of Ryan Lochte in a time of 1:45.61. About an hour later, Phelps returned to the pool to win the 200-meter butterfly. But Phelps was not happy with his performance and called it the "worst" 200-meter butterfly of his life. In the 100-meter butterfly, Phelps won his 50th national title in 50.65. After the race, Phelps said he was "fairly pleased" with the result. In the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps finished second to Lochte 1:55.94 to 1:54.84. It was the first time Lochte had beat Phelps in a major national meet. In the 200-meter backstroke, Phelps finished in 4th place in 1:56.98.

On the first day of competition at the 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, Phelps opted out swimming in the final of the 200-meter freestyle to focus on the 200-meter butterfly. In the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps led from start to finish, coming in first with a time of 1:54.11. Although it was much slower than his 1:51.51 time from the previous year, Phelps had not lost a 200-meter butterfly final since 2002. On day two of the competition, Phelps swam in the heats of the 400-meter individual medley and contributed in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. In the heats of the 400-meter individual medley, Phelps failed to make the A final, with Lochte and Tyler Clary taking the top two American positions. Phelps did not swim in the B final of the 400-meter individual medley. In the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, Phelps, with Peter Vanderkaay, Ricky Berens, and Lochte, finished first ahead of Japan and Australia. On day three of the competition, Phelps competed in the 100-meter butterfly and contributed in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. In the 100-meter butterfly, Phelps finished first in a time of 50.86, a championship record.the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, Phelps, with Lochte, Jason Lezak, and Nathan Adrian, finished first ahead of Australia and South Africa. As the lead-off leg in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, Phelps set the championship record in the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 48.13.[ I his final event, Phelps swam in the 4×100-meter medley relay with Aaron Peirsol, Mark Gangloff, and Adrian and finished first ahead of Japan and Australia.

2011 World championships

2011 World Championships
100 m butterfly 50.71
200 m butterfly 1:53.34
4×200 m freestyle 7:02.67
4×100 m medley 3:32.06
200 m freestyle 1:44.79
200 m medley 1:54.16
4×100 m freestyle 3:11.96

In his first event at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai, Phelps won bronze in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay with Garrett Weber-Gale, Jason Lezak, and Nathan Adrian. This was Phelps's first bronze in a World Aquatics Championships. Phelps swam the lead-off leg in 48.08, the second-best lead-off in the field behind James Magnussen's 47.49. In his second event, the 200-meter freestyle, Phelps won silver for the second consecutive time at a World Aquatics Championships. This time he finished second to Ryan Lochte in the event with a time of 1:44.79, compared to Lochte's time of 1:44.44. In his third final, the 200-meter butterfly, he won his first gold medal with a time of 1:53.34 to become the first swimmer to win five gold medals in one discipline at the World Aquatics Championships. In his fourth event, the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps again finished second to Lochte in a personal best of 1:54.16, which was 0.16 behind Lochte who swam a new world record. It was Phelps's 30th medal in the World Aquatics Championships. Shortly after completing the semi-finals of the 100-meter butterfly, Phelps competed in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay with Peter Vanderkaay, Ricky Berens, and Ryan Lochte. Phelps's team won the gold medal in a time of 7:02.67. Phelps swam the lead-off leg in 1:45.53, the third-best leg in the field. In the 100-meter butterfly, Phelps won his third consecutive title (also winning in 2007 and 2009) and second individual title of the meet with a time of 50.71. In his last event, the 4×100-meter medley relay, Phelps teamed with Nick Thoman, Mark Gangloff, and Nathan Adrian to win gold in a time of 3:32.06. Phelps's butterfly leg of 50.57 was by far the fastest butterfly leg in the field.

2012 Summer Olympics

2012 Summer Olympics
100 m butterfly 51.21
200 m medley 1:54.27
4×200 m freestyle 6:59.70
4×100 m medley 3:29.35
200 m butterfly 1:53.01
4×100 m freestyle 3:10.38

Trials

For the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Phelps originally stated he would never do eight events again, and would instead try new events. Phelps said, "I keep saying I want to go down and start sprinting, but Bob [Bowman, Phelps's coach] really isn't so keen on that ... I don't think that's going to happen ... Over the next four years, I'd like to try some different events, maybe not do some of the events I did here." However, at the 2012 United States Olympic Trials, the qualifying meet for the 2012 Summer Olympics, Phelps qualified in the same eight events that he swam in Beijing in 2008. He later dropped the 200-meter freestyle from his program, as he stated he wanted to focus on the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. During the trials, Phelps finished first in the 200-meter freestyle, 100-meter butterfly, 200-meter butterfly, 200-meter individual medley, and second in the 400-meter individual medley. In making his fourth Olympic team, Phelps holds the record for men for the most Olympic appearances in swimming representing the United States.

London
In his 100m butterfly heat, Phelps (fourth from top) was 8th at the 50m split before winning his heat and qualifying for the semi-finals

On July 28, 2012, Phelps placed eighth in the morning prelims for the 400-meter individual medley. Phelps, the two-time defending Olympic champion, won his heat in 4 minutes, 13.33 seconds with a time that was well off his world record of 4:03.84 set four years earlier in Beijing, when Phelps won a record eight gold medals. He out-touched László Cseh by 0.07 seconds in his heat to qualify last for the final, locking out Cseh. In his first finals of the Summer Olympics, Phelps placed fourth behind fellow American Ryan Lochte, Thiago Pereira of Brazil, and Kosuke Hagino of Japan in the 400-meter individual medley. It was the first time Phelps failed to medal in an Olympic event since 2000. The next night, in his second event of the Games, he got a silver as a member of the 4×100-meter free relay. Phelps swam the fastest leg of the US relay team and the second-fastest of anyone in the race.

On July 31, 2012, Phelps won a silver medal in the 200-meter butterfly behind South African Chad le Clos by 5/100ths of a second, and a gold medal in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, thereby equaling and then surpassing Larisa Latynina to become the all-time record holder for most Olympic medals won. Latynina was present at the race and asked to be the presenter of Phelps's medal, but was told that Olympic rules would not allow it. She called Phelps deserving of the record.

On August 2, 2012, Phelps won his 16th Olympic gold medal when he edged out Ryan Lochte to win the 200-meter individual medley with a time of 1:54.27, and by that victory also became the first male swimmer to win the same event in three consecutive Olympics. Rebecca Soni and Phelps (twice) are the only swimmers to successfully defend an individual title from the 2008 Games. This win also marked Phelps's fifth Olympic title in the individual medley, breaking the record of four shared by Hungarian Tamás Darnyi and Ukrainian Yana Klochkova.

He repeated the achievement of winning the same event at three Olympics the following evening, winning the Olympic gold medal in the 100 m butterfly, his last individual event. After two very close victories in the 100 m butterfly at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics (by 0.04 and 0.01 sec, respectively), in this race Phelps beat Le Clos and Yevgeny Korotyshkin, who tied for silver, by 0.23 sec.

Phelps's final event was the 4×100-meter medley relay in which he went on to win his 18th career gold medal and his 22nd overall. By winning 4 gold and 2 silver medals, Phelps concluded the 2012 Olympics as the most successful swimmer of the meet for the third Olympics in a row. After his last event, the international swimming federation FINA honored Phelps with an award commemorating his standing as the most decorated Olympian ever.

First retirement

After the 2012 Olympics, Phelps retired from swimming, stating: "I'm done. I'm finished. I'm retired. I'm done. No more," and that "I just wanted to be done with swimming and didn't want anything to do with the sport anymore."

2014 comeback from retirement

2014 Pan Pacific Championships
100 m butterfly 51.29
4×200 m freestyle 7:05.17
4×100 m medley 3:29.94 (CR)
200 m medley 1:56.04
4×100 m freestyle 3:13.36

In April 2014, Phelps announced he would come out of retirement, and would enter an event later that month. In May 2014, he won the 100-meter butterfly event at the Arena Grand Prix in Charlotte, North Carolina. Phelps was reportedly motivated by the national team's failure to win the men's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay since their Beijing 2008 and Rome 2009 titles. The relationship between Phelps and coach Bob Bowman had deteriorated in the preparations for London 2012, so Phelps convinced a skeptical Bowman that he "wasn't training for history. He wasn't training for the medals. He wasn't even training for all the fans. This time Phelps wanted to swim for himself...and enjoy the journey". Since his returning from retirement in 2014, Phelps "scaled back his calorie intake" and "increased his postswim ice baths". By the 2016 Olympic Trials, despite his age Phelps "felt physically stronger in the water, perhaps because of drills Bowman added to his pool workouts, like multiple repeats of 40 seconds of dolphin kicking while hugging a 10-pound weight to his chest".

2015 US Nationals

After having been dropped from the team for the 2015 World Aquatics Championships for a DUI, Phelps instead competed in the US National Championships (long course) in San Antonio as his target meet of the summer. He won gold medals in the 100-meter butterfly (50.45 s), 200-meter butterfly (1:52.94), and the 200-meter individual medley (1:54.75). In each of these events he swam the fastest time in the world for 2015.

In December 2015 at the Winter Nationals in Federal Way, Phelps won titles in the same three events, again in long course, bringing his career total to 62 national titles.

2016 Summer Olympics

2016 Summer Olympics
200 m butterfly 1:53.36
200 m medley 1:54.66
4×100 m freestyle 3:09.92
4×200 m freestyle 7:00.66
4×100 m medley 3:27.95 (OR)
100 m butterfly 51.14

Trials

At the US trials in Omaha for the 2016 Summer Olympics, Phelps won the 200 m butterfly (1:54.84), the 200 m individual medley (1:55.91), and the 100 m butterfly (51.00 s) events. This made him the first American male swimmer, and the second American swimmer overall after Dara Torres, to qualify for a fifth Olympics. Phelps's 100 m freestyle times at the Trials were not impressive. However at a final training camp in Atlanta a week before heading to Rio, Phelps put out "the fourth-fastest flat-start time of the year" in a 100 free time trial, automatically securing one of the seven spots on the Men's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay for the Olympics.

Rio de Janeiro

Phelps was chosen to be the American flag bearer at the opening ceremony, which was the first Olympic opening ceremony that he would attend. Phelps was also voted by the U.S. Olympic swim team as one of six team captains for the US delegation to the Olympics. He displayed a relaxed sociable demeanor in the athletes' village and in press conferences; this pleasant behavior was in stark contrast to his isolation in previous Olympics.He was accompanied by fiancée Nicole Johnson and son Boomer.

In his first event on August 7, the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay, he won his first gold medal of the 2016 Games and his 19th Olympic gold medal overall. Phelps swam the second leg with what his coach Bob Bowman described as "maybe the best turn that's ever been done", overtaking France's Fabien Gilot to give his American teammates a lead which they would not relinquish. Phelps's leg proved to be the decisive factor in the race, and Gilot later remarked "As fast as my teammates were, the extraterrestrial that is Phelps was faster". Phelps achieved a split time of 47.12, the fourth-fastest of the field (the three fastest times were posted by the team anchors), which was also faster than any of his relay splits at the last three Olympics.
Phelps carrying the flag on behalf of athletes from the United States during the parade of nation within the 2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony

In his second event on August 9, the 200-meter butterfly, he became the first swimmer in history to make five finals in the same event, after finishing 5th in 2000, 1st in 2004 and 2008, and 2nd in 2012.(Federica Pellegrini would be the second swimmer to do so at the 2020 Olympics.) At Rio, he won the title that he had lost to Chad le Clos four years earlier in London, edging Masato Sakai by 0.04 s. Phelps stated that winning back this title had been the main goal during his comeback.[ Thepreliminary and final of that event was heavily hyped as a rematch between Phelps and Le Clos. The relationship between Le Clos and Phelps had been cordial back in 2012–13 but it deteriorated in 2014 when Phelps came back from retirement and suggested that the current butterfly times were slow. In the ready room prior to the preliminary race, Le Clos's shadow boxing while Phelps "glowered in a corner" spawned the Internet meme with the hashtag #PhelpsFace. Le Clos's Wikipedia biography was even vandalized after the event final. At age 31, the victory made Phelps not only the oldest male champion, but also the oldest individual champion in Olympic swimming history, beating the records set by Duke Kahanamoku in 1920, and Inge de Bruijn in 2004 respectively. Phelps also became the first swimmer to win individual gold medals 12 years apart. Both these records were broken by Anthony Ervin three days later.

Also on August 9, Phelps won his 21st gold medal in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay together with Conor Dwyer, Townley Haas, and Ryan Lochte. For Phelps and Lochte, this was their 4th consecutive gold medal in this event, an all-time record in swimming for any event.
Phelps with Nathan Adrian, Ryan Held and Caeleb Dressel, after winning the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay

On August 11, Phelps won his 22nd gold medal in the 200 m individual medley. He beat Kosuke Hagino, the 400 m individual medley champion, by 1.95 seconds. This was Phelps's 4th consecutive gold medal in the event as well as his 4th in the Games. He became the first swimmer to win the same individual event four times, surpassing the previous record of three held by Dawn Fraser and Krisztina Egerszegi. He also became the third Olympian to win the same individual event four times, after athletes Al Oerter and Carl Lewis. With that 13th individual gold medal, Phelps broke an ancient Olympic record, set by Leonidas of Rhodes, who had held the most Olympic individual titles of all time, with twelve.

In the 100 m butterfly, Phelps was defeated in his last individual event of the Rio Olympics by Singaporean Joseph Schooling, when he earned joint silver along with Chad le Clos and László Cseh.

On August 13, in the 4 × 100-meter medley relay, Phelps ended his career with another gold medal, his 23rd at the Olympics and his 28th Olympic medal overall. Together with Ryan Murphy, Cody Miller, and Nathan Adrian, swimming as the butterfly leg of the medley, they broke the Olympic record, and won the United States' 1001st all time Olympic gold medal, in accordance with the USOC.[ helps retired from competitive swimming again following the Rio Olympics.

Phelps's performance in the Rio Olympics was unique in "winning multiple gold medals at 31 years old, well beyond the typical peak for male swimmers". Phelps is considered one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

Testing for performance-enhancing drugs

During the 2008 Olympics, Phelps was questioned by the press as to whether perhaps his feats were "too good to be true", a reference to unsupported rumors that Phelps might be taking performance-enhancing substances. In response, Phelps noted that he had signed up for Project Believe, a project by the United States Anti-Doping Agency in which U.S. Olympians can volunteer to be tested in excess of the World Anti-Doping Agency guidelines. During the Games, Phelps passed all nine tests that were administered to him.

Training

Phelps has trained under Bob Bowman since he was 11 years old. Bowman swam for Florida State University from 1983 to 1985. Phelps has said Bowman reminded him of a drill sergeant because of his disciplined and regimented ways. However, Phelps has said, "Training with Bob is the smartest thing I've ever done ... I'm not going to swim for anyone else." After the 2004 Summer Olympics, Bowman was hired as the head coach for the University of Michigan after Jon Urbanchek retired. Phelps joined Bowman at Michigan to train and attended classes, but did not pursue a degree. Phelps seved as a volunteer assistant coach at Michigan. After the 2008 Summer Olympics, Bowman returned to Baltimore as CEO at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club. Phelps also returned to Baltimore with Bowman. When Bowman was hired as the men's and women's swimming coach at Arizona State University in 2015, Phelps moved to Arizona to continue training under Bowman. There is a popular myth that Phelps ate 12,000 calories every day, but Phelps has stated it has been exaggerated and that he did not eat so much even in his growing days.

Personal life
Phelps with his wife, Nicole Johnson

Bob Bowman described Phelps as "a solitary man" with a "rigid focus" at the pool prior to a race, but afterward "a man incredibly invested in the success of the people he cares about". He states that "he's unbelievably kind-hearted", recounting Phelps's interaction with young children after practices.

Phelps is married to former Miss California USA Nicole Johnson. They secretly married on June 13, 2016, and the marriage was not publicly reported until four months later. They met in 2007 at the ESPYs, broke up in 2012, reconciled, and got engaged in February 2015. They have three sons, Boomer Robert Phelps, born on May 5, 2016, Beckett Richard Phelps, born on February 12, 2018, and Maverick Nicolas Phelps, born on September 9, 2019. The family lives in Paradise Valley, Arizona, an affluent town adjoined to Phoenix, where Phelps volunteers alongside Bowman as an assistant coach for the Arizona State Sun Devils swim team.

As a teenager, Phelps idolized Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe and modeled his public image after Thorpe. Thorpe initially said that it would be highly unlikely for Phelps to win eight gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Phelps used the remarks as motivation and taped the words to his locker during the Games. Thorpe was in the stands for the 4×100-meter medley relay, where Phelps was swimming for his eighth Olympic gold medal. When Phelps and his teammates captured the gold, Thorpe gave a congratulatory kiss to Phelps's mother, then gave a handshake and a hug to congratulate Phelps. Afterwards, Thorpe said "I'm really proud of him not just because he won eight golds. Rather, it's how much he has grown up and matured into a great human being. Never in my life have I been so happy to have been proved wrong."

Phelps has also cited Michael Jordan as a sporting idol of his, and stated that "he changed the sport of basketball". Phelps is also a fan of the Baltimore Ravens and stated that he found his life purpose and desire to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics after seeking Ray Lewis's advice.

In January 2018, Phelps revealed that he has struggled both with ADHD and depression, having contemplated suicide after the 2012 Olympics.

Legal issues

At age 19 in November 2004, Phelps was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in Salisbury, Maryland. He pleaded guilty to driving while impaired and was sentenced to serve 18 months of probation, fined $250, ordered to speak to high school students about drinking and driving, and to attend a Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) meeting. When Phelps was later asked about the incident by Matt Lauer on the Today Show, he said that he had "let a lot of people in the country down".

In February 2009, a photograph of Phelps using a bong went viral; this resulted in the loss of the Kellogg Company as a sponsor, as well as a three-month suspension by USA Swimming. Phelps admitted that the photo, which was taken at a party at the University of South Carolina, was authentic. He publicly apologized, saying his behavior was "inappropriate".

In September 2014, Phelps was arrested again, this time on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and speeding in Baltimore. As a result, USA Swimming suspended him from all competitions for six months, and stated he would not be chosen to represent the United States at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in August. With Phelps off the team, the United States failed to qualify for the finals of the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay.

Philanthropy
Phelps with im program participants (left), Phelps Foundation's im logo (right).

After the 2008 Olympics, Phelps used his $1 million Speedo bonus to set up the Michael Phelps Foundation. His foundation focuses on growing the sport of swimming and promoting healthier lifestyles.

In 2010, the Michael Phelps Foundation, the Michael Phelps Swim School and KidsHealth.org developed and nationally piloted the "im" program for Boys & Girls Club members. The im program teaches children the importance of being active and healthy, with a focus on the sport of swimming. It also promotes the value of planning and goal-setting. im is offered through the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and through Special Olympics International. The Foundation has since developed two other programs, Level Field Fund-Swimming and Caps-for-a-Cause.

The Foundation's largest event is its annual fundraiser, the Michael Phelps Foundation Golf Classic. Phelps stated he hoped to work with his Foundation more after retirement from competition following the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

In 2017, Phelps joined the board of Medibio, a company focused on diagnosis of mental health disorders.

Honors and awards
Phelps and Maryland House Speaker Mike Busch in April 2009. Both houses of the Maryland General Assembly honored Phelps that day.

Phelps was a USA Olympic team member in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016, and holds the records for most Olympic gold medals (23), most such medals in individual events (13), and most such medals at a single games (8, in Beijing 2008). A street in his hometown of Baltimore was renamed The Michael Phelps Way in 2004. On April 9, 2009, Phelps was invited to appear before the Maryland House of Delegates and the Maryland Senate, to be honored for his Olympic accomplishments.

Phelps has also received the following awards:
Swimming World World Swimmer of the Year Award: 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2016
Swimming World American Swimmer of the Year Award: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2016
Fédération internationale de natation swimmer of the year (since 2010): 2012, 2016
Golden Goggle Male Performance of the Year (since 2004): 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2016
Golden Goggle Relay Performance of the Year (since 2004): 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2016
Golden Goggle Male Athlete of the Year (since 2004): 2004, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016
Golden Goggle Impact award: 2016
SwimSwam Swammy Award for Male Swimmer of the Year:
SportsMan of the Year Award: 2004, 2008, 2011–12, 2016
James E. Sullivan Award: 2003
Gazzetta dello Sport Sportsman of the Year: 2003, 2004
Laureus Sportsman of the Year Award (nominated): 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2013
Laureus Comeback of the Year Award: 2017
Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year: 2008
Associated Press Athlete of the Year: 2008, 2012
Marca Leyenda award: 2008
Morton E. Ruderman Award in Inclusion, 2019, to recognize his advocacy for people with disabilities and his own journey with mental health.
Results in international long-course competition
Meet100 free200 free400 free200 back100 fly200 fly200 IM400 IM4×100 free4×200 free4×100 medleyOG 2000 5th
WC 2001
PPC 2002
WC 2003
OG 2004
WC 2005 7th  18th
PPC 2006
WC 2007
OG 2008
WC 2009
PPC 2010   heats
WC 2011
OG 2012    4th
WC 2013
PPC 2014 4th
WC 2015
OG 2016

Phelps swam only in the heats. Swimmers who participated in the heats only received medals as well.
Phelps finished fourth in the heats, but he was the third American, hence he did not qualify for the final

Career best times

Long course (50-meter pool)
EventTimeVenueDateNotes
100 m freestyle 47.51 (r) Beijing August 11, 2008 Former NR
200 m freestyle 1:42.96 Beijing August 12, 2008 AM, Former WR
400 m freestyle 3:46.73 College Park August 8, 2003 Former NR
100 m backstroke 53.01 Indianapolis August 3, 2007
200 m backstroke 1:54.65 Indianapolis August 1, 2007
100 m breaststroke 1:02.57 Columbia February 17, 2008
200 m breaststroke 2:11.30 San Antonio August 10, 2015
100 m butterfly 49.82 Rome August 1, 2009 Former WR
200 m butterfly 1:51.51 Rome July 29, 2009 AM, Former WR
200 m IM 1:54.16 Shanghai July 28, 2011 Former WR*
400 m IM 4:03.84 Beijing August 10, 2008 WR

r = relay lead-off

*Phelps is a former WR holder in this event, however, his personal best came in a 2nd-place finish to Ryan Lochte's new WR at the 2011 World Championships.
Short course meters (25-meter pool)
EventTimeVenueDateNotes
100 m freestyle 46.99 Manchester December 18, 2009
200 m freestyle 1:42.78 East Meadow February 4, 2006
200 m backstroke 1:50.34 Berlin October 22, 2011
100 m butterfly 50.46 Manchester December 18, 2009
200 m butterfly 1:52.27 Melbourne November 28, 2003
100 m IM 51.65 Berlin October 22, 2011
200 m IM 1:51.89 Berlin October 23, 2011
400 m IM 4:01.49 Berlin October 22, 2011

World records

Phelps has set 39 world records (29 individual, 10 relay), which is more records than any other swimmer that is recognized by FINA; this achievement surpassed Mark Spitz's previous record of 33 world records (26 individual, 7 relay). Howver, Johnny Weissmuller is reported to have broken 67 official world records.
Mercy Kuttan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mercy Kuttan
Mercy Kuttan
Personal information
Full name Mercy Matthews-Kuttan
Nationality Indian
Born 1 January 1960
Kerala, India
Sport
Country India
Sport Track and field
Event(s) 400 metres, Long jump

Women's Athletics
Representing  India
Asian Games
1982 New Delhi Long jump
Asian Athletics Championships
1981 Tokyo Long jump
1981 Tokyo 4×400 m relay

Mercy Kuttan (born 1 January 1960) is a former Indian track and field athlete. She was the first Indian woman long jumper to cross six meters. In 1989, Mercy received Arjuna Award for her contribution to the Indian athletics. She is currently the President of the Kerala State Sports Council.

Career

Mercy was born in Kerala; her first international success came in 1981 Asian Championships in Athletics when she won the double bronze in the long jump and 4 x 400 metres relay. In the next year at 1982 Asian Games when she won a silver medal in the long jump. She represented India in long jump at 1983 World Championships in Athletics, but did not qualify for the final round. Mercy has the distinction of being the first woman from Kerala to win a medal in the Asian Track and Field meet. Her personal best in long jump is 6.29 m. In the latter stage of her career she switched to sprint and started competing in 400 metres. She competed in 400 metres at 1988 Seoul Olympics and managed to reach the second round.

Personal life

Mercy is married to Murali Kuttan, a former 400 metres national champion and is the mother of two sons, Suraj Kuttan and Sujith Kuttan. Mercy and Murali were the first Indian athletic couple to be national champions and win Asian medals.[7] Murlai took the role of the coach and had influenced Mercy to shift from long jump to 400 metres. Both Mercy and Murali worked for Tata Steel, Jamshedpur. They are currently[when?] running the "Mercy Kuttan Athletics Academy" in Kochi.

National Level
1976 – 78—National School games champion in long jump
1979 – 80—All India Inter-University champion in 100 m, 200 m, and long jump
1979 – 87—National Champion in long jump
1988—National Champion in 400 metersInternational Level
1980—Won Gold medal in long jump, 4 x 400 m and 4 x 100 m relay in Pakistan National Games at Lahore
1981—Represented India in World Spartakyad in Moscow in 1981
1981—Won Bronze Medal in long jump and 4 x 400 m relay in Asian track and field meet in Tokyo
1982—Won Silver Medal in long jump in the 9th Asian Games in New Delhi
1982—Represented India in Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Australia
1983—Represented India in long jump in the First World Athletic Meet at Helsinki
1983—Represented India in Asian track and field meet in Kuwait
1986—Represented India in long jump in the 10th Asian Games at Seoul
1987—Won Gold Medal in long jump in the SAF Games in Calcutta
1988—Represented India in 400 m and 4 x 400 m relay in Seoul Olympics
1989—Won Gold Medal in 4 × 400 m relay in the Asian track and field at New DelhiOther distinctions
Captain of the Indian Team at the First World Athletic Championship.
First Woman from India to participate in World Athletic Championship.
First Indian Woman to cross 6 meters in long jump in India.
National Record holder in long jump for seven years from 1980 – 87.
National School record holder for 19 years.
National University record holder for 27 years.
1st Indian woman athlete to win medals at national and international level in both track and field events.
First Couple (Murali Kuttan) from India to win Asian Games individual medals.

Martina Navratilova

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Martina Navratilova

Navratilova at the Prague Open, in May 2006

Country (sports) Czechoslovakia

(1956–1975)

United States

Residence Miami, Florida, U.S.

Born October 18, 1956

Prague, Czechoslovakia

Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)

Turned pro 1975

Retired 2006

Plays Left-handed (one-handed backhand), born right-handed

Prize money US$21,626,089

17th in all-time rankings

Int. Tennis HoF 2000 (member page)

Singles

Career record 1,442–219 (86.8%)

Career titles 167 WTA, 1 ITF (Open era record)

Highest ranking No. 1 (July 10, 1978)

Grand Slam Singles results

Australian Open W (1981, 1983, 1985)

French Open W (1982, 1984)

Wimbledon W (1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990)

US Open W (1983, 1984, 1986, 1987)

Other tournaments

Tour Finals W (1978, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986Mar, 1986Nov)

Doubles

Career record 747–143 (83.9%)

Career titles 177 WTA, 9 ITF (Open era record)

Highest ranking No. 1 (September 10, 1984)

Grand Slam Doubles results

Australian Open W (1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989)

French Open W (1975, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988)

Wimbledon W (1976, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986)

US Open W (1977, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990)

Other doubles tournaments

Tour Finals W (1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986Nov, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991)

Olympic Games QF (2004)

Mixed doubles

Career titles 15

Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results

Australian Open W (2003)

French Open W (1974, 1985)

Wimbledon W (1985, 1993, 1995, 2003)

US Open W (1985, 1987, 2006)

Team competitions

Fed Cup W (1975, 1982, 1986, 1989)

Coaching career (2014–2015)

Agnieszka Radwańska (2014–2015)

Martina Navratilova (Czech: Martina Navrátilová [ˈmarcɪna ˈnavraːcɪlovaː] (listen); née Šubertová [ˈʃubɛrtovaː]; born October 18, 1956) is a Czech-American former professional tennis player and coach. Widely considered among the greatest female tennis players of all time, Navratilova won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, 31 major women's doubles titles, and 10 major mixed doubles titles, for a combined total of 59 major titles, marking the Open Era record for the most Grand Slam titles won by a single player. She reached the Wimbledon singles final 12 times, including for nine consecutive years from 1982 through 1990, and won the women's singles title at Wimbledon a record nine times (surpassing Helen Wills Moody's eight Wimbledon titles), including a run of six consecutive titles.

Navratilova was world No. 1 for a total of 332 weeks in singles, second behind Steffi Graf, and a record 237 weeks in doubles, making her the only player in history to have held the top spot in both singles and doubles for over 200 weeks. Navratilova is one of the three female tennis players, along with Margaret Court and Doris Hart, to have accomplished a Career Grand Slam in women's singles and doubles, and mixed doubles, called the career "Grand Slam Boxed Set". Navratilova, Margaret Court and Maureen Connolly share the record for the most consecutive major singles titles. She won her last major title in 2006, adding the mixed doubles crown at the 2006 US Open to her resume just a few weeks before her 50th birthday, 32 years after her first Grand Slam title in 1974.

Originally from Czechoslovakia, she was stripped of her citizenship when, in 1975 at age 18, she asked the United States for political asylum and was granted temporary residence. At the time, Navratilova was told by the Czechoslovak Sports Federation that she was becoming too Americanized, and she should go back to school and make tennis secondary. Navratilova became a US citizen in 1981. On January 9, 2008, she reacquired Czech citizenship. She stated she has not renounced her U.S. citizenship nor does she plan to do so, and that reclaiming Czech nationality was not politically motivated.

I love my birth country and the fact that it is now a free country and a true democracy. But my home is here, in the U.S. I have lived in America since 1975 and I intend to always live here. This is my home and it feels almost gratuitous to me that I have to affirm my love for the USA. I live here, I vote here, I pay my taxes here and yes, I will do my jury duty ... any reports stating I am leaving and most of all, denouncing my U.S. citizenship are simply not true and quite frankly, insulting.

— Martina Navatilova

Early life and background

Navratilova was born Martina Šubertová in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Her parents divorced when she was three, and her mother, an accomplished gymnast, tennis player, and ski instructor, moved the family to Řevnice. In 1962, her mother Jana married Miroslav Navrátil, who became her first tennis coach. Martina then took the name of her stepfather (adding the feminine suffix -ová), thus becoming Martina Navrátilová. Her father, Mirek (officially Miroslav Šubert), was a ski instructor.

Navratilova has a younger sister, Jana, and an older paternal half-brother. Her grandmother, Agnes Semanska, was a tennis player for the Czechoslovak Federation before the Second World War and had a ranking as high as No. 2 among Czech women during her amateur career.

When Navratilova was four, she was hitting a tennis ball off a concrete wall and started to play tennis regularly at age seven. In 1972, at the age of 15, Navratilova won the Czechoslovakia national tennis championship. In 1973, aged 16, she made her debut on the United States Lawn Tennis Association professional tour but did not turn professional until 1975. Although perhaps most renowned for her mastery of fast low-bouncing grass, her best early showing at majors was on the red clay at the French Open, where she would go on to reach the final six times. In 1973, she made the quarterfinals where she lost 6–7, 4–6 to Evonne Goolagong. She made the quarterfinals the next year and lost to Helga Masthoff (née Niessen), after again losing the first set in a tiebreak.

Professional tennis career

Navratilova won her first professional singles title in Orlando, Florida, in 1974, at the age of 17. Upon arriving in the United States, Navratilova first lived with former Vaudeville actress, Frances Dewey Wormser, and her husband, Morton Wormser, a tennis enthusiast.

Navratilova was the runner-up at two major singles tournaments in 1975; the Australian Open (won by Goolagong) and the French Open (won by Chris Evert in three sets). After losing to Evert in the semifinals of the US Open in September, the 18-year-old Navratilova went to the offices of the Immigration and Naturalization Service in New York City and informed them that she wished to defect from Communist Czechoslovakia. Within a month, she received a green card and in 1981 became a US citizen. Also, in 1975, Navratilova teamed with world number one Evert to win the French Open women's doubles title, Navratilova's first major title outside of mixed doubles. They teamed again in 1976 to win the Wimbledon women's doubles title over Billie Jean King and Bette Stove.

Navratilova won her first major singles title at Wimbledon in 1978, where she defeated Evert in three sets in the final and captured the world No. 1 ranking for the first time on the WTA computer, a position she held until Evert took it back in January 1979. Navratilova successfully defended her Wimbledon title in 1979, again beating Evert in the final in straight sets, and earned the World No. 1 ranking at the end of the year for the first time. Just before Wimbledon in 1979, Navratilova and Evert played possibly the highest scoring women's professional match ever in the Eastbourne final, in which Evert edged Navratilova 7–5, 5–7, 13–11 after facing match points herself. In April 1981, Evert defeated Navratilova in the finals of the Women's Tennis Association championships, held on clay at Amelia Island, 6–0, 6–0. It was Navratilova's only professional double bagel loss (one she later avenged with a crushing 6–2, 6–0 defeat of Evert in the finals of the same Amelia Island event in 1984). It was at this point that Navratilova began working with Nancy Lieberman to improve her fitness and toughen her mental approach to better compete with Evert and fulfill her true potential In 1981, Navratilova won her third major singles title by defeating Evert in the final of the Australian Open. Navratilova also defeated Evert to reach the final of the US Open, where she lost a third set tiebreak to Tracy Austin. Navratilova won both Wimbledon and the French Open in 1982.

After adopting basketball player Nancy Lieberman's exercise plan and using Yonex isometric midsize graphite-fiberglass composite racquets, Navratilova became the most dominant player in women's tennis. After losing in the fourth round of the first major event of 1983, the French Open, she captured the year's three remaining major titles (the Australian Open was held in December at that time). Navratilova's loss at the French Open was her only singles defeat during that year, during which she established an 86–1 record. Her winning percentage was the best ever for a post-1968 professional tennis player. During 1982, 1983, and 1984, Navratilova lost a total of only six singles matches. This included a run of 13 consecutive victories over her closest rival and world-ranked No. 2, Chris Evert. Navratilova's reign from 1982 to 1986 is the most dominant unbroken spell in the professional era.

Navratilova won the 1984 French Open, thus holding all four major singles titles simultaneously. Her accomplishment was declared a "Grand Slam" by Philippe Chatrier, president of the International Tennis Federation, although some tennis observers countered that it was not a true slam because the titles had not been won in a single calendar year. Navratilova extended her major singles tournament winning streak to a record-equalling six following wins at Wimbledon and the US Open. Navratilova's victory meant she became the first player to win majors on clay, grass and hard court on the same year. She entered the 1984 Australian Open with a chance of winning all four titles in the same year. In the semifinals, however, Helena Suková ended Navratilova's 74-match winning streak (a record for a professional) 1–6, 6–3, 7–5.

A left-hander, Navratilova completed a calendar grand slam in women's doubles in 1984, partnering right-handed Pam Shriver, a tall and talented player whose most noted stroke was a slice forehand, a shot virtually unheard of in the game today. This was part of a record 109-match winning streak that the pair achieved between 1983 and 1985. (Navratilova was ranked the world No. 1 doubles player for a period of over three years in the 1980s.) From 1985 through 1987, Navratilova reached the women's singles final at all 11 major tournaments held during those three years, winning six of them. From 1982 through 1990, she reached the Wimbledon final nine consecutive times. She reached the US Open final five consecutive times from 1983 through 1987 and appeared in the French Open final five out of six years from 1982 through 1987.

In 1985, Navratilova played in what many consider to be perhaps the best woman's match of all time, the French Open final against Chris Evert. Navratilova battled back from 3–6, 2–4 down to 5–5 all in the third set, before Evert hit a winning backhand passing shot on match point to defeat Navratilova 6–3, 6–7(4–7), 7–5. This was a major turnaround for Evert, who was so outmatched the year earlier in the final that Bud Collins remarked as a TV commentator that the sport needed to create a higher league for Navratilova to compete in. In outdoor matches against Evert, Navratilova led 10–5 on grass and 9–7 on hard courts, while Evert was up 11–3 on clay. On indoor courts, however, Navratilova had a decisive 21–14 lead. At the end of what is widely regarded as the greatest rivalry in women's tennis, Navratilova led Evert 43–37 in total matches, 14–8 in Grand Slams, and 10–4 in Grand Slam finals.

In 1986 at the U.S. Open, Navratilova prevailed over sixteen-year-old German Steffi Graf in a close semi-final winning 6–1, 6-7(7–3), 7–6(10–8), before handily winning the final over Helena Sukova 6–3, 6–2. Navratilova, with partner Pam Shriver, also won the women's doubles title. Navratilova also defeated Graf in straight sets at the WTA Tour Championship and with an 89–3 record, earned the number-one ranking for the fifth consecutive year.

Graf dominated the first half of the 1987 season including defeating Navratilova in straight sets in the semi-finals of the Miami Open and in the final of the French Open, 6–4, 4–6, 8–6. However, Navratilova defeated Graf in straight sets in the finals of both Wimbledon and the US Open (and at the US Open became only the third player in the Open Era, joining tennis legends Margaret Court and Billie Jean King, to win the women's singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles at the same event—the rare "Triple Crown"). Navratilova reached all four Grand Slam finals in 1987, winning two of them (she lost the Australian Open to Hana Mandlikova). Graf's two losses to Navratilova were her only losses of the year and with 11 tournament wins over the year versus 4 for Navratilova she was able to obtain year-end world No. 1 ranking ahead of Navratilova at No. 2. Graf eventually broke Navratilova's records of 156 consecutive weeks and 331 total weeks as the world No. 1 singles player but fell 60 short of Navratilova's record of 167 singles titles. Including doubles, Navratilova won almost three times as many titles as Graf with a record doubles/mixed/singles combined total of 344 titles to Graf's 118.

In 1988, Graf won all four major singles titles, beating the 31-year-old Navratilova 5–7, 6–2, 6–1 in the Wimbledon final, their only match of the year, recovering from a set and a break down. Navratilova did not reach the finals of any of the other Grand Slam events but did win nine tournaments enabling her to claim the No. 2 ranking behind Graf.

In 1989, Graf and Navratilova met in the finals of both Wimbledon and the US Open, with Graf winning both encounters 6–1 in the third set. Graf also defeated Navratilova in the finals of the WTA Tour Championships their third and final match of the year. Navratilova, who skipped the French Open that year, did win eight titles and was able to capture the No. 2 ranking behind Graf for the third straight year. Despite the 13 year age difference between the two players, and Graf's comparative lack of investment in doubles and mixed doubles, Navratilova won 9 of the 18 career singles matches with Graf and 5 of the 9 major singles matches with her. At age 34, Navratilova defeated Graf the last time they played in a major in the semifinals of the 1991 US Open 7–6(7–2), 6–7(6–8), 6–4, to end their Grand Slam rivalry 5-4 up, although it is noteworthy that all 4 of Graf's Grand Slam victories over Navratilova came in the finals of a Slam. This is reflected in the Grand Slams Finals chart below.

Navratilova and Sukova playing doubles

Navratilova's final Grand Slam singles triumph was in 1990. In the final at Wimbledon, the 33-year-old Navratilova swept Zina Garrison 6–4, 6–1 to claim an all-time record ninth Wimbledon singles crown. She won four other tournaments that year, although she did not participate in the Australian or French Opens, and finished the year ranked No. 3 in the world, narrowly edged out by sixteen-year-old Monika Seles for the No. 2 spot. Though that was her last major singles title, Navratilova reached two additional major singles finals during the remainder of career: in 1991, she lost in the US Open final to the new world No. 1, Monica Seles; and, in 1994, at age 37, Navratilova reached the Wimbledon final, where she lost in three sets to Conchita Martínez. In November that year, after losing to Gabriela Sabatini in the first round of the WTA Tour Championships, she retired from full-time competition on the singles tour. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2000.

In 2000, Navratilova returned to the tour to mostly play doubles events, while rarely also playing singles. In her first singles performance in eight years, at Eastbourne in 2002, she beat world No. 22, Tatiana Panova, before losing in the next round to Daniela Hantuchová in three sets. In 2003, she won the mixed doubles titles at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon, partnering Leander Paes. This made her the oldest ever major champion (aged 46 years, 8 months). The Australian Open victory made her the third player in history to complete a "boxed set" of major titles by winning the singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles at all four majors. The Wimbledon win allowed her to equal Billie Jean King's record of 20 Wimbledon titles (in singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles combined) and extended her overall number of major titles to 58 (second only to Margaret Court, who won 62). Navratilova made a return to singles at the 2004 French Open after an absence of 10 years, but she was defeated by Gisela Dulko in the first round. Shortly afterwards, and despite being criticized for receiving a wildcard, Navratilova won a singles match over Catalina Castaño 6–0 6–1 at the first round of Wimbledon in 2004, aged 47 years and eight months, to make her the oldest player to win a professional singles match in the open era. Navratilova then lost her second round match with the same player who had beaten her at the French Open the previous month, Gisela Dulko, in three sets.

On Thursday, July 6, 2006, Navratilova played her last matches at Wimbledon, with partner Liezel Huber losing a quarterfinal match in women's doubles to fourth seeds and eventual champions Yan Zi and Zheng Jie, and later in the same day with partner Mark Knowles losing in the third round of mixed doubles to eventual champions Andy Ram and Vera Zvonareva.She had said that her last Wimbledon wasn't about breaking her record shared with Billie Jean King of 20 championships. In an interview, Navratilova was quoted as saying, "People keep saying that, but it so wasn't. I just wanted to win one more title here, period."

Navratilova capped off her career by winning the mixed doubles title, her 41st major doubles title (31 in women's doubles and 10 in mixed doubles) and 177th overall, at the 2006 US Open with American doubles specialist Bob Bryan. At the time, she was only about a month shy of her 50th birthday and broke her own record as the oldest ever major champion (aged 49 years, 10 months).

Navratilova won 167 top-level singles titles (more than any other player in the open era) and 177 doubles titles. Her last title in women's doubles came on August 21, 2006, at the Tier I Rogers Cup in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where she partnered Nadia Petrova. Navratilova won 18 major singles titles: nine at Wimbledon, four at the US Open, three at the Australian Open, and two at the French Open. Her overall record in 67 major singles events was 306–49 (120–14 at Wimbledon, 89–17 at the US Open, 51–11 at the French Open, and 46–7 at the Australian Open). Some observers argue that the very few singles match she played in her forties should be counted separately in her career statistics. She is the only player to have won at least one tour event for 21 consecutive years and won the singles and doubles at the same event a record 84 times. She was ranked in the world's top 3 in singles for 15 years between 1977 and 1993. Her career singles match win total of 1,442 is the most during the open era.

In September 1992, the 35-year-old Navratilova played 40-year-old Jimmy Connors in the third Battle of the Sexes tennis match at Caesars Palace in Paradise, Nevada. Connors was allowed only one serve per point and Navratilova was allowed to hit into half the doubles court. Connors won 7–5, 6–2. She played for the Boston Lobsters in the World TeamTennis pro league through the 2009 season.

Playing style and coaches

Navratilova had an attacking serve and volley. Under Renée Richards, she improved her game tactics.

Evert said that "Martina revolutionized the game by her superb athleticism and aggressiveness ... She brought athleticism to a whole new level with her training techniques — particularly cross-training, the idea that you could go to the gym or play basketball to get in shape for tennis."

Throughout her long career, Navratilova had many coaches. They included: Miroslav Navrátil, George Parma, Věra Suková, Renée Richards (1981–1983), Mike Estep (1983–1986), and Craig Kardon (1988–1994)

Coaching career

In December 2014, it was announced that Navratilova had joined Agnieszka Radwańska's coaching staff. However, in April 2015, after Radwańska struggled in the first half of the season, the pair decided to part ways.

Personal life

In 1985, Navratilova released an autobiography, co-written with The New York Times sports columnist George Vecsey, titled Martina in the U.S. and Being Myself in the rest of the world. She had earlier co-written a tennis instruction book with Mary Carillo in 1982, entitled Tennis My Way. She later wrote three mystery novels with Liz Nickles: The Total Zone (1994), Breaking Point (1996) and Killer Instinct (1997). Navratilova's most recent literary effort was a health and fitness book entitled Shape Your Self, which came out in 2006. An ESPN Documentary was produced about her rivalry with Chris Evert titled, Unmatched. Her rivalry and friendship with Evert is also detailed in the book, The Rivals by Johnette Howard and the children's book, Martina and Chrissie by Phil Bildner.

Sexuality and relationships

In 1981, shortly after becoming a United States citizen, Navratilova gave an interview to New York Daily News sports reporter Steve Goldstein, coming out as bisexual and revealing that she had a sexual relationship with Rita Mae Brown, but asked him not to publish the article until she was ready to come out publicly. However, the New York Daily News published the article on July 30, 1981. Navratilova and Nancy Lieberman, her girlfriend at the time, gave an interview to Dallas Morning News columnist Skip Bayless, where Navratilova reiterated that she was bisexual and Lieberman identified herself as straight. Navratilova has since re-identified herself as a lesbian.

From 1984 to 1991, Navratilova had a long-term relationship with Judy Nelson, whom she met at a tournament in Fort Worth in 1982. Their split in 1991 resulted in a televised palimony lawsuit which was settled out of court.

On September 6, 2014, Navratilova proposed to her long-time girlfriend Julia Lemigova at the US Open They married in New York on December 15, 2014.

Health problems

According to the New York Times' Jane E. Brody, in September 1982, an acute attack of toxoplasmosis "contributed to Martina Navratilova's defeat during the United States Open tennis tournament", in which No. 1 seed Navratilova unexpectedly lost to No. 7 seed Pam Shriver in the quarterfinal round. (Shriver—Navratilova's doubles partner in the same tournament—subsequently lost to No. 5 seed Hana Mandlíková in the semifinal. Mandlíková was then defeated in the final by Navratilova's longtime rival, No. 2 seed Chris Evert.) By late October, Navratilova had "apparently recovered".

Navratilova began to wear glasses in 1985 and recalled that her vision had begun to deteriorate in 1984. She continued to wear glasses for tennis for many years. Few tennis players wear sunglasses regularly for tennis and Navratilova is one of them. Although she achieved so much prior to using glasses, her glasses have become iconic. Some sports writers have said that they made her, as with other top athletes who had imperfect health, seem more vulnerable and human.

On April 7, 2010, Navratilova announced that she was being treated for breast cancer. A routine mammogram in January 2010 revealed that she had a ductal carcinoma in situ in her left breast, which she was informed of on February 24, and in March she had the tumour surgically removed; she received radiation therapy in May.

In December 2010, Navratilova was hospitalized after developing high altitude pulmonary edema while attempting a climb of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

Activism and opinions

Navratilova is involved with various charities that benefit animal rights, underprivileged children, and gay rights.

Navratilova has described herself as a vegetarian. In an April 2006 interview, however, she said she had recently begun eating fish again because she found it hard to get enough protein while on the road.

Navratilova is a Democrat, and has donated more than $25,000 to Democratic campaigns.

Gay rights

Navratilova participated in a lawsuit against Amendment 2, a successful 1992 ballot proposition in Colorado designed to prevent sexual orientation from being a protected class.

In 1993, Navratilova spoke before the March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation. Navratilova serves as the Health and Fitness Ambassador for AARP in an alliance created to help AARP's millions of members lead active, healthy lives.

In 2000, she was the recipient of National Equality Award from the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay and lesbian activist/lobbying group.

Navratilova in September 2011

Communism and Republicans

She has spoken out on a number of volatile political issues, including tort/litigation reform, but perhaps her most consistent theme—aside from gay and lesbian rights—has been her unstinting opposition to Communism, and unrelenting opposition to the former Eastern Bloc power structure that compelled her to flee her native Czechoslovakia. She has denounced the Soviet Union's control over Czechoslovakia, maintaining that she refuses to speak Russian to this day because of the Soviet Union's former hegemony over Eastern Europe.

Whenever people go into politics and they try to say that Communism was a good thing, I say, 'Go ahead and live in a Communist country then, if you think it's so great.' "

Navratilova was a guest on CNN's Connie Chung Tonight show on July 17, 2002. During the show, Chung quoted a German newspaper which quoted Navratilova as saying:

The most absurd part of my escape from the unjust system is that I have exchanged one system that suppresses free opinion for another. The Republicans in the U.S. manipulate public opinion and sweep controversial issues under the table. It's depressing. Decisions in America are based solely on the question of how much money will come out of it and not on the questions of how much health, morals or environment suffer as a result.

Navratilova said that the remarks referred to what she perceived as a trend of centralization of government power and a loss of personal freedom. In the discussion that followed, Chung stated:

Can I be honest with you? I can tell you that when I read this, I have to tell you that I thought it was un-American, unpatriotic. I wanted to say, go back to Czechoslovakia. You know, if you don't like it here, this a country that gave you so much, gave you the freedom to do what you want.

Navratilova responded,

And I'm giving it back. This is why I speak out. When I see something that I don't like, I'm going to speak out because you can do that here. And again, I feel there are too many things happening that are taking our rights away.

Navratilova was quoted in 2007 as being ashamed of the US under President George W. Bush because unlike the communist regime in Czechoslovakia, Bush was democratically elected.

Transgender athletes

Navratilova is critical of allowing trans women to compete in women's sports. She rejects accusations of transphobia, and says she deplores "a growing tendency among transgender activists to denounce anyone who argues against them and to label them all as 'transphobes.'" Following an article on the subject that Navratilova wrote for The Times in February 2019, Athlete Ally, an LGBTQ athlete advocacy group, removed Navratilova from their advisory board, stating her comments "are transphobic [and] based on a false understanding of science and data".

In March 2019, Navratilova apologized for using the term "cheating" when discussing whether transgender athletes should be allowed to compete in women's sport. She also called for "a debate, a conversation that includes everyone and is based, as I have said, not on feeling or emotion but science."

In an April 2019 article for The Washington Post, she opined that the Equality Act, in its current form, "would make it unlawful to differentiate among girls and women in sports on the basis of sex for any purpose".

In June 2019, the BBC broadcast "The Trans Women Athlete Dispute with Martina Navratilova", where she interviewed people including trans women athletes and sports researchers, presenting evidence on both sides of the debate of whether trans women have any advantage in elite sports. Her closing remarks were

"The way I started this journey, I just wanted to see if there are any big surprises, any misconceptions that I had.

And what I think I have come to realise, the biggest thing for me, is just that the level of difficulty that trans people go through cannot be underestimated. The fight for equality and recognition is just huge. That being said, still, for me, the most important thing in sports... and you have to remember, trans rights and elite sports are two different things, although of course they are connected. What's the right way to set rules so that everybody feels like they have a fighting chance? It feels to me that it is impossible to come to any real conclusions or write any meaningful rules until more research is done.

"But for now, I think we need to include as many transgender athletes as possible within elite sports, while keeping it as level a playing field as possible. Look, society has changed so much. Things evolve, things change and maybe I need to evolve, I need to change. The rules certainly need to evolve. If you don't adapt, you've got problems. And so we'll just keep adapting and try to find a happy way forward."

In August 2020, Navratilova along with 300+ women signed a letter to the National Collegiate Athletic Association in support of an Idaho law that bans trans women student athletes from competing in female sports.

In 2021, Navratilova became a leader of the Women's Sports Policy Working Group, formed in response to President Joe Biden's executive order that mandates blanket inclusion for all trans women athletes, whose goal is protecting the girls’ and women's competitive categories, while crafting accommodations for trans athletes into sport wherever possible.

Mary Ann Gomes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mary Ann Gomes

Dresden, 2008

Country India

Born 19 September 1989

Kolkata, India

Title Woman Grandmaster (2008)

Peak rating 2423 (July 2013)

Mary Ann Gomes (born 19 September 1989) is an Indian chess player. She was awarded the title of Woman Grandmaster (WGM) by FIDE in 2008.

Gomes was born in Kolkata. She won the Girls Under 10 title at the 1999 Asian Youth Chess Championships in Ahmedabad. In 2005, she won the Asian Under 16 Girls Championship in Namangan, Uzbekistan. She won the Asian Junior (Under 20) Girls Championship in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Gomes also won three times the Women's Indian Chess Championship, in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Michael Phelps

Michael Phelps

Phelps at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Personal information

Full name Michael Fred Phelps II

Nickname(s) "The Baltimore Bullet"

"Flying Fish"

National team United States

Born June 30, 1985

Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.

Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m

Weight 194 lb (88 kg)

Spouse(s) Nicole Johnson

Sport

Sport Swimming

Strokes Butterfly, individual medley, freestyle, backstroke

Club North Baltimore Aquatic Club

Coach Bob Bowman

Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold medals (23), Olympic gold medals in individual events , and Olympic medals in individual events (16). When Phelps won eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games, he broke fellow American swimmer Mark Spitz's 1972 record of seven first-place finishes at any single Olympic Games. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Phelps already tied the record of eight medals of any color at a single Games by winning six gold and two bronze medals. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Phelps won four gold and two silver medals, and at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, he won five gold medals and one silver. This made him the most successful athlete of the Games for the fourth Olympics in a row.

Phelps is the long course world record holder in the men's 400-meter individual medley as well as the former long course world record holder in the 200-meter freestyle, 100-meter butterfly, 200-meter butterfly, and 200-meter individual medley. He has won 82 medals in major international long course competitions, of which 65 were gold, 14 silver, and three bronze, spanning the Olympics, the World Championships, and the Pan Pacific Championships. Phelps's international titles and record-breaking performances have earned him the World Swimmer of the Year Award eight times and American Swimmer of the Year Award eleven times, as well as the FINA Swimmer of the Year Award in 2012 and 2016. Phelps earned Sports Illustrated magazine's Sportsman of the Year award due to his unprecedented Olympic success in the 2008 Games.

After the 2008 Summer Olympics, Phelps started the Michael Phelps Foundation, which focuses on growing the sport of swimming and promoting healthier lifestyles. Phelps retired following the 2012 Olympics, but he made a comeback in April 2014. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, his fifth Olympics, he was selected by his team to be the flag bearer of the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations. He announced his second retirement on August 12, 2016, having won more medals than 161 countries. He is widely regarded as the greatest swimmer of all time and is often considered to be one of the greatest athletes of all time.

Early life

Phelps was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and raised in the Rodgers Forge neighborhood of nearby Towson. He attended Rodgers Forge Elementary, Dumbarton Middle School, and Towson High School. Phelps is the youngest of three children. His mother, Deborah Sue "Debbie" Phelps (née Davisson), is a middle school principal. His father, Michael Fred Phelps, is a retired Maryland State Trooper who played football in high school and college and tried out for the Washington Football Team in the 1970s.Phelps is of English, German, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh descent. His parents divorced in 1994 when he was nine years old, and his father remarried in 2000. Phelps later revealed that the divorce had a severe negative impact on him and his siblings, and his relationship with his father was distant for a few years after the divorce. He graduated from Towson High School in 2003.

Phelps began swimming at the age of seven, partly because of the influence of his sisters and partly to provide him with an outlet for his energy. After retirement in 2016, he stated "The only reason I ever got in the water was my mom wanted me to just learn how to swim. My sisters and myself fell in love with the sport, and we decided to swim." When Phelps was in the sixth grade, he was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). By the age of 10, he held a national record for his age group (in the 100-meter butterfly) and began to train at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club under coach Bob Bowman. More age group records followed, and as of August 21, 2018, Phelps still held 11 age group records, eight in long course, and three in short course.

Career

2000 Summer Olympics

Phelps's rapid improvement culminated when he qualified for the 2000 Summer Olympics at the age of 15, as he became the youngest male (since Ralph Flanagan in 1932) to make a U.S. Olympic swim team in 68 years. While he did not win a medal, he did make the finals and finished fifth in the 200-meter butterfly.

2001 World championships

At the World Championship Trials for the 2001 World Aquatics Championships, on March 30, Phelps broke the world record in the 200-meter butterfly to become, at 15 years and 9 months, the youngest male ever to set a world record in swimming. Previously the youngest male had been Ian Thorpe, who captured the 400-meter freestyle world record at 16 years, 10 months.[34] At the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, Phelps broke his own world record in the 200-meter butterfly while en route to become a world champion for the first time.

2002 Pan Pacific championships

Phelps in 2002

2002 Pan Pacific Championships

200 m medley 1:59.70

400 m medley 4:12.48

4×100 m medley 3:33.48 (WR)

200 m butterfly 1.55.41

4×200 m freestyle 7:11.81

At Nationals, the selection meet for the 2002 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Phelps set an American record in the 200-meter individual medley and was just off the world record in the 200-meter butterfly. In the 400-meter individual medley, Phelps bettered the world record held by Tom Dolan with a time of 4:11.09, just ahead of Erik Vendt, who finished second with a time of 4:11.27, also below the old world record. In the 200-meter freestyle, Phelps was barely beaten by Klete Keller and in the 100-meter butterfly, Phelps beat Ian Crocker.

At the 2002 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Yokohama, Japan, Phelps won three gold medals and two silvers. In his first event, the 400-meter individual medley, Phelps won gold ahead of Erik Vendt with a time of 4:12.48. In the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps lost to Tom Malchow, finishing behind him 1:55.41 to 1:55.21. Phelps said he lost because he did not take butterfly training seriously after he broke the world record. In the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps won with a time of 1:59.70. In the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, Phelps, along with Nate Dusing, Klete Keller, and Chad Carvin, won the silver medal with a time 7:11.81 finishing behind Australia. The U.S. 4×100-meter medley relay team consisted of Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, Phelps, and Ian Crocker. In the final for the medley relay, Phelps swam a 51.1 split, at the time the fastest split in history. The final time of 3:33.48 was a world record.[38]

2003 World championships

2003 World Championships

200 m butterfly 1:54.35

200 m medley 1:56.04 (WR)

400 m medley 4:09.09 (WR)

4×100 m medley 3:31.54 (WR) (Phelps swam in heats only)

100 m butterfly 51.10

4×200 m freestyle 7:10.26

At Nationals, Phelps won the 200-meter freestyle, 200-meter backstroke, and the 100-meter butterfly. He became the first American swimmer to win three different races in three different strokes at a national championship. At the 2003 Duel in the Pool, a meet that pits swimming stars from Australia and the United States, Phelps broke the world record in the 400-meter individual medley with a time of 4:10.73 and almost broke the world record in the 100-meter butterfly, just missing the record by 0.03 seconds. At a meet in Santa Clara County, California, Phelps broke the world record in the 200-meter individual medley with a time of 1:57.94. Phelps said he broke the 200-meter individual medley world record after Don Talbot said Phelps was unproven, using his words as motivation.

At the 2003 World Aquatics Championships, Phelps won four gold medals, two silver medals, and broke five world records. Phelps broke his first world record on July 22 in the semi-finals for the 200-meter butterfly. Phelps swam a 1:53.93 to break his own world record of 1:54.58 set in 2001 and became the first man to swim under 1:54.00. In the final of the 200-meter butterfly, on July 23, Phelps easily won the gold medal, but did not come close to his world record with a time of 1:54.35. Less than an hour later, Phelps swam the lead-off leg for the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. Phelps put up a solid time of 1:46.60 (an American record) but the Americans could not match the depth of the Australians and ultimately finished second 7:10.26 to 7:08.58. In the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps dominated. On July 24, in the semi-finals of the 200-meter individual medley, he broke his own world record with a time of 1:57.52. On July 25, in the final of the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps smashed his own record with a time of 1:56.04 to win the gold medal and finished almost 3 seconds ahead of Ian Thorpe. About an hour before the final of the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps swam in the semi-finals of the 100-meter butterfly. Phelps dominated again, finishing in the top seed position with a world record time of 51.47. However, in the final of the 100-meter butterfly, on July 26, Ian Crocker erased Phelps's world record with a time of 50.98, to become the first man under 51 seconds. Phelps swam a 51.10 (also under his former world record), but had to settle for silver In the final of the 400-meter individual medley, on July 27, Phelps broke his own world record with a time of 4:09.09 to easily claim the gold medal. About half an hour later, Phelps earned his final gold medal when the United States team won the 4×100-meter medley relay. Phelps did not swim in the finals, but still earned a medal because he swam in the heats.

2004 Summer Olympics

Trials

At the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Phelps competed in six events; the 200- and 400-meter individual medley, the 100- and 200-meter butterfly, the 200-meter freestyle, and the 200-meter backstroke In his first event, the 400-meter individual medley, Phelps easily won with a world record time of 4:08.41. Two days later, in the 200-meter freestyle, Phelps won with a time of 1:46.27, finishing sixth-tenths of a second ahead of Klete Keller. Phelps, however, was not pleased with the result and wanted to be in the 1:45s and was uncertain if he would swim the event in Athens. The following day, Phelps won in the 200-meter butterfly with a time of 1:54.31, three seconds ahead of second-place finisher Tom Malchow. After two days off, Phelps was back in the pool and finished second to Aaron Peirsol (who broke the world record) in the 200-meter backstroke. Less than half an hour later, Phelps won the 200-meter individual medley title ahead of Ryan Lochte by 2.70 seconds. The following day, Phelps finished second to Ian Crocker in the 100-meter butterfly. Crocker won in a time of 50.76, a world record and 0.39 seconds ahead of Phelps. When the Trials were over, Phelps became the first person to qualify in six individual events for a U.S. Olympic team. However, Phelps dropped the 200-meter backstroke to focus on the 200-meter freestyle because he wanted to race Ian Thorpe. Even though Phelps did not compete in the 100-meter freestyle at the Trials, he was still selected for the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. Gary Hall, Jr. thought this was unfair and said Phelps did not deserve a spot on the relay. Phelps argued his program was too crowded to compete in 100-meter freestyle and was at least among the top four swimmers because he had beaten the top-seeded Jason Lezak the last time he had swum against him.

2004 Summer Olympics

100 m butterfly 51.25 (OR)

200 m butterfly 1:54.04 (OR)

200 m medley 1:57.14 (OR)

400 m medley 4:08.26 (WR)

4×200 m freestyle 7:07.33 (NR)

4×100 m medley 3:30.68 (WR) (Phelps swam in heats only)

200 m freestyle 1:45.32 (NR)

4×100 m freestyle 3:14.62

Athens

In his first event, the 400-meter individual medley, Phelps won his first Olympic gold medal in the world record time of 4:08.26 The following day, Phelps, along with Ian Crocker, Neil Walker, and Jason Lezak, finished in third place in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay with a time of 3:14.62. Crocker's lead-off time of 50.05 was the worst among the field and was blamed on sickness. In the event many were calling The Race of the Century, the 200-meter freestyle that was held the following day, Phelps finished in third place behind Ian Thorpe and Pieter van den Hoogenband. Although this race ended the chance to match Spitz's record, Phelps had savored the challenge even though it was not his strongest event, saying "How can I be disappointed? I swam in a field with the two fastest freestylers of all time". In his fourth event, the 200-meter butterfly, held the following day, Phelps won a gold medal with a time of 1:54.04, breaking Tom Malchow's Olympic record. About an hour later, in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, Phelps, along with Ryan Lochte, Peter Vanderkaay, and Klete Keller, finished in first place with a time of 7:07.33. Two days later, in the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps finished first with a time of 1:57.14, an Olympic record In the 100-meter butterfly final, held the following day, Phelps defeated American teammate Ian Crocker (who held the world record in the event at the time) by just 0.04 seconds with a time of 51.25. Traditionally, the American who places highest in an individual event will be automatically given the corresponding leg in the 4×100-meter medley relay final. This gave Phelps an automatic entry into the medley relay, but he deferred and Crocker swam instead. Phelps's gesture gave Crocker a chance to make amends (for a mistake at the start of a previous race) as well, getting his final shot at a gold medal. The American medley team went on to win the event in world-record time, and, since Phelps had raced in a preliminary heat of the medley relay, he was also awarded a gold medal along with the team members who competed in the final. In winning six gold and two bronze medals, Phelps, still a teenager, had the second-best performance ever at a single Olympics, behind Mark Spitz's seven gold medals at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Also, he became the second male swimmer ever to win more than two individual titles at a single Games with four, tying Spitz's four from 1972.

2005 World championships

Victory lap of the 100 m butterfly during the 2005 FINA World Championships in Montréal. Phelps is far right.

2005 World Aquatics Championships

200 m freestyle 1:45.20 (NR)

200 m medley 1:56.68

4×100 m freestyle 3:13.77 (CR)

4×200 m freestyle 7:06.58

4×100 m medley 3:31.85 (Phelps swam in heats only)

100 m butterfly 51.65

At the 2005 World Championship Trials, Phelps decided to drop his specialty events, the 400-meter individual medley and the 200-meter butterfly, and experiment with the 400-meter freestyle and the 100-meter freestyle. Phelps went on to win the 400-meter freestyle, the 200-meter freestyle, the 100-meter butterfly, the 100-meter freestyle, and the 200-meter individual medley at the Trials.

At the 2005 World Aquatics Championships, Phelps won a total of six medals, five golds and one silver. In the 400-meter freestyle, Phelps did not make it past the preliminary heats and finished 18th overall with a time of 3:50.53. Later that day, in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, Phelps won his first gold in the Championships. Two days later, on July 26, Phelps won his second gold in the 200-meter freestyle with a new American national record (NR) time of 1:45.20, finishing ahead of Grant Hackett. Two days later, on July 28, Phelps finished seventh in the 100-meter freestyle final. Later that day, Phelps won his third gold in the 200-meter individual medley On July 29, Phelps, along with Ryan Lochte, Peter Vanderkaay and Klete Keller, won the gold in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay with a time of 7:06.58. This was the fourth gold medal for Phelps. On July 30, Phelps swam in his last individual event, the 100-meter butterfly. In the final, Phelps could not match the speed of Ian Crocker and had to settle for silver, finishing 51.65 to 50.40, a new world record for Crocker. On July 31, Phelps earned his final gold medal when the United States team won the 4×100-meter medley relay. Phelps did not swim in the finals but still earned a medal because he swam in the heats.

2006 Pan Pacific championships

2006 Pan Pacific Championships

200 m butterfly 1:53.80 (WR)

200 m medley 1:55.84 (WR)

400 m medley 4:10.47 (CR)

4×100 m freestyle 3:12.46 (WR)

4×200 m freestyle 7:05.28 (CR)

200 m backstroke 1:56.81

At the 2006 National Championships, Phelps won three events. In his first event, the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps won with a championship record of 1:54.32. In his second event, the 100-meter butterfly, Phelps just edged out Ian Crocker 51.51 (another championship record) to 51.73. In his third event, the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps won with a time of 1:56.50, just ahead of Ryan Lochte's time of 1:56.78.

At the 2006 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Victoria, British Columbia, Phelps won five gold medals and one silver. In his first event, the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps won in a world record time of 1:53.80, his first world record in two years. In his second event, the 400-meter individual medley, Phelps easily won with a time of 4:10.47, 3.38 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Robert Margalis. In his third event, the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, Phelps, along with Ryan Lochte, Peter Vanderkaay, and Klete Keller, won the gold medal with a time of 7:05.28. In his fourth event, the 200-meter backstroke, Phelps won the silver medal, finishing behind Aaron Peirsol 1:56.81 to 1:54.44 (a new world record). In his fifth event, the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, Phelps, along with Neil Walker, Cullen Jones, and Jason Lezak, won the gold medal with a world-record time 3:12.46. In his sixth event, the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps won with a world record time of 1:55.84, breaking his record of 1:55.94 set in 2003.

2007 World championships

2007 World Championships

200 m freestyle 1:43.86 (WR)

100 m butterfly 50.77

200 m butterfly 1:52.09 (WR)

200 m medley 1:54.98 (WR)

400 m medley 4:06.22 (WR)

4×100 m freestyle 3:12.72 (CR)

4×200 m freestyle 7:03.24 (WR)

At the 2007 World Aquatics Championships, Phelps won seven gold medals, tying the record for a global long-course championship held by Mark Spitz since the 1972 Summer Olympics, and broke five world records. Phelps first gold medal came in the 4×100-meter freestyle. Phelps swam the lead-off leg in 48.42 seconds and Neil Walker, Cullen Jones and Jason Lezak each expanded the lead to win in a Championship record of 3:12.72, just missing the world record of 3:12.46 set the previous year. His lead-off time was faster than the winning time in the individual 100-meter freestyle final later in the meet. Phelps set his first world record in the Championships in the 200-meter freestyle, his second race. Phelps won the gold ahead of Pieter van den Hoogenband and broke Ian Thorpe's six-year-old world record with a time of 1:43.86. For his third race, the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps won the gold and bettered his own world record of 1:53.71 with a time of 1:52.09 For his fourth race, the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps set his third world record with a time of 1:54.98, bettering his own world-record time of 1:55.84 For his fifth race, the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, Phelps swam the lead-off leg in 1:45.36 as the American team of Ryan Lochte, Klete Keller, and Peter Vanderkaay went on to win the gold medal and beat the previous world record set by Australia in 2001 with a time 7:03.24. For his sixth race, the 100-meter butterfly, Phelps edged out Ian Crocker 50.77 to 50.82 to win his sixth gold medal. For his seventh event, the 400-meter individual medley, Phelps won the gold medal in a world-record time of 4:06.22, more than 3.5 seconds ahead of Ryan Lochte. By winning seven gold medals, Phelps broke the record of six set by Ian Thorpe at the 2001 World Championships. The 4×100-meter medley relay team received a disqualification for a false start during a changeover in the heats, ending Phelps's chance of eight gold medals.

Even though Phelps competed in the backstroke in international competition only once (at the 2006 Pan Pacific Championships), he was among the best backstroke swimmers in the world. This is illustrated by his personal best times set in 2007, four months after the World Championships. At the US Nationals in Indianapolis on August 1, 2007, Phelps swam a 1:54.65 in the 200-meter backstroke, which was the third fastest of all time in the event, 0.33 of a second off the world record of 1:54.32 held by Ryan Lochte.[119] Two days later Phelps swam a time of 53.01 sec in the 100-meter backstroke, 0.03 of a second short of the world record of 52.98 held by Aaron Peirsol and the second-fastest performance of all time. In 2007 Phelps swam into the all-time top three performances in seven individual events, four of these being world records.

2008 Summer Olympics

200 m freestyle 1:42.96 (WR)

100 m butterfly 50.58 (OR)

200 m butterfly 1:52.03 (WR)

200 m medley 1:54.23 (WR)

400 m medley 4:03.84 (WR)

4×100 m freestyle 3:08.24 (WR)

4×200 m freestyle 6:58.56 (WR)

4×100 m medley 3:29.34 (WR)

Trials

At the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Phelps competed in six individual events. In his first event, the 400-meter individual medley, Phelps broke his own world record of 4:06.22 with a time of 4:05.25. In his second event, the 200-meter freestyle, Phelps won with a time of 1:44.10, ahead of Peter Vanderkaay's time 1:45.85 In his third event, the 100-meter freestyle, Phelps placed second in his heat with a time of 47.92, ensuring him a spot on the relay. In his fourth event, the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps won with a time of 1:52.20. In his fifth event, the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps broke his own world record of 1:54.98 with a time of 1:54.80. In his sixth and final event, the 100-meter butterfly, Phelps won with a time of 50.89. When asked about his chances of winning eight gold medals in Beijing, Phelps said, "I am going to prepare for that meet just like I do every other meet ... There is only so much I can do in a month and then I am going to prepare myself the best that I can."

Beijing

Phelps set an Olympic record in the preliminary heats of the 400-meter individual medley. He followed that up in the final by winning the gold medal, as well as breaking his previous world record by nearly two seconds.

Phelps swam the first leg of the 4×100-meter freestyle relay in a time of 47.51 seconds (an American record for the 100-meter freestyle), and won his second gold medal of the 2008 Olympics, as well as setting his second world record of the Olympics (3:08.24). Teammate Jason Lezak, after beginning the anchor leg more than half a body length behind Alain Bernard, managed to finish ahead of the favored French swimmer by eight hundredths of a second. The top five teams in the final finished ahead of the world record of 3:12.23 set the previous day by the American B team in a preliminary heat. Phelps remarked that Bernard's pre-race comments of "smashing the Americans" had "fired me up more than anything else". Le Nouvel Observateur noted "Phelps taking the time to applaud and console Bernard" and wrote that this sportsmanship was "proof that the person who swims in the wake of Mark Spitz is also a great gentleman."

For his third race, Phelps broke his previous world record in the 200-meter freestyle by nearly a second and won his third gold medal. He also set his third world record at the Olympics, 1:42.96, winning by nearly two seconds over silver medalist Park Tae-hwan. In this race, Phelps became the fifth Olympic athlete in modern history to win nine gold medals, joining Mark Spitz, Larisa Latynina, Paavo Nurmi, and Carl Lewis.

Phelps holds his gold medal on the podium on August 10, 2008. Pictured with Ryan Lochte and László Cseh.

The next day, Phelps participated in two finals. In his first event, the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps made it four gold medals and world records in four events by swimming the final in 1:52.03, defeating silver medalist László Cseh by almost seven-tenths of a second despite his goggles' having filled up with water and being unable to "see anything for the last 100 meters. This fourth gold medal was his tenth, and made him the all-time leader for most Olympic gold medals won by an individual in the modern Olympic era. Moreover, Phelps became the first swimmer, male or female, to win three Olympic butterfly titles, after his two titles in the Athens 2004 Olympics. He also became the first swimmer to successfully defend an Olympic butterfly title.

Less than one hour after his gold medal victory in the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps swam the lead-off leg of the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. With Lochte, Ricky Berens, and Peter Vanderkaay, he won his fifth gold and set his fifth world record as the American team finished first with a time of 6:58.56. The Americans were the first team to break the seven-minute mark in the relay, and broke the previous record, set in Melbourne, Australia, by more than four and a half seconds.

After taking a day off from finals (Phelps did swim in qualifying heats), Phelps won his sixth gold of the Beijing Games on August 15 by winning the 200-meter individual medley with a world record time of 1:54.23, finishing ahead of Cseh by over two seconds.

Seventh gold medal

Phelps (in black cap) starting the 4 x 100m relay at the Beijing Olympic Games, August 11, 2008

Before the final of the 100-meter butterfly, US born Serbian swimmer Milorad Čavić caused a minor stir when he said it would be "good" if Phelps lost. "It'd be good for him if he loses. It would be nice if historians talk about Michael Phelps winning seven gold medals and losing the eighth to 'some guy.' I'd like to be that guy", Čavić said. Phelps responded, "When people say things like that, it fires me up more than anything." On August 16, Phelps won his seventh gold medal of the Games in the men's 100-meter butterfly, setting an Olympic record for the event with a time of 50.58 seconds and edging out his nearest competitor Čavić, by one hundredth (0.01) of a second.

Unlike all six of his previous events in the 2008 Games, Phelps did not set a new world record, leaving intact Ian Crocker's world-record time of 50.40 seconds, set in 2005.

Phelps's finish 0.01 seconds ahead of Čavić prompted the Serbian delegation to file a protest. Subsequent analysis of the video by the FINA panel, which required analyzing frames shot 1/10,000th of a second apart, was used to officially confirm Phelps's victory, but the images were not immediately released to the press. The initial refusal by official timekeeper Omega to release underwater photos of the finish also raised questions due to Phelps's sponsorship relationship with Omega. Čavić later wrote in his blog, "People, this is the greatest moment of my life. If you ask me, it should be accepted and we should move on. I've accepted defeat, and there's nothing wrong with losing to the greatest swimmer there has ever been."

Epic. It goes to show you that not only is this guy the greatest swimmer of all time and the greatest Olympian of all time, he's maybe the greatest athlete of all time. He's the greatest racer who ever walked the planet. (2008)

—Mark Spitz (on Phelps winning his 7th gold medal)

Phelps's seventh gold medal of the Games tied Mark Spitz's record for gold medals won in a single Olympic Games, set in the 1972 Olympics. It was also his fifth individual gold medal in Beijing, tying the record for individual gold medals at a single Games originally set by Eric Heiden in the 1980 Winter Olympics and equaled by Vitaly Scherbo at the 1992 Summer Games. Said Phelps upon setting his seventh-straight Olympic record of the Games in as many events, "Dream as big as you can dream, and anything is possible ... I am sort of in a dream world. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure it is real."

Michael Phelps celebrates with his teammates after winning his 8th gold medal.

All-time record

On August 17, Phelps won his eighth gold medal in the 4×100-meter medley relay, breaking Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals won in a single Olympic Games, which had stood since 1972. Phelps, along with teammates Brendan Hansen, Aaron Peirsol, and Jason Lezak, set a new world record in the event with a time of 3 minutes and 29.34 seconds, 0.7 seconds ahead of second-place Australia and 1.34 seconds faster than the previous record set by the United States at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. When Phelps dived in to swim the 100-meter butterfly leg, the third leg of the 400-meter medley, the United States had been trailing Australia and Japan. Phelps completed his split in 50.1 seconds, the fastest butterfly split ever for the event, giving teammate Jason Lezak a more than half-second lead for the final leg, which he held onto to clinch the event in world record time. Said Phelps, upon completing the event that awarded him his eighth gold medal and eighth Olympic record in as many events, "Records are always made to be broken no matter what they are ... Anybody can do anything that they set their mind to."

2009 World championships

2009 World Championships

100 m butterfly 49.82 (WR)

200 m butterfly 1:51.51 (WR)

4×100 m freestyle 3:09.21 (CR)

4×200 m freestyle 6:58.55 (WR)

4×100 m medley 3:27.28 (WR)

200 m freestyle 1:43.22

At the 2009 National Championships, Phelps drastically shortened his program, swimming in only three individual events. In his first event, the 200-meter freestyle, Phelps won with a time of 1:44.23. In his second event, the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps easily won with a time of 1:52.76, 0.88 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. In his third event, the 100-meter butterfly, Phelps won with a world-record time of 50.22.

Phelps (center) before the start of the 200-meter butterfly semi-final during 2009 FINA World Championships

At the 2009 World Aquatics Championships, Phelps won a total of 6 medals, 5 golds and 1 silver. In his first event, the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, Phelps swam the lead-off leg in 47.78, well off his 47.51 performance in Beijing, but the American team was able to edge out Russia and France for the gold. For his second race, the 200-meter freestyle, Phelps lost his first race in four years to Germany's Paul Biedermann. Phelps touched second in 1:43.22, but Biedermann smashed Phelps's record of 1:42.96 set in Beijing a year ago with a time of 1:42.00. Phelps took the silver graciously, but coach Bob Bowman threatened to withdraw Phelps from international competition because Bowman claimed Biedermann had an unfair advantage because he was wearing a full polyurethane swimsuit, specifically an Arena X-Glide. Bowman said, "It took me five years to get Michael from 1:46 to 1:42 and this guy has done it in 11 months. That's an amazing training performance. I'd like to know how to do that." Phelps rebounded from this loss and for his third race, the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps won the gold and broke his own world record of 1:52.03 with a time of 1:51.51. For his fourth race, the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, Phelps swam the lead-off leg in 1:44.49 as the team went on to win the gold medal and break the world record set the previous year. After his loss in the 200-meter freestyle, many thought Phelps was vulnerable coming into the final for the 100-meter butterfly. His closest competitor, Milorad Čavić, who wore an Arena X-Glide (the same suit Biedermann beat Phelps with), thought people were making excuses for Phelps because he was wearing an LZR Racer. Čavić even offered to buy Phelps a new suit. For his fifth race, the 100-meter butterfly, Phelps won the gold and became the first man to complete it in under 50 seconds, beating Čavić 49.82 to 49.95. The victory prompted a fierce celebration from Phelps. For his final event, the 4×100-meter medley relay, Phelps won his fifth gold medal. Phelps, along with teammates Aaron Peirsol, Eric Shanteau, and David Walters, set a new world record in the event with a time of 3 minutes, 27.28 seconds.

2010 Pan Pacific championships

2010 Pan Pacific Championships

100 m butterfly 50.86

200 m butterfly 1:54.11

4×100 m freestyle 3:11.74

4×200 m freestyle 7:03.84

4×100 m medley 3:32.48

At the 2010 National Championships, Phelps competed in five individual events. In the 200-meter freestyle, Phelps won ahead of Ryan Lochte in a time of 1:45.61. About an hour later, Phelps returned to the pool to win the 200-meter butterfly. But Phelps was not happy with his performance and called it the "worst" 200-meter butterfly of his life. In the 100-meter butterfly, Phelps won his 50th national title in 50.65. After the race, Phelps said he was "fairly pleased" with the result. In the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps finished second to Lochte 1:55.94 to 1:54.84. It was the first time Lochte had beat Phelps in a major national meet. In the 200-meter backstroke, Phelps finished in 4th place in 1:56.98.

On the first day of competition at the 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, Phelps opted out swimming in the final of the 200-meter freestyle to focus on the 200-meter butterfly. In the 200-meter butterfly, Phelps led from start to finish, coming in first with a time of 1:54.11. Although it was much slower than his 1:51.51 time from the previous year, Phelps had not lost a 200-meter butterfly final since 2002. On day two of the competition, Phelps swam in the heats of the 400-meter individual medley and contributed in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. In the heats of the 400-meter individual medley, Phelps failed to make the A final, with Lochte and Tyler Clary taking the top two American positions. Phelps did not swim in the B final of the 400-meter individual medley. In the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, Phelps, with Peter Vanderkaay, Ricky Berens, and Lochte, finished first ahead of Japan and Australia. On day three of the competition, Phelps competed in the 100-meter butterfly and contributed in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. In the 100-meter butterfly, Phelps finished first in a time of 50.86, a championship record. In the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, Phelps, with Lochte, Jason Lezak, and Nathan Adrian, finished first ahead of Australia and South Africa. As the lead-off leg in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, Phelps set the championship record in the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 48.13. In his final event, Phelps swam in the 4×100-meter medley relay with Aaron Peirsol, Mark Gangloff, and Adrian and finished first ahead of Japan and Australia.

2011 World championships

100 m butterfly 50.71

200 m butterfly 1:53.34

4×200 m freestyle 7:02.67

4×100 m medley 3:32.06

200 m freestyle 1:44.79

200 m medley 1:54.16

4×100 m freestyle 3:11.96

In his first event at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai, Phelps won bronze in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay with Garrett Weber-Gale, Jason Lezak, and Nathan Adrian. This was Phelps's first bronze in a World Aquatics Championships. Phelps swam the lead-off leg in 48.08, the second-best lead-off in the field behind James Magnussen's 47.49. In his second event, the 200-meter freestyle, Phelps won silver for the second consecutive time at a World Aquatics Championships. This time he finished second to Ryan Lochte in the event with a time of 1:44.79, compared to Lochte's time of 1:44.44. In his third final, the 200-meter butterfly, he won his first gold medal with a time of 1:53.34 to become the first swimmer to win five gold medals in one discipline at the World Aquatics Championships. In his fourth event, the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps again finished second to Lochte in a personal best of 1:54.16, which was 0.16 behind Lochte who swam a new world record. It was Phelps's 30th medal in the World Aquatics Championships. Shortly after completing the semi-finals of the 100-meter butterfly, Phelps competed in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay with Peter Vanderkaay, Ricky Berens, and Ryan Lochte. Phelps's team won the gold medal in a time of 7:02.67. Phelps swam the lead-off leg in 1:45.53, the third-best leg in the field. In the 100-meter butterfly, Phelps won his third consecutive title (also winning in 2007 and 2009) and second individual title of the meet with a time of 50.71. In his last event, the 4×100-meter medley relay, Phelps teamed with Nick Thoman, Mark Gangloff, and Nathan Adrian to win gold in a time of 3:32.06. Phelps's butterfly leg of 50.57 was by far the fastest butterfly leg in the field.

2012 Summer Olympics

100 m butterfly 51.21

200 m medley 1:54.27

4×200 m freestyle 6:59.70

4×100 m medley 3:29.35

200 m butterfly 1:53.01

4×100 m freestyle 3:10.38

Trials

For the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Phelps originally stated he would never do eight events again, and would instead try new events. Phelps said, "I keep saying I want to go down and start sprinting, but Bob [Bowman, Phelps's coach] really isn't so keen on that ... I don't think that's going to happen ... Over the next four years, I'd like to try some different events, maybe not do some of the events I did here." However, at the 2012 United States Olympic Trials, the qualifying meet for the 2012 Summer Olympics, Phelps qualified in the same eight events that he swam in Beijing in 2008. He later dropped the 200-meter freestyle from his program, as he stated he wanted to focus on the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. During the trials, Phelps finished first in the 200-meter freestyle, 100-meter butterfly, 200-meter butterfly, 200-meter individual medley, and second in the 400-meter individual medley. In making his fourth Olympic team, Phelps holds the record for men for the most Olympic appearances in swimming representing the United States.

London

In his 100m butterfly heat, Phelps (fourth from top) was 8th at the 50m split before winning his heat and qualifying for the semi-finals

On July 28, 2012, Phelps placed eighth in the morning prelims for the 400-meter individual medley. Phelps, the two-time defending Olympic champion, won his heat in 4 minutes, 13.33 seconds with a time that was well off his world record of 4:03.84 set four years earlier in Beijing, when Phelps won a record eight gold medals. He out-touched László Cseh by 0.07 seconds in his heat to qualify last for the final, locking out Cseh. In his first finals of the Summer Olympics, Phelps placed fourth behind fellow American Ryan Lochte, Thiago Pereira of Brazil, and Kosuke Hagino of Japan in the 400-meter individual medley. It was the first time Phelps failed to medal in an Olympic event since 2000. The next night, in his second event of the Games, he got a silver as a member of the 4×100-meter free relay. Phelps swam the fastest leg of the US relay team and the second-fastest of anyone in the race.

On July 31, 2012, Phelps won a silver medal in the 200-meter butterfly behind South African Chad le Clos by 5/100ths of a second, and a gold medal in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, thereby equaling and then surpassing Larisa Latynina to become the all-time record holder for most Olympic medals won Latynina was present at the race and asked to be the presenter of Phelps's medal, but was told that Olympic rules would not allow it. She called Phelps deserving of the record.

On August 2, 2012, Phelps won his 16th Olympic gold medal when he edged out Ryan Lochte to win the 200-meter individual medley with a time of 1:54.27, and by that victory also became the first male swimmer to win the same event in three consecutive Olympics. Rebecca Soni and Phelps (twice) are the only swimmers to successfully defend an individual title from the 2008 Games. This win also marked Phelps's fifth Olympic title in the individual medley, breaking the record of four shared by Hungarian Tamás Darnyi and Ukrainian Yana Klochkova.

He repeated the achievement of winning the same event at three Olympics the following evening, winning the Olympic gold medal in the 100 m butterfly, his last individual event After two very close victories in the 100 m butterfly at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics (by 0.04 and 0.01 sec, respectively), in this race Phelps beat Le Clos and Yevgeny Korotyshkin, who tied for silver, by 0.23 sec.

Phelps's final event was the 4×100-meter medley relay in which he went on to win his 18th career gold medal and his 22nd overall. By winning 4 gold and 2 silver medals, Phelps concluded the 2012 Olympics as the most successful swimmer of the meet for the third Olympics in a row. After his last event, the international swimming federation FINA honored Phelps with an award commemorating his standing as the most decorated Olympian ever.

First retirement

After the 2012 Olympics, Phelps retired from swimming, stating: "I'm done. I'm finished. I'm retired. I'm done. No more," and that "I just wanted to be done with swimming and didn't want anything to do with the sport anymore."

2014 comeback from retirement

2014 Pan Pacific Championships

100 m butterfly 51.29

4×200 m freestyle 7:05.17

4×100 m medley 3:29.94 (CR)

200 m medley 1:56.04

4×100 m freestyle 3:13.36

In April 2014, Phelps announced he would come out of retirement, and would enter an event later that month. In May 2014, he won the 100-meter butterfly event at the Arena Grand Prix in Charlotte, North Carolina. Phelps was reportedly motivated by the national team's failure to win the men's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay since their Beijing 2008 and Rome 2009 titles The relationship between Phelps and coach Bob Bowman had deteriorated in the preparations for London 2012, so Phelps convinced a skeptical Bowman that he "wasn't training for history. He wasn't training for the medals. He wasn't even training for all the fans. This time Phelps wanted to swim for himself...and enjoy the journey". Since his returning from retirement in 2014, Phelps "scaled back his calorie intake" and "increased his postswim ice baths". By the 2016 Olympic Trials, despite his age Phelps "felt physically stronger in the water, perhaps because of drills Bowman added to his pool workouts, like multiple repeats of 40 seconds of dolphin kicking while hugging a 10-pound weight to his chest".

2015 US Nationals

After having been dropped from the team for the 2015 World Aquatics Championships for a DUI, Phelps instead competed in the US National Championships (long course) in San Antonio as his target meet of the summer. He won gold medals in the 100-meter butterfly (50.45 s), 200-meter butterfly (1:52.94), and the 200-meter individual medley (1:54.75) In each of these events he swam the fastest time in the world for 2015.

In December 2015 at the Winter Nationals in Federal Way, Phelps won titles in the same three events, again in long course, bringing his career total to 62 national titles.

2016 Summer Olympics

2016 Summer Olympics

200 m butterfly 1:53.36

200 m medley 1:54.66

4×100 m freestyle 3:09.92

4×200 m freestyle 7:00.66

4×100 m medley 3:27.95 (OR)

100 m butterfly 51.14

Trials

At the US trials in Omaha for the 2016 Summer Olympics, Phelps won the 200 m butterfly (1:54.84), the 200 m individual medley (1:55.91), and the 100 m butterfly (51.00 s) events. This made him the first American male swimmer, and the second American swimmer overall after Dara Torres, to qualify for a fifth Olympics. Phelps's 100 m freestyle times at the Trials were not impressive. However at a final training camp in Atlanta a week before heading to Rio, Phelps put out "the fourth-fastest flat-start time of the year" in a 100 free time trial, automatically securing one of the seven spots on the Men's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay for the Olympics.

Rio de Janeiro

Phelps was chosen to be the American flag bearer at the opening ceremony, which was the first Olympic opening ceremony that he would attend. Phelps was also voted by the U.S. Olympic swim team as one of six team captains for the US delegation to the Olympics. He displayed a relaxed sociable demeanor in the athletes' village and in press conferences; this pleasant behavior was in stark contrast to his isolation in previous Olympics. He was accompanied by fiancée Nicole Johnson and son Boomer.

In his first event on August 7, the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay, he won his first gold medal of the 2016 Games and his 19th Olympic gold medal overall. Phelps swam the second leg with what his coach Bob Bowman described as "maybe the best turn that's ever been done", overtaking France's Fabien Gilot to give his American teammates a lead which they would not relinquish. Phelps's leg proved to be the decisive factor in the race, and Gilot later remarked "As fast as my teammates were, the extraterrestrial that is Phelps was faster" Phelps achieved a split time of 47.12, the fourth-fastest of the field (the three fastest times were posted by the team anchors), which was also faster than any of his relay splits at the last three Olympics.

Phelps carrying the flag on behalf of athletes from the United States during the parade of nation within the 2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony

In his second event on August 9, the 200-meter butterfly, he became the first swimmer in history to make five finals in the same event, after finishing 5th in 2000, 1st in 2004 and 2008, and 2nd in 2012. (Federica Pellegrini would be the second swimmer to do so at the 2020 Olympics.) At Rio, he won the title that he had lost to Chad le Clos four years earlier in London, edging Masato Sakai by 0.04 s. Phelps stated that winning back this title had been the main goal during his comeback. The preliminary and final of that event was heavily hyped as a rematch between Phelps and Le Clos. The relationship between Le Clos and Phelps had been cordial back in 2012–13 but it deteriorated in 2014 when Phelps came back from retirement and suggested that the current butterfly times were slow. In the ready room prior to the preliminary race, Le Clos's shadow boxing while Phelps "glowered in a corner" spawned the Internet meme with the hashtag #PhelpsFace. Le Clos's Wikipedia biography was even vandalized after the event final. At age 31, the victory made Phelps not only the oldest male champion, but also the oldest individual champion in Olympic swimming history, beating the records set by Duke Kahanamoku in 1920, and Inge de Bruijn in 2004 respectively. Phelps also became the first swimmer to win individual gold medals 12 years apart. Both these records were broken by Anthony Ervin three days later.

Also on August 9, Phelps won his 21st gold medal in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay together with Conor Dwyer, Townley Haas, and Ryan Lochte. For Phelps and Lochte, this was their 4th consecutive gold medal in this event,[ an all-time record in swimming for any event.

Phelps with Nathan Adrian, Ryan Held and Caeleb Dressel, after winning the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay

On August 11, Phelps won his 22nd gold medal in the 200 m individual medley. He beat Kosuke Hagino, the 400 m individual medley champion, by 1.95 seconds. This was Phelps's 4th consecutive gold medal in the event as well as his 4th in the Games. He became the first swimmer to win the same individual event four times, surpassing the previous record of three held by Dawn Fraser and Krisztina Egerszegi. He also became the third Olympian to win the same individual event four times, after athletes Al Oerter and Carl Lewis. With that 13th individual gold medal, Phelps broke an ancient Olympic record, set by Leonidas of Rhodes, who had held the most Olympic individual titles of all time, with twelve

In the 100 m butterfly, Phelps was defeated in his last individual event of the Rio Olympics by Singaporean Joseph Schooling, when he earned joint silver along with Chad le Clos and László Cseh.

On August 13, in the 4 × 100-meter medley relay, Phelps ended his career with another gold medal, his 23rd at the Olympics and his 28th Olympic medal overall. Together with Ryan Murphy, Cody Miller, and Nathan Adrian, swimming as the butterfly leg of the medley, they broke the Olympic record, and won the United States' 1001st all time Olympic gold medal, in accordance with the USOC. Phelps retired from competitive swimming again following the Rio Olympics.

Phelps's performance in the Rio Olympics was unique in "winning multiple gold medals at 31 years old, well beyond the typical peak for male swimmers". Phelps is considered one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

Testing for performance-enhancing drugs

During the 2008 Olympics, Phelps was questioned by the press as to whether perhaps his feats were "too good to be true", a reference to unsupported rumors that Phelps might be taking performance-enhancing substances. In response, Phelps noted that he had signed up for Project Believe, a project by the United States Anti-Doping Agency in which U.S. Olympians can volunteer to be tested in excess of the World Anti-Doping Agency guidelines. During the Games, Phelps passed all nine tests that were administered to him.

Training

Phelps has trained under Bob Bowman since he was 11 years old. Bowman swam for Florida State University from 1983 to 1985. Phelps has said Bowman reminded him of a drill sergeant because of his disciplined and regimented ways However, Phelps has said, "Training with Bob is the smartest thing I've ever done ... I'm not going to swim for anyone else." After the 2004 Summer Olympics, Bowman was hired as the head coach for the University of Michigan after Jon Urbanchek retired. Phelps joined Bowman at Michigan to train and attended classes, but did not pursue a degree. Phelps served as a volunteer assistant coach at Michigan. After the 2008 Summer Olympics, Bowman returned to Baltimore as CEO at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club. Phelps also returned to Baltimore with Bowman. When Bowman was hired as the men's and women's swimming coach at Arizona State University in 2015, Phelps moved to Arizona to continue training under Bowman. There is a popular myth that Phelps ate 12,000 calories every day, but Phelps has stated it has been exaggerated and that he did not eat so much even in his growing days.

Personal life

Phelps with his wife, Nicole Johnson

Bob Bowman described Phelps as "a solitary man" with a "rigid focus" at the pool prior to a race, but afterward "a man incredibly invested in the success of the people he cares about". He states that "he's unbelievably kind-hearted", recounting Phelps's interaction with young children after practices.

Phelps is married to former Miss California USA Nicole Johnson. They secretly married on June 13, 2016, and the marriage was not publicly reported until four months later. They met in 2007 at the ESPYs, broke up in 2012, reconciled, and got engaged in February 2015.They have three sons, Boomer Robert Phelps, born on May 5, 2016, Beckett Richard Phelps, born on February 12, 2018,[268] and Maverick Nicolas Phelps, born on September 9, 2019. The family lives in Paradise Valley, Arizona, an affluent town adjoined to Phoenix, where Phelps volunteers alongside Bowman as an assistant coach for the Arizona State Sun Devils swim team.

As a teenager, Phelps idolized Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe and modeled his public image after Thorpe.Thorpe initially said that it would be highly unlikely for Phelps to win eight gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Phelps used the remarks as motivation and taped the words to his locker during the Games. Thorpe was in the stands for the 4×100-meter medley relay, where Phelps was swimming for his eighth Olympic gold medal. When Phelps and his teammates captured the gold, Thorpe gave a congratulatory kiss to Phelps's mother, then gave a handshake and a hug to congratulate Phelps. Afterwards, Thorpe said "I'm really proud of him not just because he won eight golds. Rather, it's how much he has grown up and matured into a great human being. Never in my life have I been so happy to have been proved wrong."

Phelps has also cited Michael Jordan as a sporting idol of his, and stated that "he changed the sport of basketball". Phelps is also a fan of the Baltimore Ravens and stated that he found his life purpose and desire to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics after seeking Ray Lewis's advice.

In January 2018, Phelps revealed that he has struggled both with ADHD and depression, having contemplated suicide after the 2012 Olympics.

Legal issues

At age 19 in November 2004, Phelps was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in Salisbury, Maryland. He pleaded guilty to driving while impaired and was sentenced to serve 18 months of probation, fined $250, ordered to speak to high school students about drinking and driving, and to attend a Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) meeting When Phelps was later asked about the incident by Matt Lauer on the Today Show, he said that he had "let a lot of people in the country down".

In February 2009, a photograph of Phelps using a bong went viral; this resulted in the loss of the Kellogg Company as a sponsor, as well as a three-month suspension by USA Swimming. Phelps admitted that the photo, which was taken at a party at the University of South Carolina, was authentic. He publicly apologized, saying his behavior was "inappropriate".

In September 2014, Phelps was arrested again, this time on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and speeding in Baltimore. As a result, USA Swimming suspended him from all competitions for six months, and stated he would not be chosen to represent the United States at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in August. With Phelps off the team, the United States failed to qualify for the finals of the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay.

Philanthropy

After the 2008 Olympics, Phelps used his $1 million Speedo bonus to set up the Michael Phelps Foundation. His foundation focuses on growing the sport of swimming and promoting healthier lifestyles.

In 2010, the Michael Phelps Foundation, the Michael Phelps Swim School and KidsHealth.org developed and nationally piloted the "im" program for Boys & Girls Club members. The im program teaches children the importance of being active and healthy, with a focus on the sport of swimming. It also promotes the value of planning and goal-setting. im is offered through the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and through Special Olympics International. The Foundation has since developed two other programs, Level Field Fund-Swimming and Caps-for-a-Cause.

The Foundation's largest event is its annual fundraiser, the Michael Phelps Foundation Golf Classic. Phelps stated he hoped to work with his Foundation more after retirement from competition following the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

In 2017, Phelps joined the board of Medibio, a company focused on diagnosis of mental health disorders.

Honors and awards

Phelps and Maryland House Speaker Mike Busch in April 2009. Both houses of the Maryland General Assembly honored Phelps that day.

Phelps was a USA Olympic team member in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016, and holds the records for most Olympic gold medals (23), most such medals in individual events (13), and most such medals at a single games (8, in Beijing 2008). A street in his hometown of Baltimore was renamed The Michael Phelps Way in 2004. On April 9, 2009, Phelps was invited to appear before the Maryland House of Delegates and the Maryland Senate, to be honored for his Olympic accomplishments.

Long course (50-meter pool)

EventTimeVenueDateNotes

100 m freestyle 47.51 (r) Beijing August 11, 2008 Former NR

200 m freestyle 1:42.96 Beijing August 12, 2008 AM, Former WR

400 m freestyle 3:46.73 College Park August 8, 2003 Former NR

100 m backstroke 53.01 Indianapolis August 3, 2007

200 m backstroke 1:54.65 Indianapolis August 1, 2007

100 m breaststroke 1:02.57 Columbia February 17, 2008

200 m breaststroke 2:11.30 San Antonio August 10, 2015

100 m butterfly 49.82 Rome August 1, 2009 Former WR

200 m butterfly 1:51.51 Rome July 29, 2009 AM, Former WR

200 m IM 1:54.16 Shanghai July 28, 2011 Former WR*

400 m IM 4:03.84 Beijing August 10, 2008 WR

r = relay lead-off

*Phelps is a former WR holder in this event, however, his personal best came in a 2nd-place finish to Ryan Lochte's new WR at the 2011 World Championships.

Short course meters (25-meter pool)

EventTimeVenueDateNotes

100 m freestyle 46.99 Manchester December 18, 2009

200 m freestyle 1:42.78 East Meadow February 4, 2006

200 m backstroke 1:50.34 Berlin October 22, 2011

100 m butterfly 50.46 Manchester December 18, 2009

200 m butterfly 1:52.27 Melbourne November 28, 2003

100 m IM 51.65 Berlin October 22, 2011

200 m IM 1:51.89 Berlin October 23, 2011

400 m IM 4:01.49 Berlin October 22, 2011

World records

Phelps has set 39 world records (29 individual, 10 relay), which is more records than any other swimmer that is recognized by FINA; this achievement surpassed Mark Spitz's previous record of 33 world records (26 individual, 7 relay).[citation needed] However, Johnny Weissmuller is reported to have broken 67 official world records.

All but two of the records were set in a long-course (50-meter) pool. As of August 1, 2021, he holds world records in three events (indicated in bold).

No.DistanceEventTimeLocationDateRef1 200 m Butterfly 1:54.92 Austin, Texas, US March 30, 2001

2 200 m Butterfly (2) 1:54.58 Fukuoka, Japan July 24, 2001

3 400 m Individual medley 4:11.09 Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, US August 15, 2002

4 4 × 100 m Medley relay [a] 3:33.48 Yokohama, Japan August 29, 2002

5 400 m Individual medley (2) 4:10.73 Indianapolis, Indiana, US April 6, 2003

6 200 m Individual medley 1:57.94 Santa Clara, California, US June 29, 2003

7 200 m Butterfly (3) 1:53.93 Barcelona, Spain July 22, 2003

8 200 m Individual medley (2) 1:57.52 Barcelona, Spain July 24, 2003

9 100 m Butterfly 0:51.47 Barcelona, Spain July 25, 2003

10 200 m Individual medley (3) 1:56.04 Barcelona, Spain July 25, 2003

11 400 m Individual medley (3) 4:09.09 Barcelona, Spain July 27, 2003

12 200 m Individual medley (4) 1:55.94 College Park, Maryland, US August 9, 2003

13 400 m Individual medley (4) 4:08.41 Long Beach, California, US July 7, 2004

14 400 m Individual medley (5) 4:08.26 Athens, Greece August 14, 2004

15 200 m Butterfly (4) 1:53.80 Victoria, British Columbia, Canada August 17, 2006

16 4 × 100 m Freestyle relay [b] 3:12.46 Victoria, British Columbia, Canada August 19, 2006

17 200 m Individual medley (5) 1:55.84 Victoria, British Columbia, Canada August 20, 2006

18 200 m Butterfly (5) 1:53.71 Columbia, Missouri, US February 17, 2007

19 200 m Freestyle 1:43.86 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia March 27, 2007

20 200 m Butterfly (6) 1:52.09 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia March 28, 2007

21 200 m Individual medley (6) 1:54.98 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia March 29, 2007

22 4 × 200 m Freestyle relay [c] 7:03.24 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia March 30, 2007

23 400 m Individual medley (6) 4:06.22 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia April 1, 2007

24 400 m Individual medley (7) 4:05.25 Omaha, Nebraska, US June 29, 2008

25 200 m Individual medley (7) 1:54.80 Omaha, Nebraska, US July 4, 2008

26 400 m Individual medley (8) 4:03.84 Beijing, China August 10, 2008

27 4 × 100 m Freestyle relay (2) 3:08.24 Beijing, China August 11, 2008

28 200 m Freestyle (2) 1:42.96 Beijing, China August 12, 2008

29 200 m Butterfly (7) 1:52.03 Beijing, China August 13, 2008

30 4 × 200 m Freestyle relay (2) 6:58.56 Beijing, China August 13, 2008

31 200 m Individual medley (8) 1:54.23 Beijing, China August 15, 2008

32 4 × 100 m Medley relay (2) 3:29.34 Beijing, China August 17, 2008

33 100 m Butterfly (2) 0:50.22 Indianapolis, Indiana, US July 9, 2009

34 200 m Butterfly (8) 1:51.51 Rome, Italy July 29, 2009

35 4 × 200 m Freestyle relay (3) 6:58.55 Rome, Italy July 31, 2009

36 100 m Butterfly (3) 0:49.82 Rome, Italy August 1, 2009

37 4 × 100 m Medley relay (3) 3:27.28 Rome, Italy August 2, 2009

38 4 × 100 m Medley relay (sc) 3:20.71 Manchester, United Kingdom December 18, 2009

39 4 × 100 m Freestyle relay (sc)[i] 3:03.30 Manchester, United Kingdom December 19, 2009

a with Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, and Jason Lezakb with Neil Walker, Cullen Jones, and Jason Lezakc with Ryan Lochte, Klete Keller, and Peter Vanderkaay d with Garrett Weber-Gale, Cullen Jones, and Jason Lezake with Ryan Lochte, Ricky Berens, and Peter Vanderkaayf with Ryan Lochte, Ricky Berens, and David Walters g with Aaron Peirsol, Eric Shanteau and David Waltersh short course record with Nick Thoman, Mark Gangloff and Nathan Adrian i short course record with Nathan Adrian, Matt Grevers and Garrett Weber-Gale

Guinness World Records

Phelps holds 20 Guinness World Records which predominantly consist of accumulative Guinness World Records ("Guinness mosts", records formulated starting with "most") for total number of accomplishments and victories in swimming such as: most medals, consecutive number of medals, most medals within one tournament, most records in swimming etc. It is the highest number of accumulative Guinness World Records held by an athlete.

Most world records set for swimming (male)

Most individual swimming Olympic gold medals

Most medals won at the FINA Swimming World Championships

Most Olympic gold medals in team swimming

Most medals won at the Olympics for swimming (male)

Most Men's World Swimmer of the Year Awards

Most Olympic golds at one Games (male)

Most gold medals won at the Olympics for an individual event (male)

Most FINA world records held by an individual

Most Olympic medals won, Men

Most consecutive Olympic swimming gold medals in the same event (male)

Fastest swim long course 400 metres medley (male)

Most gold medals won at the Olympics (male)

Most individual Olympic medals (male)

Most swimming Olympic medals won, men (single games)

Most Olympic medals won (single games), men

Most gold medals won at a single FINA World Championships (individual). He also won most gold medals in FINA world championship's history.

Most silver medals awarded in a single Olympic swimming race

Fastest swim short course relay 4 x 100 metres freestyle (male)

Fastest swim long course relay 4 x 200 metres freestyle (male)

(Wikipedia)

Manjeet Kaur

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in the Punjab Police, Manjeet competed for India in 4 x 400 metres relay at 2004 Athens Olympics where her team set the current National record with a time of 3:26.89. The team finished third in their heats. In the next Beijing Olympics also she represented India in 4 x 400 metres relay where her team composed of Sathi Geetha, Chitra K. Soman, and Mandeep Kaur clocked a time of 3:28.83 and finished seventh in their heats.Manjeet Kaur (born 4 April 1982) is an Indian sprint athlete from Punjab who specializes in 400 metres. She held the 400 m National record of 51.05 seconds set at the National Circuit Athletic Meet held in Chennai on 16 June 2004. She broke the previous record held by K. M. Beenamol since November 2001. In doing so, she passed the qualifying mark for the 2004 Athens Olympics. She along with Chitra K. Soman, Rajwinder Kaur and K. M. Beenamol form the team that holds the current National record in 4 x 400 metres relay. Born 4 April 1982.

In Doha Asian Games in 2006, Manjeet led India to a 4 x 400 metres relay gold Earlier at the same event, she had also won a silver medal in Women's 400 metres race behind eventual winner Olga Tereshkova from Kazakhstan. In 2005, she was conferred the Arjuna Award for her contribution to the Indian athletics.

Manjeet Kaur won the Gold Medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in 4x400 m relay event with Mandeep Kaur, Sini Jose and Ashwini Akkunji.

Manpreet Kaur

personal information

the nationality Indian

sport

Country India

sport Weight lifting

The competition +45 kg

Achievements and titles

National finals

2013 National Weightlifting Championship : +75 kg - Gold

Michael Kindo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Michael Kindo (born 20 June 1947) is a former Indian field hockey player, from Jharkhand state in India. He represented India in 1972 Summer Olympics and won the bronze medal. He was a member of the team that won the World Cup in 1975. He played at full back position. He was awarded an Arjuna Award for his achievements.

Hockey World Cup 2018: An afternoon with Michael Kindo, India's world-beating defender who dazzled with his skills and smarts

Shantanu SrivastavaDec 09, 2018

Rourkela: Peter Tirkey, Odisha's veteran hockey coach, points towards left goalpost at the SAIL Academy in Rourkela and goes, "He stays just there." The question posed to him was: Where does Michael Kindo live? Tirkey, obviously, meant a general direction, but he couldn't have been more accurate. Michael Kindo indeed hovered around India's goalpost for much of his playing career, fending off forwards with consummate ease.

Former India defender Michael Kindo at his Rourkela residence. Image: Firstpost/Shantanu Srivastava

Now 71, Kindo is leading a retired life in his Rourkela home, accompanied by his wife and his son's family. The years have taken their toll. His voice fades in a blur of incomprehensible sound, his memory is shaky, and his hearing is suspect. It's as if his brain processes sentences as certain keywords, for Kindo picks some words and elaborates.

One such word eventually registers. 1975.

"Oh, 1975! It was a memorable win of my career," he says in Sadri, an Odia dialect spoken chiefly by the Oran tribe that abounds the region.

"We were a good team. The team spirit was very good, and we played as a unit."

Kindo follows the ongoing Hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar on television, and was invited at the event's opening ceremony last month. However, he didn't travel due to health reasons.

"I watch the matches on TV, but I don't recognise many players. I think Birendra Lakra is good. He is a very hardworking player. Dipsan Tirkey is also a good player.

"It's good that the World Cup is being held in Bhubaneswar. The home advantage will be with us," he says.

That's pretty much all he would say the entire afternoon until his memory is put to a further test with an archival photograph of the world-beating batch of 1975. Kindo tries his luck and identifies himself, Ashok Kumar and Aslam Sher Khan with a child-like chuckle.

"These were some very good players. Surjit Singh was our other full-back. (VJ) Phillips was the right-out, Ashok Kumar was right-in, Shivaji Pawar was centre-forward, (Leslie) Fernandez was the goalkeeper, Ajitpal Singh was our captain.

"Winning that World Cup was magical. The celebrations went on forever, and I remember a grand reception in Chandigarh."

When informed about the medical condition of Balbir Singh Senior, the team's then manager, Kindo's shock and sadness comes through in the form of an abrupt end to his speech. He sinks back in his seat and goes, "He is a nice man. He was a strict manager, but always wanted the welfare of Indian hockey. I wish he recovers soon."

Kindo's colleagues, Ashok Kumar and Aslam Sher Khan, remember him as a committed and honest player who was fun to be with.

"He had a clean heart and was very disciplined, something that he had inherited from the fauj. Kindo was among our most loved teammate, and always cracked jokes to keep the environment light. But once he stepped on the field, he meant business," says Ashok.

"Game-wise, he was very good with tackles and dodges. I would say he was among the best defenders of his time, and the team depended a lot on him. We knew if the ball is with Kindo, he won't let it pass.

"Another feature of Kindo's hockey was his accuracy. He couldn't hit long passes, but while taking the 16-yard hit, he would just glance at an unmarked teammate and look elsewhere. He wouldn't even look at that person, but the pass would land there with pin-point precision. That is something that I have not seen in any player and even today, I tell kids to practice that art," the three-time World Cup medallist says.

Khan, who memorably replaced Kindo in the semi-final of the 1975 World Cup against Malaysia when India trailed 1-2 with few minutes to go, recalls the maturity with which Kindo accepted the decision.

"Our coach thought that replacing Surjit — who was missing a lot of penalty corners — will break his confidence. Eventually, they decided to replace Kindo, even though he was not a drag-flicker. But he took it very sportingly. He said he knew I deserved to be played," recalls Khan.

Khan went on to score the crucial equaliser in the 65th minute, and India beat Malaysia in the extra time. Khan's sizzling form ensured his place in the final against Pakistan, which meant Kindo missed that game completely.

"He never had any hard feelings. He had a very clean heart. He was very happy to win the World Cup," Khan recalls.

"He was a very good player; a very intelligent player. As a defender, he always knew where the ball would come from. His sense of positioning, tackle, and interception were all top of the line. His only limitation was that he didn't have a penalty corner shot, but overall, he was world class."

Far from such platitudes though, Kindo is leading an unhurried life in his quaint retreat where, apart from some local hockey enthusiasts, not many drop by. Among the first tribals to play for independent India and certainly the only one to win a World Cup, Kindo's legacy quietly lives on the region, just the way the unassuming armyman would have liked.

Manjusha Kanwar

From Wikipedia,

Manjusha Kanwar

Personal information

Country India

Born 20 March 1971

Pune, Maharashtra, India

Residence Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)

Handedness Right

Representing India

Women's badminton

1998 Kuala Lumpur Women's team

South Asian Games

2004 Islamabad Women's team

2004 Islamabad Women's doubles

2004 Islamabad Mixed doubles

Asia Team Championships

Manjusha Kanwar (born March 20, 1971, née Manjusha Pavangadkar) is a female badminton player. She was born in Pune, Maharashtra, India. Presently works as Deputy General Manager in Sports Department Indian Oil Corporation, New Delhi. She was part of Indian Badminton League in 2018–20 as a Coach of Delhi Team. She was honored with the FICCI Life Time Achievement Award in 2020 for her achievements both as a player and her work for the promotion of sports.

Career

Manjusha Kanwar won the National Championships in India for the first time in 1991. Nine more titles followed until 2002. Bronze Medalist in Commonwealth Games in 1998 (Teams) wherein she played both singles and doubles. Gold Medalist in South Asian Games 2004 in teams and Silver Medalist in Womens Doubles and Mixed Doubles . She represented India for 12 years.

Achievements

South Asian Games

Women's doublesYearVenuePartnerOpponentScoreResult2004 Rodham Hall, Islamabad, Pakistan Fathima Nazneen Shruti Kurien

Jwala Gutta 6–15, 3–15 Silver

Mixed doublesYearVenuePartnerOpponentScoreResult2004 Rodham Hall, Islamabad, Pakistan Marcos Bristow Jaseel P. Ismail

Jwala Gutta 6–15, 3–15 Silver

IBF International[edit]

Women's singlesYearTournamentOpponentScoreResult1999 Wellington International Rhona Robertson 3–11, 3–11 Runner-up

Women's doublesYearTournamentPartnerOpponentScoreResult1998 India International Archana Deodhar Madhumita Bisht

P. V. V. Lakshmi 15–6, 13–15, 9–15 Runner-up

Mixed doublesYearTournamentPartnerOpponentScoreResult2002 India Satellite Jaseel P. Ismail Marcos Bristow

B. R. Meenakshi 11–5, 11–3 Winner

Masira Surin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Masira SurinPersonal information

Born 18 November 1981

Medal record

Women's field hockey

Representing India

Commonwealth Games

2002 Manchester Team

Champions Challenge

2002 Johannesburg Team

Masira Surin (born 18 November 1981) is a member of the India women's national field hockey team. She played with the team when it won the gold at the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games.

Manu Attri

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Manu Attri

Personal information

Country India

Born 31 December 1992 (age 29)

Meerut, India

Residence Meerut, Uttar Pradesh

Years active 2008-

Handedness Right

Men's doubles

Highest ranking 17 (23 December 2015)

Current ranking 30 (10 December 2019)

Men's badminton

Representing India

2016 Hyderabad Men's team

2016 Guwahati-Shillong Men's doubles

2016 Guwahati-Shillong Men's team

2016 Guwahati-Shillong Men's doubles

https://www.biography.com/athlete/muhammad-ali

Manu Attri (born 31 December 1992) is an Indian badminton player who currently plays men's and mixed doubles. He partners with Jishnu Sanyal for men's doubles events and previously partnered with B. Sumeeth Reddy. For mixed doubles events, he partners with N. Siki Reddy, and previously, K. Maneesha.

He competed at the 2014 Asian Games.[3] In 2016, Manu competed in the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics along with his partner B. Sumeeth Reddy in the men's doubles event.

Badminton career

2010

BWF World Junior Championships 2010

Manu was a part of the Indian team that participated in the BWF World Junior Championship in 2010. India was placed in Group Z2 along with Denmark and the USA. India finished 9th in this tournament.

BWF Bimantara Cups World Junior Championships

Men's Double

with Prannoy H. S. (IND)

Round 1: vs Morten BRøDBæK & Nikolaj OVERGAARD (DEN) 19-21 12-21 Lost

Mixed Doubles

with Gauri Ghate (IND)

Round 1: Bye

Round 2: Seung Il CHOI & So Young PARK (KOR) 20-22 19-21 Lost

Maldives International Challenge 2010

Men's Doubles

with Sanyal Jisnu (IND)

Round 1: Khanjani Mohammad Reza & Eskandari Vatannejad Soroush (IRI) 21-10 21-11 Win

Round 2: Fernando Eranga & Matarage Indika (SRI) 21-3 21-9 Win

Quarterfinals: Karunaratne Dinuka & Karunaratne Niluka (SRI)[4] 7-21 10-21 Lost

India Grand Prix Gold

Men's Doubles

with Sanyal Jisnu (IND)

Round 1: vs Marwan Saada Yasin & Marwan Saada Youssef (EGY) 21-2 21-12 Win

Round 2: vs Rizki Delynugraha Mochamad & Rijal Muhammad (INA) 18-21 7-21 Lost

2011

Badminton Asia Championships 2011

Men's Doubles

with Sanyal Jisnu (IND)

Qualification 3 Semifinal: vs Quang Tuan Bui & Ha Anh Le (VIE) 21-15 21-9 Win

Qualification 3 Final: Prom Saravuth & Yongvannak Teav (CAM) 21-13 21-18 Win

Round 1: Bang Duc Bui & Manh Thang Dao (VIE) 23-25 21-14 14-21 Lost

Yonex-Sunrise India Open

Men's Doubles

with Sanyal Jisnu (IND)

Round 1: Bye

Round 2: Kien Keat Koo & Boon Heong Tan [1](MAS) 9-21 14-21 Lost

Maldives International Badminton Challenge 2011

Men's Double[

with Sanyal Jisnu (IND)

Round 1: Moosa Ahmed & Shafeeg Ibrahim (MDV) 21-6 21-8 Win

Round 2: Thasleem Ibrahim & Zuhury Ismail (MDV) 21-3 21-12 Win

Quarterfinal: Koch Jurgen & Zauner Peter (AUT) 19-21 18-21 Lost

Mauritius International 2011

Men's Doubles

with Sanyal Jisnu (IND) seeded 2nd

Round 1: Bye

Round 2: Deeneshsing Baboolall & Yoni Louison (MRI) 21-14 21-15 Win

Quarterfinal: Aatish Lubah & Julien Paul (MRI) 21-12 21-9 Win

Semifinal: Giovanni Greco & Rosario Maddaloni [4] (ITA) 21-10 21-14 Win

Final: Dorian James & Willem Viljoen [1] (SA) 21-19 21-9 Win

Kenya International Series 2011

with Sanyal Jisnu (IND) seeded 4th

Men's Doubles

Round 1: Bye

Round 2: Adamu Ibrahim & Elewa Olorunfemi (NIG) 21-13 21-11 Win

Quarterfinal: Emre Lale & Murat Sen (TUR) 21-11 21-10 Win

Semifinal: Jinkam Ifraimu Bulus & Ebenezer Olaluwa Fagbemi [2](NIG) 21-8 21-19 Win

Final: Dorian James & Willem Viljoen [1] (SA) 21-13 21-12 Win

Yonex Sunrise Vietnam Grand Prix Open 2011

Men's Doubles

with Sanyal Jisnu (IND)

Round 1: Shen Low Juan & Jagdish Singh (MAS) 7-21 21-17 17-21 Lost

Yonex Chinese Taipei Open 2011

Men's Doubles

with Sanyal Jisnu (IND)

Round 1: Alvent Yulianto Chandra & Hendra Aprida Gunawan [4](INA) 16-21 12-21 Lost

Iran Fajr International Challenge 2012

He partnered with T. Hemanagendra Babu (IND) for the Men's doubles event. In round 1 they defeated the Iranian players Alireza Faghfouri & Mehran Shahbazi by 21-9 22-20. In round 2, the pair was defeated by Itani Kazuya & Tomoya Takashina from Japan with a score of 21-18 14-21 16-21.

Austrian International Challenge 2012

Manu partnered with T. Hemanagendra Babu (IND) for the Men's doubles event. They defeated the German pair of Mark Flato & Patrick Kaemnitz in round 1 by 21-10 21-11. In round 2 they lost against 2nd seed host favourite Jurgen Koch & Peter Zauner by 14-21 10-21.

Yonex Sunrise India Open 2012

He again went back to his partnership with Sanyal Jisnu for the Men's doubles event. The pair lost their 1st match against the Indonesian pair of Adam Cwalina & Michael Logosz by 13-21 17-21. For the mixed doubles, he paired up with N. Sikki Reddy. They were seeded 2nd in the tournament, but got knocked out by Danny Bawa Chrisnanta & Yu Yan Vanessa Neo from Singapore by 11-21 21-17 15-21 in round 1.

Russia Open Grand Prix 2012

He partnered with Sanyal Jisnu for the Men's doubles event; the pair gave walkover to local pair of Yaroslav Egerev & Andrey Parokhodin in round 1.

White Nights 2012

He partnered with Sanyal Jisnu for the Men's doubles event; the pair gave walkover in round 1.

Li Ning China Open 2012

He started his new partnership with B. Sumeeth Reddy and entered in the qualification round for the Men's Doubles event. In round 1 of qualification, the pair got a bye, while in round 2 the Chinese pair of Guo Zhendong & Xu Chen gave them a walkover. The team qualified for the main draw, but eventually lost to Alvent Yulianto Chandra and Markis Kido from Indonesia by 17-21, 21-13, 11-21 in the 1st round.

Yonex Sunrise Hong Kong Open 2012

He partnered with B. Sumeeth Reddy and entered in the qualification round of the men's doubles event. In Qualification Round 1, the pair defeated Lai Chein Cheng of Taipei and Joe Wu of New Zealand by 21-11 and 21-14. In Qualification Round 2, they knocked out 3rd seed Lee Chun Hei and Ng Ka Long from Hong Kong by 21-13, 13-21, 21-15 and qualified for the main draw.

In Round 1, the pair lost to Alvent Yulianto Chandra and Markis Kido from Indonesia by 21-11, 11-21, 15-21.

Kumpoo Macau Open Badminton Grand Prix Gold 2012[edit]

He partnered with B. Sumeeth Reddy and entered in the qualification round of the men's doubles event. They lost to the top seed Taipei pair of Lu Ching Yao & Tseng Min Hao by 19-21 22-20 9-21 in the 1st round of qualification.

TATA Open India International Challenge 2012

He partnered with B. Sumeeth Reddy and entered in the qualification round of Men's Doubles event as 4th seed. For Mixed Doubles, he partnered with K. Maneesha and entered into the main round.

In Qualification Round 1, Sumeeth and Manu defeated Chun Chun Hung and Sheng-Jie Yang from Taipei by 21-13 and 21-11. In Round 2, they played against Taipei pair of Tien Tzu Chieh and Yang Po Han by 21-16, 9-21, 21-19, qualifying them for the main round. They played against Indian pair of S. Sanjeeth and Jagadish Yadav and got past them with a 21-13, 21-13 victory. In Round 2, they faced the top-seeded Koran pair of Ko Sung Hyun and Lee Yong Dae and lost the match by 17-21, 9-21.

In Mixed Doubles Round 1, he along with Manisha faced 2nd seed Zhao Jiang, Terry Yeo and Dellis Yuliana from Indonesia and lost against them by 16-21 and 13-21.

Shaheed Dr. K.L. Garg - Syed Modi International India GPG 2012

He partnered with B. Sumeeth Reddy and K. Maneesha respectively for Men's and Mixed Doubles events and received entries for the main round.

In Men's Doubles Round 1, they defeat French pair Ronan Laber and Mathias Quere by 21-15, 12-21, 21-15. In Round 2, they lost to 5th seed Gideon Markus Fernaldi and Agripinna Prima Rahmanto Putra from Indonesia by 19-21 and 11-21.

In Mixed Doubles, Manu-Maneesha lost against Zhao Jiang, Terry Yeo and Dellis Yuliana from Indonesia by 8-21 and 20-22.

2014

2015

He won the Mexico City Grand Prix. He was runner up of Dutch open and US open grand prix gold. He won the Lagos International.

Achievements

South Asian Games

Men's doubles

YearVenuePartnerOpponentScoreResult2016 Multipurpose Hall SAI–SAG Centre,

Shillong, India B. Sumeeth Reddy Akshay Dewalkar

Pranav Chopra 21–18, 21–17 Gold

Mixed doubles

YearVenuePartnerOpponentScoreResult2016 Multipurpose Hall SAI–SAG Centre,

Shillong, India Ashwini Ponnappa Pranav Chopra

N. Sikki Reddy 29–30, 17–21 Silver

BWF Grand Prix (2 titles, 3 runners-up)

The BWF Grand Prix has two levels, the BWF Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It is a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007.

Men's doubles

YearTournamentPartnerOpponentScoreResult2016 Canada Open B. Sumeeth Reddy Adrian Liu

Toby Ng 21–8, 21–14 Winner

2015 Mexico City Grand Prix B. Sumeeth Reddy Bodin Issara

Nipitphon Puangpuapech 22–20, 21–18 Winner

2015 Dutch Open B. Sumeeth Reddy Koo Kien Keat

Tan Boon Heong 15–21, 10–21 Runner-up

2015 U.S. Open B. Sumeeth Reddy Li Junhui

Liu Yuchen 12–21, 16–21 Runner-up

Mixed doubles

YearTournamentPartnerOpponentScoreResult2015 Syed Modi International K. Maneesha Riky Widianto

Richi Puspita Dili 17–21, 17–21 Runner-up

BWF International Challenge/Series (12 titles, 5 runners-up)

Men's doubles

YearTournamentPartnerOpponentScoreResult2019 India International B. Sumeeth Reddy Chaloempon Charoenkitamorn

Kittisak Namdash 21–15, 21–15 Winner

2019 Nepal International B. Sumeeth Reddy Arjun M.R.

Dhruv Kapila 21–19, 21–15 Winner

2018 Lagos International B. Sumeeth Reddy Vaibhaav

Prakash Raj 21–12, 21–12 Winner

2017 Lagos International B. Sumeeth Reddy Godwin Olofua

Anuoluwapo Juwon Opeyori 21–13, 21–15 Winner

2016 Peru International B. Sumeeth Reddy Adam Cwalina

Przemyslaw Wacha 19–21, 21–18, 28–30 Runner-up

2015 Bulgarian International B. Sumeeth Reddy Raphael Beck

Peter Kaesbauer 14–21, 16–21 Runner-up

2015 Prague Open B. Sumeeth Reddy Adam Cwalina

Przemyslaw Wacha 21–19, 20–22, 14–21 Runner-up

2015 Belgian International B. Sumeeth Reddy Adam Cwalina

Przemyslaw Wacha 22–20, 19–21, 22–20 Winner

2015 Guatemala International B. Sumeeth Reddy Michael Fuchs

Johannes Schöttler 17–21, 13–21 Runner-up

2015 Lagos International B. Sumeeth Reddy Adam Cwalina

Przemyslaw Wacha 21–17, 21–17 Winner

2014 Tata Open India International B. Sumeeth Reddy Shlok Ramchandran

Sanyam Shukla 21–15, 21–15 Winner

2014 Sri Lanka International B. Sumeeth Reddy Danny Bawa Chrisnanta

Chayut Triyachart 17–21, 19–21 Runner-up

2013 Tata Open India International B. Sumeeth Reddy Tien Tzu-chieh

Wang Chi-lin 21–16, 21–13 Winner

2011 Kenya International Jishnu Sanyal Dorian James

Willem Viljoen 21-19, 21-9 Winner

2011 Mauritius International Jishnu Sanyal Dorian James

Willem Viljoen 21-13, 21-12 Winner

Mixed doubles

YearTournamentPartnerOpponentScoreResult2018 Lagos International K. Maneesha Rohan Kapoor

Kuhoo Garg 21–17, 23–21 Winner

2014 Tata Open India International N. Sikki Reddy Akshay Dewalkar

Pradnya Gadre 21–19, 19–21, 21–10 Winner

BWF International Challenge tournament BWF International Series tournament

Muhammad Ali

(1942–2016)

UPDATED:JAN 7, 2021ORIGINAL:APR 27, 2017

Who Was Muhammad Ali?

Muhammad Ali was a boxer, philanthropist and social activist who is universally regarded as one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century. Ali became an Olympic gold medalist in 1960 and the world heavyweight boxing champion in 1964.

Following his suspension for refusing military service, Ali reclaimed the heavyweight title two more times during the 1970s, winning famed bouts against Joe Frazier and George Foreman along the way. Diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1984, Ali devoted much of his time to philanthropy, earning the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005.

Early Life

Ali was born on January 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky. His birth name was Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.

At an early age, young Clay showed that he wasn't afraid of any bout — inside or outside of the ring. Growing up in the segregated South, he experienced racial prejudice and discrimination firsthand.

At the age of 12, Clay discovered his talent for boxing through an odd twist of fate. After his bike was stolen, Clay told a police officer, Joe Martin, that he wanted to beat up the thief.

"Well, you better learn how to fight before you start challenging people," Martin reportedly told him at the time. In addition to being a police officer, Martin also trained young boxers at a local gym.

Clay started working with Martin to learn how to spar and soon began his boxing career. In his first amateur bout in 1954, he won the fight by split decision.

Clay went on to win the 1956 Golden Gloves tournament for novices in the light heavyweight class. Three years later, he won the National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions, as well as the Amateur Athletic Union's national title for the light heavyweight division.

In 1960, Clay won a spot on the U.S. Olympic boxing team, and traveled to Rome, Italy, to compete. At six feet, three inches tall, Clay was an imposing figure in the ring, but he also became known for his lightning speed and fancy footwork. After winning his first three bouts, Clay defeated Zbigniew Pietrzkowski of Poland to win the light heavyweight Olympic gold medal.

After his Olympic victory, Clay was heralded as an American hero. He soon turned professional with the backing of the Louisville Sponsoring Group and continued overwhelming all opponents in the ring.

Conversion to Islam

Clay joined the Black Muslim group Nation of Islam in 1964. At first, he called himself Cassius X before settling on the name Muhammad Ali. The boxer eventually converted to orthodox Islam during the 1970s.

Vietnam and Supreme Court Case

Ali started a different kind of fight with his outspoken views against the Vietnam War.

Drafted into the military in April 1967, he refused to serve on the grounds that he was a practicing Muslim minister with religious beliefs that prevented him from fighting. He was arrested for committing a felony and almost immediately stripped of his world title and boxing license.

The U.S. Department of Justice pursued a legal case against Ali, denying his claim for conscientious objector status. He was found guilty of violating Selective Service laws and sentenced to five years in prison in June 1967 but remained free while appealing his conviction.

Unable to compete professionally in the meantime, Ali missed more than three prime years of his athletic career. Ali returned to the ring in 1970 with a win over Jerry Quarry, and the U.S. Supreme Court eventually overturned the conviction in June 1971.

Muhammad Ali: Record

Ali had a career record of 56 wins, five losses and 37 knockouts before his retirement from boxing in 1981 at the age of 39.

Fights

Often referring to himself as "The Greatest," Ali was not afraid to sing his own praises. He was known for boasting about his skills before a fight and for his colorful descriptions and phrases.

In one of his more famously quoted descriptions, Ali told reporters that he could "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" in the boxing ring. A few of his more well-known matches include the following:

Sonny Liston

After winning gold at the 1960 Olympics, Ali took out British heavyweight champion Henry Cooper in 1963. He then knocked out Sonny Liston in 1964 to become the heavyweight champion of the world.

Joe Frazier

In 1971, Ali took on Joe Frazier in what has been called the "Fight of the Century." Frazier and Ali went toe-to-toe for 14 rounds before Frazier dropped Ali with a vicious left hook in the 15th. Ali recovered quickly, but the judges awarded the decision to Frazier, handing Ali his first professional loss after 31 wins.

After suffering a loss to Ken Norton, Ali beat Frazier in a 1974 rematch.

In 1975, Ali and Frazier locked horns again for their grudge match in Quezon City, Philippines. Dubbed the "Thrilla in Manila," the bout nearly went the distance, with both men delivering and absorbing tremendous punishment. However, Frazier's trainer threw in the towel after the 14th round, giving the hard-fought victory to Ali.

George Foreman

Another legendary Ali fight took place in 1974 against undefeated heavyweight champion George Foreman. Billed as the "Rumble in the Jungle," the bout was organized by promoter Don King and held in Kinshasa, Zaire.

For once, Ali was seen as the underdog to the younger, massive Foreman, but he silenced his critics with a masterful performance. He baited Foreman into throwing wild punches with his "rope-a-dope" technique, before stunning his opponent with an eighth-round knockout to reclaim the heavyweight title.

Leon Spinks

After losing his title to Leon Spinks in February 1978, Ali defeated him in a September 1978 rematch, becoming the first boxer to win the heavyweight championship three times.

Larry Holmes

Following a brief retirement, Ali returned to the ring to face Larry Holmes in 1980 but was overmatched against the younger champion.

Following one final loss in 1981, to Trevor Berbick, the boxing great retired from the sport at age 39.

Spouse and Children

Ali was married four times and had nine children, including two children he fathered outside of marriage.

Ali married his first wife, Sonji Roi, in 1964; they divorced after one year when she refused to adopt the Nation of Islam dress and customs.

(1879–195ALI MARRIED HIS SECOND WIFE, 17-YEAR-OLD BELINDA BOYD, IN 1967. BOYD AND ALI HAD FOUR CHILDREN TOGETHER: MARYUM, BORN IN 1969; JAMILLAH AND LIBAN, BOTH BORN IN 1970; AND MUHAMMAD ALI JR.; BORN IN 1972. BOYD AND ALI DIVORCED IN 1976.

At the same time Ali was married to Boyd, he traveled openly with Veronica Porche, who became his third wife in 1977. The pair had two daughters together, including Laila Ali, who followed in Ali’s footsteps by becoming a champion boxer. Porche and Ali divorced in 1986.

Ali married his fourth and final wife Yolanda ("Lonnie") in 1986. The pair had known each other since Lonnie was just six and Ali was 21; their mothers were best friends and raised their families on the same street. Ali and Lonnie couple remained married until his death and had one son together, Asaad.

Parkinson's Diagnosis

In 1984, Ali announced that he had Parkinson's disease, a degenerative neurological condition.

Despite the progression of Parkinson's and the onset of spinal stenosis, he remained active in public life. Ali raised funds for the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center in Phoenix, Arizona. And he was on hand to celebrate the inauguration of the first African American president in January 2009, when Barack Obama was sworn into office.

A few years before his death, Ali underwent surgery for spinal stenosis, a condition causing the narrowing of the spine, which limited his mobility and ability to communicate.

Philanthropy

In his retirement, Ali devoted much of his time to philanthropy. Over the years, Ali supported the Special Olympics and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, among other organizations. In 1996, he lit the Olympic cauldron at the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, an emotional moment in sports history.

Ali traveled to numerous countries, including Mexico and Morocco, to help out those in need. In 1998, he was chosen to be a United Nations Messenger of Peace because of his work in developing nations.

Awards

In 2005, Ali received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush.

Soon after Obama’s 2009 inauguration, Ali received the President's Award from the NAACP for his public service efforts.

Muhammad Ali Center

Ali opened the Muhammad Ali Center in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, in 2005.

"I am an ordinary man who worked hard to develop the talent I was given," he said. "Many fans wanted to build a museum to acknowledge my achievements. I wanted more than a building to house my memorabilia. I wanted a place that would inspire people to be the best that they could be at whatever they chose to do, and to encourage them to be respectful of one another."

Movie

Actor Will Smith played Ali in the biopic film Ali, released in 2001.

Muhammad Ali holds the torch before lighting the Olympic Flame during the opening ceremony of the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia on July 19, 1996

Photo: Michael Cooper/Getty Images

Death

Ali died on June 3, 2016, in Phoenix, Arizona, after being hospitalized for what was reportedly a respiratory issue. He was 74 years old.

The boxing legend had been suffering from Parkinson’s disease and spinal stenosis. In early 2015, the athlete battled pneumonia and was hospitalized for a severe urinary tract infection.

Funeral and Memorial Service

Years before his passing, Ali had planned his own memorial services, saying he wanted to be “inclusive of everyone, where we give as many people an opportunity that want to pay their respects to me,” according to a family spokesman.

The three-day event, which took place in Ali’s hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, included an “I Am Ali” festival of public arts, entertainment and educational offerings sponsored by the city, an Islamic prayer program and a memorial service.

Prior to the memorial service, a funeral procession traveled 20 miles through Louisville, past Ali’s childhood home, his high school, the first boxing gym where he trained and along Ali Boulevard as tens of thousands of fans tossed flowers on his hearse and cheered his name.

The champ’s memorial service was held at the KFC Yum Center arena with close to 20,000 people in attendance. Speakers included religious leaders from various faiths, Attallah Shabazz, Malcolm X’s eldest daughter, broadcaster Bryant Gumbel, former President Bill Clinton, comedian Billy Crystal, Ali’s daughters Maryum and Rasheda and his widow Lonnie.

"Muhammad indicated that when the end came for him, he wanted us to use his life and his death as a teaching moment for young people, for his country and for the world," Lonnie said. "In effect, he wanted us to remind people who are suffering that he had seen the face of injustice. That he grew up during segregation, and that during his early life he was not free to be who he wanted to be. But he never became embittered enough to quit or to engage in violence."

Former President Clinton spoke about how Ali found self-empowerment: "I think he decided, before he could possibly have worked it all out, and before fate and time could work their will on him, he decided he would not ever be disempowered. He decided that not his race nor his place, the expectations of others, positive, negative or otherwise would strip from him the power to write his own story. "

Crystal, who was a struggling comedian when he became friends with Ali, said of the boxing legend: “Ultimately, he became a silent messenger for peace, who taught us that life is best when you build bridges between people, not walls.”

"You have inspired us and the world to be the best version of ourselves,' Rasheda Ali spoke to her father. 'May you live in paradise free from suffering. You shook up the world in life now you're shaking up the world in death. Now you are free to be with your creator. We love you so much Daddy. Until we meet again, fly butterfly, fly."

Pallbearers included Will Smith and former heavyweight champions Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis. Ali was buried at the Cave Hill National Cemetery in Louisville.

Ali's stature as a legend continues to grow even after his death. He is celebrated not only for his remarkable athletic skills but for his willingness to speak his mind and his courage to challenge the status quo.

Mary Kom

Mary Kom is an Indian boxer from the northeast state of Manipur, born on 1st March 1983, Mangte Chungneijang. She is also known as MC Mary Kom or Magnificent Mary. Mary Kom is famed as a five-time World Boxing Champion and the only boxer to win a medal in every one of the six world championships. In the 2012 Olympics, she became the first Indian women boxer to qualify and win a bronze medal in the 51 kg flyweight category of Boxing. She is currently ranked as Number. 4 in the Flyweight category of AIBA World Women’s Ranking.

Mary was born in Kangathei, Manipur. She did her schooling from Loktak Christian Model High School, Moirang till class VI and studied in St. Xavier Catholic School, Moirang till class VIII. She then completed her schooling from NIOS, Imphal and did her graduation from Churachandpur College. Mary Kom is a mother of twin sons, Rechungvar and Khupneivar; and is married to K Onler Kom. She had an eager interest in athletics since childhood and the success of Dingko Singh is what really inspired her to become a boxer.

Career

Mary Kom’s career started in 2000 after her victory in the Manipur state women’s boxing championship and the regional championship in West Bengal. In 2001, she started competing at international level. She was only 18 years old when she made her international debut at the first AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championship in United States, winning a silver medal in the 48 kg weight category. In 2002, she won a gold medal in the 45 kg weight class at the second AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championship in Turkey. She also won a gold medal in the 45 kg weight category at the Witch Cup in Hungary in the same year.

In 2003, Mary Kom won a gold medal in the 46 kg weight class at the Asian Women’s Boxing Championship in India and in 2004 she won a gold medal at the Women’s Boxing World Cup in Norway. In 2005, she again won a gold medal at the Asian Women’s Boxing Championship in Taiwan and the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championship in Russia both in the 46 kg weight class. In 2006, she won a gold medal at the Venus Women’s Box Cup in Denmark and won gold again at the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championship in India.

After a one year break, Mary Kom returned in 2008 to win a silver medal at the Asian Women’s Boxing Championship held in India and won a fourth successive gold medal at the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championship in China, both were in the 46 weigh category. In 2009 she won a gold medal at the Asian Indoor Games in Vietnam.

In 2010, Mary Kom won a gold medal at the Asian Women’s Boxing Championship in Kazakhstan and her fifth consecutive gold medal in the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championship in Barbados. She competed in the 48 kg weight class because AIBA had discontinued using the 46 kg class. She also participated in the 51 kg weight class at the Asian Games and won a bronze medal.

In the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in Delhi, India. She had the honor of holding the Queen’s Baton along with Vijender Singh for the opening ceremony run in the stadium. However, she did not compete as women’s boxing event was not included in the Games. In 2011, she won a gold medal in the 48 kg weight class at the Asian Women’s Cup in China. In 2012, she won a gold medal in the 51 kg weight class at the Asian Women’s Boxing Championship in Mongolia.

The 2012 London Olympics brought her more respect and honor as she became the first Indian women boxer to qualify and win a bronze medal at the Olympics. She took part in the 51 kg weight category and also became the third Indian woman to win an individual medal at the Olympics.

In 2014 Asian Games, she won a gold medal and created history for India. She won the gold in the women’s flyweight (48-52 kg) division which was her first gold medal in the Asian Games.

Awards and recognitions:

Arjuna Award (Boxing) in 2003

Padma Shree (Sports) in 2006

Contender for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 2007

People of the Year – Limca Book of Records in 2007

CNN-IBN & Reliance Industries’ Real Heroes Award in 2008

Pepsi MTV Youth Icon in 2008

‘Magnificent Mary’, AIBA in 2008

Felicitation by Zomi Students’ Federation (ZSF) at New Lamka YPA Hall in 2008

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 2009

International Boxing Association’s Ambassador for Women’s Boxing in 2009

Sportswoman of the year, Sahara Sports Award in 2010

Maruti Mane

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Maruti Mane

Born August 10, 1938

Sangli, MUMBAI, MAHARASHTRA, BHARATVARSH

Died 27 July 2010 (aged 71)

Kavathe Piran, Miraj, Maharashtra, BHARAT

Nationality BHARTIYA

Occupation Olympic wrestler

Maruti Mane (10 August 1938 – 27 July 2010) was an Indian former wrestler who competed in the 1964 Summer Olympics.

Mane had a glorious run as a wrestler between 1962 and 1972 and did exceedingly well for the country in major championships. In the 1970 Commonwealth Games, he won silver in the unlimited freestyle event. In the 1962 Asian Games, he won gold in the 97 kg freestyle and the silver in the 97 kg Greco-Roman events.

Mane was crowned Hind Kesari in 1964 after defeating Rajasthan wrestler Mahiruddin. He was at one time listed among the best wrestlers in the world. He was also presented with the prestigious Dhyan Chand award by the Union government.

In his wrestling days, Mane used to work out for almost 10 to 12 hours daily. His fitness was said to be the reason for him lasting a good 11 minutes against the then all-conquering Russian wrestler Alexander Medved in 1967.

International tournaments

MedalYearChampionshipVenueStyleEventOpponentOutcome

Gold 1962 Asian Games Jakarta, Indonesia Freestyle Light heavyweight

97 kg Haruo Takagi

Japan Winner

Silver 1962 Asian Games Jakarta, Indonesia Greco-Roman Light heavyweight

97 kg Haruo Takagi

Japan Shared Silver

Mouma Das

From Wikipedia

Mouma Das

Das in 2010

Personal information

Nationality Indian

Born 24 February 1984

Narkeldanga, Kolkata, India

Height 1.49 m (4 ft 10 in)

Medal record

Women's table tennis

Representing India

2006 Melbourn Women's team

2010 Delhi Women's team

2010 Delhi Women's doubles

2018 Gold Coast Women's team

2018 Gold Coast Women's doubles

2004 Pakistan Team Singles Doubles

2006 Sri Lanka Team Singles Doubles

2016 India Team Singles

Mouma Das (born 24 February 1984) is an Indian table tennis player. Born and brought up in Kolkata, West Bengal, she has represented India in international events since the early 2000s. Das has won multiple medals at the Commonwealth Games including a gold in the Women's Team Competition in 2018. She was awarded the Arjuna Award, India's second highest sporting honour in 2013 for her contributions to the sport.

Das participated in the 2004 Olympic Games where she competed in the singles table tennis competition; she made her second appearance at the event in the 2016 edition after a gap of 12 years. Das reached the quarterfinals of the women's doubles event at the 2017 World Table Tennis Championships partnering Manika Batra; the duo became the first Indian pair (and the first Indians in over 61 years) to do so.[The pair also won the silver medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.She was awarded India's fourth highest civilian award the Padma Shri in 2021.

Career

Das made her first World Table Tennis Championship appearance in the year 1997, at Manchester, and went on to reach the third round before bowing out. She did not participate the following year, because of an injury. In the subsequent world meets, Das either represented India as a singles player or as the team member: Kuala Lumpur (2000), Osaka (2001), Paris (2003), Doha (2004), Bremen (2006), Zagreb (2007), Guangzhou (2008), Yokohama (2009), Moscow (2010), Rotterdam (2011), Dortmund (2012), Paris (2013), Suzhou (2015), Kuala Lumpur (2016), Düsseldorf (2017), Halmstad (2018) without missing any championships. She registered the highest caps at the Championships, with 17 appearances. Das and Thailand's Komwon Nanthana have both represented their country 17 times each, the maximum by any Asian in both sections.

Das won her 1st International Gold medal in 2nd Children of Asia International Sports Games'2000 in Yakutsk.

Mouma Das played more than 400 International Matches against 75 different countries.

At the December 2015 Commonwealth Championships, Das claimed a silver in the singles event along with team medal and became the maximum Commonwealth medal winning Indian Table Tennis player.

Das qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics at the Asian Qualification Tournament held in Hong Kong in April 2015. However, her appearance at the 2016 Olympics short-lived, as she lost to higher seeded Daniela Dodean of Romania in the first round of the women's individual event.

For the Indian table tennis fraternity, ITTF World Tours have never been easy. But things were very different this time in Olomouc, a city in Moravia, in the east of the Czech Republic. Mouma Das and Manika Batra, the new and heroic women's doubles pair of India, lifted their game by several notches to reach the semi-finals for the first time at an ITTF World Tour (Major).

Indian star table tennis duo of Mouma Das and Manika Batra reached a world ranking of 12 in the latest ITTF rankings which is the best among 28 Commonwealth countries that play the sport on the big stages.

In 2017 ITTF Challenge Spanish Open Indian pair of Manika Batra and Mouma Das, seeded second, went down to the top-seed Korean duo of Jihee Jeon and Haeun Yang 11–9, 6-11, 11–9, 9-11, 9–11 in a thrilling women doubles final.it was a creditable performance by the Indians who forced the issue to the last two points to become the first Indian women's pair to finish with the silver medal in an ITTF Challenge series. Later that year, Das made her 50th Final in Annual Inter State & Senior National Table Tennis Championship in Ranchi; she also won gold medal in the team event, where she represented PSPB.

Das was a part of the Women's team that won the gold medal in the 2018 Commonwealth Games; the Indian team defeated Singapore in the final with a score of 3–1 to secure the first gold medal for the country in the event. Das won the women's doubles match partnering Madhurika Patkar to give India the lead in the tie. En route to the gold medal, the first by any nation other Singapore, India defeated the top seeded English team in semi-finals.Presently she is an employee of OIL (Oil India Ltd.).

Mahesh Gawli

(Wikipedia)

Mahesh GawliPersonal information

Date of birth 23 January 1980

Place of birth Goa, India

Position(s) Centre back

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

1998–1999 FC Kochin

2000–2003 Churchill Brothers

2003–2004 East Bengal 20 (0)

2005–2007 Mahindra United 35 (0)

2007–2015 Dempo 126 (1)

National team

2000–2011 India 96 (1)

Teams managed

2019− Indian Arrows (Assistant Coach)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Mahesh Gawli (born 23 January 1980) is a former Indian football centre-back who represented India national football team on 96 occasions between 2000 and 2011.

Club career

Gawli was born in Goa and began playing football at 8. Gawli’s talent was immediately spotted by the coaches at all age groups. He was a member of the Goa U-12 team that lost against Japan U-12 in 1991–92. He then joined the famed Tata Football Academy.

Gawli started his career at FC Kochin where he joined in 1998 after graduating from Tata Football Academy and won the Kerala League with them before moving on to Churchill Brothers.

He stayed there at Churchill for three consecutive seasons from 2000–2002 and won the Goa Professional League thrice with them. He also helped them secure the Runners-up medals in the 2001–02 season of National Football League (India) before moving on to Kolkata biggies East Bengal.

Gawli first tasted the National League success in 2003–04 season after moving into the East Bengal. He was also a member of the East Bengal team that won the prestigious 2003 ASEAN Club Championship in where he also scored a goal against Philippine Army F.C.. East Bengal completed a treble that season by winning the Kolkata League crown as well.

After a successful three-year stint with the East Bengal, it was time for Mahesh to find his place in Mahindra United team. It was under Mahindra Coach David Booth that Gawli displayed his finest brand of football. He helped Mahindra win the NFL, Indian Federation Cup, Mumbai Football League and the IFA Shield and was part of the team that participated in the 2007 AFC Cup and went on to reach the last eight stage. Gawli won the best defender award in the 10th NFL for his stellar performances in Mahindra United colors.

Then it was like a homecoming for Mahesh as he moved from Mahindra to Dempo S.C. in 2007 and has become a pillar of strength in Dempo’s defense. Gawli has won two I-League titles with Dempo and is a regular starter for the club and forms a formidable partnership with another India international Samir Naik. He helped Dempo reach the semi-finals of 2008 AFC Cup and the pre-quarters in 2011 AFC Cup.

International career

He represented India in the AFC U-16 Championship in 1996 held in Thailand and was included in the Asian All Star U-16 team. Gawli soon made his international debut in the pre-Olympic qualifier against Thailand in 1999 and cemented his place in the Indian team.

Mahesh has been representing India since 2001. With India, he won the LG Cup and several SAFF Cups. He was part of the historical Nehru Cup 2007 win in which he was the man of the match in the final against Syria. He was also an important part of the victorious India team at the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup.

He announced his retirement on 26 December 2011, almost 2 weeks after winning the 2011 SAFF Championship with India.

Munmun Lugun

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Personal information

Full name Munmum Timothy Lugun

Date of birth 5 May 1993, Delhi, India

Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)

Playing position Left back

Club information

Current team - Delhi Dynamos

Number 33

Career

Born in Delhi, Lugun started his football career with Simla Youngs in the I-League 2nd Division. He also captained his state youth team during the B.C. Roy Trophy in 2010. In 2012 Lugun signed with United Sikkim for their 2nd Division campaign and helped the club earn promotion to the I-League. He made his professional debut for the club in the I-League in their opening match against Salgaocar on 6 October 2012. Lugun started and played the full match as United Sikkim won 3–2. By the end of the season, despite the club being relegated, Lugun himself started and played 24 of United Sikkim's 26 matches.

After United Sikkim were relegated, Lugun signed with another I-League side, Rangdajied United. He made his debut for the club on 22 September 2013 against Prayag United. He started and played the full match as Rangdajied United lost 2–0. Then, after the 2013–14 I-League season, Lugun was selected by the Delhi Dynamos in the Indian Super Leaguedomestic draft for the inaugural season. Lugun only made one appearance for the Delhi side during the season, on 28 November 2014 against Mumbai City. He started and played the full match as Delhi Dynamos won 4–1.

On 22 December 2014, after the ISL season, Lugun signed with Pune for the 2014–15 I-League. He made his debut for the side on 14 February 2015 against Dempo. Lugun came on as a 72nd minute substitute for Yumnam Raju as Pune and Dempo drew the match 0–0.

On 25 March 2016 it was announced that Lugun would be part of the Minerva Academysquad in the I-League 2nd Division. After the 2nd Division season, in September 2016 it was revealed that Lugun had signed with Indian Super League side Mumbai City.

Club United Sikkim

I-League 2nd Division: 2012

Narayan Das

(footballer)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Narayan DasPersonal information

Date of birth 25 September 1993

Place of birth Tribeni, West Bengal, India

Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)

Playing positionLeft back

Narayan Das

(born 25 September 1993) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a left back for Delhi Dynamos in the Indian Super League.

Early career

Born in Tribeni, West Bengal, Das graduated from the Tata Football Academy in 2012 and signed with Pailan Arrows, the All India Football Federation's development team in the I-League on 24 October 2012. He made his professional debut for the club four days later on 28 October 2012 against Salgaocar. He came on as a halftime substitute for Pritam Kotal and earned a yellow card in the 72nd minute as Pailan Arrows drew the match 0–0. Das then scored the first goal of his career on 18 November 2012 against Prayag United. His 84th-minute goal managed to equalize the score at 1–1 but four minutes later Lalkamal Bhowmick found the winner for Prayag United and saw Pailan Arrows fall 2–1. The next match saw Das on the scoresheet again, this time against Sporting Goa. His 54th-minute strike was the only goal in a 1–0 victory for Pailan Arrows.

Dempo

After the 2012–13 season, Pailan Arrows disbanded and on 26 October 2013 it was announced that Das, along with Arrows teammates Alwyn George, Holicharan Narzary, and Pronay Halder, would sign with three-time I-League champions, Dempo. Dempo were also coached at the time by former Pailan Arrows head coach Arthur Papas. Das made his debut for the club on 1 November 2013 in the eighth round of the I-League against Mohun Bagan. Das started the match and played the whole ninety minutes as the match ended in a 0–0 draw.

After suffering from a knee injury during the 2014 Indian Super League with Goa, Das missed the entire 2014–15 I-League season as Dempo were relegated from the first division league.

Goa (loans)

On 23 July 2014, Das was part of the 2014 ISL Inaugural Domestic Draft in which he was selected by Goa, who were allowed to exclusively sign Dempo players. He made his debut for the team on 15 October 2014 against Chennaiyin. He started and played the full match as Goa lost 2–1. He continued to play as a regular for Goa as a left-back and formed a good partnership on the left side of the pitch with left winger Mandar Rao Desai. At the end of the season Das, along with teammates Rao Desai and Romeo Fernandes, were praised by Goa marquee player Robert Pires. The former France and Arsenal midfielder said that he was "really impressed with players like Romeo Fernandes, Mandar Rao Dessai, Narayan Das who have a great future". However, before the season ended, Das suffered a knee injury during Goa's semi-final match against Atlético de Kolkata. Goa head coach, Zico, blamed the artificial turf at the Salt Lake Stadium for Das's injury.

Despite missing the entire 2014–15 season due to injury, Das was retained by Goa for the 2015 season.

East Bengal

On 19 June 2015 it was revealed that Das, along with Dempo teammates Pronay Halder and Prabir Das, requested to be released by the Goan club in order to sign for other I-League clubs, after Dempo were relegated to the I-League 2nd Division. A few days later it was reported that the club had agreed to allow the players a release from their hefty contracts but that Dempo would also demand a transfer fee for the players. After the 2015 ISL season, it was announced that Das had signed with East Bengal on 13 January 2016. During the 2015–16 season with the club, coming back from injury, Das found himself as second choice left back behind club captain Robert Lalthlamuana.

Pune City

On 12 July 2016 it was announced that Das had signed with Pune City of the Indian Super League along with Augustin Fernandes. He made his debut for the club on 3 October 2015 against Mumbai City. He started the match and played the full 90 as Pune City lost 1–0.

International

Das was first called up to the India set up at the under-19 level during the 2012 AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers. He made his debut for the side on 1 November 2011 against Turkmenistan. He started and played the full match as India won 3–1. Das was then called up to the under-23 side for the 2013 AFC U-22 Championship qualifiers. He made his debut for the side on 23 June 2012 against Lebanon. He started the match as India won 5–2.

On 19 November 2013 Das made his debut for the India senior side against Nepal. He started the match as India won 2–0. He scored his first goal for India on 3 September 2016 in a friendly against Puerto Rico. His 17th-minute goal was the equalizer for India who then went on to win the match 4–1

Nirupama Mankad

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nirupama MankadCountry (sports) Pakistan

India

Born January 17, 1947

Karachi, Pakistan

Turned pro 1964

Retired 1979

Singles

Career titles 9 ITF

Doubles

Career titles 17 ITF

Mixed doubles

Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results

Wimbledon 2R (1971)

Nirupama Mankad née Vasant (born 17 January 1947 in Karachi, now in Pakistan) is a former Indian tennis player.

Nirupama Mankad is the daughter of G. Vasant, a leading tennis player in India in his time. She survives her husband, the late Ashok Mankad, a former Indian Test cricketer. Their son Harsh Mankad is an Indian Davis Cup player.

Mankad won the Asian women's tennis championship in 1965 at the age of 17. She played Wimbledon junior event in 1965 and partnered Anand Amritraj in the mixed doubles event in 1971, reaching the second round. She was India's top ranked tennis player between 1965 and 1978, winning the national championship seven times during this time. She won the Indian government's Arjuna award in 1980.

Her best ranking was No 1, and was also a two-time Asian champion and a Fed Cup player.

Singles (9–9)

OutcomeNo.DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScore

Winner 1. 3 January 1965 Kolkata, India Hard Lakshmi Mahadevan 6-2, 6-4

Runner-up 2. 16 January 1965 New Delhi, India Hard Marion Law 2-6, 4-6

Runner-up 3. 9 January 1966 Allahabad, India Grass Tiiu Kivi 9-11, 2-6

Runner-up 4. 30 January 1966 Mumbai, India Hard Carol Ann Prosen 3-6, 6-3, 4-6

Runner-up 5. 28 January 1968 New Delhi, India Clay Alexandra Ivanova 3-6, 6-2, 4-6

Winner 6. 29 December 1968 Kolkata, India Hard Alice Tym 6-4, 4-6, 6-3

Winner 7. 23 December 1969 New Delhi, India Hard Alice Tym 6-1, 3-6, 6-3

Runner-up 8. 5 January 1971 Amritsar, India Hard Alexandra Ivanova 2-6, 5-7

Runner-up 9. 11 January 1971 Amaravati, India Hard Tiiu Kivi 2-6, 5-7

Winner 10. 7 February 1971 Kolkata, India Hard Kiran Peshawaria 4–6, 6–1, 6–1

Winner 11. 1 March 1971 Nairobi, Kenya Clay Jenny Paterson 6-0, 6-0

Runner-up 12. 7 February 1972 Pune, India Hard Marilyn Tesch 4-6, 2-6

Runner-up 13. 14 February 1972 Chennai, India Hard Alexandra Ivanova 2-6, 1-6

Runner-up 14. 14 February 1974 Chennai, India Hard Susan Das 4-6, 2-6

Winner 15. 6 January 1975 Amritsar, India Hard Susan Das 7–5, 6–4

Winner 16. 18 January 1976 New Delhi, India Hard Susan Das 6–4, 6–3

Winner 17. 2 February 1977 Chennai, India Hard Susan Das 6–4, 6–3

Winner 18. 15 February 1978 New Delhi, India Hard Amreeta Ahluwalia 3–6, 6–1, 8–6

Nim Lepcha

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nim LepchaPersonal information

Full name Nim Tshering Lepcha

Date of birth 1 November 1989

Place of birth Dzongu, Sikkim, India

Position(s) Midfielder

Club information

Current team United Sikkim

Number 18

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2012– United Sikkim 3 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Nim Lepcha (born 1 November 1989 Dzongu, Sikkim) is an Indian footballer who plays as a midfielder for United Sikkim F.C. in the I-League.

Career

United Sikkim

Lepcha made his debut for United Sikkim F.C. on 21 April 2013 during an I-League match against Sporting Clube de Goa at the Paljor Stadium in Gangtok, Sikkim in which he was in Starting 11; United Sikkim lost the match 0–3.

Nikki Pradhan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nikki PradhanPersonal information

Born 8 December 1993

Hesal, Khunti, Bihar (Now in Jharkhand), India

Height 1.53 m (5 ft 0 in)

Weight 49 kg (108 lb)

Playing position Midfielder

Club information

Current club Jharkhand, Railway

National team

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2015– India 76

Women's field hockey

Representing India

2018 Jakarta Team

Asian Cup

2017 Gifu Team

Nikki Pradhan (born 8 December 1993) is an Indian professional field hockey player and is a member of the Indian national team. Pradhan was the first female Hockey player from Jharkhand who represented India in the Olympics. Pradhan was included in a 16-member squad for Rio Olympics, which also marked the return of Indian women's hockey to the Olympics after 36 years after a stellar show at the Hockey World League Semifinals in 2015. Pradhan was the midfielder of the Indian Women's Hockey team. Her selection to the team made her the sixth hockey player from Jharkhand to play in Olympics, bracketing her with Jaipal Singh Munda (1928), Michael Kido (1972), Sylvanus Dungdung (1980), Ajeet Lakra (1992) and Manohar Topno (1984).

Early life

Pradhan was born in Hesal village in tribal heartland Khunti, roughly 60 kilometres from Ranchi, Jharkhand, on 8 December 1993, to Soma Pradhan, a Bihar police constable, and his wife, Jitan Devi, a homemaker. Pradhan is the third daughter of Soma Pradhan and Jitan Devi. The people of Pradhan's village weren't aware of her achievements until the news was aired by the media.

Pradhan started playing the game at a young age under the guidance of her childhood coach Dasrath Mahto. She enrolled in the Bariatu Girls' Hockey Center, which has produced former Indian captain Asunta Lakra, in Ranchi in 2005.

Career

Pradhan played the first time for India in U-17 Asia Cup in Bangkok in 2011. However, Pradhan wasn't able to get selected for the India's Junior National Hockey Camp in 2011–2012. Pradhan was also a part of the U-21 Women's Hockey Team which won the silver medal in the Asia Cup, however, had to stay out of action due to an injury until the beginning of 2015. Pradhan made her debut for the Senior Indian Team and was called into the senior camp in August 2015. Pradhan also participated in the 2012 Asia Cup in the under-21 category.

Pradhan was later selected as a member of the squad of Indian Women's Hockey team, which represented India in Rio Olympics in Brazil in 2016. Her selection to the Indian Women's Hockey team that represented India in Olympics scripted history as she was the first woman Hockey player from Jharkhand to ever play in Olympics. The 16-member team was led by defender Sushila Chanu. Pradhan played at the position of a midfielder, alongside Renuka Yadav, Llima Minz, Monika and Navjot Kaur. The other team members were Deep Grace Ekka, Anuradha Devi Thokchom, Savita, Poonam Rani, Vandana Katariya, Deepika, Namita Toppo, Sunita Lakra and Preeti Dubey. The team, however, got eliminated in the group stage where they were placed 6th.

Neha Rathi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Neha Rathi

Born : 16-8-1983

Personal information

Nationality India

Weight 51 kg (112 lb)

Sport

Sport Wrestling

Arjuna award (2013)

Bhim Award (2005)

Bharat Kumari

Bharat kaiseni

Haryana Kumari

Neha Rathi is an Indian wrestler. She was born in Bhapruda village near Rohtak in Haryana. She is the daughter of Arjuna award-winner Jagroop Singh Rathi. She participated in 10 senior National championships and represented India on the international circuit at various levels more than 35 times. She competed in the 51 kilograms (112 lb) weight category. Her achievements include:

Bronze medal in Asian Championship 2008 (South Korea)

2013 Arjuna award.

Nongmaithem Ratanbala Devi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nongmaithem Ratanbala DeviPersonal information

Full name Nongmaithem Ratanbala Devi

Date of birth 2 December 1999

Place of birth Manipur

Position(s) Forward

Club information

Current team Sethu FC

Number 7

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2017-18 KRYPHSA F.C. 6 (7)

2019- Sethu FC 7 (7)

National team‡

2014 India U19

2017- India 24 (10)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23 May 2019

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 April 2019

Nongmaithem Ratanbala Devi (born 2 December 1999) is a footballer from Manipur, India. She plays for Sethu FC in Indian Women's League and India women's national football team. She played her debut international match in AFC Cup Qualifiers 2018.

Career

Ratanbala called up for national team during 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup Qualifiers and there she scored her first goal against Hong Kong on 11 April 2017. Then she became regular member of India women's national football team. Her second goal was against Myanmar in 2020 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifiers Round 1 on 13 November 2018. Then in friendly against Hong Kong on 21 January 2019 scored another one and in another friendly against Indonesia on 27 January 2019 she scored her first hattrick for national team. Then in 2019 Gold Cup she scored another goal against Nepal on 11 February 2019. In 2019 SAFF Women's Championship he scored 2 goals, 1 against Maldives on 13 March and another against Sri Lanka on 17 March. In 2020 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifiers Round 2 she scored 1 goal in " 3-3 " thriller action match against Myanmar on 9 April 2019. Unfortunately India didn't qualify for 2020 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifiers Round 3 by goal difference.

Naman Tanwar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Naman Tanwar

Personal information

Born 25 September 1998

Bhiwani, Haryana, India

Sport Boxing

Weight class Heavyweight

Coached by Sanjay Sheoran

Men's amateur boxing

Representing India

2018 Gold Coast Heavyweight

Naman Tanwar (born 25 September 1998) is an Indian boxer. Who started Boxing Under Vishnu Bhagwan COACH in Bhim Stadium Bhiwani, Haryana.He Done his Schooling from Bhiwani Public School, Bhiwani.

He won a bronze medal Medal in commonwealth games held at Gold Coast, Queensland.

Nitin Kumar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nitin Kumar

Personal information

Nickname The Royal Bengal

Born 14 November 1985

Tamil Nadu, India

Home town Coimbatore, India

Darts information

Playing darts since 2003

Darts 26g Target Phil Taylor 9Zero

Laterality Right-handed

Walk-on music "Centuries" by Fall Out Boy

Organisation (see split in darts)

BDO 2006, 2011–2020

PDC 2015, 2018–

PDC premier events – best performances

World Ch'ship Last 96: 2019, 2020, 2022

Other tournament wins

Nitin Kumar (born 14 November 1985) is an Indian professional darts player, who competed in Professional Darts Corporation events.

Darts career

In 2011, he represented Team India at the 2011 WDF World Cup along with Amit Gilitwala, Sarthak Patel, Chandrika Singh & Phalgun Tiruvasu.

In 2014, he represented India at the 2014 PDC World Cup of Darts along with Amit Gilitwala, where they lost 5–0 in the first round to the Belgium pair of Kim Huybrechts and Ronny Huybrechts.

In 2015, he represented India at the 2015 PDC World Cup of Darts along with Ashfaque Sayed, where they lost 5–0 in the first round to the German pair of Jyhan Artut and Max Hopp.

In 2018, he won the Indian Qualifier for the 2019 PDC World Darts Championship, beating Ankit Goenka 5-0 in the final. In his First Round match with Jeffrey de Zwaan he could win three legs before losing 3-0. In 2019, he won the Indian Qualifier for the 2020 PDC World Darts Championship, beating Ravi Bhat 6-1 in the final. In 2021, he won the Indian Qualifier for the 2022 PDC World Darts Championship, beating Vikehelie Suohu 6-0 in the final to secure a third appearance in four years.

World Championship results

PDC

2019: First round (lost to Jeffrey de Zwaan 0–3)

2020: First round (lost to Brendan Dolan 0–3)

Nadong Bhutia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nadong BhutiaPersonal information

Full name Nadong Bhutia

Date of birth 25 November 1993

Place of birth Kalimpong, India

Position(s) Striker or Winger

Club information

Current team Real Kashmir

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2012–2013 United Sikkim 16 (8)

2014 Mumbai City FC 13 (2)

2014–2015 Royal Wahingdoh 22 (7)

2015 Atletico de Kolkata 9 (0)

2016-2017 Pathachakra 19 (5)

2017–2018 Minerva Punjab 5 (0)

2018– Real Kashmir 29 (7)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21 May 2018

Nadong Bhutia (born 25 November 1993) is an Indian footballer who plays as a Striker or Winger for Real Kashmir F.C. in the I-League.

Career

United Sikkim

Bhutia made his debut for United Sikkim F.C. on 19 January 2013 during an I-League match against Dempo S.C. at the Duler Stadium in Mapusa, Goa in which he was in Starting 11 and then went on as a 58th-minute substitute for Lineker Machado; United Sikkim lost the match 7–0.

Eagles

On 5 December 2013 it was announced that Nadong has signed up with Eagles F.C. of Kerala on loan for 2013-14 season along with Bijendra Rai, Avinabo Bag, Jagroop Singh, Bisheshwor Singh, Biswajit Saha, Ramandeep Singh and Govin Singh. Moreover, IMG-Reliance, the organisers of the proposed IPL-style football tournament Indian Super League, and Eagles F.C. will facilitate wo to six week training stint for the eight players with UK based Reading F.C. Academy.

Mumbai City FC

Nadong represented Mumbai City FC in the 2014 Indian Super League and made 11 appearances and assisted with his outstanding performance he was once adjourned as the "SWIFT MOMENT OF THE MATCH AWARD" . Nicolas Anelka his teammate too once said this is a big player to watch in future "once

Atlético de Kolkata

In July 2015 Bhutia was drafted to play for Atlético de Kolkata in the 2015 Indian Super League. Habas pronounced him as a speedstar of ATK

In November 2017 Bhutia joined Minerva Punjab FC.

Nisha Millet

From Wikipedia,

Nisha Millet (born 20 March 1982) is a swimmer from Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. An Arjuna Award winner, she was the only woman in the 2000 Sydney Olympics swim team for India.

Career

Millet had a near-drowning experience at the age of 5 years, following which her father insisted she overcame her fear and learn how to swim. In 1991, Millet learned how to swim under the guidance of her father, Aubrey at Shenoynagar Club, Chennai. By 1992, Millet had won her first state-level medal in 50m freestyle, in Chennai.

Her parents moved to Bangalore to further her swimming training and career. She attended Sophia High School in Bangalore.

In 1994, while still a sub-junior, Millet won all five freestyle gold medals at the Senior National Level and beat India's top swimmers. The same year, she also won her first international medal at the Asian Age Group Championships in Hong Kong.

Millet represented India at the 1998 Asian Games (Thailand), World Championships (Perth 1999, Indianapolis 2004) and won medals for the country at both the Afro-Asian Games and SAF Games. She was the only Indian athlete to win 14 gold medals at the National Games in 1999. At the peak of her career, Millet represented India at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in the 200m freestyle, where she won her heat, but failed to qualify for the semi-finals. She was the first Indian woman to meet the B Qualification timings for the Olympics. After undergoing back surgery in 2002, she narrowly missed out on the 2004 Olympic qualification and decided to retire from competitive swimming due to the heavy financial burden on her parents.

She credits a large part of her success to Pradeep Kumar at the Basavanagudi Aquatic Centre.

Millet held the national record/Best Indian performance in the 200m and 400m freestyle for 15 years, ending in 2015. She also holds the distinction of being the first female Indian swimmer to break the one-minute barrier in the 100m freestyle.

Awards

Prime Minister's award for best sportswoman of the national games - 1997 and 1999.

Highest Gold medals (14) in sports in the Manipur National Games - 1999

Arjuna Award given to highest sports person in India - 2000

Rajyotsava Award - 2001

Karnataka State Ekalavya Award - 2002

Afro-Asian games, women's backstroke Silver medal - 2003

Narender Grewal

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the Indian basketball player, see Narender Kumar Grewal.

Narender Grewal (born 11 July 1994) is an Indian wushu competitor. He was born in Hisar, Haryana, India. He won a bronze medal in the men's 60-kg sanda at the 2014 Asian Games.He also won a bronze medal in the men's 65-kg sanda at the 2018 Asian Games. He has won bronze medal in world championship 2012. He is one of the best mma athlete in India having 7 win - 1 loss.

FIGHT HISTORY - PRO

RESULT	FIGHTER	EVENT	METHOD/REFEREE	R	TIME
WIN	M.T. Dhareppa	SFL 2017: Wreck Thy Neighbor - Delhi Heroes vs. Haryana Sultans Jan / 20 / 2017	TKO (Punches) Samuel Lalrozama	1	1:38
WIN	Amr Abdel Malek	SFL 26-27 - Super Fight League 26-27 Sep / 14 / 2013	Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) Ryan Thorpe	1	3:25
WIN	Tiran Thakshala	SFL 20-21 - Super Fight League 20-21 Aug / 03 / 2013	TKO (Punches) Ryan Thorpe	1	0:48
WIN	Abdul Azim Badakhshi	SFL 19 - Super Fight League 19 Jun / 07 / 2013	Decision (Unanimous) Ryan Thorpe	3	5:00
WIN	Aadil Bashir	SFL 15 - Super Fight League 15 Apr / 12 / 2013	Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) Ryan Thorpe	1	1:14
LOSS	Bharat Khandare	SFL 13 - Night of Champions Dec / 14 / 2012	Submission (Guillotine Choke) Yuji Shimada	1	1:31

Nikhil Kadam

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nikhil KadamPersonal information

Date of birth 23 June 1994

Place of birth Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India

Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)

Position(s) Attacking midfielder/Winger

Club information

Current team Mohammedan SC

Number 19

Youth career

2008–2009 Krida Prabodhini

2009–2012 Pune

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2012–2013 Pune 28 (2)

2016 DSK Shivajians 0 (0)

2016–2017 Mumbai 8 (0)

2017–2018 Mohun Bagan A.C. 16 (2)

2018–2020 Northeast United FC 22 (0)

2021– Mohammedan SC 8 (1)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 9 January 2020

Nikhil Kadam (born 23 June 1994) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as Attacking midfielder/Winger for I-League club Mohammedan SC. He used to play for NorthEast United FC.

Career

Early career

Born in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, Kadam was selected to join the Pune F.C. Academy in 2011 as part of their first batch of players. He made his name known for the club during the 2012 I-League U20 season when he scored three goals for the academy in the final round of the league as the academy went on to win the league. Kadam then played for the academy in the Pune Super Division during the 2012 season. He scored one goal that season against Deccan XI on 7 June 2012.

He is also a devotee of Tamil God Aiyanar as shown in his interview in 2003

Pune

2012–13 season

Going into the 2012–13 I-League season Kadam was selected into the Pune senior team for the 2012 Durand Cup. He made his senior debut in this tournament on 23 August 2012 against Central Reserve Police when he came on in the 56th minute for Karma Tsewang as Pune drew the match 1–1. He then made his professional debut for the club during the Federation Cup on 24 September 2012 against Salgaocar. He came on as a 69th-minute substitute for Mumtaz Akhtar as Pune lost the match 2–1.

Kadam then made his debut in the I-League on 9 November 2012 against Pailan Arrows. He came on as an 89th-minute substitute for Daisuke Nishiguchi as Pune won the match 2–0. He then scored his first ever professional goal on 20 April 2013 against Air India. He came off the bench in the 76th minute for Anas Edathodika and scored the sixth goal for Pune in a 6–0 victory in the 86th minute.

2013–14 season

Kadam went into the 2013–14 I-League season as a starter for new head coach Mike Snoei when he started against Mohammedan in Pune's first match of the season on 21 September 2013. He stayed on till the 70th minute as Pune won 3–1. He then scored his first goal of the season on 1 December 2013 against United SC at the Balewadi Sports Complex when he found the net in the 77th minute as Pune drew the match 1–1. However, that turned out to be the last major contribution from Kadam that season as he was reported injured before the I-League resumed in February 2014 and out for the rest of the season.

Mohammedan SC

Mohammedan SC (Kolkata) signed Nikhil Kadam on January 5th 2021, for the I-League season 2020-2021

Oliver Ekman-Larsson

(Wikipedia)

Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Ekman-Larsson with the Vancouver Canucks in 2021

Born 17 July 1991

Karlskrona, Sweden

Position Defence

Shoots Left

NHL team

Former teams Vancouver Canucks

Arizona Coyotes

National team Sweden

NHL Draft 6th overall, 2009

Phoenix Coyotes

Playing career 2010–present

Representing Sweden

2014 Sochi

2017 Germany/France

2018 Denmark

2011 Slovakia

2010 Germany

2010 Canada

Oliver Oscar Emanuel Ekman-Larsson (pronounced [ˈɔ̌lːɪvɛr ˈěːkman ˈlɑ̌ːʂɔn]; born 17 July 1991) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Known by his initials "OEL", Ekman-Larsson was originally selected sixth overall by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Previously seen by many as one of the NHL's top offensive defenceman, Ekman-Larsson led the Coyotes in scoring in both the 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons.

Playing career

Ekman-Larsson began his career at the Tingsryds AIF hockey club of the HockeyAllsvenskan during the 2007–08 season, recording 8 points in 27 games. He continued his career with Leksands IF, where he scored 44 points in two seasons in 2008–09 and 2009–10 in a total of 81 games. This season would be his last, as he would he drafted by the National Hockey League's Phoenix Coyotes.

Phoenix / Arizona Coyotes (2010–2021)

Ekman-Larsson with the Phoenix Coyotes in 2014

Ekman-Larsson was selected sixth overall by Phoenix in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. On 24 May 2010, it was announced the Coyotes had signed Ekman-Larsson to an entry-level contract. In the season following his draft selection, Ekman-Larsson produced the second-most points among junior players in the Allsvenskan,[3] despite missing several games while competing in the 2010 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships for Sweden.

Ekman-Larsson recorded his first career NHL point through an assist on a Kyle Turris goal on 23 October 2010. He scored his first career NHL goal on 17 January 2011, against goaltender Antti Niemi of the San Jose Sharks.

Ekman-Larsson (right foreground) during a game against the Vancouver Canucks, February 2012

For the duration of the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Ekman-Larsson (on the last year of his entry-level contract) was assigned to Phoenix's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Portland Pirates.

On 6 March 2014, Ekman-Larsson scored his 100th NHL career point in a 5–2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. With Ekman-Larsson's contribution, it was the first time since 9 December 1998 the Coyotes had defeated Montreal At the conclusion of the 2013–14 season, Ekman-Larsson finished seventh in balloting for the James Norris Memorial Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL's top defenceman during the regular season. His votes included three first-place votes, one second-place vote and two third-place votes On 16 December 2014, during the 2014–15 season, Ekman-Larsson tied the Coyotes' franchise record for overtime-winning goals by a player in a single season after scoring his third of the season with 0.03 seconds left in overtime in a 2–1 win over the Edmonton Oilers Ekman-Larsson represented Arizona in the 2015 NHL All-Star Game, assisting on a goal by Bobby Ryan Ekman-Larsson finished the 2014–15 season with 23 goals and 20 assists. With this career milestone, Ekman-Larsson broke Nicklas Lidström's NHL record, becoming the first Swedish-born defenceman in NHL history to score more than 20 goals in one season. Ekman-Larsson's 23 goals were the most scored by an NHL defenceman that season and tied Phil Housley's franchise record for most goals scored by a defenceman in a season.

On 29 January 2015, during a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ekman-Larsson scored the fastest shorthanded goal to start a period in NHL history, against Jonathan Bernier five seconds into the third period. On 19 December 2015, during a game against the New York Islanders, Ekman-Larsson scored the lone goal of the game, which proved to be the game-winning goal. With this goal, Ekman-Larsson surpassed Teppo Numminen's franchise record for the most game-winning goals by a defenceman with the 20th in his career. On 12 January 2016, Ekman-Larsson assisted on all three goals of rookie Max Domi's first career hat-trick, and would later go on to set a career-high four-point night by scoring the overtime-winning goal against the Edmonton Oilers. On 24 March, Ekman-Larsson inadvertently scored the game-winning goal in a 3–1 win over the Dallas Stars. Initially credited to teammate Martin Hanzal, after further review the goal was shown to bounce off a Dallas player and into the net. With this game-winning goal, Ekman-Larsson set an NHL record for the most game-winning goals by a defenceman in a single season with eight, surpassing Tim Horton, Al MacInnis, Ray Bourque, Derek Morris and Dion Phaneuf. He became just the second defenceman in franchise history to record 20 or more goals in consecutive seasons, after Phil Housley. Ekman-Larsson finished the 2015–16 season ninth in balloting for the James Norris Memorial Trophy.

In the 2016–17 season, on 18 March 2017, during a game against the Nashville Predators, Ekman-Larsson scored his 40th career powerplay goal (against Pekka Rinne), tying Fredrik Olausson for the most by a defenceman in Arizona Coyotes/Winnipeg Jets history. On 3 April 2017, with the Coyotes out of playoff contention, Ekman-Larsson was granted a leave of absence for the remaining three regular seasons games in order to return to his native Sweden due to the death of his mother, following a prolonged battle with cancer.

On 14 October 2017, in a game against the Boston Bruins, Ekman-Larsson scored his first powerplay goal of the season against Anton Khudobin and moved ahead of Fredrik Olausson for the franchise record for powerplay goals scored by a defenceman with his 41st. On 10 January 2018, Ekman-Larsson was selected as the lone Coyotes representative at the 2018 NHL All-Star Game. On 10 March, Ekman-Larsson was fined $5,000 for slashing Sven Andrighetto. After the regular season concluded and the Coyotes again failed to make the playoffs, Ekman-Larsson was nominated for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, awarded to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and gives back to his community. On 1 July 2018, Ekman-Larsson signed an eight-year, $66 million contract extension with the Coyotes; he was set to become a free agent the following season. He was later named captain of the Coyotes.

Vancouver Canucks (2021–present)

On 23 July 2021, Ekman-Larsson was traded, along with Conor Garland, to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Jay Beagle, Loui Eriksson, Antoine Roussel, a 2021 first-round pick (Dylan Guenther), a 2022 second-round pick and a 2023 seventh-round pick. Arizona retained twelve percent of Ekman-Larsson's salary as part of the transaction.

International play

Oliver Ekman-Larsson accepts his player of the game award after a game against Austria during the 2010 World Junior Championships.

Ekman-Larsson represented Sweden at the 2010 World Junior Championships, where he was the highest-scoring defenceman on the team, scoring five points in six games.

At the 2010 World Championships, Ekman-Larsson played in nine games for the bronze medalists and was deemed to be Sweden's best player in the game against Norway.

In 2019, at the 2019 World Championships, Ekman-Larsson was named captain of Sweden's international team.

Personal life

Ekman-Larsson's maternal grandfather, Kenneth Ekman,[30] also a defenceman, was selected to represent Sweden at the 1972 Winter Olympics. Swedish international footballer Amanda Ilestedt is Ekman-Larsson's cousin. Ekman-Larsson's younger brother, Kevin, was previously signed with the Coyotes' AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners. He now plays in Sweden with second-tier club BIK Karlskoga.

In 2013, Ekman-Larsson founded OEL, a luxury clothing line based in Sweden. Ekman-Larsson donates a lot of his free time as well as free tickets to Arizona Coyote games to various charities like Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Arizona Burn Foundation, the Wounded Warrior Project and Best Buddies. In 2017 Ekman-Larsson lost his mom to cancer mid-season. In 2019 Ekman-Larsson and fellow Arizona Coyotes welcomed a terminal cancer patient Leighton Arcardo into the organization, with Ekman-Larsson insisting she do the team's face-off.

Records

Most game-winning goals by a defenceman in a single NHL season – 8 goals

First Swedish-born defenceman in NHL history to score more than 20 goals in a single season – 23 goals

Fastest shorthanded goal to begin a period in NHL history – 5 seconds

Most powerplay goals by a defenceman in Arizona Coyotes franchise history – 41 goals

Most goals by a defenceman in Arizona Coyotes franchise history – 128 goals

Awards and honours

AwardYear

NHL

NHL All-Star Game 2015, 2018

International

World Championship All-Star Team 2015

OP Jaisha

OP Jaisha overcame adversities in times of utmost despair.

OP Jaisha is one of the bright hopes for the Indian athletic contingent at this year’s Rio Olympics. Born in the tribal region of north Kerala’s Wayanad district, the marathoner had to struggle a lot while growing up.

Unable to bear the acute hunger, there were days when she had to eat mud and her mother silently watched the horror with tears rolling down her eyes. No matter how difficult life got, Jaisha did not give up and put her heart and soul into her training.

Soon she became a two-time Asian Games medallist in the middle distance events and broke a two-decade old women’s marathon record not once but twice. She qualified for the Olympic Games after crossing the finish line in 2:34:43 in the World Athletics Championships.

Prajakta Sawant

Prajakta Sawant is a badminton player from India. She was the national women's doubles champion in 2010 and 2011 and also won the mixed doubles title in 2010. In 2013, she won the Bangladesh International tournament partnered with Arathi Sara Sunil. Wikipedia

Born: 28 October 1992

Height: 1.75 m

Current ranking: 37 (16 August 2012)

Highest ranking: 37

Pooja Dhanda

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pooja Dhanda

Personal information

Nationality Indian

Born 1 January 1994 (age 27)

Budana village, Hisar district, Haryana, India

Height 162 cm (5 ft 4 in)

Weight 57 kg (126 lb)

Sport

Country India

Sport Wrestling

Event(s) Freestyle wrestling

College team government college of Hissar

Coached by Kuldeep Singh Bishnoi, Chander Soni

Representing India

2014 Asian Wrestling Championships

2018 Budapest 57 kg

Women's Freestyle wrestling

Youth Olympic Games

2010 Singapore Girls' freestyle 60 kg

2014 Astana 58 kg

Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Championships

2017 Ashgabat 58 kg

2018 Gold Coast 57 kg

Updated on 25 August 2018.

Pooja Dhanda (born 1 January 1994) is an Indian wrestler from Budana village of Hisar district in Haryana, who won Bronze medal at the 2018 World Championships at Budapest in 57 kg weight class. She won Silver medals at 2010 Summer Youth Olympics and 2018 Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast in 60 kg and 57 kg category respectively. The grappler also won a Bronze at the 2014 Asian Wrestling Championship. Pooja has defeated Olympic and World Championship medalists. Government of India honoured her with the Arjuna award for outstanding performance in the field of Sports.

Early life

Pooja was born in Budana village of Hisar district in Haryana. The daughter of a tractor driver with the Haryana Animal Husbandry Centre in Hisar, Dhanda started as a judo player at Mahabir Stadium but switched to wrestling in 2009.Pooja Dhanda is the daughter of Kamlesh Dhanda and father, Ajmer who was an athlete himself. She began her sporting journey with Judo in 2007. She was still below the minimum age required to participate in wrestling federation competitions, and hence started playing Judo. Pooja first secured a Bronze medal at Asian Cadet Judo Championship at Hyderabad in 2007 and then won a Gold at the same event in its 2008 edition.

Despite the achievements, former India wrestler and coach Kripa Shankar Bishnoi advised her to make wrestling her career. Pooja began to train for wrestling under coach Subhash Chander Soni at Hisar in 2009.

In 2010 Pooja won Silver in wrestling at the Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore. Pooja won against famous grappler Babita Phogat in the final of the National Championship in 2013 and then won a Bronze medal at the Asian Championship in 2014. But a ligament injury in 2015 almost ended her career.

The challenge was not only psychological but also of lack of financial resources. She had to undergo surgeries in Mumbai and follow a long process of rehabilitation. Government paid for her treatment, but rehabilitation costs, physiotherapist’s fee and rent were significant. Employed with Haryana Sports Department as a wrestling coach, Pooja was on leave without pay.

Career

After switching to wrestling in 2009, as a young sportswoman, Pooja's career took off on a promising note when she won the silver medal at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in the 60 kg category. After she debuted in the national championship in 2013,she participated in the World Wrestling Championship for the first time but was out of the event after a loss in the first round. she defeated Babita Phogat in the final, followed by a Bronze medal in Asian Wrestling Championship at Astana in 2014. and has since won all four senior national championships by 2017. In the Pro Wrestling League season 3, she has defeated World and Olympic champion Helen Maroulis of the USA twice, World Championship silver medallist and Olympic bronze medallist Odunayo Adekuoroye of Nigeria and World Championship silver medallist Marwa Amri.

Pooja was screened and originally selected to play the role of Babita Phogat in blockbuster Dangal (2016), which she could not play due to an injury. However, Pooja later competed against and defeated senior Phogat sister Geeta Phogat in the real-life 2018 Commonwealth Games selection trials.

She won silver medal in the 2018 Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast in the women's 57 kg freestyle wrestling after losing to Nigeria's Odunayo Adekuoroye 7-5 in the final at the Carrara Sports Arena

Phoolchand Hembram

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Phoolchand HembramPersonal information

Date of birth 15 December 1989

Place of birth India

Position(s) Defender

Club information

Current team Mohammedan

Number 22

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

Techno Aryan

2013– Mohammedan 3 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 27 October 2013

Phoolchand Hembram (born 15 December 1989) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Mohammedan in the I-League.

Career

Before playing for Mohammedan, Hambram played for Techno Aryan F.C. in the Calcutta Football League. He then joined Mohammedan for whom he made his professional debut on 20 October 2013 against Rangdajied United F.C. in the I-League in which he started and played the full match as Mohammedan won 3–0.

Prabodh Tirkey

From Wikipedia

Prabodh TirkeyPersonal information

Born 6 October 1984

Lulkidihi, Sundergarh

Odisha, India

Senior career

Years Team Apps (Gls)

Orissa Steelers

Mumbai Marines

Kalinga Lancers

National team

Years Team Apps (Gls)

India 161 (2)

Men’s Field Hockey

Representing India

2010 Delhi Team Competition

2007 Chennai Team Competition

Sultan Azlan Shah Cup

2007 Malaysia Team Competition

2007 Belgium Team Competition

Asian kabaddi Championship 2017

2010 Guangzhou Team

Prabodh Tirkey (born 6 October 1984) is an Indian hockey midfielder. He is a former captain of the Indian hockey team.

Personal life

Prabodh is the younger brother of the Indian hockey player Ignace Tirkey, who also has captained the Indian Senior Team. His idol is another Indian ex-captain and one of the best defenders in world hockey, Dilip Tirkey, who comes from the same town of Sundergarh. He married Sweta Tirkey at Ranchi on 28 January 2011.

Career

In his early career he was the national captain of sub-junior, junior and India-A team and finally became the India senior team captain. He was in the Indian team which won the 2007 Asia Cup in Chennai.

Awards

2001 Ekalavya Puraskar

2009 Biju Patnaik State Sports Award

Pardeep Narwal

From Wikipedia

Pardeep Narwal

Pardeep Narwal in the Patna Pirates jersey

Personal information

Full name Pardeep Narwal

Nickname(s) Dubki King, Record Breaker

Nationality Indian

Citizenship Indian

Born 16 February 1996 (age 25)

Rindhana, Sonepat, Haryana

Occupation Kabaddi player

Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)

Weight 80 kg (176 lb)

Spouse(s) Swati Beniwal

Sport

Country India

Sport Kabaddi

League Pro Kabaddi League

Team Patna Pirates,UP Yoddha

Turned pro 2015

2016 Kabaddi World Cup

Winner 2016 Ahmadabad Team

2018 Asian Games

2018 Jakarta Team

Winner 2017 Gorgan Team

2018 Dubai Kabaddi Masters

Winner 2018 Dubai Team

2019 Kathmandu Team

Updated on 20 August 2018.

Pardeep Narwal (born 16 February 1996) is an Indian kabaddi player who currently plays for the UP Yoddha in VIVO Pro Kabaddi League and the Indian National Kabaddi team. He led the Patna Pirates to three straight VIVO Pro Kabaddi titles and holds a multitude of the league's raiding records.

Early life

Pardeep Narwal was born in Rindhana village of Haryana's Sonipat district, where he started playing kabaddi.

Kabaddi career

Narwal made his debut in VIVO Pro Kabaddi with the Bengaluru Bulls against Patna Pirates in Season 2 and featured six times that campaign, scoring a total of nine raid points.

Narwal moved to the Patna Pirates in Season 3 and blossomed into one of the best raiders in the league. He scored his first career Super 10 in the Pirates' 29-25 victory over Puneri Paltan in Kolkata, where he led both sides in scoring with 11 points on the night Alongside Rohit Kumar, Narwal formed the league's most potent raiding duo as the two combined to score 194 raid points in the league stage of the campaign, with Kumar scoring 102 of those in 12 matches and Narwal scoring 92 raid points in 14 matches Narwal scored his fifth Super 10 of the season against Puneri Paltan in the semi-final but missed on the final through injury. The Pirates, however, triumphed over defending U Mumba by a scoreline of 31-28 and won their maiden VIVO Pro Kabaddi title.

Following Rohit Kumar moves to the Bengaluru Bulls, Pardeep took over the responsibility of being the Pirates' lead raider and enjoyed another sensational campaign, scoring 107 raid points in 14 league stage matches with four Super 10s, the first of which came in narrow 36-34 win over U Mumba in Jaipur, where the raider scored, a match-high, 18 points. Narwal continued to carry the brunt of the raiding load in the playoffs and scored eight points in the Pirates' narrow 37-33 victory over Puneri Paltan in the semi-final, taking them to their second-straight VIVO Pro Kabaddi final. In the final against Jaipur Pink Panthers, Narwal unleashed a mammoth 16-point performance leading the Pirates to their second VIVO Pro Kabaddi title with a 37-29 victory and won their second VIVO Pro Kabaddi title in a row.

Narwal's third season with the Pirates was arguably the best ever by a player VIVO Pro Kabaddi history, as the raider notched up 369 raid points and led the league in every raiding category. Narwal scored a Super 10 in 19 off the 26 matches that he played in that campaign, managing one in each of Patna Pirates' first three matches. He followed it up with just one in the subsequent four matches but after that relatively lean patch, he embarked on a run of eight straight matches with a Super 10 that eventually ended against the Tamil Thalaivas where he fell just one point short of 10 raid points.

After finishing second in the Zone B standing, Narwal and the Pirates battled Haryana Steelers in the Playoffs, where the raider scored, a VIVO Pro Kabaddi record, 34 raid points which included an eight-point raid, as the Pirates routed the Steelers 69-30. In Eliminator 3, Narwal yet again led by example, scoring 19 raid points in his team's 42-32 win over Puneri Paltan. In Qualifier 2, Narwal scored 23 raid points against the Bengal Warriors in his team's narrow 47-44 victory, helping the Pirates reach their third straight VIVO Pro Kabaddi final. Narwal continued his unbelievable form in the final, scoring 19 raid points against Gujarat Fortunegiants to lead the Pirates to a 55-38 victory and capture their third straight VIVO Pro Kabaddi title.

Narwal scored a Super 10 in each of his team's first three matches in Season 6 before falling short against the Telugu Titans. The next four matches also saw a similar trend for Narwal, as he scored three straight Super 10s before failing to do so against the same opponent in Patna. Narwal continued to string along quality performances but the Pirates struggled for form towards the latter end of the season and needed a big finish to their campaign to stand a chance to qualify for the Playoffs. Narwal scored three Super 10s in the Pirates final five matches of the season but the team failed to register a single win and crashed out in the league stage of the campaign for the first time in franchise history. This Season was also a very Interesting Season for him as he was battling against other raiders for the most Raid Points but came 2nd with 222 raid points, The third was Siddharth Desai (214) and The First Was Pawan Sehrawat (262) who was astounding for his Pro season.

In season 7, Narwal started slowly, but still became the first player to reach 1,000 points in the PKL.

International

Pardeep Narwal has featured regularly for the Indian kabaddi team since 2016 and has won gold in three of the four tournaments that he has played in.

Records and achievements

VIVO Pro Kabaddi (2016, 2016, 2017)

Kabaddi World Cup (2016)

Asian kabaddi championship (2017)

Kabaddi Masters Dubai (2018)

VIVO Pro Kabaddi Most Valuable Player (2016, 2017)

Best Raider Award (2017, 2018)

Most super raids in a season

Most touch point in a single raid(6)

First player to score 1300 raid points in PKL history it was against Gujarat Giants VS UP Yoddha Match 115 PKL season 8

Pooja Kadian

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pooja Kadian

The President Ram Nath Kovind presenting the Arjuna Award, 2018 to Pooja Kadian for Wushu.

Personal information

Nationality Indian

Born 1 October 1991

Jhajjar district, Haryana, India

Women's Sanda

Representing India

2011 Ankara 60 kg

2013 Kuala Lumpur 70 kg

2015 Jakarta 75 kg

2017 Kazan 75 kg

World Games

2013 World Games 60kg

Pooja Kadian (born 1 October 1991 is an Indian Wushu player. She won Silver Medal in invitational sports of Wushu at the 9th World Games at Cali in Colombia, in Women's Sanda 60 kg.

Kadian previously won gold in the 12th South Asian Games and alsobagged silver medals in the World Games 2013 and the World Championship in 2013 and 2015. She also won gold medals in the National Games in 2014 and 2017.

Pooja won the first ever gold medal for India at 2017 World Wushu Championships.

Awards

She was awarded by the Government of India , the prestigious Arjuna Award in (2018) for her performance in 2017 World Wushu Championships.

Pronay Halder

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pronay HalderPersonal information

Date of birth 25 February 1993

Place of birth Barrackpore, West Bengal, India

Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)

Position(s) Defensive midfielder

Club information

Current team ATK Mohun Bagan

Number 17

Youth career

2007–2010 Tata Football Academy

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2011–2013 Pailan Arrows 24 (1)

2013–2016 Dempo 20 (0)

2015 → Goa (loan) 8 (0)

2016–2017 Mohun Bagan 20 (0)

2016 → Mumbai City (loan) 5 (0)

2017–2018 Goa 13 (0)

2018–2020 ATK 22 (1)

2020– ATK Mohun Bagan 4 (0)

National team‡

2011–2012 India U19 4 (1)

2012–2016 India U23 5 (0)

2015– India 20 (1)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13:30, 17 December 2020 (UTC)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:10, 19 November 2019 (UTC)

Pronay Halder (born 25 February 1993 in Barrackpore, West Bengal) is an Indian footballer who currently plays as a defensive midfielder for Indian Super League club ATK Mohun Bagan and India national football team.

Career

Born in Barrackpore, West Bengal, Halder started his youth career with Tata Football Academy in 2007 and got graduated in 2010.

Pailan Arrows

Halder signed for Pailan Arrows in the I-League for the 2011-12 season in the summer of 2011. He then played in Pailan's second victory of the season in a Round 23 match against HAL.

Dempo

On 26 October 2013, Halder signed for Dempo with three other players Alwyn George, Holicharan Narzary and Narayan Das.[3] He made his debut for Dempo in the I-League on 1 November 2013 against Mohun Bagan at the Duler Stadium and played the whole match as Dempo drew the match 0–0.

FC Goa (loan)

Halder represented FC Goa during the 2014 Indian Super League but did not feature in any game, due to an injury, which kept him out of most of the 2014-15 I-League season. Halder was signed up by FC Goa again on loan from Dempo for the 2015 ISL

Mohun Bagan

On 30 December 2015, Halder signed two year contract with Mohun Bagan.[citation needed] Coach Sanjoy Sen said in a press conference later in the week that Halder was an "inspirational young talent"

2015-16 season

On 16 January 2016, Halder made his debut for Mohun Bagan against Salgaocar which Bagan won 4-2. Halder has made total 10 appearance in I-League season and was awarded Man of the Match twice. He was the first choice defensive midfielder in Bagan but due to knee injury it kept him sidelined for 2 weeks. On 24 February 2016, Halder started for Bagan in AFC Cup against Maldives club Maziya S&RC.

2016-2017 season

On 8 January 2017, Halder played against Churchill Brothers in first game of the season.[He has also played in AFC Cup for Bagan in most of the group stage matches.

Mumbai City (loan)

Halder signed for Mumbai City for 2016 ISL season

FC Goa

On 23 July 2017, Halder got picked by Goa in ISL Draft for 2017-18 season

ATK

In June 2018, ATK has signed Halder on a two year deal. He became the number one choice for coach Steve Coppell in midfield.

International

Youth

Halder played for India U19, and was involved in three matches and scored against Uzbekistan U19.

He was the part of India U23 for 2013 AFC U-22 Asian Cup qualification which was held in Oman from 23 June 2012. Halder played 4 matches during the tournament.

Senior

Halder became the 496th player to earn a senior cap for India on 31 August 2015 against Nepal in an International friendly. Halder scored a stunning long ranger on his debut for India against Chinese Taipei in Intercontinental Cup in Mumbai.

Career statistics

Club

ClubSeasonLeagueFederation Cup/Super CupDurand CupAFCTotal

DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals

Pailan Arrows 2011–12 I-League 3 0 0 0 0 0 — — 3 0

2012–13 21 1 2 0 2 0 — — 25 1

Palian Arrows total241202000281

Dempo 2013–14 I-League 17 0 0 0 4 0 — — 21 0

2014–15 3 0 0 0 0 0 — — 3 0

Dempo total200004000240

Mohun Bagan 2015–16 I-League 11 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 18 0

2016–17 9 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 10 0

Mohun Bagan total200000080280

Goa (loan) 2015 Indian Super League 8 0 — — — — — — 8 0

Goa total8000000080

Mumbai City (loan) 2016 Indian Super League 5 0 — — — — — — 5 0

Mumbai City total5000000050

Goa 2017–18 Indian Super League 13 0 3 0 — — 0 0 16 0

Goa total130300000160

ATK 2018–19 Indian Super League 14 0 3 0 — — 0 0 17 0

2019–20 6 1 0 0 — — 0 0 6 1

ATK total201300000231

Career total11028060801322

International

As of 19 November 2019

National teamYearAppsGoals

India 2015 5 0

2016 5 0

2017 0 0

2018 4 1

2019 6 0

Total201

Scores and results list India's goal tally first.

GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetitionRef.1. 1 June 2018 Mumbai Football Arena, Mumbai, India Chinese Taipei 5–0 5–0 2018 Intercontinental Cup

Prakashi Tomar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Prakashi Tomar

Born 01 January 1937

Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh

Nationality India

Other names Revolver Dadi (Revolver Grandmother)

Citizenship Indian

Occupation Sharpshooter

Prakashi TomarSport

Country India

Updated on 30 December 2018.

Prakashi Tomar (born 01 January 1937)[1] is an Indian sharpshooter from Johri village of Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat district is one of the oldest sharpshooters in the world. She is an icon in the world of shooting.

Personal life

Prakashi Tomar was married to Jai Singh, and their daughter, Seema Tomar, is an international shooter. She is the sister of Chandro Tomar. Her granddaughter, Ruby, is deputed as an inspector in Punjab Police, while her second daughter, Rekha, retired as a shooter. She lives in Johri village with her family, and has eight children and twenty grandchildren.

Career

Her career begun in year 1999 when she was well past her prime. Her daughter, Seema Tomar, joined the Johri Rifle Club but was hesitant to go alone. Tomar decided to accompany her to the academy as an encouragement.At the academy, coach Farooq Pathan and others were shocked when she shot the target skillfully while trying to show Seema how to hold the gun. Pathan advised her to join the academy, and has since won over 25 national and international championships.

After two years of training, she entered a competition in which she had to compete against the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Delhi Police, Dheeraj Singh. Tomar won the competition but the DIG refused to be photographed with her, and commented: "What photograph, I have been humiliated by a woman."

Achievements

During her career, she received many awards, medal and trophies, besides social honours and the Stree Shakti Puraskar award conferred by then President of India Pranab Mukherjee. Tomar was selected in the #100Women_Achievers in India campaign launched in collaboration with Facebook about women who have contributed to their community and nation building. As such, Tomar was felicitated by President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 22 January 2016. She was also felicitated with the Icon Lady award by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in 2017.

In popular culture

Saand Ki Aankh (2019) — a biopic movie starring Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar

Purnima Hembram

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Purnima Hembram

Hembram at the 2017 Asian Championships

Personal information

Born 10 July 1993

Mayurbhanj District

Alma mater Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences

Height 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)

Weight 64 kg (141 lb)

Sport

Sport Athletics

Event(s) Heptathlon

Coached by Sushanta Roy

Santosh Kumar Mahanta

Sanjay Garanayak

Purnima Hembram (born 10 July 1993) is an Indian track and field athlete. She won bronze medals in the heptathlon at the 2015 and 2017 Asian Championships and placed fourth at the 2018 Asian Games.

Life

Hembram is from the Santhal tribe from Mayurbhanj, Odisha. She was born in 1993 to Dukhia and Dhania Hembram, and has two brothers, Durga and Doman and one sister Singo.

Career

Hembram was declared Biju Patnaik Sportsman of the Year in 2015 and she was given a prize of 200,000 rupees.

In 2017 she was given a grant of 300,000 rupees on 1 July just before the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships by Orissa Chief minister Naveen Patnaik. Her colleague Swapna Barman collapsed during the final event of the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships – Women's heptathlon which was the 800 metres. However Barman still took the gold. Meg Hemphill of Japan took the silver and Hembram took the bronze medal. Later that month Hembram took the 100m gold medal at the 57th National Senior Inter-State Athletic Championships in Guntur.

Hembram won a gold medal at the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan on 17 September 2017.

Poorvisha S. Ram

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Poorvisha S Ram

Personal information

Country India

Born 24 January 1995

Bangalore, Karnataka, India

Years active 2008–present

Handedness Right

Women's & mixed doubles

Highest ranking 30 (WD 15 January 2019)

Women's badminton

Representing India

2011 Lucknow Mixed team

Premchand Dogra | Real Body Power

Poorvisha S. Ram (born 24 January 1995) is an Indian badminton player who specializes in doubles and mixed doubles. As of February 2020, she is ranked 48 in doubles. She had attained career best ranking of 30 in November 2018. She was previously ranked 3 in doubles at national level.

Biography

Poorvisha was born in 1995, in Bangalore, Karnataka. She completed her early education at Sishu Griha Montessori and High School, in Bangalore. Poorvisha started playing badminton in 2005 and represented Karnataka at national level in 2007. She won her first competitive tournament at the age of 13 in 2008 when she won a national level inter-school tournament.

In 2009, Poorvisha won silver medal at the 35th National Sports Festival for Women at Margao, Goa. She has won the national championship in junior circuit consecutively for three years in 2010, 2011 and 2012. In December 2012, Poorvisha represented India at Li-Ning Singapore Youth International Series and won silver medal in the women's double event.

Initially, Poorvisha trained at B. N. Sudhakar Academy in Bangalore but moved to Hyderabad in 2013 where she trained under Pullela Gopichand at Gopichand Badminton Academy, Hyderabad. Currently, she trains under Arun Vishnu and Pradnya Gadre along with Gopichand.

Poorvisha won her first senior title in 2015 at Uganda International double event with N. Sikki Reddy. Later that year, she won Bahrain International with Arathi Sara Sunil. In late 2015, Poorvisha was out for sixteen weeks due to career ending lateral and medical epicondylitis, however, she recovered and made a come back in early 2016.

In 2016, Poorvisha partnered with Meghana Jakkampudi and won Nepal International in Kathmandu. Since 2016, Poorvisha has spent her double career in partnership with Jakkampudi whereas in mixed doubles, she partners with Krishna Prasad Ganga. In 2017, Poorvisha and Jakkampudi appeared in various international competitions including 2017 Syed Modi International Grand Prix Gold and 2017 All England Super Series Premier. They reached the finals of Tata Open India International in 2018. In 2019, the pair appeared in Russian Open semifinals where they lost to Japanese pair of Miki Kashihara and Miyuki Kato.

Premchand Dogra

By realbodypower

BIOGRAPHY:

Name:Premchand Dogra

Nickname:India’s Arnold Schwarzenegger

Born:Gurdaspur, Punjab, India

Date of birth:December 01, 1955

Best win:World Amateur Bodybuilding Championships title in the short-height 80 kg category in 1988

Competitions:

Event Year Location Achievement

Sr. National Bodybuilding Championship 1980 Darjeeling Mr. India Bronze

Jr. National Bodybuilding Championship 1981 Mr. India , Gold

Sr. National Bodybuilding Championship 1981 Madras Mr. India , Gold

Sr. National Bodybuilding Championship 1982 Kolkata Mr. India , Gold

Sr. National Bodybuilding Championship 1983 – Mr. India , Gold

Mr. Asian Amateur Championship 1983 Karachi Mr. Asia, GoldBest Poser

World Amateur Bodybuilding Championships 1983 Singapore No position

Sr. National Bodybuilding Championship 1984 Akola Mr. India , Gold

Mr. Asian Amateur Championship 1984 Korea Mr. Asia, Gold

World Amateur Bodybuilding Championships 1984 Las Vegas Mr. Universe, 14th Position

Sr. National Bodybuilding Championship 1985 Madras Mr. India , Gold

Mr. Asian Amateur Championship 1985 Colombo Mr. Asia, Gold

World Amateur Bodybuilding Championships 1985 Sweden Mr. Universe, 4th PositionMost improved bodybuilder

Sr. National Bodybuilding Championship 1986 – Mr. India , Gold

Mr. Asian Amateur Championship 1986 Republic of China Mr. Asia, Gold

World Amateur Bodybuilding Championships 1986 Tokyo Mr. Universe, Silver

Sr. National Bodybuilding Championship 1987 Indore Mr. India , Gold

Mr. Asian Amateur Championship 1987 Malaysia Mr. Asia, Gold

World Amateur Bodybuilding Championships 1987 Spain Mr. Universe, 4th Position

Sr. National Bodybuilding Championship 1988 Ahmadabad Mr. India , Gold

Mr. Asian Amateur Championship 1988 Singapore Could not participate

World Amateur Bodybuilding Championships 1988 Australia Mr. Universe, Gold

Sr. National Bodybuilding Championship 1989 Madras Mr. India , Gold

Mr. Olympia 1989 16th Position

Pro-Am Classic of Mr. Asia 1990 Singapore Gold

Pro-Am Classic of Mr. Asia 1991 Singapore Gold

Niagara Falls Pro Invitational 1992 – 18th Position

Mr. Asian Amateur Championship 1996 New Delhi Mr. Asia, Gold

Premchand Dogra is an IFBB professional bodybuilder from [India]. Also known as Premchand Dogra. He won the World Amateur Bodybuilding Championships title in the short-height 80 kg category in 1988. He was also awarded the “Achievement Medal” by the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) in 2003, for winning its World Middleweight Champion title in 1988.

Degra lives in Hoshiarpur (Punjab) and trains budding body builders in his own gym. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1990 by the Government of India.

Born on 1 December 1955 (age 62) at Babri Nangal village in Gurdaspur district of Punjab, Premchand Dogra has striven hard to mould his body into a muscular delight. He began his sports career as a wrestler after completing his matriculation from Government High School of the neighbouring Tibber village in 1973. It was only in 1980 that he developed an interest in body building and rose to be crowned Mr. Punjab, Mr. North India, Mr. India (9 times in a row), Mr, Asia (8 times) and finally Mr. World (Middle-weight class and Mr. Universe.He is currently residing in the city of Hoshiarpur(Punjab), India.He is running a world class gym in the city of Hoshiarpur.

The world title earned him the Padma Shri in 1990. Earlier he had received the Arjuna Award in 1986. He is also the recipient of the Punjab Government’s Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award (1994), Tata best Sportsman Award (1986) Charminar Challenge Trophy. Prem made his national debut by claiming a Bronze Medal in Middle-Weight Class at Darjeeling in 1980. He followed it up by winning three Gold Medals next year that made him Mr. Punjab, Junior Mr. India and Senior Mr. India 1981. He retained the title of Mr. India in middleweight category 1984. Thereafter he moved over to Light Heavy Weight Class and for next five years (1985–1989) won the title of Mr India in this class too.

He began his international career by securing the title of Mr. Asia in Middle-weight Class at Karachi in 1983, a feat he was to repeat at Seoul in 1984. Subsequently he switched over to Light Heavy-weight Class in Mr. Asia contest too, winning the title at Colombo in 1985, Taipei in 1986 and Malaysia in 1987.

Dogra stuck to Middle-weight Class in all the five appearances he made at the World Championships. He first competed for the world title in 1984 at Las Vegas where he finished 14th, He moved up to 4th position in 1985 in Sweden and was named the Most Improved Bodybuilder of the year. He won Silver Medal at Tokyo in 1986 and was again placed at 4th place at Madrid (Spain) in 1987. The climax came in 1988 when at Queensland in Australia he won the Gold in Middle-Weight class and was crowned Mr. Universe. Prem Dogra turned professional in 1989 and the same year participated in Mr. Olympia contest. He then went on to win the 1st Pro-Am Classic of Mr. Asia in 1990 and the 2nd Pro-Am Classic of Mr. Asia in 1991. Five years later, he returned to win the Gold in Light Heavy-weight category of Mr. Asia championship held at Delhi in 1996.

He is very much famous in Indonesia and in gulf countries… Source : “India’s Highest Sports Awards and Those Who Won Them” by S.S.Gandhi, The Defence Reviewhe

Para-swimmer Suyash Jadhav

Tushar Dutt

Suyash Jadhav. (TOI Photo)

PUNE: Para-swimmer Suyash Jadhav’s story can be divided into two parts. And demarcations are clearly embossed on the Solapur boy’s soul. The first part is about a tragedy and the other tells a story of grit, conviction and dedication.

Suyash, 26, who started swimming at the age of three, lost both his palms and wrists because of an accident when he was 11. Now, he is a world-class swimmer, Asian Games and World Games gold medallist. And most recently, he won an Arjuna award.

Suyash was one of the 27 athletes selected for the honour this year. He received it from the President via a virtual ceremony last week.

“My father was a state-level swimmer and he wanted me to become a swimmer too. But he lost hopes when I got electrocuted during a cousin’s wedding and lost my hands,” said Suyash.

Prakash Amritraj

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Prakash AmritrajCountry (sports) India

Residence Encino, Los Angeles

Born October 2, 1983

Los Angeles, California

Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)

Turned pro 2003

Plays Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Last updated on: 19 May 2014.

Prakash Amritraj (born October 2, 1983) is an Indian former professional tennis player and the son of former Indian tennis player Vijay Amritraj.

Background

Prakash Amritraj is the son of Indian tennis player Vijay Amritraj and Shyamala, a Sri Lankan Tamil.

Prakash is the paternal cousin of fellow tour pro Stephen Amritraj, whose father Anand and paternal uncle Ashok were former professional tennis players representing India. Prakash has one brother, Vikram, who was born in 1987.

He played 2 years of college tennis for the University of Southern California.

Professional career

In 2007, Amritraj won three straight ITF Pro Circuit tournaments in India, beating Karan Rastogi in all three finals.

On July 14, 2008 Amritraj played in his first ATP Tour final, losing to Fabrice Santoro from France in straight sets.

From August 2010 to August 2012, Amritraj was inactive on the tour. However, he returned to the court for the first time in just over two years when he competed as a wildcard in a qualifier at the 2012 Comerica Bank Challenger in Aptos, California.

Prakash Amritraj joined the staff of the Tennis Channel in 2016 as one of the network’s primary travel reporters and also as an in-match analyst and a host both in studio and at worldwide events. In February 2021, his contract was renewed for an additional three years through 2023.

P. R. Sreejesh

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sreejesh (left) receiving the Arjuna Award from President Pranab Mukherjee (right), 2015

Personal information

Full name : Parattu Raveendran Sreejesh

Born : 8 May 1986 , Kochi, Kerala, India

Height : 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) (2016)

Weight : 80 kg (176 lb) (2016)

Playing position : Goalkeeper , Field

Indian Overseas Bank

Parattu Raveendran Sreejesh is an Indian professional field hockey player who plays as a goalkeeper while captaining the Indian national team. In the Hockey India League, he plays for Uttar Pradesh Wizards.

Early life

Sreejesh was born 8 May 1988, in Kizhakkambalam village, in the Ernakulam district of Kerala, to P. V. Raveendran and Usha, a family of farmers. He completed his primary education in St. Antony's Lower Primary School in Kizhakkambalam and he studied until sixth standard in St. Joseph High School in Kizhakkambalam. As a kid, he trained as a sprinter, before moving on to long jump and volleyball. At 12, he joined the GV Raja Sports School in Thiruvananthapuram. This was where his coach suggested that he take up goalkeeping. He became a professional after he was picked by hockey coach Jayakumar at the school, following which he played at the school before playing at the Nehru Cup. He completed his graduation in History from Sree Narayana College, Kollam, Kerala.

Career

International career

Sreejesh made the Junior national team in 2004, in a match against Australia in Perth, in 2004. He made his debut in the senior national team in 2006, at the South Asian Games in Colombo. Following India's win at the 2008 Junior Asia Cup, he was awarded the 'Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament'. Having been a part of the Indian team for six years, though often losing his place to senior goalkeepers, Adrian D'Souza and Bharat Chettri, he has been a regular member since 2011, after saving two penalty stroke in the Asian Champions Trophy Final in Ordos City, China, against Pakistan, a match-winning performance. His second 'Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament' award came at the 2013 Asia Cup, with India finishing second in the tournament. He was a part of the team that won silver medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Sreejesh had earlier played for India at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, and then World Cup in 2014. At the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, he starred in Indian's gold medal win, when he saved two penalty strokes against Pakistan in the final. At the 2014 Champions Trophy and 2018 Champions Trophy, he was adjudged "Goalkeeper of the Tournament". Following impressive performances in 2014, he was nominated for the award of Best Male Goalkeeper; he eventually lost to Jaap Stockmann of the Netherlands. He was the captain of the team that won the silver medal at the 2016 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy held at London.

On 13 Jul 2016, Sreejesh was given the responsibilities of the Captain of the Indian hockey team, taking over from Sardar Singh.

At the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Sreejesh led the Indian hockey team to the quarterfinals of the tournament .

Club career

At the auction of the inaugural season of the Hockey India League, Sreejesh was bought by the Mumbai franchise for US$38,000. He played two seasons for their team, Mumbai Magicians. In 2014, he was bought by Uttar Pradesh Wizards for US$69,000 and since the 2015 season, has been playing for them.

Personal life

Sreejesh is married to Aneeshya, a former long jumper and an Ayurveda doctor. They have a daughter (b. 2014) Anusree. His son, Sreeansh was born in 2017. He is currently employed as Chief Sports Organiser with the Kerala government's education department .

Parul Parmar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Parul Dalsukhbhai Parmar

Parul Parmar presented with the Arjuna Award by the President of India Pratibha Patil on 29 August 2009

Personal information

Country India

Born 20 March 1973

Parul Dalsukhbhai Parmar is an Indian para-badminton player from Gujarat. She had been ranked world number one in para-badminton women's singles SL3.

Career

Parmar was afflicted by Poliomyelitis at young age

She won the golds in women's singles and doubles at the 2017 BWF Para-Badminton World Championships. She defeated Wannaphatdee Kamtam of Thailand in singles' final. Along with Japan's Akiko Sugino, she defeated China's Cheng Hefang and Ma Huihui in doubles' final.

She has won golds in women's single SL3 at the 2014 and 2018 Asian Para Games. She also won gold in women’s singles SL3 category, at the 2018 Thailand Para-Badminton International. She had previously won the silver in 2014 Asian Para Games and the bronze in 2010 Asian Para Games. She also won the gold in the mixed doubles in SL3-SU5 category with Raj Kumar at the 2015 BWF Para-Badminton World Championships.

She is a three time world champion and she won gold and silver medals in 2014, Asian Para Games in Incheon, South Korea. She played against Kamtam Wannaphatdee and Panyachaem Paramee, both hailing from Thailand, to win the medals. She also won two golds in Women's Singles and Doubles by defeating Wannaphatdee Kamtam, a Thai player, in the Singles Final and she paired with Japan's Akiko Sugino in Doubles, to defeat the Chinese duo of Cheng Hefang and Ma Huihui, in the Para Badminton World Championships, held in Ulsan, Korea in 2019.

She works as a coach with the Sports Authority of India and lives in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

Awards

Parmar was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2009 by the Government of India and Eklavya Award by the Government of Gujarat.

P.T. USHA

The first Indian woman (and the fifth Indian) to reach the final of an Olympic event by

winning her 400 m hurdles Semi-final. She was born in Kerala in 1964. When she was just 12, she joined a Sports school at Cannanore where she received guidance and training from O.P. Nambiar, the noted athlete coach. Her full name is Pilavulakandi Thekkeparambil Usha.

In the 10th Asian Games held at Seoul in 1986, P.T.Usha kept the flag of India flying high by winning 4 gold and 1 silver medal in the track and field events. Here she created new Asian Games records in all the events she participated. P.T.Usha also won the most medals at a single championship -six at Jakartha in 1985. Her five gold at the 6th Asian Track and Field Championship is also a record for the most number of gold medals by a single athlete in a single international meet.

Usha's success story begins from the 1982 Asiad in which she won two gold medals in 100 meters and 200 meters respectively. At the Los Angels Olympics held in 1984, Usha missed a medal and she had to remain content with 4th place. Yet, she was the first Indian woman runner to have the honour of coming at the 4th place in the history of Olympics missing a bronze medal by 1/100 of a second. She won 17 medals -13 gold , 3 silver and a bronze in four Asian Track and Field Championship during the period from 1983-89.

Usha has won 101 international medals . At present she is employed as an officer in the Southern Railway.

The queen of Indian track and field for two decades, the woman who was nicknamed 'Payyoli Express'’,udanpari’, and “Golden Girl” because of her speed on the race-track, Pilavullakandi Thekke parampil Usha (P.T. Usha) needs no introduction. Since 1979, P.T. Usha, has been associated with Indian athletics.

The sporting legend of India, the symbol of perseverance in Indian sports has been through several trials and tribulations in life. She was born as the daughter of E.P.M. Paithal and T.V. Lakshmi in the Kerala village of Koothali near Perambra in Kozhikode district. She was brought up in” Thrikottur” in Thikkodi panchayath and later on habituated in Payyoli one kilometer away. She was afflicted by ill health in her early childhood. Right from her primary school days Usha showed the spark of athletic talent and was the star of many a sports meet.

In 1976 the Kerala State Government started a Sports division for women in Kannur, and Usha started practising under the guidance of coach O.M Nambiar as one among the forty girls athletes in sports division Kannur. In 1979 she participated in the National School Games, where she won the individual championship and came into the lime light. Her first international performance came in the 1980 Pakistan Open National Meet at Karachi where she won 4 gold medals for the country. In 1982 she won gold medal in 200m.race and bronze medal in 100 m .race in the world junior invitation meet( currently called world junior athletic championship) at seoul. By 1984, the Los Angeles Olympics, she had improved tremendously; she won the 400 m heats, and missed getting India's first track-and-field bronze medal in the 400m finals by 1/100 sec, in a dramatic photo finish. She put her faith in her natural talent and trusted in God almighty, with the strength from the people of India. She emerged a winner becoming the first Indian sports women to enter the Olympics final at the age of twenty.

She had set an Asian best, 55.42 seconds, for the event which still stands today as Indian national record. In 1985 she won 5 gold medals and 1 bronze medal in the Asian track and field championship at Jakartha Indonesia. This track record of Usha in the world of athletics has not been matched or surpassed till date by any athlete, man or woman in the world. In the Seoul Asian Games: Usha won gold medals in the 200 m, 400 m, 400 m hurdles and 4x400m relay. The Seoul Olympics in 1988 proved a disappointment. In spite of the heel injury and she forced herself to run for the country, however, Usha was unable to make the finals in her best events.

However, she was determined not to be disheartened, and won four golds and two silvers at the Asian Track Federation meet in Delhi, 1989. Having proved her mettle, she decided to retire from athletics, but was lured back to participate in the Beijing Asian Games, where she won 3 silver medals in spite of her limited time schedule for preparation. In 1991, she married V. Srinivasan, and their son Ujjwal was born the following year. Although she enjoyed domesticity and motherhood, she was drawn back to athletics, and astonished the country by winning bronze medals in the 200 m and 400 m at the Asian Track Federation meet at Fukkowakka in Japan, 1998. And, silencing her critics, at the age of 34 she set a new national record for the 200m, improving on her own previous record. P.T. Usha was named sportsperson of the century and the sports woman of the Millennium by the Indian Olympic Association, and is still the Indian with most international track and field medals.

She retired in the year 2000, with a promise to groom bright young talents in her sports School in Kerala. She was awarded the Arjuna Award in 1983 and the Padma Shree in 1985.

Interview with swimmer Rohit Imoliya: I want to win an Olympic medal for India

Palak Kour Bijral

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Palak Bijral

Full name Palak Kour Bijral

Country represented India

Born 15 November 1996

Jammu, India

Hometown Jammu

Residence Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir

Discipline Rhythmic gymnastics

Level Senior International Elite

Years on national team 2008-present

Gym Maulana Azad Stadium

Head coach(es) Mrs.Krupali Patel Singh

Choreographer Mrs.Krupali Patel Singh (India's youngest Arjuna Awardee)

Eponymous skills

a. (The Kudry) Back bend to roll over apparatus catch

b. Spinning ball on the tip of the finger while doing front walkover

c. Chaine turn wrapped in ribbon serpentine with one arm on the back

National gymnastics competitions

Event1st2nd3rd

Rhythmic Gymnastic Championships 20 8 6

School National 5 5 4

National Games 2 2 0

Inter-University 8 7 0

Total 35 22 10

Palak Kour Bijral (born 15 November 1996) is an Indian individual rhythmic gymnast. She represents her nation at international competitions. She competed at world championships, including at the 2013 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships. In 2014 she competed at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Career

Junior (2003-2012)

Her father introduced her to gymnastics when she was five to improve her posture, flexibility, and body shape. Bijral trained 6–8 hours a day; a typical schedule included an early get up, then choreography and practice. An open practice at the gym until 2 p.m. and a second practice in afternoon lasting until 9 p.m.

She made her international debut competing on the novice level at the 2008 at 4th Children Of Asia International Games, Russia

Senior (International)

2013 season (World Championships)[edit]

2014 season (Commonwealth Games)[edit]

2015 season (National Games)[edit]

2017 season (National championship)[edit]

2018 season (National Champion of India,Thailand open international championship)[edit]

2019 season (Emirates International cup)

Awards

Sher-i-Kashmir Sports Award in 2006.

State Award 2014–15.

All Round Best Award from His Excellency President of India Sh. R. N. Kovind in 2018.

P. V. V. Lakshmi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

P. V. V. Lakshmi

Personal information

Country India

Born 8 November 1974

Vijayawada, Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh

Residence Hyderabad, Telangana, India

Height 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in)

Handedness Right

Representing India

Women's badminton

1998 Kuala Lumpur Women's team

Pandimukkala Venkata Vara Lakshmi, better known as P. V. V. Lakshmi, is an eight-time Indian national champion in badminton and represented India in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. She is also the wife of Pullela Gopichand.She was the bronze medalist in badminton at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in the Women's Team event.

Gopichand Badminton Academy

P. V. V. Lakshmi, was very supportive of Gopichand during the formation of Gopichand Badminton Academy and even contributed to the effort of securing monetary support. Despite other donations, Gopichand could only gather US$1.75 million. It was then they decided to mortgage his family home and raise the remaining money for the already delayed project. In 2008, the facility was eventually completed at the cost of $2.5 million. Immediately after the construction, the Government of India sent the Commonwealth Games team to train at this facility. The government increased the daily rate they pay per player to $20 for this special Games camp. This was a big jump from the $5 daily fee per player that the government had previously paid for other training camps.

In 2008, they appealed to Bollywood, the Hindi cinema industry to become badminton's brand ambassador. They felt that by having a popular cinema icon supporting the sport will help popularize it.

Despite Saina Nehwal's success in international tournaments, Gopichand and Lakshmi found it hard to run the Academy. To run it at an optimal level, it requires $300,000 a year. As of 2010, he was making do with $100,000 to pay the training cost for 60 players and was holding off hiring more coaches.

Achievements

IBF International

Women's singlesYearTournamentOpponentScoreResult1999 India International B. R. Meenakshi 11–7, 4–11, 10–13 Runner-up

Women's doublesYearTournamentPartnerOpponentScoreResult1998 India International Madhumita Bisht Archana Deodhar

Manjusha Kanwar 6–15, 15–13, 15–9 Winner

1999 India International Archana Deodhar Trupti Murgunde

Ketaki Thakkar 9–15, 15–3, 15–3 Winner

Mixed doublesYearTournamentPartnerOpponentScoreResult1998 India International Vincent Lobo Vinod Kumar

Madhumita Bisht 12–15, 14–17 Runner-up

1999 India International J. B. S. Vidyadhar Vinod Kumar

B. R. Meenakshi 17–14, 15–6 Winner

Personal life

P. V. V. Lakshmi married fellow badminton player Gopichand on 5 June 2002. They have two children, a daughter named Gayathri and a son named Vishnu. Her daughter Gayathri, who is the elder of the two siblings, won the 2015 U-13 National Badminton Champion. Her son Vishnu is currently training at Gopichand academy. After marriage, Gopichand concentrated on badminton academy and Lakshmi helped him.

Purna Malavath and Anand Kumar

Dalit boy from Khammam, who in a historic feat for Indian mountaineering became two of the youngest climbers to scale Mount Everest.

13-year old Purna, along with 16-year old Anand, reached the world’s highest peak after an exhausting 52-day expedition up the Tibetan side of the mountain, known to be the most difficult route. On reaching the peak, Purna and Anand unfurled not just India’s flag, but a picture of our leader Dr. B.R Ambedkar. At a time when Dalit children in India are systematically marginalized, excluded, and deprived of educational opportunities, Purna’s and Anand’s victories are truly epic. Their achievement is testament to the potential every Dalit child possesses, and if provided with resources, will accomplish what they aspire to.

On their victory, Purna said, “The aim of my expedition was to inspire young people and students from my kind of background. For a tribal like me, opportunities are very rare and I was looking for one opportunity where I could prove my caliber”. During tough times of the expedition, Purna narrates that she kept herself motivated, by thinking of her parents, whose words, “you can change your life if you put your mind to it” kept her going.

Purna’s parents are agricultural laborers from Telangana; her co-climber Anand’s father is a cycle mechanic. “My father is my hero. He never once complained about his work at the cycle shop and always encouraged me to work hard, no matter how big or small the task,” says Anand.

The journey for both of them began at the Andhra Pradesh Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions. Purna and Anand was selected from a group of more than 100 students who were sent for training to the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling. In preparation for the Everest climb, they trained in the mountains of Darjeeling and Ladakh.

In June 2014, Purna and Anand were recognized for their achievement by the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights in association with the All India Dalit Rights Federation, the Centre for Social Equity and Inclusion, AP Bhavan Employees’ Welfare & Cultural Association, and AP Bhavan SC/ST Welfare Association.

“We believe that if Dalit children are given equal opportunities, they can excel anywhere. They only need support to utilize these opportunities effectively”, said Beena Pallical, National Coordinator for Campaigns, NCDHR. “We dream of an India where every child’s potential is realised so that they can be where Poorna is today. At the top”, added Annie Namala of the Centre for Social Equity and Inclusion.

P. K. Subban

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

P. K. Subban

Subban with the Nashville Predators in 2017

Born May 13, 1989

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Position Defence

Shoots Right

NHL team

Former teams New Jersey Devils

Montreal Canadiens

Nashville Predators

National team Canada

NHL Draft 43rd overall, 2007

Montreal Canadiens

Playing career 2009–present

Pernell-Karl Sylvester Subban MSC [1] (/ˈsubæn/ SOO-ban; born May 13, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). Subban was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the second round, 43rd overall, of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. In 2013, he won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenceman, and tied with Kris Letang as the leading scorer among defencemen. In the summer of 2014, he signed an eight-year, $72 million contract with the Canadiens, running through the 2021–22 season. After the 2015–16 season, Subban was traded to the Nashville Predators, where he spent three seasons before being traded to New Jersey in 2019.

Playing career

Junior

Subban spent his junior career with the Belleville Bulls of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). In 2005–06, he recorded 12 points in a 52-game rookie campaign. In 2006–07, he improved to 56 points in 68 games, where he was later drafted by the Canadiens in the off-season at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. Subban then recorded 46 points in just 58 games during the 2007–08 campaign, before adding 23 points and matching his regular season goals total of eight in the post-season. He helped Belleville to the J. Ross Robertson Cup Finals against the Kitchener Rangers, where they lost the OHL title in seven games. Subban finished his four-year junior career with 76 points in 56 games in the 2008–09 regular season, with the Bulls advancing to the league playoffs, losing in the OHL semi-finals.

Professional

Montreal Canadiens

Subban at the 2010 AHL All-Star Game. He began the 2009–10 season with the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs.

In May 2009, two weeks after his last junior game, Subban was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract by the Canadiens. He began the 2009–10 season with the Hamilton Bulldogs, Montreal's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate. Later in the season, he was then selected to play in the 2010 AHL All-Star Game in Portland. Shortly thereafter, he earned his first call-up to the Canadiens on February 11, 2010, and, on the following day, registered his first career NHL point, an assist, in his debut against the Philadelphia Flyers on February 12.

On April 26, 2010, Subban was recalled from Hamilton during the Canadiens' first round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Washington Capitals. He recorded his first NHL playoff point, an assist, in his first career NHL playoff game, on April 26. His first goal came in Game 1 of the Canadiens' second round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins on April 30, 2010. In Game 3 against the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2010 Eastern Conference Finals, Subban became the third rookie defenceman in Canadiens history to register three assists in one game. In all, Subban recorded one goal and eight points in 14 playoff games for the Canadiens, who ultimately fell to Philadelphia.

After the Canadiens were eliminated by the Flyers, Subban was returned to the Bulldogs, who were still in contention in the Calder Cup playoffs. At the end of the AHL season, Subban was awarded the AHL President's Award in recognition of his accomplishments for the year.

On March 20, 2011, Subban became the first Canadiens rookie defenceman to score a hat-trick in a game, which came in an 8–1 victory over the Minnesota Wild.

Subban with the Montreal Canadiens during the 2011–12 season.

Playing in 81 games in the 2011–12 season, Subban recorded seven goals and 29 assists. A restricted free agent after the season, Subban sat out the first four games of the 2012–13 season, which was postponed until January 2013 due to a labour lock-out, while the two sides negotiated a contract. On January 28, 2013, however, Subban eventually signed a two-year, $5.75 million deal with Montreal. He scored 11 goals and 27 assists, matching his career-high 38 points despite playing in only 42 games due to the lock-out. At the end of the season, he was awarded with the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the NHL's defenceman of the year, edging-out Kris Letang and Ryan Suter for the honour. On July 3, 2013, Subban was named to the NHL First All-Star Team.

Subban then played all 82 games during the 2013–14 regular season, in which he registered a total of 53 points, ten of which were goals. During the 2014 playoffs, he was one of Montreal's most important assets, registering 14 points in 17 games as the Canadiens ultimately reached the Eastern Conference Finals, falling to the New York Rangers.

Subban became a restricted free agent at the close of the 2013–14 season when his contract expired. According to the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), Subban earned the right to salary arbitration, having signed his first Standard Player Contract between the ages of 18 and 20 and having accrued four years of professional experience or more. He subsequently filed for arbitration before the deadline of July 5. The hearing took place on August 1, 2014, with Subban's camp asking for a one-year deal worth $8.5 million, while the Canadiens offered a one-year deal worth $5.5 million.

Subban with the Canadiens during the 2014–15 season. Subban signed an eight-year extension with the Canadiens the summer prior to the start of the season.

Under NHL CBA rules, the parties could continue to negotiate and reach an agreement until the arbitrator announced her decision, given in the 48 hours following the hearing. As arbitration was player-elected, once the arbitrator released her decision, the team would have had 48 hours to agree to the terms or walk away from the player, thereby making Subban an unrestricted free agent. The day after the hearing, on August 2, it was announced that Subban and the Habs had agreed to terms on an eight-year, $72 million contract, running through the 2021–22 season. The contract made him the highest-paid defenceman in the NHL and third-highest-paid League player overall at the time. It included a no-trade clause that would take effect July 1, 2016.

On September 15, 2014, Subban was named an alternate captain of the Canadiens along with Max Pacioretty, Tomáš Plekanec, and Andrei Markov as Montreal head coach Michel Therrien elected not to name a captain following Brian Gionta's departure in off-season.

Nashville Predators

On June 29, 2016, Subban, in a blockbuster move, was traded to the Nashville Predators in exchange for defenceman Shea Weber.[ In his first season with the club, Subban recorded 10 goals and 40 points in 66 games. The Predators qualified for the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs in the final wild card spot in the Western Conference. The team advanced to the 2017 Stanley Cup Finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins, but were defeated in six games. Subban finished the postseason with 12 points in 22 games.

On May 2, 2018, Subban was named one of three finalists for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy as a player who best exemplifies leadership qualities and gives back to his community. The award eventually went to Daniel and Henrik Sedin.

New Jersey Devils

On June 22, 2019, the second day of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, Subban was traded to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Steven Santini, prospect Jérémy Davies, and two second-round draft picks. Subban faced one of his former clubs, the Montreal Canadiens, for the first time on November 16, 2019, a 4–3 Devils' victory. Subban faced another one of his former clubs, the Nashville Predators on December 7, a 6–4 Predators' victory. In that game, Subban was given a tribute video and a standing ovation from Predators fans.

Subban's debut season in New Jersey was statistically the worst season of his career, recording just 18 points in 68 games and a career worst plus–minus of –21. At season's end, Subban was nominated for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy.

International play

Subban with Team Canada during an exhibition game against Switzerland in 2012

Medal record

Representing Canada

2014 Sochi

Asian Athletics Championships

2008 Czech Republic

2009 Canada

Subban was selected to play for Canada at the 2008 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in the Czech Republic. He saw limited ice time as Canada's seventh defenceman, but was able to help the team capture their fourth consecutive gold medal at the tournament, defeating Sweden in overtime in the final. Subban again represented Canada at the 2009 World Juniors in Ottawa, taking on a more central role with the team. He scored three goals and nine points and a differential of +12 in the tournament, helping Canada to its fifth consecutive gold medal as they once again defeated Sweden in the final. Subban was named to the Tournament All-Star Team, along with Cody Hodgson and tournament MVP John Tavares.

Subban was invited to participate in the 2012 IIHF World Championship, but was injured during pre-tournament play. In the next season, Subban was a late addition to the Canadian team at the 2013 edition of the tournament; he joined them in the elimination round for one game, which Canada lost. On January 7, 2014, Subban was named to Canada's 2014 Winter Olympic team for participation in the Games in Sochi in defence of their 2010 gold medal. They won gold, prevailing 3–0 over Sweden in the tournament final.

Personal life

Subban's parents both immigrated to Ontario from the Caribbean in the 1970s. His father, Karl, moved from Jamaica to Sudbury, and his mother, Maria, came from Montserrat to Hamilton. Karl is a retired school principal. Subban was born in Toronto and raised in the city's Rexdale neighbourhood. He has four siblings: Nastassia, Natasha, Jordan and Malcolm. Malcolm is a goaltender who was selected by the Boston Bruins in the first round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, and currently plays for the Chicago Blackhawks. During the Vegas Golden Knights' inaugural season (2017-2018), Malcolm and P.K. faced each other in the NHL regular season for the first time in a December 8, 2017 game on the elder Subban's home ice (Nashville's Bridgestone Arena). Malcolm, starting in net for the injured Marc-Andre Fleury, earned the win. Jordan was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the fourth round of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

P. K., Malcolm, and Jordan all played for the Belleville Bulls during their junior career. Growing up, Subban was good friends with Toronto Maple Leafs player John Tavares.[36] He also played and won a Triple-A Novice title with Tampa Bay Lightning captain and star Steven Stamkos.

Although he was raised in Toronto, Subban did not grow up as a fan of the hometown Toronto Maple Leafs. He revealed on the Montreal talk show Tout le monde en parle that he always wanted to play for Montreal ever since he was a kid. He also said that Canadiens' legend Jean Béliveau was one of his biggest idols growing up as a hockey player.

During the 2018 NHL Awards, Subban was revealed as the cover athlete for the NHL 19 video game.

In June 2018, Subban began a relationship with American skier Lindsey Vonn. On August 23, 2019, they announced their engagement and on Christmas day 2019 Vonn proposed to Subban. On December 29, 2020, they both announced their breakup on Instagram. Vonn announced that the two had parted ways and remained friends.

On October 21, 2020, Subban and Vonn were announced as members of the ownership group of Angel City FC, a Los Angeles-based team that will start play in the National Women's Soccer League in 2022.

Endorsements

Subban signing autographs in 2013

In addition to the RW-CO deal, Subban's marketing company, P.K.S.S., has landed him several business partnerships including ones with Adidas, Bridgestone, Gatorade and Air Canada.

Personality and style

Subban is known for his exciting and hard-hitting style of play as well as having a colourful personality that has been criticized by some as brash and self-absorbed. In an interview with ESPN.com, he addressed it:

A lot of things are said about me. And maybe if I didn't play in Montreal to start my career, a lot of those things would not have made news. But when you're in Montreal, everything gets kind of blown up and everything becomes news, which is fine. None of that stuff ever really bothered me. I'm not that self-absorbed where I think everybody on the planet is going to love me or love everything about me. They're all not going to love the way I play the game or think I'm the best-looking guy in the world. It's just not going to happen. You're going to have people disagree. They may not think how I play the game is the right way. Or they may not think everything I do is truly authentic and real, but that's just life. What are you going to do? All you do is continue to work on yourself every day as a player and as a person, and that's it. I try to get better every day and continue to do good things, not just for myself, but for the people around me, and just create good energy around me wherever I go, because that's the only way to live, in my opinion.

Off the ice, Subban has a well-known, stylish sense of fashion. He often is seen in designer suits and unique accessories. That appreciation of style has been parlayed into being the spokesman for a RW-CO line of suits. Subban was ranked in the top 50 of Best Dressed athletes by Sports Illustrated and made their alternate cover page in July 2018. In May 2019, P.K Subban showcased his hatmaker Gunner Foxx and bespoke tailor and shoemaker Sartorialto for GQ Magazine.

Philanthropy

On September 16, 2015, Subban announced a commitment to raise $10 million for the Montreal Children's Hospital by 2022. The hospital called it "the biggest philanthropic commitment by a sports figure in Canadian history". After his donation, Subban continued his commitment as spokesman and organized the "Winter Wonderland" with Air Canada at the hospital before the holidays. In 2017, he was awarded the Meritorious Service Cross (Civil Division) in recognition of how his "generous gift stands as an example of how professional athletes can positively change lives in their communities". He was also added to the Google.org Impact Challenge judge panel in Canada, to help choose which organizations should receive money to help Canada. After his trade to Nashville, Subban continued his philanthropy. The "P.K.'s Blue Line Buddies" focused on building better relations between law enforcement and inner-city youths, by treating a police officer, a youth and their guests to a Predators home game with perks like autographs and dinner in Bridgestone Arena's Patron Platinum Club. After being traded to the New Jersey Devils, Subban continued his Blue Line Buddies initiative in New Jersey. Subban wanted to make sure that his program reached out to somewhere other than Nashville. In January 2018, Subban appeared on The Daily Show to discuss his philanthropy efforts with the children's hospital and his Blue Line Buddies program.

In June 2020, Subban donated US$50,000 to the GoFundMe effort to raise money for Gianna Floyd, the daughter of the late George Floyd.

Preeja Sreedharan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Preeja Sreedharan

Sreedharan in 2011

Personal information

Nationality India

Born 13 March 1982

Idukki, Kerala, India

Spouse(s) Deepak Gopinath

Parent(s) Sreedharan, Remani

Sport

Sport Running

Event(s) 10,000 metres, 5000 metres

Representing India

Women's athletics

2007 Amman 5000 m

2007 Amman 10,000 m

2010 Guangzhou 10000m

2010 Guangzhou 5000m

Preeja Sreedharan (born 13 March 1982 at Mullakkanam, Idukki, Kerala) is an Indian long-distance runner. She holds the national records in both the 10,000 metres and 5000 metres disciplines, which she set en route to the gold and silver medals at 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. Sreedharan was conferred with the Arjuna Award, India's second highest sporting honour by the central government in 2011.

Sreedharan's breakthrough came in 2007, when she won the silver medal in both the disciplines at the Asian Athletics Championships. She bettered her personal bests and the Indian national records in both the 10000 and 5000 meters at 2010 Asian Games; she won the gold in the 10000 meters and the silver in 5000 meters. She announced her retirement from international circuit in February 2015.

Personal life

Preeja was born to Sreedharan and Remani in Idukki, Kerala.She belonged to a middle class family. Her father was a manual labourer and passed away when she was 8 years old. She has an elder brother Pradeep and an elder sister Preethy. After her father's demise her brother had to leave school at 6th standard and take up job in order to meet household expenses. She graduated from Alphonsa College, Pala. She married Dr.Deepak Gopinath on 11 November 2012 at Palakkad, Kerala. Preeja Sreedharan has been employed as a Superintendent by the Southern Railway. The couple have two children, Darshan (born on 2016) and Dhyan (born on 2018).

Career

At the 2006 Asian Games, Sreedharan finished fifth in both the 5000 and the 10,000 metres. At the 2007 Asian Championships at Amman she won the silver medals in the two events. She qualified for the Beijing Olympics in June 2008 after achieving a B qualifying mark for the Games and then finished twenty-fifth in the Olympic 10,000 metres.

Sreedharan achieved her personal best of 31:50:28 minutes in the 10,000 metres en route to the gold medal at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games; she also broke the Indian national record with the performance. Sreedharan also won the silver medal in 5000 metres at the event. With the time of 15:15.89 minutes, she also bettered the national record in 5000 meters.

Sreedharan was selected as Manorama Newsmaker of the year 2010. The selection was done through an online SMS voting from public. The finalists with Preeja were, Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy, Njhanpeedam winner and famous Malayalam poet ONV Kurup and famous politician, and financial minister K. M. Mani.

Sreedharan was the fastest Indian woman at the 2014 Delhi Half Marathon. She also participated at the 2014 Asian Games, but was unable to win any medal. Sreedharan announced her retirement from international competitions in February 2015. She said that she would participate in her last competition at the 2015 National Athletics Championships: "With the next national games, I would leave the track for ever. The decision was taken to focus on family life, I would continue to strive for promoting athletics."

Most Important landmarks in career

• She is the Indian athlete to represent India in 10000m in Olympics. She qualified for the Beijing Olympics in June 2008 after achieving a B qualifying mark for the Games and then finished twenty-fifth in the Olympic 10,000 metres.

• She won Gold medal in the 10,000 metres event and Silver medal in 5000 metres at the Guangzhou Asian Games 2010.

• She holds Indian national record for both 5000 and 10,000 metres as on 18.10.2020.

• At the 2007 Asian Championships at Amman, she won the silver medal in the 10,000 metres and 5000 Meters.

• Her personal best for the 10,000 metres is 31:50:28 minutes in Guangzhou Asian Games. This is the current Indian national record .

• Her personal best for the 5000 metres is 15:15 minutes in Guangzhou Asian Games. This is the current Indian national record.

• She was selected as Manorama Newsmaker of the year 2010( Kerala State ).

International Acievements

Beijing Olympics 2008 10000m Participation

Asian Games – Guangzhau 2010 10000m Gold Medal (Current National Record )

Asian Games – Guangzhau 2010 5000m Silver Medal (current National record )

Asian Athletics Championship 2007 10000m Silver Medal

Asian Aathletic Championship 2007 5000m Silver Medal

2nd Asian Indoor Games Macao – 2007 3000m Silver Medal

3rd Asian Indoor Championship – Doha 2008 3000m Gold Medal

10th South Asian Games Columbo 2006 10000m Gold medal

19th Asian Athletic Championship Kobai 2011 10000m Bronze Medal

6th Asian Cross Country Kadmandu 2001 4KM Silver Medal

NATIONAL LEVEL

9th National Athletic Championship Thrissur-2001 10000m Gold Medal

9th National Athletic Championship Thrissur 2001 5000m Gold Medal

10th National athletic championship – Chandigarh 2002 1500m Gold Medal

10th National athletic championship – Chandigarh 2002 5000m Silver Medal

37th National Cross Country Championship Goa 4 km Gold Medal

7th Federation Cup Cross country 2002 8 km Bronze Medal

44th National Open Athletics Championship – Mumbai 2004 5000m Gold Medal

44th National Interstate Senior Athletic Championship 2004 5000m Silver Medal

44th National Interstate Senior Athletic Championship 2004 1500m Bronze Medal

38th National Cross country Championship Shimla 2004 4 km race Gold Medal

45th National Interstate Senior athletics championship – Bangalore 2005 5000m Bronze Medal

11th Federation cup National Senior Athletics championship Delhi 5000m Silver Medal

45th National Open Athletic Championship Hyderabad 2005 5000m Silver Medal

45th National Open Athletic Championship Hyderabad 2005 1500m Bronze Medal

46th National Open Athletic Championship Delhi 2006 10000m Gold Medal

46th National Interstate Senior Athletic Championship Chennai 2006 10000m Gold Medal

46th National Interstate Senior Athletic Championship Chennai 2006 5000m Gold Medal

1st National Endurance Athletic Competition Delhi 2006 1500m Silver Medal

33rd National Games Guwahati 2007 10000 Gold Medal

33rd National Games Guwahati 2007 5000m Gold Medal

33rd National Games Guwahati 2007 1500 m Gold Medal

47th National Open Athletic Championship Jamshedpur 2007 10000m Gold Medal

47th National Open Athletic Championship Jamshedpur 2007 5000m Gold Medal

47th National Interstate Senior Athletic Championship Bhopal 2007 10000m Silver Medal

47th National Interstate Senior Athletic Championship Bhopal 5000m Silver Medal

48th National Open Athletic Championship Kochi 2008 10000m Gold Medal

48th National Open Athletic Championship Kochi 2008 5000m Gold Medal

14th Federation Cup National Senior Athletic Championship 2008 Bhopal 5000m Silver Medal

50th National Interstate Senior Athletic Championship Patiala 2010 10000m Gold Medal

15th Federation Cup National Senior Athletic Championship Ranchi 2010 10000m Gold Medal

50th National Open Athletic Championship – Kochi 2010 10000m Silver Medal

15th Federation Cup National Senior Athletic Championship Ranchi 2010 5000m Silver Medal

51st National Open Athletic Championship – Kolkata 2011 10000m Gold Medal

34th National Games, Jharkhand 2011 10000m Silver Medal

34th National Games, Jharkhand 2011 5000m Silver Medal

53rd National Open Athletic Championship – Ranchi 2013 10000m Bronze medal

53rd National Open Athletic Championship – Ranchi 2013 5000m Silver Medal

53rd National Interstate Senior Athletic Championship Chennai 2013 10000m Gold Medal

53rd National Interstate Senior Athletic Championship Chennai 2013 5000m Silver Medal

48th National Cross country championships Jalpaiguri 2013 8 KM Gold Medal

54th National Open Athletic Championship – Delhi 2014 10000m Silver Medal

35th National games Kerala 2015 10000m Silver Medal

Awards

Following her performance at the 2010 Asian Games, Sreedharan was conferred with the Arjuna Award in 2011 by the Government of India.

G V Raja Award ( Kerala State ) – 2001

Manorama Newsmaker of the Year ( Kerala State ) – 2011

Jimmy Gorge Award- 2012

Prabhsukhan Singh Gill

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Prabhsukhan Singh Gill

Full name Prabhsukhan Singh Gill

Date of birth 2 January 2001

Place of birth Ludhiana, Punjab, India

Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)

Playing position Goalkeeper

Club information

Current team Indian Arrows

Number 20

Youth career

2014–2016 Chandigarh Football Academy

2016–2017 AIFF Elite Academy

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2018– Indian Arrows 12 (0)

National team‡

2016– India U17 7 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 27 February 2018 (UTC)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23:43, 2 January 2018 (UTC)

Prabhsukhan Singh Gill (born 2 January 2001) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Indian Arrows in the I-League.

CareerBorn in Ludhiana, Punjab, Gill began his career with the Chandigarh Football Academy after a recommendation to scouts by his brother, Gursimrat Singh Gill. He later joined the AIFF Elite Academy after he participated in a trial to be part of the India under-17 side which would take part in the FIFA U-17 World Cup. After the FIFA U-17 World Cup concluded, Gill was selected to be part of the Indian Arrows, a developmental side owned by the All India Football Federation which was to play in the I-League.

He appeared on the bench in the Arrow's first match of the season on 29 November 2017 against Chennai City, being the back-up to Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem. On 2 January 2018, Gill's 17th birthday, he made his professional debut for the Indian Arrows against East Bengal due to Moirangthem leaving the club. He gave up two goals early in the match as Indian Arrows fell 2–0. Arrows Head Coach Luís Norton de Matos was impressed with Gill's performance saying "I think it is a new process for goalkeeper Gill who is 16 years old. He made a fantastic save in the second half. The team needs to protect the goalie."

InternationalWhile a member of the Chandigarh Football Academy, Gill had a trial with the India under-17 side which was to take part in the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup in India. The trial was successful and Gill joined the team and the AIFF Elite Academy. On 21 September 2017, Gill was announced to be part of the 21-man side that would participate in the FIFA U-17 World Cup. He would be the number 2 goalkeeper for the side, behind Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem, during the U-17 World Cup.

On 26 October 2017, after the FIFA U-17 World Cup, Gill was selected to be part of the India under-20 side for the 2018 AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers.

Purna Malavath and Anand Kumar

Dalit boy from Khammam, who in a historic feat for Indian mountaineering became two of the youngest climbers to scale Mount Everest.

Prerna Bhambri

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Prerna BhambriCountry (sports) India

Born 12 September 1992

India

Prize money $48,103

Singles

Career record 160-114

Career titles 0 WTA, 5 ITF

Highest ranking 358 (20 June 2016)

Doubles

Career record 60-80

Career titles 0 WTA, 3 ITF

Highest ranking 430 (12 September 2016)

show

Medal record

Last updated on: 22 October 2019.

Prerna Bhambri (born 12 September 1992) is an Indian tennis player. Prerna Bhambri holds the record of being the only Indian to have won the All India National Tennis Championship four times in a row; and is a runner's up in 2019. She received 'Award for Excellence in Sports' from the Hon'ble Smt. Pratibha Patil, Former President of India.

Career

Ankita Raina (INDIA) won Gold Medal and Prerna Bhambri (INDIA) won Silver Medal in a Women’s Singles Tennis match, at the 12th South Asian Games-2016, in Guwahati on February 10, 2016

Prerna Bhambri holds the record of being the only Indian to have won the All India National Tennis Championship four times in a row; and is a runner's up in 2019.

She has a world career-high singles ranking of world No. 358, achieved on 20 June 2016. Bhambri has won five singles and three doubles titles on the ITF Circuit.

In December 2019, Prerna won 2 gold medals for India in the South Asian Games. In 2016 as well, she won the silver medal in the women's singles event of the South Asian Games. In 2018, she was the winner in Women's Singles and Women's Doubles at the Delhi Olympic Games.

In January 2012, Bhambri made her debut for the India Fed Cup team. Playing for India at Fed Cup, Bhambri has a win–loss record of 5–3.

Personal

Prerna is coached by her brother Prateek Bhambri, who has also been a professional tennis player. He has won the All India National Championship in Singles and Doubles. Bhambri's cousin Yuki Bhambri is a professional on the ATP World Tour, with a career-high world ranking of 83. Bhambri is also the younger cousin of Ankita Bhambri and Sanaa Bhambri, who are both retired players. Prerna graduated with an MBA from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. She is married to Ayush Tandon, who is a Chartered Accountant.

Achievements

Year Tournament Position

2019 South Asian Games 2019, Nepal Gold Medal (Team Event & Doubles)

Fenesta Tennis Championship 2019 Runners-up (Singles)

Asian Tennis Tour, Delhi Runners-up (Singles)

All India Tennis Association tournament, Jaipur Winner (Singles)

2018 Delhi Olympic Games, Delhi Winner (Singles and Doubles)

Inter-State Tennis 2018 Runners-up – Silver Medal

2017 ITF Women US$15,000 Colombo Runners-up (Singles)

2016 South Asian Games 2016

Runners-up (Women Singles)

Silver Medal

Fed Cup- Represented India in Team India Group I, Thailand 5th position for Team India

ITF Women US$ 10,000 Egypt Runners-up (Singles)

ITF Women US$ 10,000 Egypt Winner (Doubles)

2015 Fenesta Tennis Championship 2015 National Champion (Singles)

ITF Women US$ 10,000 Gulbarga (week 1) Winner (Singles) &

Runners-up (Doubles)

ITF Women US$ 10,000 Gulbarga (week 2) Winner (Singles)

ITF Women US$ 10,000 Lucknow Winner (Singles) &

Winner (Doubles)

ITF Women US$ 10,000 Hyderabad Runners-up (Singles) &Winner(Doubles)

ITF Women US$15,000 Hong Kong Qualified for main draw & Runners-Up (Singles)

2014 Fenesta Tennis Championship 2014 National Champion (Singles)

2013 Fenesta Tennis Championship 2013 National Champion (Singles)

2012 Fenesta Tennis Championship 2012 National Champion (Singles)

Fed Cup - Represented India in Team India Group II, Shenzhen, China Winner (Team India)

ITF Women US$ 10,000 Gulbarga Winner (Singles)

2011 ITF Women US$ 10,000 Delhi Winner (Singles)

34th National Games at Ranchi Gold Medal (Doubles);

Gold Medal (Team); &

Bronze Medal (Singles)

Winner of various tournaments in categories i.e. National Series, Championship Series, and Talent Series.

ITF finals

Singles (5–5)

Legend

$100,000 tournaments

$75,000 tournaments

$50,000 tournaments

$25,000 tournaments

$15,000 tournaments

$10,000 tournaments

Finals by surface

Hard (4–3)

Clay (0–2)

Grass (1–0)

Carpet (0–0)

Prabir Das

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Prabir Das

Das with ATK Mohun Bagan in 2021

Personal information

Date of birth 20 December 1993

Place of birth Sodepur, West Bengal, India

Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)

Position(s) Right back / Wing Back

Club information

Current team ATK Mohun Bagan

Number 33

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2012–2013 Pailan Arrows 24 (1)

2013–2015 Dempo 10 (0)

2014 → Goa (loan) 1 (0)

2015–2017 Mohun Bagan 26 (1)

2015 → Delhi Dynamos (loan) 0 (0)

2016–2020 ATK 46 (1)

2020– ATK Mohun Bagan 17 (0)

National team‡

2011 India U19 3 (1)

2015– India 2 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 24 February 2021

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 09:42, 1 April 2015 (UTC)

Prabir Das (born 20 December 1993 in West Bengal) is an Indian footballer who plays as a right back for Indian Super League club ATK Mohun Bagan.

Career

Pailan Arrows

On 23 September 2012 Das scored his first goal for Pailan Arrows in the 2012 Indian Federation Cup against Shillong Lajong at the Keenan Stadium in the 69th minute to give Pailan the victory 2–1.[1] He then scored his first I-League goal for Pailan Arrows and the second goal of his career again against Shillong Lajong at the Salt Lake Stadium in which he scored in the 39th minute to give Pailan Arrows the eventual 1–0.

On 12 April 2013, during a game versus Prayag United, Das collapsed on the pitch due to heatstroke. It was 37 degrees Celsius when Das fell and had to be taken away via ambulance to the nearest hospital. He had breathing problems which resulted in immediate care.

Dempo

On 15 November 2013, Das joined Goan giant Dempo SC from Pailan Arrows for a one-year deal on loan. He made his debut for Dempo in the I-League on 27 November 2013 against Pune F.C. at the Duler Stadium in which he played the whole match as Dempo drew the match 1-1.

Mohun Bagan

On 13 June 2015 Das signed a two-year contract with Mohun Bagan.

Delhi Dynamos (loan)

In July 2015 Das was drafted to play for Delhi Dynamos in the 2015 Indian Super League.

ATK (loan)

In July 2016, Das signed for former ISL champion Atletico de Kolkata on loan from Mohun Bagan. He was the instrumental part of ATK squad which lifted the 2016 ISL trophy.

ATK

On 5 July 2017, Das has been retained by two times ISL Champions ATK on a three-year contract.

International

India U19

Das made his debut for the India U19s on 31 October 2011 during the 2012 AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers against Turkmenistan in which he also scored in the 82nd minute to confirm India's 3–1 victory to open the qualifiers.

India U23

On 29 March 2015, Das has made his debut for India U23 against Syria in AFC U23 Championship Qualifier.

Personal life

In December 2019, he extended financial support for a young East Bengal fan's treatment.

Purav Raja

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Purav Raja

Raja at the 2018 French Open

Country (sports) India

Residence Mumbai, India

Born 7 December 1985

Mumbai, India

Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)

Turned pro 2005

Plays Right-handed

Prize money US$550,181

Singles

Career record 0–1 (0% in ATP World Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup)

Career titles 0

Highest ranking No. 813 (30 July 2007)

Doubles

Career record 67–82 (45.0% in ATP World Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup)

Career titles 2

Highest ranking No. 52 (17 July 2017)

Current ranking No. 112 (16 March 2020)

Grand Slam Doubles results

Australian Open 3R (2018)

French Open 3R (2017)

Wimbledon 2R (2017)

US Open 2R (2017)

Last updated on: 22 March 2020.

Purav Raja (/ˈpʊəræv ˈrɑːdʒə/ POOR-av RAH-jə; born 7 December 1985) is an Indian tennis player. He specializes in doubles and competes on the ATP World Tour. He has 2 ATP world tour level titles in men's doubles. He represents India in the Davis Cup.

Personal and early life

Purav Raja grew up in Mumbai and began playing tennis when he was 7 years old. His favorite surface is indoor carpet and his favorite shot is the dropshot. Raja's favorite tournament is Wimbledon and his idols growing up were Stefan Edberg and Steven Gerrard. His hobbies are playing pool, cricket and table tennis. Raja say that if he was not a tennis player he would have been a politician. Raja is very active in the Ananda Ashran orphanage and The Fellowship of the Physically Handicapped in Mumbai. Raja splits his training between Mumbai and Bromley.

Professional career

Early years

Raja turned pro in year 2005. He started with ITF tour finding negligible success in singles but continued to excel in doubles. In year 2007 he started emerging as a doubles specialist as he went on to win 4 ITF titles. He followed his success in year 2008 with four more ITF doubles titles. The same year he reached his first ATP Challenger doubles final at New Delhi Challenger 4 partnering with compatriot Rohan Gajjar. He won his first doubles ATP Challenger title at 2009 Karshi Challenger with his Australian Partner Sadik Kadir.

2010–2012

From year 2010 Raja started finding consistent success at ATP Challenger tour. In year 2010 he reached four Challenger finals and won a title at 2010 Dunlop World Challenge in Tokyo with partner Treat Conrad Huey. In 2011 Raja reached three challenger finals winning one of it at 2011 Trofeo Paolo Corazzi. His performance dipped slightly in 2012. He reached only two Challenger finals and could not win a title after three successful years.

2013: Breakthrough, First ATP world tour title

In February, Raja made his Davis Cup debut against Korea. He partnered with Indian doubles legend Leander Paes and won his debut tie.

2013 proved to be breakthrough year for Raja. He played most of the season with his most successful partner Divij Sharan. The pair performed consistently and reached 5 Challenger finals winning a title at Kyoto Challenger, Japan. Raja and Divij found their biggest success by winning their first ATP world tour title at 2013 Claro Open in Bogota, Colombia. They defeated second-seed French-Dutch combination of Édouard Roger-Vasselin and Igor Sijsling in the finals.

They also entered qualifying draw at 2013 Wimbledon Championships and successfully qualified for main draw. They lost in first round to Nicholas Monroe and Simon Stadler. This was the first match at a Grand Slam event for both Raja and Divij.

As a result of good run Raja entered top 100 rankings for the first time in his career. He also finished year inside top 100 doubles rankings at 90.

2014

Raja's performance dipped a bit in year 2014. He could reach only two Challenger finals winning only one title. He won the title with Divij Sharan at Kyoto Challenger in Japan. His performance at ATP world tour level was also poor with his best finish as a semifinal appearance at Zagreb Indoors. As a result, his rankings fell out of top 100 and he finished year at 130.

2015

Raja started season on strong note. He reached to semifinals at Chennai Open. In February, he partnered with Fabrice Martin and made to the finals at Zagreb Indoors. This was Raja's second ATP world tour level final. They lost to second seeds Marin Draganja and Henri Kontinen in the finals. But after strong performance at ATP world tour level Raja started to struggle with his form. He could make it to only one Challenger final in first half of the season. He made good comeback in second half. He won a title at Portorož Challenger and made it to the finals at Hua Hin Challenger. He finished the year at no. 93 ranking in doubles.

2016: Second ATP world tour title

2016 proved to be very good year for Raja. He played for most part of the year with compatriot Divij Sharan and together they reached 6 ATP Challenger finals winning 4 of it. They won titles at Manchester Trophy Challenger, Aegon Surbiton Trophy, Open Castilla y León and Pune Challenger. The pair also won their second ATP world tour title at Los Cabos Open, Mexico. They defeated pair of Jonathan Erlich and Ken Skupski in the finals.

In Grand Slams, Raja played his first ever match of French Open main draw along with Ivo Karlovic of Croatia. But they crashed out in the opening round of the men's doubles event. The duo lost 1–6, 2–6 to ninth seeded Polish-Austrian pair of Lukasz Kubot and Alexander Peya.

2017

Raja continued his good form in year 2017. He started the new season on strong note by reaching to his fourth ATP world tour final at 2017 Chennai Open with partner Divij Sharan. In an all Indian final they lost to the team of Rohan Bopanna and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan.

He reached three Challenger finals and won all of it. He won Bordeaux Challenger with Divij. In November, he won back to back titles in two consecutive weeks at Knoxville and Champaign with Leander Paes.

This was the first year in Raja's career where he played in main draw of all four Grand Slams. He played with Divij Sharan in first three slams of the year and partnered with Leander Paes for US Open. He crashed out in opening round at Australian Open, reached third round at French Open and lost in second round at Wimbledon and US Open.

In September, Raja played his second Davis Cup match with Rohan Bopanna in world group play-offs against Canada. But they lost to pair of Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil.

Raja reached his career best ranking of 52 on 17 July 2017 and finished the year with doubles ranking of 60.

2018

Raja registered his best result at Australian Open by reaching third round. His partner at the event was Leander Paes.

Raja reached four ATP Challenger finals in 2018. He won two titles at Amex-Istanbul Challenger and Wolffkran Open while finishing as runner-up at Play in Challenger and Bengaluru Open.

On ATP tour he reached only two semifinals and had first round exit at 10 events. At the lack of poor performance on ATP world tour, he finished year at ranking of 90.

ATP career finals

Doubles: 4 (2 titles, 2 runner-ups)

Legend

Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)

ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)

ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–0)

ATP World Tour 250 Series (2–2)

Padmini Rout

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Padmini Rout

Padmini Rout, Vlissingen 2009

Country India

Born 5 January 1994

Barambagarh, Odisha, India

Title International Master (2015)

Woman Grandmaster (2007)

FIDE rating 2345 (December 2021)

Peak rating 2454 (March 2015)

Padmini Rout (born 5 January 1994) is an Indian chess player. She holds the titles of International Master (IM) and Woman Grandmaster (GM) She is a four-time National Women's Premier title holder consecutively from 2014-2017 and was the Asian women's champion of 2018.

Rout was honoured with the Biju Patnaik Sports Award for the year 2007 and the Ekalavya Award in 2009.

Career

In 2005 Rout won her first national title, under-11 girls at Nagpur. In 2006, she was both the Indian under-13 girls champion and the Asian under-12 girls champion. Rout won the U14 girls' section of both Asian and World Youth Chess Championships in 2008. The following year she finished first in the Asian Junior (Under-20) Girls Championship. In 2010, she won the Indian junior (U19) girls championship and took the bronze medal at both Asian and World Junior Girls Championships.

In the Asian Individual Women's Championship 2011 she tied for 2nd–6th places and won it in 2018. Rout won the Indian Women's Championship in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. In 2015, she also became the Commonwealth women's champion.

Rout played for the Indian national team at Women's Chess Olympiad, Women's World Team Chess Championship and Women's Asian Team Chess Championship. She won an individual gold medal playing on the reserve board at the 2014 Women's Chess Olympiad in Tromsø, Norway. She has been part of the Indian women's team in the subsequent Chess Olympiads in 2016 at Baku, Azerbaijan and 2018 at Batumi, Georgia.

Personal life

Born in Barambagarh, Odisha, Padmini started playing chess at the age of 9 (2003) because of her father Dr. Ashok Kumar Rout's passion for the game. She did her schooling from D.A.V. Public School, Chandrasekharpur and graduated in Commerce from BJB College in Bhubaneswar.

Achievements

Won her first National under-11 girls in 2005 at Nagpur and also won National under-13 girls in Kolkata.

Individual Gold medal for reserve board in Women's in Tromso Olympiad 2014

Gold medal in Asian Continental Women 2018

Four-times consecutive National Women's Premier Champion (2014-2017)

Gold in Blitz, Silver in both Rapid and Classical format in Asian Nations Cup 2014 for Team India

Gold in Blitz, Silver in Rapid and Bronze in Classical format in Asian Nations Cup 2018 for Team India

Gold in Asian under-12 girls and under-14 girls in 2006 and 2008 respectively.

Gold in Asian Junior (under-20) girls in 2009 and Bronze in 2010.

Gold in Commonwealth Women's in 2015.

Gold in World Youth under-14 in 2008.

Bronze in World Junior 2010.

Bronze in Asian Continental Women's Blitz in 2017.

Bronze in Asian Indoor Games in Rapid for Team India in 2017.

Won National Junior girls in 2010.

Biju Patnaik Sports Award for the year 2007.

Winner of Eklavya Award in 2009.

Prakash Thorat

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Prakash Thorat

Date of birth 11 May 1985

Place of birth Pune, Maharashtra, India

Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)

Position(s) Forward

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

Deccan XI

Maharashtra Police

Central Railways

2012–2013 Air India 27 (5)

2013–2015 Pune 18 (0)

2016 DSK Shivajians 3 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10 May 2015

Prakash Thorat (born 11 March 1985) is an Indian professional footballer who played as a forward.

Career

Early career

Born in Pune, Maharashtra, Thorat started his footballing career as a semi-professional, playing for various Maharashtra state clubs like Deccan XI, Maharashtra Police, and Central Railways. He was also twice the top scorer in the Nagpur Premier League in both the 2010 and 2011 seasons in which he scored seven goals in each season. His best moment as a semi-professional came when he played in the inaugural Aurangabad Premier League where he scored an amazing 13 goals in only five matches.

After impressing as a semi-professional Thorat was signed by I-League side Air India for the rest of the 2011–12 season. He made his debut for Air India on 14 April 2012 against Pailan Arrows at the Salt Lake Stadium. He managed to score a brace in that match as Air India won 2–0. Overall, Thorat played in seven matches that season and then in the 2012–13 I-League season he made 20 appearances while scoring only three goals While with Air India Thorat was played mainly as a winger.

Pune

On 7 June 2013 it was announced that Thorat had signed for hometown club Pune F.C. in the I-League on a two-year deal. He made his debut for the club during the 2013 Durand Cup on 9 September 2013 against Army Red in which he started and played only 24 minutes as Pune lost the match 2–0. He then made his league debut for Pune on 11 December 2013 against Rangdajied United when he came on as an 88th-minute substitute for Thongkhosiem Haokip as Pune lost 3–2.

Pelé

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pelé

Pelé in 1995

Born

Edson Arantes do Nascimento

23 October 1940

Três Corações, Brazil

Occupation

Footballer

humanitarian

Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)

Spouse(s)

Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi

(m. 1966; div. 1982)

Assíria Lemos Seixas

(m. 1994; div. 2008)

Marcia Aoki

(m. 2016)

Partner(s) Xuxa Meneghel (1981–1986)

Children 7 (1 deceased)

Parent(s) João Ramos do Nascimento

Celeste Arantes

Association football careerPosition(s)

Forward

Attacking midfielder

Youth career

1953–1956 Bauru

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

1956–1974 Santos 493 (501)

1975–1977 New York Cosmos 64 (37)

Total 557 (538)

National team

1957–1971 Brazil 92 (77)

1st Minister of Sports

In office

1 January 1995 – 1 May 1998

President Fernando Henrique Cardoso

Preceded by Office established

Succeeded by Rafael Greca (1999)

Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈɛtsõ (w)ɐˈɾɐ̃tʃiz du nɐsiˈmẽtu]; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé , is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA, he was among the most successful and popular sports figures of the 20th century. In 1999 he was named Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee and was included in the Time list of the 100 most important people of the 20th century. In 2000, Pelé was voted World Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS), and was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the Century. His total of 1,279 goals in 1,363 games, which included friendlies, is recognised as a Guinness World Record.

Pelé began playing for Santos at age 15 and the Brazil national team at 16. During his international career, he won three FIFA World Cups: 1958, 1962 and 1970, the only player to do so. Pelé is the all-time leading goalscorer for Brazil with 77 goals in 92 games. At club level he is Santos' all-time top goalscorer with 643 goals from 659 games. In a golden era for Santos, he led the club to the 1962 and 1963 Copa Libertadores, and to the 1962 and 1963 Intercontinental Cup. Credited with connecting the phrase "The Beautiful Game" with football, Pelé's "electrifying play and penchant for spectacular goals" made him a star around the world, and his teams toured internationally in order to take full advantage of his popularity. During his playing days, Pelé was for a period the best-paid athlete in the world. Since retiring in 1977, Pelé has been a worldwide ambassador for football and has made many acting and commercial ventures. In 2010, he was named the Honorary President of the New York Cosmos.

Averaging almost a goal per game throughout his career, Pelé was adept at striking the ball with either foot in addition to anticipating his opponents' movements on the field. While predominantly a striker, he could also drop deep and take on a playmaking role, providing assists with his vision and passing ability, and he would also use his dribbling skills to go past opponents. In Brazil, he is hailed as a national hero for his accomplishments in football and for his outspoken support of policies that improve the social conditions of the poor. His emergence at the 1958 World Cup where he became the first black global sporting star was a source of inspiration. Throughout his career and in his retirement, Pelé received several individual and team awards for his performance in the field, his record-breaking achievements, and legacy in the sport.

Early years

Born in Três Corações in 1940, Pelé has a street named after him in the city – Rua Edson Arantes do Nascimento. A statue of Pelé is also prominently placed in a plaza near downtown.

Pelé was born Edson Arantes do Nascimento on 23 October 1940, in Três Corações, Minas Gerais, Brazil, the son of Fluminense footballer Dondinho (born João Ramos do Nascimento) and Celeste Arantes. He was the elder of two siblings. He was named after the American inventor Thomas Edison. His parents decided to remove the "i" and call him "Edson", but there was a mistake on the birth certificate, leading many documents to show his name as "Edison", not "Edson", as he is called. He was originally nicknamed "Dico" by his family. He received the nickname "Pelé" during his school days, when it is claimed he was given it because of his pronunciation of the name of his favourite player, local Vasco da Gama goalkeeper Bilé, which he misspoke but the more he complained the more it stuck. In his autobiography, Pelé stated he had no idea what the name means, nor did his old friends. Apart from the assertion that the name is derived from that of Bilé, and that it is Hebrew for "miracle" (פֶּ֫לֶא), the word has no known meaning in Portuguese.

Pelé grew up in poverty in Bauru in the state of São Paulo. He earned extra money by working in tea shops as a servant. Taught to play by his father, he could not afford a proper football and usually played with either a sock stuffed with newspaper and tied with a string or a grapefruit. He played for several amateur teams in his youth, including Sete de Setembro, Canto do Rio, São Paulinho, and Amériquinha. Pelé led Bauru Athletic Club juniors (coached by Waldemar de Brito) to two São Paulo state youth championships. In his mid-teens, he played for an indoor football team called Radium. Indoor football had just become popular in Bauru when Pelé began playing it. He was part of the first futsal (indoor football) competition in the region. Pelé and his team won the first championship and several others.

According to Pelé, futsal (indoor football) presented difficult challenges; he said it was a lot quicker than football on the grass and that players were required to think faster because everyone is close to each other in the pitch. Pelé credits futsal for helping him think better on the spot. In addition, futsal allowed him to play with adults when he was about 14 years old. In one of the tournaments he participated, he was initially considered too young to play, but eventually went on to end up top scorer with 14 or 15 goals. "That gave me a lot of confidence", Pelé said, "I knew then not to be afraid of whatever might come".

Club career

Santos

In 1956, de Brito took Pelé to Santos, an industrial and port city located near São Paulo, to try out for professional club Santos FC, telling the directors at Santos that the 15-year-old would be "the greatest football player in the world." Pelé impressed Santos coach Lula during his trial at the Estádio Vila Belmiro, and he signed a professional contract with the club in June 1956. Pelé was highly promoted in the local media as a future superstar. He made his senior team debut on 7 September 1956 at the age of 15 against Corinthians Santo Andre and had an impressive performance in a 7–1 victory, scoring the first goal in his prolific career during the match.

When the 1957 season started, Pelé was given a starting place in the first team and, at the age of 16, became the top scorer in the league. Ten months after signing professionally, the teenager was called up to the Brazil national team. After the 1958 and the 1962 World Cup, wealthy European clubs, such as Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United, tried to sign him in vain; in 1958 Inter Milan even managed to get him a regular contract, but Angelo Moratti was forced to tear the contract up at the request of Santos' chairman following a revolt by Santos' Brazilian fans. In 1961 the government of Brazil under President Jânio Quadros declared Pelé an "official national treasure" to prevent him from being transferred out of the country.

Pelé with Santos in the Netherlands, October 1962

Pelé won his first major title with Santos in 1958 as the team won the Campeonato Paulista; Pelé would finish the tournament as top scorer with 58 goals, a record that stands today. A year later, he would help the team earn their first victory in the Torneio Rio-São Paulo with a 3–0 over Vasco da Gama. However, Santos was unable to retain the Paulista title. In 1960, Pelé scored 33 goals to help his team regain the Campeonato Paulista trophy but lost out on the Rio-São Paulo tournament after finishing in 8th place. In the 1960 season, Pelé scored 47 goals and helped Santos regain the Campeonato Paulista. The club went on to win the Taça Brasil that same year, beating Bahia in the finals; Pelé finished as top scorer of the tournament with 9 goals. The victory allowed Santos to participate in the Copa Libertadores, the most prestigious club tournament in the Western hemisphere.

"I arrived hoping to stop a great man, but I went away convinced I had been undone by someone who was not born on the same planet as the rest of us."

—Benfica goalkeeper Costa Pereira following the loss to Santos in 1962.

Santos's most successful Copa Libertadores season started in 1962; the team was seeded in Group One alongside Cerro Porteño and Deportivo Municipal Bolivia, winning every match of their group but one (a 1–1 away tie versus Cerro). Santos defeated Universidad Católica in the semi-finals and met defending champions Peñarol in the finals. Pelé scored twice in the playoff match to secure the first title for a Brazilian club. Pelé finished as the second top scorer of the competition with four goals. That same year, Santos would successfully defend the Campeonato Paulista (with 37 goals from Pelé) and the Taça Brasil (Pelé scoring four goals in the final series against Botafogo). Santos would also win the 1962 Intercontinental Cup against Benfica. Wearing his number 10 shirt, Pelé produced one of the best performances of his career, scoring a hat-trick in Lisbon as Santos won 5–2.

Pelé pictured prior to facing Boca Juniors in the second leg of 1963 Copa Libertadores Finals at La Bombonera in Buenos Aires. He is the all-time leading goalscorer for Santos FC

As the defending champions, Santos qualified automatically to the semi-final stage of the 1963 Copa Libertadores. The ballet blanco, the nickname given to Santos for Pelé, managed to retain the title after victories over Botafogo and Boca Juniors. Pelé helped Santos overcome a Botafogo team that featured Brazilian greats such as Garrincha and Jairzinho with a last-minute goal in the first leg of the semi-finals which made it 1–1. In the second leg, Pelé scored a hat-trick in the Estádio do Maracanã as Santos won, 0–4, in the second leg. Santos started the final series by winning, 3–2, in the first leg and defeating Boca Juniors 1–2, in La Bombonera. It was a rare feat in official competitions, with another goal from Pelé. Santos became the first (and to date the only) Brazilian team to lift the Copa Libertadores in Argentine soil. Pelé finished the tournament with 5 goals. Santos lost the Campeonato Paulista after finishing in third place but went on to win the Rio-São Paulo tournament after a 0–3 win over Flamengo in the final, with Pelé scoring one goal. Pelé would also help Santos retain the Intercontinental Cup and the Taça Brasil against Milan and Bahia respectively.

In the 1964 Copa Libertadores, Santos were beaten in both legs of the semi-finals by Independiente. The club won the Campeonato Paulista, with Pelé netting 34 goals. Santos also shared the Rio-São Paulo title with Botafogo and won the Taça Brasil for the fourth consecutive year. In the 1965 Copa Libertadores, Santos reached the semi-finals and met Peñarol in a rematch of the 1962 final. After two matches, a playoff was needed to break the tie. Unlike 1962, Peñarol came out on top and eliminated Santos 2–1. Pelé would, however, finish as the topscorer of the tournament with eight goals This proved to be the start of a decline as Santos failed to retain the Torneio Rio-São Paulo. In 1966, Pelé and Santos also failed to retain the Taça Brasil as Pelé's goals were not enough to prevent a 9–4 defeat by Cruzeiro (led by Tostão) in the final series. The club did, however, win the Campeonato Paulista in 1967, 1968 and 1969. On 19 November 1969, Pelé scored his 1,000th goal in all competitions, in what was a highly anticipated moment in Brazil. The goal, dubbed O Milésimo (The Thousandth), occurred in a match against Vasco da Gama, when Pelé scored from a penalty kick, at the Maracanã Stadium.

Pelé states that his most memorable goal was scored at Rua Javari stadium on a Campeonato Paulista match against São Paulo rival Clube Atlético Juventus on 2 August 1959. As there is no video footage of this match, Pelé asked that a computer animation be made of this specific goal. In March 1961, Pelé scored the gol de placa (goal worthy of a plaque), against Fluminense at the Maracanã. Pelé received the ball on the edge of his own penalty area, and ran the length of the field, eluding opposition players with feints, before striking the ball beyond the goalkeeper. A plaque was commissioned with a dedication to "the most beautiful goal in the history of the Maracanã".

In 1969, the two factions involved in the Nigerian Civil War agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire so they could watch Pelé play an exhibition game in Lagos. Santos ended up playing to a 2–2 draw with Lagos side Stationary Stores FC and Pelé scored his team's goals. The civil war went on for one more year after this game. During his time at Santos, Pelé played alongside many gifted players, including Zito, Pepe, and Coutinho; the latter partnered him in numerous one-two plays, attacks, and goals. Pelé's 643 goals for Santos was the most goals scored for a single club until it was surpassed by Lionel Messi of Barcelona in December 2020.

New York Cosmos

Pelé signing a football for U.S. President Richard Nixon at the White House in 1973, two years before joining the New York Cosmos

After the 1974 season (his 19th with Santos), Pelé retired from Brazilian club football although he continued to occasionally play for Santos in official competitive matches. Two years later, he came out of semi-retirement to sign with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League (NASL) for the 1975 season.[ At a haotic press conference at New York's 21 Club, the Cosmos unveiled Pelé. John O'Reilly, the club's media spokesman, stated, "We had superstars in the United States but nothing at the level of Pelé. Everyone wanted to touch him, shake his hand, get a photo with him." Though well past his prime at this point, Pelé was credited with significantly increasing public awareness and interest of the sport in the US. During his first public appearance in Boston, he was injured by a crowd of fans who had surrounded him and was evacuated on a stretcher.

Pelé entering the field to play his first game with the Cosmos, 15 June 1975

Pelé made his debut for the Cosmos on 15 June 1975 against the Dallas Tornado at Downing Stadium, scoring one goal in a 2–2 draw. Pelé opened the door for many other stars to play in North America. Giorgio Chinaglia followed him to the Cosmos, then Franz Beckenbauer and his former Santos teammate Carlos Alberto. Over the next few years other players came to the league, including Johan Cruyff, Eusebio, Bobby Moore, George Best and Gordon Banks.

In 1975, one week before the Lebanese Civil War, Pelé played a friendly game for the Lebanese club Nejmeh against a team of Lebanese Premier League stars, scoring two goals which were not included in his official tally. On the day of the game, 40,000 spectators were at the stadium from early morning to watch the match.

Hoping to fuel the same kind of awareness in the Dominican Republic, he and the Cosmos team played in an exhibition match against Haitian team, Violette AC, in the Santo Domingo Olympic Stadium on 3 June 1976, where over 25,000 fans watched him score a winning goal in the last seconds of the match, leading the Cosmos to a 2–1 victory. He led the Cosmos to the 1977 NASL championship, in his third and final season with the club.

In June 1977, the Cosmos attracted an NASL record 62,394 fans to Giants Stadium for a 3–0 victory past the Tampa Bay Rowdies with a 37-year-old Pelé scoring a hat-trick. In the first leg of the quarter-finals, they attracted a US record crowd of 77,891 for what turned into an 8–3 rout of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers at Giants Stadium. In the second leg of the semi-finals against the Rochester Lancers, the Cosmos won 4–1. Pelé finished his official playing career by leading the New York Cosmos to their first Soccer Bowl title with a 2–1 win over the Seattle Sounders at the Civic Stadium in Portland, Oregon.

On 1 October 1977, Pelé closed out his career in an exhibition match between the Cosmos and Santos. The match was played in front of a sold-out crowd at Giants Stadium and was televised in the US on ABC's Wide World of Sports as well as throughout the world. Pelé's father and wife both attended the match, as well as Muhammad Ali and Bobby Moore Delivering a message to the audience prior to the start of the game—"Love is more important than what we can take in life"—Pelé played the first half with the Cosmos, the second with Santos. The game ended with the Cosmos winning 2–1, with Pelé scoring with a 30-yard free-kick for the Cosmos in what was the final goal of his career. During the second half it started to rain, prompting a Brazilian newspaper to come out with the headline the following day: "Even The Sky Was Crying."

International career

Pelé's first international match was a 2–1 defeat against Argentina on 7 July 1957 at the Maracanã. In that match, he scored his first goal for Brazil aged 16 years and nine months, and he remains the youngest goalscorer for his country.

1958 World Cup

Pelé (number 10) dribbles past three Swedish players at the 1958 World Cup

Pelé arrived in Sweden sidelined by a knee injury but on his return from the treatment room, his colleagues stood together and insisted upon his selection. His first match was against the USSR in the third match of the first round of the 1958 FIFA World Cup, where he gave the assist to Vavá's second goal. He was at the time the youngest player ever to participate in the World Cup. Against France in the semi-final, Brazil was leading 2–1 at halftime, and then Pelé scored a hat-trick, becoming the youngest in World Cup history to do so.

17-year-old Pelé cries on the shoulder of goalkeeper Gilmar after Brazil won the 1958 World Cup Final

On 29 June 1958, Pelé became the youngest player to play in a World Cup final match at 17 years and 249 days. He scored two goals in that final as Brazil beat Sweden 5–2 in Stockholm, the capital. Pelé hit the post and then Vavá scored two goals to give Brazil the lead. His first goal where he flicked the ball over a defender before volleying into the corner of the net, was selected as one of the best goals in the history of the World Cup. Following Pelé's second goal, Swedish player Sigvard Parling would later comment; "When Pelé scored the fifth goal in that Final, I have to be honest and say I felt like applauding". When the match ended, Pelé passed out on the field, and was revived by Garrincha. He then recovered, and was compelled by the victory to weep as he was being congratulated by his teammates. He finished the tournament with six goals in four matches played, tied for second place, behind record-breaker Just Fontaine, and was named best young player of the tournament. His impact was arguably greater off the field, with Barney Ronay writing, "With nothing but talent to guide him, the boy from Minas Gerais became the first black global sporting superstar, and a source of genuine uplift and inspiration."

It was in the 1958 World Cup that Pelé began wearing a jersey with number 10. The event was the result of disorganization: the leaders of the Brazilian Federation did not allocate the shirt numbers of players and it was up to FIFA to choose the number 10 shirt for Pelé who was a substitute on the occasion. The press proclaimed Pelé the greatest revelation of the 1958 World Cup, and he was also retroactively given the Silver Ball as the second best player of the tournament, behind Didi.

South American Championship

Pelé also played in the South American Championship. In the 1959 competition he was named best player of the tournament and was top scorer with 8 goals, as Brazil came second despite being unbeaten in the tournament. He scored in five of Brazil's six games, including two goals against Chile and a hat-trick against Paraguay.

1962 World Cup

Pelé with Brazil taking on Italy's Giovanni Trapattoni at the San Siro, Milan in 1963

When the 1962 World Cup started, Pelé was the best rated player in the world. In the first match of the 1962 World Cup in Chile, against Mexico, Pelé assisted the first goal and then scored the second one, after a run past four defenders, to go up 2–0. He injured himself in the next game while attempting a long-range shot against Czechoslovakia. This would keep him out of the rest of the tournament, and forced coach Aymoré Moreira to make his only lineup change of the tournament. The substitute was Amarildo, who performed well for the rest of the tournament. However, it was Garrincha who would take the leading role and carry Brazil to their second World Cup title, after beating Czechoslovakia at the final in Santiago.

1966 World Cup

Pelé was the most famous footballer in the world during the 1966 World Cup in England, and Brazil fielded some world champions like Garrincha, Gilmar and Djalma Santos with the addition of other stars like Jairzinho, Tostão and Gérson, leading to high expectations for them. Brazil was eliminated in the first round, playing only three matches. The World Cup was marked, among other things, for brutal fouls on Pelé that left him injured by the Bulgarian and Portuguese defenders.

Pelé scored the first goal from a free kick against Bulgaria, becoming the first player to score in three successive FIFA World Cups, but due to his injury, a result of persistent fouling by the Bulgarians, he missed the second game against Hungary. His coach stated that after the first game he felt "every team will take care of him in the same manner". Brazil lost that game and Pelé, although still recovering, was brought back for the last crucial match against Portugal at Goodison Park in Liverpool by the Brazilian coach Vicente Feola. Feola changed the entire defense, including the goalkeeper, while in midfield he returned to the formation of the first match. During the game, Portugal defender João Morais fouled Pelé, but was not sent off by referee George McCabe; a decision retrospectively viewed as being among the worst refereeing errors in World Cup history. Pelé had to stay on the field limping for the rest of the game, since substitutes were not allowed at that time. After this game he vowed he would never again play in the World Cup, a decision he would later change.

1970 World Cup

Pelé trading card from the Mexico 70 series issued by Panini

Pelé was called to the national team in early 1969, he refused at first, but then accepted and played in six World Cup qualifying matches, scoring six goals The 1970 World Cup in Mexico was expected to be Pelé's last. Brazil's squad for the tournament featured major changes in relation to the 1966 squad. Players like Garrincha, Nilton Santos, Valdir Pereira, Djalma Santos and Gilmar had already retired. However, Brazil's 1970 World Cup squad, which included players like Pelé, Rivelino, Jairzinho, Gérson, Carlos Alberto Torres, Tostão and Clodoaldo, is often considered to be the greatest football team in history.

Mário Zagallo, Brazil's 1970 coach, with Pelé in 2008. Zagallo said of Pelé: "A kid in Sweden [1958 World Cup] gave signs of genius, and in Mexico [1970 World Cup] he fulfilled all that promise and closed the book with a golden key. And I had the privilege to see it all from close up."

The front five of Jairzinho, Pelé, Gerson, Tostão and Rivelino together created an attacking momentum, with Pelé having a central role in Brazil's way to the final. All of Brazil's matches in the tournament (except the final) were played in Guadalajara, and in the first match against Czechoslovakia, Pelé gave Brazil a 2–1 lead, by controlling Gerson's long pass with his chest and then scoring. In this match Pelé attempted to lob goalkeeper Ivo Viktor from the half-way line, only narrowly missing the Czechoslovak goal. Brazil went on to win the match, 4–1. In the first half of the match against England, Pelé nearly scored with a header that was saved by the England goalkeeper Gordon Banks. Pelé recalled he was already shouting "Goal" when he headed the ball. It was often referred to as the "save of the century." In the second half, he controlled a cross from Tostão before flicking the ball to Jairzinho who scored the only goal.

Against Romania, Pelé scored two goals, which included a 20-yard bending free-kick, with Brazil winning 3–2. In the quarter-final against Peru, Brazil won 4–2, with Pelé assisting Tostão for Brazil's third goal. In the semi-final, Brazil faced Uruguay for the first time since the 1950 World Cup final round match. Jairzinho put Brazil ahead 2–1, and Pelé assisted Rivelino for the 3–1. During that match, Pelé made one of his most famous plays. Tostão passed the ball for Pelé to collect which Uruguay's goalkeeper Ladislao Mazurkiewicz took notice of and ran off his line to get the ball before Pelé. However, Pelé got there first and fooled Mazurkiewicz with a feint by not touching the ball, causing it to roll to the goalkeepers left, while Pelé went to the goalkeepers right. Pelé ran around the goalkeeper to retrieve the ball and took a shot while turning towards the goal, but he turned in excess as he shot, and the ball drifted just wide of the far post.

Brazil played Italy in the final at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. Pelé scored the opening goal with a header after outjumping Italian defender Tarcisio Burgnich. Brazil's 100th World Cup goal, Pelé's leap of joy into the arms of teammate Jairzinho in celebrating the goal is regarded as one of the most iconic moments in World Cup history. He then made assists for Brazil's third goal, scored by Jairzinho, and the fourth finished by Carlos Alberto. The last goal of the game is often considered the greatest team goal of all time because it involved all but two of the team's outfield players. The play culminated after Pelé made a blind pass that went into Carlos Alberto's running trajectory. He came running from behind and struck the ball to score. Brazil won the match 4–1, keeping the Jules Rimet Trophy indefinitely, and Pelé received the Golden Ball as player of the tournament. Burgnich, who marked Pelé during the final, was quoted saying "I told myself before the game, he's made of skin and bones just like everyone else – but I was wrong". In terms of his goals and assist throughout the 1970 World Cup, Pelé was directly responsible for 53% of Brazil's goals throughout the tournament.

Pelé's last international match was on 18 July 1971 against Yugoslavia in Rio de Janeiro. With Pelé on the field, the Brazilian team's record was 67 wins, 14 draws and 11 losses. Brazil never lost a match while fielding both Pelé and Garrincha.

Style of play

Pelé dribbling past a defender while playing for Brazil, May 1960

Pelé has also been known for connecting the phrase "The Beautiful Game" with football.[94] A prolific goalscorer, he was known for his ability to anticipate opponents in the area and finish off chances with an accurate and powerful shot with either foot. Pelé was also a hard-working team player, and a complete forward, with exceptional vision and intelligence, who was recognised for his precise passing and ability to link up with teammates and provide them with assists.

In his early career, he played in a variety of attacking positions. Although he usually operated inside the penalty area as a main striker or centre forward, his wide range of skills also allowed him to play in a more withdrawn role, as an inside forward or second striker, or out wide. In his later career, he took on more of a deeper playmaking role behind the strikers, often functioning as an attacking midfielder. Pelé's unique playing style combined speed, creativity, and technical skill with physical power, stamina, and athleticism. His excellent technique, balance, flair, agility, and dribbling skills enabled him to beat opponents with the ball, and frequently saw him use sudden changes of direction and elaborate feints in order to get past players, such as his trademark move, the drible da vaca.Another one of his signature moves was the paradinha, or little stop.

Despite his relatively small stature, 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m), he excelled in the air, due to his heading accuracy, timing, and elevation. Renowned for his bending shots, he was also an accurate free-kick taker, and penalty taker, although he often refrained from taking penalties, stating that he believed it to be a cowardly way to score.

Pelé was also known to be a fair and highly influential player, who stood out for his charismatic leadership and sportsmanship on the pitch. His warm embrace of Bobby Moore following the Brazil vs England game at the 1970 World Cup is viewed as the embodiment of sportsmanship, with The New York Times stating the image "captured the respect that two great players had for each other. As they exchanged jerseys, touches and looks, the sportsmanship between them is all in the image. No gloating, no fist-pumping from Pelé. No despair, no defeatism from Bobby Moore." Pelé also earned a reputation for often being a decisive player for his teams, due to his tendency to score crucial goals in important matches.

Reception and legacy

Pelé being held aloft after winning the 1970 World Cup Final. He is the only player to win three World Cups.

Among the most successful and popular sports figures of the 20th century, Pelé is one of the most lauded players in the history of football and has been frequently ranked the best player ever. Among his contemporaries, Dutch star Johan Cruyff stated; "Pelé was the only footballer who surpassed the boundaries of logic." Brazil's 1970 FIFA World Cup-winning captain Carlos Alberto Torres opined; "His great secret was improvisation. Those things he did were in one moment. He had an extraordinary perception of the game."[26] Tostão, his strike partner at the 1970 World Cup; "Pelé was the greatest – he was simply flawless. And off the pitch he is always smiling and upbeat. You never see him bad-tempered. He loves being Pelé." His Brazilian teammate Clodoaldo commented on the adulation he witnessed; "In some countries they wanted to touch him, in some they wanted to kiss him. In others they even kissed the ground he walked on. I thought it was beautiful, just beautiful."

Pelé is the greatest player of all time. He reigned supreme for 20 years. There's no one to compare with him

— West Germany's 1974 World Cup-winning captain Franz Beckenbauer.

Former Real Madrid and Hungary star Ferenc Puskás stated; "The greatest player in history was Di Stéfano. I refuse to classify Pelé as a player. He was above that." Just Fontaine, French striker and leading scorer at the 1958 World Cup; "When I saw Pelé play, it made me feel I should hang up my boots." England's 1966 FIFA World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore commented: "Pelé was the most complete player I've ever seen, he had everything. Two good feet. Magic in the air. Quick. Powerful. Could beat people with skill. Could outrun people. Only five feet and eight inches tall, yet he seemed a giant of an athlete on the pitch. Perfect balance and impossible vision. He was the greatest because he could do anything and everything on a football pitch. I remember Saldanha the coach being asked by a Brazilian journalist who was the best goalkeeper in his squad. He said Pelé. The man could play in any position". Former Manchester United striker and member of England's 1966 FIFA World Cup-winning team Sir Bobby Charlton stated; "I sometimes feel as though football was invented for this magical player." During the 1970 World Cup, when Manchester United defender Paddy Crerand (who was part of the ITV panel) was asked; "How do you spell Pelé?", he replied with the response; "Easy: G-O-D."

Accolades

1969 Brazil postage stamp commemorating Pelé's landmark 1,000th goal

Since retiring, Pelé has continued to be lauded by players, coaches, journalists and others. Brazilian attacking midfielder Zico, who represented Brazil at the 1978, 1982 and 1986 FIFA World Cup, stated; "This debate about the player of the century is absurd. There's only one possible answer: Pelé. He's the greatest player of all time, and by some distance I might add".French three time Ballon d'Or winner Michel Platini said; "There's Pelé the man, and then Pelé the player. And to play like Pelé is to play like God." Diego Maradona, joint FIFA Player of the Century, and the player Pelé is historically compared with, stated; "It's too bad we never got along, but he was an awesome player". Prolific Brazilian striker Romário, winner of the 1994 FIFA World Cup and player of the tournament; "It's only inevitable I look up to Pelé. He's like a God to us". Five-time FIFA Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo said: "Pelé is the greatest player in football history, and there will only be one Pelé", while José Mourinho, two-time UEFA Champions League winning manager, commented; "I think he is football. You have the real special one – Mr. Pelé." Real Madrid honorary president and former player, Alfredo Di Stéfano, opined: "The best player ever? Pelé. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are both great players with specific qualities, but Pelé was better".

Pelé wearing the Cosmos' No. 10. The number was retired in his honor.

Presenting Pelé the Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award, former South African president Nelson Mandela said; "To watch him play was to watch the delight of a child combined with the extraordinary grace of a man in full." US politician and political scientist Henry Kissinger stated, "Performance at a high level in any sport is to exceed the ordinary human scale. But Pelé's performance transcended that of the ordinary star by as much as the star exceeds ordinary performance."After a reporter asked if his fame compared to that of Jesus, Pelé quipped, "There are parts of the world where Jesus Christ is not so well known."The artist Andy Warhol (who painted a portrait of Pelé) also quipped, "Pelé was one of the few who contradicted my theory: instead of 15 minutes of fame, he will have 15 centuries."

What is certain is that Pelé invented this game, the idea of individual global sporting superstardom, and in a way that is unrepeatable now.

— Barney Ronay writing for The Guardian.

In 2000, the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) voted Pelé the World Player of the Century. In 1999, the International Olympic Committee elected him the Athlete of the Century and Time magazine named Pelé one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century. During his playing days, Pelé was for a period the highest-paid athlete in the world. Pelé's "electrifying play and penchant for spectacular goals" made him a star around the world. To take full advantage of his popularity, his teams toured internationally. During his career, he became known as "The Black Pearl" (A Pérola Negra), "The King of Football" (O Rei do Futebol), "The King Pelé" (O Rei Pelé) or simply "The King" (O Rei). In 2014, the city of Santos inaugurated the Pelé museum – Museu Pelé – which displays a 2,400 piece collection of Pelé memorabilia. Approximately $22 million was invested in the construction of the museum, housed in a 19th-century mansion.

Young visitors to the Pelé Museum, opened in 2014, in Santos, Brazil

In January 2014, Pelé was awarded the first ever FIFA Ballon d'Or Prix d'Honneur as an acknowledgment from the world governing body of the sport for his contribution to world football. After changing the rules in 1995, France Football did an extensive analysis in 2015 of the players who would have won the award if it was open for them since 1956—the year the Ballon d'Or award started. Their study revealed that Pelé would have received the award a record seven times (Ballon d'or: Le nouveau palmarès). The original recipients, however, remain unchanged. In 2020, Pelé was named in the Ballon d'Or Dream Team, a greatest all-time XI.

According to the RSSSF, Pelé is one of the most successful goal-scorers in the world, scoring 538 league goals, a total of 775 in 840 official games and a tally of 1,301 goals in 1,390 appearances during his professional senior career, which included friendlies and tour games. He's ranked among the leading scorer in football history in both official and total matches. After his retirement in 1977 he played eight exhibition games and scored three goals.

Personal life

Relationships and children

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Children of Pelé

A practicing Catholic, Pelé donated a signed jersey to Pope Francis. Accompanied with a signed football from Ronaldo, it is located in one of the Vatican Museums.

Pelé has married three times, and has had several affairs, producing several children.

On 21 February 1966, Pelé married Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi. They had two daughters and one son: Kelly Cristina (born 13 January 1967), who married Dr. Arthur DeLuca, Jennifer (b. 1978), and their son Edson ("Edinho", b. 27 August 1970). The couple divorced in 1982 In May 2014, Edinho was jailed for 33 years for laundering money from drug trafficking. On appeal the sentence was reduced to 12 years and 10 months.

From 1981 to 1986, Pelé was romantically linked with TV presenter Xuxa, which was influential in launching her career. She was 17 when they started dating. In April 1994, Pelé married psychologist and gospel singer Assíria Lemos Seixas, who gave birth on 28 September 1996 to twins Joshua and Celeste through fertility treatments. The couple divorced in 2008.

Pelé had at least two more children from former affairs. Sandra Machado, who was born from an affair Pelé had in 1964 with a housemaid, Anizia Machado, fought for years to be acknowledged by Pelé, who refused to submit to DNA tests. Although she was recognised by courts as his biological daughter based on DNA evidence in 1993, Pelé never acknowledged his eldest daughter even after her death in 2006, nor her two children, Octavio and Gabriel. Pelé also had another daughter, Flávia Kurtz, in an extramarital affair in 1968 with journalist Lenita Kurtz. Flávia was recognised by him as his daughter.

At the age of 73, Pelé announced his intention to marry 41-year-old Marcia Aoki, a Japanese-Brazilian importer of medical equipment from Penápolis, São Paulo, whom he had been dating from 2010. They first met in the mid-1980s in New York, before meeting again in 2008. They married in July 2016.

Politics

In 1970, Pelé was investigated by the Brazilian military dictatorship for suspected leftist sympathies. Declassified documents showed Pelé was investigated after being handed a manifesto calling for the release of political prisoners. Pelé himself did not get further involved within political struggles in the country.

In 1976, Pelé was on a Pepsi-sponsored trip in Lagos, Nigeria, when that year's attempted military coup took place. Pelé was trapped in a hotel together with Arthur Ashe and other tennis pros, who were participating in the interrupted 1976 Lagos WCT tournament. Pelé and his crew eventually left the hotel to stay at the residence of Brazil's ambassador as they could not leave the country for a couple of days. Later the airport was opened and Pelé left the country disguised as a pilot.

In June 2013, he was criticised in public opinion for his conservative views. During the 2013 protests in Brazil, Pelé asked for people to "forget the demonstrations" and support the Brazil national team.

Health

In 1977, Brazilian media reported that Pelé had his right kidney removed. In November 2012, Pelé underwent a successful hip operation. In December 2017, Pelé appeared in a wheelchair at the 2018 World Cup draw in Moscow where he was pictured with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Diego Maradona. A month later he collapsed from exhaustion and was taken to hospital. In 2019, after a hospitalisation because of a urinary tract infection, Pelé underwent surgery to remove kidney stones. In February 2020 his son Edinho reported that Pelé was unable to walk independently and reluctant to leave home, ascribing his condition to a lack of rehabilitation following his hip operation.

Public image

Pelé is known for frequently referring to himself in the third person.

After football

Pelé at the White House on 10 September 1986, with U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Brazil President José Sarney

In 1994, Pelé was appointed a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. In 1995, Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso appointed Pelé to the position of Extraordinary Minister for Sport. During this time he proposed legislation to reduce corruption in Brazilian football, which became known as the "Pelé law." The Brazilian President had eliminated the post of Sports Minister in 1998. In 2001 Pele was accused of involvement in a corruption scandal that stole $700,000 from UNICEF. It was claimed that money given to Pelé's company for a benefit match was not returned after it was cancelled, although nothing was proven, and it was denied by UNICEF. In 1997, he received an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II at a ceremony in Buckingham Palace. Pelé also helped inaugurate the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals, alongside supermodel Claudia Schiffer.

Pelé, Brazil's Extraordinary Minister for Sport, with US President Bill Clinton in Rio de Janeiro, 15 October 1997

In 1993, Pelé publicly accused the Brazilian football administrator Ricardo Teixeira of corruption after Pelé's television company was rejected in a contest for the Brazilian domestic rights to the 1994 World Cup. Pelé accusations led to an eight-year feud between the pair. As a consequence of the affair, the President of FIFA, João Havelange banned Pelé from the draw for the 1994 FIFA World Cup in Las Vegas. Criticisms over the ban were perceived to have damaged Havelange's chances of re-election as FIFA's president in 1994.

Pelé has published several autobiographies, starred in documentary films, and composed musical pieces, including the soundtrack for the film Pelé in 1977. He appeared in the 1981 film Escape to Victory, about a World War II-era football match between Allied prisoners of war and a German team. Pelé starred alongside other footballers of the 1960s and 1970s, with actors Michael Caine, and Sylvester Stallone. in 1969, Pelé starred in a telenovela called Os Estranhos, about first contact with aliens. It was created to drum up interest in the Apollo missions. In 2001, had a cameo role in the satire film, Mike Bassett: England Manager. Pelé was asked to participate in the 2006 ESPN documentary film Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos, but declined when the producers refused to pay his requested $100,000 fee.

Pelé at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, 2006

In November 2007, Pelé was in Sheffield, England to mark the 150th anniversary of the world's oldest football club, Sheffield F.C. Pelé was the guest of honour at Sheffield's anniversary match against Inter Milan at Bramall Lane. As part of his visit, Pelé opened an exhibition which included the first public showing in 40 years of the original hand-written rules of football. Pelé scouted for Premier League club Fulham in 2002. He made the draw for the qualification groups for the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals. On 1 August 2010, Pelé was introduced as the Honorary President of a revived New York Cosmos, aiming to field a team in Major League Soccer. In August 2011, ESPN reported that Santos were considering bringing him out of retirement for a cameo role in the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup, although this turned out to be false.

Brazil President Lula and Pelé in commemoration of 50 years since the first World Cup title won by Brazil in 1958, at the Palácio do Planalto, 2008

The most notable area of Pelé's life since football is his ambassadorial work. In 1992, he was appointed a UN ambassador for ecology and the environment. He was also awarded Brazil's gold medal for outstanding services to the sport in 1995. In 2012, Pelé was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Edinburgh for "significant contribution to humanitarian and environmental causes, as well as his sporting achievements".

In 2009, Pelé assisted the Rio de Janeiro bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics. In July 2009 he spearheaded the Rio 2016 presentation to the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa General Assembly in Abuja, Nigeria.

On 12 August 2012, Pelé was an attendee at the 2012 Olympic hunger summit hosted by UK Prime Minister David Cameron at 10 Downing Street, London, part of a series of international efforts which have sought to respond to the return of hunger as a high-profile global issue.[175] Later on the same day, Pelé appeared at the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, following the handover section to the next host city for the 2016 Summer Olympics, Rio de Janeiro.

Pelé with Vladimir Putin at the opening of the Confederations Cup 2017 in Saint Petersburg, Russia

In March 2016, Pelé filed a lawsuit against Samsung Electronics in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois seeking US$30 million in damages claiming violations under the Lanham Act for false endorsement and a state law claim for violation of his right of publicity. The suit alleged that at one point, Samsung and Pelé came close to entering into a licensing agreement for Pelé to appear in a Samsung advertising campaign. Samsung abruptly pulled out of the negotiations. The October 2015 Samsung ad in question included a partial face shot of a man who allegedly "very closely resembles" Pelé and also a superimposed high-definition television screen next to the image of the man featuring a "modified bicycle or scissors-kick", often used by Pelé.

Honours

Santos

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (6): 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968

Copa Libertadores (2): 1962, 1963

Intercontinental Cup (2): 1962, 1963

Intercontinental Supercup: 1968 [181]

Campeonato Paulista (10): 1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973

Torneio Rio-São Paulo (4): 1959, 1963, 1964, 1966

New York Cosmos

North American Soccer League, Soccer Bowl: 1977

North American Soccer League, Atlantic Conference Championship: 1977

Brazil

FIFA World Cup (3): 1958, 1962, 1970

Unofficial titles

Taça do Atlântico: 1960

Roca Cup (2): 1957, 1963

Taça Oswaldo Cruz (3): 1958, 1962, 1968

Bernardo O'Higgins Cup: 1959

Individual

In December 2000, Pelé and Maradona shared the prize of FIFA Player of the Century by FIFA. The award was originally intended to be based upon votes in a web poll, but after it became apparent that it favoured Diego Maradona, many observers complained that the Internet nature of the poll would have meant a skewed demographic of younger fans who would have seen Maradona play, but not Pelé. FIFA then appointed a "Family of Football" committee of FIFA members to decide the winner of the award together with the votes of the readers of the FIFA magazine. The committee chose Pelé. Since Maradona was winning the Internet poll, however, it was decided he and Pelé should share the award.

Copa Libertadores Top Scorer: 1965

Intercontinental Cup Top Scorer (2): 1962, 1963

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Top Scorer (3): 1961, 1963, 1964

Campeonato Paulista Top Scorer (11): 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1969, 1973

Torneio Rio-São Paulo Top Scorer: 1963

Bola de Prata: 1970

FIFA World Cup Best Young Player: 1958

FIFA World Cup Silver Ball: 1958

FIFA World Cup Golden Ball (Best Player): 1970

South American Championship Best Player: 1959

South American Championship Top Scorer: 1959

FIFA Ballon d'Or Prix d'Honneur: 2013

World Player of the Century, by the IFFHS: 2000[202]

South American player of the century, by the IFFHS: 2000

Elected best Brazilian player of the century, by the IFFHS: 2006

France Football's Ballon d'Or (7): 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1970 – Le nouveau palmarès (the new winners)

FIFA Player of the Century: 2000

FIFA Order of Merit: 1984

FIFA Centennial Award: 2004

FIFA 100 Greatest Living Footballers: 2004

Winner of France Football's World Cup Top-100 1930–1990 [209]

BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year: 1970

BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award: 2005

Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award: 2000

Greatest football player to have ever played the game, by Golden Foot: 2012

Athlete of the Century, by Reuters News Agency: 1999

Athlete of the Century, elected by International Olympic Committee: 1999

South American Footballer of the Year: 1973

Football Player of the Century, elected by France Football's Ballon d'Or Winners: 1999

Inducted into the American National Soccer Hall of Fame: 1992

World Team of the 20th Century: 1998

TIME: One of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th century: 1999

World Soccer Greatest XI of All Time: 2013

FWA Tribute Award: 2018

Included in the North American Soccer League (NASL) All-Star team (3): 1975, 1976, 1977

Number 10 retired by the New York Cosmos as a recognition to his contribution to the club: 1977

Elected Citizen of the World, by the United Nations: 1977

Elected Goodwill Ambassador, by UNESCO: 1993

Ballon d'Or Dream Team: 2020

Orders

Knight of the Order of Rio Branco: 1967

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (honorary knighthood): 1997

Elected Commander of the Order of Rio Branco after scoring the thousandth goal: 1969

Awarded with the Cross of the Order of the Republic of Hungary: 1994

Awarded the FIFA Order as a tribute to his 80 years as a sports institution: 1984

Awarded with the Order of Merit of South America, by CONMEBOL: 1984

Awarded with the Order of Champions, by the Organization of Catholic Youth in the USA: 1978

He was awarded the National Order of Merit, by the government of Brazil: 1991

Olympic Order, by the International Olympic Committee: 2016

Records

Most goals for Brazil national football team: 77 (95 including unofficial friendlies)

Most international goals for a South American team: 77 (for Brazil)

Most goals for Santos: 643 (in 659 competitive games)

Most goals in the Intercontinental Cup: 7

Most hat-tricks in world football: 92

Most career goals in world football (including friendlies): 1,283 (in 1,363 games)

Most FIFA World Cup winners' medals: 3 (1958, 1962, 1970)

Youngest winner of a FIFA World Cup: aged 17 years and 249 days (1958)

Youngest goalscorer in a FIFA World Cup: aged 17 years and 239 days (for Brazil vs Wales, 1958)

Youngest player to score a hat-trick in a FIFA World Cup: aged 17 years and 244 days (for Brazil vs France, 1958)

Youngest player to play in a FIFA World Cup Final: aged 17 years and 249 days (1958)

Youngest goalscorer in a FIFA World Cup Final: aged 17 years and 249 days (for Brazil vs Sweden, 1958)

Most assists provided in FIFA World Cup history: 10 (1958–1970)

Most assists provided in a single FIFA World Cup tournament: 6 (1970)

Most assists provided in FIFA World Cup Final matches: 3 (1 in 1958 and 2 in 1970)

Most goals in FIFA World Cup Final matches: 3 (2 in 1958 and 1 in 1970) (shared with Vavá, Geoff Hurst and Zinedine Zidane)

Most goals in a calendar year (recognised by FIFA): 127 (1959)

Career statistics

Club

Pelé's goalscoring record is often reported by FIFA as being 1,281 goals in 1,363 games. This figure includes goals scored by Pelé in friendly club matches, including international tours Pelé completed with Santos and the New York Cosmos, and a few games Pelé played in for the Brazilian armed forces teams during his national service in Brazil and the Selection Team of Sao Paolo State for the Brazilian Championship of States (Campeonato Brasileiro de Seleções Estaduais). He was listed in the Guinness World Records for most career goals scored in football.[2] In 2000, IFFHS declared Pelé as the "World's Best and successful Top Division Goal Scorer of all time" with 541 goals in 560 games and honoured him with a trophy.

New York Cosmos records

ClubSeasonLeaguePost seasonOtherTotal

AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals

New York Cosmos 1975 9 5 – – 14 12 23 17

1976 22 13 2 2 18 11 42 26

1977 25 13 6 4 11 6 42 23

Total563186432710766

International

Pelé is the top scorer of the Brazil national football team with 77 goals in 92 official appearances. He scored 12 goals and is credited with 10 assists in 14 World Cup appearances, including 4 goals and 7 assists in 1970. Pelé shares with Uwe Seeler, Miroslav Klose and Cristiano Ronaldo the achievement of being the only players to have scored in four separate World Cup tournaments.

Source:

International recordsTeamYearAppsGoalsGoal average

Brazil 1957 2 2 1.00

1958 7 9 1.28

1959 9 11 1.22

1960 6 4 0.67

1961 0 0 —

1962 8 8 1.00

1963 7 7 1.00

1964 3 2 0.67

1965 8 9 1.12

1966 9 5 0.55

1967 0 0 —

1968 7 4 0.57

1969 9 7 0.77

1970 15 8 0.53

1971 2 1 0.50

Total92770.84

Summary

Pelé's statistics of goals and appearances differ between sources mostly due to friendly games. The RSSSF states that Pelé scored 775 goals in 840 official games. The following table is based on the latest announcement of RSSSF (2021).

Club/teamMatchesGoals

Santos FC 660 643

New York Cosmos 64 37

Brazil 92 77

Military Team 4 4

Selection Sao Paolo 15 12

Other Selections 5 2

TOTAL 840 775

Parimarjan Negi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Parimarjan Negi

Country India

Born 9 February 1993

New Delhi, India

Title Grandmaster (2006)

FIDE rating 2639 (February 2022)

Peak rating 2671 (October 2013)

Parimarjan Negi (born 9 February 1993) is an Indian chess grandmaster. He achieved the grandmaster title at the age of 13 years, 4 months, and 20 days, which made him the second youngest grandmaster in history at the time. As of July 2021, he is the seventh player to achieve this feat.

Negi is an Indian and Asian champion. He played on the top board for the bronze medal-winning Indian team in the 2014 Chess Olympiad in Tromsø, Norway.

He was granted the Arjuna Award in 2010 by the Government of India.

Chess career

Parimarjan Negi won the under 10 division at the Asian Youth Chess Championship in 2002 in Tehran. He achieved his first grandmaster norm at the 2005/06 Hastings International Chess Congress. Soon after he earned his second GM norm at the 4th Parsvnath International Open Chess Tournament in Delhi. Negi earned his third and final GM norm on 1 July 2006 by drawing with Russian Grandmaster Ruslan Sherbakov at the Chelyabinsk Region Superfinal Championship in Satka, Russia, where he finished with six points from nine rounds. Negi thus became the youngest chess grandmaster ever in India, breaking Pentala Harikrishna's record, and the second youngest ever in the world.

Negi won the strong Philadelphia International Open Tournament in June 2008 with a score of 7/9, and was undefeated. In August 2008, he finished second, behind Abhijeet Gupta, at the World Junior Chess Championship in Gazientep. In 2009 he won the Politiken Cup in Copenhagen with 8.5/10, on tiebreaks over Boris Avrukh, and the 6th IGB Dato' Arthur Tan Malaysia Open in Kuala Lumpur.

Parimarjan Negi won the 48th National Premier Chess Championship on 22 December 2010 in New Delhi.

In 2012 Negi has won the 11th Asian Chess Championship held in Ho Chi Minh City. He tied for first place in the Cappelle-la-Grande Open in 2012 and 2013. In 2013, he also won the Politiken Cup for the second time.

By 2017 he was retired from chess.

Books

Parimarjan Negi (2014). 1.e4 vs The French, Caro-Kann and Philidor. Quality Chess. ISBN 978-1906552060.

Parimarjan Negi (2015). 1.e4 vs The Sicilian I. Quality Chess. ISBN 978-1-906552-39-8.

Parimarjan Negi (2015). 1.e4 vs The Sicilian II. Quality Chess. ISBN 978-1-907982-57-6.

Parimarjan Negi (2016). 1.e4 vs The Sicilian III. Quality Chess. ISBN 978-1-78483-023-6.

Personal life

Parimarjan Negi attended school at Amity International School in New Delhi. He then graduated from Stanford University as a Mathematics major in 2018. He is currently[when?] a PhD student at the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States.

Prakash Thorat

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward for DSK Shivajians in the I-League.

Early careerBorn in Pune, Maharashtra, Thorat started his footballing career as a semi-professional, playing for various Maharashtra state clubs like Deccan XI, Maharashtra Police, and Central Railways. He was also twice the top scorer in the Nagpur Premier League in both the 2010 and 2011 seasons in which he scored seven goals in each season. His best moment as a semi-professional came when he played in the inaugural Aurangabad Premier League where he scored an amazing 13 goals in only five matches.

After impressing as a semi-professional Thorat was signed by I-League side Air India for the rest of the 2011–12 season. He made his debut for Air India on 14 April 2012 against Pailan Arrows at the Salt Lake Stadium. He managed to score a brace in that match as Air India won 2–0. Overall, Thorat played in seven matches that season and then in the 2012–13 I-League season he made 20 appearances while scoring only three goals. While with Air India Thorat was played mainly as a winger.

Pune

Renu Bala Chanu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

President Pranab Mukherjee presenting the Arjuna Award for 2014 to Yumanam Renu Bala Chanu

Yumnam Renu Bala Chanu (born 2 October 1986) is an Indian woman weightlifter, hailing from Kyamgei Mayai Leikai village located near Imphal, Manipur. She secured a gold medal in the Women's 58 kg category at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

Career

Renu Bala's career kicked off when she was selected for training during a 'talent hunt' camp of Sports Authority of India, at Imphal in the year 2000, when after winning a silver in the state championship, she was recommended to the SAI. She received training at Lucknow under Hansa Sharma and GP Sharma.

Renubala hails from Manipur but represents Assam, and was the third athlete from the former to have won a medal, after Soniya Chanu (silver in women's 48 kg) and Sandhaya Rani Devi (bronze in women's 48 kg). She represented Assam in the 2007 Guwahati National Games and won four gold medals for the State.

She succeeded in defending her gold medal again at the 2010 Commonwealth Games at Delhi. The Northeast Frontier Railway employee set a new Games snatch record with a lift of 90 kg in her final attempt. Renu added 107 kg to her snatch record to total 197 to win the gold medal for the second successive time. She heaved 88 kg and broke the prior record held by Maryse Turcotte from Canada during the 2002 Games, and improved it in her next attempt to bring it up to 90 kg. Her national record is 93 for snatch, 119 for clean jerk and 209 for total. She dedicated her gold medal to the people of India and to the Indian Weightlifting Federation, saying that her win would help the Federation to recover from their recent setbacks. She expressed her pride and the significance of her achievements for someone hailing from a financially troubled background, and described her medal as a token of acknowledgement for the efforts her family, and coaches put in for her training.

In 2014, she was felicitated jointly by the Assam Weightlifting Association (AWA) and the Assam Olympic Association (AOA). She won the Arjuna Award in 2014.

She was unable to participate in the Guangzhou Asian Games in 2010 and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow due to health related issues.

Ranjeet Virali-Murugesan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ranjeet Virali-MurugesanCountry (sports) India

Residence Chennai, India

Born 30 September 1985

Coimbatore, India

Plays Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Prize money $78,967

Singles

Career record 0–2 (at ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)

Career titles 1 ITF

Highest ranking No. 417 (24 May 2010)

Current ranking No. 1044 (2 July 2018)

Doubles

Career record 0–0 (at ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)

Career titles 18 ITF

Highest ranking No. 268 (11 August 2014)

Current ranking No. 1603 (2 July 2018)

Team competitions

Davis Cup 0–2

Last updated on: 5 July 2018.

Ranjeet Virali-Murugesan (born 30 September 1985) is an Indian tennis player.

Virali-Murugesan has a career high ATP singles ranking of 417 achieved on 24 May 2010 and a career high ATP doubles ranking of 268, achieved on 11 August 2014. Virali-Murugesan has won one ITF singles title and eighteen ITF doubles titles.

Virali-Murugesan has represented India at the Davis Cup, where he has a win-loss record of 0–2.

Rutuja Bhosale

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bhosale in ITF Nonthaburi (THA), 2019

Full name Rutuja Sampatrao Bhosale

Country (sports) India

Born 27 March 1996

Shrirampur

Prize money $38,647

Singles

Career record 80–59

Career titles 2 ITF

Highest ranking No. 344 (17 December 2018)

Current ranking No. 370 (6 May 2019)

Doubles

Career record 78–41

Career titles 14 ITF

Highest ranking No. 204 (8 April 2019)

Current ranking No. 208 (6 May 2019)

Last updated on: 6 May 2019.

Rutuja Sampatrao Bhosale (born 27 March 1996) is an Indian tennis player, and the former Indian no.1 in the doubles rankings.

She made her debut for the India Fed Cup team in 2012. In 2012, she also achieved her highest junior ranking of world No. 55

Bhosale attended Texas A&M University, and graduated with a degree in business studies in 2017.

Note: If anybody know her real caste intimate me with proof

Rani Rampal

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rani Rampal

Rampal (in blue) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games

Personal information

Born 4 December 1994

Shahabad Markanda, Haryana, India

Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)

Weight 60 kg (132 lb)

Playing position Forward

National team

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2009– India 226 (112)

Women's field hockey

Representing India

2018 Jakarta Team

2014 Incheon Team

2nd all-time leader in earnings

2013 Mönchengladbach Team

Rani Rampal (born 4 December 1994) is an Indian field hockey player. At the age of 15, she was the youngest player in the national team which participated in the 2010 World Cup. She has completed her schooling but was not able to get the graduate degree due to practice sessions and matches which were lined up. She plays forward on her team. She has played 212 international matches and scored 134 goals. She is currently the Captain for Indian Women's Hockey Team. She is also well known as a striker who often doubles up as mid-fielder. She has a great fascination with CWG. In 2020, the Government of India honoured her with the Padma Shri.

Early life

Rani was born on 4 December 1994 in Shahabad Markanda in the Kurukshetra district of Haryana. Her father works as a cart-puller. She was registered in the town's team by the age of 6. Initially her abilities were questioned but later on she demonstrated her potential to her coach. She took to field hockey in 2003 and trained at the Shahabad Hockey Academy under Baldev Singh, a recipient of Dronacharya Award. She first came to Junior Nationals in Gwalior and at Chandigarh School Nationals and she was later admitted into national squad. She made her Senior year debut when she was only 14 years, which made her the youngest player in the Indian Women's Hockey team. As she started to play professionally, GoSports Foundation, a sports non-governmental organization provided her with monetary and non-monetary support as her family found it hard to support her dreams financially. She was part of Indian Hockey Team when the team qualified for 2016 Rio Olympics after 36 years.

Career

Rani played in the Champion's Challenge Tournament held in Kazan, Russia in June 2009 and powered India to a win by scoring 4 goals in the finals. She was adjudged "The Top Goal Scorer" and the "Young Player of the Tournament."

She was instrumental in winning the silver medal for the Indian team in the Asia Cup held in Nov 2009. After playing with India's national team at 2010 Commonwealth Games and 2010 Asian Games, Rani Rampal was nominated in FIH Women's All-Star Team of 2010. She was nominated for ' young woman player of the year' award. She was also included the All-Star team of the Asian Hockey Federation based on her performance in 2010 Asian Games at Guangzhou.

At the 2010 Women’s Hockey World Cup held in Rosario, Argentina, she scored a total of seven goals which placed India in the ninth position in World Women's hockey rankings. This is India's best performance since 1978. She is the only Indian to be nominated for the FIH Women's Young Player of the Year Award, 2010. She was conferred the "Best Young Player of the Tournament" award at the Women's Hockey World Cup 2010, recognizing her stellar performance as the top field goal scorer in the tournament. She was awarded with the Arjuna award in 2016 which was like one of her dreams come true.

She was also adjudged the 'Player of the Tournament' at the 2013 Junior World Cup which India finished with a bronze medal. She has been named for FICCI Comeback of the Year Award 2014. In 2013 Junior World Cup she made India won its first ever bronze medal at the event.

She was part of 2017 Women's Asian Cup, and they also won the title second time in 2017 at Kakamigahara in Japan,[17] for the first time the trophy was brought in year 2004, due to this they got selected for world cup which was held in 2018.

She led the Indian women's hockey team as captain in 2018 Asian Games, where they won a silver medal and was India's flag-bearer for the closing ceremony of the games.

She worked as Assistant Coach with Sports Authority Of India.

Awards

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (2020) - Highest Sporting Honour of India.

Padma Shri (2020) - fourth Highest Indian National Honour

Rajesh Narwal

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rajesh NarwalPersonal information

Nationality Indian

Citizenship Indian

Born 8 July 1990

Haryana, India

Height 175 cm (5 ft 9 in)

Weight 81.7 kg (180 lb)

Sport

Country India

Sport Kabaddi

Position All-rounder

Kabaddi Pro Kabaddi League

Club Jaipur Pink Panthers

UP Yoddha

Team Dabangg Delhi K.C

Coached by J. Udaya Singh

Rajesh Narwal is an Indian Kabaddi athlete.

Career

Pro Kabbadi League

Rajesh Narwal played four seasons with Jaipur Pink Panthers and a title in the first season of Pro Kabaddi League. He was an essential part of their title-winning season where he played 60 games for the club. One of the top all-rounders in the league, he averages 4.43 raid points and 1.40 tackle points per match. A great asset defensively, Rajesh has converted 77 of his 183 tackles attempted. In the recent auction, he was sold to Team UP Yoddha for Rs. 69 lakhs. he scored 277 raid points and 100 tackel points he is third best all-rounder in pkl history.He currently is in the Dabangg Delhi K.C team.

In the 60 games he has played in the Pro Kabaddi League, he has got zero yellow cards and red cards till date. A quality not often seen in a completely physical sport like Kabaddi. Rajesh just does not rely on his Kabaddi skills and fame to sustain his family. He also works at ONGC in Sonepat.

Rachita Mistry

From Wikipedia

Rachita Mistry

Birth name Rachita Panda

Nationality India

Born 4 March 1974

Rourkela, Odisha, India

Sport

Country India

Sport Running

Event(s) 100 metres, 200 metres

Club Indian Railways

Retired Yes

Achievements and titles

Personal best(s) 100 m: 11.26 (Thiruvananthapuram 2000)

200 m: 23.10

All-India Open National Championships

1998 Championships 100 metres

All-India Inter State Championships

1998 Championships 100 metres

2000 Championships 100 metres

2000 Championships 200 metres

Indian National Games

1997 Games 100 metres

Rachita Mistry née Panda (born 4 March 1974) is an Indian professional sprinter from Odisha. She held the 100 metres national record of 11.38 seconds set at the National Circuit Athletic Meet held in Thiruvananthapuram on 12 August 2000 for 13 years until it was bettered in 2013 by Merlin K. Joseph. Rachita set her personal best time of 11.26 s for 100 metres in Bangalore on 5 July 2001 and in the process she broke P. T. Usha's long standing mark of 11.39 s set during the 1985 Asian Championships in Athletics in Jakarta. However, following some controversies, the Amateur Athletic Federation of India (AAFI) did not ratify the national record on the ground that no dope tests had been carried out during the meet. AAIF, however, clarified that the performances of the athletes who set the National record during the 2000 National Circuit Meet would be allowed to stand as their personal bests.

Rachita represented India in 4 x 100 metres relay together with P. T. Usha, E. B. Shyla, and Saraswati Saha at the 1998 Asian Championships in Athletics where her team won the gold medal on way to setting the current national record of 44.43 s. Later in the 4 x 100 metres relay at 2000 Sydney Olympics her team - consisting of V. Jayalakshmi, Vinita Tripathi, and Saraswati Saha - clocked a time of 45.20 s in the first round. The team finished last in their heats.

Rachita is also a former National record holder in the 200 metre sprint. She set the 200 m record on 31 July 2000, at Chennai, with a run of 23.10 seconds.[16] In doing so, she broke the previous record held by P. T. Usha. Rachita's 200 metres record was later replaced by Saraswati Saha in August 2002. In 1998, she was conferred the Arjuna Award for her contribution to the Indian athletics.

Achievements

Representing India1998 Asian Championships Fukuoka, Japan 1st 4 x 100 m NR

2000 Asian Championships Jakarta, Indonesia 3rd 100 m

Rajib Boro

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rajib Boro

Date of birth 10 March 1994

Place of birth Assam, India

Position(s) Midfielder

Club information

Current team NF Railway

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2012–2013 ONGC 4 (0)

2014– NF Railway

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Rajib Boro (born 10 March 1994) is an Indian footballer who plays as a midfielder for NF Railway's football team.

Career

ONGC

Boro made his debut for ONGC F.C. of the I-League on 23 September 2012 during the 2012 Indian Federation Cup against East Bengal F.C. in which ONGC lost 2–1.

Post ONGC

After ONGC were relegated from the I-League, Boro went to Assam where he represented Railways in the 2014 Santosh Trophy. With Railways, Boro made it to the final against Mizoram. He did not get to play in the match due to suspension and Mizoram eventually came out on top 3–0. He also joined the Northeast Frontier Railway (NF Railway) football team and participated with the side in various competitions.

Roger Federer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Roger Federer

Federer serving at 2009 Wimbledon

Country (sports) Switzerland

Residence Valbella, Switzerland

Born 8 August 1981

Basel, Switzerland

Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)

Turned pro 1998

Plays Right-handed (one-handed backhand)

Coach Ivan Ljubičić

Severin Lüthi

Prize money US$130,594,339

Official website rogerfederer.com

Singles

Career record 1251–275 (82.0%)

Career titles 103 (2nd in the Open Era)

Highest ranking No. 1 (2 February 2004)

Current ranking No. 9 (12 July 2021)

Grand Slam Singles results

Australian Open W (2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2017, 2018)

French Open W (2009)

Wimbledon W (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2017)

US Open W (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)

Other tournaments

Tour Finals W (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011)

Olympic Games (2012)

Doubles

Career record 131–92 (58.7%)

Career titles 8

Highest ranking No. 24 (9 June 2003)

Grand Slam Doubles results

Australian Open 3R (2003)

French Open 1R (2000)

Wimbledon QF (2000)

US Open 3R (2002)

Other doubles tournaments

Olympic Games (2008)

Team competitions

Davis Cup W (2014)

Hopman Cup W (2001, 2018, 2019)

Signature

2008 Beijing Doubles

2012 London Singles

Last updated on: 12 July 2021.

Roger Federer (German: [ˈrɔdʒər ˈfeːdərər]; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss professional tennis player. He is ranked No. 9 in the world by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has won 20 Grand Slam men's singles titles, an all-time record shared with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Federer has been world No. 1 in the ATP rankings a total of 310 weeks – including a record 237 consecutive weeks – and has finished as the year-end No. 1 five times. Federer has won 103 ATP singles titles, the second-most of all-time behind Jimmy Connors and including a record six ATP Finals.

Federer has played in an era where he dominated men's tennis together with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, who have been collectively referred to as the Big Three and are widely considered three of the greatest tennis players of all-time. A Wimbledon junior champion in 1998, Federer won his first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon in 2003 at age 21. In 2004, he won three out of the four major singles titles and the ATP Finals, a feat he repeated in 2006 and 2007. From 2005 to 2010, Federer made 18 out of 19 major singles finals. During this span, he won his fifth consecutive titles at both Wimbledon and the US Open. He completed the career Grand Slam at the 2009 French Open after three previous runner-ups to Nadal, his main rival up until 2010. At age 27, he also surpassed Pete Sampras's then-record of 14 Grand Slam men's singles titles at Wimbledon in 2009.

Although Federer remained in the top 3 through most of the 2010s, the success of Djokovic and Nadal in particular ended his dominance over grass and hard courts. From mid-2010 through the end of 2016, he only won one major title. During this period, Federer and Stan Wawrinka led the Switzerland Davis Cup team to their first title in 2014, adding to the gold medal they won together in doubles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Federer also has a silver medal in singles from the 2012 London Olympics, where he finished runner-up to Andy Murray. After taking half a year off in late 2016 to recover from knee surgery, Federer had a renaissance at the majors. He won three more Grand Slam singles titles over the next two years, including the 2017 Australian Open over Nadal and a men's singles record eighth Wimbledon title later in 2017. He also became the oldest ATP world No. 1 in 2018 at age 36.

A versatile all-court player, Federer's perceived effortlessness has made him highly popular among tennis fans. Originally lacking self-control as a junior, Federer transformed his on-court demeanor to become well-liked for his general graciousness, winning the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award 13 times. He has also won the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award a record five times. Outside of competing, he played an instrumental role in the creation of the Laver Cup team competition. Federer is also an active philanthropist. He established the Roger Federer Foundation, which targets impoverished children in southern Africa, and has raised funds in part through the Match for Africa exhibition series. Federer is routinely one of the top ten highest-paid athletes in any sport, and ranked first among all athletes with $100 million in endorsement income in 2020.

Childhood and early life

Roger Federer was born on 8 August 1981 in Basel, Switzerland. His Swiss father, Robert Federer, is from Berneck in the Canton of St. Gallen, and his Afrikaner mother, Lynette Federer (née Durand), is from Kempton Park, Gauteng, in South Africa. He has one sibling, his older sister, Diana, who is the mother of a set of twins. Since Federer’s mother is South African, he holds both Swiss and South African citizenship. He grew up in nearby Birsfelden, Riehen, and then Münchenstein, close to the French and German borders, and he speaks Swiss German, Standard German, English, and French fluently, as well as functional Italian and Swedish; Swiss German is his native language. Federer served as a ball boy at his hometown Basel tournament, the Swiss Indoors, in 1992 and 1993.

Like all male Swiss citizens, Federer was subject to compulsory military service in the Swiss Armed Forces. However, in 2003 he was ruled "unsuitable" and was subsequently not required to fulfill his military obligation. Instead, he served in the civil protection force and was required to pay 3% of his taxable income as an alternative. He grew up supporting FC Basel and the Swiss national football team. Federer also credits his hand-eye coordination to the wide range of sports he played as a child, including badminton and basketball.

Family

Federer is married to former Women's Tennis Association player Miroslava Federer (née Vavrinec), whom he met while they were both competing for Switzerland at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Usually called Mirka, she retired from the tour in 2002 because of a foot injury. They were married at Wenkenhof Villa in Riehen near Basel on 11 April 2009, surrounded by a small group of close friends and family. In 2009, Mirka gave birth to identical twin girls. The Federers had another pair of identical twins in 2014, this time boys.

Tennis career

1993–1998: Junior years

Federer played his first junior match in 1996 at the age of 14 at a grade 2 tournament in Switzerland. His main accomplishments as a junior player came at Wimbledon in 1998, where he won both the boys' singles final over Irakli Labadze, and in doubles teamed with Olivier Rochus, defeating the team of Michaël Llodra and Andy Ram. In addition, he reached the US Open Junior final in 1998, losing to David Nalbandian. Federer won four ITF junior singles tournaments in his career, including the prestigious Orange Bowl, where he defeated Guillermo Coria in the final. He ended 1998 with the No. 1 junior world ranking and was awarded ITF junior World Champion. He ended his junior career at the end of 1998 with a high-ranking of No. 1 in singles and No. 7 in doubles (both attained on December 31, 1998) and a win-loss record of 78–20 in singles and 36–21 in doubles.

Junior Grand Slam results - Singles:

Australian Open: SF (1998)

French Open: 1R (1998)

Wimbledon: W (1998)

US Open: F (1998)

Junior Grand Slam results - Doubles:

Australian Open: SF (1998)

French Open: 1R (1998)

Wimbledon: W (1998)

US Open: 1R (1998)

1998–2002: Early professional career

Federer made his ATP debut at the 1998 Swiss Open Gstaad in his home country of Switzerland where he lost to Lucas Arnold Ker in the first round. Later that year, he won his first ATP match in Toulouse against Guillaume Raoux. He then got a wildcard into the 1998 Swiss Indoors where he lost in the first round to 4th seed and former world number 1 Andre Agassi. As of 2021, he is a 10-time champion of the tournament.

Federer entered the top 100 ranking for the first time on 20 September 1999 and started at the 1999 Marseille Open defeating the reigning champion of the 1998 French Open, Spaniard Carlos Moyá. His first final came at the Marseille Open in 2000, where he lost to fellow Swiss Marc Rosset. Federer won the 2001 Hopman Cup representing Switzerland, along with world No. 1 Martina Hingis. The duo defeated the American pair of Monica Seles and Jan-Michael Gambill in the finals. Federer later said that his experience with Hingis "definitely helped me to become the player I am today."

Federer's first singles win was at the 2001 Milan Indoor tournament, where he defeated Julien Boutter in the final. Although he won his first title already in 1999 on the Challenger tour, winning the doubles event in Segovia, Spain with Dutchman Sander Groen, the final was played on Federer's 18th birthday. In 2001, Federer made his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the French Open, losing to former world No. 2 and eventual finalist Alex Corretja. His run to the French quarterfinals launched him into the top 15 for the first time in his career.

His international breakthrough came at the 2001 Wimbledon Championships, where the 19-year-old Federer faced the four-time defending champion and all-time Grand Slam leader Pete Sampras. Federer beat the No. 1 seed in a five-set match to reach the quarterfinals. In the quarters he faced Englishman Tim Henman, eventually losing in a fourth-set tiebreaker.

The first final he reached at the Masters level came at the 2002 Miami Masters event, where he lost to former and future No. 1 Andre Agassi on hard court. Federer won his first Master Series event at the 2002 Hamburg Masters on clay, over Marat Safin; the victory put him in top 10 for the first time. Federer made 10 singles finals between 1998 and 2002, of which he won four and lost six. He also made six finals in doubles. He finished 2001 with an ATP ranking of No. 13, and 2002 was the first year he was ranked within the top 10, finishing at No. 6.

2003: Grand Slam breakthrough at Wimbledon

In 2003, Federer won his first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon, beating Andy Roddick in the semifinals and Mark Philippoussis in the final. In August he had a chance to take over the No. 1 ranking for the first time from Andre Agassi if he made it to the Montreal final. However, he fell in the semifinals to Roddick, in a final-set tiebreaker, leaving him 120 points behind Agassi. This, coupled with early losses to David Nalbandian at Cincinnati and the US Open, denied Federer the chance to become No. 1 for the duration of the season.

Federer won his first and to date only doubles Masters event in Miami with Max Mirnyi and made it to one singles Masters event in Rome on clay, which he lost. Federer made it to nine finals on the ATP Tour and won seven of them, including the 500 series events at Dubai and Vienna. Lastly, Federer won the year-end championships over Andre Agassi, finishing the year as world No. 2, narrowly behind Andy Roddick by only 160 points.

2004: Imposing dominance

During 2004, Federer won three Grand Slam singles titles for the first time in his career and became the first person to do so since Mats Wilander in 1988. His first major hard-court title came at the Australian Open over Marat Safin, thereby becoming the world No. 1 for the first time. He then won his second Wimbledon crown over Andy Roddick. Federer defeated the 2001 US Open champion, Lleyton Hewitt, at the US Open for his first title there.

Federer won three ATP Masters events, one was on clay in Hamburg, and the other two were on hard surfaces at Indian Wells and in Canada. Federer took the ATP 500 series event at Dubai and wrapped up the year by winning the year-end championships for the second time. He also won his first tournament on home soil by capturing the Swiss Open in Gstaad. His 11 singles titles were the most of any player in two decades, and his record of 74–6 was the best since Ivan Lendl in 1986. He reached the year-end No. 1 ranking for the first time.

2005: Consolidating dominance

In 2005, Federer failed to reach the finals of the first two Grand Slam tournaments, losing the Australian Open semifinal to eventual champion Safin after holding match points, and the French Open semifinal to eventual champion Rafael Nadal. However, Federer quickly reestablished his dominance on grass, winning the Wimbledon Championships over Andy Roddick. At the US Open, Federer defeated Andre Agassi in the latter's last major final.

Federer also took four Masters wins: Indian Wells, Miami and Cincinnati on hard court, and Hamburg on clay. The win in Miami was particularly noteworthy as it was the first final contested between Federer and Nadal. Federer recovered from two sets and a break down to take the final in five sets. Furthermore, Federer won two ATP 500 series events at Rotterdam and Dubai. Federer lost the year-end championships to David Nalbandian in five sets while playing through a foot injury that sidelined him for almost the rest of the season after September. He maintained his position as No. 1 for the entire season.

Federer won 11 singles titles, which ties his 2004 season. Federer's 81 match victories were the most since Pete Sampras in 1993, and his record of 81–4 (95.2%) remains the third-best winning percentage in the Open Era behind John McEnroe's 1984 and Jimmy Connors's 1974.

2006: Career-best season

The 2006 season was statistically the best season of Federer's career. In November 2011, Stephen Tignor, chief editorial writer for Tennis.com, ranked Federer's 2006 season as statistically the second-best season

Federer hits a forehand at the 2006 US Open, where he became the first man in history to achieve the Wimbledon-US Open double for three consecutive seasons.

Federer won 12 singles titles (the most of any player since Thomas Muster in 1995 and John McEnroe in 1984) and had a match record of 92–5 (the most wins since Ivan Lendl in 1982). Federer reached the finals in an astounding 16 of the 17 tournaments he entered during the season.

In 2006, Federer won three Grand Slam singles titles and reached the final of the other, with the only loss coming against Nadal in the French Open. was Federer and Nadal's first meeting in a Grand Slam final. He was the first man to reach all four finals in a calendar year since Rod Laver in 1969. Federer defeated Nadal in the Wimbledon Championships final. In the Australian Open, Federer defeated Marcos Baghdatis, and at the US Open, Federer defeated Roddick (2003 champion). In addition, Federer made it to six Masters finals, winning four on hard surfaces and losing two on clay to Nadal. Federer, however, consistently pushed Nadal to the limit on clay throughout the season taking him to fourth-set tiebreakers in Monte-Carlo and Paris, and a thrilling match in Rome that went to a deciding fifth-set tiebreaker.

Federer won one ATP 500 series event in Tokyo and captured the year-end championships for the third time in his career, again finishing the year as world No. 1. Federer only lost to two players during 2006, to Nadal four times in finals, and to 19-year-old Andy Murray in the second round of the 2006 Cincinnati Masters, in what was Federer's only defeat before reaching the final of a tournament that year. Federer finished the season on a 29-match winning streak, as well as winning 48 of his last 49 matches after the French Open.

Near the end of the season he won his hometown tournament, the Swiss Indoors in Basel, Switzerland for the first time, having finished runner up in 2000 and 2001, and missing the tournament in 2004 and 2005 due to injuries.

2007: Holding off young rivals

In 2007, Federer reached all four Grand Slam singles finals, winning three of them again. He won the Australian Open without dropping a set, beating Fernando González in the final. This made him the first man in the 21st century to accomplish the feat, as Björn Borg at the 1980 French Open was the last to win a Grand Slam tournament without the loss of a set. Federer had entered the year on a huge winning streak and after capturing his fourth Dubai crown Federer's winning streak stood at 41 matches, the longest of his career and only five shy of the record. Federer entered Indian Wells as the three-time defending champion, but his streak ended in controversy. He was defeated by an Argentine, Guillermo Cañas, who had failed a drug test for illegal doping.

Federer was called "Darth Federer" by fans and commentators at the 2007 US Open.

This surprising first-round defeat marked the first time since August 2006 he suffered defeat, a period spanning over seven months.

During the clay season, Federer's victory in the Hamburg Masters final was particularly impressive, as it snapped Nadal's 81-match winning streak on clay, an Open-era record. Federer turned the match around from a set down to sweep 12 of the final 14 games, including a final set bagel. At the French Open, some anticipated that Federer could become the first man in almost 40 years to hold all four majors simultaneously, having just resoundingly defeated young rival Nadal on clay entering the tournament. However, in a repeat of the previous year Federer played a tough four-set final against Nadal, but was undone by going 1/17 on break-point chances.

At Wimbledon, Federer entered the tournament not only as the four-time defending champion, but also riding a 48-match winning streak on grass. Once again, he defeated Rafael Nadal for a second consecutive year in the final, this time in a thrilling five-set encounter that many analysts hailed as the greatest Wimbledon final since 1980. Victory at Wimbledon equaled him with Björn Borg for the record of five consecutive championships at the All England Club.

Federer reached the final in Montreal before playing a young and relatively unknown Serbian named Novak Djokovic. Djokovic proved his potential by beating the world No. 1 in a final-set tiebreaker upset. Federer rebounded in Cincinnati to capture his fifth title of the year. Federer entered the US Open as the three-time defending champion and faced Djokovic in the final. This time, Federer prevailed in a close straight-set match. Victory in New York moved him ahead of Laver and Borg for third on the all-time list of major championship victories. Throughout the tournament, the American press labelled him Darth Federer for his all-black attire (which included tuxedo-striped shorts) and the tournament played The Imperial March from Star Wars when he was announced onto the court for each of his matches. He closed out the year with victories in Basel and the Year End Championships in Shanghai.

He finished the season as the year-end No. 1 for the fourth year in a row, demonstrating his dominance, and during these four years he won 11 Grand Slam singles titles. After his phenomenal triple Grand Slam season yet again, Federer became the only player in history to win three majors in a year for three years (2004, 2006, 2007). It was the third consecutive season that Federer held the No. 1 ranking for all 52 weeks of the year.

2008: Illness, Olympic Gold and fifth US Open

Federer's success in 2008 was severely hampered by a lingering bout of mononucleosis, which he suffered during the first half of the year. At the end of the year he suffered a back injury.

In 2008, Federer captured one Grand Slam, a singles title at the US Open over Andy Murray.Federer was defeated by Nadal in two Grand Slam finals, the French Open and Wimbledon, which was regarded as the best match of tennis history by many, when he was going for six straight wins to break Björn Borg's record. He came back from two sets down to force a fifth set, where he fell just two points from the title. At the Australian Open, Federer lost in the semifinals to eventual winner Djokovic, which ended his record of 10 consecutive finals. He lost twice in Masters finals on clay to Nadal, at Monte Carlo and Hamburg. Federer captured three titles in 250-level events at Estoril, Halle, and Basel.

At the Olympic Games, Federer and Stan Wawrinka won the gold medal in doubles, after beating the Bryan brothers American team in the semifinals and the Swedish duo of Simon Aspelin and Thomas Johansson in the final. However, Federer could reach only the quarterfinals in the singles draw, bowing out to then No. 8 James Blake, ceding his No. 1 ranking to Nadal after being at the top for a record 237 consecutive weeks.He ended the year ranked No. 2.

2009: Career Grand Slam and major title record

Federer entered the 2009 season with 13 Grand Slams, only one behind Pete Sampras' all-time record. The season began with a loss to Nadal in the final of the Australian Open in a hotly contested five-set match.Federer struggled following the defeat in Melbourne and entered the clay season without a title.

Federer winning the 2009 French Open, and completing the career Grand Slam

Federer's season turned around in the final Masters event of the clay season when he defeated Nadal on clay for only the second time to capture the Madrid Masters. Federer entered the French Open with few predicting him to win the elusive Parisian title having lost to Nadal in the final weekend for the past four seasons. After Nadal's unexpected defeat to Robin Söderling, Federer became the overwhelming favorite. In his next match, he came from two sets and break point down in the third set to defeat Tommy Haas in five sets. He also fought back from a two-sets-to-one deficit against a young Juan Martín del Potro to win a five setter in the semifinals. In the final, he faced Söderling, and with straight sets victory, he finally captured the Coupe des Mousquetaires and career Grand Slam. This victory also tied him with Pete Sampras for the most Grand Slam singles titles.

Federer turned his sights to the grass courts of Wimbledon, where he breezed his way up to the final. In the championship match he faced long-time rival Andy Roddick in what was their eighth and final meeting at a Grand Slam. Roddick pushed Federer into a record-setting fifth set, which Federer claimed 16–14 to win his 15th Grand Slam singles title, breaking the all-time record of Pete Sampras.

Federer continued his summer run by winning his third title on the lightning-fast courts of the Cincinnati Masters, defeating Novak Djokovic in the final. At the US Open he defeated Söderling in the quarters and Djokovic, for the third consecutive year, in the semifinals. On the penultimate point of the Djokovic match he hit what many consider to be the greatest shot of his career, a tweener winner, to set up match points. Federer was defeated by del Potro in the final despite leading two sets to one and falling just two points from the title in the fourth set.

The 2009 season was perhaps the most historically relevant of Federer's career as he completed a career Grand Slam by winning his first French Open title and won a men's record fifteenth Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon, surpassing Pete Sampras's mark of fourteen. The Wimbledon final was also historic for being the longest Grand Slam final in terms of games played with Federer prevailing 16–14 in the fifth set.

Federer finished the season as the year-end No. 1 for the fifth time in his career.

2010: Fourth Australian Open

Federer won a record 16th major at the 2010 Australian Open.

Federer started the year with a win at the Australian Open, where he defeated Andy Murray in the final, extending the Grand Slam singles record to sixteen titles and matching Andre Agassi's record of four Australian Open titles. Since Wimbledon 2005 Federer had made 18 out of 19 finals in Grand Slam tournaments, a period of sustained excellence unparalleled in the Open Era. This tournament, however, marked the end of his dominance at the majors.

At the French Open, Federer won his 700th tour match and 150th tour match on clay. However, he failed to reach a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time since the 2004 French Open, losing to Söderling in the last 8 and relinquishing his No. 1 ranking, having been just one week away from equalling Pete Sampras's record of 286 weeks as world No. 1. In a huge upset at Wimbledon, Federer lost in the last 8 again to Tomáš Berdych and fell to No. 3 in the rankings for the first time in 6 years and 8 months.

Towards the middle of July, Federer hired Pete Sampras' old coach Paul Annacone on a trial basis to put his tennis game and career back on track. At the 2010 US Open, Federer reached the semifinals, where he lost a five-set match to Novak Djokovic after holding two match points. Federer made it to four Masters finals, prevailing at the Cincinnati Masters against Mardy Fish.

Federer finished the year in strong form, winning indoor titles at the Stockholm Open, Swiss Indoors, and the ATP Finals in London, which brought his tally to 66 career titles. Federer won the year-end championships in London by beating rival Rafael Nadal for his fifth title at the event. He beat all contenders except Nadal in straight sets. It remains the only tournament in his career where Federer defeated all fellow members of the Big Four. In 2010 Federer finished in the top two for the eighth consecutive season.

2011: Tour Finals title record

The year 2011 was a lean year for Federer, although great by most player's standards. He was defeated in straight sets in the semifinals of the 2011 Australian Open by eventual champion Novak Djokovic, marking the first time since July 2003 that he did not hold any of the four major titles. In the French Open semifinals, Federer ended Djokovic's undefeated streak of 43 consecutive wins with a four-set victory. Federer then lost in the final to Rafael Nadal. At Wimbledon, Federer advanced to his 29th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal, losing to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. It marked the first time in his career that he had lost a Grand Slam tournament match after winning the first two sets.

At the US Open, Federer lost in the semifinals to Novak Djokovic in five sets. In a repeat of previous year's semifinal event, Federer again squandered two match points on his own serve before losing after winning first two sets for second consecutive time in the year. The loss meant that it was the first time since 2002 that Federer had not won any of the four grand slam titles.

In September 2011, in a South African poll, Federer was voted the second most trusted and respected person in the world, next to Nelson Mandela.

Federer finished the season successfully in the indoor season, winning his last three tournaments of the year at the Swiss Indoors, Paris Masters, and ATP Finals, forming a 16 match winning streak. Federer finished the year ranked No. 3.

2012: Wimbledon title, return to No. 1 and Olympic silver

The 2012 season for Federer had his most match wins since 2006 and his highest winning percentage and number of titles won since 2007.

Federer reached the semifinal of the 2012 Australian Open, setting up a 27th career meeting with Nadal, a match he lost in four sets. He then won the Rotterdam Open for the first time since 2005, defeating Juan Martín del Potro. Federer played in the 2012 Dubai Tennis Championships, where he defeated Andy Murray in the final and won the championship title for the fifth time in his career. Federer then moved on to the Indian Wells Masters, where he defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinals, and John Isner in the final. Federer won the title for a record fourth time, and, in doing so, equalled Nadal's record of 19 ATP Masters titles.

Federer won a record 17th major, a record-equaling 7th Wimbledon, and returned to No. 1.

Federer went on to compete at the Madrid Masters on the new blue clay surface, where he beat Tomáš Berdych in the final, thus regaining the No. 2 ranking from Rafael Nadal. In the French Open, Federer made the semifinals before losing to Djokovic in straight sets, in a rematch of previous year's semifinal.

At Wimbledon, Federer had a five-set match in the third round against Julien Benneteau on his way to the winning the tournament. Federer defeated Andy Murray in four sets in the 2012 Wimbledon final, regaining the No. 1 ranking in the process. "It's amazing. It equals me with Pete Sampras, who's my hero. It just feels amazing", Federer said of winning his seventh Wimbledon championship, tying Sampras' Open Era record. By defeating top-ranked Djokovic in the semifinals and winning in the finals, Federer returned to the top spot in the world rankings and, in doing so, broke Sampras' record of 286 weeks atop the list.

In the 2012 Summer Olympics, Federer played a 4-hour 26-minute semifinal against del Potro where Federer won 19–17 in the third and final set. In a lopsided match, he lost to Murray in straight sets in the final, winning a silver medal for his country.

Federer won the Cincinnati open in August, beating Novak Djokovic in the final. In the US Open, five-time champ Federer was defeated by Tomáš Berdych in the quarterfinals. At the Shanghai Masters, after defeating Wawrinka in the third round, Federer confirmed his 300th week at No. 1. Federer made it to the finals of the ATP Finals, where he lost to Djokovic in two sets.

2013: Injury struggles, fall in rankings

Federer developed back injuries in March and July and his ranking dropped from No. 2 to No. 6. Federer's first and only title of 2013 came at the Gerry Weber Open (defeating Mikhail Youzhny), where he also played doubles with good friend Tommy Haas. With the victory in Halle, he tied John McEnroe for the third-most ATP titles won by a male player in the Open Era. Federer, however, was unable to maintain his form into Wimbledon, suffering his worst Grand Slam tournament defeat since 2003 in the second round against Sergiy Stakhovsky. Not only did the loss end Federer's record streak of 36 consecutive quarterfinals at Grand Slam tournaments, it meant he would drop out of the top 4 for the first time since July 2003.

During the summer, he experimented with various different racquets and played the German Open with a blacked-out 98-inch Wilson racquet, instead of his regular Pro Staff 6.1 90 BLX racquet with the smaller 90-inch hitting area. He returned to his regular racquet for the second half of the season. After Wimbledon, Federer continued to be upset early in tournaments in Hamburg and Gstaad because of a serious back injury through October, when he announced that he was parting ways with Paul Annacone, his coach for the last three years. Federer made the final in Basel, succumbing to Juan Martín del Potro in three sets, and indicated it was a mistake to have played certain tournaments while suffering from a back injury.

On 27 December 2013, Federer announced that Stefan Edberg was joining his team as co-coach with Severin Lüthi.

2014: Davis Cup glory

Federer began the season by changing rackets for the first time in his career, from his longtime frame of 90 square inches to one measured at 97 square inches. He had long been at a comparative disadvantage in equipment as almost the entire tour, including his top rivals Nadal and Djokovic, used more powerful frames of between 95 and 100 square inches. At the Australian Open, Federer defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Andy Murray to reach his 11th consecutive semifinal in Melbourne, before losing to Rafael Nadal in straight sets.

At the Dubai Tennis Championships, he defeated Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, and then defeated Tomáš Berdych in the final to win his sixth Dubai crown and his first title since Halle in 2013. Federer made the final at the Indian Wells Masters, but lost to Novak Djokovic in a final-set tiebreaker. At the Davis Cup quarterfinals, Federer won both of his singles rubbers against Kazakhstan, the second of which was the first live deciding rubber of his Davis Cup career. Federer then took a wild card into the Monte-Carlo Masters defeating Novak Djokovic on his way to the finals, but lost to compatriot Stan Wawrinka in a tight final.

In June, Federer announced that after the end of his third term, he would resign as President of the ATP Players Council, a position he had held since 2008. At the Halle Open, Federer reached both the singles and the doubles finals and won his seventh Halle singles title, beating Alejandro Falla in the final. At Wimbledon, Federer reached a record ninth final, but he was defeated by Djokovic in an epic five-set match.

Federer receiving serve against Richard Gasquet in the title-clinching match for Switzerland at the 2014 Davis Cup

Federer made the final of the Canadian Open but was defeated by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Federer defeated Spain's David Ferrer in three sets to capture his sixth Cincinnati crown and 22nd ATP Masters title, his first in Cincinnati since 2012. He then reached the semifinals at the US Open but lost in straight sets to eventual champion Marin Čilić. At the Davis Cup semifinals, Federer won both his singles matches against Italy in straight sets and led Switzerland to the final for the first time since 1992.

Federer then played in the Shanghai Masters. He beat Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, ending the Serb's 28-match unbeaten run on Chinese soil. He battled Frenchman Gilles Simon in his second Shanghai final, defeating him in two tiebreak sets and collected the 23rd Masters title of his career. The victory saw Federer return to the No. 2 ranking for the first time since May 2013. Federer then played the Swiss Indoors in October, where he won a record sixth title and his 82nd ATP men's singles title overall. Federer also reached the finals of the 2014 ATP Finals to face Djokovic again, but withdrew from the final because of another back injury from his semifinal match against Stan Wawrinka.

Despite his injury, Federer finished the season on a high by defeating Richard Gasquet to clinch the Davis Cup for Switzerland for the first time in its history. The final was held at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille, France attracting over 27,000 spectators per match; this broke attendance record for the highest ever officially sanctioned competition tennis match.

2015: 1,000th victory, Wimbledon & US Open finals

Federer started his season at the Brisbane International. He defeated Milos Raonic in the final, thereby becoming only the third man in the Open Era to have 1,000 or more wins, joining Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl, as well as the first man in the Open Era to win at least one title in each of 15 consecutive years. In Dubai, Federer successfully defended his title with a straight-set victory over Novak Djokovic in the final, marking his seventh title at the tournament and, after Wimbledon and Halle, was the third time he had won seven or more titles in a tournament. Additionally, Federer became the fourth person since 1991 to surpass 9,000 career aces. In March, he reached the final of the Indian Wells, but lost in three sets to defending champion Djokovic.

Federer won his third title of the season at the inaugural Istanbul Open clay-court tournament, ending a title drought on red clay since the 2009 French Open. Federer made it to the final of the Italian Open in May, but was unable to win his first title there, losing to Djokovic in the final. In the French Open he made it through the first rounds losing just one set, to Gaël Monfils in the 4th. In the quarterfinals, he was eventually beaten in straight sets by the later champion Stan Wawrinka.

As the new expanded grass season began, Federer won his record eighth Gerry Weber Open and become only the third man in the Open Era to win a title eight times. Federer entered Wimbledon as the second seed. He played a flawless match to defeat Andy Murray in straight sets in the semifinals and advance to his 10th Wimbledon final in a repeat against Novak Djokovic. Federer lost the match in four sets.

He defeated Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic in straight sets to win the Cincinnati Masters for the seventh time. This marked the first time that Federer had beaten the top two players in the world at the same tournament. At the US Open, he advanced to his first final there since 2009 without dropping a set, including a win over Stan Wawrinka in the semifinals. In the final, he was once again defeated by top seed Djokovic in four sets. At the Swiss Indoors tournament in Basel, Federer won his sixth singles title of the year, and his 88th ATP title, defeating his old rival Rafael Nadal in the final. It was the seventh time he had captured his hometown tournament.

In December, Federer announced that he would enter the 2016 ATP Tour season with a new-look coaching team, having additionally announced that Stefan Edberg would not be travelling with him next year. While countryman Severin Lüthi remained Federer's head coach, joining the team in 2016 was Croatian former world No. 3 player Ivan Ljubicic. Federer revealed that Edberg originally signed on to the coaching team for one season only in 2014, but agreed to stay on in 2015.

2016: Knee surgery, back injury & long recovery hiatus

Federer started his season in the Brisbane International as the defending champion, despite having a virus when the tournament started. However, in a rematch of the previous year's final, he lost in the final to Milos Raonic in straight sets. Federer then participated at the 2016 Australian Open and rebounded from his third round defeat by Andreas Seppi in 2015 by reaching the semifinals but lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in four sets. The day after his loss to Djokovic, Federer sustained a knee injury and in early February, he underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee and missed the tournaments in Rotterdam, Dubai and Indian Wells in February and March. He was scheduled to return to action in Miami. Due to a stomach virus he had to withdraw from Miami thus prolonging his time on the sidelines.

Federer made his comeback at the Monte-Carlo Masters, losing in the quarterfinals to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in three sets. In Madrid, he suffered a back injury during practice and withdrew shortly after arriving. He then participated in the Internazionali BNL d'Italia where he lost in the third round to Dominic Thiem. His withdrawal from the French Open broke a record run of 65 consecutive participations in the main draw of Grand Slam tournaments, stretching back to the 2000 Australian Open.

Still suffering from recurring knee pain during the grass season he lost in the semifinals of Stuttgart and Halle. On 6 July, he came back from two sets down to defeat Marin Čilić in five sets in the 2016 Wimbledon quarterfinals, equalling Jimmy Connors' all-time records of eleven Wimbledon semifinals and 84 match wins. He suffered his first defeat in a Wimbledon semifinal two days later in a five-set loss to Raonic, re-injuring his knee in the fifth set.

On 26 July, Federer announced that he would miss the 2016 Summer Olympics and the remainder of the 2016 season to fully recover from his knee injury. The sudden withdrawal not only implied that 2016 was his first season since 2000 that Federer failed to win a title, but it also meant that he would have to drop out of top ten for the first time in fourteen years. This, combined with a grand slam drought spanning over four years, led to many analysts believing that his outstanding career was finally coming to an end and he would never win any major titles again.

2017: Renaissance, Australian Open & Wimbledon titles

Federer's 2017 season marked a return to Grand Slam wins since 2012, the most titles since 2007, and the highest win percentage since 2006. Statistically, this season was his best since 2007. Federer played in the Hopman Cup and Australian Open in January 2017. His withdrawal from most of the injury affected 2016 season lead his ranking slip to No. 17 at the start of Australian Open, his lowest in over fifteen years. At the Australian Open, he beat top-10 players Tomáš Berdych and Kei Nishikori on his way to semifinals, making Federer the oldest man to compete in a grand slam semi-final since Jimmy Connors in 1991. In the semi-finals, he defeated Stanislas Wawrinka in five sets, making him the oldest player to compete in a Grand Slam final since Ken Rosewall in 1974. Coming back from a break down in the fifth set, Federer defeated Rafael Nadal to win the Australian Open, which also marked Federer's 100th match at the Australian Open; it was the first time Federer had won a match against Nadal in a Grand Slam event since the 2007 Wimbledon final, and also marked Federer's first ever Grand Slam victory over Nadal outside the grass courts of Wimbledon. With this victory, he re-entered the top ten.

In March, Federer won his 25th Masters title at Indian Wells, defeating Wawrinka in the final and gaining another victory over Nadal in the 4th round. This was also Federer's 90th career title and he climbed to No. 6 in the ATP rankings. Federer collected his 26th Masters title by defeating Nadal in the final of the Miami Masters in straight sets and climbed to No. 4 in the ATP rankings. This marked the third time Federer had won in Indian Wells and Miami back-to-back, colloquially referred to as the Sunshine Double (2005, 2006 and 2017).

Due to concerns about his longevity, Federer decided that he would skip the entire clay-court season. He returned to the tour at the beginning of the grass-court season in Stuttgart, where he suffered a shock defeat to Tommy Haas in the second round despite holding match points, the lowest-ranked player (No. 302) to beat him since No. 407 Bjoern Phau in 1999. He rebounded the following week by winning a record-extending ninth title at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, doing so without the loss of a set. In the 2017 Wimbledon Championships, Federer made it to the final without dropping a set, defeating Milos Raonic in the quarterfinals and Tomáš Berdych in the semifinals. In the final, Federer defeated a physically and mentally out of sorts Marin Čilić in straight sets to win a record-breaking eighth Wimbledon gentlemen's singles title and his record-extending 19th major title overall, becoming the oldest male player to win Wimbledon in the Open era. Federer became the second man in the Open era to win Wimbledon without dropping a set after Björn Borg in 1976. It marked the second time in his career that he had won a grand slam tournament without losing a set, matching his performance at the 2007 Australian Open.[208] Federer moved up to become No. 3 in the ATP Rankings after the event and qualified for the ATP Finals for a record 15th time.

At the opening of the summer hard court swing Federer was defeated in the final of the Montreal Masters by Alexander Zverev after injuring his back during the match. Due to the injury, he opted to withdraw from the Cincinnati Masters to be fit for the US Open. However, Federer lost to del Potro in the quarterfinals at the US Open, in a tournament characterized by inconsistent play from Federer, unlike the major portion of the season.

Federer's next participation was in September in the inaugural Laver Cup, representing team Europe. Federer won both his singles matches against Sam Querrey and Nick Kyrgios, with the latter win sealing the cup for Europe. The tournament was also notable for Federer playing doubles teaming with longtime rival Nadal for the first time. The two legends emerged victorious against world duo of Sam Querrey and Jack Sock.

At the Shanghai Masters, Federer captured his third Masters title of the season, defeating No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the final. This was Federer's fifth straight victory over Nadal in their rivalry and his 94th career title, drawing him level with 2nd-placed Ivan Lendl. During the indoor season, Federer defeated Juan Martin Del Potro in the final of his hometown tournament, the Swiss Indoors in Basel, earning a record eighth championship there and winning his 95th career title, surpassing Ivan Lendl in number of career titles. Federer qualified for the 2017 ATP Finals, but was beaten by David Goffin in the semifinals in three sets.

2018: 20th major title and 310 weeks at No. 1

Federer started his season winning the Hopman Cup partnering with Belinda Bencic. This was his second Hopman Cup title, having won previously in 2001 with Martina Hingis. At the 2018 Australian Open, Federer reached the final without dropping a set, and successfully defended his title beating Marin Čilić in a five-set final. This was Federer's sixth title at the Australian Open, equaling the then record held by Roy Emerson and Novak Djokovic, which was surpassed by Djokovic in 2019. He also became the first man to win twenty Grand Slam titles. It was also the first time since the 2008 US Open that Federer successfully defended a major title.

In mid-February, Federer won his third Rotterdam Open title to return to No. 1 in the ATP rankings, clinching the spot with a quarterfinal victory over Robin Haase. He beat Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets in the final. At 36 years and 195 days of age, he became the oldest ATP world No. 1 by more than three years. He also broke the ATP record for the longest span between a player's first and last weeks to attain the No. 1 ranking at 14 years and 17 days apart, as well as the most time between two successive reigns at No. 1 at 5 years and 106 days.

In March, Federer entered the Indian Wells Masters as the defending champion. He defeated Chung Hyeon in the quarterfinals, ensuring that he retained the world No. 1 ranking, and Borna Ćorić in the semifinals, solidifying a career-best start to a season at 17–0. His previous best season start had been 16–0 during the 2006 season. Despite holding three championship points, Federer was defeated by Juan Martin Del Potro in a close three-set final. At the Miami Open, Federer received a first-round bye, but lost in the second round to Thanasi Kokkinakis. With this early exit from the tournament, Federer lost his No. 1 ranking to Nadal on 2 April. He announced that he would miss the clay court season, including the French Open, for the second consecutive season. nevertheless, he regained the No. 1 ranking in May after Nadal failed to defend one of his Masters titles at the Madrid Open.] He then lost the top spot the following week after Nadal won the title at the Italian Open.

In June, Federer regained the No. 1 ranking after defeating Nick Kyrgios in the semifinals at the Stuttgart Open. He then won the tournament, defeating Milos Raonic in the final in straight sets. However, he lost his No.1 ranking the following week when he failed to defend his Halle Open title, losing in the final to Borna Ćorić in three sets. At Wimbledon, Federer was looking to defend his 2017 title and was seeded first at a Grand Slam for the first time since the 2012 US Open but lost in the quarter finals against South African Kevin Anderson in five sets, despite winning the first two sets and having a match point in the third set.This was only his second Wimbledon defeat after winning the first two sets since his defeat to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships.

Federer next played in Cincinnati where he lost in the final to Novak Djokovic, who won a record Career Golden Masters, in straight sets. The loss ended Federer's run of 100 consecutive service holds and 14 match winning streak in Cincinnati. Federer entered the US Open as the second seed but was upset by John Millman in the 4th round, citing extreme conditions of heat and humidity that took a toll on his body. Federer then played at the Laver Cup where he successfully helped Team Europe defend their title, winning both his singles matches against Nick Kyrgios and John Isner. He also paired up with Djokovic for the first time in doubles, losing their match against Jack Sock and Kevin Anderson in three sets. Federer then played at the 2018 Shanghai Masters as the defending champion but lost in the semifinals to Borna Ćorić in straight sets.

At the Swiss Indoors in October, Federer shared that he had sustained a hand injury in training prior to the grass season that had caused severe pain up his forearm. He stated that this injury significantly hindered his play, particularly his forehand, since the Stuttgart Open. Federer went on to defend his title with a straight-sets win over Marius Copil in the final, winning his ninth title at the event and his 99th career singles title. Federer entered the Paris Masters, continuing his good run of form defeating Fabio Fognini and Kei Nishikori in straight sets. In the semi-finals, he played a very close match with Novak Djokovic, but ultimately lost to him in three sets. At the Nitto ATP Finals, Federer lost in straight sets to Alexander Zverev in the semifinal

2019: Hopman Cup record, 100 titles, 1200 match wins, 12th Wimbledon final

Federer opened his campaign by retaining the Hopman Cup alongside Belinda Bencic, becoming the first player to win the mixed-gender event three times.

Federer was seeded third at the 2019 Australian Open, entering as the two-time defending champion. He defeated Denis Istomin, Dan Evans, and Taylor Fritz to reach the fourth round, where he faced 14th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas. In a stunning upset, Tsitsipas defeated Federer in four close sets. Critically, Federer was unable to convert any of the twelve break points he held throughout the match, including four set points in the second set. After the match Federer announced he would play the clay court season for the first time since 2016.

At the Dubai Tennis Championships, Federer won his 100th Career Singles Title, beating Tsitsipas in straight sets in the final. It was his eighth title in Dubai and he became only the second man after Jimmy Connors to reach the three figure mark in the Open Era. Federer then reached the final of the 2019 Indian Wells Masters where he lost to Dominic Thiem in three sets. On 31 March, Federer defeated John Isner at the 2019 Miami Open in straights sets to win his 4th Miami Open title and 28th Masters title Federer then played his first clay court tournament in three years at the 2019 Madrid Open and secured his 1200th career win, beating Gael Monfils in the third round. In the quarterfinals he lost to Dominic Thiem again in three sets, despite having two match points in the second set. Federer then played at the Italian Open and reached the quarterfinals but was forced to withdraw from his quarterfinal match against Stefanos Tsitsipas due to a right leg injury.

Federer next played at the French Open for the first time in 4 years and seeded 3rd in the draw. Federer achieved comfortable straight-set victories against Lorenzo Sonego, Oscar Otte, Casper Ruud and Leonardo Mayer to reach the quarterfinals, where he faced good friend and compatriot Stan Wawrinka. Federer managed to avenge his loss to Wawrinka at the same stage of the tournament 4 years ago, winning in 4 sets after 3 hours and 35 minutes. With the victory Federer returned to the semifinals of the French Open for the first time since 2012, where he lost to defending and 11-time champion Rafael Nadal in straight sets.

Federer then began his grass court season at the Halle Open where he won his tenth title at the event, defeating David Goffin in the final in straight sets. This marked the first time Federer had won a singles tournament ten times or more. At Wimbledon, Roger Federer reached his record 12th final at the tournament after ousting his nemesis Rafael Nadal in four sets in the semifinal, thus exacting revenge for his earlier defeat to him at the French Open. This was also the first time Federer played Nadal at Wimbledon since the 2008 Wimbledon final, a match regarded by some as the greatest match in the history of tennis. Federer then faced Novak Djokovic in the final, against whom he lost in a five set thriller lasting four hours and fifty seven minutes, despite having two championship points on serve in the fifth set. The match also marked the first time a fifth set tiebreaker was played at 12 games all in the men's singles and was the longest men's final in Wimbledon history.

Federer next played at the 2019 Cincinnati Masters and reached the third round where he lost in straight sets to Andrey Rublev. This was his quickest defeat in 16 years, taking just 62 minutes. At the 2019 US Open, he was seeded third. He dropped the first set against both Sumit Nagal and Damir Džumhur in the first two rounds, but pulled out convincing straight sets wins over Dan Evans and David Goffin in the third and fourth. In the quarterfinals, he faced Grigor Dimitrov, who was ranked No. 78 going into the tournament. Despite taking a two sets to one lead, Federer ultimately lost the match in five sets. At the 2019 Shanghai Masters, Federer defeated David Goffin in straight sets to reach the quarterfinal. However, he lost the quarterfinal to Alexander Zverev in three sets.

Federer advanced to the Swiss Indoors as the two-time defending champion. His first round match, against Peter Gojowczyk, was remarkable for being the 1500th match of his career. In the final, he defeated Alex de Minaur in straight sets for a record-extending tenth Swiss Indoors title. Federer then played in the Björn Borg group at the 2019 ATP Finals where in the round robin, he lost his opening match to Dominic Thiem in straight sets but beat Matteo Berrettini and Djokovic (his first win over Djokovic since 2015) in straight sets to qualify for the semifinals. He then lost the semifinal to Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets.

2020: Australian Open semis, right knee surgery

Federer began his 2020 season at the 2020 Australian Open. He reached the semifinals after straight sets wins over Steve Johnson and Filip Krajinović, a five-set win over John Millman and a four-set win over Márton Fucsovics. Federer saved seven match points in his five-set quarterfinal win over Tennys Sandgren. Federer then lost his semifinal match to Djokovic in straight sets, having sustained a groin injury earlier in the tournament. In February, Federer underwent arthroscopic surgery for a right knee injury and subsequently withdrew from Dubai, Indian Wells, Miami and the French Open to give time for his knee to recover, announcing that he would return in the grass season. On 10 June, due to a setback from his initial rehabilitation from the knee injury suffered earlier in the year, Federer announced that he had to have an additional arthroscopic procedure on his right knee. Therefore, he officially shut down his season to take the necessary time to recover, vowing to return in 2021. This is only the second year in Roger Federer's career since he won his first title that he finished without a title.

2021: Australian Open withdrawal, return to tour with mixed results, French Open retirement and Wimbledon quarterfinal

In January, Federer withdrew from the 2021 Australian Open due to still recovering from his knee surgery and strict COVID-19 quarantine measures in Australia. On 8 March, Novak Djokovic moved past him for the highest number of career weeks spent as the ATP number 1 ranked player. On 10 March, he made his return to the ATP Tour at the Qatar Open. He won his first ATP match in 14 months against Dan Evans, but lost to Nikoloz Basilashvili in the quarter-finals.

Federer then played at the Geneva Open where he lost his second round match Pablo Andujar in three sets. After defeating Dominik Koepfer of Germany in four sets in the third round, Federer advanced to the round of sixteen at the French Open. However he withdrew from the tournament before undertaking to play the fourth match citing knee problems and defaulted to Matteo Berrettini of Italy in a walkover.

In 2021 Halle Open where he was seeded 5th, he lost in the second round to Félix Auger-Aliassime. Federer was playing against the 20-year-old for the first time. Their 19 years age difference was the biggest in Federer's 1,521 career matches. This was the earliest exit at this tournament for Federer who was seeking his 70th match win in Halle, and his 18th quarterfinal at this event in as many appearances.

At Wimbledon, 39 year-old Federer advanced to the quarterfinals and thus became the oldest Wimbledon quarterfinalist in the Open Era, breaking the record held by Ken Rosewall, following wins over Adrian Mannarino by retirement, Richard Gasquet, 29th seed Cameron Norrie, and 23rd seed Lorenzo Sonego. However, he was then upset by 14th seed Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinal in straight sets 6-3, 7-6 (4) 6-0. This was the first time in 19 years at Wimbledon he lost in straight sets, and only the second time he lost a set 6-0 in the 21st century (the previous occasion was against Nadal in the 2008 French Open final).

On August 15, Federer announced that he underwent another knee surgery after further injury during the grass court season. He withdrew from the US Open and stated that he would be off the tour for "many months", but he also hopes to make a return to the tour in 2022.

National representation

Olympic Games

Federer made his Olympic debut at Sydney in 2000, where he entered the singles competition. He surprised many by reaching the semifinals but lost to Tommy Haas in the semifinals and then to Arnaud Di Pasquale in the bronze medal match, causing Federer to leave Sydney empty handed. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Federer was the clear favorite after claiming the world No. 1 ranking earlier in the year and capturing the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles. However, he lost in the second round to 18-year-old Tomáš Berdych. In doubles, he and compatriot Yves Allegro lost in the second round.

At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Federer was again the top seed and favorite, but lost in the quarterfinals to James Blake. He found more success in men's doubles, capturing the gold medal with compatriot Stan Wawrinka, defeating Simon Aspelin and Thomas Johansson of Sweden.[280] At both the Athens and Beijing Olympic Games, Federer was the flagbearer for Switzerland in the opening ceremony. At London 2012, Federer won his first singles medal, losing to Andy Murray in the final to claim the silver. He and Wawrinka failed to defend their gold medal in doubles, losing in the second round to Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram of Israel.

Federer did not compete in the 2016 Rio Olympics after taking the rest of the season off after Wimbledon to recover from a knee injury. Similarly, Federer chose not to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics due to a setback to recovering from a knee surgery.

Davis Cup

Federer made his Davis Cup for Switzerland debut in the World Group first round against Italy in 1999 at 17 years of age. In his first match he defeated Davide Sanguinetti in four sets and recorded a second singles victory in a dead rubber two days later for Switzerland to advance to the World Group quarterfinals. There, Federer suffered his first Davis Cup loss when he was defeated by Belgian Christophe Van Garsse in five sets. The Swiss team went on to lose the rubber 3–2. A year later, Federer competed in his first Davis Cup doubles rubber where he teamed with countryman Lorenzo Manta to defeat Australians Wayne Arthurs and Sandon Stolle in four sets. Despite the doubles victory, Federer lost both singles rubbers to Mark Philippoussis and Lleyton Hewitt which saw Switzerland sent to the World Group Playoffs for the first time in Federer's career. He returned for the playoffs in July 2000 and led Switzerland to a 5–0 win over Belarus by recording wins in singles and doubles.

His first Davis Cup highlight came in 2003 as the newly crowned Wimbledon champion led his country to an historic semifinal run. After recording five wins in ties against the Netherlands and France, the Swiss team traveled to Melbourne to play the highly rated Australians.[288] Federer once again defeated Wimbledon runner-up Mark Philippoussis in the second rubber but dropped the doubles rubber in five sets. Federer then played Lleyton Hewitt in a sudden death situation for Switzerland and despite leading two sets to love, lost in five sets. Australia went on to claim the Davis Cup title as Federer's interest in Davis Cup began to wane and his focus shifted to his personal career. He skipped many ties over the years but often competed in the World Group Playoffs in order for Switzerland to maintain their place in the top division.

The emergence of countryman Stanislas Wawrinka as a Grand Slam singles champion in 2014 renewed hope for Federer in his Davis Cup quest, and the pair both committed to playing each tie that year. Their commitment paid off as wins over Serbia, Kazakhstan and Italy allowed the Swiss team to advance to the 2014 Davis Cup Final. Leading up to the final, Federer was suffering from a back injury that threw serious doubt over Switzerland's chance to claim the title, and lost in straight sets to Gaël Monfils. However, a rejuvenated Federer returned the next day to help claim the doubles rubber, which set up a fourth rubber singles tie between Federer and Richard Gasquet. Federer defeated Gasquet in straight sets and in doing so won Switzerland its first (and only to date) Davis Cup title.

Federer holds many Davis Cup records for Switzerland that includes most total wins, most singles wins and most years played.

Hopman Cup

Federer won the Hopman Cup in 2001 representing Switzerland, along with Martina Hingis. The duo defeated the American pair of Monica Seles and Jan-Michael Gambill in the finals. He also played the next year along with his current wife Mirka Vavrinec, but they lost in the round robin stage.

Federer played again at the Hopman Cup in 2017, along with Belinda Bencic. They won all of their ties except the last one, and as a result did not make the final.

In 2018, Federer won his second Hopman Cup title and third overall for Switzerland, partnering Belinda Bencic again. The Swiss team won all its ties and Federer won every match he played. They defeated the German pair, Alexander Zverev and Angelique Kerber, in the final 2–1.

Federer won his third and second consecutive Hopman Cup title in 2019 alongside Belinda Bencic. They again defeated Alexander Zverev and Angelique Kerber of Germany in the final, and won the final tie 2–1 by a tiebreak in the decisive set (5–4). Federer again won all of his singles matches. The Swiss team only lost one tie to Greece (1–2).

Federer has won three Hopman Cup titles, more than any other player.

International representation

Laver Cup

Federer founded the Laver Cup, which pits Europe against the rest of the world. The tournament is named in honor of Rod Laver and the inaugural edition was played in 2017.

Europe won the inaugural Laver Cup in 2017. Federer played his first singles match on day two, when he dispatched Sam Querrey in straight sets. Later on day two, he partnered with his rival Nadal in doubles, where they defeated the Team World duo of Sam Querrey and Jack Sock in the match tie breaker, which took place at one set all. This was the first time Federer and Nadal competed on the same side of a doubles match. On day three, Federer competed in the final match of the tournament, where he sealed victory for Team Europe by defeating Nick Kyrgios in the champion's tiebreak (saving a match point). With three wins and seven points, Federer was the most accomplished player of the tournament.

The second edition was played in 2018. The European team led by Federer retained the title after defeating Team World, 13–8. Federer won both his singles matches, against Nick Kyrgios and John Isner, but lost both his doubles matches.

In 2019 the ATP announced that the Laver Cup would be an official event on the ATP Tour, with match wins and losses to be counted as official on every player's career record in singles and doubles.

The third edition was held in Geneva, Switzerland. Federer and the European team captured their third consecutive title. Team World was closer than ever to win their first title, losing 11–13 after having led during the final day. Like in 2018, Federer won singles matches against Kyrgios and Isner. He went 1–1 in doubles.

Rivalries

Federer vs. Nadal

Federer and Nadal at Wimbledon's Centre Court.

Federer and Rafael Nadal have played 40 times, with Federer trailing 16–24. Federer has a winning record on grass 3–1 and hard courts 11–9, while Nadal leads on clay 14–2. Because tournament seedings are based on rankings, 24 of their matches have been in tournament finals which have included an all-time record nine Grand Slam finals (tied with Nadal-Djokovic matches). Federer and Nadal have been playing each other since 2004, and their rivalry is a significant part of both men's careers. The latest encounter was at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships, where Federer won to reach the final.

They held the top two rankings on the ATP Tour from July 2005 until 17 August 2009, when Nadal fell to No. 3 (Andy Murray became the new No. 2), and again from 11 September 2017 until 15 October 2018 (Novak Djokovic became the new No. 2). They are the only pair of men to have ever finished six consecutive calendar years at the top. Federer was ranked No. 1 for a record 237 consecutive weeks beginning in February 2004. Nadal, who is five years younger, ascended to No. 2 in July 2005 and held this spot for 160 consecutive weeks, before surpassing Federer in August 2008.

From 2006 to 2008, they played in every French Open and Wimbledon final. They then met in the 2009 Australian Open final, the 2011 French Open final, and the 2017 Australian Open final. Nadal won six of the nine, losing the first two Wimbledon finals and the second Australian Open final. Four of these finals were five set-matches (2007 and 2008 Wimbledon, 2009 and 2017 Australian Open), with the 2008 Wimbledon final being lauded as the greatest match ever by many long-time tennis analysts. Of their 40 meetings, 13 have reached a deciding set. They have also played in 12 Masters Series finals, including their lone five-hour match at the 2006 Rome Masters which Nadal won in a fifth-set tie-break, having saved two match points.

Federer vs. Djokovic

Federer and Djokovic at the Canadian Open in 2010.

Federer and Novak Djokovic have played 50 times, with Federer trailing 23–27. They are tied 4–4 on clay while Federer trails 18–20 on hard-courts and 1–3 on grass. The Federer–Djokovic rivalry is the largest rivalry in men's Grand Slam tournament history with a joint-record 17 matches played against each other (tied with Djokovic–Nadal). Djokovic is the only player besides Nadal to defeat Federer in consecutive Grand Slam tournaments (2010 US Open and 2011 Australian Open, also 2015 Wimbledon, US Open and 2016 Australian Open), and the only player besides Nadal and Murray who has double-figure career wins over Federer. Djokovic is one of two players (the other again being Nadal) on tour to have defeated Federer in straight sets at a Grand Slam event multiple times (2008 Australian Open, 2011 Australian Open, 2012 French Open, 2020 Australian Open), but Djokovic alone has done so four times.

Federer and Djokovic first played in a Grand Slam final at the 2007 US Open where the three-time reigning champion and No. 1 Federer emerged victorious in straight sets. Federer ended Djokovic's perfect 41–0 start to the 2011 season in the semifinals of the French Open, but Djokovic was able to avenge this loss at the 2011 US Open in five sets after saving two match points against Federer for the second straight year. In the semifinals of Wimbledon 2012, Federer beat defending champion and No. 1 Djokovic in four sets. The two met again during the finals of the 2014 Wimbledon Championships with Djokovic emerging victorious after five sets. Federer also ended Djokovic's 28 straight wins in China at 2014 Shanghai Open. Federer and Djokovic rematched in the 2015 Wimbledon Championships with Djokovic once again claiming victory in four sets. The pair met once more for the final major of the season, the 2015 US Open and once more Djokovic prevailed in four sets. At the 2019 Wimbledon Championships, Djokovic bested Federer in an almost 5 hour match whose final set went to a tiebreak. This was the fifth consecutive time that Djokovic defeated Federer in Grand Slam matches. Some experts have included the rivalry between Federer and Djokovic as one of the best rivalries in the Open Era.

Federer vs. Murray

Federer and Andy Murray have played 25 times, with Federer leading 14–11. Federer leads 12–10 on hard courts, and 2–1 on grass. They have never met on clay. After Federer won the first professional match they played, Murray dominated the first half of the rivalry, leading 8–5 in 2010, while the second half of the rivalry has been dominated by Federer, who leads 9–3 since 2011. The two have met six times at the Grand Slam tournament level, with Federer leading 5–1. Their first three Grand Slam matches were finals, with Federer winning all three of these matches; at the 2008 US Open and the 2010 Australian Open, both of which he won in straight sets, and at the 2012 Wimbledon Championships in which Murray took the opening set, but went on to lose in four sets. However, Murray won their encounter in the semifinals of the 2013 Australian Open, defeating Federer for the first time at a Grand slam tournament in five sets. At the 2014 Australian Open, Federer reversed that result, defeating Murray in four sets in the quarterfinals. The most recent meeting between the two in a major was in the semifinals of the 2015 Wimbledon Championships, where a dominant Federer triumphed in straight sets.

They met in the final of the 2012 Summer Olympics, in which Murray defeated Federer in straight sets, denying Federer a career Golden Slam. Murray also leads 6–3 in ATP 1000 tournaments, 2–0 in finals. They have also met five times at the ATP Finals, with Murray winning in Shanghai in 2008, and Federer in London in 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2014. Murray is one of only three players to have recorded ten or more victories over Federer (the other two being Nadal and Novak Djokovic).

Federer vs. Roddick

Federer and Andy Roddick played 24 times, and Federer leads their head-to-head 21–3. Roddick lost his No. 1 ranking to Federer after Federer won his first Australian Open in 2004. Their rivalry includes four Grand Slam event finals, three at Wimbledon and one at the US Open, all won by Federer. Roddick himself said it was not much of a rivalry, being so one-sided.

In the 2009 Wimbledon final, Roddick lost to Federer in five sets. The match included a 30-game fifth set (a Grand Slam final record) and lasted over four hours. In the final game of the deciding set, Roddick's serve was broken for the first time in the match. With that victory, Federer broke Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam singles titles, and Roddick apologised to Sampras (who was in attendance) for not being able to stop Federer.

Federer vs. Hewitt

Federer and Lleyton Hewitt played 27 times, with Federer leading 18–9. Early in their careers, Hewitt dominated Federer, winning seven of their first nine meetings, including a victory from two sets down in the 2003 Davis Cup semifinal which allowed Australia to defeat Switzerland. This marked a turning point in the rivalry, as Federer won 16 of the next 18 meetings from 2004 onwards. This is Hewitt's longest rivalry as these two first played each other as juniors in 1996. They met in one Grand Slam tournament final, the 2004 US Open final, where Federer won his first US Open title in a lopsided encounter in which Federer scored a bagel on both sides of a second-set tiebreak. Federer met Hewitt at six of the Grand Slam tournaments in which he lifted the trophy, including all five of his triumphs between 2004 and 2005. Their last meeting was at the 2014 Brisbane International, where Hewitt triumphed over Federer in three sets for his first title since 2010, when he also beat Federer to the Halle title.

Hewitt and Federer teamed up in the men's doubles at Wimbledon in 1999. They lost in the third round to Jonas Björkman and Pat Rafter.

Federer vs. Nalbandian

Federer and David Nalbandian played 19 times, with Federer leading 11–8. David Nalbandian was Federer's biggest rival in his early career. Nalbandian dominated early on, winning their first five matches from 2002 to 2003. Federer reversed this trend at the 2003 Masters Cup, where he recorded his first victory, and went on to win 11 of their last 14 meetings. Federer leads 6–5 on hard courts, 1–0 on grass, and 3–1 on clay courts, while Nalbandian leads 2–1 on carpet. Notable meetings include Nalbandian's win in a fifth-set tiebreaker to win the 2005 Masters Cup, and Federer's win in the 2006 French Open semifinals. They met each other six times in Grand Slam tournaments, with Federer leading 4–2.

Federer vs. Safin

Marat Safin and Federer played 12 times, with Federer leading 10–2. Federer and Safin turned pro within one year of each other, with Safin turning pro in 1997 and Federer in 1998. Federer leads 4–1 on hard courts, 3–0 on grass, and 3–0 on clay courts, while Safin leads 1–0 on carpet. Notable meetings include Federer's defeating Safin at the 2002 Hamburg Masters to win the first Masters title of his career, as well as Federer's emerging victorious in the semifinals of the 2004 Tennis Masters Cup, after winning a tiebreak 20–18 on his eighth match point. Federer also defeated Safin in the finals of the 2004 Australian Open to capture his first Australian Open and second Grand Slam tournament title. However, Safin defeated Federer in the 2005 Australian Open semifinals, having saved one match point in the fourth-set tiebreak, to end a 26-match winning streak by Federer. They met each other five times in Grand Slam tournaments, with Federer leading 4–1.

Federer vs. Agassi

Federer and Andre Agassi played 11 times, and Federer leads their head-to-head 8–3. This was Federer's most significant rivalry with a dominant player of the previous generation. They first met in only the third tournament of Federer's career at the 1998 Swiss Indoors in Federer's hometown, with Andre Agassi prevailing over the 17-year-old. Agassi also defeated Federer at the 2001 US Open and the finals of the Miami Masters in 2002. Federer began to turn the tide at the Masters Cup in 2003, when he defeated Agassi in both the round robin and the final. They played a memorable quarterfinal match at the 2004 US Open that spanned over two days, with Federer eventually prevailing in five sets. At the 2005 Dubai Championships, Federer and Agassi attracted worldwide headlines with a publicity stunt that saw the two men play on a helipad almost 220 meters above sea level at the hotel Burj al-Arab. Their final match was at one of the most prestigious platforms in the sport, when they played in the finals of the 2005 US Open. Federer was victorious in four sets, claiming the 6th Grand Slam tournament of his career and denying Agassi his 9th.

Federer vs. Wawrinka

Federer and his fellow Swiss player Stan Wawrinka have played each other 26 times, with Federer leading 23–3. Federer leads 7–1 in Grand Slam tournaments, 17–0 on hard courts, 1–0 on grass courts and 5–3 on clay courts. The pair are 1–1 in finals. Their first meeting in a final came at 2014 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters where Wawrinka defeated Federer in three sets to win his first Masters title before Federer avenged his loss at the 2017 BNP Paribas Open by beating him in the final. While the rivalry is one-sided in Federer's favour, the two have contested some close matches. Wawrinka defeated Federer in straight sets during the 2015 French Open quarterfinals en route to winning his first French Open title, although Federer then won a straight-sets victory in the 2015 US Open semifinals. Other close matches include the 2012 Shanghai Masters and the 2013 Indian Wells Masters, both of which Federer won in three sets, the 2014 Wimbledon quarterfinal, which Federer won in four sets, the 2014 ATP Finals semifinal, which Federer won in three sets after saving four match points, and the 2017 Australian Open semifinal, which Federer won in five sets. Despite their on-court rivalry, they are friends off court, and they have played doubles together on numerous occasions, most notably when they won the doubles Olympic Gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and when winning the 2014 Davis Cup.

Federer vs. del Potro

Juan Martín del Potro and Roger Federer have played 25 times, with Federer leading 18–7.[345] They have met seven times in Grand Slam tournaments, with Federer leading 5–2. Their two most famous Grand Slam tournament meetings came in 2009. The first was in the French Open semifinals, when Federer survived a five-set clash when he was on his way to the only French title of his career. The second was in the final of the US Open, where del Potro beat five-time defending champion Federer in five sets, ending his 20-match winning streak at Grand Slams. Another high-profile match was in the semifinals of the 2012 London Olympics, where Federer prevailed 19–17 in the final set to secure the Olympic silver medal. They also met in the finals of the Swiss Indoors in 2012, 2013 and 2017, with del Potro prevailing on first two occasions, and Federer on last one of them in tight three-set matches.

In the 2017 U.S. Open quarterfinals, in a rematch of the 2009 US Open final, Del Potro again beat Federer in four sets to end his unbeaten streak in grand slams that year. With this win, Del Potro also denied the first Federer-Nadal match at US Open, as in 2009 where he beat Nadal in straight sets in the semifinals. Federer, however avenged this loss at the Shanghai Masters semifinals, where he beat del Potro in three sets after coming from a set down. In the final at the 2018 BNP Paribas Open del Potro beat Federer in three close sets, after facing match points in the third set. With this win del Potro won his first Masters title of his career.

Federer vs. Berdych

Tomáš Berdych and Federer played 26 times, with Federer leading 20–6. Federer leads 12–5 on hard courts, 3–1 on grass courts, 4–0 on clay courts, and 1–0 on carpet. Berdych won their first professional match, notably upsetting then-No. 1 Federer at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Federer then went on to win their next eight meetings, before Berdych ended the losing streak in 2010. Between 2010 and 2013, Berdych won 5 of 8 meetings. Federer again dominated the matchup after 2014, leading 9–0 since then. They met ten times in Grand Slam tournaments, with Federer leading 8–2, and Berdych is one of five players, along with Arnaud Clément, Álex Corretja, David Nalbandian, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, to defeat Federer multiple times in majors before the semifinal stage. Their most notable Grand Slam matches took place in the 2009 Australian Open, when Federer prevailed in five sets after dropping the first two sets, the 2010 Wimbledon Championships and the 2012 US Open, both of which Berdych won in four sets. Berdych went on to reach the only Grand Slam final of his career after the Wimbledon quarterfinal victory, ending Federer's run of seven consecutive finals at Wimbledon dating back to 2003.

Federer vs. Tsonga

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Federer have played 18 times, with Federer leading 12–6. Federer leads 5–3 on outdoor hard courts and 4–0 on indoor hard. They are 1–1 on grass and 2–2 on clay courts. The pair have met six times in Grand Slam tournaments, including their five-set matches in the quarterfinals of 2011 Wimbledon and 2013 Australian Open. They have also one Grand Slam semifinal meeting in the 2010 Australian Open, with Federer winning in straight sets. Federer and Tsonga have played in the 2011 ATP Finals final, with Federer winning his record-sixth Year-end championship in three sets. The pair have also met in two Masters finals. The first was in the 2011 BNP Paribas Masters, with Federer winning his first title in Bercy, and the second was in the 2014 Rogers Cup, with Tsonga winning his second Masters title.

Federer vs. Čilić

Federer and Marin Čilić have played 11 times, with Federer leading 10–1. Čilić's only victory came in the 2014 US Open semifinals, after which he went on to win the Grand Slam title. Their first encounter was in the 3rd round in the 2008 Paris Masters, which Federer won in straight sets. They have played six Grand Slam matches, two in Wimbledon, two in the US Open, one at the 2018 Australian Open and one at the 2021 French Open; Federer leads these matches 5–1. Two of these have been Grand Slam finals – the 2017 Wimbledon final, which Federer won in straight sets, and the 2018 Australian Open final, which Federer won in five sets.

Achievements

Roger Federer has spent a total of 310 weeks and a record 237 consecutive weeks at the top of the ATP rankings.

Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have won more Grand Slam tournament titles (20) than any other men's singles players. He is the first men's singles player to have reached ten consecutive Grand Slam tournament finals and a total of 31 Grand Slam finals. He has earned a men's doubles gold medal, and a men's single silver medal at the Olympics in 2008 and 2012, respectively. He has spent the second-most time at the top of the ATP Rankings (310 weeks). He also holds the record for the most titles (6) at the year-end tournament, where only the year-end eight highest-ranked players participate. Federer was ranked among the top eight players in the world continuously for 14 years and two weeks—from 14 October 2002 until 31 October 2016, when injuries forced him to skip much of the 2016 season.

Federer has won the ATP Player of the Year five times (2004–07, 2009), and has become ITF World Champion five times (2004–07, 2009). He has won the ATPWorldTour.com Fans' Favourite Award a record 18 times consecutively (2003–20), and has won the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award (voted for by the players) a record 13 times (2004–09, 2011–17), both being awards indicative of respect and popularity. He also won the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year Award twice (2006, 2013), the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year five times (2005–08, 2018), and the Laureus World Comeback of the Year once, following his 2017 renaissance.

Federer is one of the founders, via his management company TEAM8, of the Laver Cup; the annual team tennis tournament which pits Europe against the rest of the world. He co-founded the tournament in honor of tennis legend Rod Laver and the inaugural edition was played in 2017.

Legacy and cultural impact

Roger Federer has huge popularity in the world of sport, and because of his achievements, Federer is widely considered to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, with many players and analysts in the period between 2009 and 2017 considering him to be the greatest player ever. He has also been called the greatest athlete of his generation.Tennis.com listed him as the greatest male player of the Open Era. Federer himself has downplayed these claims, stating in 2012 that it is impossible to compare tennis players from different eras and that past champions are needed to pave the way for future champions. In May 2020, the Tennis Channel ranked Federer as the greatest male tennis player of all time. In May 2021, Serena Williams described Federer as a "genius" and the "greatest". In July 2021, BBC Sport users picked Federer as the greatest male tennis player of all time. During an interview with L'Équipe in July 2021, Richard Gasquet said 'aesthetics and grace' are more important than the number of Grand Slam titles when it comes to deciding who is the greatest. He named Federer, Djokovic and Nadal as the three best players in history, but singled out Roger Federer as the greatest.

I see tennis differently, I've always said that for me it's not just the number of Grand Slam titles that matters. One at 21, the other at 22 or 23. I don't just see the Grand Slam winner, I look at the aesthetics, what you give off on the court. I often hear the race to the highest, it is a pointless subject. For me, Roger Federer is irreplaceable, he's the greatest player of all time when I see the aesthetics, the grace he has on the court.

Until 2020, no other male tennis player had won 20 major singles titles (the record has since been tied by Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic). Federer has also been in a record 31 major finals, including a record 10 in a row. He has held the world No. 1 spot in the ATP rankings for the second-longest amount of time for a male player, behind Novak Djokovic. He was ranked No. 1 at the age of 36 and has won a record eight Wimbledon titles. He won five consecutive US Open titles, which is the most in the Open Era.

He has been voted by his peers to receive the tour Sportsmanship Award a record thirteen times and voted by tennis fans to receive the ATP Fans' Favorite award for seventeen consecutive years. Federer has been named the Swiss Sports Personality of the Year a record seven times. He has been named the ATP Player of the Year and ITF World Champion five times, and he has won the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award a record five times, including four consecutive awards from 2005 to 2008. He is also the only individual to have won the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year award four times.

Federer helped to lead a revival in tennis known by many as the Golden Age. This led to increased interest in the sport, which in turn led to higher revenues for many venues across tennis. During this period rising revenues led to exploding prize money; when Federer first won the Australian Open in 2004 he earned $985,000, compared to when he won in 2018 and the prize had increased to AUD 4 million.

Upon winning the 2009 French Open and completing the career Grand Slam, Federer became the first individual male tennis player to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated since Andre Agassi in 1999. He was also the first non-American player to appear on the cover of the magazine since Stefan Edberg in 1992. Federer again made the cover of Sports Illustrated following his record-breaking 8th Wimbledon title and second Grand Slam of 2017, becoming the first male tennis player to be featured on the cover since himself in 2009.

Federer has been nicknamed the "Federer Express" (shortened to "Fed Express" or "FedEx"), and the "Swiss Maestro." He has also been referred to as "King Roger" on occasion.

Philanthropy and outreach

Roger Federer Foundation

In 2003, he established the Roger Federer Foundation to help disadvantaged children and to promote their access to education and sport.

Since May 2004, citing his close ties with South Africa (his mother is South African) he has been supporting the South Africa-Swiss charity IMBEWU, which helps children better connect to sports as well as social and health awareness. In 2005, Federer visited South Africa to meet the children that had benefited from his support. Also in 2005, he auctioned his racquet from his US Open championship to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina.

At the 2005 Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, Federer arranged an exhibition involving several top players from the ATP and WTA tour called Rally for Relief. The proceeds went to the victims of the tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. In December 2006, he visited Tamil Nadu, one of the areas in India most affected by the tsunami. He was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador by UNICEF in April 2006 and has appeared in UNICEF public messages to raise public awareness of AIDS.

In response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Federer arranged a collaboration with fellow top tennis players for a special charity event during the 2010 Australian Open called 'Hit for Haiti', in which proceeds went to Haiti earthquake victims. He participated in a follow-up charity exhibition during the 2010 Indian Wells Masters, which raised $1 million.

The Nadal vs. Federer "Match for Africa" in 2010 in Zurich and Madrid raised more than $4 million for the Roger Federer Foundation and Fundación Rafa Nadal. In January 2011, Federer took part in an exhibition, Rally for Relief, to raise money for the victims of the Queensland floods.In 2014, the "Match for Africa 2" between Federer and Stan Wawrinka, again in Zurich, raised £850,000 for education projects in Southern Africa.

Special edition stamps

In 2007, Swiss Post in Basel released a special edition stamp for Federer. Three years later, in 2010, Federer was awarded a special edition stamp by Austria's Postal Service.

World's most respected, admired and trusted personalities

In 2011, on the Reputation Institute's study of the World's most respected, admired and trusted personalities, Federer ranked No. 2 just behind Nelson Mandela but ahead of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey and Bono.

Roger Federer streets

In 2012, the city of Halle, in Germany, unveiled "Roger-Federer-Allee" in recognition of Federer's success on the grass at the Gerry Weber Open. In 2016, the city of Biel, Switzerland, location of the national centre for Swiss Tennis where Federer trained as a junior, named the street in his honour as "1 Allée Roger Federer".

Switzerland's most recognizable personalities

In July 2016, Roger Federer ranked No. 1 in the list for the most recognizable people in Switzerland, surpassing personalities such as Albert Einstein and William Tell. In a poll of more than 9,000 people from 15 countries, the Swiss legend topped the list of most recognizable Swiss with 600 more votes than the country's second national hero, William Tell, who came up second. Federer got 916 votes, Tell got 316 and Einstein ranked third with 204. The other three in the first six were Henry Dunant, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and novel character Heidi.

World's most marketable sports person

In January 2017, Federer named the Most Marketable Sports Person for 2016 by researchers of London School of Marketing. Federer earned £49.2 million in endorsements and sponsorships.

Honorary doctorate degree

On 24 November 2017, Federer received an honorary doctorate awarded to him by his home university, the University of Basel. He received the title in recognition for his role in increasing the international reputation of Basel and Switzerland, and also his engagement for children in Africa through his charitable foundation.

Swiss coin

In December 2019, Federer became the first living person to be celebrated on Swiss coins. His face will be on the 20-franc coin and in May 2020, Swissmint issued a Federer 50-franc gold coin featuring a different design.

Most stylish man of the decade

In December 2019 Roger Federer was voted by the readers as the Most Stylish Man of the Decade (2010–2019) in GQ. He was first in the list, ahead of Timothée Chalamet, LeBron James, Harry Styles, David Beckham, Justin Bieber, Kanye West, Ryan Gosling and others.

World's highest paid athlete

On 29 May 2020 Federer topped Forbes' 2020 List of the World's Highest Paid Athletes with $106.3 million in total earnings from salary, winnings and endorsements. Federer appears every year on this list, inside the top-10 or top-5, but never on the top spot before. This year is the first time Roger Federer has ranked atop Forbes's annual list. He surpassed sports legends like, 2.Cristiano Ronaldo (football - $105m), 3. Lionel Messi (football - $104m), 4. Neymar (football - $95.5m), 5. LeBron James (basketball - $88.2m), 6. Stephen Curry (basketball - $74.4m), 7. Kevin Durant (basketball - $63.9m), 8. Tiger Woods (golf - $62.3m), 9. Kirk Cousins (american football - $60.5m), 10. Carson Wentz (american football - $59.1m), and many more great sports persons.

Commemorative piece of Swiss literature and history

On 20 July 2020 Federer was featured by Swiss National Museum in a 100-part chronicle of Swiss history and culture.

Playing style

Federer's versatility has been described by Jimmy Connors: "In an era of specialists, you're either a clay court specialist, a grass court specialist, or a hard court specialist... or you're Roger Federer."

Federer serving at the Australian Open in 2014

An elite athlete, Federer is an all-court, all-around player known for his speed, fluid style of play, and exceptional shot making. Federer mainly plays from the baseline but is also comfortable at the net, being one of the best volleyers in the game. He has a powerful, accurate smash and very effectively performs rare elements of professional tennis, such as the backhand smash and skyhook, half-volley, jump smash (slam dunk) and an aggressive serve return known affectionately as SABR (Sneak Attack By Roger, a half-volley attack on an opponent's second serve). David Foster Wallace compared the brute force of Federer's forehand motion with that of "a great liquid whip", while John McEnroe has referred to Federer's forehand as "the greatest shot in our sport." Federer is also known for his efficient, deceptively effortless movement around the court and excellent footwork, which enables him to run around shots directed to his backhand, usually considered his weaker wing, and instead hit a powerful and penetrating inside-out or inside-in forehand, one of his best shots. He also has great variety with his forehand, able to hit with topspin or pace (or both), thus opening up the court and going in to the forecourt for aggressive volleys.

Federer plays with a single-handed backhand, which gives him great variety. He employs the slice, occasionally using it to lure his opponent to the net and deliver a passing shot. Federer can also fire topspin winners and possesses a 'flick' backhand with which he can generate pace with his wrist; this is usually used to pass the opponent at the net. He has averaged 90% of service games won throughout his career, oftentimes coming up victorious in clutch or pressure service games. His serve is difficult to read because he always uses a similar ball toss, regardless of what type of serve he is going to hit and where he aims to hit it, and turns his back to his opponents during his motion. He is often able to produce big serves on key points during a match. His first serve is typically around 200 km/h (125 mph); however, he is capable of serving at 220 km/h (137 mph). Federer is also accomplished at serve and volleying, and employed this tactic frequently in his early career.

Later in his career, Federer added the drop shot to his arsenal and can perform a well-disguised one off both wings. He sometimes uses a between-the-legs shot, which is colloquially referred to as a "tweener" or "hotdog". His most notable use of the tweener was in the semifinals of the 2009 US Open against Novak Djokovic, bringing him triple match point. Federer is one of the top players who employ successfully the "squash shot", when he gets pushed deep and wide on his forehand wing. Since Stefan Edberg joined his coaching team at the start of the 2014 season, Federer has played a more offensive game, attacking the net more often, and improved his volley shots. In the lead-up to the 2015 US Open, Federer successfully added a new unique shot to his arsenal called SABR (Sneak Attack by Roger), in which he charges forward to receive the second serve and hits a return on the service line. The SABR is a unique shot that Federer owns, in the way that he manages to add enough power and placement into the shot, which makes it very difficult, or close to impossible for the opponent to reach it. With the switch to a bigger 97 inch racket from 90 inches, Federer has gained easy power while relinquishing some control on his shots. The bigger racket has enabled easier serving and better defense on both wings with fewer shanks. However this has diminished control and power on his forehand, slice backhand and dropshot. Since his comeback in 2017, Federer is noted for his improved backhand both down the line and cross court which was cited as the reason for his win against Nadal in the 2017 Australian Open Final and Indian Wells 4th round.

Federer is also noted for his cool demeanour and emotional control on the court. In contrast to his early career, most of his professional game has been characterised by lack of outbursts or emotional frustration at errors, which gives him an advantage over less controlled opponents.Federer declared:

I don't get the anxiety during a match so much anymore. You know, to throw racquets, to toss balls out of the court, scream and stuff. I almost laugh [on the inside] about it a little bit today when an opponent does it. But that's something for me that's not a problem any more.

Equipment and apparel

Equipment

Federer plays with his signature Wilson Pro Staff RF97 Autograph racquet. It has a 97 square inch head, 16x19 string pattern, 366 gram strung weight, 340 gram swing weight, 68 RA stiffness, and 9 point head light balance. Federer strings his racquets using Wilson Natural Gut 16 gauge for his main strings and Luxilon ALU Power Rough 17 gauge (polyester) for his cross strings. In an interview in November 2017, Federer stated his favorite stringing tension is 26.5 kilograms (58.4 lb) mains & 25 kilograms (55.1 lb) crosses.

As a junior player, Federer played with a Wilson Pro Staff 6.0 85 square inch head racquet. He switched to a bigger custom-built Wilson 90 square inch head racquet in 2003. His grip size was 4+3⁄8 inches (L3). When asked about string tensions, Federer stated "this depends on how warm the days are and with what kind of balls I play and against who I play. So you can see – it depends on several factors and not just the surface; the feeling I have is most important."

Apparel

Federer first signed with Nike footwear and apparel in 1994. For the 2006 championships at Wimbledon, Nike designed a jacket emblazoned with a crest of three tennis racquets, symbolising the three Wimbledon Championships he had previously won, and which was updated the next year with four racquets after he won the Championship in 2006. At Wimbledon 2008, and again in 2009, Nike continued this trend by making him a personalised cardigan that also had his own logo, an R and an F joined together, which was originally designed by his wife, Mirka.

Federer's contract with Nike expired in March 2018, and he later signed a deal with Uniqlo. It was reported that Uniqlo signed Federer for roughly $300 million for 10 years ($30 million per year), as opposed to Nike's previous deal with Federer, which was for roughly $10 million per year. Federer was pictured at Wimbledon in 2021 wearing tennis shoes produced by On, a Swiss based athletic shoe and sports apparel manufacturer in which he became a shareholder in November 2019. A limited edition lifestyle shoe named “The Roger” was released by On in July 2020.

Endorsements

In May 2020 Federer became the first tennis player to reach the top of the Forbes "World's Highest Paid Athletes" list. He is endorsed by Japanese clothing company Uniqlo and Swiss companies Nationale Suisse [de; fr; nl], Credit Suisse, Rolex, Lindt, Sunrise, and Jura Elektroapparate. In 2010, his endorsement by Mercedes-Benz China was extended into a global partnership deal. His other sponsors include Gillette, Wilson, Barilla, and Moët & Chandon. Previously, he was an ambassador for Nike, NetJets, Emmi AG, and for Maurice Lacroix.

All-time tournament records

TournamentSinceRecord accomplishedPlayers matchedRefs

Grand Slam 1877 20 men's singles titles overall Rafael Nadal

Novak Djokovic

6 seasons with 2+ men's singles titles (2004–07, 2009, 2017) Novak Djokovic

3 seasons with 3 men's singles titles (2004, 2006–07)

2 consecutive seasons with 3 men's singles titles (2006–07) Stands alone

4 consecutive seasons with 2+ men's singles titles (2004–07)

5 consecutive titles in 2 different tournaments (2003–2007 Wimbledon, 2004–2008 US Open)

All 4 Grand Slam finals reached in three seasons (2006–2007, 2009)

31 men's singles finals overall

46 men's singles semifinals overall

58 men's singles quarterfinals overall

81 men's singles tournament appearances overall

10 consecutive men's singles finals

23 consecutive semifinals

36 consecutive quarterfinals

369 match wins overall

100+ match wins at two different tournaments (Wimbledon, Australian Open)

105 match wins at one tournament (Wimbledon) Rafael Nadal

40 consecutive match wins at 2 different tournaments (Wimbledon, US Open) Stands alone

429 matches played

8+ titles on two different surfaces (hard & grass)

12+ finals on two different surfaces (hard & grass)

191 hard court match wins overall

6+ titles at 2 different tournaments (Australian Open, Wimbledon) Novak Djokovic

5+ titles at 3 different tournaments (Australian Open, Wimbledon, US Open) Stands alone

7+ finals at 3 different tournaments (Australian Open, Wimbledon, US Open) Novak Djokovic

4+ consecutive finals at 3 different tournaments (French Open, Wimbledon, US Open) Stands alone

6+ consecutive finals at 2 different tournaments (Wimbledon, US Open)

15 semifinals at a single tournament (Australian Open)

13+ semifinals at 2 different tournaments (Australian Open, Wimbledon)

10+ semifinals at 3 different tournaments (Australian Open, Wimbledon, US Open) Novak Djokovic

12+ quarterfinals at all 4 tournaments Stands alone

Guinness World Records

As of 2019 Federer holds the third highest number of Guinness World Records within one discipline, a total of 30, which include 18 performance based records.

Ritu Rani

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ritu Rani

Personal information

Born 29 December 1991

Haryana, India

Height 1.58 m (5 ft 2 in)

Playing position Halfback

National team

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2006– India 240 (16)

Women's field hockey

Representing India

2006 Doha Team

2014 Incheon Team

2013 Kuala Lumpur Team

2016 Guwahati Team

Last updated on: 16 December 2017

Ritu Rani (born 29 December 1991) is an Indian field hockey player and former captain of the national team. She plays as a halfback. Rani has led the team to medal winning performances most notably the bronze at the 2014 Asian Games. Also under her captaincy the team qualified for the Olympics after 36 years after finishing fifth in the 2014–15 Women's FIH Hockey World League Semifinals.

Early life & career

Ritu Rani was born on 29 December 1991, in Haryana. She did her schooling at the Sri Guru Nanak Dev Sr. Higher Secondary School in Shahabad Markanda, Haryana. She took to hockey at the age of 9 and trained with the Shahbad Hockey Academy in Shahabad Markanda. Rani was employed with the Indian Railways until 2014, when she quit to join the Haryana Police. Rani trained at the Shahbad Hockey Academy at Shahabad.

Career

Rani made her debut in the senior team in 2006, at the Asian Games in Doha. She was a part of the Indian team that played the 2006 World Cup in Madrid, and aged 14 at the time, she was the youngest in the squad. At the 2009 Champions Challenge II in Kazan, Russia, India won the tournament, with Rani finishing as the top scorer with eight goals to her name. She was appointed the captain of the team in 2011. Led by her, the team finished third at the 2013 Asia Cup in Kuala Lumpur and the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.

During the summer of 2015 when India hosted the Round 2 of the 2014–15 Women's FIH Hockey World League Rani led the team to finish on top to qualify for the next stage. She also led the side at the World League Semifinals held in Antwerp and the team finished in the fifth place beating higher ranked Japan in classification match. The Indian woman's national field hockey team thus qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics for the first time since the 1980 Summer Olympics under her captaincy.

On qualifying for the 2016 Summer Olympics Rani said:

I've been dreaming of playing in Olympics for 10 years. It is an honour to be leading this group. Many of these girls won the (medal at) the junior world cup. Exposure against top teams has taught us what to expect in Rio. Even our seniors tried to make the cut, but fell at the final hurdle, losing to South Africa in 2012. But this team is special.

Awards, rewards and recognition

Arjuna Award - 2016

Rahi Sarnobat

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rahi Sarnobat

Sarnobat in 2021

Personal information

Born 30 October 1990

Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India

Sport

Country India

Sport 25 meter pistol

Club Chattrapati Shivaji Sports Complex, Pune

Team India

Coached by Munkhbayar Dorjsuren

Now coaching Balewadi Shooting Range, Pune

Women's shooting

2013 Changwon 25 meter pistol

2019 Munich 25 meter pistol

2021 Delhi Women's 25 m pistol team

2021 Osijek 25 meter pistol

2021 Delhi 25 meter pistol

2011 Fort Benning 25 meter pistol

2021 Osijek Women's 10 m pistol team

2010 Delhi 25 m pistol pairs

2014 Glasgow 25 meter pistol

2010 Delhi 25 meter pistol

Asia Pacific Bowls Championships

2018 Jakarta Palembang Women's 25 m pistol

2014 Incheon Women's 25 m pistol team

Rahi Jeevan Sarnobat (Marathi: राही सरनोबत) is a female athlete from India who competes in the 25 metre pistol shooting event. She won her first gold medal at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune, India. She is the first woman to win a gold medal in shooting at the Asian Games for India – she won the gold at the 2018 Jakarta Palembang Asian Games in the women's 25 metre pistol event. She won two gold medals in 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, the first of the two golds in coming in the 25 metre pistol pair event with Anisa Sayyed. She had previously won gold in the 25 metre pistol event at the 2008 Youth Commonwealth Games, which were held in India.

Personal life and background

Sarnobat hails from Kolhapur in Maharashtra. During her school days, she was introduced to firearms as part of NCC[definition needed] training. She demonstrated natural skills in using firearms from an early age. In her early days of the sport, Sarnobat had to navigate inadequate infrastructure and facilities in her home town of Kolhapur. She then decided to train in Mumbai, which had better facilities. Her inspiration is fellow Maharashtrian and 50m rifle pro World Champion Tejaswini Sawant.

Professional achievements

Sarnobat became India's first pistol shooter to win a gold medal in the World Cup when she won the 25 metre pistol event in the ISSF World Cup in Changwon. In the 2014 Commonwealth Games at Glasgow, she won gold in the women's 25 metre pistol event. In the same year, she won the bronze medal in the 25 metre pistol team event at the 2014 Asian Games at Incheon, where she teamed up with Anisa Sayyed and Heena Sidhu. An injury caused by an accident in 2015 came as a setback for Sarnobat; it affected her elbow, which took almost two years to fully heal. She made it back to the Indian national team and started working with German coach Munkhbayar Dorjsuren, who helped Sarnobat gain physical fitness and mental strength. Ironically Dorjsuren was one of Sarnobat's competitors at the 2012 Olympics.

Her bronze medal in the 2011 World Cup event at Fort Benning led to her selection for the London Olympics in 2012, thereby becoming the first female Indian shooter to qualify for the 25 metre sports pistol event in the Olympics.

In May 2015, Sarnobat was recommended for the country's prestigious Arjuna Award by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).

On 22 August 2018, she became the first Indian woman to become an individual Asian Games gold medallist in shooting by winning the 25 metre pistol event with a Games record score of 34. She won the shoot-off against her Thai opponent to win the gold.

In ISSF World Cup in Osijek, Sarnobat won the gold medal in the women's 25m pistol event.

The 30-year-old fired a final score of 39 after qualifying second with a total of 591. Her stupendous performance in the final earned her the Tokyo's ticket.

Sarnobat won the gold medal at the Munich World Cup event in 2019 and was selected for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

R Umadevi Nagaraj

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Revanna Umadevi Nagaraj

Revanna Umadevi on 8 March 2018

Born 11 February 1965

India

Sport country India

Revanna Umadevi Nagaraj (born 11 February 1965), is an Indian professional player of English billiards and snooker.[1] She is a World Women's Billiard champion (2012) and a six-time Indian national Billiards champion. She had defeated World No 13 Eva Palmius during the London 2012 Championship to become the World Champion.

Life

Umadevi was born in 1965. It was in the midst of her life, when Umadevi realised her potentials in Billiards. While working as a typist in Bangalore, she used to go to the Karnataka Government Secretariat Club to play table tennis. One day, while waiting for a long time for her turn for table tennis, she decided to move on to the Billiards table next to the table tennis room and gradually started loving the game. Post that, Umadevi never looked back but towards the path of glory with a cue stick on her hand, focussing only at the colourful balls on the green table top. Towards a successful sports career, she was mentored by prominent billiards players and coaches such as Shri. Arvind Savur, S. Jairaj, and M. G Jayaram. In 2012, Umadevi bagged the title of World Billiards Champion as well as the 8 Ball Pool National Champion. Umadevi is still giving her best efforts to top-notch the upcoming billiards events of international stage and planning to coach the burgeoning stars to shine in the respective sports niche after her retirement.

Awards

She was awarded Eklavaya Award in 2009 for her contribution to Billiards by the Government of Karnataka. She became the World Billiards Champion and 8 Ball Pool National Champion in 2012. She received Nari Shakti Puraskar from the President of India Ram Nath Kovind among the list of 30 great women achievers of 2017 in India.

Titles and achievements

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponentScoreRef.

Winner 1 2012 World Women's Billiards Championship Emma Bonney 201–143

Rupa Rani Tirkey

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rupa Rani TirkeyPersonal information

Nationality Indian

Born 27 September 1987

Ranchi, Jharkhand, India

Sport

Sport lawn bowls

Coached by Madhukant Patak

Representing India

2009 Kuala Lumpur triples

2009 Kuala Lumpur fours

2019 Gold Coast triples

Rupa Rani Tirkey (born 1987) is a female international Indian lawn bowler.

Bowls career

Commonwealth Games

Tirkey has represented India at three Commonwealth Games in the triples at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the triples and fours at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and in the pairs and fours the at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. In the 2018 competition the Women's fours won section B and just failed out on winning a medal after losing to Malta in the quarter finals.

Asia Pacific

Tirkey has won three medals at the Asia Pacific Bowls Championships; the latest medal success was a bronze medal at the 2019 Asia Pacific Bowls Championships in the Gold Coast, Queensland.

World Championships

In 2020 she was selected for the 2020 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in Australia.

Raju Gaikwad

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Full name : Raju Eknath Gaikwad

Date of birth : 25 September 1990

Place of birth : Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Height : 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)

Playing position : Defender

Club information

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:19, 25 November 2018 (UTC)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16:18, 6 October 2014 (UTC)

Raju Eknath Gaikwad (born 25 September 1990 in Mumbai, Maharashtra) is an Indian footballer who plays as a defender for Jamshedpur FC in the Indian Super League. Gaikwad is very comfortable on the ball and can easily fill in as a full back even though he is right-footed, and is a long throw specialist.

Pailan Arrows

After spending time at Tata Football Academy Gaikwad signed for Pailan Arrows (then AIFF XI) in the I-League. He made his league debut for the club on 3 December 2010 against Prayag United at the Salt Lake Stadium which was also Pailan Arrows's first ever game in the I-League; Pailan lost 2–1.

East Bengal

In July 2011 Gaikwad signed for East Bengal after one season at Pailan and made his debut for the club on 4 February 2012 after missing the first few months of the season through injury.

Mohun Bagan A.C.

In June 2015 Gaikwad signed for Mohun Bagan from rival club East Bengal.

International

Gaikwad made his debut for the India U23 on 23 February 2011 against Myanmar's U23s in the 2012 Olympic Qualifiers; India U23 won 2–1. He then made his senior debut for India on 21 March 2011 in the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers against Chinese Tapei at the MBPJ Stadium in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia; India won 3–0. Gaikwad then won his first championship with India on 11 December 2011 when he helped India beat Afghanistan in the 2011 SAFF Cup. Gaikwad then went on to lead India to win the 2012 Nehru Cup when India managed to beat Cameroon's B team on 2 September 2012 at the Nehru Stadium in the Indian capital, Delhi.

Swapna Barman

Daughter of a rickshaw driver and a tea estate worker, Swapna bagged a gold for India in the heptathlon event at the Asian Games in 2018, the first Indian to do so. Swapna is from the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, where her caste, the Koch Rajbanshis, have been routinely ostracised and criminalised in the upper-caste mainstream.

Swapna was born with a congenital anomaly, due to which she has six toes on both feet. However, given her family’s poverty, she has never been able to buy special shoes, and has had to compete in normal shoes, which are often constricting.

Swapna Barman (From Wikipedia)

Swapna Barman

Barman Of India

Personal information

Born 29 October 1996

Ghoshpara, Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, India

Sport

Country India

Sport Athletics

Event(s) Heptathlon

Achievements and titles

Personal best(s) 6026 points

(Jakarta 2018)

Women's athletics

Representing India

2018 Jakarta Heptathlon

2017 Bhubaneswar Heptathlon

2019 Doha Heptathlon

Federation cup

2017 New Delhi Heptathlon

Updated on 27 April 2019.

Swapna Barman (born 29 October 1996) is an Indian heptathlete. She won the gold medal at 2018 Asian Games and placed first in the Heptathlon at the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships. In August 2019, she was honoured with the Arjuna Award.

Life

Barman was born in Ghospara village near Jalpaiguri, West Bengal in 1996 in a poor Rajbongshi family. She is unusual in having six toes on each foot. Her mother Basana worked on a tea estate and her father, Panchanan Barman, was a rickshaw driver. and is bed-ridden after having suffered a stroke in 2013, making life tricky for his four children. She found it difficult to find the right food and her unusual feet caused her pain because she could not afford extra wide running shoes. Swapna uses her prize money to look after her family who live in a house without a concrete wall. In 2016 she won a scholarship of 150,000 rupees in recognition of the success she had at athletics. She trains at the Sports Authority of India campus at Kolkata.

In 2016, she was supported by the GoSports Foundation through the Rahul Dravid Athlete Mentorship Programme.

Barman won the gold at 2018 Asian Games, she accomplished this despite a jaw injury. Barman collapsed during the final event of the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships – Women's heptathlon which was the 800 metres. However Barman had broken many of her personal records and she had already gained enough points from the previous six events and she had finished fourth in the 800 metres.

In 2020 she lost out on a funding list but said that she would continue to train at her home in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal.

Santhi Soundarajan

One of five children of brick kiln workers in Tamil Nadu, Santhi Soundarajan is a track and field athlete who has won more than 12 international medals for India. She holds the Indian national record for the women’s 3000 meters steeplechase.

In 2006, she was stripped of her silver medal in the women’s 800-meter race at the Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, after failing a sex verification test. The humiliation she suffered from this unethical and unscientific test caused her to go into a depression, and she survived a suicide attempt. She has since supported other female athletes that have undergone similar cases, including Caster Semenya and Dutee Chand.

Soundarajan has claimed to have experienced caste-based discrimination in her work as a coach with the Sports Authority of India.

Santhi Soundarajan

From Wikipedia

Santhi soundarajanPersonal information

Nationality Indian

Born 17 April 1981

Kathakkurichi, Tamil Nadu, India

Alma mater NIS, Sports Authority of India(SAI), Bangalore

Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)

Weight 64 kg (141 lb)

Sport

Sport Running

Event(s) 800 metres, 1500 metres

Achievements and titles

Personal best(s) 800m: 1:55.45

1500m: 4:11.66

National record 3000m: 10:44.65

World Peace Sports Festival Ambassador −2003, Korea,[1] All India Inter University Record Holder 800m: 2:07.68

Women's athletics

Representing India

Disqualified 2006 Doha 800 m

Asian Athletics Championships

2006 Colombo 1500 m

2006 Colombo 4×400 m relay

2006 Colombo 800 m

Asian Indoor Games

2005 Bangkok 4×400 m relay

2005 Bangkok 800 m

2005 Incheon 800 m

Asian Grand Prix

2004 Asian Grand Prix, Bangalore 800 m

2004 Asian Grand Prix, Pune 800 m

International Peace Sports Festival

International Peace Sports Festival 2003 5000 m

International Peace Sports Festival 2003 800 m

International Peace Sports Festival 2003 400 m

Santhi Soundarajan (also spelled Shanthi Soundararajan,Tamil: சாந்தி சௌந்திரராஜன், born 17 April 1981) is an Indian track and field athlete. She is the winner of 12 international medals for India and around 50 medals for her home state of Tamil Nadu. Shanthi Soundarajan is the first Tamil woman to win a medal at the Asian Games.[2] She competes in middle distance track events. She was stripped of a silver medal won at the 2006 Asian Games after failing a sex verification test which disputed her eligibility to participate in the women's competition.

Early life and career

Santhi was born in 1981 in the village of Kathakkurichi in the Pudukkottai District of Tamil Nadu, India. Santhi grew up in a 20-by-5-foot hut across the road from the new home she lives in now. There was no bathroom or outhouse, nor was there running water or electricity. She is one of five children of brick-kiln labourers in a rural village in southern Tamil Nadu state; she overcame malnutrition as a child to become a middle-distance runner. Her family could not even afford a television and watched Santhi's Doha race at a neighbour's house. Her mother and father had to go to another town to work in a brickyard, where they earned the American equivalent of $4 a week. While they were gone, Santhi, the oldest, was in charge of taking care of her four siblings. Sometimes, Santhi's grandfather, an accomplished runner, helped while her parents were away. When she was 13, he taught her to run on an open stretch of dirt outside the hut and bought her a pair of shoes.

At her first competition, in eighth grade, Santhi won a tin cup trophy; she collected 13 more in interschool competitions. The sports coach at a nearby high school took note of her performances and recruited her. The school paid her tuition and provided her with a uniform and hot lunches. It was the first time Santhi had ever eaten three meals a day.

After high school, Santhi got a scholarship from an Arts college in Pudukkottai, the nearest town. and the following year, Santhi transferred to a college in Chennai, the state's capital, which was seven hours away. In 2005, she attended the Asian Athletics Championships in South Korea, where she won a silver medal. In 2006, she was chosen to represent India at the Asian Games (run by the Olympic Council of Asia). In the 800 meters, Santhi took the silver in 2 minutes, 3.16 seconds, beating Viktoriya Yalovtseva of Kazakhstan by 0.03 seconds. This win led to Santhi becoming embroiled in an ongoing, unresolved debate over what makes an athlete eligible to compete in the women's division.

In 2004 Santhi was awarded 1 lakh cash from then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa

Santhi holds the national record for the women's 3000 metres steeplechase clocking 10:44.65 seconds. At a national meet in Bangalore in July 2005, she won the 800m, 1,500m and 3000m. She won the silver medal in 800 m at the 2005 Asian Championships in Incheon, South Korea.

Asian Games controversy

Santhi won a silver medal in the women's 800m race at the 2006 Asian Games held in Doha, Qatar clocking 2 minutes, 3.16 seconds. However, she underwent a sex test shortly afterwards, and the results indicated that she "does not possess the sexual characteristics of a woman". While such sex tests are not compulsory for competitors, the International Association of Athletics Federations can request that contenders take such tests at any time, and include intensive evaluation by a gynecologist, a geneticist, an endocrinologist, a psychologist, and an internal medicine specialist. Reports initially suggested that her upbringing in impoverished rural India, where she reportedly only started eating proper meals in 2004, could be a factor behind the test result In a 2016 video petition, Santhi Soundarajan disclosed that she has been told she has androgen insensitivity syndrome.

Five days after the news report, Santhi says, she received a call from Lalit Bhanot, a former joint secretary of the Indian Olympic Association. Bhanot spoke to Santhi in English. "He told Santhi she can't do sports anymore,'. When she asked why, she was told: It's been confirmed, Santhi cannot compete in sports." Soon after the results of the sex test came out, she was stripped of her silver medal.

Santhi returned to her village in humiliation and promptly fell into serious depression. Months later, she tried to kill herself by ingesting a type of poison used by veterinarians. A friend found her vomiting uncontrollably and took her to a hospital.

Later life

In January 2007, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi awarded Santhi a television set and a cash prize of Rs. 1.5 million for her Doha Games effort, despite the fallout of Santhi failing a gender test. Santhi spent her reward money on her students; there are an average of 68 (trainees) and none of them is charged any fee.

Santhi's application to the state-run railways for a job before the games was turned down because the athlete failed a gender test.

In September 2007, Santhi was reported to have attempted suicide, reportedly by consuming a veterinary drug at her residence. The attempt was blamed on gender, economic, and sports pressure in India.

Two months later, Santhi took up coaching, starting a training academy at her home district of Pudukkottai, and became a temporary athletics coach with the regional government. By 2009, her academy had 68 students and her students had won the first and third positions in the Chennai marathon.

Santhi was admitted to the NIS athletic coach diploma course in Bangalore in 2013. Santhi was one of the 24 coaches in athletics, out of the 108 students who attended the course in eight disciplines. on 30 April 2014 she became a qualified athletics coach, being awarded the NIS diploma certificate at the Sports Authority of India graduation ceremony in Bangalore. Santhi doesn't have a permanent job at that time. Commenting on Santhi's situation, Olympic shooter Anjali Bhagwat, who termed the incident as "shameful," said "The athlete should be given at least a central or state government job for her financial stability, in lieu of what Santhi has done for the country".

In December 2014, with the help of gender activist Gopi Shankar Madurai, Santhi met Pon. Radhakrishnan, Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, Olympic silver medallist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Minister of State for Information Technology and Broadcasting, and Union Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in New Delhi to present a request for assistance securing a permanent job as an athletics coach, and in restoring her 800m silver medal from the 2006 Doha Asian Games.

Radhakrishnan, a political heavyweight from Tamil Nadu, in turn, wrote to Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal to release a cash award to Santhi, but the Ministry's response was unfavorable: she was informed through a letter that since the medal has not been restored to her, the Ministry cannot give a Rs 10 lakh cash award for the medal. Also, the Ministry does not provide or recommend jobs in central/state government offices.

"My legacy will remain not with my medals but with the determination and hope to overcome my past torment and my present struggles, I want to live my dream through my students."

— Santhi Soundarajan

Santhi told the BBC Tamil Service that the Indian authorities had not fought her case after she was stripped of her silver medal at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha.

On 29 July 2015, the Madras High Court directed the State government to consider Santhi's plea for relaxation in educational qualifications and help her become a coach at the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDATN). As per the notification issued by the Youth Welfare and Sports Development in April 2015, an applicant contesting for the post of the coach should have an education qualification of a bachelor's degree and Santhi did not have one. Justice D. Hariparanthaman directed the Secretary of the Youth Welfare and Sports Development to "consider her claim for the post of coach by granting requisite relaxation as a special case", in the light of the documents produced by her in the sports area and pass appropriate orders within six weeks.

On 27 September 2016 the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) served a notice on the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in response to a petition filed by Santhi. The NCSC investigated allegations of injustice and sought a response in the matter from the secretary of the Department of Sports within 30 days.

On 16 October 2016 Santhi was informed that the State government decided to appoint her as a permanent athletic coach under Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu Sports Minister K. Pandiarajan said the State will plead her case with the International Court of Arbitration for Sport. he also stated that the Tamil Nadu Government will write to SAI, Indian Olympic Association and Athletics Federation of India to take up Santhi's case in that forum.

Santhi received her appointment order for a permanent athletic coach under SDAT on 20 December 2016 from Tamil Nadu Sports Minister K. Pandiarajan at the Fort St. George, India

On 3 January 2017 Gopi Shankar Madurai who is closely working with Santhi said she will file a human rights violation case against Athletic Federation of India and Indian Olympic Association at Madras High Court or the Apex of India.

On 16 February 2017 The National Human Rights Commission of India rejected Santhi's complaint claims it's too late to accept it.

Achievements and honours

Santhi has won 12 international medals and 50 national medals, including:

Gold Medal – 2005 Asian Indoor Games – 4x400 relay

Gold Medal – 2005 Asian Indoor Games – 800 meters

Silver Medal – 2006 Asian Games- 800 meters

Gold Medal – 2006 South Asian Games – 1500 meters

Gold Medal – 2006 South Asian Games – 4x400 relay

Gold Medal – 2003 International Peace Sports Festival – 5000 meters

Silver Medal – 2006 South Asian Games – 800 meters

Silver Medal – 2005 Asian Athletics Championships – 800 meters

Silver Medal – 2004 Asian Grand Prix, Bangalore – 800 meters

Silver Medal – 2004 Asian Grand Prix, Pune – 800 meters

Silver Medal – 2003 International Peace Sports Festival – 800 meters

Bronze Medal – 2003 International Peace Sports Festival – 400 meters

YearAwardHonouring bodyNotes

2016 Young Inspirational Women Leader Award World Women Leadership Congress (WWLC) Awarded for her contributions towards increasing the participation of young Tamil girls in Athletics.

YearTitleHonouring bodyNotes

2017 Living Phoenix Kurukshetra (college festival) by College of Engineering, Guindy, Anna University. Conferred on her for Santhi's remarkable contributions in the field of Athletics.

IAAF policy and support for other athletes

Santhi's case has been contrasted with that of Caster Semenya of South Africa, also a middle-distance runner, who nearly lost the gold she won at the 2009 Berlin World Championship after she failed a similar gender test. Semenya's nation rallied around her to safeguard her dignity, her rights and position in world sports. She was also her country's flag-bearer at the London Olympics 2012. Santhi supported Semenya, fearing that Semenya would face the same humiliation that she did.

Santhi also extended her support to Dutee Chand and said the youngster should not be victimized. She also expressed her dismay at the lack of sensitivity in the handling of the Dutee Chand issue, fearing that the young athlete's future may have now been jeopardized. Santhi demanded that all steps be taken to ensure the 18-year-old's return to the track.

Welcoming the Court of Arbitration for Sport's ruling in favour of Chand on 27 July 2015 for suspending gender test, the landmark ruling has also fuelled Santhi's hopes of regaining the silver medal and the Rs 10-lakh prize money from the central government which was withheld after the gender test row.

In this regard, it is notable that the IAAF policy, suspended as a result of Chand's case, did not prevent Santhi from competing. Kalra, Kulshreshtha and Unnikrishnan, writing in the Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism in 2012, stated that "Chromosomal sex, used to disqualify Santhi in 2010, is not mentioned at all in the current guidelines." Immediately prior to the 2016 Olympic Games and in response to sex verification controversies, Genel, Simpson and de la Chapelle in the Journal of the American Medical Association stated "One of the fundamental recommendations published almost 25 years ago ... that athletes born with a disorder of sex development and raised as females be allowed to compete as women remains appropriate".

In popular culture

In 2006, Amitabh Bachchan raised a question on Santhi in the show Kaun Banega Crorepati 2 he hosted.

The character of Valli in the Tamil film Ethir Neechal is a tribute to Santhi

In August 2016 Thappad, an online platform and mobile application, made a video as part of an online campaign that is asking for Santhi's name to be included in the official records again and that the government should give her a permanent job to rebuild her life.

Put Chutney online comedy group under Culture Machine Media Pvt Ltd made a video in Tamil, to explain the significance of her struggle to residents of Tamil Nadu

Sumeet Passi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sumeet PassiPersonal information

Full name Sumeet Passi

Date of birth 12 September 1994

Place of birth Yamuna Nagar, Haryana, India

Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)

Playing position(s) Striker/Left Back

Club information

Current team Jamshedpur

Number 12

Youth career

Chandigarh FA

Chandigarh U15

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2013 Indian Arrows 3 (0)

2014–2016 Sporting Goa 9 (3)

2016–2017 Northeast United 4 (0)

2017 → DSK Shivajians (loan) 6 (0)

2017– Jamshedpur 28 (3)

National team‡

2011–2012 India U19 1 (1)

2015 India U23 1 (0)

2016– India 3 (1)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19 February 2020

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 7 January 2020

Sumeet Passi (born 12 September 1994) is an Indian footballer who currently plays as a striker for both the Jamshedpur and the Indian national team.

Club career

Early career

Passi began playing the game at a very young age and thanks his father, Jai Prakash Passi who is a former Railways player, as the man who motivated him to become a dedicated footballer. Passi than began his footballing career as a training with Chandigarh Football Academy. In 2007 it was announced that Passi would be the captain of the Chandigarh football team at the under-14s level for the 53rd National School Games.

Senior career

Passi made his professional debut in football on 2 February 2013 against East Bengal in which he came on in the 77th minute for Dhanpal Ganesh as Pailan Arrows lost the match 2–1.

Jamshedpur

On 23 July 2017, Passi was selected in the 12th round of the 2017–18 ISL Players Draft by Jamshedpur for the 2017–18 Indian Super League season. He made his debut for the club on 18 February 2018 against Chennaiyin. He started the match and played 90 minutes as Jamshedpur drew 1–1.

International career

Passi made his debut for India against Laos on 2 June 2016. He scored his first international goal against Laos on 7 June 2016 with an assist from Jackichand Singh.

Shailaja Kumar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shailaja KumarAlpine skier

Disciplines Slalom

Full name Shailaja N Kumar

Born 17 January 1967

Delhi, India

Olympics

Teams 1 – (1988)

Medals 0

Women's alpine skiing

Representing India

Shailaja Kumar (born 17 January 1967) is an Indian female Alpine Skier. She competed at the 1988 Winter Olympics. She is the first Indian woman to participate at the Winter Olympics.

Alpine skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).

Sonia Chahal

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://scroll.in/field/946137/boxing-sonia-chahal-seven-other-railways-boxers-enter-final-at-womens-nationals

Sonia Chahal in action | Special arrangement

Sonia ChahalPersonal information

Nationality Indian

Born 3-10-1997 ,

Nimri village, Bhiwani district, Haryana, India

Sport

Sport Boxing

Weight class Featherweight (57 Kg)

Women's amateur boxing

Representing India

2018 New Delhi Featherweight

https://hindi.news18.com/photogallery/sports/others-shivani-kataria-india-numer-one-swimmer-who-created-history-in-rio-olympics-3191081.html

2019 Bangkok Featherweight

Sonia Chahal is an Indian amateur boxer. She is a silver medallist at the 2018 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships.

Early life and career

Chahal was born in Nimri village of Haryana state's Bhiwani district. She is the younger of two children of Mr. Jai Bhagwan, a farmer, and homemaker mother Neelam.

She started boxing in 2011 after taking inspiration from Kavita Chahal. And after six months of training at the Bhiwani Boxing Club under the coach Jagdish Singh, she won silver medal at the school-level national championships in the same year. She continued her training in Bhiwani for the next three years.

Chahal won silver medal in the featherweight division (54–57 kg) of the 2018 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships after losing in the final to Germany's Ornella Wahner.

Sahil Panwar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sahil PanwarPersonal information

Full name Sahil Panwar

Date of birth 15 December 1999

Place of birth Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India

Playing position(s) Defender

Club information

Current team Hyderabad FC

Youth career

2014–2016 Pune

2016–2018 Pune City

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2018–2019 Pune City 17 (0)

2019– Hyderabad FC 12 (0)

National team

2017– India U20 5 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 02:54, 8 December 2018 (UTC)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 05:38, 21 January 2018 (UTC)

Pune FC

Sahil Panwar (born 15 December 1999) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Hyderabad FC in the Indian Super League.

Career

Born in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, Panwar was discovered by Pune while playing for his college, Maharana Pratap Sports College, during the Subroto Cup in 2014. While with the Pune F.C. Academy, Panwar captained the under-18 side.

After the Pune F.C. Academy was sold to Indian Super League side Pune City, Panwar joined their academy. After spending time with the academy, Panwar was promoted to the first-team squad in December 2017. He made his professional debut for the club on 13 January 2018 against Chennaiyin. He started and played the whole match as Pune City were defeated 1–0.

International

Panwar has represented India at the under-20 level and was the captain of the side during the 2017 SAFF U-18 Championship.

Shyam Lal Meena

Shyam Lal Meena is one of the successful Celebrities. Shyam has ranked on the list of famous people who were born on May 4, 1965. Shyam Lal Meena is one of the Richest Celebrities who was born in Banswara, Rajasthan (IND).

Short ProfileFirst Name Shyam

Last Name Meena

Profession Celebrity

Age 54 years old

Birth Sign Taurus

Birth Date March 4, 1965

Birth Place Indian

Country Indian

Shyam Lal Meena Net Worth

Shyam Lal Meena estimated Net Worth, Salary, Income, Cars, Lifestyles & many more details have been updated below. Let’s check, How Rich is Shyam Lal Meena in 2019-2020?

शिवानी कटारिया

मुक्त ज्ञानकोश विकिपीडिया से

शिवानी कटारियाव्यक्तिगत जानकारी

पूरा नाम शिवानी कटारिया

राष्ट्रीयता भारतीय

जन्म 20 अगस्त 1999

हरियाणा , भारत

खेल

खेल तैराकी

शिवानी कटारिया (अंग्रेज़ी: Shivani Kataria) एक भारतीय हरियाणा राज्य की महिला फ्रीस्टाईल तैराक है। जो कि 2016 ग्रीष्मकालीन ओलम्पिक खेलों में हिस्सा लेने वाली सबसे छोटी तथा पहली महिला तैराक है। ये ओलम्पिक खेल ब्राजील के रियो डि जेनेरियो में आयोजित किया गया।

Shankarrao Thorat

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shankarrao Thorat

Personal information

Nationality Indian

Born 12 December 1909

Died September 1983

Sport

Sport Wrestling

Shankarrao Thorat (12 December 1909 – September 1983) was an Indian wrestler. He competed in the men's freestyle bantamweight at the 1936 Summer Olympics.

SOROKHAIBAM RANJANA CHANU

One of the most versatile players in the National Team ranks, Ranjana Chanu is known for her exploits down the flanks, both as a winger and as a fullback. Possessing both speed and guile, Ranjana has been a key player for the team in recent times.

Date of Birth: 10 Mar 1999

Place of Birth: Manipur

Nationality:

INDIA

Position: Forward

State Association:

All Manipur Football Association

Current Club:Kangchup Road Young Physical & Sports Association-KRYHPSA was in class IV in the Corporation Government School in Jogpalya.

The talented youngster was forced to quit studies when in Class X but it got him more and more into football and the beautiful game showed him the way forward.

"After reading the news about the selection for the state U-16 side he went for the trials and got selected. In 2006, he was called for the national camp and then got selected to the Tata FA in 2007.

"He was the top-scorer when Karnataka finished runners-up in the South Zone and reached the semifinals of the U-16 nationals in 2007.

He emerged as the joint top-scorer for Jharkhand in the junior nationals in Mandya.

Pailan Arrows

On 13 August 2012 it was officially confirmed that Prakash had signed for Pailan Arrows of the I-League after HAL S.C. were relegated from the I-League.

While with Arrows, Prakash was loaned out to I-League 2nd Division side DSK Shivajians for the 2013 I-League 2nd Division season.

Students Union

On 19 December 2014, it was revealed that Prakash had signed for local Bangalore Super Division side Students Union

Sanyogita Ghorpade

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sanyogita Ghorpade

Personal information

Country India

Born 5 November 1992

Women's singles & doubles

Sanyogita Ghorpade (born 5 November 1992) is a badminton player from India. She trained at the Gopichand Badminton Academy for four years, but returned to the Nikhil Kanetkar Badminton Academy in Balewadi, Pune after the injuries. She was the women's doubles runner-up at the 2013 Bahrain International Series and Challenge tournament. She was Part of North eastern warriors in Season 3 Of PBL and in Season 4 she will play for Awadhe warriors. She has also represented India in world championship and Uber Cup.

Sanaa Bhambri

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sanaa BhambriCountry (sports) India

Residence New Delhi, India

Born 7 March 1988

New Delhi

Turned pro November 2002

Plays Left-handed (two-handed backhand)

Prize money $46,738

Singles

Career record 121–83

Career titles 0 WTA, 2 ITF

Highest ranking No. 434 (31 October 2005)

Doubles

Career record 129–65

Career titles 0 WTA, 12 ITF

Highest ranking No. 298 (31 October 2005)

Sanaa Bhambri (Hindi: सना भाम्बरी; born 7 March 1988) is a former professional tennis player from India. Her highest singles ranking is world No. 434, which she achieved in October 2005. She won one $25k doubles event at Lagos, Nigeria in 2005 and competed in three WTA Tour event main draws.

In her career, Bhambri won two singles titles and twelve doubles titles on the ITF circuit.

Career

A left-hander, Bhambri reached the semifinals of the 2003 French Open girls' doubles event, partnering compatriot Sania Mirza.

In October 2005, partnering Ankita Bhambri, Sanaa won the $25k Lagos 2 event. The sister tandem won both their semifinal and final matches by seeing their opponents withdraw before a point was played.

Her only WTA Tour main-draw appearances were at Kolkata at the Sunfeast Open, in each of the three years that the event was held – 2005, 2006 and 2007. Competing in doubles, Bhambri lost in the first round each time.

Active on tour from 2005 through 2010, competing primarily in events in India and Thailand, Bhambri won twelve $10k tournaments; two in singles (2006 in Ahmedabad and 2008 in Gurgaon) and ten in doubles.

Sanaa won a triple crown at the 2004 DSCL National Championships held in Delhi- in women's singles, women's doubles and girls' under-18s singles. She is the youngest Indian to achieve the feat.

Personal life

Bhambri's sister Ankita and brother Yuki all are or have been tour-level tennis players. She has cousins, Prerna Bhambri and Prateek Bhambri, who also play on the Indian circuit.

S. Ilavazhagi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

S. IlavazhagiPersonal information

Nationality Indian

Born 1984

Vyasarpadi, North Chennai, India

Sport

Country India

Sport Carrom

S. Ilavazhagi also known as S. Ilavazhaki (born 1984) is an Indian who has twice won the carrom world cup. She is considered as one of the finest carrom players to have represented India at international level from Tamil Nadu state after A. Maria Irudayam.

Biography

S. Ilavazhagi was born in 1984 to a poor family at Vyasarpadi, Chennai. His father A. Irudayaraj, a daily wage earning auto-rickshaw driver (motorished fish cart) and her mother, Selvi is an housewife. She is also the eldest of three sisters in her family.

Career

Ilavazhagi is a member of the Thiruvallur District Carrom Association and also represented India at the Carrom World Championships, Asian Championships. She won the 2008 Indian Indian National Carrom Championship which was held in Chennai beating a former world champion Rashmi Kumari in the final.

In the same year, she participated in the 2008 Carrom World Championships and became a world champion in the women's8.com/todays-paper/tp-sports/Ilavazhagi-is-World-champion/article15169357.ece|title=Ilavazhagi is World champion|date=2008-02-19|work=The Hindu|access-date=2018-01-04|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> Ilavazhagi also defeated Rashmi Kumari in the semifinals to qualify for the final. Prior to the 2008 Carrom World Cup she got financial assistance from K. Vijayal, a retired Reserve Bank of India officer.

She also competed at the 2012 Carrom World Championships and emerged as runners-up to Rashmi Kumari in the women's singles final and also won the women's doubles title along with Rashmi Kumari.

Sunil Jadhav

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediah

Sunit Jadhav (born 21 December 1992) is a former Indian body builder. He is also called as Abhishek mahakal who played for Spartans gym team. He was born in Nanded.

Having played in the victorious Maharashtra Under-15 team in the 2007-08 Polly Umrigar Trophy, he made a single first-class appearance for the senior side, during the 2007-08 season, against Karnataka.

Competition record

Sunit is a professional bodybuilder from Maharashtra.

He won the federation cup overall championship in 2014.

He won Mumbai Shree 2014.

He wan Maharashtra Shree in 2014,2015 and 2016.

He won Mr.Dubai International in 2016.

He won Mr.India 2017 title in March 2017.

He also won Mr.Asia title in 2018.

Sushila Chanu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sushila Chanu

Chanu in 2013

Personal information

Full name Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam

Born 25 February 1992

Manipur, India

Playing position Halfback

National team

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2008–present India 150 (4)

Women's field hockey

Representing India

2014 Incheon Team

2013 Mönchengladbach Team

Last updated on: 18 July 2018

Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam (born 25 February 1992) is an Indian field hockey player. A former captain of Indian national team, she has a total of 150 international caps to her credit. Born in Imphal, Manipur, Chanu began playing hockey at the age of eleven, and was soon selected for the national camp.

Chanu rose to prominence in 2013, when she led the junior women's team to a bronze medal finish at the Women's Hockey Junior World Cup at Mönchengladbach. She then made her debut in the senior national team, and was part of the squad that won the bronze medal at the 2014 Asian Games held at Incheon.

Chanu was also praised for her performance at the 2014–15 Men's FIH Hockey World League Semifinals where the Indian team upstaged such higher ranked teams as Japan for a fifth-place finish. Chanu also led the team at Rio Olympics. She plays as a halfback for the team.

Early life

Sushila Chanu was born on 25 February 1992 in Imphal, Manipur, to Pukhrambam Shyamsundar and Pukhrambam Ongbi Lata. Her father is a driver and her mother is a home maker. Her great grandfather, Pukhrambam Angangcha was a successful polo player. Chanu is the second born child in the family; she has an elder sister and a younger brother. Drawn towards sports from a young age, Chanu's interest increased after she accompanied her father to watch a football match during the 1999 National Games hosted in Manipur.

Chanu began playing hockey at the stadium the age of eleven, having been encouraged by her uncle to pick up the sport. He got her enrolled at the Posterior Hockey Academy in Manipur in 2002. Chanu began playing in the Inter-school tournaments, and was subsequently selected for the team participating in Sub-junior and Junior National Hockey Championships, where she caught the attention of the national selection committee. She is employed in the Central Mumbai Railway as a senior ticket collector, and resides in the Railways department's accommodations in Sion, Mumbai.

Career

2008–2013: Junior career and World Cup bronze

Chanu plays as a halfback and has garnered attention for her defensive skills. She made her international debut at the 2008 Women's Hockey Junior Asia Cup, held in Kuala Lumpur, where India won a bronze medal. In 2009, she was dropped out of the team because of fitness issues for a brief period. During that time she graduated from the Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy, completing her course, and joined the joined Central Railways, Mumbai as Junior Ticket Collector.

Chanu rose to international attention when she led the Indian junior team to a bronze medal finish at the 2013 Junior World Cup at Mönchengladbach, Germany.

2014–present: Senior career, captaincy and Olympic debut

Chanu made her international debut in the senior national field hockey squad after the world cup win, and played a clinical role in the team reaching the semifinals of the 2014–15 Women's FIH Hockey World League held at Antwerp, Belgium. On returning home Chanu along with Anuradha Thokchom and Lily Chanu Mayengbam were praised for their contributions in the Indian women's hockey squad. The three women hockey players were given warm reception in their hometown.

Ahead of the 2016 Rio Olympics, Chanu was named the captain of the national team. She led the team at the four-nation tournament in Australia that was held in May. Prior to the Olympics, she struggled with a major knee injury that had her consider a knee reconstruction surgery. She returned to training after receiving eight weeks of rest and physiotherapy. Under her leadership the Indian women's team played at the Olympics after a gap of 36 years, having qualified in Antwerp. On having qualified for the Olympics she said, "At the London Olympics (2012), we didn’t qualify. The girls saw the opening ceremony at camp in Bhopal. We wanted to get there one day". However, the team finished in last place in their pool with losses against higher-ranked teams including eventual champions England.

Chanu played her 150th international match in Madrid, Spain during the Indian national team's June 2018 tour of Spain. She said of the feat: "I had always dreamed of representing the country, at least once, in my lifetime, but to have [150 caps] makes me very proud".

Personal life

Sushila has been described as soft spoken and also works as a junior ticket collector in the Central Mumbai Railway since 2010, a post she got through sports quota. She shares her flat with another hockey player and she shared in an interview that she is able to go home only once a year.

Sena Ralte

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lalhmangaihsanga RaltePersonal information

Date of birth 6 July 1988

Place of birth Mizoram, India

Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)

Position(s) Left back

Club information

Current team Real Kashmir

Number 28

Youth career

Esthar F Academy

Royal Wahingdoh

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2014–2015 Royal Wahingdoh 15 (0)

2015 → Chennaiyin (loan) 6 (0)

2016 DSK Shivajians 14 (0)

2016–2017 Mumbai City 16 (0)

2017 → Bengaluru FC (loan) 7 (1)

2017–2018 Delhi Dynamos 2 (0)

2018–2019 ATK 2 (0)

2019– Real Kashmir 9 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4:06, 6 February 2020 (UTC)

Lalhmangaihsanga "Sena" Ralte (born 6 July 1988) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a left back for Real Kashmir in the I League.

Career

Born in Mizoram, Sena started his footballing career at the Esthar F Academy.

Royal Wahingdoh

He eventually joined the youth side of I-League 2nd Division side Royal Wahingdoh F.C. and was a part of the youth side that went on a trip to South Africa in March 2014. He then played a part in the senior Royal Wahingdoh side that participated in the 2014 I-League 2nd Division and gained promotion to the I-League.

He then made his professional debut for Royal Wahingdoh in the Federation Cup on 28 December 2014 against Mumbai. He started the match as Royal Wahingdoh won 2–1.

Chennaiyin (loan)

In July 2015 Lalhmangaihsanga was drafted to play for Chennaiyin FC in the 2015 Indian Super League.

DSK Shivajians

On 5 January 2016, Sena Ralte signed for new I-League club DSK Shivajians for 1 season. In whole season he was the instrumental player for the team and a regular starter of the team.

Mumbai City

In July 2016, Ralte signed on the dotted lines for Mumbai City FC for the third season of Hero ISL. He made his debut for Mumbai City In a match where Mumbai City beaten their Arch Rivals FC Pune City by 1-0.

Bengaluru FC (loan)

He was signed on loan from Mumbai City FC for 2016–17 I-League season. Ralte scored his debut goal for Bengaluru against Shillong Lajong from 35 yards.

Delhi Dynamos

Ralte was signed by Delhi Dynamos FC in 2017–18 ISL Players Draft.

ATK

Sena was signed by ATK for 2 years.

Career statistics

As of 26 November 2017

ClubSeasonLeagueFederation CupDurand CupAFCTotal

DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals

Royal Wahingdoh 2014–15 I-League 15 0 1 0 0 0 — — 16 0

Chennaiyin 2015 Indian Super League 6 0 0 0 0 0 — — 6 0

DSK Shivajians 2015–16 I-League 11 0 0 0 0 0 — — 11 0

Mumbai City 2015 Indian Super League 16 0 0 0 0 0 — — 16 0

Bengaluru 2016–17 I-League 7 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 8 1

Delhi Dynamos 2017–18 Indian Super League 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0

ATK 2018–19 Indian Super League 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0

Career total581100010601

Honours

Club

Chennaiyin

Indian Super League: 2015

Sumithra Kamaraj

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sumithra Kamaraj is an Indian women's footballer who plays as a midfielder for India women's national football team. She plays for Sethu FC in Indian Women's League.

Sumithra KamarajPersonal information

Full name Sumithra Kamaraj

Date of birth July 5, 1994

Position(s) Midfielder

Club information

Current team Sethu FC

Number 16

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2016–18

Jeppier InstituteIndira Gandhi AS&E 18 (4)

2019– Sethu FC 04 (04)

National team‡

2016– India 5 (2)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 3 feb 2020 Season

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 April 2019

Sumithra Kamaraj is an Indian women’s footballer who was born on July 5, 1994.She was also member of 2020 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

Clubs

Sumithra played for Jeppier Institute in 2016–17 Indian Women's League later club renamed Indira Gandhi AS&E. She joined Sethu FC in 2018–19 Indian Women's League.

Sachin Nag

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sachin Nag

শচীন নাগ

Sachin Nag

Born 5 July 1920

Varanasi, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, India

Died 19 August 1987 (aged 67)

Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Nationality Indian

Occupation Swimmer

Height 183 cm (6 ft 0 in)

Sachin NagMedal record

Representing India

Men's Swimming

1951 Asian Games 100 m freestyle

1951 Asian Games 4x100 m freestyle relay

1951 Asian Games 3x100 m medley relay

Sachin Nag (5 July 1920 – 19 August 1987) was an Indian swimmer. He competed in the men's 100 metre freestyle at the 1948 Summer Olympics. He also competed in the water polo at the 1948 and 1952 Summer Olympics. He won the first gold medal for India in the Asian Games when he won it in men's 100 metre freestyle swimming at the 1951 Asian Games in Delhi.

Supriya Mondal

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Supriya Mondal

Personal information

Birth name Supriya Mondal

Country India

Born 12 January 1997

Shahpur, West Bengal

Coach Nihar Ameen

Event Butterfly, Individual Medley

Representing India

Men's Swimming

70th Glenmark Senior National Aquatic Championship-20168

Ranchi 100m Butterfly

Ranchi 200m Butterfly

Supriya Mondal, born on 12 January 1997 hails from a little fishing village in Shahpur, West Bengal. He is an Indian swimmer and trains at the Dolphin Academy, Bangalore under coach Nihar Ameen who has trained Olympians like Virdhawal Khade and Sandeep Sejwal. Srikanth is supported by the GoSports Foundation, Bangalore and has been part of their scholarship programme since 2012.

Career

Early career

Mondal won gold medal in the 100m and 200m butterfly events, and a silver medal in the 50m butterfly event at the Junior National Championships in Goa, 2009. In the 39th Junior National Aquatic Championship, Chennai 2012, Mondal took one gold and one silver in the 100m and 200m butterfly events respectively.

2013

Mondal represented India at the 2013 Asian Youth Games in Nanjing, China and finished 6th in the 200m butterfly event. In the 40th junior nationals in Hyderabad he won two gold and a silver, creating the national record in the 200m butterfly event along the way. At the senior nationals in Trivandrum, Mondal collected a silver in 200m butterfly and a bronze in the 100m of the same discipline.

2014

Mondal was awarded the best swimmer title in the 41st junior nationals in Bhopal. He finished the tournament with 5 gold and another national record He won 2 gold and 1 silver medal at the 1st Dubai International Aquatic Championships. The youngster clocked 2:03.93s in the 200m butterfly, achieving the ‘A’ qualification required to compete in the same event in the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics, Nanjing, China.

Personal

Born in a very modest family, Mondal's father is a fisherman and his mother a home maker. Mondal started swimming in a small pond in Shahpur, West Bengal. His talent did not go unnoticed. Sanjib Chakraborty, his mentor and husband of famous Bengali swimmer, Bula Choudhury, taught him the rules of professional swimming and helped him hone his skills. Supriya's talent was soon discovered by the GoSports Foundation in 2012, who helped relocate him to Bangalore to train under Nihar Ameen. The Foundation has since been supporting him with training, equipment as well as gaining tournament exposure.

Saikhom Mirabai Chanu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Saikhom Mirabai Chanu

Chanu at the 2016 South Asian Games

Personal information

Nationality India

Born 8 August 1994

Nongpok Kakching, Imphal East, Manipur, India

Height 1.50 m (4 ft 11 in)

Weight 49 kg (108 lb)

Sport

Country India

Sport Weightlifting

Event(s) 49 kg

Coached by Vijay Sharma, Aaron Horschig

Women's weightlifting

Representing India

Olympic Games

2020 Tokyo 49 kg

2017 Anaheim 48 kg

2020 Tashkent 49 kg

2014 Glasgow 48 kg

2018 Gold Coast 48 kg

Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (born 8 August 1994) is an Indian weightlifter. She won the silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in Women's 49 kg. Mirabai Chanu has won the World Championships and multiple medals at the Commonwealth Games. She was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India for her contributions to the sport. She was awarded Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award by the Government of India in 2018.

Chanu won the silver medal in the women's 48 kg weight class at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Glasgow; she went on to break the games record en route to the gold medal at the 2018 edition of the event held in Gold Coast. Prior to the 2020 Summer Olympics, her biggest achievement came in 2017, when she won the gold medal at World Weightlifting Championships held in Anaheim, California.

Early life

Saikhom Mirabai Chanu was born on 8 August 1994 in Nongpok Kakching about 30 km away from Imphal city, Manipur to a Meitei family. The majority of Meiteis follow Hinduism and the indigenous Sanamahi belief systems, and Chanu has noted that she has devotion in both the Meitei as well as Hindu deities. Her family identified her strength when she was just 12. She could easily carry a huge bundle of firewood home when her elder brother found it hard to even pick it up.

Career

The Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Youth Affairs and Sports, Anurag Singh Thakur and other ministers and officials felicitating Tokyo Olympics Silver Medalist Saikhom Mirabai Chanu and her coach Vijay Sharma in New Delhi on July 26, 2021.

Chanu's first major breakthrough came at the Glasgow edition of the Commonwealth Games; she won the silver medal in the 48 kg weight category.

Chanu qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics in the women's 48 kg category. However, she failed to finish the event, owing to no successful lifts in any of her three attempts in the clean & jerk section. In 2017, she won the gold medal in the Women's 48 kg category by lifting a competition record 194 kg in total (85 kg snatch and 109 kg clean & jerk) in the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships held at Anaheim, CA, United States.

Chanu lifted a total of 196 kg, 86 kg in Snatch and 110 kg in Clean and Jerk to win the first gold medal for India in the 2018 Commonwealth Games. En route to the medal, she broke the games record for the weight category; the effort also marked her personal best performance. She missed out on a bronze medal in 49 kg category at 2019 Asian Weightlifting Championships with a total lift of 199 kg, her personal best, as her Snatch weight was lower than the third place athlete, both of whom had identical totals.

At the 2019 World Weightlifting Championships, Mirabai lifted a total of 201kgs (87kgs Snatch and 114kgs Clean & Jerk) to finish 4th. This personal best total also created a new national record in the 49kg category. She broke her personal record again four months later when she lifted 203kgs (88kgs in Snatch and 115kg in Clean & Jerk,) in the 49kg category to win the gold medal at the 2020 Senior National Weightlifting Championships.

In April 2021, she won the bronze medal at the 2020 Asian Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent where she lifted 86 kg in snatch and then created the world record by lifting 119 kg in the clean and jerk, for a total of 205 kg. In June 2021, Chanu became the only Indian woman weightlifter to qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics by securing second position on the Absolute Rankings for 49kg category.

Chanu won the silver medal in 49 kg division at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo with a total lift of 202 kg, becoming the first Indian weightlifter to win silver at the Olympics and the second Indian weightlifter after Karnam Malleswari to win an Olympic medal. A new Olympic record was registered by Chanu with a successful lift of 115kg in clean and jerk.Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh announced an award of ₹1 crore for her. Indian Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced an award of ₹2 crore, a promotion and more for her.

Awards

The President of India presenting the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award to Chanu at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.

National

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, highest sporting honour of India (2018)

Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India (2018)

Other

₹20 lakh (US$28,000) from the Government of Manipur for the gold medal in the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships.

₹10 lakh (US$14,000) from the Government of Manipur for qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.

₹25 lakh (US$35,000) from the Government of Manipur for participating in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.

For winning the silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics

₹50 lakh (US$70,000) from the Government of India.

₹1 crore (US$140,000) from the Government of Manipur, and appointment as Additional Superintendent of Police (Sports) in the Manipur State Police.

₹2 crore (US$280,000) from the Ministry of Railways (India) and promotion in the Northeast Frontier Railway.

Sonia Chahal

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sonia ChahalPersonal information

Nationality Indian

Born 3 October 1997 , Nimri village, Bhiwani district, Haryana, India

Sport

Sport Boxing

Weight class Featherweight (57 Kg)

hide

Medal record

Women's amateur boxing

Representing India

2018 New Delhi Featherweight

2019 Bangkok Featherweight

Sonia Chahal is an Indian amateur boxer. She is a silver medallist at the 2018 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships.

Early life and career

Chahal born 3 October 1997, was born in Nimri village of Haryana state's Bhiwani district. She is the younger of two children of Mr. Jai Bhagwan, a farmer, and homemaker mother Neelam.

Chahal won silver medal in the featherweight division (54–57 kg) of the 2018 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships after losing in the final to Germany's Ornella Wahner.

Savita Punia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Savita Punia

Punia receiving the Arjuna Award, 2018

Personal information

Born 11 July 1990

Jodhkan, Sirsa district, Haryana, India

Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)

Weight 60 kg (132 lb)

Playing position Goalkeeper

Club information

Current club Hockey Haryana

Senior career

Years Team Apps (Gls)

Hockey Haryana

National team

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2008– India 202 (0)

Women's field hockey

Representing India

2018 Jakarta Team

2014 Incheon Team

2017 Gifu Team

Savita Punia (born 11 July 1990) is an Indian field hockey player and is a member of the India national field hockey team. She hails from Haryana and plays as the goalkeeper.

Early life

Savita Punia was born on 11 July 1990 in Jodhkan village of Sirsa district in Haryana. She was sent to the district headquarters for better schooling. She was enrolled in the sports academy. She was encouraged by her grandfather Mahinder Singh to take up hockey and joined the Sports Authority of India (SAI) center at Hisar. She was coached by Sunder Singh Kharab during her early years. She was initially not too interested in the game, but later, when her father spent Twenty Thousand Rupees on her kit, she started to see the game in a new light and got serious about it. In 2007, Punia was picked for a maiden national camp in Lucknow, and she trained with a top goalkeeper.

Career

In 2008, Punia made her first international tour, a four-nation event in Netherlands and Germany. She made her senior international debut in the year 2011. She has featured in more than 100 games at the international level. She qualified for the national team in 2007 when she was barely 17. In 2009, she participated as a member of the team in the Junior Asia Cup. In 2013, she participated in the Eighth Women's Asia Cup held in Malaysia in which she saved two crucial potential goals in the penalty shoot-out and paved the way for India to win a Bronze medal. She was a part of the bronze-winning team at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.

In the year 2016, she displayed excellent performance when she withstood a barrage of penalty corners against Japan in the last 1 minute to help India hold on to its 1–0 lead. She helped the team qualify for the Rio Olympics after 36 years. In the Asia Cup of 2018, she made an astonishing save against China in the final, earning herself the goalkeeper of the tournament award and for her team, a slot in the 2018 World Cup in London.

She performed effectively at the Hawke's Bay Cup in New Zealand and helped her team finish 6th in the tournament.

Her outstanding performance helped the women's Indian team to beat Chile in the final match of the Women's Hockey World League Round 2.

In an interview in 2016, Punia revealed that she had been promised a job under the Haryana Government's Medal Lao, Naukri Pao scheme, but hasn't got it. A year later too, she said that nothing had changed.

Accolades

She was awarded the Baljit Singh Goalkeeper of the Year award at the Hockey India Annual Awards in 2015, for having phenomenal performances for India in international contributions which proved her worth as the best goalkeeper in the country. She also received a cash reward of 1 lakh rupees for her contribution to the sports.

Saikat Saha Roy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Saikat Saha RoyPersonal information

Date of birth 12 December 1991

Place of birth India

Position(s) Defender

Club information

Current team Bhawanipore F.C. (on loan from East Bengal)

Youth career

2010–2011 East Bengal

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2011– East Bengal 5 (0)

2013– (on loan) Bhawanipore

National team

2008–2009 India U19

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Saikat Saha Roy (born 12 December 1991) is an Indian football player who currently plays for I-League 2nd Division club Bhawanipore F.C..

Club career

East Bengal

After spending a season being captain for the East Bengal F.C. youth team in the I-League U19 championships Roy signed professional terms with the club.

The 2011–12 season started off well for Roy as he was included in the East Bengal's 2011 Indian Federation Cup squad list. After the Federation Cup Roy made his first start and game for the East Bengal first-team during the 2011 Indian Super Cup against Salgaocar. The match ended with East Bengal winning on penalties 9-8 and Roy scoring the winning penalty. He then played his first professional I-League match on 22 October 2011 against Churchill Brothers S.C. where East Bengal lost 1-0. He then started his second match for East Bengal two months later on 29 December 2011 against Salgaocar. East Bengal lost 4-0.

International

Saikat has represented India U-19 in 2010 AFC U-19 Championship qualification.

Sumeet Passi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sumeet PassiPersonal information

Full name Sumeet Passi

Date of birth 12 September 1994

Place of birth Yamuna Nagar, Haryana, India

Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]

Position(s) Striker/Left Back

Club information

Current team Jamshedpur

Number 12

Youth career

Chandigarh FA

Chandigarh U15

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2013 Indian Arrows 3 (0)

2014–2016 Sporting Goa 9 (3)

2016–2017 Northeast United 4 (0)

2017 → DSK Shivajians (loan) 6 (0)

2017– 2020 Jamshedpur 28 (3)

2020– Punjab FC 5 (0)

National team‡

2011–2012 India U19 1 (1)

2015 India U23 1 (0)

2016– India 8 (3)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19 February 2020

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 7 January 2020

Sumeet Passi (born 12 September 1994) is an Indian footballer who currently plays as a striker for I-League club Punjab FC and Indian national team.

Early career

Senior career

Passi made his professional debut in football on 2 February 2013 against East Bengal in which he came on in the 77th minute for Dhanpal Ganesh as Pailan Arrows lost the match 2–1.

Jamshedpur

International career

Passi made his debut for India against Laos on 2 June 2016. He scored his first international goal against Laos on 7 June 2016 with an assist from Jackichand Singh.

Suman Kundu

Suman Kundu was born in India on December 24, 1988.

On Popular Bio, She is one of the successful Amateur Wrestler. She has ranked on the list of those famous people who were born on December 24, 1988. She is one of the Richest Amateur Wrestler who was born in India. She also has a position among the list of Most popular Amateur Wrestler. Suman Kundu is 1 of the famous people in our database with the age of 31 years old.

Short Profile

First Name Suman

Last Name Kundu

Profession Amateur Wrestler

Age 31 years old

Birth Sign Aquarius

Birth Date December 24, 1988

Birth Place India

Country India

Suman Kundu Net Worth

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According to Wikipedia, Forbes, IMDb & Various Online resources, famous Amateur Wrestler Suman Kundu’s net worth is $1-5 Million at the age of 31 years old. She earned the money being a professional Amateur Wrestler. She is from India.

Suman Kundu’s Net Worth:

$1-5 Million

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Previous Year’s Net Worth (2019) Under Review

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Dating is to describe a stage in a person’s life when he or she is actively pursuing romantic relationships with different people. If two unmarried celebrities are seen in public together, they are often described as “dating” which means they were seen in public together, and it is not clear whether they are merely friends, exploring a more intimate relationship, or are romantically involved.

Sunil Chhetri

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sunil Chhetri

Chhetri with India in 2009

Personal information

Full name Sunil Chhetri

Date of birth 3 August 1984

Place of birth Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh, (present-day Telangana), India

Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)

Position(s) Striker, winger

Club information

Current team Bengaluru

Number 11

Youth career

2001–2002 City Football Club

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2002–2005 Mohun Bagan 18 (8)

2005–2008 JCT 48 (21)

2008–2009 East Bengal 14 (9)

2009–2010 Dempo 13 (8)

2010 Kansas City Wizards 0 (0)

2011 Chirag United 7 (7)

2011–2012 Mohun Bagan 14 (8)

2012–2013 Sporting CP B 5 (0)

2013 → Churchill Brothers (loan) 8 (4)

2013–2015 Bengaluru 43 (16)

2015–2016 Mumbai City 11 (7)

2015–2016 → Bengaluru (loan) 14 (5)

2016– Bengaluru 93 (47)

2016 → Mumbai City (loan) 6 (0)

National team‡

2004 India U20 3 (2)

2005– India 118 (74)

Honours

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:44, 3rd January 2020 (UTC)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 04:00, 15 June 2021 (UTC)

Sunil Chhetri (born 3 August 1984) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a striker or winger and captains both Indian Super League side Bengaluru FC and the Indian national football team. Chhetri is the fourth-highest international goalscorer among active players, after Cristiano Ronaldo, Ali Mabkhout and Lionel Messi, and 13th-highest of all time, as of June 2021. He is both the most-capped player and the all-time top goalscorer for his national team.

Chhetri began his professional career at Mohun Bagan in 2002, moving to JCT where he scored 21 goals in 48 games.He signed for Major League Soccer side the Kansas City Wizards in 2010, becoming the third player from the subcontinent of note to go abroad. He returned to India's I-League where he played for Chirag United and Mohun Bagan before going back abroad, at Sporting Clube de Portugal of the Primeira Liga, where he played for the club's reserve side.

Chhetri helped India win the 2007, 2009, and 2012 Nehru Cup, as well as the 2011 SAFF Championship. He was also helped India win the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup, which qualified them to their first AFC Asian Cup in 27 years, scoring twice in the final tournament in 2011. Chhetri has also been named AIFF Player of the Year a record six times in 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017 and 2018–19.

Mohun Bagan

Chhetri began his professional football journey with Mohun Bagan of the National Football League after playing with City FC of New Delhi. After his first season with the club, the 2002–03 season, Chhetri had scored four goals as Mohun Bagan finished in seventh place in the table. The next season, Chhetri scored only two goals. The first came against Sporting Goa while the second came against Indian Bank as Mohun Bagan once again finished in the bottom half of the table, in ninth place. Chhetri then once again scored only two goals during the 2004–05 season; this time Mohun Bagan finished eighth in the league and remained in the National Football League on goal difference.

JCT

In 2005, Chhetri signed for JCT for the 2005–06 season. During that season, Chhetri scored three goals. He scored twice against Salgaocar before the third came against Sporting Goa, as JCT finished the season that year in sixth place. Meanwhile, in the Santosh Trophy, Chhetri scored two hat-tricks for Delhi in the group stages of the 61st Santosh Trophy against both Orissa and Railways. However, despite Chhetri's best efforts, Delhi were eliminated in the pre-quarter final round after losing 1–0 to Tamil Nadu in extra time.

Then, during the 2006–07 season, Chhetri scored a total of eleven goals in the league for JCT as the club finished in second place, behind Dempo. Among his best games during that season were the matches against his former club Mohun Bagan and Dempo in which he scored braces in both matches as JCT won both games 2–0 and 3–2 respectively.

Then, during the very first season of the I-League, Chhetri scored seven goals as JCT finished the season in third place. His only brace that season came against Salgaocar during the final match of the season. Midway through that season though, in December 2007, Chhetri was awarded the AIFF Player of the Year award for 2007 for his excellent form and performances for his club and country.

Interest abroad

"Of course, I would love to play in Europe like [David] Villa and it all depends where I get an offer from. England would certainly be fine and I have had talks but the stumbling blocks are the work permit restrictions."

Sunil Chhetri, stating his desire to move abroad to play alongside Spanish striker David Villa.

In October 2008 it was rumored that Chhetri had sparked interest from foreign clubs. These clubs were Leeds United of the Football League One and Estoril Praia of the Liga de Honra, the second division of Portugal. During an interview Chhetri said that "Nothing has been confirmed as yet but yes, I think I am close to getting there." indicating that there was a chance of him signing in England. However, in the end, a move never materialized.

East Bengal

Before the 2008–09 season began, Chhetri signed with fellow I-League side East Bengal. He scored on his debut for East Bengal against Chirag United on 26 September 2008 in which he scored in the 28th minute as East Bengal won the match 3–1.

Chhetri then went on to score a crucial goal for East Bengal during the Federation Cup in which he scored the only goal against his former club, JCT, which led to East Bengal booking a place in the semi-finals. During the semi-final match, East Bengal took on arch-rivals and another of Sunil's former clubs, Mohun Bagan, in which he missed the decisive penalty in the penalty shootout as East Bengal were officially knocked-out of the tournament.

Midway through the season though, reports came out suggesting that two Major League Soccer teams were interesting in Chhetri, along with his international teammate Steven Dias. These two MLS sides were rumored to be the Los Angeles Galaxy and D.C. United. However, on 25 January 2009, Chhetri arrived in Coventry, England to begin a trial at Coventry City of the Football League Championship, thus rejecting MLS. Four days later though, Coventry City manager Chris Coleman said that they would not be following their interest in Chhetri. Four months later though, Chhetri said that he would go back to Coventry City in June 2009 for another extended trial.That never materialized however.

Dempo

Upon being released by East Bengal, Chhetri signed a two-year contract with another fellow I-League side, Dempo on 22 May 2009. In his contract was a clause which allowed him to leave for trials abroad in the future if he wanted to.

More foreign interest

On 7 August 2009 it was reported that Scottish Premier League side Celtic were linked with a move to sign Chhetri. The Scottish club had watched Chhetri during a pre-season friendly with Santboià, a Segunda División B side, in a pre-season fixture. Yogesh Joshee, Chhetri's agent, was quoted as saying, "I'm waiting to get feedback from Celtic, who saw him on Monday by head scout and then another scout came to watch game, I'll let you know the outcome when I know."

Then on 30 August 2009 it was announced by the Hindustan Times that Chhetri had signed a three-year contract with English Football League Championship side Queens Park Rangers but that he was denied a work permit by the British government. According to an article on the Football Players’ Association of India's official website, Chhetri was denied a work permit because India were not in the top 70 of the FIFA World Rankings. Chhetri, however, remained positive: "But it's not the end of the world. I will still continue to work hard for my country and my club Dempo, who have been very supportive."

Overseas career

In March 2010 it was announced that Chhetri was on trial with the Kansas City Wizards of Major League Soccer and that he had played during their pre-season games. He then formally signed for the team on 24 March 2010, becoming just the third Indian to play outside of South Asia and the first Indian to play in MLS. Peter Vermes, the head coach of the Wizards, was quoted as saying "One thing we really like about Sunil is that he's a crafty player. Technically he's very sharp, and he's a guy that has good attacking tendencies."

On 14 April 2010 Chhetri made his debut for the Wizards in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup qualification play-in game against the Colorado Rapids in which he started but ended up with a yellow card and was substituted out of the game at half-time as Kansas City lost the match 1–2. Then, on 23 July 2010, it was announced that Chhetri would play in a mid-season friendly against Manchester United. However this caused controversy as he had not yet played a league match. On 25 July 2010, Chhetri made an appearance for the Wizards against United, coming on as a substitute for Teal Bunbury in the 69th minute as Kansas City won the match 2–1.

However, the next day, it was announced that Chhetri was to compete for the Indian national team until the end of the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. Then on 5 February 2011 it was announced that Chhetri had officially left the team.

Chirag United

On 10 February 2011, it was announced that Chirag United had beaten United Sikkim to the signing of Sunil Chhetri for the rest of the 2010–11 I-League season. On 3 April 2011, Chhetri scored his first goal for Chirag United against Dempo, however, Dempo won the match 4–2. Chhetri then scored a brace on 29 April 2011 against ONGC to help salvage a 2–2 draw for Chirag.

Mohun Bagan

On 22 July 2011, it was announced by I-League club Mohun Bagan that Chhetri has signed a one-year deal with the club.

Sporting Clube de Portugal B

On 4 July 2012, it was reported that Chhetri had signed a two-year contract with Sporting CP and would play in their reserve team. He then made his debut for the side in a Segunda Liga match against S.C. Freamunde in which he came on in the 85th minute as Sporting CP B won the match 2–0.

Churchill Brothers (loan)

On 13 February 2013, it was announced that in order to get more playing time Chhetri would be loaned out to Churchill Brothers in the I-League for the remainder of the season. He made his debut for Churchill Brothers on 26 February 2013 against Kitchee in the AFC Cup in which Chhetri started as Churchill Brothers lost 0–3. He then scored his first goal for Churchill Brothers in their next match against Semen Padang on 12 March 2013 in which he started and scored in the 27th minute as Churchill Brothers drew the match 2–2 After the season ended, Chhetri had scored four goals in eight matches as he helped Churchill Brothers to their second ever I-League title.

Bengaluru FC

2013–14

On 19 July 2013, following his release from Sporting Lisbon, Chhetri signed with new direct-entry I-League side Bengaluru for the 2013–14 season. He made his debut for the club in their opening game on 22 September 2013 against Mohun Bagan in which he came on as a 46th-minute substitute for Beikhokhei Beingaichho as Bengaluru managed a 1–1 draw. Chhetri then scored his first goal for the side in the next game against Rangdajied United in which he found the net in the 67th minute as Bengaluru won 3–0.

He did not score again for Bengaluru till November when, on the 2nd against Mumbai, Chhetri scored from the penalty-spot in the 57th minute to help Bengaluru FC to a 2–2 draw. He then scored his first brace of the season against on 1 December 2013 against Shillong Lajong in which his 7th and 34th-minute strikes helped the team to a 2–1 victory. Then in the next match against former club Churchill Brothers Chhetri scored another brace as he led Bengaluru FC to a 3–1 victory. He then scored his third brace in a row in the very next match against Mohammedan as he led Bengaluru FC to a 3–2 win in Kolkata.

Chhetri then finished off an impressive first half of the season for Bengaluru with a goal from the penalty spot against Salgaocar, his ninth of the season, as he led the Bangalore side to a 2–1 victory. He then scored another goal in the teams very first Federation Cup match against Sporting Goa as Bengaluru FC won 5–3 on 15 January 2014. With 14 goals and 7 assist in 23 appearances in the season, Chhetri led Bengaluru FC to their first ever I-League title in its debut season.

2014–15

Chhetri began the season in the 2014 Durand Cup, playing and scoring three times but missed the penalty in the shoot-out in the semi-final against Salgaocar which turned out to be the decisive penalty miss as Bengaluru crashed out.

Chhetri scored a brace in his side's first match of 2014–15 Federation Cup against Salgaocar in a match which eventually ended 3–2 in his side's favor. Chettri scored another brace in the last group stage match of the cup against Pune, scoring one from open play and one from the penalty spot and thus leading his side to the semi final. He kept up his form in the semi final against Sporting Goa and assisted Sean Rooney for the first goal and scored the second goal in a match which ended 3–0 in his side's favor. Chhetri scored his 6th goal of the tournament in the final, thus helping them win the 2014–15 Federation Cup. Sunil scored his first goal of the 2014–15 season in the 7th round away to Mohun Bagan from a Eugeneson Lyngdoh cross but couldn't prevent his team from going down 4–1. The CEO of Bengaluru FC, Parth Jindal confirmed that Chhetri along with Robin Singh and Thoi Singh will become contracted to the Indian Super League at the end of the season, to join the ISL team that drafts them in, but an arrangement has been agreed that they will be loaned back to Bengaluru for the next I-League season.

Mumbai City

Chhetri was picked up by Mumbai City during the 2015 Indian Super League for Rs. 1.2 crores, making him the most expensive Indian player at the auctions. He missed his team's first and second round matches in the 2015 season through national team commitments, playing against Turkmenistan and Oman in Group D of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, but returned against Chennaiyin in a 2–0 loss. He scored twice in his second game of the season against Roberto Carlos lead Delhi Dynamos in a 2–0 win, the first for his team in the season before scoring again, from the penalty spot, in the very next game against then table toppers Goa managed by Zico. Chhetri made history, becoming the first Indian player to score a hat-trick, in his fourth game of the season, against NorthEast United and taking his total of the season to 6 goals in 4 games. he was the top scorer for Mumbai City for that season as he poached 7 Goals. fast forward to 2018 he was still the pole position of All-time top scorers for Mumbai City FC. he came back in Mumbai colors for 2016's ISL season, the team done well this time as they reached playoffs for first time, but national commitments & less game time with the likes of Diego Forlan & Sony Norde kept him away from score sheet. After two seasons with the islanders, he signed a three-year contract which made him the highest-paid Indian Player in 2017.

Bengaluru FC

2015–16

Chhetri was loaned out to Bengaluru for the 2015–16 I-League season, where he ended up scoring 5 times in the league, thus helping his team win the league title for the second time in three years. He also scored twice in a round of 16 match against Kitchee in the 2016 AFC Cup, helping his side to an unlikely 2–3 win away from home. This would be the first time Bengaluru had reached the quarter finals of the tournament.

2016–17

On 9 June 2016, Bengaluru announced that Chhetri had signed a one-year contract at the club, thus reverting his ownership rights to the club from Mumbai City. Chhetri scored twice as Bengaluru won the 2016 AFC Cup Semi Final tie by beating Johor Darul Ta'zim in Bengaluru. Chhetri's second goal was a 30-yard strike, where he received the ball from C.K. Vineeth, beat one defender and unleashed a screamer to give Bengaluru the lead.

2017–presen

He scored 14 goals for the club during the 2017–18 Indian Super League season and became the Indian top scorer of the league. He was also the second top scorer for Bengaluru in the league and won the Hero of the League. In 2018, Chhetri went on to win the Indian Super Cup with Bengaluru FC. With 9 goals, he was the topscorer for Bengaluru during their 2018–19 season in ISL and helped to win the 2018–19 Indian Super League title. Chhetri was Bengaluru's topscorer during their 2019–20 campaign. During the 2020–21 season, he scored eight goals and thus became the topscorer for Bengaluru in three consecutive seasons. On 15 February 2021, Chhetri became the first player to make 200 appearance for Bengaluru FC. He scored his 100th goal for Bengaluru FC in the final league match of the 2020–21 ISL season against Jamshedpur FC on 25 February 2021. On 20 June, it was announced that Chhetri had signed a two-year contract extension until 2023.

International career

On 30 March 2004, Chhetri played his first game for the Indian U-20 team in the 1–0 victory over Pakistan U-23 team in the 2004 SAF Games in Pakistan. On 3 April 2004, Chhetri scored twice for the Indian U-20 team against Bhutan U-23 team in their 4–1 victory. On 12 June 2005 Sunil scored his first goal for the senior India national football team against Pakistan.

On 15 October 2019, Chhetri became the only Indian to secure a place in the list of top 10 goalscorers in international football.

2007–2011

Chettri (in right) celebrating with teammates, after winning the Nehru Cup final against Syria in 2007.

Chhetri's first international tournament was the 2007 Nehru Cup. In the opening game, India defeated Cambodia 6–0 with Chhetri scoring two goals.He also scored a goal in the 2–3 defeat to Syria and another in the 3–0 win over Kyrgyzstan to take his goal tally to four. Chhetri was involved in the build-up to N.P. Pradeep's decisive goal as India beat Syria 1–0 in the final to become the first champions of the tournament since 1997. Later in 2007, India began their 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign. They were knocked out in the first round by Lebanon with Chhetri scoring once in the away leg (a 4–1 defeat) and once in the home leg (a 2–2 draw) resulting in a 6–3 aggregate defeat.

Chhetri celebrating after scoring in the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup

The 2008 SAFF Championship started with three victories out of a possible three in the group stages. In the opening game, Chhetri scored a goal in a 4–0 victory over Nepal. He scored once more in the championship—in the 2–1 semi-final victory over Bhutan; this was an equaliser before Gouramangi Singh scored India's second goal to send India through to the final. India lost 1–0 to the Maldives in the final and Chhetri played for the full 90 minutes. Later that year, in the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup, Chhetri played in all of the matches and scored four goals. In the 1–0 win over Afghanistan, he was involved in the build-up to Climax Lawrence's goal. He also played for the full 90 minutes against Tajikistan (a 1–1 draw) and Turkmenistan (a 2–1 win). In the semi-final against Myanmar, Chhetri scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory after being assisted by Baichung Bhutia to see India through to the final. In the final against Tajikistan, Chhetri scored a hat-trick which enabled India to win the Cup. This automatically qualified India for the 2011 Asian Cup, the first time they had qualified for the tournament in 24 years. His first goal was originally disallowed for offside by Uzbek referee Valentin Kovalenko, who changed his mind after consulting his assistant.[99] Hundreds of fans waited outside the stadium to greet India's new "poster boy" and India manager Bob Houghton stated, "He is remarkable, brave and honest. He never gives up."

Initially, Goal.com stated that Chhetri would miss the 2009 Nehru Cup through injury. He played in the tournament, however, and he scored in the second match of the Nehru Cup, a penalty in a 2–1 win over Kyrgyzstan, this being first time he had completed a full match since getting injured before the pre-season tour of Spain with his club. He featured in the other three games in the round robin stage of the tournament, including the "dress rehearsal" for the final against Syria, but did not score. Chhetri was one of India's scorers in the penalty shootout victory over Syria in the final after the match had ended in a 1–1 draw. He showed flashes of brilliance and scored the second goal in a 5–2 defeat at the hands of Bahrain in the 2011 Asian Cup. He also scored a goal against South Korea at the 2011 AFC Asian Cup.

He was named the national team Captain for the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualification which took place in Malaysia. On 16 November 2011 Chhetri scored in the 39th and 53rd minute for India against Malaysia in a friendly match played at the Salt Lake Stadium. The match ended 3–2 in favour of India. On 11 December 2011 after scoring a goal in SAFF Cup's final he set a new record by scoring seven goals in a single edition of the SAFF Championship surpassing I.M.Vijayan's record of six goals in the 97 edition.

2012–2016

On 22 August 2012, Chhetri scored a goal with a header in the added time of the first half against Syria in the first match of 2012 Nehru Cup where India won the match 2–1. In the second match, which was on 25 August he scored two goals against Maldives, one goal coming from penalty where the team won 3–0. In the final against fancied opponents Cameroon, Chhetri scored from a well-taken penalty kick to equalize the score at 2–2. In the ensuing penalty shootout which India won 5–4, Chhetri went as the second kick-taker from India and scored.

2017–present

Chhetri in a 2019 AFC Asian Cup group match against Thailand

On 11 October 2017, Chhetri scored and assisted in a 4–1 home win against Macau in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, with this win they qualified for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup after missing out in 2015. Chhetri captained India to a 13 match unbeaten run before losing the final match to Kyrgyzstan. Nonetheless, not only did India qualify for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup but also managed to top their group. He was among four renowned Asian players including Ali Daei, Sun Jihai and Phil Younghusband to be chosen for the seeds for the upcoming Asian cup.

Chhetri at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup

In June 2018, Chhetri scored a hat-trick in a 5–0 win over Chinese Taipei in their first match of 2018 Intercontinental Cup. However, after this match, Chhetri was disappointed with the poor turnout at the stadium and he uploaded a video on Twitter requesting people to come to Mumbai Football Arena to support the Indian team. His video went viral and garnered widespread support from fans, celebrities and legendary cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. The stadium was packed with exuberant crowd for the rest of the matches. In the second match of the tournament, which was also Chhetri's 100th international appearance for India and also scored two goals including a goal from penalty spot in a 3–0 victory over Kenya. Chhetri scored a goal in the next match against New Zealand, but the match ended 2–1 loss for India though India qualified for the final On 10 June, Chhetri scored twice again in a 2–0 win over Kenya in the final to win the Intercontinental Cup title and also equalled Argentina's Lionel Messi's tally of 64 international goals, making him the joint-second active international goalscorer at that time behind Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo who had 81 goals.He finished as the top scorer of the tournament with eight goals. Chhetri's brace against Thailand on 6 January 2019 helped India to get a historic 4–1 win over them in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. On 7 June 2021, Chhetri scored twice in a 2–0 win over Bangladesh in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification.

Personal life

Sunil Chhetri was born on 3 August 1984 to K. B. Chhetri, an officer in the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers of the Indian Army, and Sushila Chhetri in Secunderabad, India. His father played football for the Indian Army's team while his mother and her twin sisters played for the Nepal women's national team. Chhetri started playing football from a young age taking part in various tournaments.

On 4 December 2017, Chhetri married his long time girlfriend Sonam Bhattacharya who is the daughter of the former Indian international and Mohun Bagan player Subrata Bhattacharya. Sunil Chhetri was named an 'Asian Icon' by AFC on his 34th birthday in 2018.He signed a 3-year deal with global sports giant PUMA India starting from 2020.

Honours

Dempo

I-League: 2009–10

Churchill Brothers

I-League: 2012–13

Bengaluru FC

Indian Super League: 2018–19

I-League: 2013–14, 2015–16

Indian Federation Cup: 2014–15, 2016–17

Super Cup: 2018

AFC Cup: runner-up 2016

India

AFC Challenge Cup: 2008

SAFF Championship: 2011, 2015

Nehru Cup: 2007, 2009, 2012

Intercontinental Cup: 2017, 2018

Individual

The then-president of India Pratibha Patil presenting the Arjuna Award to Sunil Chhetri in 2011

AIFF Player of the Year (6): 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018–19

FPAI Indian Player of the Year: 2009, 2018

AFC Challenge Cup Most Valuable Player: 2008

SAFF Championship Player of the Tournament: 2011

Hero of the I-League: 2016–17

Hero of the Indian Super League: 2017–18

Hero of the Intercontinental Cup: 2018

AFC Asian Icon: 3 August 2018

Football Ratna Award (first recipient) by Delhi Football Association: 18 February 2019

Awards and accolades

2011 − Arjuna Award, by the Government of India in recognition of his outstanding achievement in sports.

2019 − Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award.

Other

AFC Cup All-time XI (The Strikers): Inductee (2021)

Shilanand Lakra

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shilanand LakraPersonal information

Born 5 May 1999

Sundergarh district, Odisha, India

Playing position Forward

National team

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2017–present India U21 18 (10)

2018–present India 12 (3)

Last updated on: 23 october 2019

Shilanand Lakra (born 5 May 1999) is an Indian field hockey player who plays as a forward for the Indian national team.

He made his national debut during the 2018 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. He had previously played for the national junior team which won the bronze medal at the 2017 Sultan of Johor Cup. He was the top goalscorer at the 2019 Sultan of Johor Cup with five goals

Sarita Mor

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sarita MorPersonal information

Born 16 April 1995

Sonipat district, Haryana, India

Weight 59 kg (130 lb)

Spouse(s) Rahul Mann

Sport

Country India

Sport Freestyle wrestling

Event(s) 59 kg

Partner Rahul Mann

Achievements and titles

Highest world ranking 2

Women's freestyle wrestling

Representing India

2021 Oslo 59 kg

Commonwealth Karate Championships

2021 Almaty 59 kg

2020 New Delhi 59 kg

2017 New Delhi 58 kg

Sarita Mor is an Indian freestyle wrestler. She won the silver medal at the 2017 Asian Wrestling Championships in the 58 kg weight class and the gold medal at the 2020 Asian Wrestling Championships in the 59 kg weight class.sa

In 2021, she won the silver medal in the 57 kg event at the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series 2021 held in Rome, Italy. She also won the bronze medal at the 2021 World Wrestling Championships held in Oslo, Norway.

Sunita Lakra

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Born : 11 June 1991

Rajgangpur, Odisha, India

Height 1.58 m (5 ft 2 in)

Weight 57 kg (126 lb)

Playing position Forward

139, Medal record

Women's field hockey

Representing India

Asian Games : 2018 Jakarta

Team : 2014 Incheon

Sunita Lakra (born 11 June 1991) is an Indian field hockey player. Lakra has represented her country by being capped in the India women's national field hockey team.

Early life

CareerLakra's father is a famer; she has elder brothers. She was sent to join Sports Authority of India (SAI) in Rourkela to learn hockey when she was six years old. In Lakra's community, most girls and boys take up football from an early age, but Lakra's father believed that football was a dangerous sport and trained his daughter in hockey.

Sunita Lakra made her international debut in 2009, and has since then, cited as the backbone of the team. She was the part of the team in the 17th Asian Games and the Women's Hockey World League Round 2. India's clash against New Zealand in the Hawke's Bay Cup of 2015 marked the 50th international appearance of Lakra.

She plays defense in the team. Lakra completed her 100th international match with a match also against New Zealand in 2017, in the third match of the five match series. Lakra climbed the ladder of ranks in Indian hockey with significant performances at the 17th Asian Games and the 2016 Rio Olympics. She was also the part of the winning Indian side in the Asian Champions Trophy, in which the team won the final match against China. In 2017 August, she was selected to be a part of the India women's national field hockey team's 15-day European tour starting 5 September 2017.

Lakra was handed the responsibility to head the team as a captain in the Asian Champions Trophy women's hockey, which began at Donghae City, Korea in May 2018, and led the team to a second position.

Lakra is a part of the 18 member squad which is playing in the 14th edition of the Women's Hockey World Cup.

Shilanand Lakra

A cadet of SAIL Hockey Academy (SHA), Rourkela has been selected for the Indian Men’s Senior Hockey Team. The cadet Shilanand Lakra has been selected to be a part of the 18-member team for the 27th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Tournament to be played at Ipoh, Malaysia from 3rd to 10th March 2018.

Shilanand, who plays in the forward line, was part of the Junior National Team that won the Bronze Medal at Sultan of Johor Cup held in Malaysia in October 2017. With Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Tournament, Shilanand will be making his debut in the senior national team. Alongside India, the tournament will feature World No.1 Australia, World No.2 Argentina, England, Ireland and hosts Malaysia.

It is worth mentioning that Shilanand, son of Mr Carlus Lakra and Mrs Mary Grace Lakra, natives of Kalijapathar village of Sundargarh district of Odisha, joined the SAIL Hockey Academy in August 2015. Since then he has been learning the nuances of hockey from veterans like former National Junior India Hockey player Peter Tirkey and NIS Coach Raju Kant Saini. Tirkey is the Hockey coach of Rourkela Steel Plant.

Recently, the SHA Team has brought laurels by winning Shri Nabagraha Trophy All India Invitation Hockey Tournament, Khargaon, Madhya Pradesh, from 18th to 21st January’2018. In the same month SHA team played outstanding hockey in the 8th Vinod Khandekar Under-21 All India Gold Cup Hockey Tournament (affiliated to Hockey India), Jhansi, U.P., from 23rd to 31st January’2018 and won the trophy against Railway Hockey Academy, Bhusawal, Maharastra.

SAIL Hockey Academy (SHA) was set up in 1992 by SAIL on 15 acres of land at Rourkela, which is known to the hockey heartland of India. Thereafter, in order to provide a centre dedicated to the promotion of the game, an exclusive Hockey Stadium was also built at Rourkela. In June 2005, the most modern facility of Synthetic Turf was installed in the hockey stadium.

Besides the hockey academy at Rourkela, SAIL has two football academies at Bokaro and Burnpur, an athletics academy for boys at Bhilai and one for girls at Durgapur. It also has an archery academy at Kiriburu. A number of SHA players have contributed for Indian Hockey.

शिवानी कटारिया

मुक्त ज्ञानकोश

कटारियाव्यक्तिगत जानकारी

पूरा नाम शिवानी कटारिया

राष्ट्रीयता भारतीय

जन्म 20 अगस्त 1999

हरियाणा , भारत

खेल

खेल तैराकी

Sanjay Balmuchu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Date of birth : 5 January 1992 (age 27)

Place of birth : West Singhbhum, Jharkhand , India

Playing position : Center-back, Defensive midfielder

Sanjay Balmuchu (born 5 January 1992) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Mumbai City FC in the Indian Super League.

Career

Churchill Brothers

After graduating from the Tata Football Academy, Balmuchu was announced as a Churchill Brothers player on 13 July 2012 for their I-League campaign. He made his professional debut for the club on 4 January 2013 against Shillong Lajong. He started and played the whole match as Churchill Brothers won 6–0. While with the club, Balmuchu was a part of the 2012–13 I-League winning team, and the 2013–14 Indian Federation Cup sides.

After Churchill Brothers were expelled from the I-League, Balmuchu continued to play for the club in the Goa Professional League and Durand Cup. He eventually left Churchill Brothers to sign for Mohammedan of the I-League 2nd Division.

Mohun Bagan

After some time with Mohammedan, Balmuchu signed for reigning I-League champions, Mohun Bagan, on 24 June 2015.

International

Balmuchu was selected into the initial squad for the India U23 side in the 2014 Asian Games

Samir Subash Naik

From Wikipedia

Samir Naik

Xu Deshuai (left) and Samir Naik (right) in Hong Kong Stadium in 2009

Full name : Samir Subash Naik

Date of birth : 8 August 1979

Place of birth : Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Height : 1.77 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)

Playing position : Defender

Samir Subash Naik (born 8 August 1979) is an Indian footballer who plays as a Defender for Dempo SC and India. Naik is part of successful Dempo SC squad which won 2 league titles and reached the semi final of the AFC Cup, he is also a regular for India. He also captained the Indian team in an international friendly against Oman in 2012.

National-Football-Teams.com

Suresh Babu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Suresh Babu (10 February 1953 – 19 February 2011) was an Indian long jumper from Kerala who had held the national titles in the long, triple, and high jump events, in addition to the decathlon. Suresh Babu dominated the scene between 1972 and 1979, winning national titles in the jumps and decathlon and at the same time picking his event for laurels on the international arena. He was one of the athletes to win medals in two events in successive Asian Games, the bronze in the decathlon in the Tehran Asian Games in 1974 and a gold in the long jump in the Bangkok Asian Games, 1978.

Babu died on 19 February 2011 in Ranchi while attending the 2011 National Games of India.

Early life

Born in Kollam in Kerala on 10 February 1953, Suresh Babu was a science graduate who was good in athletics. He excelled as an athlete in Infant Jesus High School and the Fatima Mata College in Kollam. His first appearance at the national level was as a junior at Jalandhar in 1969. Three years later he won the national championship in high jump, a title he was to claim for six more years. Switching from one pit to another, he won the national championship in long jump during the years 1974, 1977 and 1979 and the triple jump in 1974, 1976 and 1978. In between he strayed over to the ten card event of decathlon and imposed himself on the national scene in the championships held in 1974, 1975 and 1978.

International career

The Munich Olympics of 1972 he had his first exposure of international athletics, but it was in the Tehran Asian Games in 1974 he won his first medal. This was a Bronze in the decathlon. He won Gold medal in the Asian Championships at Seoul the following year. In between he was the captain of the Indian University's athletics team during the World Universities Games at Moscow in 1973.

Suresh Babu led the Indian athletics team to the 1978 Commonwealth Games at Edmonton in Canada and won a Bronze medal for long jump. He then went on to win the Gold medal at the 1978 Asian Games in Bangkok, His winning effort of 7.85 metres was far short of T. C. Yohannan's 8.07 metres of the earlier Games. His next target was the 1979 Asian Athletics Meet in Tokyo where he won a Silver medal, During his seven years as an active athlete Suresh Babu also won medals for India at competitions in Ceylon, Lahore and the Philippines and was the captain of the Indian team for the World Athletics Meet at Montreal in 1979.

In retirement from athletics

Suresh was employed as a Sports Officer with Kerala Sports Council, Suresh Babu had earlier served as Special Officer for Sports and Games, on the Kerala State Electricity Board. He was a member of the Technical Committee of the All India Electricity Sports Control Board and a coach at the Sports Authority of India (Southern Centre) in Bangalore. He was the State Supervisor of SAI for Kerala and Lakshadweep.

Awards and honors

Recipient of Arjuna Award, 1978–79

Sumithra Kamaraj

Sports

Mar 31, 2018

Indian Women's League: Ikwaput Fazila scores five goals as Gokulam Kerala rout IGASE to pick up first win

Born : 5 July 1994

Gokulam Kerala FC will now square off against Eastern Sporting Union on 2 April while Indira Gandhi ASE will take on Rising Student's Club on 4 April.

Sanamacha Chanu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sanamacha ChanuPersonal information

Full name Sanamacha Thingbaijam Chanu

Updated on 13 September 2016.

Sanamacha Thingbaijam Chanu (born 2 October 1978) is an Indian weightlifter who competed in the women's 53 kg weight class at the 2004 Summer Olympics. She originally finished fourth, but tested positive for a banned substance and was disqualified. She had also won three golds at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester and was a part of the core team for the 2010 Commonwealth Games at New Delhi, during the trials for which, she was tested positive for methylhexanamine; a stimulant commonly used as a nasal decongestant. She was banned for eight years for her second doping offence.

Supriya Jatav

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Supriya JatavPersonal information

Nationality Indian

Born 20 October 1991

Gujarat, India

Education B.Com, PGDCA

Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)

Sport

Country India

Sport Karate

Weight class 55-61 kg

Rank Black belt 3rd Dan

Women's Karate

Representing India

2018 Durban Kumite-61 kg

2015 New Delhi Kumite-55 kg

2013 Montreal Kumite-55 kg

Asian Karate Champion Cup

2014 Tianjin Kumite-55 kg

Supriya Jatav, born on 20 October 1991. in Dahod, Gujarat, India. Her mother Meena Jatav and father Amar Singh Jatav is a retired army officer. She is presently coached under the guidance of Coach Jaidev Sharma. From 2002 to 2006 Coached and played under the banner of Sports Authority of India. She presently represents and works with the Department of Sports and Youth Welfare, Government of Madhya Pradesh.

She is Kumite Karate athlete from India to achieve a medal in the three consecutive Commonwealth Karate Championships in Kumite Event. She is the first Indian to win the US Open Karate Championship in the elite division in 2019. Supriya Jatav won the national championship since 2010 till 2020. She has won the highest sports state awards from Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

Awards and Recognition

AwardsYear

Shakti Doot Award (State Excellence Award by Gujarat Govt.) 2011

Major Dhyanchand Awards (Social Society Udaan Gwalior) 2012

Vikram Award (State Excellence Award by M.P. Govt.) 2014

ational Sports Times Award 2016

International and World Championships

Competition Name & VenueYearVenueEventPosition

Us Open Karate Championship 2019 Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, -61 Kg. Kumite (Elite)

Team Kumite Gold

Silver

WKF Karate Series A Championship 2018 Shanghai, China -61 Kg. Kumite Participant

WKF Karate 1 Premier League 2016 Dubai, UAE -55 Kg. Kumite Participant

21st Senior World Karate Championship 2012 Paris, France -55 Kg. Kumite Participant

Commonwealth Karate Championship

ChampionshipYearVenueeventWon

9th Senior Commonwealth Karate Championship 2018 Durban, South Africa -61 Kg. Kumite

Team Kumite Gold

Bronze

8th Senior Commonwealth Karate Championship 2015 New Delhi, India. -55 Kg. Kumite Gold

7th Senior Commonwealth Karate Championship 2013 Montreal, Canada -55 Kg. Kumite Bronze

Asian Championship

ChampionshipYearVenueEventPosition

15th Senior Asian Karate Championship 2018 Oman, Jordan -55 Kg. Kumite Participant

14th Senior Asian Karate Championship 2017 Astana, Kazakhstan -55 Kg. Kumite Participant

2nd Asian Championship Cup 2014 Tianjin, China -55 Kg. Kumite Bronze

12th Senior Asian Karate Championship 2013 Dubai, UAE -55 Kg. Kumite Participant

11th Senior Asian Karate Championship 2012 Tashkent, Uzbekistan -55 Kg. Kumite Participant

10th Senior Asian Karate Championship 2011 Guangzhou, China -55 Kg. Kumite Participant

South Asian Championship

ChampionshipYearVenueEventResult

4th Senior South Asian Karate championship 2017 Colombo, Sri Lanka -55 Kg. Individual Kumite and

Team Kumite Gold

Gold

3rd Senior south Asian Karate Championship 2016 New Delhi, India -55 Kg. Individual Kumite Silver

2nd Senior south Asian Karate Championship 2014 New Delhi, India -55 Kg. Individual Kumite and

Team Kumite Gold

Gold

Suraj Lata Devi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Suraj Lata Devi

Born 3 January 1981

Women’s Field Hockey

Representing India

2002 Manchester Team

2004 New Delhi Team

2002 Johannesburg Team

Suraj Lata Devi (born 3 January 1981 in Manipur) is the former captain of the India women's national field hockey team and hails from Manipur.

She led the team to the Gold for three consecutive years: during the 2002 Commonwealth Games (the event which inspired the 2007 Bollywood hit film, Chak De India), the 2003 Afro-Asian Games, and the 2004 Hockey Asia Cup.

Sanggai Chanu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sanggai Chanu

Born 3 January 1981

Bashikong, Manipur, India

Women’s field hockey

Representing India

2002 Manchester Team

2004 New Delhi Team

2002 Johannesburg Team

Sanggai Ibemhal Chanu Maimom (born 3 January 1981 in Bashikong, near Imphal, Manipur) is a female field hockey player from India, who made her international debut for her native country in April 1998 in a friendly against Germany (0–2). She played as a midfielder or as a centre forward. At the 2001 World Cup Qualifier she was named Young Player of the Tournament.

International senior tournament

1998 – World Cup, Utrecht (12th)

1998 – Commonwealth Games, Kuala Lumpur (4th)

2001 – World Cup Qualifier, Amiens/Abbeville (7th)

2002 – Champions Challenge, Johannesburg (3rd)

2002 – Commonwealth Games, Manchester (1st)

2002 – Asian Games, Busan (4th)

2003 – Field hockey at the 2003 Afro-Asian Games, Hyderabad (1st)

2004 – Asia Cup, New Delhi (1st)

2006 – Commonwealth Games, Melbourne (2nd)

2006 – World Cup, Madrid (11th)

Shaun White

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shaun White

White in 2018

Personal information

Full name Shaun Roger White

Born September 3, 1986

San Diego, California, U.S.

Height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)

Weight 154 lb (70 kg)

Sport

Country United States

Sport Snowboarding, Skateboarding

Shaun Roger White (born September 3, 1986) is an American professional snowboarder, skateboarder, and musician. He is a three-time Olympic gold medalist in half-pipe snowboarding (2006, 2010, and 2018), and holds the world record for the most X-Games gold medals and most Olympic gold medals by a snowboarder. He has also won 10 ESPY Awards throughout his career in various categories.

Early life

White was born in San Diego, California, to parents Cathy and Roger. When he was young his mother was a waitress and his father, who grew up surfing, worked for the San Clemente, California, water department. He is the youngest of four children. His ancestry includes Irish and Italian. He was born with a Tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital heart defect for which he required two open-heart operations before the age of one. White spent his early years riding the San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California with his family. They would stay in a van in resort parking lots.

Career

Skateboarding

At an early age White's skills drew admirers. Professional skateboarder Tony Hawk befriended the nine-year-old White at the Encinitas, California, YMCA skate park and mentored him, helping White turn pro in skateboarding at the age of 16. White has said that “Tony was my hero and I was too terrified to talk to him so every time I saw him at the skate park I would try to impress him with my skateboarding in the hopes that one day he would say something to me." White has won many titles on his skateboard, including the overall title of Action Sports Tour Champion, and was the first person to compete in and win both the Summer and Winter X Games in two different sports.

Snowboarding

Following in his older brother Jesse White's footsteps, White switched from skiing to snowboarding at age six, and by age seven, he received his first sponsorship. White has participated in four Winter Olympics in his career. At the 2006, 2010, and 2018 Winter Olympics, White won gold in the snowboard halfpipe event. White has also participated in the Winter X Games, where he has won a medal every year since 2002. Including all winter X Games competitions through 2013, his medal count stands at 18 (13 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze), among which is the first quadruple win streak by a male athlete in one discipline, the snowboard slopestyle. White's streak was snapped in 2007 when he lost to Andreas Wiig and Teddy Flandreau, with White taking the bronze. He won the Air & Style Contest in 2003 and 2004.

2006 Winter Olympics

At the 2006 Winter Olympics, White won gold in the half-pipe. After his first run in qualifications, White was almost out of competition, scoring only 37.7. On his second run, he recorded a score of 45.3. In the finals, White recorded a score of 46.8 (50 is the highest possible score) to win. Fellow American Danny Kass won the silver with a points total of 44.0.

2008

Executing a near-flawless second run, White captured his third consecutive snowboard halfpipe title at the 2008 U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships to go along with his third US Open slopestyle competition. This followed White's win at the 25th (2007) Burton US Open, where he placed third in slopestlyle and first in the halfpipe. At the 2007 Open, White was also crowned the first "Burton Global Open Champion". His take for the event was $100,000 (Global Open Champ), $20,000 (1st Place Halfpipe), $90,000 (3rd Place Slopestyle), and a new Corvette.

On November 16, 2008, White released his first video game Shaun White Snowboarding in North America (November 14, 2008, in Europe). Shaun White Snowboarding was the 20th best-selling game of December 2008 in the United States.

2009

White with Richard Branson in 2009

Controversy followed White's win on the 2009 SuperPipe at Winter X Games XIII[citation needed]. Kevin Pearce had five hits in the pipe, and all were the same tricks White did in his final run. White, on the other hand, had six hits and he started off his run with a big backside rodeo 540 where Pearce started his run off with a big grab. Although Pearce went bigger, he had fewer hits, and his first hit wasn't as technically difficult as White's first hit.[citation needed] Judges came to the conclusion that White deserved the better score because he started off with a more technical trick and he had one more hit than Pearce.[citation needed] With the win, White became the second competitor, after Tanner Hall, to win a gold medal in the SuperPipe in consecutive years at the Winter X Games. He also won a gold medal in Slopestyle, finally winning gold after two consecutive years of bronze.

On February 14, 2009, White won the FIS World Cup Men's Halfpipe event at Vancouver's Cypress Mountain. Out of the gate in his first qualifying run, he qualified immediately with the day's best score of 45.5. With a thumb sprained on an over-rotated backside 1080 in the second qualifying run, White clinched the event with the first of his two runs in the finals. His first finals run was awarded the highest score ever in FIS halfpipe, a 47.3.

2010 Winter Olympics

At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, White again won gold in the halfpipe. In the finals, White recorded a score of 46.8 on his first run, which proved a high enough score to secure the gold medal without a second run. He performed his second run anyway, as a victory lap, ending his run with a well-anticipated Double McTwist 1260 which he named The Tomahawk. This second run resulted in a record score of 48.4 (50 is the highest possible score) enlarging his margin of victory. His nearest competitor won the silver with a points total of 45.0 -- 3.4 behind White.

2011

After a sub-par performance in the Slopestyle and failing to reach the finals, White "redeemed" himself in the SuperPipe. With an 89, he sat in second place going into his 2nd of three runs. He completed the run, landing his infamous Double McTwist 1260 and finishing with a score of 97.33 to take the lead and claim the historical 4th straight Gold in the Winter X Games, held in Aspen, Colorado. The score tied an X Games record, which was set by White one year before. His 3rd run was a simple victory run featuring mostly straight air.

2012

At Winter X, White became the first person in the history of the Winter X Games to score a perfect 100 in the men's Snowboard SuperPipe.

2013

White won his 6th consecutive SuperPipe victory, making him the second participant ever to achieve this, with SnoCross racer Tucker Hibbert achieving his 6th consecutive victory earlier in the same day.

In December 2013, he won the third place in the Pipe & Slope contest at the FIS Snowboard World Cup in Copper Mountain, Colorado.

2014 Winter Olympics

White finished fourth at the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Halfpipe event.

During the winter games, he was the most talked-about Olympic athlete on Facebook.

2018 Winter Olympics

White after medalling at the 2018 Winter Olympics

While in New Zealand, training for the 2018 Winter Olympics, White crashed into the edge of a superpipe; the resulting injuries to his face required 62 stitches. Despite the accident, White qualified for the 2018 US Olympic Team. On February 14, he won his third Olympic gold medal for the Men's Halfpipe event with a score of 97.75, with Ayumu Hirano of Japan taking the silver medal and Scott James of Australia taking the bronze. White was trailing Hirano by one full point coming into his last run with a score of 94.25. Despite this, White dramatically won the gold medal with back-to-back 1440s. His gold medal was also the 100th for the United States at the Winter Olympic Games.

Athletic achievements

White was the first to compete and medal in both the Summer and Winter X Games.

White is the first snowboarder ever to land back-to-back double corks, at the Red Bull superpipe.

He remains the only skater to land the frontside heelflip 540 body varial. (The Armadillo).

He was the first to land a Cab 7 Melon Grab in vert skateboarding.

He is the first snowboarder to win back-to-back gold medals in the Winter X-Games SuperPipe.

He is also the first athlete ever (on snowboard or skis) to win gold medals four years in a row in the Winter X-Games SuperPipe.

He is the first (and only) person to win both a Summer and Winter Dew Cup.

White was the first to "three-peat" in SuperPipe at the Winter X Games.

Shaun White holds the record for the highest score in the men's halfpipe at the Winter Olympics. In 2018, he scored 97.75 on his last run.

Non-competition awards and accolades

White was named the "Chairman of the Board" on the Spike TV Guys' Choice Awards on June 13, 2007 and again on June 19, 2010.

In the March 2009 issue of Snowboarder Magazine, he was named the ninth-best snowboarder in the World.

He won the Revolver Golden Gods Award for "Most Metal Athlete".

White has been named Transworld Snowboarding's Rider Of The Year twice.

Endorsements

White has had a sponsor since he was seven years old. White signed CAA Sports for representation after working with IMG for eight years. Corporate endorsement deals include or have included Burton Snowboards, Oakley, Inc., Birdhouse Skateboards, Park City Mountain Resort, Target Corporation, Red Bull, Ubisoft, Adio, Hewlett-Packard, and American Express. White also has his own character on the game Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder, as well as the video games ‘’Cool Boarders 4,’’ Shaun White Snowboarding and Shaun White Skateboarding. In 2009, Forbes magazine estimated that he had earned $9 million from his endorsements in 2008.

Acting career

White has made cameo appearances as himself in the 2011 film Friends with Benefits, the 2013 episode "Da Flippity Flop" of the animated TV series American Dad!, and the 2014 Disney Channel Original Movie Cloud 9.

In a 2007 interview with Outside magazine, White stated that he had turned down numerous film roles in which "the first lines [for his character] are always "What up, brah?'"

Music career

White plays guitar in the electronic rock band Bad Things, which also features former Augustana bassist Jared Palomar.[28] He got his first guitar as first prize in a snowboarding competition. The band played in one of the four Saturday headlining slots at the 2013 Lollapalooza festival, as a last-minute replacement for Death Grips. Their self-titled debut album was released in January 2014.

In October 2013, White appeared in the music video for "City of Angels" by Thirty Seconds to Mars.

Media appearances

He had his first published interview in TransWorld SNOWboarding Magazine in 2003.

White starred in the 2004 documentary The White Album and the 2005 snowboarding documentary First Descent.

In 2007, White appeared on the E! reality TV show The Girls Next Door as a snowboarding teacher for Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson.

White was one of the few pro snowboarders to be a guest editor of Snowboarder Magazine (February 2008 issue)

Shaun White has appeared in several video games and even had his own franchise

Appeared in 1999’s Cool Boarders 4

He appeared in Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder in 2001

Shaun White Snowboarding was released in 2008

A sequel, Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage, was released in 2009

A skateboarding game, Shaun White Skateboarding, was released in 2010

A film, Don't Look Down, has been released on DVD and ESPN. The film tracks his journey through the year following his Olympic success.

White was on the cover of The Complete Book of the Winter Olympics: 2010 Edition.

White appeared as a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on March 2, 2010, recounting the story of how his mother had his first Olympic gold medal dry cleaned.

White appeared on the January 16, 2011, episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to help redesign a room for an eight-year-old boy.

White appeared in the Nickelodeon TV Series Henry Danger in 2018 in the episode Toon in for Danger. In the episode White and Captain Man were struggling for a seat while Watching the premiere of The Adventures of Kid Danger.

White has a chapter giving advice in Tim Ferriss' book Tools of Titans.

Personal life

White has had the longstanding nickname "The Flying Tomato", due to his red hair. In 2006, Rolling Stone wrote about the nickname, saying, "he used to embrace it, even wearing headbands with a flying-tomato logo, but he has grown tired of it." He has also been nicknamed "animal", a reference to a character from The Muppet Show.

In February 2009, Red Bull built White a halfpipe completely out of natural snow in the back country of Colorado on the backside of Silverton Mountain, coordinates (37.838801,-107.710299).

On September 17, 2012, White was arrested near a hotel in Nashville for public intoxication and vandalism after attending the wedding party of the drummer of The Black Keys, Patrick Carney.

He was in a relationship with Sarah Barthel of the band Phantogram from 2013 to 2019. He started dating actress Nina Dobrev in early 2020.

In 2016, Bad Things drummer Lena Zawaideh brought a lawsuit against White, claiming sexual harassment and breach of contract. White and Zawaideh reached an out-of-court settlement in May 2017; the terms of the settlement were not disclosed. At a press conference following White's win at the 2018 Winter Olympics, he was asked if he was concerned that the lawsuit and settlement would tarnish his image. In replying, he referred to the incident as gossip, a response that created widespread condemnation of White for minimizing sexual harassment. White later apologized for his choice of words.

In early 2016 he purchased a minority stake in Mammoth Resorts and is now a part-owner of the Mammoth Mountain, Snow Summit, June Mountain, and Bear Mountain ski areas where he got his start in snowboarding.

White, who underwent two open-heart surgeries as an infant, has granted 17 wishes through the Make-A-Wish Foundation since 2008.

White has helmed the Air + Style festival of music and snowboarding since 2014, when he took ownership and moved it from Austria to Los Angeles. It was cancelled in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic

Seema Punia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Seema Punia

Seema Antil (2010)

Personal information

Born 27 July 1983

Sonipat, Haryana, India

Sport

Country India

Sport Athletics

Event(s) Discus throw

Commonwealth Games

2006 Melbourne Discus throw

2014 Glasgow Discus throw

2018 Goldcoast Discus throw

2010 Delhi Discus throw

2014 Incheon Discus throw

2018 Jakarta Palembang Discus throw

2002 Kingston Discus throw

Updated on 6 October 2014.

Seema Punia-Antil (born 27 July 1983) is an Indian discus thrower. Her personal best throw is 63.72 m (209.1 ft), achieved at the National Senior Inter-state Athletic Championships 2021.

Early life

Seema Antil was born in Khewda village of Sonipat district in Haryana. Her sporting career began at the age of 11 years as a hurdler and a long-jumper, but later took to discus throw. Her gold medal win at the World Junior Championships in 2000 in Santiago earned her the nickname: 'Millennium Child'. She studied in the Government College, Sonipat.

Career

Antil originally won a gold medal at the 2000 World Junior Championships, but she lost it due to a positive drugs' test for pseudoephedrine. As per the rules in force at that time for such an offence, her National Federation issued her a public warning after stripping her of the medal. She won a bronze medal at the next World Junior Championships in 2002.

She won a silver medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, and was honoured with Bhim Award by the Haryana state government on 26 June 2006. Her absence from the 2006 Asian Games attracted considerable media attention. She had tested positive for a steroid (stanozolol) prior to the Games but was cleared to participate by her National Federation. She, however, opted out of the team for the Games.

She won a bronze medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. She finished 13th at the 2012 London Olympics. In 2014, she won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games and a gold at the Asian Games.

Personal life

Antil is married to Ankush Punia, her coach, and a former discus thrower who represented India at 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.

International competitions

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes

Representing India2002 World Junior Championships Santiago, Chile 3rd Discus throw 55.83 m

2004 Olympic Games Athens, Greece 14th Discus throw 60.64 m

2006 Commonwealth Games Melbourne, Australia 2nd Discus throw 60.56 m

2010 Commonwealth Games Delhi, India 3rd Discus throw 58.46 m

2012 Olympic Games London, England 13th Discus throw 61.91 m

2014 Commonwealth Games Glasgow, Scotland 2nd Discus throw 58.44 m

Asian Games Incheon, South Korea 1st Discus throw 61.03 m

2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 20th Discus throw 57.58 m

2018 Commonwealth Games Gold Coast, Australia 2nd Discus throw 60.41 m

Simone Biles

American gymnast

Simone Arianne Biles is an American artistic gymnast. With a combined total of 32 Olympic and World Championship medals, Biles is the most decorated gymnast in her generation. Biles' seven Olympic medals also ties Shannon Miller for the most Olympic medals won by an American female gymnast. Wikipedia

Born: 14 March 1997, Columbus, Ohio, United States

Height: 1.42 m

Weight: 47 kg

Medals: Gymnastics at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Women's artistic individual all-around, MORE

Parents: Nellie Biles, Ronald Biles

Nationality: American, Belizean

Siblings: Ron Biles Jr., Ashley Biles Thomas, Adria Biles, Adam Biles

Sakti Mazumdar

From Wikipedia

Nationality Indian

Born 13 November 1931

Kolkata, India

Died 21 May 2021 (aged 89)

Kolkata, India

Sport

Sport Boxing

Sakti Mazumdar (13 November 1931 – 21 May 2021) was an Indian boxer. He competed in the men's flyweight event at the 1952 Summer Olympics. In his first fight he beat Nguyen Van Cua of Vietnam by walkover, before being eliminated by Han Soo-ann of South Korea. He died on 21 May 2021 from a heart attack in his home in the Ballygunge area of Kolkata.

Serena Williams

American tennis player

serenawilliams.com

Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player. She has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the most by any player in the Open Era, and the second-most of all time behind Margaret Court. The Women's Tennis Association ranked her singles world No. 1 on eight separate occasions between 2002 and 2017. Wikipedia

Born: 26 September 1981 (age 39 years), Saginaw, Michigan, United States

Grand slams won (singles): 23

Height: 1.75 m

Weight: 72 kg

Spouse: Alexis Ohanian (m. 2017)

Children: Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr.

Siblings: Venus Williams, Dylan Starr Williams, Yetunde Price, Lyndrea Price, Isha Price, Richard Williams III, Ronner Williams

Sunita Rani

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sunita Rani (born 4 December 1979) is an Indian athlete from Punjab who won a gold medal in the 1500 m and a bronze medal in the 5000 m during the 2002 Asian Games. Her time of 4:06.03 in the 1500 metres at the 2002 Asian Games is the current national record. She was awarded Arjuna Award in 1999 and Padma Shri for her achievements.

Career

Sunita hails from Sunam, Punjab and is best known for her performance at the 2002 Asian games, where she won a gold medal in the 1500 m and a bronze medal in the 5000 m races.

Sunita has spoken out about the need for better facilities in order to motivate athletes. She was also working as an Superintendent of Police in Pathankot, Punjab.

Controversy

Sunita Rani was hit with controversy about her performance at the 2002 Asian games, where she won a gold medal in the 1500m and a bronze medal in 5000m, after she tested positive for nandrolone, a banned substance that aids recovery, strength and endurance, in the dope tests. Both her medals were revoked. However, the Indian Olympic Association fought to prove that the doping tests had major procedural irregularities, and that the results were not valid. Rani has categorically maintained that she had not taken any banned substances. She had also cleared the dope test in Delhi, on the eve of the Indian team's departure to Busan.

The Olympic Council of Asia later officially admitted that there had been discrepancies in her dope test. On 3 January 2003, the International Association of Athletics Federations officially cleared her off her doping charges, and reinstated her medals. The Amateur Athletic Federation of India held a 'Restoration of Medals' ceremony on 4 February 2003, to officially return her medals to her.

Sidney Crosby

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sidney Crosby

Crosby with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2019

Born August 7, 1987

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Position Centre

Shoots Left

NHL team Pittsburgh Penguins

National team Canada

NHL Draft 1st overall, 2005

Pittsburgh Penguins

Playing career 2005–present

Sidney Patrick Crosby ONS (born August 7, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "Sid the Kid" and dubbed "The Next One", Crosby was selected first overall by the Penguins in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. Crosby is often considered to be one of the greatest ice hockey players of all time.

During his two-year major junior career with the Rimouski Océanic, he earned many awards and led his club to the 2005 Memorial Cup final. Océanic and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League retired Crosby's jersey number 87 in 2019. Crosby debuted in the NHL during the 2005–06 season, recording 102 points and finishing as runner-up for the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL Rookie of the Year. At 18 years and 253 days, he is the youngest player to date to reach 100 points in an NHL season. By his second season, he led the NHL with 120 points to capture the Art Ross Trophy, becoming the youngest player and the only teenager to win a scoring title in any major North American sports league. That same season, Crosby won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player (MVP) and the Lester B. Pearson Award for most outstanding player as judged by his peers. He started the 2007–08 season with the team's captaincy and subsequently led them to the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals, where they were defeated by the Detroit Red Wings in six games. The Penguins returned to the Finals against Detroit the following year and won in seven games; Crosby became the youngest captain in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup.

In 2009–10, he received the Mark Messier Leadership Award and scored 51 goals, winning the Maurice Richard Trophy as the NHL's leading goal scorer. In early 2011, Crosby sustained a concussion that left him sidelined for the rest of the season and for most of the 2011–12 campaign. In 2014, Crosby again won the Hart Memorial Trophy as well as his second Art Ross Trophy (104 points) and his third Ted Lindsay Award. Crosby led Pittsburgh to Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017, becoming the third player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP) in consecutive years. In 2017, he won his second Richard Trophy and was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history.

Internationally, Crosby has represented Canada on numerous occasions. He won gold at the 2005 World Junior Championships, and was later named to Team Canada for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Playing against the United States in the gold medal game, he scored the game-winning goal in overtime. Crosby captained Team Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics, winning his second consecutive Olympic gold medal. A year later, he led his country to gold in the World Championship in Prague, thus becoming a member of the Triple Gold Club and the only player in the club to have captained all three winning teams. In 2016, Crosby captained Canada to gold in the World Cup of Hockey and was elected MVP by a unanimous vote.

Early life

A recreation of Crosby's childhood dryer that was behind the net, used as shooting target practice, at PPG Paints Arena

Crosby was born in the Grace Maternity Hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia on August 7, 1987 to Troy and Trina (née Forbes) Crosby. Crosby's jersey number (87) and 2007 contract signing ($8.7 million per year) reflect his birthdate (8/7/87). Crosby grew up in nearby Cole Harbour and has a younger sister named Taylor. His father Troy was a goaltender who played for the Verdun Junior Canadiens in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). He also played in the 1985 Memorial Cup and was drafted 240th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in 1984, but never played at the NHL level. Growing up, Crosby admired Steve Yzerman and, like his father, was a Canadiens fan. Crosby began playing hockey by himself in his basement at the age of two, shooting pucks in a net that had the family dryer behind it, leading to a longstanding misconception that he was actually practising with the dryer; he learned to skate at age three.

From age 12 to 15, Crosby attended Astral Drive Junior High School. He was a straight-A student and, according to the vice-principal, "an amazing role model, who was really kind to students in the learning centre and to special needs kids". At age 15, Crosby transferred to Shattuck-Saint Mary's in Faribault, Minnesota to play with the school's hockey program. While playing for the Rimouski Océanic of the QMJHL, Crosby went to Harrison Trimble High School in Moncton, New Brunswick, where he graduated in 2005.

Playing career

Minor hockey

Early in his minor hockey years, Crosby began attracting media attention for his play and gave his first newspaper interview at age seven. When Crosby was 13, Nova Scotia's Minor Hockey Council refused to allow him to play midget, a level of minor hockey designated for 15- to 17-year-olds. His family sued but lost. The following year, he entered the midget level with the triple-A Dartmouth Subways and went on to score a combined 217 regular season and playoff points, leading Dartmouth to a second-place finish at the 2002 Air Canada Cup. He was named the MVP and Top Scorer awards at the national tournament at the tournament banquet held after the preliminary round and he finished the tournament with 24 points (11 goals and 13 assists) in 7 games. Crosby was called up as a 14-year-old to play two games with the Maritime Junior A Hockey League's Truro Bearcats that season. Crosby had been drafted by the Bearcats in the 2001 MJAHL Draft as a 13-year-old.

During his midget season, Crosby appeared on the CBC's Hockey Day in Canada telecast. He has recalled numerous instances in which opposing players intentionally attempted to injure him, as well as constant verbal abuse from parents on and off the ice. Parents taunted and threatened Crosby so harshly, he took to not wearing his jersey between tournament games while he waited to play so that he would not be recognized. Due to this treatment, he elected to play for the American hockey program at Shattuck-Saint Mary's Boarding School, Minnesota for the 2002–03 hockey season. In 57 games with the Sabres, he recorded 72 goals and 162 points, leading the team to a U18 AAA national championship.

Junior career

Rimouski Océanic (2003–2005)

Crosby was selected first overall in the 2003 Midget Draft by the Rimouski Océanic of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). In his first exhibition game, he scored eight points, leading his teammates to nickname him "Darryl" (in reference to Darryl Sittler's ten-point NHL game in 1976). In his first regular season game in the QMJHL, he scored one goal and added two assists. He was named QMJHL Player of the Week for two consecutive weeks at the start of the season and won the honour four more times as the season progressed. He was named QMJHL Player of the Month and Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Player of the Week three times each. Crosby finished his rookie QMJHL season with 54 goals and 81 assists over 59 games to capture the Jean Béliveau Trophy as the league's leading point-scorer. He was further recognized with the RDS/JVC Trophy (overall rookie of the year) and Michel Brière Memorial Trophy (most valuable player), becoming the first QMJHL player to win all three major awards at once. Rounding out Crosby's accolades for the 2003–04 regular season were QMJHL All-Rookie and First All-Star Team honours, as well as Offensive Rookie, Offensive Player and Personality of the Year Awards. As a team, the Océanic led the Eastern Division with 34 wins and 76 points. After receiving a first-round bye in the 2003 QMJHL playoffs, they defeated the Shawinigan Cataractes in the quarterfinals, then were eliminated by the Moncton Wildcats in the semi-finals. Crosby recorded 16 points (7 goals and 9 assists) over 9 playoff games.

During the off-season, the World Hockey Association, a major professional league proposed to rival the NHL, held an Entry Draft on July 17, 2004. Holding the first overall selection, Toronto chose Crosby. The following month, it was reported that Crosby turned down a US$7.5 million contract over three years to play for Hamilton. Crosby told reporters that while "it took a lot to say no to that much money", he "work[ed] hard most of his life to play in the NHL". The contract would have paid him $2.5 million annually and an additional $2 million payout regardless of whether the WHA was realized as a legitimate league or not. However, it was not clarified how Hamilton could have signed Crosby, as Toronto held his WHA playing rights. Nevertheless, the WHA never materialized.

Returning to the Océanic for the 2004–05 season, Crosby continued dominating the league, leading the league with 66 goals, 102 assists and 168 points over 62 games to capture his second consecutive Beliveau Trophy. Joining Crosby on Rimouski's top line were wingers Dany Roussin and Marc-Antoine Pouliot, who finished second and third in league-scoring with 116 and 114 points respectively. In addition to his scoring title, Crosby was once again awarded Most Valuable Player, Offensive Player and Personality of the Year, while repeating as a QMJHL First All-Star. The Océanic finished with the regular season with the best record in the league, registering 45 wins and 98 points, including a league record-setting 28-game undefeated streak. They went on to capture the President's Cup as QMJHL playoff champions, defeating the Halifax Mooseheads in the finals. Crosby led the playoffs with 31 points (14 goals and 17 assists) over 13 games, earning him the Guy Lafleur Trophy as post-season MVP. With their QMJHL championship, the Océanic qualified for the 2005 Memorial Cup, Canada's national major junior tournament. Meeting the London Knights in the final, the Océanic were shut-out 4–0. Despite the loss, Crosby was named to the Tournament All-Star Team and captured the Ed Chynoweth Trophy as the competition's leading scorer with 11 points (6 goals and 5 assists) over 5 games. Knights forward Corey Perry was awarded the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as the MVP. Soon after, he attended the NHL prospect combine in preparation for the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.

Rimouski Océanic retired jersey number 87 in Crosby's honor in 2019, and the QMJHL also retired the number for all of its teams.

Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–present)

Rise to superstardom (2005–2007)

Crosby in 2006, after being designated an alternate captain

Entering the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, Crosby was listed first overall in the NHL Central Scouting Bureau and International Scouting Services' respective rankings of prospects. He also won the Mike Bossy Trophy as the QMJHL's best prospect. Crosby was selected first overall in the draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 30, 2005. Due to the labour lockout that suspended the entire 2004–05 NHL season, positioning for the 2005 draft was conducted via a weighted lottery based on each team's playoff appearances and draft lottery victories in the last four years. This lottery system led to the draft being popularly referred to as the "Sidney Crosby Lottery" or the "Sidney Crosby Sweepstakes".

"Sid the Kid", a nickname given to him by the media early in his career, made his NHL debut on October 5, 2005 against the New Jersey Devils, and registered an assist on the team's first goal of the season, scored by Mark Recchi in a 5–1 loss. He scored his first NHL goal in the Penguins' home opener on October 8 against goaltender Hannu Toivonen of the Boston Bruins. Despite having registered two assists for a three-point night, the Penguins were defeated 7–6 in overtime. Crosby began his rookie season playing alongside Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux. Unfortunately, Lemieux was forced to retire due to an irregular heartbeat after having played just 26 games of the season. Near the midway point of the season, Penguins head coach Ed Olczyk was fired and replaced by Michel Therrien on December 15, 2005. The following day, Therrien designated Crosby as an alternate captain for the Penguins. The move drew criticism from some hockey pundits, including Don Cherry, who claimed that Crosby did not have the experience for the position. Cherry said, "An 18-year-old kid says he's going to give us ideas. What, from the Quebec League, he's going to give them ideas? Come on. That's ridiculous." Although hopes were high in Pittsburgh for the club to succeed, largely in part to the beginning of Crosby's NHL career and bolstered by the acquisitions of Sergei Gonchar, Žigmund Pálffy, and Mark Recchi, the Penguins still finished with the worst record in the Eastern Conference.

Nevertheless, Crosby's first NHL campaign was a personal success as he established franchise records in assists (63) and points (102) for a rookie, both of which were previously held by Mario Lemieux. He also became the youngest player in NHL history to score 100 points in a single season, and only the seventh rookie ever to hit the benchmark. Overall, Crosby finished sixth in the NHL scoring race and seventh in the NHL in assists. Among Canadian NHL players, he trailed only Joe Thornton and Dany Heatley. Throughout the season, Crosby had battled with Washington Capitals forward and 2004 first-overall pick Alexander Ovechkin for the rookie scoring lead. He finished second to Ovechkin's 106 points and also lost to the Capitals forward for the Calder Memorial Trophy as NHL rookie of the year. It marked the start of a rivalry that would help "define the league" for over a decade. Throughout his first season, Crosby was accused by opposing players and coaches of taking dives and complaining to officials, which was typically attributed to his youth. He became the first rookie to earn 100 penalty minutes and 100 points in the same season, which magnified his reputation for complaining to NHL officials. Hockey analyst Kelly Hrudey compared Crosby to Wayne Gretzky, who had a similar reputation as a "whiner" in his youth, and suggested that as Crosby matured, he would mellow out and his reputation would fade.

Crosby during the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs

In his second NHL season, Crosby built on his rookie success. On October 28, 2006, Crosby scored his first NHL hat-trick in an 8–2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. His success against the Flyers continued as just over six weeks later, on December 13, he recorded the first six-point game of his career (one goal and five assists). The multi-point effort vaulted Crosby into the NHL scoring lead, which he would retain for the remainder of the season. He finished the 2006–07 with 36 goals and 84 assists in 79 games to become the first teenager to lead the NHL in scoring since Wayne Gretzky in 1980. Being only 19 years old at the time, he became the youngest player in NHL history to win the Art Ross Trophy and the youngest scoring champion in any major North American professional sport.

Crosby's second NHL season also saw significant improvements for the Penguins franchise as a whole, as the emergence of Calder Trophy-winner Evgeni Malkin and runner-up Jordan Staal complemented the club's offence. As a result, the Penguins jumped from last place in the Eastern Conference the previous season to fifth for the club's first playoff appearance since 2001. Playing the Ottawa Senators in the opening round, Crosby scored a goal in his Stanley Cup playoff debut in a 6–3 loss. He finished the series with five points in five games as the Penguins were ousted by the eventual Stanley Cup runner-up. Following the Penguins defeat, Crosby was named Pittsburgh's team captain on May 31, 2007, making him (at 19 years, 9 months, and 24 days) the youngest team captain in NHL history. During the season, the Penguins offered him the captaincy, but he turned it down. In the press conference naming him the team captain, he explained:

"I just thought it wasn't right for me. As a team, we were playing great and you don't want to disrupt things like that. Individually, I was not ready to accept that responsibility quite yet. Going through the playoffs and having that experience has probably given me more confidence. I understand there is going to be a lot more responsibility on my shoulders with this, but it's something I'm ready for, I feel very comfortable with it and I'm just excited to get things going."

At the NHL's annual awards show later in June 2007, Crosby completed a rare off-season "hat-trick", winning the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Lester B. Pearson Award in addition to his previously-clinched Art Ross Trophy. He became the youngest player in NHL history to win the Lester B. Pearson, and only the second youngest player ever to win the Hart (after Gretzky). He became the youngest player ever to be named to the NHL's First All-Star Team.

Runner–up and first Stanley Cup title (2007–2009)

Crosby and Evgeni Malkin (left) became the cornerstone players of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the mid-2000s, earning the nickname "The Two-Headed Monster".

With Crosby's initial three-year, entry-level contract set to expire at the end of the following season, the Penguins signed him to a five-year, $43.5 million contract extension on July 10, 2007, ensuring his stay with the Penguins through the 2012–13 season. Midway through the subsequent season, Crosby recorded a Gordie Howe hat-trick on December 20, 2007 in a game against the Boston Bruins. His first assist came 55 seconds into the first period. At 8:26 of the same period, Crosby scored to give the Penguins a 2–0 lead. Then, five minutes and nine seconds into the second frame, Crosby fought ex-Penguin defenceman Andrew Ference to complete the hat-trick. This was Crosby's first NHL fight. In the NHL's first Winter Classic (with a record crowd of 71,217 fans in attendance), Crosby scored the shootout winner in heavy snowfall to defeat the Buffalo Sabres. However, two weeks later, on January 18, 2008, Crosby suffered a high ankle sprain crashing leg-first into the boards in a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. As a result, he missed the 2008 All-Star Game, to which he was named a starter. After missing 21 games, he returned on March 4 against the Lightning and earned an assist. However, two games after his return, he felt his ankle was not up to shape and decided that he needed more time for it to heal. Crosby consequently sat out of the Penguins' next seven games and returned on March 27, 2008 to help the Penguins defeat the New York Islanders 3–1. Despite his injury-shortened campaign, Crosby still managed 72 points in just 53 games.

Crosby's absence from the Penguins' line-up served as a stepping stone for teammate Evgeni Malkin, who, now in his second season, was developing into a superstar in his own right. Picking up the offensive slack, Malkin finished second in league scoring to Alexander Ovechkin and was also a Hart Memorial Trophy nominee as MVP honours also went to Ovechkin. In addition to Crosby's return to the line-up late in the regular season, the Penguins acquired star winger Marián Hossa from the Atlanta Thrashers at the trade deadline, placing the club in a strong position to make a deep playoff run. Pittsburgh finished the regular season as Atlantic Division champions and just two points shy of the first-seeded Montreal Canadiens. In a rematch of the previous year's opening round, the Penguins began the 2008 playoffs facing the Ottawa Senators, whom they quickly swept in four games. After then defeating the New York Rangers and archrival Philadelphia Flyers, each in five games, the Penguins reached the final round for the first time since 1992, to face the Detroit Red Wings. After being shut-out as a team for the first two games of the series, Crosby scored the first two goals of game three as the series shifted to Pittsburgh to fuel a 3–2 win. The Penguins lost the next game and despite staving off defeat in game five, they were overcome by the Red Wings in six games. Crosby finished the playoffs with 27 points (6 goals and 21 assists in 20 games), tying Conn Smythe-winner Henrik Zetterberg (13 goals and 14 assists in 22 games) for the playoff scoring lead.

Crosby (centre) with Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin, 2009 Stanley Cup Finals Game 6

Early in the following season, on October 18, 2008, Crosby scored one goal and three assists to surpass benchmarks of 100 goals, 200 assists, and 300 points for his career. On the play in which Crosby scored, teammate Evgeni Malkin assisted to record his own 200th point. As a result, Crosby had a team trainer cut the puck in half so both players could commemorate the achievement. Minor injury troubles kept Crosby from five games early in the season as he was listed day-to-day, but he was, for the most part, able to bounce back from the previous injury-riddled season and stay healthy. He recorded 33 goals and 70 assists to finish third in league scoring, as Evgeni Malkin captured his first career Art Ross Trophy. Entering the 2009 playoffs as the defending Prince of Wales Trophy winners, the Penguins defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in the opening round before meeting the Washington Capitals for a highly publicized second-round matchup. The series was heavily followed as it pitted Ovechkin of the Capitals against both Crosby and Malkin, who together finished as the league's top three scorers that season. In the second game, Crosby and Ovechkin recorded matching three-goal efforts for their first career playoff hat tricks in a 4–3 Capitals victory. Despite being down 2–0 in the series, Crosby and the Penguins won the next three games and eventually defeated the Capitals in a seventh and deciding game, in which Crosby added another two goals. Following a sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final, Crosby opted against recent NHL tradition and picked up the Prince of Wales Trophy, which he had left untouched the previous year. In explanation of the change of heart, Crosby said, "We didn't touch the trophy last year, and obviously we didn't have the result we wanted ... Although we haven't accomplished exactly what we want ... we can still enjoy it."

Crosby with Marc-André Fleury (left) and the Stanley Cup during the Penguins victory parade. By winning the Stanley Cup in 2009, Crosby became the youngest NHL captain to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup.

The Penguins met the Detroit Red Wings for the second straight year in the Finals, and this time Crosby won his first Stanley Cup title in seven games. At 21 years, 10 months, and 5 days, Crosby became the youngest NHL captain to win the Stanley Cup since 1895. (The youngest captain to lead his team to the Stanley Cup in the history of the trophy is Mike Grant of the 1895 Montreal Victorias, who was 21 years and 2 months at the time.) In the deciding Game 7, Crosby was forced to watch all but 32 seconds of the third period from the bench after suffering a knee injury less than halfway through the second period due to a hit from Johan Franzén. Following the game, Crosby was criticized by Detroit forward Kris Draper for neglecting to shake hands with some of Detroit's players, most notably captain Nicklas Lidström. An irate Draper was quoted as saying, "Nick was waiting and waiting, and Crosby didn't come over to shake his hand. That's ridiculous, especially as their captain." Crosby replied afterward, saying, "I just won the Stanley Cup. I think I have the right to celebrate with my teammates. I know it's not easy waiting around... I understand if they don't feel like waiting around. But you know what? It's the easiest thing to do in the world, to shake hands after you win. I had no intentions of trying to skip guys and not shake their hands. I think that was a pretty unreasonable comment."

Injury–plagued years (2010–2012)

In the 2009–10 NHL season, Crosby tied Tampa Bay Lightning centre Steven Stamkos for the lead in goals scored, with 51 goals, earning the Rocket Richard Trophy. He also garnered 58 assists for a total of 109 points, enough to tie with Alexander Ovechkin for second in league points, trailing only the Vancouver Canucks' Henrik Sedin's 112. Crosby was also named a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award. Crosby won the Mark Messier Leadership Award, getting recognized as a "superior leader within the sport, setting a positive example through on-ice performance, motivation of team members and a dedication to the community". This was the second time he had received this honour, the other being in January 2007, during the award's first year when it was presented monthly. He was also included on NHL's all-decade second team of 2000s.

Crosby's Penguins were defeated in the second round of the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs, losing to the Montreal Canadiens in seven games. Crosby had 19 points in 13 games in the playoffs, though through seven games against the Canadiens, he had only one goal and four assists. Game 7 was also the last game to be played at Mellon Arena, the Penguins' home rink since the start of the franchise. On July 27, 2010, Crosby joined his mentor Mario Lemieux to be the first to skate on the new ice at the Consol Energy Center. The two skated for about five minutes before being joined on the ice by a group of young hockey fans all wearing Lemieux's 66 or Crosby's 87 jerseys.

Crosby's 200th NHL goal, November 27, 2010

"When you get a typical injury you're given a time frame, you're gradually working towards getting back ... With concussions there is not generally a time frame or a span where you're feeling better. You feel like you're getting better and it can be one day and you're back to where you started. It's a frustrating injury and one that anyone has gone through can relate. It's a hard one to understand unless you've gone through it".

— Crosby on his concussions.

In the 2010–11 season, Crosby had a 25-game point streak, which began on November 5, 2010 against the Anaheim Ducks and ended on December 28, 2010 against the New York Islanders. During this streak, he had 27 goals (including three hat-tricks) and 24 assists for 51 points. This streak was tied for 11th-longest point streak in NHL history, and he was named First Star of the Month in both November and December. On January 3, 2011, Crosby was selected as a 2011 All-Star, along with teammates Evgeni Malkin, Marc-André Fleury and Kris Letang. However, neither Crosby nor Malkin were available to play in the All-Star Game due to injuries, and rookie Jeff Skinner (along with Paul Stastny) were named as replacements. In consecutive games – the 2011 NHL Winter Classic on January 1, 2011, against the Washington Capitals and then January 5 against the Tampa Bay Lightning – Crosby suffered hits to his head from Dave Steckel and Victor Hedman respectively. After experiencing several concussion symptoms, Crosby did not return for the rest of the regular season, and he missed the 2011 playoffs. The Penguins were further crippled when Evgeni Malkin suffered a torn ACL and MCL, taking him out for the rest of the season and leaving the Penguins without their two highest-scoring players. Despite Crosby's injury and subsequent absence for the final 41 games of the season, he finished as the Penguins' leading scorer. His 66 points in 41 games were 16 points ahead of the second-highest team scorer, defenceman Kris Letang. In so doing, Crosby set an NHL record for fewest games played by an NHL team's points leader.

Crosby was sidelined for most of the 2011–12 season after being diagnosed with concussion-like symptoms.

Crosby missed the first 20 games of the 2011–12 season due to the lingering effects of his concussion. He returned on November 21, 2011 in a game against the New York Islanders, scoring two goals and two assists in a 5–0 shutout for the Penguins. However, after playing another seven games – scoring a total of 12 points in 8 games – Crosby's concussion-like symptoms returned in December 2011, possibly following an elbow hit by David Krejčí in his eighth game of the season. Despite passing a successful ImPACT test, Crosby decided not to return on the ice until he felt perfectly fine, stating that he also must "listen to [his] body". Crosby returned to action on March 15, 2012, scoring an assist in a 5–2 win against the New York Rangers. Despite only playing 22 games, Crosby recorded 29 assists to go with 8 goals for 37 points, including his 600th career point. He later credited neurologists at UPMC and chiropractic neurologist Ted Carrick with helping him return to hockey.

Crosby's return in advance of the playoffs resulted in many experts predicting that the Penguins would win their second Stanley Cup title in four years, and though the Penguins were accordingly picked to oust the Philadelphia Flyers in their first-round series, it was acknowledged that it would be a tough series for both teams. The Flyers shocked the Penguins by winning the first three consecutive games, the third of which saw the teams combine for 158 penalty minutes. After the 8–4 loss in Game 3, Crosby was widely criticized for his conduct during the game, and for his testy post-game interview. When asked about an incident where Flyer forward Jakub Voráček had dropped his glove and Crosby swatted it away with his stick before Voráček could pick it up, Crosby replied, saying, "I don't like any guy on their team there, so his glove was near me, went to pick it up, and I pushed it, so yeah, that's... [...] I don't like them. Because I don't like them. I don't like... I don't like any guy on their team." When the interviewer suggested that he could have skated away, Crosby replied, "Skate away? Yeah, well, I didn't that time." The Penguins went on to win the next two games, but ultimately lost the series in Game 6. Crosby would finish with three goals and five assists in the six games. On June 28, 2012, the Penguins announced that Crosby agreed to a 12-year, $104.4 million contract extension set to keep Crosby in Pittsburgh through to the end of the 2024–25 NHL season.

Individual awards and playoff disappointments (2012–2015)

Crosby during the 2012–13 NHL season.

The start of the 2012–13 was postponed until January 2013 due to the owners locking out the players as negotiations took place to solidify a new collective agreement for the players. During this time, Crosby was a regular attendee of meetings taking place between National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) representatives and NHL owners. The lock-out began on September 15, 2012 and ended on January 6, 2013 with the NHL regular season beginning on January 19.During the 119-day lock-out, Crosby was often questioned about his future plans should the lockout persist, and said on more than one occasion that he was considering contract offers from various teams in European leagues (where many NHL players went so that they could continue playing in a professional capacity while waiting for the lock-out to end or for the NHL season to be officially cancelled). Crosby continued to practice and participated with other NHL players who did not go overseas in several exhibition games open to the public.

With the season finally underway in late January, Crosby set the pace for scoring, totalling 31 points (9 goals and 22 assists) through the first 21 games. He remained hot through March, scoring another 25 points (6 goals and 19 assists) in 15 games as the Penguins went unbeaten over this stretch. However, his regular season came to an abrupt end on March 30 in a home game against the New York Islanders. Crosby's teammate Brooks Orpik unleashed a slapshot which caught Crosby in the mouth, causing the centreman to lose several teeth. Crosby was down on the ice for several minutes before the medical staff was able to help him to the dressing room with Crosby holding a towel over his face. Initially, the prognosis was not severe, but it was discovered a short while later that Crosby had broken his jaw and would require several rounds of reconstructive dental surgery. He missed the final 12 games of the regular season and finished fourth in the scoring race, losing the title to Tampa Bay's Martin St. Louis by four points.

Crosby shakes hands with Bruins captain Zdeno Chára following Pittsburgh's elimination from the 2013 playoffs.

Crosby returned to the ice May 5 for the Penguins' second game against their first-round playoff opponents, the New York Islanders, ironically, the team Pittsburgh had been playing when Crosby was injured. Despite two goals from Crosby, Pittsburgh lost the game 3–2, tying the series at one game apiece. The Penguins would ultimately prevail 4–2 in the series over the Isles with Crosby scoring nine points (three goals and six assists) in the five games in which he played. Crosby and the Penguins moved on to face the Ottawa Senators in the second round, with Crosby scoring a hat-trick in Game 2 of the series. Pittsburgh quickly defeated Ottawa four games to one in the series with a still-hot Crosby finishing the series with four goals and two assists. The Eastern Conference Finals came down to what many felt were the two best teams in the conference: Pittsburgh and Boston. Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask put on an outstanding performance, shutting down Pittsburgh's potent offence with the help of a stifling defensive effort from his teammates. The Penguins were held to just two goals in the series, with Rask stopping 134 of 136 shots on goal (.985%). Crosby, who was strong for the Penguins in the regular season and through the first two rounds of the playoffs was held off the score sheet entirely, finishing the series with no goals and no assists on 13 shots. The Bruins swept the Penguins in four-straight games, ending Crosby's bid for a second Stanley Cup championship. In the off-season, Crosby was awarded his second Ted Lindsay Award and finished as runner-up to the Hart Memorial Trophy and Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.

Crosby put together a healthy and productive campaign in 2013–14, playing 80 games for the first time since the 2009–10 season. Crosby finished the season with 36 goals and a league-leading 68 assists, marking the first time in his career that he led the league in assists. He also finished with a league-high 104 points, winning the Art Ross Trophy for the second time in his career. He also went on to win the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award. Finishing first overall in the Metropolitan Division, the Penguins were matched-up with a new division rival, the Columbus Blue Jackets, in the first round of the 2014 playoffs. Despite a very back-and-forth series and not a single goal by Crosby, the Penguins defeated the Jackets in six games to advance to a second-round matchup with the New York Rangers. Going into their second-round series with the Rangers, Crosby looked to end a long playoff goal drought, which dated back to the 2013 Conference Finals against the Boston Bruins. After dropping Game 1 at home, Crosby broke his goal drought in Game 2 as the Pens tied the series at 1–1 heading back to Madison Square Garden. The Penguins would capitalize on their Game 2 win, taking the next two games and eliminating the Rangers home-ice advantage. However, the Rangers would quickly rebound, winning Game 5, 6 and 7, sending the Penguins home without a prize for the fifth straight season. The team's collapse prompted Penguins ownership to fire general manager Ray Shero, replacing him with Jim Rutherford, the former general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes. Rutherford's first action as GM was to fire Dan Bylsma as head coach, and on June 25, he announced that Mike Johnston was the new head coach.

Crosby finished the 2014–15 season with the highest point-per-game average and a total of 84 points, trailing only John Tavares (86 points) and Art Ross winner Jamie Benn (87 points). On November 26, 2014, Crosby scored his 800th career point, becoming the sixth-fastest player in NHL history to reach that milestone. On January 4, 2015, in a game against Philadelphia, Crosby scored his 300th career NHL goal. Despite a strong start to the season, the injury-plagued Penguins entered the playoffs as the Eastern Conference's second wild card. Facing the New York Rangers, Crosby helped even the series with two goals in Game 2. Despite this, the Penguins were defeated in five games and was eliminated in the first round for the first time since the 2012 playoffs.

Back-to-back Stanley Cups (2015–2017)

Starting the 2015–16 season, the Penguins went through a major overhaul of their roster, adding a number of offensive players such as right winger Phil Kessel. Despite a line-up laced with some of the world's finest offensive talents, Crosby struggled to score points, as he and the team had for much of the Johnston era. By the time Johnston was fired on December 12, 2015, after posting a 15–10–3 record through 28 games, some media outlets began speculating that Crosby had aged out of his prime scoring years. On December 16, The Washington Post wrote, "Sidney Crosby has widely been regarded as the NHL's best player since he burst on the scene as a rookie in 2005 ... But Crosby just hasn't been himself this season, scoring just six goals in 29 games and sitting with a plus/minus of minus-seven. All players go through slumps, but it is clear that the Crosby we knew has been on the decline for some time." His slow start was capped off by not being selected as a starter for the 2016 NHL All-Star Game.

Crosby skating against the Capitals in the second round of the 2016 playoffs

However, under new head coach Mike Sullivan, the 28-year-old turned his season around, outscoring all NHL players from December 12 through the end of the season. On February 2, Crosby scored three-straight goals for his first natural hat-trick in more than five years. Four days later, Crosby scored his 900th, 901st and 902nd career NHL points to fuel a 3–2 overtime comeback victory over the Florida Panthers. He tallied at least 1 point in 15 of Pittsburgh's 16 games in March, including six multi-point efforts, and was subsequently named the NHL's First Star of the Month. On April 2, Crosby recorded his 600th NHL assist as the Penguins clinched their berth in the 2016 playoffs. Six days later, he scored in overtime against Washington Capitals to secure home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Crosby finished the season with 36 goals and 85 points in 80 games, including a career-high nine game-winning goals, and was voted team MVP for the sixth time in his career. His two-way game also received league-wide praise, with Hockey Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman stating that Crosby would be a good candidate for the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the league's best defensive forward. Crosby's comeback also impressed Wayne Gretzky, who said, "He had a tough start, but the sign of an elite athlete is a guy that battles through it. He didn't point any fingers, he just battled through it, and I don't think there is any question the last 40 or so games, he made a case for the MVP. He was that good. He went to another level." On May 7, Crosby was named a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy. He finished as the first runner-up with 800 points and 11 first-place votes.

Crosby with the Stanley Cup in 2016

After losing to New York in the past two playoffs, the Penguins eliminated the Rangers in the first round, winning four games to one, after losing to the Rangers by the same series margin in the first round the previous year. Crosby led the team in scoring with three goals and eight points. The Penguins then eliminated the Presidents' Trophy-winning Washington Capitals in six games, without much offensive production from either Crosby (two assists) or Malkin (one goal and one assist). Advancing to their first Conference Final since 2013, Crosby scored the overtime winner against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 2. The goal was scored 40 seconds into overtime for a 3–2 win, the fastest overtime goal in Penguins' playoff history, and the first of his career in the playoffs. In the following game, he scored the game-winning goal in a 4–2 victory After dropping the next two games, Crosby scored his third game-winning goal of the series in Game 6, forcing a final game in Pittsburgh. Defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 2–1 in Game 7, Crosby helped his team win the Eastern Conference championship, advancing to the Stanley Cup Final against the San Jose Sharks. In the series, the Penguins defeated the Sharks in six games to earn Crosby his second Stanley Cup title. He became the ninth player to win the Stanley Cup twice as well as two Olympic gold medals. Finishing the playoffs with 19 points (6 goals and 13 assists), including the primary helper on the Cup-winning goal scored by Kris Letang, Crosby was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs.

Crosby missed the first six games of the 2016–17 season after being diagnosed with a concussion just a few days before the season opener against the Washington Capitals. Upon his return, he scored 30 goals in his first 45 games, and on February 16, 2017, he registered an assist on a Chris Kunitz goal against the Winnipeg Jets to reach 1,000 NHL points, doing so in just his 757th game to become the 12th-fastest (and 11th-youngest) player to reach that milestone. He also participated in his first NHL All-Star Game since 2007, winning the shooting accuracy segment of the Skills Competition. He was named team MVP and finished the season as the runner up for the Art Ross Trophy with 44 goals and 89 points in 75 games. It marked the eighth time he finished a season in the top-three in NHL scoring, tying Mario Lemieux, Stan Mikita and Phil Esposito for the third-most instances in history behind only Wayne Gretzky (15 times) and Gordie Howe (12 times). With his 44 goals, Crosby captured the Rocket Richard Trophy for the second time in his career. Crosby was also named a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award.

Crosby won his second straight Conn Smythe Trophy in 2017.

Entering the 2017 playoffs as the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Penguins defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets in five games before meeting the Washington Capitals in the second round. After winning the first two games on the road, Crosby sustained a concussion after suffering an injury from a slash and cross-check from Alexander Ovechkin and Matt Niskanen in Game 3. He missed Game 4 but returned to practice the next day and played in Game 5. The Penguins would eventually eliminate the Capitals in Game 7, with Crosby assisting on the series-winning goal. The Penguins then defeated the Ottawa Senators in a gruelling seven-game series to secure their second consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Final. Crosby had the primary assist on the series-clinching goal, scored by Chris Kunitz in double overtime Facing the Nashville Predators in the Finals, Pittsburgh jumped out to a two-game lead, despite being outplayed for long stretches in both games. The Predators responded by tying up the series, winning Game 3 and 4 at home. In Game 5, the Penguins' captain delivered a dominant performance, adding three assists in a 6–0 win to pass Lemieux for most Stanley Cup Final points (20) in franchise history. After defeating the Predators 2–0 in Game 6, the Penguins became the first team to repeat as Stanley Cup champions since the 1997–98 Detroit Red Wings, and the first to do so in the salary cap era. Crosby won his second consecutive Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs, only the third player to do so after Bernie Parent (1974, 1975) and Mario Lemieux (1991, 1992). He finished second in scoring behind Evgeni Malkin with 27 points (8 goals and 19 assists) in 24 games.

Recent years (2017–present)

In the 2017–18 season, Crosby appeared in all 82 of Pittsburgh's regular season games for the first time in his career, finishing with 29 goals and 60 assists for 89 points. On February 12, 2018, he scored his 400th NHL goal, becoming the 95th player to reach the milestone. On March 21, he recorded his 700th career NHL assist. The Penguins began their 2018 playoff campaign against the Philadelphia Flyers. In Game 1 of the Battle of Pennsylvania, Crosby recorded a natural hat-trick in a 7–0 win. On April 18, in Game 4, Crosby passed Mario Lemieux as the Penguins' all-time playoff points leader with 173. The Penguins ultimately defeated the Flyers in six games, with Crosby scoring 6 goals and 13 points. After the series, retired Hockey Hall of Fame centre Bryan Trottier said of Crosby, "Sid has a wonderful gift to maintain his composure and not get rattled. You like the emotion he shows, too. I think he fires his team up, and that's why he's wearing the 'C' [for captain]." The Penguins were eventually eliminated in Game 6 of the second round by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals, ending Penguins's bid for a three-peat. Crosby finished with 21 points (9 goals and 12 assists) in 12 games, pushing his career playoff total to 185, tied with Steve Yzerman for tenth-most all-time.

On January 3, 2019, Crosby was selected to play in the NHL All-Star Game for the eighth time in his career. He scored four goals and four assists, helping the Metropolitan Division to victory; his efforts won him his first All-Star MVP award, making him the sixth in NHL history to have won that award after having won the Conn Smythe Trophy and Hart Memorial Trophy. During the 2018–19 season, Crosby passed Mario Lemieux to become the Penguins' all-time leader in games played (916), and moved into second place on the Pens' all-time scoring list with his 440th career goal in a 5–1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on March 3, 2019. Two days later, he became the 48th player in NHL history to score at least 1,200 career points. He finished the season with 100 points (35 goals and 65 assists), the first time he has reached the 100-point mark since scoring 104 points in 2013–14. Crosby finished 4th in voting for the Selke Trophy and became a Hart Trophy finalist for the seventh time in his career. He was also elected team-MVP. Crosby was selected to the NHL All-Decade First Team in January 2020. The Penguins finished fifth in the Eastern Conference in the COVID-19-shortened 2019–20 season, facing the 12th-seeded Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference qualifying round. The Canadiens upset the Penguins in four games, eliminating Pittsburgh on August 7, 2020, Crosby's 33rd birthday.

In the shortened 2020–21 season, Crosby led the team in scoring with 62 points (24 goals and 38 assists), and was the recipient of the team's MVP Award and the Players' Player Award He was also a finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award On February 21, 2021, Crosby became the first player in Penguins history to play 1,000 games with the franchise. The team clinched a playoff berth for the 15th consecutive season under Crosby's captaincy, the longest active postseason streak among all teams in the North American professional sports leagues. However, the Penguins were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the New York Islanders for the second time in three seasons.

International play

Crosby with the Canadian men's national ice hockey team during the 2010 Winter Olympics

Junior

Crosby debuted internationally for Canada at the 2003 U-18 Junior World Cup in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. He was the youngest player on the under-18 team, having turned 16 shortly before the beginning of the tournament. After seven consecutive gold medals at the tournament, Team Canada lost in the bronze medal game to the Czech Republic 8–2. He scored four goals and six points over five tournament games.

Crosby went on to compete in two World Junior Championships with Team Canada's under-20 team. When he was named to the team in December 2003, he became the fifth 16-year-old to represent Canada at the tournament, following Jay Bouwmeester, Jason Spezza, Eric Lindros and Wayne Gretzky. Competing in the 2004 World Junior Championships in Helsinki, he then became the youngest player to score a goal in the history of the tournament at 16 years, 4 months, and 21 days when he scored against Switzerland in a 7–2 win. This record would last until the 2012 World Juniors when Aleksander Barkov of Finland scored a goal aged 16 years, 4 months. Crosby finished the tournament with two goals and three assists in six games, helping Canada to a silver medal finish. The following year, he returned for Canada at the 2005 World Junior Championships in Grand Forks, North Dakota. He improved to six goals and three assists as Canada earned gold. Crosby stated the following year that his most memorable hockey moment was winning his World Junior gold medal.

Men's

After completing his rookie season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Crosby competed in the 2006 IIHF World Championship as an alternate captain for Canada. Scoring a tournament-best eight goals and eight assists in nine games, he became the youngest player ever to win a World Championship scoring title. Despite his performance, Canada failed to medal, being shut-out by Finland 5–0 in the bronze medal game. Crosby was named the tournament's top forward and to the competition's all-star team.

Crosby (against glass) celebrates moments after scoring the gold medal-winning goal at the 2010 Winter Olympics over the United States

After omitted from Canada's Olympic team in 2006, Crosby was named to the Canadian roster on December 30, 2009 as an alternate captain for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. He scored the game-winning shootout goal for Canada in the second game of the preliminary round against Switzerland. After going pointless in the quarter- and semi-final against Russia and Slovakia respectively, Crosby scored the winning goal 7 minutes and 40 seconds into overtime against the United States in the gold medal game. The goal has later become known as the "Golden Goal" due to it being scored in the gold medal game. It is also regarded by some as "Canada's most iconic sports moment".

Following the Penguins' second-round elimination in the 2010 playoffs, Crosby declined an invitation to join Canada midway through the 2010 IIHF World Championship in Germany. Crosby was selected to represent Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics and was later named team captain. Canada won gold, with Crosby contributing one goal and two assists in six games. He scored his only goal in the final against Sweden, further establishing his reputation as "a player who rises up in big games". In 2015, Crosby captained Canada to its first World Championship title since 2007, with the team winning all 10 games and scoring 66 goals. Crosby, scoring four goals and seven assists in nine games, became the 26th member of the Triple Gold Club. He is the first member of the club to captain all three championship teams, and the first member to be a first overall NHL draft pick.

In 2016, Hockey Canada named Crosby captain for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey in Toronto. Crosby, who led the tournament in scoring with ten points, helped Team Canada win the championship, and was named the Most Valuable Player. He joined Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky as the only players to win the Conn Smythe, Hart Memorial Trophy and World Cup MVP. Team Canada head coach Mike Babcock described Crosby as a serial winner, saying, "He's that high-end competitor. He's a good leader because he tries to do it right all the time. He demands a lot out of himself. In doing so, he demands a lot out of his teammates." In 2020, he was named to the IIHF All-Time Canadian Team and the Men's All-Decade Team.

On October 3, 2021, Crosby was one of the first three players named to the men's hockey roster for Canada's team for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, alongside Connor McDavid and Alex Pietrangelo.

Player profile

Style of play

His lower-body strength is probably unparalleled in the league. It's not just about his speed, but how he can use his lower body to protect the puck in the corner. When he takes the puck through the neutral zone, he's a nightmare to defend because he seems to explode and take it to another gear as soon as the puck touches his stick.

–Logan Couture of the San Jose Sharks on Crosby.

As captain and first-line centre for Canada, Crosby played with different line mates in almost every game as the coaching staff struggled to find players capable of keeping pace with the superstar centre at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, and again at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. Crosby's fellow countryman and Olympic teammate, Rick Nash, was questioned by the media about this, at one point saying, "I think he's a tough guy to keep up with. He's so fast. The way he thinks about the game seems like it's far beyond everyone else's process. It's the same thing in the last Olympics, keep shuffling around until you found something that fit." Team Canada's assistant coach in Vancouver, Ken Hitchcock, recalled, "Sid thinks at a level, when the other team has the puck, that's above everyone else in the league [NHL]. His anticipation when the other team has the puck is so high, he knows where it's going ahead of time. He can pick off passes, make you make errors. And then he also knows where people are located on the ice, so he can turn that turnover into a scoring chance."

Other professional NHL players have particularly noted Crosby for his backhand shot. For example, in his column for The Players' Tribune, Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings praised Crosby for having "the best backhand shot" in the NHL. "His blade is almost completely flat, which combined with his ridiculous forearm strength gives him the ability to go forehand to your five hole instantly or turn it over to the backhand and roof it (a lot of guys can't do this with a flat blade)."

Reputation

Crosby during a game against the New York Islanders in 2018.

Noted for his on-ice vision, passing ability, leadership, work ethic and complete overall game, Crosby is considered to be one of the greatest players of all time. Bobby Orr named Crosby among the five best players in the history of NHL. Wayne Gretzky said of Crosby, "He's proven over and over that he's the best player in the game today. And it seems like the more important the game, the more impact that he makes on a game." Gordie Howe was also impressed by Crosby, "I met him and I've seen him play. Unless you put two guys on him, he'll kill you in a game." In 2016, Mario Lemieux praised his protégé for his ability to play both sides of the puck: "I think he's more of a complete player. Defensively, I think he's improved a lot over the last couple of years." In an article for The Washington Post, other players, teammates and coaches highlighted his work ethic and strive for greatness as a major factor to Crosby's lasting success. "While his natural ability – powerful skating, pistol-quick hands, uncommon feel – made him a phenom, his creative, distinct capacity for work has enabled him to stay atop the NHL." Current Pittsburgh head coach Mike Sullivan described Crosby as "best 200-foot player in the game" and the "heartbeat" of the Penguins.

On January 27, 2017, in a ceremony during the All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles, Crosby was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history. In that same year, Fox Sports ranked Crosby 15th on their "21 greatest athletes of the 21st century (so far)" list, and TSN named him the eighth-best NHL player of all-time. Four months before the 2022 Winter Olympics, Rob Rossi of The Athletic called him "arguably North America's most dominant team-sport Winter Olympian." In a survey conducted by Sportsnet in June 2017, Crosby was voted by Canadians to be the greatest athlete of the 21st century. A poll conducted by the NHLPA in 2018 of more than 500 players resulted in Crosby being voted the "most difficult to play against, best role model, best team player, the player you'd want to win one game, and the player who would be a great coach upon retirement". In 2018, Crosby was chosen as Nova Scotia's "Best athlete ever" by the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame. In 2019, an anonymous survey conducted by The Athletic showed that Crosby was regarded the best all-around NHL player by his peers.

Considered a generational talent and a franchise player, drafting Crosby changed the fortunes of a struggling Pittsburgh Penguins. It helped secure funding for a new arena and ended speculation that the franchise would relocate to another city. In 2005–06, his presence helped Pittsburgh's attendance increase by 33%. Crosby's arrival also aided in reinvigorating and expanding the roots of hockey in the Pittsburgh area. Penguins CEO and president David Morehouse said, "We were in last place, we were last in revenues, we were last in attendance, our TV ratings were minimal and we were in the oldest building in the NHL... We were able to draw attention to us as a franchise because of the drafting of Sidney Crosby and the subsequent success we had."

Jerseys

Crosby's number 87 Pittsburgh Penguins jersey was the top seller on the NHL's website from September 2005 to February 2008. It has continued to be among the top-selling jerseys since his rookie season. In January 2005, an Air Canada baggage handler in Montreal stole Crosby's red Canada jersey from the World Junior Hockey Championship. It was recovered later in a mailbox. His white jersey from the tournament was temporarily delisted from an auction while the red one was missing. It eventually sold for $22,100, which went to youth hockey charities and 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake relief.

Less than a year later, one of Crosby's game-worn sweaters disappeared. The jersey he wore in his first NHL game, played against the New Jersey Devils, disappeared from his father's luggage during a flight from Pittsburgh to Buffalo. The jersey was later found at the Pittsburgh International Airport between a piece of equipment and a stairwell. Crosby's jersey from his third NHL game was the highest-selling NHL jersey in an auction for Hurricane Katrina relief – it sold for $21,010. During an online auction held by the NHL and the NHL Players Association to benefit Hockey Fights Cancer, Crosby's game-worn jersey from the first period of the 2007 All-Star Game earned the most money. Crosby's sold for $47,520, more than eight times the next highest price—$5,681 for the jersey worn by Brendan Shanahan of the New York Rangers.

Following Crosby's Olympic gold medal victory with Canada in 2010, it was announced that his stick and glove were missing. It was initially suspected that they might have been stolen; Reebok Canada offered a reward of CAD$10,000 for their return, "no questions asked". On March 10, the items were found: Crosby's stick had been placed in a shipment bound for the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in Saint Petersburg, Russia, (the shipment was intercepted in Toronto) and his glove was found in a hockey bag belonging to Olympic teammate and Boston Bruins' centre Patrice Bergeron, whose stall was beside Crosby's in the locker room.

Personal life

"Home of Sidney Crosby" city sign in Cole Harbour.

Crosby rarely discusses his personal life and avoids social media. Andy O'Brien, Crosby's fitness trainer for over 15 years, has said: "He [Crosby] wants to be one of the guys and doesn't really seek to separate himself or get special treatment in any way... He takes a lot of enjoyment in the regular, simple things in life and having a normal, ordinary routine".Greg Powers described Crosby as essentially the brother of Lemieux's son Austin, as he lived with Lemieux's family in Sewickley, Pennsylvania from 2005 until 2010. In the spring of 2010, Crosby purchased his own home in the same area In June 2006, he bought his first house on Grand Lake in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

On May 29, 2010, it was announced that Crosby would sign the richest endorsement contract in NHL history with Reebok, expected to pay Crosby $1.4 million per year for five to seven years. In 2015, he signed a six-year endorsement contract with Adidas. Crosby also has endorsement deals with Bell, Tim Hortons, and Gatorade. Regarded as one of Canada's "legendary goal-scorers and storied leaders", Crosby was featured in Canada Post's NHL Great Canadian Forwards stamp collection, alongside Phil Esposito, Guy Lafleur, Darryl Sittler, Mark Messier, and Steve Yzerman. In 2016, he won an Emmy Award for his role in There's No Place Like Home With Sidney Crosby. He also won for his participation in the Merci Sidney video that followed his return to Rimouski for his QMJHL jersey retirement ceremony.

Crosby has a younger sister named Taylor who is a hockey goaltender. Like her brother, she went to high school at Shattuck-Saint Mary's in Faribault, Minnesota to play with the school's hockey program. In 2014, Taylor joined the Northeastern Huskies women's ice hockey team as a freshman at Northeastern University in Boston. In 2015, she transferred to Minnesota's St. Cloud State University and played with the St. Cloud State Huskies women's ice hockey team through to graduation at the end of the 2017–18 school year.

Crosby continues to be active in the community in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. He created the Sidney Crosby Foundation in 2009, an organization committed to helping charities benefiting children. In 2015, he started a hockey school in Cole Harbour. His "Little Penguins Program" has provided free equipment and lessons to more than ten thousand local youngsters in Pittsburgh.

On November 3, 2021, Crosby tested positive for COVID-19 with "mild symptoms".

Stephen Amritraj

From Wikipedia

Stephen AmritrajCountry (sports) India

Residence Calabasas, California

Born March 28, 1984

Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Plays Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Prize money $39,589

Singles

Career record 0–0

Career titles 0

Highest ranking No. 973 (11 June 2007)

Doubles

Career record 4–11

Career titles 0

Highest ranking No. 192 (10 November 2008)

Stephen Amritraj (born March 28, 1984) is an Indian-American former professional tennis player who represented India. He is the nephew of Vijay Amritraj, and son of Anand Amritraj.

Amritraj is the son of former world tour player Anand Amritraj and paternal cousin of fellow former pro Prakash Amritraj, who also represented India. He played high school tennis at Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino, California, and NCAA college tennis for Duke University.

Amritraj's career high singles ranking is world No. 973, which he reached in June 2007.

Amritraj is married to American professional tennis player Alison Riske.

Sonu Beniwal

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sonu BeniwalPersonal information

Date of birth 5 March 1993

Place of birth Haryana , India

Position(s) Defender

Club information

Current team Hindustan

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2013 Pailan Arrows 3 (0)

2015– Hindustan

National team

2011 India U19 2 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Sonu Beniwal (born 5 March 1993) is an Indian footballer who plays as a defender for Hindustan F.C. in the I-League 2nd Division.

Career

Pailan Arrows

Beniwal made his debut for Pailan Arrows in the I-League against Churchill Brothers on 9 January 2013 in which he came on as a 93rd-minute substitute for Shouvik Ghosh as Pailan Arrows lost the match 3–1.

Hindustan

In March 2015, it was announced that Beniwal had signed for Hindustan F.C. of the I-League 2nd Division.

International

Beniwal made his debut for India at international level at the under-19s level on 31 October 2011 against Turkmenistan in the first match for India in the 2012 AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers in which he played the whole 90 minutes as India's U19s won the match 3–1.

Satyadev Prasad

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Satyadev Prasad receiving the Dhyan Chand Award in 2018 from the President Ram Nath Kovind.

Satyadev Prasad (born 19 September 1979) is an athlete from India. He competes in archery.

Prasad competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in men's individual archery. He won his first match, advancing to the round of 32. In the second round of elimination, he was again victorious and advanced to the round of 16. The third match was Prasad's downfall, as he lost to 1st-ranked Im Dong-hyun of South Korea in a thrilling match that went down to the last round. Prasad placed 10th overall. Prasad got 2018-Dyanchand award in the Archery and he will receive the award on 25 September 2018.

Prasad was also a member of the 11th-place Indian men's archery team at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He won Bronze Medal in the Asian Team Championship held in Malaysia. Participated in the Rome World Championship 1999, Beijing World Championship 2001 and New York World Championship 2003. He has completed his graduation (B.P.Ed.) and Post-Graduation (M.P.Ed.) from Noida College of Physical Education, Dadri.

Personal life

Satyadev Prasad was born in Nizamabad, Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, India.[3] He began playing the game of Archery at quite an early age. Inspired by the success of Limba Ram, the celebrated Archer, he strived hard to rise in the sport.

Sujeet Maan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sujeet Maan

Full name Sujeet Maan

Nationality India

Born 15 December 1978

New Delhi, India

Height 1.67 m (5 ft 5+1⁄2 in)

Weight 74 kg (163 lb)

Sport

Sport Wrestling

Style Freestyle

Club Guru Hanuman Wrestling Club

Coach Maha Singh Rao

Men's freestyle wrestling

Representing India

2004 Tehran 74 kg

1999 Tashkent 69 kg

2000 Guilin 69 kg

2003 New Delhi 74 kg

Sujeet Maan (Hindi: सुजीत मान; born 15 December 1978 in New Delhi) is a retired amateur Indian freestyle wrestler, who competed in the men's middleweight category. He achieved top six finishes in the 74-kg division at the Asian Games (1998 and 2002), produced a stark tally of four medals (one silver and three bronze) at the Asian Wrestling Championships, and also represented his nation India at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Before his sporting career ended in 2006, Maan trained full-time for Guru Hanuman Wrestling Club in his native New Delhi, under his coach and mentor Maha Singhrao.

Maan made his senior sporting debut at the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand, where he placed fourth in the men's welterweight class (69 kg), losing out to Japan's Ryusaburo Katsu by a tough 2–3 verdict. Determined to return to the sporting scene, Maan continued to blossom his wrestling career by collecting three bronze medals in the same class at the Asian Wrestling Championships since 1999, until he delivered his stellar performance with a silver in 2004. He also entered the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea as one of the heavy medal favorites in the middleweight category, but left empty-handed with a sixth-place finish.

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Maan qualified for his first Indian squad in the men's 74 kg class. Earlier in the process, he clinched the eighth spot at the 2003 World Wrestling Championships in New York City, New York, and then confirmed his berth on the Indian team by placing third from the Asian Championships in Tehran, Iran. He lost two straight matches each to Japan's Kunihiko Obata (8–0) and Cuba's Iván Fundora (6–0) by an identical margin, leaving him on the bottom of the prelim pool and placing eighteenth in the final standings.

Sorokhaibam Ranjana Chanu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ranjana Chanu

Full name Sorokhaibam Ranjana Chanu

Date of birth 10 March 1999

Place of birth Manipur, India

Position(s) Midfielder

Club information

Current team Gokulam Kerala

Number 14

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2018 Kryphsa 0 (0)

2019– Gokulam Kerala 0 (0)

National team‡

2018 India 12 (3)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 2 December 2021

Sorokhaibam Ranjana Chanu (born 10 March 1999) is an Indian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Indian Women's League club Sethu FC and the India women's national team.

Career

Ranjana scored her first goal for national team against Vietnam in a friendly on 6 November 2019

Somdev

From Wikipedia

Somdev Devvarman

Somdev Devvarman at the 2013 French Open

Full name Somdev Kishore Devvarman

Residence Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

Born 13 February 1985

Guwahati, Assam, India

Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)

Turned pro 2008

Plays Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

College University of Virginia

Prize money $1,204,540

Singles

Career record 54–68

Career titles 0

Highest ranking No. 62 (25 July 2011)

Current ranking No. 102 (28 April 2014)

Grand Slam Singles results

Australian Open 2R (2013)

French Open 2R (2013)

Wimbledon 2R (2011)

US Open 2R (2009, 2013)

Other tournaments

Olympic Games 1R (2012)

Doubles

Career record 16–22

Career titles 0

Highest ranking No. 139 (31 October 2011)

Current ranking No. 255 (3 March 2014)

Grand Slam Doubles results

Australian Open 2R (2010)

French Open 1R (2011)

Wimbledon 2R (2011)

US Open 3R (2011)

Team competitions

Davis Cup 1R (2010)

Last updated on: 3 March 2014.

Somdev DevvarmanMedal record

Competitor for India

Men's Tennis

Commonwealth Games

Gold 2010 Delhi Singles

Asian Games

Gold 2010 Guangzhou Singles

Gold 2010 Guangzhou Doubles

Bronze 2010 Guangzhou Team

Somdev Kishore Devvarman is a professional Indian tennis player. He hit the headlines for being the only collegiate player to have made three consecutive finals at the NCAA, winning back-to-back finals in his junior and senior years. Only three other players have matched that record since 1950. His 44–1 win-loss record in 2008 at the NCAA Men's Tennis Championship is unprecedented.

His best achievement so far on the ATP World Tour has been reaching the final of the Chennai Open in 2009, as a wild card entry. In 2010, Somdev won the gold medal in themen's singles event of XIXth Commonwealth Games at the R.K. Khanna Tennis Stadium in New Delhi, and he followed it up with both men's singles and doubles gold in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. He is coached by Scott McCain.

In 2011, Devvarman received the Arjuna Award from the Indian government for his tennis successes.

Early life

Somdev was born into a Tripuri Hindu family in Guwahati, Assam to Ranjana and Pravanjan Dev Varman, a retired income tax commissioner. He belongs to the Indian state of Tripura. His family moved to Calcutta when he was 3 to 4 months old and stayed there until he was 8. His father's work took the family to Madras (Chennai) where Somdev grew up, beginning tennis at age 9, and studied at Asan Memorial School. Devvarman started competing in Futures tournaments in 2002 at the age of 17. His biggest achievement during this time was a victory in the Kolkata F2 championship in 2004, after which he rose to 666 in the world rankings. He moved to the USA later that year and competed less regularly while at the University of Virginia. Somdev, while at college, won the 2007NCAA Singles Championship by defeating Georgia Bulldog's senior, the top seed John Isnerin the final. A year later, he defeated Tennessee's J.P. Smith to win his second consecutive NCAA Singles National Championship. Devvarman becomes the 13th player in the 124-year history of the tournament to win consecutive titles, and just the fourth to do so in the past 50 years with an unprecedented 44–1 record in 2008. Somdev finished university with a degree in sociology and turned pro in the summer of 2008. He won his first career title that year at a Futures tournament in Rochester, New York. The University of Virginia retired Devvarman's jersey in 2009. At the end of 2010, he was felicitated by the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association in Chennai.

Early career

After graduating from the University of Virginia, Devvarman signed with Mamba International, a sports management company based in Charlottesville, and started his professional career at the Futures tournament in Rochester, New York, where he won the singles title. He and his former university partner, Treat Huey, won the doubles title. The next week at another Futures match in Pittsburgh, Devvarman and Huey won the doubles title, and Devvarman the singles.

Devvarman made the final of the Kennedy Funding Invitational in New York in July 2007. In a clay-court non-tour event which included several players ranked in the top 150, Devvarman defeated Ricardo Mello, Robert Kendrick, and Justin Gimelstob, before losing a three-set match to no. 69 Michael Russell in the final. He returned and won the tournament in 2008, beating Sam Querrey and Dudi Sela along the way.

On 27 July 2008, Devvarman won the Lexington Challenger, first coming through qualifying, and then beating players including Bobby Reynolds, Xavier Malisse, and Robert Kendrick to take the title. He received automatic entry into the Vancouver Open and reached the quarterfinals, before his first professional defeat, by Go Soeda.

In August 2008, Devvarman made the quarterfinals of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, first beating Sam Warburg, Jamie Baker, and Soeda to qualify, and then beating Taylor Dent and Robert Kendrick in the main draw, before losing to Russian Igor Kunitsyn.

At the BCR Bucharest Open, Devvarman lost to world no. 18 Nicolás Almagro after winning the first set in the first round, having beaten no. 93 Italian Filippo Volandri in the final round of qualifying. Devvarman ended 2008 ranked as world no. 204. He had started the year at no. 1033.

Davis Cup

Devvarman made his Davis Cup debut for India in 2008 against Uzbekistan at the age of 22. In the second rubber of the tie Devvarman faced Denis Istomin and fell in straight sets. With the tie locked at two matche victories each, Devvarman was substituted for countrymenPrakash Amritraj in the fifth rubber. Amritraj would be victorious in four sets. Devvarman would return to the team in the 2008 World Group Playoffs to face Romania. He would fall short in both his singles matches and keep India in the zonals for another year. India started 2009 by playing Chinese Taipei in the Asia Oceania Group 1 quarterfinal. India won 3–2 with a significant contribution from Devvarman who won both his ties against Ti Chen and Yen-Hsun Lu. The team later travelled to Johannesburg to face South Africa in the World Group Play-offs. Somdev won both his ties and India won the tie 4–1 to move back into the World Group. India faced Russia in the World Group round 1 at Moscow. India lost the tie 2–3 which included two losses from Somdev. India hosted Brazil at Chennai in the World Group Play-off tie. Somdev lost to Ricardo Mello on day 1 and India went down 0–2. India went to win the tie 3–2 in a come from behind fashion which included a win from Somdev as his opponentThomaz Bellucci retired whilst he was trailing 6–7(3), 0–4. This meant that India would once again be a part of the World Group. India drew defending champions Serbia for Round 1. The tie was played at Novi Sad. Somdev played Janko Tipsarević in the second rubber and won in straight sets 7–5, 7–5, 7–6(3) This was a major upset and gave India a realistic chance of reaching the round 2. Due to the absence of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, Somdev teamed up with Rohan Bopanna for the Doubles rubber on Saturday. The Indians lost 6–4, 3–6, 4–6, 6–7(10). Somdev played Viktor Troicki in a make-or-break match for India. However, he lost in straight sets 4–6, 2–6, 5–7. India eventually lost the tie 1–4 with the only win coming from Devvarman. India later travelled to Tokyo to play against Japan in the World Group Play-off. Somdev lost against Yuichi Sugita in the first rubber 3–6, 4–6, 5–7. He didn't play the reverse singles due to a shoulder problem which eventually would make him miss most of the tennis in 2012. India lost the tie 1–4 to Japan which resulted in relegation back to Asia-Oceania Group 1. India had to face South Korea at home in an Asia-Oceania Group 1 tie. 11 players including Somdev had boycotted this tie due to misunderstandings with the All India Tennis Association. India lost that tie to South Korea 1–4. India hosted Indonesia in a relegation play-off tie at Bangalore. Somdev won both his singles matches as India won the tie 5–0 to stay in the Asia-Oceania Group 1.

Olympics

Competing in his maiden Olympics at London 2012, Devvarman entered the Men's singles via a wildcard entry. He was defeated by Finland's Jarkko Nieminen.

Commonwealth Games

For the first time in Commonwealth Games history tennis was held at the 2010 Delhi games. Playing in front of a home crowd, Devvarman entered the Men's singles and Men's doubles. He would win the gold medal in singles.

Asian Games

Somdev represented India at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. He won the Gold Medal in the Men's Singles event where he defeated Denis Istomin 6–1, 6–2 in the final. He also won the Gold Medal in the Men's Doubles event with his partner Sanam Singh. They defeated Gong Maoxin and Li Zhe of China in the final 6–3, 6–7(4), 10–8. Somdev was also a part of the Men's Team which won the bronze medal.

Management

Devvarman is now professionally managed by Mahesh Bhupathi's company Globosport.

He is sponsored by Lacoste and Babolat.

Personal life

His parents are from the state of Tripura in India. Somdev belongs to Tripura's erstwhile royal family. He is the grandson of Tripura's late royal scion Bikramendra Kishore Debbarman, popularly known as Bidurkarta. He is a big fan of Roger Federer. He idolises the Krishnans, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi. He likes watching cricket and idolises Sachin Tendulkar. His favourite film is Good Will Hunting and his favourite actress is Priyanka Chopra. Devvarman's favourite musician is Dave Matthew.

ATP career

Singles: 2 (0–2)

Legend

Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)

ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)

ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–0)

ATP World Tour 250 Series (0–2)

Titles by Surface

Hard (0–2)

Clay (0–0)

Grass (0–0)

Carpet (0–0)

OutcomeNo.DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScoreRunner-up 1. 5 January 2009 Chennai, India Hard Marin Čilić 6–4, 7–6

Runner-up 2. 6 February 2011 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard Kevin Anderson 4–6, 6–3, 6–2

Doubles: 1 (0–1)

Legend

Grand Slam Tournaments (0–0)

ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)

ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–0)

ATP World Tour 250 Series (0–1)

Finals by Surface

Hard (0–1)

Clay (0–0)

Grass (0–0)

Carpet (0–0)

OutcomeNo.DateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreRunner-up 1. 31 July 2011 Los Angeles, US Hard Treat Conrad Huey Mark Knowles

Xavier Malisse 7–6(7–3), 7–6(12–10)

Singles performance table

Key

W F SF QF #R RR LQ (Q#) A P Z# PO SF-B F S G NMS NH

Won tournament; or reached Final; Semifinal; Quarter-final; Round 4, 3, 2, 1; competed at a Round Robin stage; lost in Qualification Round; absent from tournament event; played in a Davis Cup Zonal Group (with its number indication) or Play-off; won a bronze, silver (F or S) or gold medal at the Olympics; a downgraded Masters Series/1000 tournament (Not a Masters Series); or a tournament that was Not Held in a given year.

To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated either at the conclusion of a tournament, or when the player's participation in the tournament has ended

Tanvi Lad

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tanvi Lad

Personal information

Country India

Born 30 January 1993

Women's singles

Tournaments played 111 (55–59) (Singles)

Highest ranking 51 (16 October 2014)

Current ranking 196 (16 April 2019)

Women's badminton

Representing India

Uber Cup

2016 Kunshan Women's team

2014 New Delhi Women's team

2014 Incheon Women's team [3]

2011 Lucknow Mixed team

https://www.indiansuperleague.com/interviews/rapid-fire-with-tapan-maity

Tanvi Lad (born 30 January 1993) is an Indian badminton player who currently plays singles.

Achievements

BWF International Challenge/Series

Women's singles

YearTournamentOpponentScoreResult2019 Croatian International Laura Sárosi 18–21, 13–21 Runner-up

2017 Welsh International Marie Batomene 21–15, 21–8 Winner

2013 Bahrain International Challenge Saili Rane 21–12, 21–18 Winner

2013 Swiss International Beiwen Zhang 12–21, 12–21 Runner-up

2012 Bahrain International Arundhati Pantawane 22–20, 12–21, 19–21 Runner-up

BWF International Challenge tournament BWF International Series tournament BWF Future Series tournament

Tombi Devi

Indian judoka

DescriptionKhumujam Tombi Devi is an Indian judoka, who represented her country at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. She participated in the 48 kg category, but lost to Portugal's Ana Hormigo in the preliminary round. Wikipedia

Born: 1 January 1982

Awards: Arjuna Award for Judo

Thulasi Helen

Thulasi Helen is a boxer from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, who has often been referred to as the ‘Lady Muhammed Ali of India,’ due to her fast footwork and punching style. She won her first gold medal in 2000 at the age of 14, at the 23rd YMCA Boxing Championship in New Delhi. At the height of her career, she defeated Mary Kom (who went on to become an Olympian).

Thulasi had 30 medals to her name when she retired from the sport after she lost the support of the State Boxing Association for speaking up against the sexual harassment she experienced at the hands of the association’s secretary. Thulasi has been very outspoken about her Dalit background and the discrimination she has faced because of it. She notes: “Because I was born Dalit, I’m expected to stay at the bottom. But I dream of a different life.”

Thulasi Helen

From Wikipedia

Thulasi Ekanandam (born 1986) also known as Thulasi Helen, is an Indian amateur boxer from Chennai who won her first gold medal at the 23rd YMCA Boxing Championship in New Delhi in 2000 in the 42 kg-44 kg weight category. She is sometimes known as “The Lady Muhammad Ali of India” because of her rapid footwork and stinging punches.

Early life

Helen was born in 1986 to a poor family in Chennai. She took up boxing classes at the age of 14 after watching her older sister Saraswathi participate in the sport. It was around the same time that she was forcibly asked to marry a man her father knew from church. She rejected him and ran away from home after disputes with her family Her parents had been unhappy that she refused to change her religion. She had dropped out of school and was living variously with her grandparents, friends, in hostels, at railway stations and on beaches. She earned money by doing odd jobs like delivering pizzas, driving an auto to survive.

Boxing career

After winning the gold medal in the 42–44 kg category at the 23rd YMCA Boxing Championships in 2000, Ekanandam was selected for special training by the Sports Authority of India. Thereafter, she beat Mary Kom but in 2011 her relationship with the Tamil Nadu state boxing association was soured after she filed a claim of sexual harassment and she was suffering financially. She left the state team at that time and was absent from the sport for some years. She believes that her successes were in spite of discrimination, including by the boxing association of Tamil Nadu, on the basis of her being a Dalit woman.

Helen was working as a fitness instructor in 2016, at which time she had resumed boxing training in the hope of launching a career in the professional ranks. By 2017, she was participating in mixed martial arts events.

Sexual harassment and discrimination

A.K. Karuna, secretary of the State Boxing Association in India, asked Helen for cash and sexual favours if she wanted to be considered for a government programme that would give her a stable job and she would still be able to pursue her boxing career. Helen realised she is not the only one who has been asked for sexual favours. She complained against Karun and he was arrested. But Helen's boxing club closed down and her chances of winning became slim.

Helen also claims to have experienced discrimination based on her caste. She also said that many girls belonging to lower castes choose boxing as their ticket to a better life.

Awards

Gold medal

23rd YMCA Boxing Championship, New Delhi, 2000

All India Invitation Boxing Championship, Akola, 2003

Bronze medal

International Invitation Boxing Championship, 2002

Junior Women's National Championship, 2002

International Invitation Boxing Championship, 2005

Senior Women's National Championship, 2008:

Helen, who had won 30 medals in total up to 2016, was awarded a World Tamil Chamber of Commerce (WTCC) Achiever Award in 2016. She also received the Sadhanai Thamzhachi, boxer awards from the Governor.

Film

Light Fly, Fly High, a film directed by Susann Østigaard and Beate Hofseth, centres on Helen and depicts a young woman who literally fights for her independence and freedom from an unwanted marriage. The film also won the Oxfam Global Justice Award, the One World Media Awards and the Amanda Award for the Best Documentary. The film was well-received and Dilip Berman of Saathee Magazine said, "The filmmakers have picked a unique angle to discuss entrenched patriarchy and how misogyny can be battled, though perhaps at personal cost."

Helen also claims that the Tamil film Irudhi Suttru is based on her life, although she is not credited for it.

Personal life

After Helen's boxing club closed, she had to get married. However, she divorced her husband just after three months due to various restrictions that he had imposed on her like not working, having a Facebook account, making phone calls among others.[5]

Tapan Maity

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tapan Maity is an Indian football player. He is currently playing for Prayag United in the I-League in India as a left midfielder. Before joining Prayag united he played for Mohammedan sporting, ONGC FC, Air India FC and Maidan giants Mohun Bagan. Wikipedia

Born: 12 September 1932 Kolkata

Height: 1.71 m

Weight: 65 kg

Career start: 2010

Current team: Prayag United S.C. (#32 / Midfielder)

Rapid Fire with Tapan Maity

01 Oct, 2014

FC Pune City midfielder Tapan Maity is a seasoned campaigner, having achieved a modicum of success with the likes Mohun Bagan, Mohammedan Sporting, Prayag United and ONGC. A perfect utility man who can play either in the centre of the park or along the flanks, the 30-year-old player engaged in a rapid fire round of Q&A with Indiansuperleague.com. Here are the excerpts…

Q: Your favourite city in India?

A: Kolkata.

Q: Your favourite holiday destination?

A: Switzerland.

Q: Your best friend in Indian football?

A: Asif Kottayil, who now plays for Mumbai City FC.

Q: Your favourite food?

A: Dal-chawal (lentils and rice) and poshto, a Bengali dish.

Q: Other than football, which other sports are you inclined towards?

A: I love watching cricket and I am a big fan of Sachin Tendulkar. But I play a lot of badminton.

Q: Your favourite actor?

A: Aamir Khan.

Q: Your favourite music?

A: I like the old classics and songs by Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar.

Q: Your inspiration?

A: My elder brother, Buddhodev Maity.

Q: If you were not a footballer, what would you be?

A: I have always had an inclination towards sports. So if it wasn’t football, it would have been some other sport. Badminton, for example.

Q: Three key qualities that define you as a footballer?

Defensive, motivated and visionary.

Tyler Seguin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tyler Seguin

Seguin with the Dallas Stars in 2013

Born January 31, 1992

Brampton, Ontario, Canada

Position Centre

Shoots Right

NHL team

Former teams Dallas Stars

Boston Bruins

EHC Biel

National team Canada

NHL Draft 2nd overall, 2010

Boston Bruins

Playing career 2010–present

Website www.tylerseguin.com

Tyler Paul Seguin (/seɪɡɪn/ SAY-gihn; born January 31, 1992) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and alternate captain for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). Seguin was selected second overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by the Boston Bruins and went on to win the 2011 Stanley Cup in his rookie season. He finished the 2011–12 season in Boston with a plus-minus of +34, the second highest in the NHL.

During the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Seguin played for EHC Biel of the Swiss National League A (NLA) and finished the season with 25 goals, the most on the team. In 2013, Seguin played in his second Stanley Cup Finals in three seasons, ultimately losing the series to the Chicago Blackhawks. On July 4, 2013, Seguin was traded by the Bruins to the Dallas Stars for a package of players including Loui Eriksson and Reilly Smith.

Early life

Seguin was born in Brampton, Ontario in 1992, but his family moved to Whitby when he was young to follow his father's career. His father Paul played college ice hockey for the University of Vermont, where he was roommates with future National Hockey League (NHL) star John LeClair, while his mother Jackie was a centre for the Brampton Canadettes Girls Hockey Association as a child. Tyler and his sisters Candace and Cassidy all played hockey growing up. All three played at centre like their mother, while Paul was a defenceman.

Seguin began playing hockey in a house league at the age of five or six, and developed a love for the sport from a young age. His minor ice hockey career began with the Wildcats of the Ontario Minor Hockey Association, and after moving back to Brampton at the age of 10, Seguin played three seasons with the Toronto Nationals of the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL) alongside future Calder Trophy winner Jeff Skinner. Seguin also spent two years at St. Michael's College School in Toronto. He had his sights set on playing hockey at the University of Michigan, and believed that St. Michael's would be a good stepping stone towards that goal.

Playing career

Amateur

The Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) drafted Seguin in the first round, ninth overall, of the 2008 OHL Priority Selection Draft. He chose to join the Whalers rather than attend college as he had originally planned, and began skating on the fourth line in the 2008–09 season. He struggled in his rookie junior ice hockey year, scoring only one goal in the first 17 games of the season. After Mike Vellucci returned to coach the Whalers and moved Seguin to the top two lines, his performance improved, and Seguin finished the season with 67 points in 61 games.

2009–10 proved to be a breakout year for Seguin, who led the league with 14 goals and 25 points in the first 10 games of the season. Eleven of those points came from the first four games of the season, including a hat trick against the London Knights. He finished the season with 106 points (48 goals and 58 assists) in 63 games, and, although the Whalers were swept in the second round of the 2010 playoffs, Seguin became the first member of the team to win the Red Tilson Trophy for most outstanding player in the OHL since David Legwand in 1998. He also tied with Taylor Hall of the Windsor Spitfires for that year's Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy, given to the top scorer in the OHL. At the 2010 CHL Top Prospects Game, Seguin was named the captain for Team Orr, which lost 4-2 to Team Cherry.

Professional

Draft

Going into the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Seguin and Hall were considered the top two available players, with no consensus which one would become the first overall draft pick. Both players were tied for points scoring in the OHL for the previous season, while draft reports tended to emphasize Seguin's speed and Hall's strength. Danny Flynn of Bleacher Report referred to Seguin as an "elite playmaker" who lacked "skill on the defensive end", whereas Hall had proven his "greatness on the big stage", but had "shown a tendency to be selfish at times". Preliminary rankings from the NHL Central Scouting Bureau ranked Seguin the top OHL prospect, and Hall second. Although their positions switched during the midterm rankings, Seguin was named the No. 1 prospect in the bureau's final April rankings. Seguin ended up being selected second overall by the Boston Bruins, while Hall was taken first by the Edmonton Oilers.

Boston Bruins

Seguin with the Bruins during his rookie season in the NHL, November 2010

Shortly after being drafted, Seguin signed a three-year, $3.75 million entry-level contract with the Bruins, the maximum allowed for a contract of that nature. He made his NHL debut on October 9, 2010, with four shots on goal in a 5-2 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes. He scored his first professional goal the next day, receiving the puck on a pass from teammate Michael Ryder in the third period and scoring on a breakaway backhanded goal against goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov in a 3-0 shutout of the Coyotes.

Seguin participated in the 2011 All-Star festivities during the Rookie Skills Competition. Late in the 2010–11 season, Seguin was quoted as having a desire to model his NHL playing style on that of teammate Patrice Bergeron.

After being a healthy scratch for the first two rounds of the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs, Seguin was included in the Boston lineup to start Round 3, the Eastern Conference Finals, against the Tampa Bay Lightning after centreman Patrice Bergeron sustained a mild concussion. Seguin scored a goal and added an assist in his first game played, then followed that up with two goals and two assists in his second game. He became the first teenager to score four points in a Stanley Cup playoff game since Trevor Linden did so for the Vancouver Canucks in 1989. On June 15, 2011, Boston won the Stanley Cup in the Finals, prevailing over Vancouver in a 4–3 series victory.

On November 5, 2011, Seguin scored his first career NHL hat trick against the team that traded the draft pick to the Bruins, the Toronto Maple Leafs. On November 14, Seguin was named NHL's First Star of the Week for his four goals and two assists that helped the Bruins to three wins in the week. On December 8, he played in his 100th career NHL game against the Florida Panthers. On April 22, 2012, Seguin scored in overtime of Game 6 of the Bruins' Eastern Conference Quarterfinals series against the Washington Capitals that sent the series to a Game 7. However, despite another goal from Seguin in Game 7, the Bruins would go on to lose the game in overtime and were thus eliminated from the playoffs. He finished the 2011–12 season as the Bruins' leading scorer.

EHC Biel

During the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Seguin was one of many Bruins who signed European hockey contracts, striking a deal with the EHC Biel hockey club of the Swiss National League A on September 21, 2012. He made his Swiss League debut on September 30, centreing Ahren Spylo and Eric Beaudoin on the second line and scoring an assist in a 6-3 loss to the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers. Seguin's first goal with the team came three days later, in the first period of his second appearance, a 2-1 win over EV Zug. Less than one month later, on October 24, Seguin recorded his second professional hat trick, and his first NLA hat trick, in a 5-4 shootout win over HC Ambri-Piotta. By November 27, he had accumulated 20 goals in 20 games, the most of any NHL lockout export to the NLA.

On December 28, 2012, Seguin told NBC Sports Boston that, after representing Team Canada at the 2012 Spengler Cup, he would leave EHC Biel and return to the Bruins. In 29 NLA games that season, Seguin scored 25 goals and 15 assists. He also befriended his teammate Patrick Kane, who returned to the Chicago Blackhawks upon the conclusion of the lockout.

Second stint with the Bruins

After the lockout ended, the 2012–13 NHL season began, with 48 intra-conference games played beginning January 19, 2013. Seguin played all 48 regular-season games with the Bruins, scoring 16 goals and 16 assists while playing on a line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. His performance began to waver during the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs, however, scoring only one goal and three assists in his first 12 postseason games, and he was moved from the second to the third line with Rich Peverley and Chris Kelly, with Jaromir Jagr taking his place on the second. The Bruins advanced to the 2013 Stanley Cup finals, but ultimately fell to the Blackhawks in six games.

Dallas Stars

Seguin signing autographs at the Galleria Dallas in 2014.

On July 4, 2013, shortly after the Stanley Cup finals, Seguin was part of a massive seven-player trade that sent him, Peverley, and defenceman Ryan Button to the Dallas Stars in exchange for forward Loui Eriksson and prospects Joe Morrow, Reilly Smith, and Matt Fraser. Prior to the trade, rumors had begun to circulate that the Bruins were displeased with Seguin's supposed hard-partying lifestyle, particularly when his on-ice performance began to suffer during the playoffs. General manager Peter Chiarelli spoke in a press conference on July 4 to assert that, although the trade was "not a strict on-ice decision", but that concerns of Seguin's behavior were more related to "focus, just about little things, about preparing to play, it was nothing about extracurricular activities".

The 2013–14 NHL season proved a breakout for Seguin, who became fast friends with captain Jamie Benn. On November 14, 2013, Seguin had his first career four-point game, scoring two goals and two assists in a 7–3 rout of the Calgary Flames. After reaching 30 goals for the third straight season, Seguin sustained a cut to his Achilles tendon on March 17, 2014, and was expected to miss 3–4 weeks at the end of the season. He set career highs in goals, with 34, and assists, with 47, and his 84 season points were the fourth-highest in the NHL. At the conclusion of the season, Seguin came in sixth overall in voting for the Hart Memorial Trophy, given to the "player judged most valuable to his team". He was also nominated for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, given for leadership and humanitarianism; the award ultimately went to Andrew Ference of the Edmonton Oilers.

Seguin was named to the NHL All-Star Game for the fifth time on January 10, 2018. He was previously selected for the 2012, 2015, 2016, and 2017 NHL All-Star games. At the end of the 2017–18 season, Seguin was nominated for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for the second time.

On September 13, 2018, Seguin signed an eight-year, $78.8 million contract extension with the Stars.

After blocking a shot on March 12, 2020, one of the final games before the suspension of the regular NHL season, Seguin suffered two tears in his right vastus lateralis muscle. He chose to refrain from lower body workouts during the league pause in the hopes that the injury would resolve itself. On July 29, during a practice before the Stars' exhibition game against the Nashville Predators, Seguin felt a "pop" in his hip that also caused pain in his knee. After playing through the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, scoring only two goals in 26 games, Seguin was told that he had completely torn his acetabular labrum. Due to restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, Seguin's surgery was repeatedly delayed. Seguin received a right hip arthroscopy and labral repair on November 2, 2020. The expected timeline for his rehabilitation and recovery was subsequently adjusted from four to five months, due to the severity of the injury.

Seguin returned to play on May 3, 2021, scoring a goal in the Stars' 5-4 overtime loss against the Florida Panthers.

International play

Medal record

Representing Canada

Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament

2015 Czech Republic

2009 Slovakia

Spengler Cup

2012 Spengler Cup

Representing Ontario

World U-17 Hockey Challenge

2009 British Columbia

Seguin's first international ice hockey tournament appearance was at the 2009 World U-17 Hockey Challenge, representing Canada Ontario. Seguin led the tournament with eight assists, and scored the first goal in Canada Ontario's 5-1 gold medal victory over Canada Pacific. That May, he received an invitation to the Canada U18 selection camp.

Seguin competed for Canada at the 2009 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in the Czech Republic, where he led the team in scoring with ten points in four games as Canada won the gold medal. He then attended Hockey Canada's selection camp for the 2010 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in December 2009, but did not make the team. Previously, he won gold with Team Ontario in the 2009 World U-17 Hockey Challenge in Port Alberni, British Columbia, and finished second in tournament scoring with 11 points in six games. Seguin attended Canada's World Junior selection camp in Regina, Saskatchewan, for the World Junior Championships, the under-20 level, but again failed to make the team. In 2015, he was a member of Canada's gold medal-winning team at the World Hockey Championships.

Personal life

After wearing a No. 9 jersey in his childhood, Seguin chose to wear No. 19 when he reached the NHL, as a tribute to his favorite player, Steve Yzerman. When he was traded to Dallas, where No. 19 was retired in honor of Bill Masterton, he flipped the numbers, and wears No. 91. He is the second player to wear No. 91 in franchise history, following Brad Richards.

Seguin is sponsored by Dunkin Donuts,Adidas,[58] Bauer Hockey and BioSteel Sports Supplements. In 2014, Seguin bought Mike Modano's Dallas home.

In 2017, Seguin made a cameo appearance in the movie Goon: Last of the Enforcers.

Seguin's Stars logo

Philanthropy

As the result of one of his best friends suffering a severe spinal cord injury in December 2012, Seguin founded Seguin's Stars upon arriving in Dallas. At every Stars home game during the season, Seguin donated a luxury suite, along with food and beverage, for individuals with spinal cord injuries. Seguin's Stars, along with Dallas Stars Foundation also donated a luxury suite to the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization in 2015 and 2017. At the conclusion of every game, Seguin meets his special guests outside of the Stars' locker room for autographs and pictures, often with other members of the team.

Tiger Woods

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tiger Woods

Woods at the White House in May 2019

Personal information

Full name Eldrick Tont Woods

Nickname Tiger

Born December 30, 1975

Cypress, California

Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)

Weight 185 lb (84 kg)

Nationality United States

Residence Jupiter Island, Florida

Spouse

Elin Nordegren

(m. 2004; div. 2010)

Children 2

Career

College Stanford University

(two years)

Turned professional 1996

Current tour(s) PGA Tour (joined 1996)

Professional wins 10

Highest ranking 1 (June 15, 1997)

(683 weeks)

Number of wins by tour

PGA Tour 82 (Tied 1st all time)

European Tour 41 (3rd all time)

Japan Golf Tour 3

Asian Tour 2

PGA Tour of Australasia 3

Other 16

Best results in major championships

(wins: 15)

Masters Tournament Won: 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2019

PGA Championship Won: 1999, 2000, 2006, 2007

U.S. Open Won: 2000, 2002, 2008

The Open Championship Won: 2000, 2005, 2006

Achievements and awards

World Golf Hall of Fame 2021 (member page)

PGA Tour

Rookie of the Year 1996

PGA Player of the Year 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2013

PGA Tour

Player of the Year 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2013

PGA Tour

leading money winner 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2013

Vardon Trophy 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2013

Byron Nelson Award 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009

FedEx Cup Champion 2007, 2009

Presidential Medal of Freedom 2019

Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records.[5] Woods is widely regarded as one of the greatest golfers of all time and one of the most famous athletes in history. He was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Following an outstanding junior, college, and amateur golf career, Woods turned professional in 1996 at the age of 20. By the end of April 1997, he won three PGA Tour events in addition to his first major, the 1997 Masters, which he won by 12 strokes in a record-breaking performance. He reached number one in the world rankings for the first time in June 1997, less than a year after turning pro. Throughout the first decade of the 21st century, Woods was the dominant force in golf. He was the top-ranked golfer in the world from August 1999 to September 2004 (264 consecutive weeks) and again from June 2005 to October 2010 (281 consecutive weeks). During this time, he won 13 of golf's major championships.

The next decade of Woods' career was marked by comebacks from personal problems and injuries. He took a self-imposed hiatus from professional golf from December 2009 to early April 2010 in an attempt to resolve marital issues with his wife Elin at the time. Woods admitted to multiple infidelities, and the couple eventually divorced He fell to number 58 in the world rankings in November 2011 before ascending again to the number-one ranking between March 2013 and May 2014. However, injuries led him to undergo four back surgeries between 2014 and 2017. Woods competed in only one tournament between August 2015 and January 2018, and he dropped off the list of the world's top 1,000 golfers. On his return to regular competition, Woods made steady progress to the top of the game, winning his first tournament in five years at the Tour Championship in September 2018 and his first major in 11 years at the 2019 Masters.

Woods has held numerous golf records. He has been the number one player in the world for the most consecutive weeks and for the greatest total number of weeks of any golfer in history. He has been awarded PGA Player of the Year a record 11 times and has won the Byron Nelson Award for lowest adjusted scoring average a record eight times. Woods has the record of leading the money list in ten different seasons. He has won 15 professional major golf championships (trailing only Jack Nicklaus, who leads with 18) and 82 PGA Tour events (tied for first all time with Sam Snead). Woods leads all active golfers in career major wins and career PGA Tour wins. Woods is the fifth (after Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus) player to achieve the career Grand Slam, and the youngest to do so. He is also the second golfer (after Nicklaus) to achieve a career Grand Slam three times.

Woods has won 18 World Golf Championships. He was also part of the American winning team for the 1999 Ryder Cup. In May 2019, Woods was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Donald Trump, the fourth golfer to receive the honor.

On February 23, 2021, Woods was hospitalized in serious but stable condition after a single-car collision and underwent emergency surgery to repair compound fractures sustained in each leg in addition to a shattered ankle.

Background and family

Woods and his father Earl at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, in 2004

Eldrick Tont Woods was born on December 30, 1975 in Cypress, California to Earl and Kultida "Tida" Woods. He is their only child and has two half-brothers—Earl Jr. and Kevin—and a half-sister—Royce—from his father's first marriage. Earl was a retired U.S. Army officer and Vietnam War veteran; he was born to African American parents and was also said to have had European, Native American, and possibly Chinese ancestry. Kultida (née Punsawad) is originally from Thailand, where Earl met her when he was on a tour of duty there in 1968. She is of mixed Thai, Chinese, and Dutch ancestry. In 2002, ESPN claimed: "For the record, he is one-quarter Thai, one-quarter Chinese, one-quarter Caucasian, one-eighth African American and one-eighth Native American. Tiger has described his ethnic make-up as "Cablinasian" (a syllabic abbreviation he coined from Caucasian, Black, American Indian, and Asian).

Woods' first name, Eldrick, was chosen by his mother because it began with "E" (for Earl) and ended with "K" (for Kultida). His middle name Tont is a traditional Thai name. He was nicknamed Tiger in honor of his father's friend, South Vietnamese Colonel Vuong Dang Phong, who had also been known as Tiger.

Woods has a niece, Cheyenne Woods, who played for the Wake Forest University golf team and turned professional in 2012 when she made her pro debut in the LPGA Championship.

Early life and amateur golf career

Woods grew up in Orange County, California. He was a child prodigy who was introduced to golf before the age of two by his athletic father Earl Woods. Earl was a single-digit handicap amateur golfer who also was one of the earliest African-American college baseball players at Kansas State University. His father was a member of the military and had playing privileges at the Navy golf course beside the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos, which allowed Tiger to play there. Tiger also played at the par 3 Heartwell golf course in Long Beach, as well as some of the municipals in Long Beach.

In 1978, Woods putted against comedian Bob Hope in a television appearance on The Mike Douglas Show. At age three, he shot a 48 over nine holes at the Navy course. At age five, he appeared in Golf Digest and on ABC's That's Incredible![29] Before turning seven, Woods won the Under Age 10 section of the Drive, Pitch, and Putt competition, held at the Navy Golf Course in Cypress. In 1984 at the age of eight, he won the 9–10 boys' event, the youngest age group available, at the Junior World Golf Championships. He first broke 80 at age eight. He went on to win the Junior World Championships six times, including four consecutive wins from 1988 to 1991.

Woods' father Earl wrote that Tiger first defeated him at the age of 11 years, with Earl trying his best. He lost to Woods every time from then on. Woods first broke 70 on a regulation golf course at age 12.

When Woods was 13 years old, he played in the 1989 Big I, which was his first major national junior tournament. In the final round, he was paired with pro John Daly, who was then relatively unknown. The event's format placed a professional with each group of juniors who had qualified. Daly birdied three of the last four holes to beat him by only one stroke. As a young teenager, Woods first met Jack Nicklaus in Los Angeles at the Bel-Air Country Club, when Nicklaus was performing a clinic for the club's members. Woods was part of the show, and he impressed Nicklaus and the crowd with his skills and potential. Earl Woods had researched in detail the career accomplishments of Nicklaus and had set his young son the goals of breaking those records.

Woods was 15 years old and a student at Western High School in Anaheim when he became the youngest U.S. Junior Amateur champion; this was a record that stood until it was broken by Jim Liu in 2010. He was named 1991's Southern California Amateur Player of the Year (for the second consecutive year) and Golf Digest Junior Amateur Player of the Year. In 1992, he defended his title at the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, becoming the tournament's first two-time winner. He also competed in his first PGA Tour event, the Nissan Los Angeles Open (he missed the 36-hole cut), and was named Golf Digest Amateur Player of the Year, Golf World Player of the Year, and Golfweek National Amateur of the Year.

The following year, Woods won his third consecutive U.S. Junior Amateur; he remains the event's only three-time winner. In 1994, at the TPC at Sawgrass in Florida, he became the youngest winner of the U.S. Amateur, a record he held until 2008 when it was broken by Danny Lee. He was a member of the American team at the 1994 Eisenhower Trophy World Amateur Golf Team Championships (winning), and the 1995 Walker Cup (losing).

Woods graduated from Western High School at age 18 in 1994 and was voted "Most Likely to Succeed" among the graduating class. He starred for the high school's golf team under coach Don Crosby.

Woods learned to manage his stuttering as a boy. This was not widely known until he wrote a letter to a boy who contemplated suicide. Woods wrote, "I know what it's like to be different and to sometimes not fit in. I also stuttered as a child and I would talk to my dog and he would sit there and listen until he fell asleep. I also took a class for two years to help me, and I finally learned to stop.

College golf career

Woods was heavily recruited by college golf powers. He chose Stanford University, the 1994 NCAA champions. He enrolled at Stanford in the fall of 1994 under a golf scholarship and won his first collegiate event, the 40th Annual William H. Tucker Invitational, that September. He selected a major in economics and was nicknamed "Urkel" by college teammate Notah Begay III In 1995, he successfully defended his U.S. Amateur title at the Newport Country Club in Rhode Island [46] and was voted Pac-10 Player of the Year, NCAA First Team All-American, and Stanford's Male Freshman of the Year (an award that encompasses all sports).

At age 19, Woods participated in his first PGA Tour major, the 1995 Masters, and tied for 41st as the only amateur to make the cut; two years later, he won the tournament by 12 strokes. At age 20 in 1996, he became the first golfer to win three consecutive U.S. Amateur titles and won the NCAA individual golf championship. In winning the silver medal as leading amateur at The Open Championship, he tied the record for an amateur aggregate score of 281 He left college after two years in order to turn professional in the golf industry. In 1996, Woods moved out of California, stating in 2013 that it was due to the state's high tax rate.

Professional career

Woods in 2005

Woods turned professional at age 20 in August 1996 and immediately signed advertising deals with Nike, Inc. and Titleist that ranked as the most lucrative endorsement contracts in golf history at that time. Woods was named Sports Illustrated's 1996 Sportsman of the Year and PGA Tour Rookie of the Year. On April 13, 1997, he won his first major, the Masters, in record-breaking fashion and became the tournament's youngest winner at age 21. Two months later, he set the record for the fastest ascent to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings. After a lackluster 1998, Woods finished the 1999 season with eight wins, including the PGA Championship, a feat not achieved since Johnny Miller did it in 1974.

Woods was severely myopic; his eyesight had a rating of 11 diopters. In order to correct this problem, he underwent successful laser eye surgery in 1999, and he immediately resumed winning tour events. In 2007, his vision again began to deteriorate, and he underwent laser eye surgery a second time.

In 2000, Woods won six consecutive events on the PGA Tour, which was the longest winning streak since Ben Hogan did it in 1948. One of these was the U.S. Open, where he broke or tied nine tournament records in what Sports Illustrated called "the greatest performance in golf history", in which Woods won the tournament by a record 15-stroke margin and earned a check for $800,000. At age 24, he became the youngest golfer to achieve the Career Grand Slam At the end of 2000, Woods had won nine of the twenty PGA Tour events he entered and had broken the record for lowest scoring average in tour history. He was named the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year, the only athlete to be honored twice, and was ranked by Golf Digest magazine as the twelfth-best golfer of all time.

Woods at the 2004 Ryder Cup

When Woods won the 2001 Masters, he became the only player to win four consecutive major professional golf titles, although not in the same calendar year. This achievement came to be known as the "Tiger Slam." Following a stellar 2001 and 2002 in which he continued to dominate the tour, Woods's career hit a slump. He did not win a major in 2003 or 2004. In September 2004, Vijay Singh overtook Woods in the Official World Golf Rankings, ending Woods's record streak of 264 weeks at No. 1.

Woods rebounded in 2005, winning six PGA Tour events and reclaiming the top spot in July after swapping it back and forth with Singh over the first half of the year.

Woods began dominantly in 2006, winning his first two PGA tournaments but failing to capture his fifth Masters championship in April. Following the death of his father in May, Woods took some time off from the tour and appeared rusty upon his return at the U.S. Open at Winged Foot, where he missed the cut. However, he quickly returned to form and ended the year by winning six consecutive tour events. At the season's close, Woods had 54 total wins that included 12 majors; he broke the tour records for both total wins and total majors wins over eleven seasons.

Woods at the 2006 Masters

Woods continued to excel in 2007 and the first part of 2008. In April 2008, he underwent knee surgery and missed the next two months on the tour. Woods returned for the 2008 U.S. Open, where he struggled the first day but ultimately claimed a dramatic sudden death victory over Rocco Mediate that followed an 18-hole playoff, after which Mediate said, "This guy does things that are just not normal by any stretch of the imagination," and Kenny Perry added, "He beat everybody on one leg." Two days later, Woods announced that he would miss the remainder of the season due to additional knee surgery, and that his knee was more severely damaged than previously revealed, prompting even greater praise for his U.S. Open performance. Woods called it "my greatest ever championship." In Woods's absence, television ratings for the remainder of the season suffered a huge decline from 2007.

Woods competing at the third annual Earl Woods Memorial Pro-Am (July 1, 2009)

Woods had a much anticipated return to golf in 2009, when he performed well. His comeback included a spectacular performance at the 2009 Presidents Cup, but he failed to win a major, the first year since 2004 that he did not do so.[ After his marital infidelities came to light and received massive media coverage at the end of 2009 (see further details below), Woods announced in December that he would be taking an indefinite break from competitive golf. In February 2010, he delivered a televised apology for his behavior, saying "I was wrong and I was foolish." During this period, several companies ended their endorsement deals with Woods.

Woods returned to competition in April at the 2010 Masters, where he finished tied for fourth place. He followed the Masters with poor showings at the Quail Hollow Championship and the Players Championship, where he withdrew in the fourth round, citing injury. Shortly afterward, Hank Haney, Woods's coach since 2003, resigned the position. In August, Woods hired Sean Foley as Haney's replacement. The rest of the season went badly for Woods, who failed to win a single event for the first time since turning professional, while nevertheless finishing the season ranked No. 2 in the world.

Woods at a Chevron World Challenge charity event (2011)

In 2011, Woods' performance continued to suffer; this took its toll on his ranking. After falling to No. 7 in March, he rebounded to No. 5 with a strong showing at the 2011 Masters, where he tied for fourth place. Due to leg injuries incurred at the Masters, he missed several summer stops on the PGA Tour. In July, he fired his longtime caddy Steve Williams (who was shocked by the dismissal), and replaced him on an interim basis with friend Bryon Bell until he hired Joe LaCava.After returning to tournament play in August, Woods continued to falter, and his ranking gradually fell to a low of #58.[9] He rose to No. 50 in mid-November after a third-place finish at the Emirates Australian Open, and broke his winless streak with a victory at December's Chevron World Challenge.

Woods began his 2012 season with two tournaments (the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship and the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am) where he started off well but struggled on the final rounds. Following the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, where he was knocked out in the second round by missing a 5-foot putt, Woods revised his putting technique and tied for second at the Honda Classic, with the lowest final-round score in his PGA Tour career. After a short time off due to another leg injury, Woods won the Arnold Palmer Invitational, his first win on the PGA Tour since the BMW Championship in September 2009. Following several dismal performances, Woods notched his 73rd PGA Tour win at the Memorial Tournament in June, tying Jack Nicklaus in second place for most PGA Tour victories; a month later, Woods surpassed Nicklaus with a win at the AT&T National, to trail only Sam Snead, who accumulated 82 PGA tour wins.

The year 2013 brought a return of Woods' dominating play. In January, he won the Farmers Insurance Open by four shots for his 75th PGA Tour win. It was the seventh time he won the event. In March, he won the WGC-Cadillac Championship, also for the seventh time, giving him his 17th WGC title and first since 2009. Two weeks later, he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational, winning the event for a record-tying 8th time. The win moved him back to the top of the world rankings. To commemorate that achievement, Nike was quick to launch an ad with the tagline "winning takes care of everything".

During the 2013 Masters, Woods faced disqualification after unwittingly admitting in a post-round interview with ESPN that he took an illegal drop on the par-5 15th hole when his third shot bounced off the pin and into the water. After further review of television footage, Woods was assessed a two-stroke penalty for the drop but was not disqualified. He finished tied for fourth in the event. Woods won The Players Championship in May 2013, his second career win at the event, notching his fourth win of the 2013 season. It was the quickest he got to four wins in any season of his professional career.

Woods practicing in a bunker prior to the start of the 2014 Quicken Loans National

Woods had a poor showing at the 2013 U.S. Open as a result of an elbow injury that he sustained at The Players Championship. In finishing at 13-over-par, he recorded his worst score as a professional and finished 12 strokes behind winner Justin Rose. After a prolonged break because of the injury, during which he missed the Greenbrier Classic and his own AT&T National, he returned at the Open Championship at Muirfield. Despite being in contention all week and beginning the final round only two strokes behind Lee Westwood, he struggled with the speed of the greens and could only manage a 3-over-par 74 that left him tied for 6th place, five strokes behind eventual winner Phil Mickelson. Two weeks later, Woods returned to form at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, recording his 5th win of the season and 8th win at the event in its 15-year history. His second-round 61 matched his record score on the PGA Tour and could easily have been a 59 were it not for some short missed birdie putts on the closing holes. This gave him a seven-stroke lead that he held onto for the rest of the tournament. But at the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club, Woods never was in contention, making 2013 his fifth full season where he did not win a major; he was in contention in only two of the four majors in 2013.

After a slow start to 2014, Woods sustained an injury during the final round of the Honda Classic and was unable to finish the tournament. He withdrew after the 13th hole, citing back pain. He subsequently competed in the WGC-Cadillac Championship but was visibly in pain during much of the last round. He was forced to skip the Arnold Palmer Invitational at the end of March 2014, and after undergoing back surgery, he announced on April 1 that he would miss the Masters for the first time since 1994. Woods returned at the Quicken Loans National in June, however he said that his expectations for the week were low. He struggled with nearly every aspect of his game and missed the cut. He next played at The Open Championship, contested at Hoylake, where Woods won eight years prior. Woods fired a brilliant 69 in the first round to put himself in contention, but shot 77 on Friday and eventually finished 69th. Despite his back pain, he played at the 2014 PGA Championship where he failed to make the cut. On August 25, 2014, Woods and his swing coach Sean Foley parted ways. In the four years under Foley, he won eight times but no majors. He had previously won eight majors with Harmon and six with Haney. Woods said there was currently no timetable to find a replacement swing coach.

On February 5, 2015, Woods withdrew from the Farmers Insurance Open after another back injury. Woods stated on his website that it was unrelated to his previous surgery and he would take a break from golf until his back healed. He returned for the Masters, finishing in a tie for 17th. In the final round, Woods injured his wrist after his club hit a tree root. He later stated that a bone popped out of his wrist, but he adjusted it back into place and finished the round. Woods then missed the cut at the 2015 U.S. Open and Open Championship, the first time Woods missed the cut at consecutive majors, finishing near the bottom of the leaderboard both times. He finished tied for 18th at the Quicken Loans National on August 2. In late August 2015, Woods played quite well at the Wyndham Championship finishing the tournament at 13-under, only four strokes behind the winner, and tied for 10th place Woods offered only a brief comment on the speculation that he was still recovering from back surgery, saying it was "just my hip" but offering no specifics.

Woods practicing a chip-shot at the 2018 U.S. Open

Woods had back surgery on September 16, 2015. In late March 2016, he announced that he would miss the Masters while he recovered from the surgery; he had also missed the 2014 Masters due to a back problem. "I'm absolutely making progress, and I'm really happy with how far I've come," he explained in a statement. "But I still have no timetable to return to competitive golf." However, he did attend the Masters Champions Dinner on April 5, 2016.] For the first time in his career, he missed all four majors in one year due to problems with his back. In October 2016, he told Charlie Rose on PBS that he still wanted to break Jack Nicklaus's record of 18 major titles. Woods underwent back surgery in December 2016 and spent the next 15 months off the Tour. He made his return to competitive golf in the Hero World Challenge.

Woods' back problems continued to hinder him in 2017. He missed the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open in January and pulled out of a European Tour event in Dubai on February 3. On March 31, Woods announced on his website that he would not be playing in the 2017 Masters Tournament despite being cleared to play by his doctors. Woods said that although he was happy with his rehabilitation, he did not feel "tournament ready." Woods subsequently told friends, "I'm done". On April 20, Woods announced that he had undergone his fourth back surgery since 2014 to alleviate back and leg pain. Recovery time required up to six months, meaning that Woods would spend the rest of the year without playing any professional golf. Woods returned to competitive golf at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. He shot rounds of 69–68–75–68 and finished tied for 9th place. His world ranking went from 1,199th to 668th, which was the biggest jump in the world rankings in his career.

On March 11, 2018, he finished one-shot back and tied for second at the Valspar Championship in Florida, his first top-five finish on the PGA Tour since 2013. He then tied for sixth with a score of five under par at the 2018 Open Championship. At the last major of the year, the 2018 PGA Championship, Woods finished second, two shots behind the winner Brooks Koepka. It was his best result in a major since 2009 (second at the 2009 PGA Championship) and moved him up to 26th in the world rankings. His final round of 64 was his best-ever final round in a major.

Woods returned to the winner's circle for the 80th time in his PGA Tour career on September 23, 2018, when he won the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club for the second time and that tournament for the third time. He shot rounds of 65–68–65–71 to win by two strokes over Billy Horschel.

On April 14, 2019, Woods won the Masters, which was his first major championship win in eleven years and his 15th major overall. He finished 13 under par to win by one stroke over Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffele and Brooks Koepka. At age 43, he became the second oldest golfer ever to win the Masters, after Jack Nicklaus who was 46 when he triumphed in 1986. In August 2019, Woods announced via social media that he underwent knee surgery to repair minor cartilage damage and that he had an arthroscopic procedure during the Tour Championship. In his statement, Woods also confirmed that he was walking and intends on traveling and playing in Japan in October.

Woods played in his first 2020 PGA Tour event at the Zozo Championship in October 2019, which was the first-ever PGA Tour event played in Japan. Woods, who played a highly publicized skins game earlier in the week at the same course as the Championship, held at least a share of the lead after every round of the rain-delayed tournament, giving him a three stroke victory over Hideki Matsuyama.The win was Woods's 82nd on Tour, tying him with Sam Snead for the most victories all time on the PGA Tour.

On December 23, 2020, Woods had microdiscectomy surgery on his back for the fifth time. The operation was to remove a pressurized disc fragment that was pinching his nerve and causing him pain during the PNC Championship.

Honors

Woods checking his drive in 2007

Woods receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Donald Trump in May 2019

On August 20, 2007, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife Maria Shriver announced that Woods would be inducted into the California Hall of Fame. He was inducted December 5, 2007 at The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts in Sacramento.

In December 2009, Woods was named "Athlete of the Decade" by the Associated Press. He was named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year a record-tying four times, and is one of only two people to be named Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year more than once.

Since his record-breaking win at the 1997 Masters, Woods has been the biggest name in golf and his presence in tournaments has drawn a huge fan following. Some sources have credited him for dramatically increasing prize money in golf, generating interest in new PGA tournament audiences, and for drawing the largest TV ratings in golf history.

In May 2019, following his 2019 Masters Tournament win, Woods was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Donald Trump.

Endorsements

During the first decade of his professional career, Woods was the world's most marketable athlete. Shortly after his 21st birthday in 1996, he signed endorsement deals with numerous companies, including General Motors, Titleist, General Mills, American Express, Accenture, and Nike. In 2000, he signed a 5-year, $105 million contract extension with Nike, which was the largest endorsement package signed by a professional athlete at that time. Woods's endorsement has been credited with playing a significant role in taking the Nike Golf brand from a "start-up" golf company earlier in the previous decade to becoming the leading golf apparel company in the world and a major player in the equipment and golf ball market. Nike Golf is one of the fastest growing brands in the sport, with an estimated $600 million in sales. Woods has been described as the "ultimate endorser" for Nike Golf, frequently seen wearing Nike gear during tournaments, and even in advertisements for other products. Woods receives a percentage from the sales of Nike Golf apparel, footwear, golf equipment, golf balls, and has a building named after him at Nike's headquarters campus in Beaverton, Oregon.

Woods visiting aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73) in the Persian Gulf before participating in the 2004 Dubai Desert Classic

In 2002, Woods was involved in every aspect of the launch of Buick's Rendezvous SUV. A company spokesman stated that Buick was happy with the value of Woods's endorsement, pointing out that more than 130,000 Rendezvous vehicles were sold in 2002 and 2003. "That exceeded our forecasts," he was quoted as saying, "It has to be in recognition of Tiger." In February 2004, Buick renewed Woods's endorsement contract for another five years, in a deal reportedly worth $40 million.

Woods collaborated closely with TAG Heuer to develop the world's first professional golf watch, which was released in April 2005. The lightweight, titanium-construction watch, designed to be worn while playing the game, incorporates numerous innovative design features to accommodate golf play. It is capable of absorbing up to 5,000 Gs of shock, far in excess of the forces generated by a normal golf swing. In 2006, the TAG Heuer Professional Golf Watch won the prestigious iF product design award in the Leisure/Lifestyle category.

Woods preparing for a photo shoot in 2006

Woods also endorsed the Tiger Woods PGA Tour series of video games; he has done so since 1999. In 2006, he signed a six-year contract with Electronic Arts, the series' publisher.

In February 2007, Woods, Roger Federer, and Thierry Henry became ambassadors for the "Gillette Champions" marketing campaign. Gillette did not disclose financial terms, though an expert estimated the deal could total between $10 million and $20 million.

In October 2007, Gatorade announced that Woods would have his own brand of sports drink starting in March 2008. "Gatorade Tiger" was his first U.S. deal with a beverage company and his first licensing agreement. Although no figures were officially disclosed, Golfweek magazine reported that it was for five years and could pay him as much as $100 million. The company decided in early fall 2009 to discontinue the drink due to weak sales.

In October 2012, it was announced that Woods signed an exclusive endorsement deal with Fuse Science, Inc, a sports nutrition firm.

In 1997, Woods and fellow golfer Arnold Palmer initiated a civil case against Bruce Matthews (the owner of Gotta Have It Golf, Inc.) and others in the effort to stop the unauthorized sale of their images and alleged signatures in the memorabilia market. Matthews and associated parties counterclaimed that Woods and his company, ETW Corporation, committed several acts including breach of contract, breach of implied duty of good faith, and violations of Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. Palmer also was named in the counter-suit, accused of violating the same licensing agreement in conjunction with his company Arnold Palmer Enterprises.

On March 12, 2014, a Florida jury ruled in favor of Gotta Have It on its breach of contract and other related claims, rejected ETW's counterclaims, and awarded Gotta Have It $668,346 in damages. The award may end up exceeding $1 million once interest has been factored in, though the ruling may be appealed.

In August 2016, Woods announced that he would be seeking a new golf equipment partner after the news of Nike's exit from the equipment industry. It was announced on January 25, 2017 that he would be signing a new club deal with TaylorMade. He added the 2016 M2 driver along with the 2017 M1 fairway woods, with irons to be custom made at a later date. He also added his Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS, a club he used to win 13 of his 15 majors. Also, in late 2016, he would add Monster Energy as his primary bag sponsor, replacing MusclePharm.

Accumulated wealth

Woods has appeared on Forbes' list of the world's highest-paid athletes. According to Golf Digest, Woods made $769,440,709 from 1996 to 2007, and the magazine predicted that Woods would pass a billion dollars in earnings by 2010. In 2009, Forbes confirmed that Woods was indeed the world's first professional athlete to earn over a billion dollars in his career, after accounting for the $10 million bonus Woods received for the FedEx Cup title. The same year, Forbes estimated his net worth to be $600 million, making him the second richest person of color in the United States, behind only Oprah Winfrey. In 2015, Woods ranked ninth in Forbes' list of world's highest-paid athletes, being the top among Asian Americans or the fourth among African Americans. As of 2017, Woods was considered to be the highest-paid golfer in the world.

Tiger-proofing

Early in Woods' career, a small number of golf industry analysts expressed concern about his impact on the competitiveness of the game and the public appeal of professional golf. Sportswriter Bill Lyon of Knight Ridder asked in a column, "Isn't Tiger Woods actually bad for golf?" (though Lyon ultimately concluded that he was not). At first, some pundits feared that Woods would drive the spirit of competition out of the game of golf by making existing courses obsolete and relegating opponents to simply competing for second place each week.

A related effect was measured by University of California economist Jennifer Brown, who found that other golfers scored worse when competing against Woods than when he was not in the tournament. The scores of highly skilled golfers are nearly one stroke higher when playing against Woods. This effect was larger when he was on winning streaks and disappeared during his well-publicized slump in 2003–04. Brown explains the results by noting that competitors of similar skill can hope to win by increasing their level of effort, but that, when facing a "superstar" competitor, extra exertion does not significantly raise one's level of winning while increasing risk of injury or exhaustion, leading to reduced effort.

Many courses in the PGA Tour rotation (including major championship sites like Augusta National) have added yardage to their tees in an effort to reduce the advantage of long hitters like Woods, in a strategy that became known as "Tiger-proofing". Woods said he welcomed the change, in that adding yardage to courses did not affect his ability to win.

Career achievements

Woods has won 82 official PGA Tour events, including 15 majors. He is 14–1 when going into the final round of a major with at least a share of the lead. Multiple golf experts have heralded Woods as "the greatest closer in history". He owns the lowest career scoring average and the most career earnings of any player in PGA Tour history.

Woods's victory at the 2013 Players Championship also marked a win in his 300th PGA Tour start. He also won golf tournaments in his 100th (in 2000) and 200th (in 2006) tour starts.

Woods has spent the most consecutive and cumulative weeks atop the world rankings. He is one of five players (along with Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, and Jack Nicklaus) to have won all four major championships in his career, known as the Career Grand Slam, and was the youngest to do so.[171] Woods is the only player to have consecutively won all four major championships open to professionals, accomplishing the feat in the 2000–2001 seasons.

Playing style

Woods practicing before 2004 Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township, Michigan

When Woods first joined the PGA Tour in 1996, his long drives had a large impact on the world of golf, but he did not upgrade his equipment in the following years. He insisted upon the use of True Temper Dynamic Gold steel-shafted clubs and smaller steel clubheads that promoted accuracy over distance. Many opponents caught up to him, and Phil Mickelson even made a joke in 2003 about Woods using "inferior equipment", which did not sit well with Nike, Titleist, or Woods. During 2004, Woods finally upgraded his driver technology to a larger clubhead and graphite shaft, which, coupled with his clubhead speed, again made him one of the tour's longest players off the tee.

Despite his power advantage, Woods has always focused on developing an excellent all-around game. Although in recent years he has typically been near the bottom of the Tour rankings in driving accuracy, his iron play is generally accurate, his recovery and bunker play is very strong, and his putting (especially under pressure) is possibly his greatest asset. He is largely responsible for a shift to higher standards of athleticism amongst professional golfers, and is known for utilizing more hours of practice than most.

From mid-1993 (while he was still an amateur) until 2004, Woods worked almost exclusively with leading swing coach Butch Harmon. From mid-1997, Harmon and Woods fashioned a major redevelopment of Woods's full swing, achieving greater consistency, better distance control, and better kinesiology. The changes began to pay off in 1999. Woods and Harmon eventually parted ways. From March 2004 to 2010, Woods was coached by Hank Haney, who worked on flattening his swing plane. Woods continued to win tournaments with Haney, but his driving accuracy dropped significantly. Haney resigned under questionable circumstances in May 2010 and was replaced by Sean Foley.

Fluff Cowan served as Woods' caddie from the start of his professional career until Woods dismissed him in March 1999. He was replaced by Steve Williams, who became a close friend of Woods and is often credited with helping him with key shots and putts. In June 2011, Woods dismissed Williams after he caddied for Adam Scott in the U.S. Open and replaced him with friend Bryon Bell on an interim basis. Joe LaCava, a former caddie of both Fred Couples and Dustin Johnson, was hired by Woods shortly after and has remained Woods's caddie since then.

Other ventures

TGR Foundation

The TGR Foundation was established in 1996 by Woods and his father Earl as the Tiger Woods Foundation with the primary goal of promoting golf among inner-city children. The foundation has conducted junior golf clinics across the country, and sponsors the Tiger Woods Foundation National Junior Golf Team in the Junior World Golf Championships. As of December 2010, TWF employed approximately 55 people.

The foundation operates the Tiger Woods Learning Center, a $50-million, 35,000-square-foot (3,300 m2) facility in Anaheim, California, providing college-access programs for underserved youth. The TWLC opened in 2006 and features seven classrooms, extensive multi-media facilities and an outdoor golf teaching area.The center has since expanded to four additional campuses: two in Washington, D.C.; one in Philadelphia; and one in Stuart, Florida.

Woods giving a speech at We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial (January 2009)

The foundation benefits from the annual Chevron World Challenge and AT&T National golf tournaments hosted by Woods. In October 2011, the foundation hosted the first Tiger Woods Invitational at Pebble Beach. Other annual fundraisers have included the concert events Block Party, last held in 2009 in Anaheim, and Tiger Jam, last held in 2011 in Las Vegas after a one-year hiatus.

Tiger Woods Design

In November 2006, Woods announced his intention to begin designing golf courses around the world through a new company, Tiger Woods Design. A month later, he announced that the company's first course would be in Dubai as part of a 25.3-million-square-foot development, The Tiger Woods Dubai. The Al Ruwaya Golf Course was initially expected to finish construction in 2009. As of February 2010, only seven holes had been completed; in April 2011, The New York Times reported that the project had been shelved permanently. In 2013, the partnership between Tiger Woods Design and Dubai Holding was dissolved.

Tiger Woods Design has taken on two other courses, neither of which has materialized. In August 2007, Woods announced The Cliffs at High Carolina, a private course in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Asheville, North Carolina. After a groundbreaking in November 2008, the project suffered cash flow problems and suspended construction. A third course, in Punta Brava, Mexico, was announced in October 2008, but incurred delays due to issues with permits and an environmental impact study. Construction on the Punta Brava course has not yet begun.

These projects have encountered problems that have been attributed to factors that include overly optimistic estimates of their value, declines throughout the global economy (particularly the U.S. crash in home prices), and the decreased appeal and marketability of Woods following his 2009 infidelity scandal.

Writings

Woods wrote a golf instruction column for Golf Digest magazine from 1997 to February 2011. In 2001 he wrote a best-selling golf instruction book, How I Play Golf, which had the largest print run of any golf book for its first edition, 1.5 million copies. In March 2017, he published a memoir, The 1997 Masters: My Story, co-authored by Lorne Rubenstein, which focuses on his first Masters win. In October 2019, Woods announced he would be writing a memoir book titled Back.

Personal life

Woods after receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2019. From left to right: girlfriend Erica Herman, mother Kultida Woods, daughter Sam Woods, son Charlie Woods, and Tiger Woods

Relationships and children

In November 2003, Woods became engaged to Elin Nordegren, a Swedish former model and daughter of former minister of migration Barbro Holmberg and radio journalist Thomas Nordegren. They were introduced during The Open Championship in 2001 by Swedish golfer Jesper Parnevik, who had employed her as an au pair. They married on October 5, 2004 at the Sandy Lane resort in Barbados, and lived at Isleworth, a community in Windermere, a suburb of Orlando, Florida. In 2006, they purchased a $39-million estate in Jupiter Island, Florida, and began constructing a 10,000-square-foot home; Woods moved there in 2010 following the couple's divorce.

Woods and Nordegren's first child was a daughter born in 2007, whom they named Sam Alexis Woods. Woods chose the name because his own father had always called him Sam. Their son, Charlie Axel Woods, was born in 2009.

On March 18, 2013, Woods announced that he and Olympic gold medal skier Lindsey Vonn were dating. They split up in May 2015. From November 2016 to August 2017, Woods was rumored in a relationship with stylist Kristin Smith. Since late 2017, he has been in a relationship with restaurant manager Erica Herman.

Infidelity scandal and fallout

In November 2009, the National Enquirer published a story claiming that Woods had an extramarital affair with New York City nightclub manager Rachel Uchitel, who denied the claim. Two days later, around 2:30 a.m. on November 27, Woods was driving from his Florida mansion in his Cadillac Escalade SUV when he collided with a fire hydrant, a tree, and several hedges near his home. He was treated for minor facial lacerations and received a ticket for careless driving. Following intense media speculation about the cause of the accident, Woods released a statement on his website and took sole responsibility for the accident, calling it a "private matter" and crediting his wife for helping him from the car. On November 30, Woods announced that he would not be appearing at his own charity golf tournament (the Chevron World Challenge) or any other tournaments in 2009 due to his injuries.

On December 2, following Us Weekly magazine's previous day reporting of a purported mistress and subsequent release of a voicemail message allegedly left by Woods for the woman, Woods released a further statement. He admitted transgressions and apologized to "all of those who have supported [him] over the years", while reiterating his and his family's right to privacy. Over the next few days, more than a dozen women claimed in various media outlets to have had affairs with Woods. On December 11, he released a third statement admitting to infidelity and he apologized again. He also announced that he would be taking "an indefinite break from professional golf."

In the days and months following Woods's admission of multiple infidelities, several companies re-evaluated their relationships with him. Accenture, AT&T, Gatorade, and General Motors completely ended their sponsorship deals, while Gillette suspended advertising featuring Woods.TAG Heuer dropped Woods from advertising in December 2009 and officially ended their deal when his contract expired in August 2011. Golf Digest magazine suspended Woods's monthly column beginning with the February 2010 issue. In contrast, Nike continued to support Woods, as did Electronic Arts, which was working with Woods on the game Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online. A December 2009 study estimated the shareholder loss caused by Woods's affairs to be between $5 billion and $12 billion.

On February 19, 2010, Woods gave a televised statement in which he said he went through a 45-day therapy program that began at the end of December. He again apologized for his actions. "I thought I could get away with whatever I wanted to," he said. "I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me. I felt I was entitled. Thanks to money and fame, I didn't have to go far to find them. I was wrong. I was foolish." He said he did not know yet when he would be returning to golf. On March 16, he announced that he would play in the 2010 Masters.

After six years of marriage, Woods and Nordegren divorced on August 23, 2010.

2017 arrest

On May 29, 2017, Woods was arrested near his Jupiter Island, Florida home by the Jupiter Police Department at about 3:00 am. EDT for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. He was asleep in his car, which was stationary in a traffic lane with its engine running. He later stated that he took prescription drugs and did not realize how they might interact together. On July 3, 2017, Woods tweeted that he completed an out-of-state intensive program to tackle an unspecified issue. At his August 9, 2017 arraignment, Woods had his attorney Douglas Duncan submit a not guilty plea for him and agreed to take part in a first-time DUI offender program and attend another arraignment on October 25.

At a hearing on October 27, 2017, Woods pleaded guilty to reckless driving. He received a year of probation, was fined $250, and ordered to undergo 50 hours of community service along with regular drug tests. He was not allowed to drink alcohol during the probation, and if he violated the probation he would be sentenced to 90 days in jail with an additional $500 fine.

Dashcam video of Tiger Woods' DUI arrest, 29 min 27 sec

Other pursuits

Meeting Barack Obama in the Oval Office, April 2009

Firing a pistol at Naval Base Coronado

Woods was raised as a Buddhist and he actively practiced his faith from childhood until well into his adult, professional golf career. In a 2000 article, Woods was quoted as saying that he "believes in Buddhism... not every aspect, but most of it." He has attributed his deviations and infidelity to his losing track of Buddhism. He said, "Buddhism teaches me to stop following every impulse and to learn restraint. Obviously I lost track of what I was taught."

Woods is registered as an independent voter. In January 2009, Woods delivered a speech commemorating the military at the We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial. In April 2009, Woods visited the White House while promoting the golf tournament he hosts, the AT&T National. In December 2016 and again in November 2017, Woods played golf with President Donald Trump at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.

2021 car crash

On February 23, 2021, Woods was involved in a serious rollover car accident in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. The wreck was a single-vehicle collision and Woods was the sole occupant of the vehicle, which was traveling north along Hawthorne Boulevard.The front of the Genesis GV80 SUV was destroyed but the interior remained intact; the safety features possibly saved his life, leaving him with less traumatic injuries, according to the Los Angeles Sheriff.

He was taken to the Harbor–UCLA Medical Center by ambulance. The incident was under investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, which said the car "sustained major damage," and that Woods was driving over 80 mph, nearly twice the speed limit, before he crashed. No charges were filed. Woods' agent later said that he sustained multiple leg injuries and had surgery for non-life-threatening injuries. It was reported that he sustained broken bones in both of his legs and "compound fractures". The sheriff involved in the incident said that Woods had "no recollection" of the crash during questioning at the hospital.

Tejaswini Sawant

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tejaswini Sawant

Sawant, right, receiving the 2011 Arjuna Award in New Delhi

Personal information

Birth name Tejaswini Sawant

Nationality Indian

Born 12 September 1980

Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India

Sport

Country India

Sport Shooting

Event(s) Air rifle

Team Indian Team

Women's shooting

Representing India

2010 Munich 50 m rifle prone

World Cup

2009 Munich 50 m rifle 3 positions

2006 Melbourne 10 m air rifle pairs

2006 Melbourne 10 m air rifle

2018 Gold Coast 50 m rifle 3 positions

2010 Delhi 50 m rifle 3 positions pairs

2010 Delhi 50 m rifle prone

2018 Gold Coast 50 m rifle prone

2010 Delhi 50 m rifle prone pairs

Tejaswini Sawant (born 12 September 1980) is an Indian shooter from the Maharashtrian city of Kolhapur. Her father Ravindra Sawant was an officer in the Indian Navy.

Biography

Tejaswini born to father Ravindra and mother Sunita in Kolhapur. She has two younger sisters Anuradha Pitre and Vijaymala Gavali. Her father died in February 2010. She started her practice under the coaching of Jaisingh Kusale in Kolhapur. She is training under her personal coach Kuheli Gangulee. Tejaswini was also appointed as officer on special duty (OSD) in the sports department. Tejaswini received the Arjuna award on 29 August 2011. Tejasvini Savant got married on 11 Feb 2016 with Well known Social Figure and Builder by profession Sameer Darekar of Pune.

Career

She earned her Tokyo berth after finishing fifth in the qualifications with a score of 1171 in the final of Asian Championship. In 2010 in Munich, Sawant became the world champion in the 50m rifle prone event.

Sawant represented India at the 9th South Asian Sports Federation Games in 2004 in Islamabad where she helped India win gold medal.

2006 Commonwealth Games

She was selected to represent India at the 2006 Commonwealth Games ahead of Asian Games gold medallist Anjali Ved Pathak Bhagwat and world record holder Suma Shirur. In 2006, she won gold medals in Women's 10 m Air Rifle singles and Women's 10 m Air Rifle Pairs (with Avneet Kaur Sidhu) events at the Commonwealth Games at Melbourne.

ISSF World Cup and ISSF World Championships

Sawant won a bronze medal in 50 metre rifle three positions at the 2009 ISSF World Cup in Munich. On 8 August 2010 she became the World Champion in the 50m Rifle Prone event in Munich, Germany. She was the first Indian woman shooter to win a gold medal at the World Championships with a world-record equalling score in the 50 m Rifle Prone event.

2010 Commonwealth Games

In the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in Delhi, Sawant won silver in Women's 50 rifle prone singles and bronze in Women's 50 m rifle prone pairs (along with Meena Kumari). She also won silver in Women's 50 m rifle 3 positions event (along with Lajjakumari Goswami) in this competition.

2018 Commonwealth Games

On 12 April 2018, Tejaswini won Silver at Women's 50m Rifle Prone Finals with a cumulative score of 618.9.

On 13 April 2018, Tejaswini won gold at the Women's 50m Rifle 3 Position Finals. She set a Games Record (GR) with total points of 457.9.

Usha Rani Das

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Usha Rani DasPersonal information

Date of birth 5 November 1991

Place of birth Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Position(s) Goalkeeper

National team

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2011– India 9 (0)

Usha Rani Das (born 5 November 1991 in Kolkata) is an Indian women footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for India women's national football team.

International

Das was part of the Indian National Team that played Bahrain in 2011.

Umesh Harijan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Umesh HarijanPersonal information

Date of birth 8 July 1992

Place of birth Goa, India

Position(s) Forward

Club information

Current team Goa

Number 12

Youth career

SESA FA

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2015– Salgaocar 2 (0)

National team

2014 Goa

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 May 2015

Umesh Harijan (born 8 July 1992) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward for South United F.C. in the I-League 2nd Division.

Career

Born in Goa, Harijan was a part of the SESA Football Academy.[2] He then joined I-League club Salgaocar before the 2014–15 season. He made his debut for the club on 24 May 2015 against Bharat FC. Harijan started the match and played 68 minutes as Salgaocar won 5–1.

International

Harijan represented Goa during the 2014 Lusophony Games. He scored the opening goal for Goa in their 2–1 victory over Mozambique.

Career statistics

As of 30 May 2015

ClubSeasonLeagueFederation CupDurand CupAFCTotal

DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals

Salgaocar 2014–15 I-League 2 0 0 0 — — — — 2 0

Career total2000000020

Honour

Goa lusophony

2014 Lusophony Games

Usain Bolt

From Wikipedia

The Honourable

Usain Bolt

OJ CD

Bolt at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Personal information

Full name Usain St Leo Bolt

Nickname(s) Lightning Bolt

Nationality Jamaican

Born 21 August 1986 (age 31)

Sherwood Content, Jamaica

Residence Kingston, Jamaica

Height 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)

Weight 94 kg (207 lb)

Sport

Sport Track and field

Event(s) Sprints

Club Racers Track Club

Achievements and titles

Personal best(s)

100 m: 9.58 WR (Berlin 2009)

150 m straight: 14.35 WB[note 1](Manchester 2009)

200 m: 19.19 WR (Berlin 2009)

300 m: 30.97 (Ostrava 2010)

400 m: 45.28 (Kingston 2007)

800 m: 2:07 (Kingston 2016)

Usain St Leo Bolt OJ CD (/ˈjuːseɪn/; born 21 August 1986) is a retired Jamaican sprinter. He is the first person to hold both the 100 metres and 200 metres world records since fully automatic time became mandatory. He also holds the world record as a part of the 4 × 100 metres relay. He is the reigning Olympic champion in these three events. Due to his dominance and achievements in sprint competition, he is widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time.

An eight-time Olympic gold medalist, Bolt won the 100 m, 200 m and 4 × 100 m relay at three consecutive Olympic Games, although he subsequently forfeited one of the gold medals (as well as the world record set therein) nine years after the fact due to a teammate's disqualification for doping offences. He gained worldwide popularity for his double sprint victory at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in world record times. Bolt is the only sprinter to win Olympic 100 m and 200 m titles at three consecutive Olympics (2008, 2012 and 2016); this is a feat referred to as the "triple double" that will be very difficult for anyone to duplicate.

An eleven-time World Champion, he won consecutive World Championship 100 m, 200 m and 4 × 100 metres relay gold medals from 2009 to 2015, with the exception of a 100 m false start in 2011. He is the most successful athlete of the World Championships and was the first athlete to win three titles in both the 100 m and 200 m at the competition.

Bolt improved upon his second 100 m world record of 9.69 with 9.58 seconds in 2009 – the biggest improvement since the start of electronic timing. He has twice broken the 200 metres world record, setting 19.30 in 2008 and 19.19 in 2009. He has helped Jamaica to three 4 × 100 metres relay world records, with the current record being 36.84 seconds set in 2012. Bolt's most successful event is the 200 m, with three Olympic and four World titles. The 2008 Olympics was his international debut over 100 m; he had earlier won numerous 200 m medals (including 2007 World Championship silver) and holds the world under-20and world under-18 records for the event.

His achievements as a sprinter have earned him the media nickname "Lightning Bolt", and his awards include the IAAF World Athlete of the Year, Track & Field Athlete of the Year, and Laureus World Sportsman of the Year (four times). Bolt retired after the 2017 World Championships, when he finished third in his last solo 100m race.

Early years

Bolt was born on 21 August 1986 in Sherwood Content, a small town in Jamaica, the son of Wellesley and Jennifer Bolt. He has a brother named Sadiki and a sister named Sherine. His parents ran the local grocery store in the rural area, and Bolt spent his time playing cricket and football in the street with his brother, later saying, "When I was young, I didn't really think about anything other than sports." As a child, Bolt attended Waldensia Primary, where he began showing his sprint potential when he ran in his parish's annual national primary school meet. By the age of twelve, Bolt had become the school's fastest runner over the 100 metres distance.

Upon his entry to William Knibb Memorial High School, Bolt continued to focus on other sports, but his cricket coach noticed Bolt's speed on the pitch and urged him to try track and field events. Pablo McNeil, a former Olympic sprint athlete, and Dwayne Jarrett coached Bolt, encouraging him to focus his energy on improving his athletic abilities. The school had a history of success in athletics with past students, including sprinter Michael Green. Bolt won his first annual high school championships medal in 2001; he took the silver medal in the 200 metres with a time of 22.04 seconds. McNeil soon became his primary coach, and the two enjoyed a positive partnership, although McNeil was occasionally frustrated by Bolt's lack of dedication to his training and his penchant for practical jokes.

Early competitions

Performing for Jamaica in his first Caribbean regional event, Bolt clocked a personal best time of 48.28 s in the 400 metres in the 2001 CARIFTA Games, winning a silver medal. The 200 m also yielded a silver, as Bolt finished in 21.81 s.

He made his first appearance on the world stage at the 2001 IAAF World Youth Championships in Debrecen, Hungary. Running in the 200 m event, he failed to qualify for the finals, but he still set a new personal best of 21.73 s. Bolt still did not take athletics or himself too seriously, however, and he took his mischievousness to new heights by hiding in the back of a van when he was supposed to be preparing for the 200 m finals at the CARIFTA Trials. He was detained by the police for his practical joke, and there was an outcry from the local community, which blamed coach McNeil for the incident. However, the controversy subsided, and both McNeil and Bolt went to the CARIFTA Games, where Bolt set championship records in the 200 m and 400 m with times of 21.12 s and 47.33 s, respectively. He continued to set records with 20.61 s and 47.12 s finishes at the Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships.

Bolt is one of only nine athletes (along with Valerie Adams, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Jacques Freitag, Yelena Isinbayeva, Jana Pittman, Dani Samuels, David Storl, and Kirani James) to win world championships at the youth, junior, and senior level of an athletic event. Former Prime Minister P. J. Patterson recognised Bolt's talent and arranged for him to move to Kingston, along with Jermaine Gonzales, so he could train with the Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association (JAAA) at the University of Technology, Jamaica.

Rise to prominence

The 2002 World Junior Championships were held in front of a home crowd in Kingston, Jamaica, and Bolt was given a chance to prove his credentials on a world stage. By the age of 15, he had grown to 1.96 metres (6 ft 5 in) tall, and he physically stood out among his peers.[1] He won the 200 m in a time of 20.61 s, which was 0.03 s slower than his personal best of 20.58 s, which he set in the 1st round. Bolt's 200 m win made him the youngest world-junior gold medallist ever. The expectation from the home crowd had made him so nervous that he had put his shoes on the wrong feet. However, it turned out to be a revelatory experience for Bolt, as he vowed never again to let himself be affected by pre-race nerves. As a member of the Jamaican sprint relay team, he also took two silver medals and set national junior records in the 4×100 metres and 4×400 metres relay, running times of 39.15 s and 3:04.06 minutes respectively.

The rush of medals continued as he won four golds at the 2003 CARIFTA Games and was awarded the Austin Sealy Trophy for the most outstanding athlete of the games.He won another gold at the 2003 World Youth Championships. He set a new championship record in the 200 m with a time of 20.40 s, despite a 1.1 m/s head wind. Michael Johnson, the 200 m world-record holder, took note of Bolt's potential but worried that the young sprinter might be over-pressured, stating, "It's all about what he does three, four, five years down the line". Bolt had also impressed the athletics hierarchy, and he received the IAAF Rising Star Award for 2002.

Bolt competed in his final Jamaican High School Championships in 2003. He broke the 200 m and 400 m records with times of 20.25 s and 45.35 s, respectively. Bolt's runs were a significant improvement upon the previous records, beating the 200 m best by more than half a second and the 400 m record by almost a second. While Bolt improved upon the 200 m time three months later, setting the still-standing World youth best at the 2003 Pan American Junior Championships. The 400 m time remains No. 6 on the all-time youth list, surpassed only once since, by future Olympic champion Kirani James.

Bolt turned his main focus to the 200 m and equalled Roy Martin's world junior record of 20.13 s at the Pan-American Junior Championships. This performance attracted interest from the press, and his times in the 200 m and 400 m led to him being touted as a possible successor to Johnson. Indeed, at sixteen years old, Bolt had reached times that Johnson did not register until he was twenty, and Bolt's 200 m time was superior to Maurice Greene's season's best that year.

Bolt was growing more popular in his homeland. Howard Hamilton, who was given the task of Public Defender by the government, urged the JAAA to nurture him and prevent burnout, calling Bolt "the most phenomenal sprinter ever produced by this island". His popularity and the attractions of the capital city were beginning to be a burden to the young sprinter. Bolt was increasingly unfocused on his athletic career and preferred to eat fast food, play basketball, and party in Kingston's club scene. In the absence of a disciplined lifestyle, he became ever-more reliant on his natural ability to beat his competitors on the track.

As the reigning 200 m champion at both the World Youth and World Junior championships, Bolt hoped to take a clean sweep of the world 200 m championships in the Senior World Championships in Paris. He beat all comers at the 200 m in the World Championship trials. Bolt was pragmatic about his chances and noted that, even if he did not make the final, he would consider setting a personal best a success.However, he suffered a bout of conjunctivitis before the event, and it ruined his training schedule. Realising that he would not be in peak condition, the JAAA refused to let him participate in the finals, on the grounds that he was too young and inexperienced. Bolt was dismayed at missing out on the opportunity, but focused on getting himself in shape to gain a place on the Jamaican Olympic team instead. Even though he missed the World Championships, Bolt was awarded the IAAF Rising Star Award for the 2003 season on the strength of his junior record-equalling run.

Professional athletics career

2004–2007 Early career

Bolt at the Crystal Palace Meeting in 2007

Under the guidance of new coach Fitz Coleman, Bolt turned professional in 2004, beginning with the CARIFTA Games in Bermuda He became the first junior sprinter to run the 200 m in under twenty seconds, taking the world junior record outright with a time of 19.93 s. For the second time in the role, he was awarded the Austin Sealy Trophy for the most outstanding athlete of the 2004 CARIFTA Games.A hamstring injury in May ruined Bolt's chances of competing in the 2004 World Junior Championships, but he was still chosen for the Jamaican Olympic squad. Bolt headed to the 2004 Athens Olympics with confidence and a new record on his side. However, he was hampered by a leg injury and was eliminated in the first round of the 200 metres with a disappointing time of 21.05 s. American colleges offered Bolt track scholarships on the strength of his performances, but the teenager from Trelawny refused them all, stating that he was content to stay in his homeland of Jamaica. Bolt instead chose the surroundings of the University of Technology, Jamaica, as his professional training ground, staying with the university's primitive track and weight room that had served him well in his amateur years.

The year 2005 signalled a fresh start for Bolt in the form of a new coach, Glen Mills, and a new attitude toward athletics. Mills recognised Bolt's potential and aimed to cease what he considered an unprofessional approach to the sport. Bolt began training with Mills in preparation for the upcoming athletics season, partnering with more seasoned sprinters such as Kim Collins and Dwain Chambers. The year began well, and in July, he knocked more than a third of a second off the 200 m CAC Championship record with a run of 20.03 s, then registered his 200 m season's best at London's Crystal Palace, running in 19.99 s

Bolt trailing behind Gay in the closing stages of the 200 m race, 2007

Misfortune awaited Bolt at the next major event, the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki. Bolt felt that both his work ethic and athleticism had much improved since the 2004 Olympics, and he saw the World Championships as a way to live up to expectations, stating, "I really want to make up for what happened in Athens. Hopefully, everything will fall into place". Bolt qualified with runs under 21 s, but he suffered an injury in the final, finishing in last place with a time of 26.27 s. Injuries were preventing him from completing a full professional athletics season, and the eighteen-year-old Bolt still had not proven his mettle in the major world-athletics competitions. However, his appearance made him the youngest ever person to appear in a 200 m world final. Bolt was involved in a car accident in November, and although he suffered only minor facial lacerations, his training schedule was further upset.His manager, Norman Peart, made Bolt's training less intensive, and he had fully recuperated the following week Bolt had continued to improve his performances, and he reached the world top-5 rankings in 2005 and 2006. Peart and Mills stated their intentions to push Bolt to do longer sprinting distances with the aim of making the 400 m event his primary event by 2007 or 2008. Bolt was less enthusiastic, and demanded that he feel comfortable in his sprinting. He suffered another hamstring injury in March 2006, forcing him to withdraw from the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, and he did not return to track events until May. After his recovery, Bolt was given new training exercises to improve flexibility, and the plans to move him up to the 400 m event were put on hold.

The 200 m remained Bolt's primary event when he returned to competition; he bested Justin Gatlin's meet record in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Bolt had aspired to run under twenty seconds to claim a season's best but, despite the fact that bad weather had impaired his run, he was happy to end the meeting with just the victory. However, a sub-20-second finish was soon his, as he set a new personal best of 19.88 s at the 2006 Athletissima Grand Prix in Lausanne, Switzerland, finishing behind Xavier Carter and Tyson Gay to earn a bronze medal. Bolt had focused his athletics aims, stating that 2006 was a year to gain experience. Also, he was more keen on competing over longer distances, setting his sights on running regularly in both 200 m and 400 m events within the next two years.

Mills complied with Bolt's demand to run in the 100 m, and he was entered to run the event at the 23rd Vardinoyiannia meeting in Rethymno, Crete. In his debut tournament run, he set a personal best of 10.03 s, winning the gold medal and feeding his enthusiasm for the event.Bolt claimed his first major world medal two months later at the IAAF World Athletics Final in Stuttgart, Germany. He passed the finishing post with a time of 20.10 s, gaining a bronze medal in the process. The IAAF World Cup in Athens, Greece, yielded Bolt's first senior international silver medal. Wallace Spearmon from the United States won gold with a championship record time of 19.87 s, beating Bolt's respectable time of 19.96 s. Further 200 m honours on both the regional and international stages awaited Bolt in 2007. He yearned to run in the 100 metres but Mills was skeptical, believing that Bolt was better suited for middle distances. The coach cited the runner's difficulty in smoothly starting out of the blocks and poor habits such as looking back at opponents in sprints. Mills told Bolt that he could run the shorter distance if he broke the 200 m national record. In the Jamaican Championships, he ran 19.75 s in the 200 m, breaking the 36-year-old Jamaican record held by Don Quarrie by 0.11 s.

He built on this achievement at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan, winning a silver medal. Bolt recorded 19.91 s with a headwind of 0.8 m/s. The race was won by Tyson Gay in 19.76 s, a new championship record.

Bolt was a member of the silver medal relay team with Asafa Powell, Marvin Anderson, and Nesta Carter in the 4×100 metres relay. Jamaica set a national record of 37.89 s. Bolt did not win any gold medals at the major tournaments in 2007, but Mills felt that Bolt's technique was much improved, pinpointing improvements in Bolt's balance at the turns over 200 m and an increase in his stride frequency, giving him more driving power on the track.

World-record breaker

The silver medals from the 2007 Osaka World Championships boosted Bolt's desire to sprint, and he took a more serious, more mature stance towards his career. Bolt continued to develop in the 100 m, and he decided to compete in the event at the Jamaica Invitational in Kingston. On 3 May 2008, Bolt ran a time of 9.76 s, with a 1.8 m/s tail wind, improving his personal best from 10.03 s. This was the second-fastest legal performance in the history of the event, second only to compatriot Asafa Powell's 9.74 s record set the previous year in Rieti, Italy. Rival Tyson Gay lauded the performance, especially praising Bolt's form and technique. Michael Johnson observed the race and said that he was shocked at how quickly Bolt had improved over the 100 m distance. The Jamaican surprised even himself with the time, but coach Glen Mills remained confident that there was more to come.

On 31 May 2008, Bolt set a new 100m world record at the Reebok Grand Prix in the Icahn Stadium in New York City. He ran 9.72s with a tail wind of 1.7 m/s. This race was Bolt's fifth senior 100 m. Gay again finished second and said of Bolt: "It looked like his knees were going past my face." Commentators noted that Bolt appeared to have gained a psychological advantage over fellow Olympic contender Gay.

In June 2008, Bolt responded to claims that he was a lazy athlete, saying that the comments were unjustified, and he trained hard to achieve his potential. However, he surmised that such comments stemmed from his lack of enthusiasm for the 400 metres event; he chose not to make an effort to train for that particular distance. Turning his efforts to the 200 m, Bolt proved that he could excel in two events—first setting the world-leading time in Ostrava, then breaking the national record for the second time with a 19.67 s finish in Athens, Greece. Although Mills still preferred that Bolt focus on the longer distances, the acceptance of Bolt's demand to run in the 100 m worked for both sprinter and trainer. Bolt was more focused in practice, and a training schedule to boost his top speed and his stamina, in preparation for the Olympics, had improved both his 100 m and 200 m times.

2008 Summer Olympics

Bolt announced that he would double-up with the 100 metres and 200 metres events at the Beijing Summer Olympics. As the new 100 m world-record holder, he was the favourite to win both races. Michael Johnson, the 200 m and 400 m record holder, personally backed the sprinter, saying that he did not believe that a lack of experience would work against him. Bolt qualified for the 100 m final with times of 9.92 s and 9.85 s in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, respectively.

Bolt holds a considerable lead over his rivals in the closing stages of the 2008 100 m final in Beijing.

"And a fair start, Asafa Powell, Usain Bolt is also out well. Here they come down the track. USAIN BOLT! SPRINTING AHEAD, WINNING BY DAYLIGHT!"—Tom Hammond, NBC Sports, with the call for the men's 100 metres final at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

In the Olympic 100 m final, Bolt broke new ground, winning in 9.69 s (unofficially 9.683 s) with a reaction time of 0.165 s. This was an improvement upon his own world record, and he was well ahead of second-place finisher Richard Thompson, who finished in 9.89 s. Not only was the record set without a favourable wind (+0.0 m/s), but he also visibly slowed down to celebrate before he finished and his shoelace was untied. Bolt's coach reported that, based upon the speed of Bolt's opening 60 m, he could have finished with a time of 9.52 s. After scientific analysis of Bolt's run by the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics at the University of Oslo, Hans Eriksen and his colleagues also predicted a sub 9.60 s time. Considering factors such as Bolt's position, acceleration and velocity in comparison with second-place-finisher Thompson, the team estimated that Bolt could have finished in 9.55±0.04 s had he not slowed to celebrate before the finishing line.

Bolt stated that setting a world record was not a priority for him, and that his goal was just to win the gold medal, Jamaica's first of the 2008 Games. Olympic medallist Kriss Akabusi construed Bolt's chest slapping before the finish line as showboating, noting that the actions cost Bolt an even faster record time. IOC president Jacques Rogge also condemned the Jamaican's actions as disrespectful. Bolt denied that this was the purpose of his celebration by saying, "I wasn't bragging. When I saw I wasn't covered, I was just happy". Lamine Diack, president of the IAAF, supported Bolt and said that his celebration was appropriate given the circumstances of his victory. Jamaican government minister Edmund Bartlett also defended Bolt's actions, stating, "We have to see it in the glory of their moment and give it to them. We have to allow the personality of youth to express itself".

Bolt doing the "Lightning Bolt" just before breaking the 200 m world record in the Beijing National Stadium.

Bolt then focused on attaining a gold medal in the 200 m event, aiming to emulate Carl Lewis' double win in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Michael Johnson felt that Bolt would easily win gold but believed that his own world record of 19.32 s set at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta would remain intact at the Olympics. Bolt eased through the first and second rounds of the 200 m, jogging towards the end of his run both times. He won his semi-final and progressed to the final as the favourite to win. Retired Jamaican sprinter Don Quarrie praised Bolt, saying he was confident that Johnson's record could be beaten. The following day, at the final, he won Jamaica's fourth gold of the Games, setting a new world and Olympic record of 19.30 s. Johnson's record fell despite the fact that Bolt was impeded by a 0.9 m/s headwind. The feat made him the first sprinter since Quarrie to hold both 100 m and 200 m world records simultaneously and the first to hold both records since the introduction of electronic timing. Furthermore, Bolt became the first sprinter to break both records at the same Olympics. Unlike in the 100 m final, Bolt sprinted hard all the way to the finishing line in the 200 m race, even dipping his chest to improve his time. Following the race, "Happy Birthday" was played over the stadium's sound system as his 22nd birthday would begin at midnight.

Two days later, Bolt ran as the third leg in the Jamaican 4x100 metres relay team, increasing his gold medal total to three. Along with teammates Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, and Asafa Powell, Bolt broke another world and Olympic record, their 37.10 s finish breaking the previous record by three-tenths of a second. Powell, who anchored the team to the finishing line, lamented the loss of his 100 m record to Bolt but showed no animosity towards his Jamaican rival, stating that he was delighted to help him set his third world record. In January 2017 the Jamaican relay team were stripped of their gold medals after a blood sample taken from Nesta Carter - one of Bolt's teammates in the relay - after the race, was tested again nine years later and tested positive for a banned substance. Following his victories, Bolt donated US$50,000 to the children of Sichuan province in China to help those harmed by the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.

Bolt poses and celebrates for press photographers after winning the 100 m final at the 2008 Olympics

Bolt's record-setting runs caused commentators not only to praise his achievements but also to speculate about his potential to become one of the most successful sprinters ever. Critics hailed his Olympic success as a new beginning for a sport that had long suffered through high-profile drug scandals. The previous six years had seen the BALCO scandal, Tim Montgomery and Justin Gatlin stripped of their 100 m world records, and Marion Jones returning three Olympic gold medals. All three sprinters were disqualified from athletics after drugs tests detected banned substances in their systems. Bolt's record-breaking performances caused suspicion among some commentators, including Victor Conte, and the lack of an independent Caribbean anti-doping federation raised more concerns. The accusations of drug use were vehemently rejected by Glen Mills (Bolt's coach) and Herb Elliott (the Jamaican athletics team doctor). Elliott, a member of the IAAF anti-doping commission, urged those concerned about the issue to "come down and see our programme, come down and see our testing, we have nothing to hide". Mills had been equally ardent that Bolt was a clean athlete, declaring to the Jamaica Gleaner: "We will test any time, any day, any part of the body...[he] doesn't even like to take vitamins". Bolt stated that he had been tested four times prior to the Olympics, and all had tested negative for banned substances. He also welcomed anti-doping authorities to test him to prove that he was clean, stating, "We work hard and we perform well and we know we're clean".

I was slowing down long before the finish and wasn't tired at all. I could have gone back to the start and done it all over again.

— Usain Bolt's thoughts on his 100m sprint at the 2008 Olympics, published in his autobiography Usain Bolt 9.58

After the 2008 Olympics

At the end of the 2008 athletics season, Bolt competed in the ÅF Golden League, beginning in Weltklasse Zürich. Despite having the slowest start among his competitors in the 100 m race, he still crossed the finishing line in 9.83 s.Even though the time was slower than both his newly set world record and Asafa Powell's track record, it was still among the top-fifteen 100 m finishes by any sprinter to that date. Bolt admitted that he was not running at full strength because he was suffering from a cold, but he concentrated on winning the race and finishing the season in good health. At the Super Grand Prix final in Lausanne, Bolt ran his second-fastest 200 m with a time of 19.63 s, equalling Xavier Carter's track record. However, it was the 100 m final, featuring Asafa Powell, that drew the most interest. Powell had moved closer to Bolt's world record after setting a new personal best of 9.72 s, reaffirming his status as Bolt's main contender. Bolt's final event of the season came three days later at the Golden League final in Brussels. This was the first 100 m race featuring both Bolt and Powell since the final in the Olympics. Both Jamaicans broke the track record, but Bolt came out on top with a time of 9.77 s, beating Powell by 0.06 s. Victory, however, did not come as smoothly as it had in Beijing. Bolt made the slowest start of the nine competitors and had to recover ground in cold conditions and against a 0.9 m/s headwind. Yet the results confirmed Jamaican dominance in the 100 m, with nine of the ten-fastest legal times in history being recorded by either Bolt or Powell.

On his return to Jamaica, Bolt was honoured in a homecoming celebration and received an Order of Distinction in recognition of his achievements at the Olympics. Additionally, Bolt was selected as the IAAF Male Athlete of the year, won a Special Olympic Award for his performances, and was named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year. Bolt turned his attention to future events, suggesting that he could aim to break the 400 metres world record in 2010 as no major championships were scheduled that year.

2009 Berlin World Championships

Bolt (centre) in the starting blocks before surpassing the world record for 150 metres (14.35 seconds)

Bolt started the season competing in the 400 metres in order to improve his speed, winning two races and registering 45.54 s in Kingston, and windy conditions gave him his first sub-10 seconds finish of the season in the 100 m in March.In late April Bolt, suffered minor leg injuries in a car crash. However, he quickly recovered following minor surgery and (after cancelling a track meet in Jamaica) he stated that he was fit to compete in the 150 metres street race at the Manchester Great City Games. Bolt won the race in 14.35 s, the fastest time ever recorded for 150 m. Despite not being at full fitness, he took the 100 and 200 m titles at the Jamaican national championships, with runs of 9.86 s and 20.25 s respectively. This meant he had qualified for both events at the 2009 World Championships. Rival Tyson Gay suggested that Bolt's 100 m record was within his grasp, but Bolt dismissed the claim and instead noted that he was more interested in Asafa Powell's return from injury. Bolt defied unfavourable conditions at the Athletissima meet in July, running 19.59 seconds into a 0.9 m/s headwind and rain, to record the fourth fastest time ever over 200 m, one hundredth off Gay's best time.

Bolt beating Tyson Gay and setting a 100 m world record at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin.

The 2009 World Championships were held during August at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, which was coincidentally the same month and venue where Jesse Owens had achieved world-wide fame 73 years earlier. Bolt eased through the 100-m heats, clocking the fastest ever pre-final performance of 9.89 seconds. The final was the first time that Bolt and Gay had met during the season, and Bolt set a new world record—which stands to this day—with a time of 9.58s to win his first World Championship gold medal. Bolt took more than a tenth of a second off his previous best mark, and this was the largest-ever margin of improvement in the 100-m world record since the beginning of electronic timing. Gay finished with a time of 9.71 s, 0.02 s off Bolt's 9.69 s world-record run in Beijing.

Although Gay withdrew from the second race of the competition, Bolt once again produced world record-breaking time in the 200 metres final. He broke his own record by 0.11 seconds, finishing with a time of 19.19 seconds. He won the 200 m race by the largest margin in World Championships history, even though the race had three other athletes running under 19.90 seconds, the greatest number ever in the event. Bolt's pace impressed even the more experienced of his competitors; third-placed Wallace Spearmon complimented his speed, and the Olympic champion in Athens 2004 Shawn Crawford said "Just coming out there...I felt like I was in a video game, that guy was moving – fast". Bolt pointed out that an important factor in his performance at the World Championships was his improved start to the races: his reaction times in the 100 m (0.146) and 200 m (0.133) were significantly faster than those he had produced in his world record runs at the Beijing Olympics. However, he, together with other members of Jamaican 4x100 m relay team, fell short of their own world record of 37.10 s set at 2008 Summer Olympics by timing 37.31 s, which is, however, a championship record and the second fastest time in history at that date.

Michael Frater, Bolt, and Asafa Powellafter winning the 4 x 100 relay. Steve Mullings is missing from the picture.

On the last day of the Berlin Championships, the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit, presented Bolt with a 12-foot high section of the Berlin Wall in a small ceremony, saying Bolt had shown that "one can tear down walls that had been considered as insurmountable." The nearly three-ton segment was delivered to the Jamaica Military Museum in Kingston.

Several days after Bolt broke the world records in 100 and 200 metres events, Mike Powell, the world record holder in long jump (8.95 metres set in 1991) argued that Bolt could become the first man to jump over 9 metres, the long jump event being "a perfect fit for his speed and height". At the end of the season, he was selected as the IAAF World Athlete of the Year for the second year running.

2010 Diamond League and broken streak

Early on in the 2010 outdoor season, Bolt ran 19.56 seconds in the 200 m in Kingston, Jamaica for the fourth-fastest run of all-time, although he stated that he had no record breaking ambitions for the forthcoming season. He took to the international circuit May with wins in East Asia at the Colorful Daegu Pre-Championships Meeting and then a comfortable win in his 2010 IAAF Diamond League debut at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix. Bolt made an attempt to break Michael Johnson's best time over the rarely competed 300 metres event at the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava. He failed to match Johnson's ten-year-old record of 30.85 and suffered a setback in that his 30.97-second run in wet weather had left him with an Achilles tendon problem.

After his return from injury a month later, Bolt asserted himself with a 100 m win at the Athletissima meeting in Lausanne (9.82 seconds) and a victory over Asafa Powell at Meeting Areva in Paris (9.84 seconds). Despite this run of form, he suffered only the second loss of his career in a 100 m final at the DN Galan. Tyson Gay soundly defeated him with a run of 9.84 to Bolt's 9.97 seconds, and the Jamaican reflected that he had slacked off in training early in the season while Gay had been better prepared and in a better condition. This marked Bolt's first loss to Gay in the 100 m, which coincidentally occurred in the same stadium where Powell had beaten Bolt for the first time two years earlier.

2011 World Championships

Bolt during the 200 m final at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu.

Bolt went undefeated over 100 m and 200 m in the 2011 season. He began with wins in Rome and Ostrava in May.He ran his first 200 m in over a year in Oslo that June and his time of 19.86 seconds was a world-leading one. Two further 200 m wins came in Paris and Stockholm the following month, as did a 100 m in Monaco, though he was a tenth of a second slower than compatriot Asafa Powell before the world championships.

Considered the favourite to win in the 100 metres at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, Bolt was eliminated from the final, breaking "ridiculously early" according to the starter in an interview for BBC Sport, and receiving a false start. This proved to be the highest profile disqualification for a false start since the IAAF changed the rules that previously allowed one false start per race. The disqualification caused some to question the new rule, with former world champion Kim Collins saying it was "a sad night for athletics". Usain Bolt's countryman, Yohan Blake, won in a comparatively slow 9.92 seconds.

Bolt celebrating his relay victory at the 2011 World Championships

In the World Championships 200 m, Bolt cruised through to the final which he won in a time of 19.40.Though this was short of his world record times of the two previous major tournaments, it was the fourth fastest run ever at that point, after his own records and Michael Johnson's former record, and left him three tenths of a second ahead of runner-up Walter Dix. This achievement made Bolt one of only two men to win consecutive 200 m world titles, alongside Calvin Smith. Bolt closed the championships with another gold with Jamaica in the 4 × 100 metres relay. Nesta Carter and Michael Frater joined world champions Bolt and Blake to set a world record time of 37.04.

Following the World Championships, Bolt ran 9.85 seconds for the 100 m to win in Zagreb before setting the year's best time of 9.76 seconds at the Memorial Van Damme. This run was overshadowed by Jamaican rival Blake's unexpected run of 19.26 seconds in the 200 m at the same meeting, which brought him within seven hundredths of Bolt's world record. Although Bolt failed to win the Diamond Race in a specific event, he was not beaten on the 2011 IAAF Diamond League circuit, taking three wins in each of his specialities that year.

2012 Summer Olympics

Bolt at the start of his record-breaking win during the 100 metres final at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Bolt began the 2012 season with a leading 100 m time of 9.82 seconds in May. He defeated Asafa Powell with runs of 9.76 seconds in Rome and 9.79 in Oslo. At the Jamaican Athletics Championships, he lost to Yohan Blake, first in the 200 m and then in the 100 m, with his younger rival setting leading times for the year.

However, at the 2012 London Olympics, he won the 100 metres gold medal with a time of 9.63 seconds, improving upon his own Olympic record and duplicating his gold medal from the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Blake was the silver medallist with a time of 9.75 seconds.Following the race, seventh-place finisher Richard Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago declared "There's no doubt he's the greatest sprinter of all time", while USA Today referred to Bolt as a Jamaican "national hero", noting that his victory came just hours before Jamaica was to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its independence from the United Kingdom. With his 2012 win, Bolt became the first man to successfully defend an Olympic sprint title since Carl Lewis in 1988.

I'm now a legend. I'm also the greatest athlete to live.

— Usain Bolt, after winning his seventh straight title in the 100 and 200 m, 9 August 2012

Bolt followed this up with a successful defence of his Olympic 200 metres title with a time of 19.32 seconds, followed by Blake at 19.44 and Warren Weir at 19.84 to complete a Jamaican podium sweep. With this, Bolt became the first man in history to defend both the 100 m and 200 m Olympic sprint titles. He was dramatic in victory: in the final metres of the 200 m race, Bolt placed his fingers on his lips, gesturing to silence his critics, and after crossing the line he completed five push-ups – one for each of his Olympic gold medals.

Bolt at the start of the 2012 Olympic 200 m

On the final day of the 2012 Olympic athletics, Bolt participated in Jamaica's gold medal-winning 4×100 metres relay team along with Nesta Carter, Michael Frater and Blake. With a time of 36.84 seconds, they knocked two tenths of a second from their previous world record from 2011. He celebrated by imitating the "Mobot" celebration of Mo Farah, who had claimed a long-distance track double for the host nation.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge initially stated that Bolt was not yet a "legend" and would not deserve such acclaim until the end of his career, but later called him the best sprinter of all time. Following the Olympics he was confirmed as the highest earning track and field athlete in history.

Bolt ended his season with wins on the 2012 IAAF Diamond League circuit; he had 200 m wins of 19.58 and 19.66 in Lausanne and Zürich before closing with a 100 m of 9.86 in Brussels. The latter run brought him his first Diamond League title in the 100 m.

2013 World Championships

Bolt celebrating at the 2013 London Anniversary Games.

Bolt failed to record below 10 seconds early season and had his first major 100 m race of 2013 at the Golden Gala in June. He was served an unexpected defeat by Justin Gatlin, with the American winning 9.94 to Bolt's 9.95. Bolt denied the loss was due a hamstring issue he had early that year and Gatlin responded: "I don't know how many people have beaten Bolt but it's an honour". With Yohan Blake injured, Bolt won the Jamaican 100 m title ahead of Kemar Bailey-Cole and skipped the 200 m, which was won by Warren Weir. Prior to the 2013 World Championships in Athletics, Bolt set world leading times in the sprints, with 9.85 for the 100 m at the London Anniversary Games and 19.73 for the 200 m in Paris.

Bolt regained the title as world's fastest man by winning the World Championships 100 metres in Moscow. In wet conditions, he edged Gatlin by eight hundredths of a second with 9.77, which was the fastest run that year. Gatlin was the sole non-Jamaican in the top five, with Nesta Carter, Nickel Ashmeade and Bailey-Cole finishing next.

Bolt running the 2013 World 100 m heats

Bolt was less challenged in the 200 m final. His closest rival was Jamaican champion Warren Weir but Bolt ran a time of 19.66 to finish over a tenth of a second clear. This performance made Bolt the first man in the history of the 200 metres at the World Championships in Athletics to win three gold medals over the distance.

Bolt won a third consecutive world relay gold medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay final, which made him the most successful athlete in the 30-year history of the world championships. The Jamaican team, featuring four of the top five from the 100 m final were comfortable winners with Bolt reaching the finish line on his anchor leg three tenths of a second ahead of the American team anchored by Gatlin. Bolt's performances were matched on the women's side by Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, meaning Jamaica took a complete sweep of the sprint medals at the 2013 World Championships.

After the championships, Bolt took 100 m wins on the 2013 IAAF Diamond League circuit in Zürich and Brussels. He remained unbeaten in the 200 m and his only loss that year was to Gatlin over 100 m in Rome. For the fifth time in six years, Bolt was named IAAF World Male Athlete of the Year.

2014: Injury and Commonwealth Games

An injury to Bolt's hamstring in March 2014 caused him to miss nine weeks of training. Having recovered from surgery, Bolt competed in the 4 × 100 metres relay of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Not in peak form Bolt said that he was attending the Games for the fans and to show his progress since the injury. Bolt and his teammates won the 4 × 100 metres relay in 37.58 seconds – a Commonwealth Games record. This was the foremost competition of the year for Bolt, given no Olympics or World Championships in 2014.

In August 2014, Bolt set the indoor 100 m world record in Warsaw with a time of 9.98 seconds. This was his sole individual outing of the 2014 season. Soon afterwards he ended his season early in order to be fit for the 2015 season. In Bolt's absence, Justin Gatlin had dominated the sprints, holding the year's fastest times, including seven of the top ten 100 m runs that season.

2015 Beijing World Championships

At the start of 2015, he announced that he intended to make the 2017 World Championships in Athletics his last major competition before retirement.

Bolt after winning his fourth 200 m world title

Upon his return from injury, Bolt appeared a reduced figure at the start of the 2015 season. He ran only two 100 m and three 200 m before the major championship. He opened with 10.12 seconds for the 100 m and 20.20 for the 200 m. He won the 200 m in New York and Ostrava, but his season's best time of 20.13 seconds ranked him 20th in the world going into the championships. Two 100 m runs of 9.87 in July in London showed better form, but in comparison, Justin Gatlin was easily the top ranked sprinter – the American had times of 9.74 and 19.57 seconds, and had already run under 9.8 seconds on four occasions that season. Bolt entered the World Championships to defend his sprint titles but was not the comfortable favourite he had been since 2008.

In the World Championships 100 m, Bolt won his semi-final in 9.96, which lagged Gatlin's semi-final win in 9.77 seconds. However, Gatlin did not match that form in the final while Bolt improved through the rounds. In a narrow victory, Bolt leaned at the line to beat Gatlin 9.79 to 9.80 seconds. Bolt joined Carl Lewis and Maurice Greene on a record three 100 m world titles.

Bolt taking a close World 100 m win over Justin Gatlin

A similar outcome followed in the 200 m World finals. In the semi-final, Gatlin outpaced Bolt – the Jamaican at 19.95 and the American at 19.87. Despite such slow times prior to Beijing, Bolt delivered in the final with his fifth fastest run ever for the 200 m at 19.55 seconds. Gatlin failed to reach his early season form and finished almost two-tenths of a second behind Bolt. Bolt's four consecutive wins over 200 m at the World Championships was unprecedented and established him clearly as the best ever sprinter at the competition.

There was also a fourth straight win in the 4 × 100 metres relay with the Jamaica team (Nesta Carter, Asafa Powell, Nickel Ashmeade, Usain Bolt). The Americans initially had a lead, but a poor baton exchange saw them disqualified and Jamaica defend their title in 37.36 seconds – well clear of the Chinese team who took a surprise silver for the host nation

Conscious of his injuries at the start of the season, he did not compete after the World Championships, skipping the 2015 IAAF Diamond League final.

2016 Rio Olympics

Bolt and Andre De Grasse after running the 100 m final at the 2016 Olympics.

Bolt competed sparingly in the 200 m before the Olympics, with a run of 19.89 seconds to win at the London Grand Prix being his sole run of note over that distance. He had four races over 100 m, though only one was in Europe, and his best of 9.88 seconds in Kingston placed him fourth on the world seasonal rankings. As in the previous season, Gatlin appeared to be in better form, having seasonal bests of 9.80 and 19.75 seconds to rank first and second in the sprints. Doping in athletics was a prime topic before the 2016 Rio Olympics, given the banning of the Russian track and field team for state doping, and Bolt commented that he had no problem with doping controls: "I have no issue with being drug-tested...I remember in Beijing every other day they were drug-testing us". He also highlighted his dislike of rival Tyson Gay's reduced ban for cooperation, given their close rivalry since the start of Bolt's career, saying "it really bothered me – really, really bothered me".

I want to be among greats Muhammad Ali and Pelé.

— Usain Bolt on his sporting legacy prior to his final Olympics, 9 August 2016.

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Bolt won the 100 metres gold medal with a time of 9.81 seconds. With this win, Bolt became the first athlete to win the event three times at the Olympic Games. Bolt followed up his 100 m win with a gold medal in the 200 m, which also makes him the first athlete to win the 200 m three times at the Olympic Games. Bolt ran the anchor leg for the finals of the 4 × 100 m relay and secured his third consecutive and last Olympic gold medal in the event. With that win, Bolt obtained the "triple-triple", three sprinting gold medals in three consecutive Olympics, and finished his Olympic career with a 100% win record in finals. However, in January 2017, Bolt was stripped of the 4 × 100 relay gold from the Beijing Games in 2008 because his teammate Nesta Carter was found guilty of a doping violation.

2017 season

Bolt in the men's 100m Final at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics

Bolt took a financial stake in a new Australia-based track and field meeting series – Nitro Athletics. He performed at the inaugural meet in February 2017 and led his team (Bolt All-Stars) to victory. The competition featured variations on traditional track and field events. He committed himself to three further editions.

In 2017, the Jamaican team was disqualified from the results of the 2008 Olympics 4 x 100 metre relay due to Nesta Carter's disqualification for doping offences. Bolt was quoted by the BBC saying that the prospect of having to return the gold was "heartbreaking". The banned substance in Carter's test was identified as methylhexanamine, a nasal decongestant sometimes used in dietary supplements.

At the 2017 World Athletics Championships, Bolt won his heat uncomfortably after a slow start in 10.07, in his semi-final he improved to 9.98 but was beaten by Christian Coleman by 0.01. In his final individual race, in the final, Bolt won the Bronze medal in 9.95, 0.01 behind Silver medalist Coleman and 0.03 behind World Champion Justin Gatlin. It was the first time Bolt had been beaten at a major championship since the 4x100m relay of the 2007 World Athletics Championships. Also at the 2017 World Athletics Championships, Bolt participated as the anchor runner for Jamaica's 4x100-metre relay team. In what many expected would be his final race, Bolt collapsed to the track after an apparent hamstring injury. He refused to get in a wheelchair and crossed the finish line with the assistance of his teammates.

Personal life

Bolt with the IAAF men's Athlete of the Year award in Monaco

Bolt expresses a love for dancing and his character is frequently described as laid-back and relaxed. His Jamaican track and field idols include Herb McKenley and former Jamaican 100m and 200m world record holder, Don Quarrie. Michael Johnson, the former 200 m world and Olympic record holder, is also held in high esteem by Bolt.

His first name is pronounced YOO-sane (/ˈjuːseɪn/). He has the nickname "Lightning Bolt" due to his name and speed. Bolt is Catholicand known for making the sign of the cross before racing competitively, and he wears a Miraculous Medal during his races. His middle name is St. Leo.

In 2010, Bolt also revealed his fondness of music, when he played a reggae DJ set to a crowd in Paris. He is also an avid fan of the Call of Duty video game series, saying, "I stay up late [playing the game online], I can't help it."

In his autobiography, Bolt reveals that he has suffered from scoliosis, a condition that has curved his spine to the right and has made his right leg half an inch shorter than his left.

Bolt is a well-known fan of Manchester United, after having been initially attracted to the club by player Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Other sports

The first sport to interest Bolt was cricket, and he said if he was not a sprinter, he would be a fast bowler instead As a child, he was a supporter of the Pakistani cricket team and admired the bowling of Waqar Younis. He is also a fan of Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar, West Indian opener Chris Gayle, and Australian opener Matthew Hayden. During a charity cricket match, Bolt clean-bowled Gayle who was complimentary of Bolt's pace and swing. Bolt also struck a six off Gayle's bowling. Another bowler complimentary of Bolt's pace was former West Indies fast-bowling great Curtly Ambrose.

After talking with Australian cricketer Shane Warne, Bolt suggested that if he were able to get time off he would be interested in playing in the cricket Big Bash League. Melbourne Stars chief executive Clint Cooper said there were free spots on his team should be available. Bolt stated that he enjoyed the Twenty20 version of the game, admiring the aggressive and constant nature of the batting. On his own ability, he said "I don't know how good I am. I will probably have to get a lot of practice in."

Bolt is also a fan of Premier League football team Manchester United. He has declared he is a fan of Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy. Bolt was a special guest of Manchester United at the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final in London, where he stated that he would like to play for them after his retirement.

In 2013, Bolt played basketball in the NBA All-Star Weekend Celebrity Game. He scored two points from a slam dunk but acknowledged his other basketball skills were lacking.

In an interview with Decca Aitkenhead of The Guardian in November 2016, Bolt said he wished to play as a professional footballer after retiring from athletics. He reiterated his desire to play for Manchester United if given a chance and added, "For me, if I could get to play for Manchester United, that would be like a dream come true. Yes, that would be epic".

Biographical film

A biographical film based on the athletic life of Bolt to win three Olympic gold medals, titled I Am Bolt, was released on 28 November 2016 in United Kingdom. The film was directed by Benjamin Turner and Gabe Turner.

Sponsorships and advertising work

Bolt wearing Puma shoes as part of a sponsorship deal.

After winning the 200 m title in the 2002 World Junior Championships in Kingston, Bolt signed a sponsorship deal with Puma. To promote Bolt's chase for Olympic glory in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, Puma released a series of videos including Bolt's then-world-record-setting run in Icahn Stadium and his Olympic preparations. After his world record breaking run in New York City, which was preceded by a lightning storm, the press frequently made puns on the Jamaican's name, nicknaming him "Lightning Bolt" and the "Bolt from the blue". During the Beijing 2008 100 m final, Bolt wore golden Puma Complete Theseus spikes that had "Beijing 100 m Gold" emblazoned across them. Writing of Bolt's performance at the Olympics, The Associated Press said:

Almost single-handedly, Bolt has helped track transform itself from a dying sport to one with a singular, smiling, worldwide star.

— The Associated Press, 10 August 2012

In September 2010, Bolt travelled to Australia where his sponsor Gatorade was holding an event called the "Gatorade Bolt" to find Australia's fastest footballer. The event was held at the Sydney International Athletic Centre and featured football players from rugby league, rugby union, Australian rules football, and soccer. Prior to the race Bolt gave the runners some private coaching and also participated in the 10th anniversary celebrations for the 2000 Summer Olympic Games.

In January 2012, Bolt impersonated Richard Branson in an advertising campaign for Virgin Media. The campaign was directed by Seth Gordon and features the Virgin founder Branson to promote its broadband service. In March 2012, Bolt starred in an advert for Visa and the 2012 Summer Olympics. In July 2012, Bolt and RockLive launched Bolt!, an Apple iOS game based on his exploits. Bolt! quickly became the No. 1 app in Jamaica and climbed the UK iTunes charts to reach No. 2 on the list of Top Free Apps.

Bolt's autobiography; My Story: 9.58: Being the World's Fastest Man, was released in 2010. Bolt had previously said that the book "...should be exciting, it's my life, and I'm a cool and exciting guy." His athletics agent is PACE Sports Management.

As part of his sponsorship deal with Puma, the manufacturer sends sporting equipment to his alma mater, William Knibb Memorial High School, every year. At Bolt's insistence, advertisements featuring him are filmed in Jamaica, by a Jamaican production crew, in an attempt to boost local enterprise and gain exposure for the country. In 2017, Bolt had the third highest earning social media income for sponsors among sportspeople (behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar), and he was the only non footballer in the top seven.

Recognition

Bolt and Sally Pearson with their IAAF Athlete of the Year awards in Monaco

IAAF World Athlete of the Year: 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016

Track & Field Athlete of the Year: 2008, 2009

Laureus World Sportsman of the Year: 2009, 2010, 2013, 2017

BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year: 2008, 2009, 2012

L'Équipe Champion of Champions: 2008, 2009, 2012, 2015

Jamaica Sportsman of the year: 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013

AIPS Male Athlete of the Year: 2015

Marca Leyenda (2009)

In October 2008, he was made a Commander of the Order of Distinction, which entitles him to use the post nominal letters CD.

In 2009, at age 23, Usain Bolt became the youngest member so far of the Order of Jamaica. The award was "for outstanding performance in the field of athletics at the international level". In the Jamaican honours system, this is considered the equivalent of a knighthood in the British honours system, and entitles him to be formally styled "The Honourable", and to use the post nominal letters OJ.

Personal appearances

Bolt made a cameo appearance in the opening sketch of 13 October 2012 broadcast of Saturday Night Live, hosted by Christina Applegate. The segment was a parody of the Vice Presidential debate between Joe Biden and Paul Ryan. In the sketch, Taran Killam mimicking Ryan had just lied about running a 2:50 marathon, a sub-4-minute mile on no training and winning the 100 metres in London when Bolt was introduced as his partner to confirm.

When Ryan asked Bolt "Who won the 100 metres?" the Jamaican gold-medallist answered simply. "I did." Ryan followed up by asking Bolt about his (Ryan's) finish. "You didn't finish. You weren't even there."

Vijay Amritraj

Vijay Amritraj

Country India

Born December 14, 1953

Madras, India

Height 1.93m (6ft. 4in.)

Weight 86 kg (190 lb)

Turned pro 1970

Retired 1993

Plays Right-handed (1-handed backhand)

Prize money $1,331,913

Singles

Career record 391–304

Career titles 16

Highest ranking No. 16 (7 July 1980)

Grand Slam Singles results

Australian Open 2R (1984)

French Open 3R (1974)

Wimbledon QF (1973, 1981)

US Open QF (1973, 1974)

Other tournaments

WCT Finals SF (1982)

Doubles

Career record 264-218

Career titles 13

Highest ranking No. 23 (24 March 1980)

Grand Slam Doubles results

Wimbledon SF (1976)

Last updated on: 13 June 2012.

Vijay Amritraj (Tamil: விஜய் அம்ரித்ராஜ், born 14 December 1953) is a former Indian tennis player, sports commentator and actor.

Vijay was born in Chennai, India to Maggie Dhairyam and Robert Amritraj He and his brothers, Anand Amritraj and Ashok Amritraj, were among the first Indians to play in top-flight international tour tennis. They did their schooling in Don Bosco Egmore, Chennai, and later graduated from Loyola College, Chennai. In 1976, the brothers (Vijay and Anand) were semifinalists in the Wimbledon men's doubles. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1983.

After playing his first grand prix event in 1970, Amritraj achieved his first significant success in singles in 1973 when he reached the quarterfinals at two Grand Slam events. At Wimbledon he lost 7–5 in the fifth set to the eventual champion Jan Kodeš and later that summer at the US Open, lost to Ken Rosewall after having beaten Rod Laver two rounds earlier.Career

Amritraj repeated his feat at Forest Hills in 1974 when he went out in the last eight again to Rosewall after beating a young Björn Borg in the second round. In the years that followed he reached the latter stages of numerous Grand Prix events but failed to meet with success in Grand Slam tournaments. It was not until 1981 when Amritraj again reached the quarterfinals, going out in five sets to Jimmy Connors. This match typified Amritraj's tennis. He was a natural grass-court player who liked to chip-and-charge and serve-and-volley. He could compete against the world's best but often would lose longer matches through a lack of stamina. Against Connors he was up two sets but lost the last two convincingly in a 2–6, 5–7, 6–4, 6–3, 6–2 loss. A similar Wimbledon result occurred in 1979 in the 2nd round where he looked set to defeat defending champion Borg, up two sets to one and 4–1 in the fourth set, only to lose 2–6, 6–4, 4–6, 7–6, 6–2.

Davis Cup

Amritraj was the captain of the Indian Davis Cup for much of the late 1970s and 1980s, helping India reach the finals in 1974 and 1987. It was here that he revelled as a champion and chalked memorable wins against higher ranked players. A do-or-die five set epic over Martín Jaite of Argentina was the highlight of India's run to the final in 1987.

Amritraj still plays occasionally and has entered the finals of the 2008 Wimbledon Sr. Invitation Gentlemen's Doubles, partnering Gene Mayer. They were seeded number 1. During next years Amritraj participated in Wimbledon Sr. Inviation Gentlemen's Doubles with John Fitzgerald.

Distinctions

He compiled a career singles win-loss record 384-296, winning 16 singles titles to go along with 13 in doubles.

He beat the best, including John McEnroe at his peak in 1984 (in the first round in Cincinnati).

He had five career wins over Jimmy Connors in their 11 matches.

He reached his career high ranking in singles of World No. 16 in July 1980.

His son Prakash Amritraj and nephew Stephen Amritraj are professional tennis players.

Acting career

Amritaj also had a brief acting career. His most notable appearance is probably as the MI6 agent Vijay in the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy. His most notable scene was a car chase with the running gag being his abilities as a tennis player. He also appeared briefly in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home as a starship captain.

He was also a regular character in the NBC TV series The Last Precinct and the Yakov Smirnoff comedy What a Country, as well as a guest star on various television shows such as Hart to Hart. He has since gone on to become a sports commentator, has been a judge at the Miss Universe pageant, and has developed a successful multimedia business.

Amritraj is currently the host of Dimensions with Vijay Amritraj on CNN IBN. The show is a one hour sit-down interview, on location, with icons from around the world. Guests include Michael Douglas, Cindy Crawford, Hugh Hefner, Pierce Brosnan, Donald Trump, Sharon Stone, Sugar Ray Leonard, Laffit Pincay, Andre Agassi and Stephanie Graf, Jimmy Connors, and Oscar De La Hoya. Producers of the show include Shrimun Chakraborty and Kapil Mahendra. This show is rated the number one English show in all of South Asia with a viewership of well over 200 million people.

The Vijay Amritraj Foundation

On 9 February 2001 Vijay Amritraj was appointed UN Messenger of Peace. He has been a committed advocate to people in need, devoting his time to raising awareness on the issues of drugs and HIV/AIDS and in raising funds to fight the spread of AIDS worldwide.

In 2006, after completing his assignment as a "United Nations Messenger of Peace", Vijay Amritraj founded "The Vijay Amritraj Foundation". The foundation's mission is to bring hope, help and healing to the defenseless and innocent victims of disease, tragedy and circumstance in India. Driven by a firm belief that "in giving we receive", the foundation pledges to make a real difference for those who are most in need of the helping hand of humanity. After an extraordinarily successful debut in 2006, the foundation raised enough funds to immediately begin supporting various charitable organizations in India.

Founders: Dr Sunitha Krishnan, Bro Jose Vetticatil

Founding Year: 1996

Location: Hyderabad,rcial sexual exploitation.

life

Amritraj lives in California with wife Shyamala, who is Sri Lankan Tamil, and sons Prakash Amritraj and Vikram. He is a Christian.

Career Titles

Singles Career Titles (16):

1986 (1) Bristol (Outdoor/Grass)

1984 (1) Newport (Outdoor/Grass)

1980 (2) Bangkok (Indoor/Carpet), Newport (Outdoor/Grass)

1979 (1) Bombay (Outdoor/Clay)

1978 (1) Mexico City (Indoor/Carpet)

1977 (2) Bombay (Outdoor/Clay), Auckland (Outdoor/Grass)

1976 (2) Newport (Outdoor/Grass), Memphis WCT (Indoor/Carpet)

1975 (2) Calcutta (Outdoor/Clay), Columbus (Outdoor/Hard)

1974 (2) Beckenham (Outdoor/Grass), Washington (/)

1973 (2) New Delhi (Outdoor/), Bretton Woods (Outdoor/Clay)

Doubles Career Titles (13):

Anand and Vijay Amritraj 2000 Wimbledon Sr Invitation Doubles Finals

1986 (1) Newport (w/Wilkison, Outdoor/Grass)

1983 (1) Newport (w/Fitzgerald, Outdoor/Grass)

1982 (1) Chicago-2 WCT (w/Amritraj, Indoor/Carpet)

1980 (2) Frankfurt (w/Smith, Indoor/Carpet), Rotterdam (w/Smith, Indoor/Carpet)

1978 (1) Mexico City (w/Amritraj, Indoor/Carpet)

1977 (2) London / Queen's Club (w/Amritraj, Outdoor/Grass), Masters Doubles WCT (w/Stockton, Indoor/Carpet)

1976 (1) Memphis WCT (w/Amritraj, Indoor/Carpet)

1975 (2) Los Angeles (w/Amritraj, Outdoor/Hard), Atlanta WCT (w/Amritraj, Indoor/Carpet)

1974 (2) Bombay (w/Amritraj, Outdoor/Clay), Columbus (w/Amritraj, Outdoor/Hard)

Vivek Prasad

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vivek PrasadPersonal information

Full name Vivek Sagar Prasad

Born 25 February 2000

Itarsi, Hoshangabad,

Madhya Pradesh, India

Playing position Midfielder

Club information

Current club Petroleum Sports Promotion Board

National team

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2017–present India U21 6 (2)

2018–present India 62 (15)

Men's field hockey

Representing India

Olympic Games

2020 Tokyo Team

Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India

2018 Jakarta Team

Champions Trophy

2018 Breda

Men's Hockey5s

Summer Youth Olympics

2018 Buenos Aires Team

Last updated on: 5 August 2021

Vivek Sagar Prasad (born 25 February 2000) is an Indian field hockey player who plays as a midfielder for the Indian national team.

In January 2018, he became the second-youngest player ever to debut for India at 17 years, 10 months and 22 days. At the 2019 Hockey Stars Awards, Vivek was named the FIH Rising Star of the Year.

International career

Vivek scored the equalizing goal for India in the 42nd minute in the final of the 2018 Champions Trophy against Australia, a match that India went on to lose in the penalties. At the 2019 FIH Series Finals in Bhubaneswar, Vivek was named the best young player at the tournament. In December 2019, he was nominated for the FIH Rising Star of the Year Award. He won the award by getting 34.5 per cent of the votes and he became the first Indian player to win a FIH Award

Virdhawal Khade

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Virdhawal Khade

Khade in 2008

Personal information

Full name Virdhawal Vikram Khade

Nickname(s) "Veer" (Brave)

National team India

Born 29 August 1991

Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)

Weight 187 lb (85 kg)

Sport

Sport Swimming

Strokes Freestyle, Butterfly

Virdhawal KhadeMedal record

Representing India

Swimming

2010 Guangzhou 50m Butterfly

2nd in all-time rankings

2016 Guwahati 50 m Butterfly

2010 Dhaka 50 m Butterfly

2010 Dhaka 50 m Freestyle

2016 Guwahati 50 m Freestyle

Virdhawal Vikram Khade (born 29 August 1991) (Marathi: विरधवल खाडे) is an Indian swimmer. He competed in the men's 50, 100, and 200 meters Freestyle swimming events at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, setting an Indian national record in 100 meters Freestyle. He failed to qualify for the semifinals in his events despite winning his qualification heat. Khade won a bronze medal in the 50 meters butterfly category at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou; it was India's first Asian Games medal in swimming in 24 years. He was conferred with the Arjuna Award in 2011 by the Government of India.

Career

Khade is the national record-holder in the 50m, 100m and 200m Freestyle events and in the 50m Butterfly. Khade is Senior National Champion, 2006 in 50m, 100m, 200m Freestyle and 50m Butterfly. He won six Gold Medals and broke three Games Records at the South Asian Games, 2006 and won six Gold medals and broke five Games Records at the 33rd National Games, Guwahati.

He is the youngest ever Indian swimmer to qualify for an Olympics. Although he did not qualify for the semifinals of the 100m freestyle at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he did finish first in his heat (Heat 3) and set a new personal best of 50.07 seconds, placing him 42nd overall. He came 48th in the 200 m freestyle and 32nd in the 50 m.

On 16 November 2010 Virdhawal Khade to win a medal at the Asian Games when he went on to capture the Bronze in the 50m Butterfly event at the 16th Asian Games. Sachin Nag was the first Indian to win a swimming gold medal in 1951 Asian games held in New Delhi. India had won five more medals (1 silver and 4 bronze in this game in Guangzhou, China. On 2019, Vijay Khade won gold medal at the 10th Asian Age Group Championship.

He endorses Nike. He is a supporter of Pratham Books and an active participant in their work on popularising reading among young Indians.

Virdhawal is coached by Nihar Ameen and trains in Bangalore. He is supported by GoSports Foundation, a sports non profit organisation that aims to promote sporting excellence in India.

Statistics

few of his best timings are:

50m Freestyle: 22.43sec clocked at 2018 Asian Games, Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia, August 2018

100m Freestyle: 49.47sec clocked at 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games, Pune, India, October 2008

200m Freestyle: 1:49.86sec clocked at 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games, Pune, India, October 2008

400m Freestyle: 4:01.87sec clocked at the 51st MILO/PRAM Malaysia Invitation Open, May 2008

50m Butterfly: 24.09sec clocked at 2018 Asian Games,Palembang,Indonesia,2018

100 Butterfly: 52.77sec clocked at Asian Age group swimming Championships , Japan , 2009

Awards

Virdhawal Khade was awarded with the Arjuna award 2011 in the swimming category.

Personal life

He is married to fellow swimmer Rujuta Khade.

Venus Williams

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may interest only a particular audience. (July 2021)

Venus Williams

Williams in 2012

Country (sports) United States

Residence Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, U.S.

Born June 17, 1980

Lynwood, California, U.S.

Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)

Turned pro October 31, 1994 (aged 14)

Plays Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

College Indiana University East (BSBA)

Coach

Richard Williams

Oracene Price

David Witt (2007–2018)

Eric Hechtman (2019–present)

Prize money US$42,173,992

Official website venuswilliams.com

Singles

Career record 815–264 (75.5%)

Career titles 49 WTA (11th in overall rankings)

Highest ranking No. 1 (February 25, 2002)

Current ranking No. 111 (Jun 28, 2021)

Grand Slam Singles results

Australian Open F (2003, 2017)

French Open F (2002)

Wimbledon W (2000, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008)

US Open W (2000, 2001)

Other tournaments

Grand Slam Cup W (1998)

Tour Finals W (2008)

Olympic Games W (2000)

Doubles

Career record 185–37 (83.3%)

Career titles 22 WTA

Highest ranking No. 1 (June 7, 2010)

Grand Slam Doubles results

Australian Open W (2001, 2003, 2009, 2010)

French Open W (1999, 2010)

Wimbledon W (2000, 2002, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2016)

US Open W (1999, 2009)

Other doubles tournaments

Tour Finals SF (2009)

Olympic Games W (2000, 2008, 2012)

Mixed doubles

Career record 28–8 (77.8%)

Career titles 2

Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results

Australian Open W (1998)

French Open W (1998)

Wimbledon F (2006)

US Open QF (1998)

Other mixed doubles tournaments

Olympic Games F (2016)

Team competitions

Fed Cup W (1999), record 21–4

Hopman Cup RR (2013)

Olympic Games

2000 Sydney Singles

2000 Sydney Doubles

2008 Beijing Doubles

2012 London Doubles

2016 Rio de Janeiro Mixed doubles

Last updated on: June 30, 2021.

Venus Ebony Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980) is an American professional tennis player. A former world No. 1 in both singles and doubles, Williams is widely regarded as one of the all-time greats of women's tennis. Along with younger sister Serena Williams, she is credited with ushering in a new era of power and athleticism on the women's professional tennis tour.

Williams has been ranked world No. 1 by the Women's Tennis Association for a total of 19 weeks (11 in singles and 8 in doubles). She first reached the No. 1 ranking in singles on February 25, 2002, becoming the first African American woman to do so in the Open Era, and the second all time since Althea Gibson. She became the world No. 1 in doubles for the first time on June 7, 2010, alongside Serena, after the pair won their fourth consecutive Grand Slam doubles crown. Williams's seven Grand Slam singles titles are tied for 12th on the all-time list, and 8th on the Open Era list, more than any other active female player except her sister. She has reached 16 Grand Slam finals, most recently at Wimbledon in 2017. Her five Wimbledon singles titles tie her with two other women for eighth place on the all-time list. She is No. 4 on the Open Era List, behind the nine titles of Martina Navratilova and the seven of Serena Williams and Steffi Graf. From the 2000 Wimbledon Championships to the 2001 US Open, Williams won four of the six Grand Slam singles tournaments. At the 2021 Wimbledon Championships, Williams extended her record as the all-time leader, male or female, in Grand Slams played, with 90. With her run to the 2017 Wimbledon singles final, she broke the record for longest time between first and most recent grand slam singles finals appearances. Williams was twice the season prize money leader in 2001 and 2017, and currently ranks second behind Serena in career prize money earned with over $41.8 million. She has also won 14 Grand Slam Women's doubles titles, all with Serena Williams; the pair is unbeaten in Grand Slam doubles finals. Williams also has two Mixed Doubles titles. Her combined total of 23 Grand Slam titles across all disciplines is tied with Steffi Graf for the fourth-most by a women's player in the Open Era behind Martina Navratilova, Serena, and Martina Hingis.

Williams has won four Olympic gold medals, one in singles and three in women's doubles with her sister, along with a silver medal in mixed doubles, tying her with Kathleen McKane Godfree for the most Olympic medals won by a male or female tennis player in history. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Williams became only the second player to win Olympic gold medals in both singles and doubles at one Olympic Games, after Helen Wills Moody at the 1924 Summer Olympics (she was followed by her sister in 2012). After winning silver in mixed doubles with Rajeev Ram at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Williams became the first tennis player to win a medal at four Olympic games, as well as the first player in the Open Era to win an Olympic medal in all three events (singles, doubles, mixed). She and Serena are also the only tennis players in history with four Olympic gold medals, as well as the only ones to win Olympic gold in the same event on three occasions. She along with her sister Serena are the only Open Era female tennis players to win Olympic Gold in both singles and doubles category.

With 49 WTA singles titles, Williams trails only her sister Serena Williams among active players on the WTA Tour with most singles titles. Along with her 22 WTA doubles titles and two mixed doubles titles, Venus' combined total of 73 WTA titles is also second among active players behind Serena. Her 35-match winning streak from the 2000 Wimbledon Championships to the 2000 Generali Ladies Linz tournament final is the longest since January 1, 2000. She is also one of only two active WTA players to have reached the finals of all four Grand Slams, along with sister Serena.

Early life

Williams sisters at a Pam Shriver event in Baltimore, 1993

Williams was born in Lynwood, California, to Richard Williams and Oracene Price. Her talents were apparent at the age of seven when a professional local tennis player named Tony Chesta spotted Williams and quickly identified her potential in the sport.

The Williams family moved from Compton, California, to West Palm Beach, Florida, when she was ten, so that she and her sister Serena could attend the tennis academy of Rick Macci, who took notice of the sisters and who would provide additional coaching. He did not always agree with Williams's father but respected that "he treated his daughters like kids, allowed them to be little girls". Richard stopped sending his daughters to national junior tennis tournaments when Williams was eleven, since he wanted them to take it slowly and focus on schoolwork. Another motivation was racial, as he had allegedly heard parents of other players disparage the Williams sisters during tournaments. At that time, Williams held a 63–0 record on the United States Tennis Association junior tour and was ranked No. 1 among the under-12 players in Southern California. In 1995, Richard pulled his daughters out of Macci's academy, and from then on took over all coaching at their home.

Playing style

Williams is an aggressive player, with an all-court game. Due to her assertive playing style, she typically accumulates large numbers of both winners and unforced errors. She possesses powerful groundstrokes on both sides, and is capable of hitting both her forehand and backhand flat, and with topspin. She is also adept at hitting her backhand with slice, to slow down rallies and disrupt pace within rallies. Her serve is powerful, allowing her to serve numerous aces in any match. At the peak of her career, her first serve would average 113 mph (182 km/h), and would frequently peak at 124 mph (199 km/h); her serve has slowed since then, averaging 107 mph (172 km/h), and peaking at 117 mph (189 km/h). She possesses effective kick and slice serves, which she deploys as second serves, preventing opponents from scoring free points. Up to 2014, Williams held the record for the fastest serve on the WTA Tour, recorded at the 2007 US Open, at 129 mph (208 km/h). Williams likes to approach the net, and finish points quickly. Her height, at 1.85m, provides her with a long arm span, allowing her to reach any ball whilst positioned at the net. She has a complete repertoire of shots to perform at the net, allowing her to hit deft volleys with ease.

Due to her all-court game, Williams is able to hit winners from any position on the court. While being an exceptional tactical player who possesses remarkable problem-solving skills, Williams also plays with sheer power and aggression. Williams relies on defense infrequently, rarely hitting drop shots and lobs, as her exceptional speed and court coverage allow her to hit with assertive power and strength from frequently defensive positions. Further strengths include her detailed and intricate footwork, and supreme athleticism. Williams has been noted for her elegant style of play, and she prefers to play on fast grass, hard, and carpet courts.

Professional career

1994–96: Professional debut

Williams turned professional on October 31, 1994, at the age of fourteen. In the second round of her first professional tournament, the Bank of the West Classic in Oakland, Williams was up a set and a service break against world No. 2 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario before losing the match. No. 2 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, went on to win the Title defeating Martina Navratilova. That was the only tournament Williams played in 1994.

In 1995, Williams played three more events as a wild card, falling in the first round of the tournament in Los Angeles and the tournament in Toronto but reaching the quarterfinals of the tournament in Oakland, defeating No. 18 Amy Frazier in the second round for her first win over a top 20 ranked player before losing to Magdalena Maleeva.

Williams played five events in 1996, falling in the first round four times but reaching the third round in Los Angeles, before losing to No. 1 Steffi Graf.

1997–99: Early success

1997: Debut Grand Slam singles final

Williams played 15 tour events in 1997, including five Tier I tournaments. She reached the quarterfinals in three of the Tier I events – the State Farm Evert Cup in Indian Wells, California, the European Indoor Championships in Zürich, and the Kremlin Cup in Moscow. In Indian Wells in March, Williams defeated No. 9 Iva Majoli in the third round for her first win over a player ranked in the top 10. She then lost in the quarterfinals to No. 8 Lindsay Davenport in a third set tiebreak. Her ranking broke into the top 100 on April 14, 1997. She made her debut in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament at the French Open, reaching the second round before losing to Nathalie Tauziat. She then lost in the first round of Wimbledon to Magdalena Grzybowska. During her debut at the US Open, she lost the final to Martina Hingis after defeating Irina Spîrlea in a semifinal which saw Spîrlea and Williams collide during a changeover when neither would yield as they passed the umpire's chair. Richard Williams, her father, later claimed that this incident was racially motivated. She was the first woman since Pam Shriver in 1978 to reach a US Open singles final on her first attempt and was the first unseeded US Open women's singles finalist since 1958. On September 8, 1997, her ranking broke into the top 50 for the first time. She ended the year ranked No. 22

1998: 1st WTA singles title, entering the top 10 and first Grand Slam doubles titles

In her debut at the Australian Open, Williams defeated younger sister Serena Williams in the second round, which was the sisters' first professional meeting. Williams eventually lost in the quarterfinals to No. 3 Davenport.

Three weeks later, Williams defeated No. 2 Davenport for the first time in the semifinals of the IGA Tennis Classic in Oklahoma City. Williams then defeated Joannette Kruger in the final to win the first singles title of her career. In her first Tier I event of the year, Williams lost in the semifinals of the State Farm Evert Cup in Indian Wells to No. 1 Hingis. The following week, Williams won the Tier I Lipton International Players Championships in Key Biscayne, Florida, defeating No. 1 Hingis in the semifinals. On March 30, 1998, her ranking broke into the top 10 for the first time, at No. 10.

Williams played only one tournament on clay before the 1998 French Open. At the Italian Open in Rome, she defeated sister in the quarterfinals and No. 5 Sánchez Vicario in the semifinals before losing to No. 1 Hingis in the final. Williams lost again to Hingis in the quarterfinals of the French Open. Williams lost her first match at the Direct Line International Championships in Eastbourne on grass before losing to No. 3 and eventual champion Jana Novotná in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. On July 27, 1998, her ranking rose to No. 5.

Williams played three tournaments during the North American 1998 summer hard court season. She reached her fifth final of the year at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California, defeating No. 6 Monica Seles in the semifinals before losing to No. 1 Davenport. Patellar tendonitis in her left knee caused her to retire from her quarterfinal match at the tournament in San Diego while trailing Mary Pierce 4–0 in the third set. At the US Open, Williams defeated fourth-seeded Sánchez Vicario in the quarterfinals before losing to second seeded and eventual champion Davenport in the semifinals. 1998 was the first year that Williams reached at least the quarterfinals of all slams.

Williams played four tournaments in the remainder of 1998. She won her third title of the year at the Grand Slam Cup in Munich in September, defeating No. 9 Patty Schnyder in the final. She lost in the second round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Filderstadt before losing in the final of the Tier I Swisscom Challenge in Zürich to No. 1 Davenport and the semifinals of the Tier I Kremlin Cup in Moscow to Pierce. She had earned enough points during the year to participate in the year-ending Chase Championship but withdrew from the tournament because of tendonitis in her knee. She finished the year ranked No. 5.

In 1998, Williams teamed with Justin Gimelstob to win the mixed doubles titles at the Australian Open and the French Open. Her sister Serena Williams won the other two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles that year, completing a "Williams Family Mixed Doubles Grand Slam". Williams won the first two women's doubles titles of her career, in Oklahoma City and Zürich. Both titles came with her sister, becoming only the third pair of sisters to win a WTA tour doubles title.

1999: Three Tier I titles

Williams started the 1999 tour in Australia, where she lost to No. 10 Steffi Graf in the quarterfinals of the Medibank International in Sydney and No. 1 Davenport in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. However, she rebounded at the Faber Grand Prix in Hanover, defeating Graf for the first time in the semifinals before losing the final to No. 3 Novotná. Williams then successfully defended her titles in both Oklahoma City and Key Biscayne. She defeated Novotná and Graf to reach the final in Key Biscayne, where she defeated her sister in three sets in the first final on the WTA Tour to be contested by two sisters.

Williams played four clay court events during the spring. She lost her first match at the Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, Florida. Three weeks later, however, she won her first title on clay at the Betty Barclay Cup in Hamburg, defeating Mary Pierce in the final. Williams then won the Tier I Italian Open in Rome, defeating No. 1 Hingis in the semifinals and No. 8 Pierce in the final. At the French Open, she extended her winning streak to 22 matches before losing in the fourth round to No. 125 Barbara Schwartz. Williams teamed with Serena Williams to win the women's doubles title at this event, the first Grand Slam title the pair won together.

At the 1999 Wimbledon Championships, Williams defeated No. 17 Anna Kournikova in the fourth round to reach the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year, where she lost to eventual runner-up Graf.

Williams rebounded in the summer when she won two Fed Cup matches against Italy and lost in the final of the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford to No. 1 Davenport. One week later, Williams defeated Davenport in the semifinals of the TIG Tennis Classic in San Diego before losing to No. 2 Hingis in the final. In her last tournament before the US Open, Williams won the Pilot Pen Tennis in New Haven, Connecticut, defeating No. 5 Seles in the semifinals and Davenport in the final. On August 30, 1999, her world ranking reached third for the first time. Seeded third at the US Open, Williams lost in the semifinals to No. 1 Hingis in three sets. However, she teamed with singles champion Serena Williams at this event to win their second Grand Slam women's doubles title.

During the remainder of the year, Williams contributed to the USA's victory over Russia in the Fed Cup final, winning one singles rubber before joining her sister to win the doubles rubber. At the Grand Slam Cup in Munich, Williams defeated Hingis in the semifinals before losing to her sister Serena for the first time in the final. Williams won her sixth title of the year at the Tier I event in Zurich, defeating No. 1 Hingis in the final. Four weeks later, she lost to Davenport in the semifinals of the tournament in Philadelphia. Making her debut at the year-ending Chase Championships, Williams lost to Hingis in the semifinals. She finished the year ranked No. 3.

2000–02: Williams sisters domination

2000: Olympic gold medals and 1st & 2nd Grand Slam titles

In 2000, Williams missed the first five months of the year with tendinitis in both wrists. She returned to the tour during the European clay court season. She lost in the quarterfinals of the Betty Barclay Cup in Hamburg to Amanda Coetzer and in the third round of the Tier I Italian Open in Rome to Jelena Dokić. Although she had won only two of her four matches before the French Open, she was seeded fourth there. She won her first four matches in Paris without losing a set before losing in the quarterfinals to eighth-seeded and former champion Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in three sets.

Williams then won 35 consecutive singles matches and six tournaments. She won her first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon, defeating No. 1 Martina Hingis in the quarterfinals, sister Serena in the semifinal and defending champion Lindsay Davenport in the final. She also teamed with her sister Serena to win the women's doubles title at this event.

She won three Tier II events during the North American summer hard court season, defeating Davenport in the final of the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford and Monica Seles in the finals of both the Acura Classic in San Diego and the Pilot Pen Tennis championships in New Haven.

At the US Open, Williams defeated No. 1 Hingis in the semifinals and No. 2 Davenport in the final. At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, she defeated Sánchez Vicario in the quarterfinals, Seles in the semifinals, and Elena Dementieva in the final to win the gold medal. She also won the gold medal in women's doubles with her younger sister Serena. Davenport eventually snapped her winning streak in October in the final of the Linz Open. Williams did not play a tournament the rest of the year because of anemia. She finished the year ranked No. 3 and with six singles titles.

2001: 3rd & 4th Grand Slam titles

Williams in 2001

In 2001, Williams reached the semifinals of the Australian Open for the first time, where she lost to No. 1 Hingis. However, Williams teamed with her sister to win the doubles title at the event, completing a Career Golden Slam in women's doubles for the pair.

Williams also reached the semifinals of the Tier I Tennis Masters Series tournament in Indian Wells, California, where she controversially defaulted her match with her sister just before the match started. Williams had been suffering from knee tendinitis throughout the tournament and eventually this prevented her from playing. The following day, Williams and her father Richard were booed as they made their way to their seats to watch the final. Serena Williams was subsequently booed during the final with Kim Clijsters and during the trophy presentation. Due to this, neither Williams sister entered the tournament for 14 years with her sister Serena entering in 2015 after appeals for forgiveness from the event and the WTA Tour. Williams rebounded from the Indian Wells 'boycott' controversy to win the next tournament on the tour calendar, the Tier I Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida. She defeated Hingis in the semifinals and No. 4 Jennifer Capriati in the final, after saving eight championship points. Because of this victory, her ranking rose to a career high of No. 2.

During the European clay court season, Williams won the Tier II tournament in Hamburg but lost in the third round of the Tier I EUROCARD Ladies German Open to No. 18 Justine Henin and the first round of the French Open to Barbara Schett. This was only the second time that she had lost in the first round of a Grand Slam singles tournament. Williams then successfully defended her Wimbledon title, defeating third-seeded Davenport in the semifinals and eighth-seeded Henin in three sets in Henin's first Wimbledon final.

During the North American summer hard court season, Williams won for the second consecutive year the tournaments in San Diego, defeating Seles in the final, and in New Haven, defeating Davenport in the final. Williams also won the US Open singles title for the second consecutive year, without dropping a set. In the quarterfinals, she beat fifth-seeded Clijsters, followed by a semifinal victory over No. 2 Capriati. She played her sister Serena in the final, which was the first Grand Slam singles final contested by two sisters during the open era. Venus won the match and her fourth Grand Slam singles title. Williams also became only the sixth woman in history to win the singles titles at both Wimbledon and the US Open in consecutive years, the others being Martina Navratilova (twice), Steffi Graf (twice), Althea Gibson, Maureen Connolly Brinker, and Helen Wills Moody (twice).

2002: World No. 1 ranking and 4 consecutive Grand Slam singles finals

Williams began 2002 by winning the Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourts in Gold Coast, Australia, defeating Henin in the final. However, she then lost for the first time in her career to Seles in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. Williams then went on to win the Open Gaz de France in Paris when Jelena Dokić withdrew from the final, and the Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp, Belgium, defeating Henin in the final. As a result of her strong start to the season, Williams assumed the world No. 1 position for the first time on February 25, dislodging Capriati. Williams was the first African-American woman ever to hold the ranking. She held it for just three weeks before surrendering it back to Capriati.

Williams failed to defend her title in Miami after losing in the semifinals to her sister Serena. However, she made a strong start to the clay-court season, winning the Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, Florida, defeating Henin in the final. A week after winning that tournament, she once again replaced Capriati as the No. 1, before losing it again to Capriati after three weeks. During those three weeks, Williams had made the final in Hamburg, defeating Hingis in the semifinals before losing to Clijsters in the final. Seeded second at the French Open, Williams defeated former champion Seles to reach the semifinals for the first time. There, she defeated Clarisa Fernández. In the final, Williams met her sister Serena Williams for a second time in a Grand Slam final, with her sister winning. Williams once again replaced Capriati as the No. 1 as a result of reaching the final.

As the top seed at Wimbledon, Williams defeated Henin in the semifinals to make the final for the third consecutive year. However, there, she lost to her sister Serena. This result meant Serena Williams replaced Venus as the No. 1. The Williams sisters teamed up to win the women's doubles title at the event, their fifth Grand Slam women's doubles title together.

Williams won the titles in San Diego and New Haven for the third consecutive year, defeating Davenport and Dokic to win the former and defeating Davenport in the final of the latter. At the US Open, Williams defeated Seles in the quarterfinals and Amélie Mauresmo in three sets to make the final. Playing her younger sister Serena for their third consecutive Grand Slam final, her sister won once again. After that, Williams played just four more matches during the season. She reached the semifinals at the year-ending Sanex Championships after defeating Seles in the quarterfinals, but she then was forced to retire against Clijsters due to injury. Williams finished the year ranked No. 2 having won seven titles, her best showing in both respects of her career.

2003–06: Injuries and losses

2003: Australian Open & Wimbledon finals, injuries

Williams started 2003 by defeating fifth seed Justine Henin to make the final of the Australian Open for the first time. In the final, however, she lost to her sister Serena. This marked the first time in the open era that the same two players had met in four consecutive Grand Slam finals. Venus and Serena Williams teamed to win the women's doubles title at the event, their sixth Grand Slam title in women's doubles.

In February, Williams won the Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp, Belgium for the second consecutive year, defeating Kim Clijsters in the final. However, shortly afterwards, she began to struggle with injury. She reached the final of the clay-court J&S Cup in Warsaw, before being forced to retire against Amélie Mauresmo. She then suffered her earliest exit at a Grand Slam tournament in two years when she lost in the fourth round of the French Open to Vera Zvonareva.

At Wimbledon, Williams was seeded fourth. Williams defeated former champion Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinals and Kim Clijsters in the semifinals to advance to her fourth consecutive Wimbledon final, where she lost again to sister Serena.

Wimbledon was Williams's last event of the year as an abdominal injury that occurred during the Clijsters match prevented her from playing again. While she was recovering from the injury, her sister Yetunde Price was murdered. Williams finished the year ranked No. 11. It was the first time in nearly six years that she had dropped out of the top 10.

2004: Tough losses and further injuries

In 2004, Williams came back to the tour suffering inconsistent results. As the third seed because of a protected ranking, she reached the third round of the Australian Open, where she lost to Lisa Raymond. She then lost in the quarterfinals of her next three tournaments.

Williams began to find her form at the beginning of the clay-court season. At the Tier I Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina, Williams defeated Conchita Martínez in the final to win her first title in over a year and the second Tier I title on clay of her career. She then won in Warsaw, defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final, before reaching the final of the Tier I German Open in Berlin. She then withdrew from that match against Mauresmo due to injury. Going into the French Open, Williams had the best clay-court record among the women and was among the favorites to win the title; however, after making the quarterfinals to extend her winning streak on the surface to 19 matches, she lost to eventual champion Anastasia Myskina. Despite her defeat, she re-entered the top 10.

In the Wimbledon Women's Singles, Williams lost a controversial second-round match to Croatian Karolina Šprem. The umpire of the match, Ted Watts, awarded Šprem an unearned point in the second-set tiebreak. Upon the conclusion of the match, he was relieved of his duties. This defeat marked the first time since 1997 that Williams had exited Wimbledon prior to the quarterfinals. After Wimbledon, Williams reached her fourth final of the year at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California, where she was beaten by Lindsay Davenport for the first time since 2000.

As the defending champion at the Athens Olympics, Williams lost in the third round to Mary Pierce. She then won three very close matches against Petra Mandula, Shikha Uberoi and Chanda Rubin to make the fourth round of the US Open where she lost to Davenport, the first time she had ever lost at the US Open prior to the semifinals. Williams completed the year by losing in the quarterfinals of three indoor tournaments in the fall, a period that included defeat in her first meeting with 17-year-old Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova at the Zurich Open. Williams finished the year as No. 9 and did not qualify for the year-ending WTA Tour Championships.

2005: Third Wimbledon title

In 2005, Williams started the year by losing in the fourth round of the Australian Open to Alicia Molik. She then reached the final in Antwerp, defeating Clijsters and Myskina en route. In the final, Williams was a set and a service break up against Mauresmo before eventually losing.

In March, at the NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami, Williams defeated sister and Australian Open champion Serena Williams in the quarterfinals, the first time she had defeated her sister Serena since 2001. Williams went on to lose in the semifinals to No. 3 Sharapova. In May, Williams won her first title in over a year at the clay-courts at the İstanbul Cup, defeating Nicole Vaidišová in the final. However, at the French Open, she lost in the third round to 15-year-old Sesil Karatantcheva, who subsequently tested positive for steroids and was suspended.

Williams was seeded 14th for the 2005 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles. In the quarterfinals of the tournament, she defeated French Open runner-up Pierce in a second-set tiebreak, winning it 12–10 to make the semifinals of a Grand Slam for the first time in two years. There, she defeated defending champion and second-seeded Maria Sharapova to make the Wimbledon final for the fifth time in six years. Playing top-seeded Davenport in the final, Williams saved a match point with a backhand winner en route to winning. This was Williams's third Wimbledon singles title, her fifth Grand Slam singles title overall and her first since 2001. It was the first time in 70 years that a player had won after being down match point during the women's final at Wimbledon. In addition, Williams was the lowest-ranked (No. 16) and lowest-seeded (14th) champion in tournament history. Williams returned to the top 10 following the victory.

Following Wimbledon, Williams reached her fourth final of the year in Stanford, where she lost to Clijsters. At the US Open, Williams achieved her second consecutive win over her sister Serena in the fourth round, but then lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Kim Clijsters. Williams did not qualify for the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships because of an injury sustained during the tournament in Beijing. She finished the year ranked No. 10. It was the first year since 2001 that she had finished a year ranked higher than her sister Serena Williams.

Venus Williams prepares to serve during the 2006 J&S Cup in Warsaw

2006: Wrist injury and drop in the rankings

In 2006, Williams was upset in the first round of the Australian Open by Tsvetana Pironkova, which was her earliest loss ever at that tournament. After that loss, she did not play again for three months due to a wrist injury. She returned in late April on clay in Warsaw, where she defeated former No. 1 Martina Hingis in the second round, before losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals. Williams completed the clay-court season by reaching the quarterfinals of the French Open, where she lost to Nicole Vaidišová.

Williams was the defending champion and one of the favorites to win the singles title at Wimbledon. However, she lost in the third round to 26th-seeded Jelena Janković. After the loss, Williams said that she was having pain in her left wrist, although she admitted that the injury was not the cause of her loss. Williams did not play in the US Open series or the US Open itself due to the wrist injury. In October, during her first tournament in almost three months, she reinjured her wrist at the tournament in Luxembourg and lost in the second round to qualifier Agnieszka Radwańska. Williams finished the season as No. 46, her lowest finish since she began to play on the WTA Tour full-time in 1997. It was the second consecutive year she finished higher than her sister Serena, who finished the year at No. 95.

2007–10: Return to form and No. 2 ranking

2007: Fourth Wimbledon title

Williams withdrew from the 2007 Australian Open, the second consecutive Grand Slam that she had missed due to her recurring wrist injury. She returned in February at the Cellular South Cup in Memphis, USA, defeating top-seeded Shahar Pe'er in the final, her first singles title since her victory at Wimbledon in 2005.

At the beginning of the clay-court season, Williams reached the semifinals of the Tier I Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina, where she lost to Jelena Janković on a third set tiebreak. She also lost to fourth seed Janković in the third round of the French Open, her third consecutive loss to Janković. During her second round win over Ashley Harkleroad, Williams hit a 206 km/h (128 mph) serve, which was the second fastest woman's serve ever recorded and the fastest ever recorded during a main draw match at the time.

Venus competing in the World Tennis Team (WTT)

Williams was ranked No. 31 going into Wimbledon and was seeded 23rd at the tournament due to her previous results at Wimbledon. Williams was a game away from defeat in her first round match against Alla Kudryavtseva and in her third round match against Akiko Morigami she was two points away from defeat, but she eventually won both 7–5 in the third set. She then advanced to reach her sixth Wimbledon final, after beating Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Ana Ivanovic in straight sets en route, where she defeated 18th seed Marion Bartoli also in straight sets. Williams thus became only the fourth woman in the open era to win Wimbledon at least four times, along with Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf. She also became the lowest-seeded Wimbledon champion in history, breaking the record she herself set in 2005. Williams returned to the top 20 as a result of the win.

At the US Open, after setting a Grand-Slam record 129 mph (208 km/h) serve in the opening round, Williams advanced to her first Grand Slam semifinal outside of Wimbledon since 2003. However she then lost to eventual champion Justine Henin. The tournament resulted in Williams's ranking moving up to No. 9. Williams then won her third title of the year at the Hansol Korea Open Tennis Championships in Seoul, South Korea, defeating Maria Kirilenko in the final, before then losing in the final of the Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo to Virginie Razzano. Williams had earned enough points during the year to qualify for the year-ending WTA Tour Championships in Madrid; however, she withdrew because of continuing problems with anemia. Williams finished the year as No. 8 with three titles, her best performance in both respects since 2002, and a winning percentage of 83 percent.

2008: Fifth Wimbledon title, Tour Championships title and Olympic gold in doubles

In 2008, as the eighth seed at the Australian Open, Williams reached the quarterfinals for the first time since 2003. However, she then lost to eventual runner-up Ana Ivanovic. Williams made her first semifinal of the year at the Bangalore Open in Bangalore, India, where she met sister Serena for the first time since 2005 with Serena Williams winning despite Venus Williams holding a match point in the third set tie break.

Williams missed two tournaments at the beginning of the clay-court season due to undisclosed medical problems. At the French Open, Williams was seeded eighth but was eliminated by 26th-seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta in the third round.

Williams was the defending champion and seventh-seeded player at Wimbledon. Without dropping a set, she reached her seventh Wimbledon singles final. She then won her fifth Wimbledon singles title, and seventh Grand Slam singles title overall, by beating sister Serena in straight sets. This was the first time since 2003 that Venus and Serena Williams had played each other in a Grand Slam final and was the first time since 2001 that Venus had defeated her in a Grand Slam final. Venus and Serena Williams then teamed to win the women's doubles title, their first Grand Slam doubles title together since 2003.

Williams lost in the quarterfinals of the Beijing Olympics to Li Na. She did, however, earn a gold medal along with her sister Serena in women's doubles, their second gold medal as a team, having won together at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. At the US Open, Williams was playing some of her best tennis since dominating the circuit in 2003, However, she was defeated in two tiebreaks by Serena Williams (the eventual tournament winner) in a close quarterfinal match, after Williams had led 5–3 in both sets.

Venus Williams at the 2008 WTA Tour Championships

At the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany in October, Williams defeated a player ranked in the top three for the first time that season by defeating No. 3 Dinara Safina to reach her third semifinal of the year. There, she lost to Janković. A fortnight later, Williams won the Zurich Open, defeating Ivanovic in the semifinals before defeating Pennetta in the final to claim her second title of the year and secure a position in the year-ending 2008 WTA Tour Championships in Doha, Qatar. There, Williams defeated No. 2 Safina, No. 3 Serena Williams and No. 5 Dementieva in the preliminary round-robin stage. In the semifinals, Williams defeated No. 1 Janković before winning the year-ending tournament for the first time by defeating Vera Zvonareva in the final. She ended the year ranked No. 6 with three titles and a winning percentage of 78 percent.

2009: Wimbledon runner-up and 4 consecutive Grand Slam doubles titles

As the sixth seed at the 2009 Australian Open, Williams lost in the second round to Carla Suárez Navarro after holding a match point in the third set. However, she teamed up with her sister Serena to win the women's doubles title at the event, their eighth Grand Slam doubles title together. Williams rebounded in singles play in February at the Premier 5 (formerly Tier I) Dubai Tennis Championships, defeating defending champion and No. 4 Dementieva in the quarterfinals and No. 1 Serena Williams in the semifinals on a third set tiebreak. The latter win meant that Williams led the head-to-head in career matches with her sister for the first time since 2002. Williams went on to defeat Virginie Razzano in the final. This win meant Williams was ranked in the top five for the first time since 2003, while it also marked her 40th professional singles title, only the twelfth player in the open era to achieve the feat. Williams won another title the following week at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco, Mexico, defeating Pennetta in the final. This was her first title on clay since 2005.

On European clay, Williams reached the semifinals in Rome before losing to No. 1 Safina. This run meant Williams was ranked in the top three for the first time since 2003. Seeded third at the French Open, Williams lost to Ágnes Szávay in the third round, the third consecutive year she had exited at that stage.

Williams was seeded third at Wimbledon. She advanced to her eighth Wimbledon final, at which point she had won 34 straight sets (held since Wimbledon 2007). In the final, however, she lost the first set tie-break, and from then on lost in two sets to sister Serena. The Williams sisters teamed up to win the doubles title at the tournament for the fourth time.

In Stanford, Williams defeated Maria Sharapova and Elena Dementieva to advance to the finals, where she would lose to Marion Bartoli. Teaming with her sister, she played doubles and won the title, defeating Monica Niculescu and Yung-Jan Chan.

Williams lost to the eventual champion, Kim Clijsters, at the US Open.

At the 2009 US Open, as the third seed, Williams made it to the fourth round before losing to Kim Clijsters in three sets. Williams then teamed up with Serena Williams to play doubles at the open, where they won the title over defending champions and No. 1s in doubles, Cara Black and Liezel Huber, claiming their third grand slam doubles title in 2009.

Williams's last tournament in 2009 was the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships, where she was the defending champion in singles. She was in the maroon group which includes her sister Serena Williams, along with Elena Dementieva and Svetlana Kuznetsova. She lost her first match against Dementieva, and her second match against her sister Serena- both in straight sets, after taking the first set. In her third and final RR match, Williams defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova. Because of Dementieva's loss to Kuznetsova in their round robin match, Williams advanced to the semifinal of the championships. In her semifinal match, she defeated Jelena Janković of Serbia to advance to her second consecutive final in the tournament. In the final, she lost to her sister Serena. In doubles, Williams teamed with her sister as the second seeds. However, they lost to Nuria Llagostera Vives and María José Martínez Sánchez in the semifinal. Their doubles record at the end of the year stood at 24–2.

Williams finished 2009 ranked No. 6 in singles (with a winning percentage of 70 percent) and No. 3 in doubles with Serena Williams, in spite of them playing only six events together that year.

2010: No. 2 singles ranking and No. 1 doubles ranking

Williams played at the Australian Open as the sixth seed. She defeated 17th-seeded Francesca Schiavone in the fourth round. She was two points from defeating 16th-seeded Li Na in the quarterfinals before losing in three sets. In doubles, she teamed with her sister Serena to successfully defend their title, defeating the top-ranked team of Cara Black and Liezel Huber in the final. She went onto the clay at the Abierto Mexico Telcel in Acapulco, where she was the defending champion. She reached the semifinals after recovering from a 1–5 third set deficit to Laura Pous Tió in the quarterfinals. In the final, she defeated first-time finalist Polona Hercog from Slovenia. This was her 43rd career title, the most among active female players.

Her next tournament was the Premier Mandatory Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, where she was seeded third. She defeated No. 9 Agnieszka Radwańska in the quarterfinals and No. 13 Marion Bartoli in the semifinals to reach her third straight WTA tour final and fourth Sony Ericsson Open final. She was defeated by Kim Clijsters in the final in just 58 minutes, ending her 15-match winning streak. By reaching the final, her ranking improved to No. 4 and she crossed the $26 million mark in career prize money, the only player besides Serena Williams to do so.

The knee injury that hampered her during the final of the Sony Ericsson Open forced her to skip the Fed Cup tie against Russia and the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. Williams returned to the tour at the Premier 5 Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. She suffered the worst defeat of her career in the quarterfinals, losing to No. 4 Jelena Janković 6–0, 6–1. Despite this loss, Williams's ranking improved to No. 3 on May 10.

Williams at the 2010 Madrid Open

Her next tournament was the Madrid Open, a Premier Mandatory tournament. She lost to Aravane Rezaï in the final. In doubles, she teamed with her sister Serena to win the title.

On May 17, her ranking improved to No. 2, behind only Serena. This was the fourth time that the Williams sisters have occupied the top two spots, and the first time since May 2003.

Her next tournament was the French Open, where she played both singles and doubles despite her knee injury. Seeded second in singles, she advanced past the third round at this tournament for the first time since 2006 before losing to Nadia Petrova in the round of 16. She also played doubles with Serena as the top seeds. Their defeat of Huber and Anabel Medina Garrigues in the semifinals increased their doubles ranking to No. 1. They then defeated 12th seeded Květa Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik in the final to win their fourth consecutive Grand Slam women's doubles title. By virtue of reaching the No. 1-ranking in doubles on June 7, 2010, Venus and Serena became just the 6th and 7th women to reach the No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles following in the footsteps of Martina Navratilova, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, and Kim Clijsters.

Her next tournament was the Wimbledon Championships, where she had reached the final the previous three years. Despite her knee injury, she made it to the quarterfinals, where she lost to Tsvetana Pironkova. Pironkova was ranked No. 82 and had never gone past the second round of a Grand Slam event. As a result, Williams dropped to No. 4. She was the defending champion in doubles with her sister Serena, having won the tournament in the previous two years. However, they lost this time in the quarterfinals to Elena Vesnina and Vera Zvonareva.

Williams then missed all tournaments in the US Open Series because of a left knee injury but still participated at the US Open as the third seed. She won three matches to move into the fourth round. Williams became one of only two women in 2010 (along with Caroline Wozniacki) to reach at least the fourth round at all four Grand Slam singles tournaments. Williams then defeated Pe'er and French Open champion Schiavone en route to her eighth US Open semifinal, against defending champion Clijsters. Williams won the first set of their match and recovered from 5–2 down in the second set but ultimately double-faulted on a key point near the end of the match and lost in three sets. Because of Serena's withdrawal from the US Open, Williams did not participate at the doubles event, where she was the defending champion.

The recovery of her left knee took longer than expected and it forced her to miss the rest of 2010, including the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships and Fed Cup final. Williams ended the year ranked fifth in singles, the first time she ended a year in the top five since 2002, while playing only nine tournaments. She finished the year ranked eleventh in doubles.

2011–13: Injuries and illness

2011: Sjögrens Syndrome diagnosis

Williams during her first round match at the 2011 US Open

Williams began the year at the final edition of Hong Kong Tennis Classic exhibition event. She lost both her singles matches against Vera Zvonareva and Li Na, but she helped Team America to win the silver group. At the Australian Open, Williams retired in the second game of her third round match against Andrea Petkovic after sustaining a hip muscle injury in her second round. This was Williams's first retirement during a match in a Grand Slam tournament since 1994 and thus ended her record of most Grand Slam matches without ever retiring, with 250 consecutive matches. This was also her first retirement from a match since LA Women's Tennis Championships in Los Angeles in 2004, ending her 294 consecutive matches without retiring. The injury forced Williams to pull out of the Fed Cup quarterfinal against Belgium, the Dubai Tennis Championships, and the Mexican Open, where she was the two-time defending champion in both tournaments. She subsequently withdrew from the Miami Open causing her ranking to drop to number fifteen. She also missed the clay court season which caused her ranking to drop to number twenty-nine. Her absence from the French Open marked the first Grand Slam tournament since the 2003 US Open where neither of the Williams sisters were competing.

Williams then made her first appearance since the Australian Open in Eastbourne. Unseeded, she lost for the first time in eleven meetings to Daniela Hantuchová in the quarterfinals. She was seeded 23rd at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships. She played for nearly three hours in her second round match against Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm, winning in three tough sets. She then defeated Spaniard María José Martínez Sánchez in the third round, but was defeated by Bulgarian 32nd seed Tsvetana Pironkova in the fourth round.

Originally scheduled to participate in the 2011 Rogers Cup in Toronto and the 2011 Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, Williams withdrew due to viral illness. Her next scheduled tournament was the US Open. Unseeded at the US Open, Williams defeated Vesna Dolonts in the first round. She was scheduled to meet 22nd seed Sabine Lisicki in the second round, but withdrew before the match began after being diagnosed with Sjögren's syndrome, an autoimmune disease which causes fatigue and muscle and joint pain. This was the first time in her career that she did not reach the quarterfinals or better in any of the Grand Slam tournaments in a season. As a result, her ranking dropped to one-hundred and five.

Williams did not play for the rest of the year at a competitive level; she appeared in three exhibitions tournaments in November and early December. She played against sister Serena in Colombia, which she won in straight sets. The week later, the sisters appeared in Milan, Italy to play exhibition against Italian duo Francesca Schiavone and Flavia Pennetta. Williams lost both her singles tie-break matches but won the doubles pairing with her sister. Williams played her third exhibition tournament in Barbados where she lost to Victoria Azarenka. She ended the year ranked No. 102. This was her first year-end finish ranked outside of the top 50 since 1997.

2012: Comeback and Olympic gold record

Williams was scheduled to play in Auckland in preparation for the Australian Open but withdrew from both tournaments due to health problems, announcing that she would return to the WTA tour in Februar This dropped her ranking to No. 135. In February, Williams returned to competition in the doubles match of the Fed Cup World Group II tie between USA and Belaru Playing with Liezel Huber, she won the dead-rubber in straight sets.

Williams was granted wildcards to participate in the Miami [48] and Charleston tournaments. In the first round of Miami — her first singles match since the 2011 US Open — Williams defeated Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm in straight sets. In the second round, she defeated No. 3 Petra Kvitová, her first top-3 victory since beating Svetlana Kuznetsova in 2009. In the third round, she saved a match point and defeated Aleksandra Wozniak in a three-set tiebreaker that ended a nearly three-hour match. In the round of 16, she bested No. 15 Ana Ivanovic in three sets to reach the quarterfinals, where she lost to the eventual champion, Agnieszka Radwańska in straight sets. Her run improved her ranking to number 87. A week later in Charleston, she reached her second consecutive quarterfinal, where she lost in three sets to Samantha Stosur.

Williams at the 2012 French Open

Williams was granted wildcards to participate in Madrid and Rome. In Madrid, she lost in the second round to Angelique Kerber, but still improved her ranking to No. 63. A week later in Rome, she reached her third quarterfinal of the four tournaments she had participated in with a straight-sets victory against Samantha Stosur in the third round. She lost in the quarterfinals in straight sets to the No. 2, defending and eventual champion Maria Sharapova.[50] Her appearance in Rome increased her ranking to No. 52, placing her as the third-ranked American. She lost in the second round of the French Open to Agnieszka Radwańska in straight sets.

At Wimbledon, Williams was unseeded for the first time since 1997. She lost to Elena Vesnina in the first round in straight sets. This was the first time Williams lost in the first round of a Grand Slam since the 2006 Australian Open, and her first opening round loss at Wimbledon since her debut in 1997. Williams fared better in her return to doubles competition where she played alongside her sister, Serena. In just the pair's first tournament since 2010 Wimbledon, the unseeded sisters advanced to the final with victories over fourth-seeds Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova in the second round and top-seeds Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond in the semifinals. The Williams sisters claimed their fifth Wimbledon doubles title after defeating sixth-seeds Andrea Hlaváčková and Lucie Hradecká in straight sets in the final, on the same day Serena Williams won her fifth Wimbledon singles title.

Williams's next stop was the 2012 London Summer Olympics which was held at the All England Club, Wimbledon. She entered the women's singles and women's doubles events, partnering with sister Serena in doubles. In singles, Williams defeated Sara Errani and Aleksandra Wozniak in convincing fashion to reach the third round where she faced Angelique Kerber. She lost to Kerber in two tiebreaks despite having three set points and leading 5–1 in the tiebreak in the first set. In doubles, the unseeded Williams sisters advanced to the final, which was a repeat of their final at Wimbledon against Hlaváčková and Hradecká. The sisters won their third gold medal in doubles after defeating the Czech pair in straight sets. With the win (and her sister Serena's win in the singles event), the Williams sisters claimed the most Olympic gold medals of any other tennis player, male or female.

Next, Williams played at Cincinnati where she received a singles wild card entry. She defeated her first two opponents, Maria Kirilenko and Chanelle Scheepers, in three tight sets before crushing 8th seed Sara Errani in the third round. In the quarterfinal, she defeated her second top 10 opponent in a row Samantha Stosur in three sets to advance to her first semifinal since the 2010 US Open. In the semifinal Williams played through a back injury, eventually losing in three sets to Li Na in a match where her average first serve was between 80 and 90 miles per hour.[citation needed] Her semifinal run brought her ranking back within the top 50 for the first time in almost a year. At the US Open Williams lost in a second-round match against Angelique Kerber in three sets, despite having a 4–2 lead in the third set.

Williams won her 44th WTA career title and her first title in over two and half years at the 2012 BGL Luxembourg Open, where she defeated Monica Niculescu in straight sets. Williams also qualified for the WTA Tournament of Champions in Sofia, but withdrew as the tournament clashed with her and her sister Serena's 'Breaking the Mould' tour in Africa. With her title in Luxembourg, her ranking rose to number 24. She ended the year with this ranking.

2013: Back injury

At the 2013 Hopman Cup, and playing for USA (with John Isner), the first rubber was against South Africa. Williams beat Chanelle Scheepers and, with John Isner, they comfortably defeated the South African pair Chanelle Scheepers and Kevin Anderson. In USA's second rubber against France, she won both her singles and in mixed doubles defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Mathilde Johansson. Next she faced Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain and won in two sets.

From there Williams went onto the Australian Open, seeded 25, after missing it the previous year due to injury. She beat Galina Voskoboeva and Alizé Cornet before losing to the second seed, Maria Sharapova. Her next tournament was Brasil Tennis Cup. She participated the tournament as the 1st seed. She defeated Mirjana Lučić-Baroni in the first round, Garbiñe Muguruza in the second round and Magdaléna Rybáriková during the quarterfinals. Reaching her first semifinal of the year, she was then defeated by Olga Puchkova in three sets. This tournament allowed Williams to strengthen her position in the Top 20. She retired from the 2013 Sony Open Tennis in the third round due to a lower back injury.

Williams stretches for a volley at the 2013 US Open

One week after Miami, Williams participated in Charleston as the fifth seed. She reached the semifinals, after playing both her third round and quarterfinals matches on the same day, where she lost to her sister, Serena, in two sets in the sisters' first meeting since the 2009 WTA Tour Championships.A few weeks later she participated in Fed Cup, in a tie between the United States and Sweden. After Sloane Stephens lost the opening match, Williams stepped into her spot, winning a match against Johanna Larsson, after converting on her eighth match point. This was the first time in Williams's career that she clinched the winning match in a Fed Cup tie, leading the United States to a 3–2 victory over Sweden. Williams's next event was the Mutua Madrid Open where she withdrew just before playing her first round match, her next tournament was the Italian Open in Rome where she lost in the first round to Laura Robson. Williams then played at the 2013 French Open where she lost to Urszula Radwanska in the first round. She was also entered in Doubles with her sister Serena but pulled out just before their 1st Round match. Williams pulled out of the 2013 Wimbledon Championships due to a back injury. It was the first time she has missed Wimbledon in her career.

At the Roger's Cup, she lost in the first round to 13th seed Kirsten Flipkens in three sets. At the 2013 Western and Southern Open, she defeated qualifier Jana Cepelova in straight sets, before losing in the second round to Elena Vesnina in three sets. Her next tournament was the 2013 US Open. She pulled an upset in the first round by defeating 12th seed Kirsten Flipkens in a rematch of the Roger's Cup first round. She was defeated by Zheng Jie in three sets. She entered the doubles with Serena Williams. They beat Carla Suarez Navarro and Silvia Soler Espinosa in the first round. In the second round, the duo beat the 7th seeded team of Abigail Spears and Raquel Kops-Jones, and defeated the 11th seeded team of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Lucie Safarova in the third round. In the quarterfinals, they defeated the 1st seeded team of Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci in a rematch of the Australian Open quarterfinals. Their run ended in the semifinals against the 5th seeded team and eventual champions Lucie Hradecka and Andrea Hlavackova. Her next tournament was the Toray Pan Pacific Open. She defeated Mona Barthel in the first round, and upset the 1st-seeded and No. 2-ranked Victoria Azarenka in the second round. In the third round, she came back from a set down to beat the 13th seed Simona Halep in three sets to make it to the quarterfinals of the Premier 5 event. In the quarterfinals she defeated Canadian Eugenie Bouchard in three sets, but fell in the semifinals to Petra Kvitova in another three set match. Williams subsequently played at the 2013 China Open in Beijing where she played singles and doubles. Williams lost her second round match in singles losing to Sabine Lisicki and she also lost her first round match in doubles despite having two match points. Williams's last tournament of the season was the 2013 Kremlin Cup in Moscow, but she withdrew due to injury, bringing an end to her 2013 season.

2014–17: Resurgence and first Grand Slam finals since 2009

2014: Ending title drought

Williams started her official tennis season as No. 47 at the 2014 ASB Classic in Auckland, where she finished runner-up to Ana Ivanovic. She next participated, unseeded, at the 2014 Australian Open where she lost in the first round to No. 23 Ekaterina Makarova in three sets. Moving on to Doha, Williams lost to No. 6 Petra Kvitová in the second round at the 2014 Qatar Total Open after failing to put away match point in the third set tie-break. Williams then entered the Dubai Tennis Championships where she defeated five top-40 players to win her biggest title since the Mutua Madrid Open in 2010 and, at 33 years and 8 months of age, became the seventh-oldest woman to win a WTA singles title. En route, she avenged her loss to Ana Ivanovic in Auckland 6–2, 6–1 and her sister Serena's loss to Alizé Cornet in the semifinals, then won the title match the 6–3, 6–0, keeping her head-to-head record perfect against Caroline Wozniacki. Williams then competed in Miami at the 2014 Sony Open Tennis and in Charleston at the 2014 Family Circle Cup where she lost to Dominika Cibulková on hard and Eugenie Bouchard on clay, respectively – both in the round of 16 and both in three sets. At the 2014 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Williams failed to force three sets in a loss for the first time that year, falling 4–6, 2–6 to Carla Suárez Navarro. At the 2014 French Open, Williams was upset by No. 56 Anna Karolína Schmiedlová in three sets. Williams then lost in the third round of the 2014 Wimbledon Championships, 7–5, 6–7, 5–7 to eventual champion Petra Kvitová in a classic and much-praised encounter that saw 34 holds of serve and only two breaks. Williams was the only player to take a set against Kvitová in the tournament.

Williams played her first tournament of the 2014 US Open Series at the 2014 Bank of the West Classic, where she is a two-time former champion. In the second round, she scored her first Top-10 victory of the year and improved her head-to-head record against Victoria Azarenka to 4–0. In the quarterfinals, Williams lost to No. 18 Andrea Petkovic in three sets. At the 2014 Rogers Cup, Williams defeated No. 24 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in three sets, scoring her first victory at that tournament on her fifth attempt. She defeated No. 7 Angelique Kerber in the third round in a three-set thriller described by one of the commentators as "quite simply one of the matches of the 2014 season so far on the WTA". Williams produced yet another upset in three sets against Carla Suárez Navarro to advance to the semifinals, where she defeated younger sister and No. 1 Serena Williams in the pair's 25th meeting. It was her 14th victory over a reigning No. 1 and her first since the 2009 Wimbledon Championships, when she defeated Dinara Safina 6–1, 6–0 in the semifinals. It was also the first time since 2009 that Williams had beaten her younger sister Serena. She lost the championship match 4–6, 2–6 to No. 5 Agnieszka Radwańska. At her final tournament before the 2014 US Open, Williams lost in a tight three-setter to No. 17 Lucie Šafářová in the first round at the 2014 Western & Southern Open. At the US Open Williams made it to the third round for the first time since 2010 and was two points away (multiple times) from moving into the Round of 16 before ultimately going down to 13th-seeded Sara Errani for the first time in four meetings.

Williams's next tournament was at the 2014 Coupe Banque Nationale in Quebec, where she received a wildcard as the No. 1 seed. She advanced to the quarterfinals in straight-set first- and second-round victories and was set to play Czech player, Lucie Hradecká. She defeated Hradecká in a 2-hour, 13-minute match, winning 6–3, 4–6, 7–6(3). In the semifinal, Williams beat fellow countrywomen Shelby Rogers in straight sets to progress to her fourth final of the year, where she lost to a resurgent Mirjana Lučić-Baroni in straight sets. Williams then played at the 2014 Wuhan Open, where she lost in the first round to Caroline Garcia despite having held a match point. Her final tournament of the year was at the 2014 China Open, where she won her first two matches before withdrawing before the third round. Williams ended the year ranked No. 19 in singles, the first finish since 2010 inside the top 20. Williams joined the Bangalore Raptors team in 2014 for the first edition of Champions Tennis League India.

2015: Improvement at the Grand Slams and re-entering the top 10

Williams started off her season at the 2015 ASB Classic, where she won her 46th career singles title by defeating Caroline Wozniacki in three sets in the final. Then, at the Australian Open, Williams made it to the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam for the first time since the 2010 US Open. She defeated Camila Giorgi in the third round having to recover from 4–6, 2–4 and 0–40 down to reach the second week of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time since the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and then overturned a three-match losing streak to Agnieszka Radwańska before losing to Madison Keys after being up a break in the deciding set. Williams had her 16-match winning streak at the Dubai Tennis Championships ended by Lucie Šafářová in the third round. Her next tournament was at the Qatar Total Open where she saved a match point in a heated encounter versus Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová in the second round before defeating Agnieszka Radwańska for a second time in 2015 to advance to the semifinals. She ended up losing in three sets to Victoria Azarenka. Williams competed at the Miami Open, where she won against Samantha Stosur in the third round and Caroline Wozniacki in the fourth round (scoring her fourth top-10 win of the season and improving her head-to-head record against Wozniacki to a perfect 7–0). In the quarterfinals, she was defeated by Carla Suárez Navarro in three sets.

Williams began her clay court season at the Madrid Open where she lost in the first round to Victoria Azarenka in straight sets. She made it to the third round of the Italian Open before losing to Simona Halep. Williams failed to win her opening match at the 2015 French Open, where she lost in straight sets to American Sloane Stephens. She did not attend her mandatory post-match press conference and was subsequently fined $3000 Williams then played at Wimbledon, winning her first three rounds in straight sets. She then lost to her sister, Serena, in the fourth round in straight sets (4–6, 3–6). Williams then played at the Istanbul Cup where she lost in the first round to qualifier Kateryna Bondarenko.

Williams began her US Open series at the Rogers Cup, where she was a finalist last year. She lost in the first round, 6–0, 6–3 to Sabine Lisicki. Her loss pushed her outside of the top 20. Her next tournament was at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati. She made it to the second round and was set to play Ana Ivanovic, before she withdrew due to a virus. She was seeded 23rd for the US Open and played Monica Puig in the first round. She led 6–4, 5–3 and held three match points, but lost the second set. She won the match 6–4, 6–7(7–9), 6–3. In the second round, she overcame 2 costly double faults in the second set to defeat fellow American Irina Falconi 6–3, 6–7(2–7), 6–2. She defeated 12th seed Belinda Bencic and qualifier Anett Kontaveit in straight sets in the third and fourth rounds, respectively. Williams played her sister, Serena Williams, in the quarterfinals in their 5th meeting at the US Open and their 27th meeting overall. Williams lost the match in three sets (2–6, 6–1, 3–6).

Williams scored her fifth top 10 win of the season by defeating No. 7 Agnieszka Radwańska in the first round of the Wuhan Open. She then beat qualifier Julia Görges in the second round for her 700th career win (becoming only the ninth woman in the Open Era to achieve this feat). She landed another top 10 victory by winning against No. 10 Carla Suárez Navarro in the third round. Williams defeated both Johanna Konta and Roberta Vinci (saving match point) in three sets to move into the championship match where she won her biggest title in more than 5 years when her opponent, No. 8 Garbiñe Muguruza, retired while trailing a set and a double break. The next week Williams lost to Ana Ivanovic in the second round of the China Open. She made it to the semifinals of the Hong Kong Open where she lost in a tight two-setter to eventual champion Jelena Janković.

With her results throughout the season, Williams became an Alternate for the WTA Finals in Singapore. Additionally, she qualified for the WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai where she is the number one seed. She defeated Madison Keys in her first round-robin match in three sets, 3–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–1. In her second round-robin match she defeated wildcard Zheng Saisai 4–6, 6–1, 6–1 to advance to the semifinals, where she defeated Roberta Vinci for a fifth consecutive time. Williams captured the first WTA Elite Trophy, her third WTA title of the season and 48th title of her career by defeating Karolína Plíšková, 7–5, 7–6(8–6) in the final. She re-entered the top ten for the first time since 2011 and ended the year at No. 7 in the WTA rankings. Williams was the 10th most popular player of the year according to the WTA's website and received the WTA Comeback Player of the Year award.

2016: Wimbledon semifinal, highest ranking since 2011 and record Olympic medal tally[edit]

Williams began 2016 by playing at the World Tennis Thailand Championship – an exhibition event in Thailand – where she lost to Sara Errani and Angelique Kerber. She then entered the ASB Classic, where she was the No. 1 seed and defending champion, and lost in the first round to 18-year-old Daria Kasatkina. (This was also Williams's first tournament since the 2011 Australian Open as a top-10 player.) At the Australian Open, Williams, seeded 8th, lost to Johanna Konta in the first round. Afterwards, she helped the USA Fed Cup Team to a 4–0 victory over Poland, winning both of her singles matches. Williams's next tournament was at the Taiwan Open, where she was the No. 1 seed. She defeated Misaki Doi in the final, earning her 49th career title.

Williams returned to Indian Wells for the first time in 15 years after boycotting the tournament in 2001, but lost in the second round to Kurumi Nara. The following week, she was knocked out in the second round of the Miami Open by qualifier Elena Vesnina. Both results marked her worst exits at Indian Wells and Miami in her 23-year career. She began the clay-court season with a win over Alison Riske at the Charleston Open, before losing to Yulia Putintseva in the third round in three tight sets. Williams was scheduled to begin her clay-court season at the Madrid Open but withdrew due to a hamstring injury. The following week, she lost in the second round in Rome. Seeded 9th at the French Open, Williams won her first two rounds in straight sets to set up a third-round clash with Alize Cornet, whom she defeated in three sets to reach the fourth round for the first time since 2010. She recorded the 200th loss of her career against 8th-seeded Timea Bacsinszky, who won in straight sets. However, her result pushed her back into the top 10 for the first time since her loss at the Australian Open. She also won her first Grand Slam doubles match with sister Serena Williams since the 2014 US Open.

Williams at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships

At the Wimbledon Championships, Williams reached the third round of the championships where she overcame the 29th seed, Daria Kasatkina, in a 2-hour, 42-minute marathon. She defeated 12th seed Carla Suarez Navarro in the fourth round, and now leads 4–3 in their head-to-head meetings. Williams advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in six years, where she defeated Yaroslava Shvedova. In her first Grand Slam semifinal since the 2010 US Open and her first Wimbledon semifinal since 2009, she lost to 4th seed Angelique Kerber in straight sets. In the doubles tournament, Venus and Serena Williams advanced to their first Grand Slam Doubles final since 2012. They then won their 14th major title together and sixth at Wimbledon.

Williams began her US Open series at the Stanford Classic, where she was the No. 1 seed. She defeated Magda Linette in the second round and compatriots Catherine Bellis and Alison Riske in the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively to reach her eighth final in Stanford. She lost to Johanna Konta, 5–7, 7–5, 2–6. By virtue of her result, Williams ascended to No. 6 in the rankings, her highest position since being diagnosed with Sjögren's syndrome in 2011. Williams then entered the Rogers Cup. Having received a bye in the first round, Williams won her second-round match against Barbora Strycova in straight sets. She fell to Madison Keys in the third round in three sets.

Williams failed to medal in her singles and doubles events at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, falling in the first round in both events, marking her worst exits of her Olympic career. She entered the mixed doubles event with Rajeev Ram, defeating the Netherlands in the first round after saving match point. The pair then defeated Italy in the quarterfinals and India in the semifinals to set up a clash with the United States team of Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Jack Sock in the gold medal match. The duo lost to Mattek-Sands and Sock 7–6(7–3), 1–6, [7–10]. By winning a silver medal, Williams became the only female player (besides Kathleen McKane Godfree) to win a medal in all three events (singles, doubles and mixed); her five medals mean she now shares the record for most Olympic medals won in tennis with Godfree.

At the US Open, Williams broke the record for the most Grand Slam appearances, surpassing Amy Frazier's record of 71. This is also the first time that she's been seeded in the top ten at all four Grand Slam tournaments this year, having last achieved this in 2010. She won her first three-round matches respectively against Kateryna Kozlova, Julia Görges and the 26th seed Laura Siegemund. She lost in the fourth round to 10th seed Karolína Plíšková after failing to convert match point.

In September 2016, in response to WADA database leak, Williams confirmed the usage of banned substances classified by WADA as Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs), stating: "The applications for TUEs under the Tennis Anti-Doping program require a strict process for approval which I have adhered to when serious medical conditions have occurred".

Williams failed to defend her title in Wuhan, falling in the third round to 9th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova. This pushed her outside of the top ten for a second time this year. The following week she was bundled out of the China Open in the first round by No. 223-ranked Peng Shuai. Williams qualified for the WTA Elite Trophy, where she was the defending champion, however she decided not to participate. She finished the year ranked No. 17.

2017: Australian Open, Wimbledon & Tour Championships finalist, return to the top 5

Williams began her 2017 season at the ASB Classic, winning her opening match against local wildcard Jade Lewis before withdrawing due to a right arm pain. Seeded 13th at the Australian Open, Williams defeated Kateryna Kozlova, qualifier Stefanie Vögele, Duan Yingying and qualifier Mona Barthel in the opening four rounds respectively in straight sets to advance to the quarterfinals. She defeated 24th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova for her 50th win at the Australian Open, the first time Williams won a quarterfinal match in Melbourne since defeating Daniela Hantuchová in 2003. Coming back from a set down in her semifinal match, Williams defeated rising American star Coco Vandeweghe 6–7(3–7), 6–2, 6–3 to advance to her first Grand Slam final since Wimbledon 2009 and her first Australian Open final since 2003. In doing so, she set the Open Era record for the longest span (20 years) between grand slam singles final appearances, having first reached a grand slam singles final at the 1997 US Open. In a closely fought final, she lost 6–4, 6–4 to her younger sister Serena Williams, who made history by winning her 23rd Grand Slam singles title, surpassing the mark set by Steffi Graf. The following week, Williams competed in the St. Petersburg Ladies' Trophy, but lost in the second round to eventual champion Kristina Mladenovic. At the Indian Wells Masters, Williams came back from 1–6, 1–4 down and saved three match points in the second round to defeat Jelena Jankovic, tying their head-to-head record at seven-all. This was her first win at Indian Wells since 2001. She defeated Lucie Safarova and qualifier Peng Shuai in the third and fourth rounds respectively, avenging her previous losses to both players. She lost to the eventual champion, Elena Vesnina, in the quarterfinals. The following week, Williams scored her first top-ten win since 2015, against Svetlana Kuznetsova in the fourth round of the Miami Open. She defeated No. 1 Angelique Kerber in the quarterfinals, becoming the oldest player to beat a current No. 1. She lost for a third consecutive time to eventual champion Johanna Konta in straight sets in her first semifinal in Miami since 2010. This marked her fourth consecutive loss to eventual champions.

The following week, after receiving a bye, Williams lost to eventual semi-finalist Laura Siegemund in the Volvo Car Open. Having saved match point in the second set, Williams forced two match points in the third set, but Siegemund saved both. After the match, Williams said, "This could be the best match she'll ever play in her life. I basically won the match but still lost." Williams withdrew from the Madrid Open after an injury to her right arm. She made her European clay-court debut at the Italian Open where she defeated Yaroslava Shvedova and Lesia Tsurenko in straight sets. She defeated No. 6 Johanna Konta in the third round, but lost in her first quarterfinal in Rome since 2012 to Garbiñe Muguruza in three sets. During this match, Williams hit a reactionary lob off an attacking forehand that was voted WTA shot of the month. Williams defeated Qiang Wang, Kurumi Nara and Elise Mertens in the first three rounds of the French Open before again losing to Bacsinszky in the fourth round, this time in three sets.

Williams entered Wimbledon as the number 10 seed. She defeated Elise Mertens, Qiang Wang, Naomi Osaka and Ana Konjuh to reach the quarterfinals for the 13th time in her career, where she defeated the 2017 French Open Champion Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets. This was also her 100th career match at Wimbledon. She advanced to her ninth Wimbledon final by defeating Johanna Konta in straight sets in the semifinals. This marked her 87th win at Wimbledon, the third most on the all-time list. This also marked the first season since 2003 that Williams reached two slam finals. Williams lost the final in straight sets to Garbiñe Muguruza. She gained the No. 9 ranking by reaching the final, her second appearance in the top 10 in 2017; she had briefly returned to the top 10 in 2017 by virtue of beating Angelique Kerber in Miami.

Williams began her play in the US Open Series at the Canadian Open. She defeated qualifier Irina-Camelia Begu in three sets and Kateřina Siniaková in straight sets before losing to fifth seed and eventual champion Elina Svitolina in the third round. The next week Williams competed in the Cincinnati Masters tournament. She defeated Alison Riske in the first round before losing to Ashleigh Barty in the second round. Barty was the first person to have defeated Williams and fail to reach at least the semifinals of the event in which they had defeated her in 2017. At the 2017 US Open, Williams defeated Viktória Kužmová, Océane Dodin, and Maria Sakkari to reach the fourth round. Williams reached the second week of all grand slams in a single season for the first time since 2010, and reached the second week of seven consecutive grand slams, the longest streak among WTA players at that time. In the fourth round, Williams beat Carla Suárez Navarro in three sets to reach her twelfth US Open quarterfinal, where she defeated Petra Kvitová in a third set tiebreak during the two-hour, thirty-five minute match. She also guaranteed her return to the top five in the WTA Rankings at the conclusion of the tournament for the first time since January 2011. Williams then lost in three sets to fellow American and eventual champion Sloane Stephens in her first US Open semifinal since 2010.

On September 26, Williams qualified for the WTA Finals for the first time since 2010. In her first tournament after the U.S. Open, Williams defeated Risa Ozaki in the first round of the Hong Kong Open, before falling to Naomi Osaka. At the WTA Finals, Williams was placed in the White Group with Karolína Plíšková, Garbiñe Muguruza and Jelena Ostapenko. After losing her first match to Pliskova in straight sets, Williams defeated Ostapenko in a marathon match lasting almost three and a half hours. She defeated Muguruza in straight sets to progress to the semifinals, avenging her loss to the Spaniard in the Wimbledon final. Williams then defeated Caroline Garcia in three sets to advance to her first final at the year-end championships since 2009, where she finished runner-up to sister Serena Williams. She met Caroline Wozniacki in the final, where she found herself down a set and 0–5. Despite winning the next four games, she lost the match, 4–6, 4–6. She finished the year ranked number 5 and topped the prize money list for this year.

2018–present: Dip in rankings, struggles

2018: 1000th match, struggle with form

Williams began her 2018 season at the Sydney International, where she was the second seed and received a first-round bye. In the second round she lost to German woman Angelique Kerber, who went on to win the tournament. As the fifth seed and defending finalist at the Australian Open, Williams lost in straight sets to Belinda Bencic in the first round, ending her streak of seven consecutive appearances in the second week of the Grand Slams, and as a result dropping considerably in the rankings as well.

Williams competed in the Fed Cup quarter-finals against the Netherlands. She won both her singles matches in straight sets against Arantxa Rus and Richèl Hogenkamp to send the United States into the semifinals. She also played her career 1000th match and earned her 20th Fed Cup singles win.

After receiving a first round bye at the Indian Wells Masters, Williams defeated Sorana Cirstea to set up a match with her sister, Serena, in the third round. She defeated her for the 12th time in her career – her first straight sets victory against her since the 2008 Wimbledon Championships final almost a decade earlier. She then defeated Anastasija Sevastova in the fourth round and Carla Suarez Navarro in the quarterfinals, both in straight sets. She then fell to Daria Kasatkina in a close three set match in the semifinals. The following week at the Miami Open, Williams saved three match points in her third round match against Dutch woman Kiki Bertens. She subsequently knocked out defending champion English woman Johanna Konta in the fourth round, before falling rather unexpectedly to her compatriot and qualifier Danielle Collins in the quarterfinals.

Williams began her clay court season at the Madrid Open where she lost to Anett Kontaveit in the first round. Seeded eighth at the Italian Open, she received a first round bye, before defeating Elena Vesnina in three sets. She lost to Kontaveit again in the third round. Williams also played doubles with compatriot Madison Keys, but the team withdrew after winning their first round match with Keys sustaining an injury. Williams lost to Qiang Wang in the first round of the French Open, marking the first time she has lost in the first round of consecutive Grand Slam events. Williams also reached the third round in doubles with Serena, losing to third seeds Klepac and Martinez Sanchez.

The defending finalist at the Wimbledon, Williams defeated Johanna Larsson and Alexandra Dulgheru in the first and second rounds respectively, before losing to Kiki Bertens in the third round. As a result, she dropped out of the top ten rankings.

Williams began her US Open series at the Silicon Valley Classic after accepting a wildcard, defeating Heather Watson in the second round, before losing in the quarterfinals to eventual finalist Maria Sakkari. She won her opening two rounds at the Rogers Cup before losing 6–2, 6–2 to the then world number one, Romanian woman Simona Halep, hampered by a right knee injury. She withdrew from the Western & Southern Open the following week with the same injury.

At the US Open, Williams defeated 2004 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and Camila Giorgi en route to a third round encounter – and 30th career match overall, with Serena, where she was handed her most-lopsided loss against her in five years. Following the US Open, Venus withdrew from the Wuhan Open and China Open, citing "she was not physically ready to compete".She was scheduled to finish her season at the Luxembourg Open, but pulled out due to a knee injury. She finished the season ranked no. 40, the first time since 2013 she failed to finish the season inside the top 20.

Williams parted ways with her long-time coach David Witt at the end of the 2018 season.

2019: Continued struggles, Out of top 50

Williams began her 2019 season with an exhibition match against Serena at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, which she won 10–8 in the match tiebreak. Williams then played in the ASB Classic in Auckland, where she was seeded sixth. She defeated Victoria Azarenka and Lauren Davis, before losing in the quarterfinals to Bianca Andreescu in three sets. Unseeded at the Australian Open, Williams defeated Mihaela Buzarnescu and French woman Alizé Cornet, both in three sets, to set up a meeting with the topseeded Simona Halep in the third round. Williams lost to Halep 2–6, 3–6.

Ranked 36th and unseeded at the Indian Wells, Williams started with a win over Andrea Petkovic, before coming back from a set and a double break down to beat the third seed Petra Kvitová in the second round. This was Williams's first top five win since the 2017 WTA Finals. She then defeated Christina McHale and Mona Barthel to advance to her third straight Indian Wells quarterfinal, where she lost to the 8th seed and eventual runner-up Angelique Kerber.

Ranked 43rd as she entered the Miami Open, Williams beat Dalila Jakupović, Spanish woman Carla Suarez Navarro and Daria Kasatkina, all in straight sets, before falling again to third ranked Simona Halep in the fourth round.

Williams started her clay court season as a wildcard at the Italian Open. She defeated Belgian woman Elise Mertens in a third set tiebreak (after three hours of play) to set up a second round match with her sister Serena. Due to a left knee injury, however, Serena was forced to withdraw from the match. Williams then fell to eventual runner-up Johanna Konta in the third round in straight sets. She subsequently fell to the ninth seed, Elina Svitolina, in the French Open first round, her second year in a row failing to win a match at the French Open.

For the first time since 2011 and fourth time in her career, Williams played a Wimbledon warmup event after accepting a wildcard into the Nature Valley Classic. She defeated Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the first round to set up a meeting with Wang Qiang, which Williams also won to reach the quarterfinals, where she lost to eventual champion and new world number one Australian Ashleigh Barty. However, thanks to this run, Williams returned to the top fifty in the rankings. She also accepted a wildcard to play doubles with Harriet Dart, losing in the first round in a match tiebreak. At Wimbledon, Williams, whilst unseeded, faced compatriot Coco Gauff, a fifteen-year-old qualifier, the youngest qualifier in the history of the event. Gauff stunned Williams in a tight two-set match: 6–4, 6–4. The loss matched 2012 as her earliest Wimbledon exit. Williams also entered the mixed doubles with Frances Tiafoe and they lost in the second round.

Williams fell in the first round of the Silicon Valley Classic and the Rogers Cup to Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Carla Suarez Navarro, respectively. At the Western & Southern Open, Williams ended her four-match losing streak with a straight sets victory over compatriot Lauren Davis before defeating defending champion and fifth seed Kiki Bertens in a third set tiebreak. Williams then came back from a set down against Donna Vekic to advance to her fourth quarterfinal of 2019, where she fell to eventual champion Madison Keys. Williams next played at the US Open where she lost just one game against Zheng Saisai before falling to eventual semi-finalist Elina Svitolina in the second round.

Williams accepted a wild card to play the Wuhan Open, where she lost in the first round to Danielle Collins. Next, Williams defeated Barbora Strycova in the first round of the China Open before losing to Belinda Bencic after having two match points. Williams's season ended with a first round loss to eventual champion Rebecca Peterson at the Tianjin Open.

2020: Dismal results, Three Grand Slam first round exits, One match win, out of top 75

Williams was scheduled to start her 2020 season at the Brisbane International but withdrew before the tournament began. She also had to withdraw from the Adelaide International.

At the Australian Open, Williams was beaten by Coco Gauff in the first round. At the Mexican Open, where she was the fifth seed, Williams was beaten by qualifier Kaja Juvan.

After a four-month break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Williams returned to competition by playing World TeamTennis.

Her first official tournament back was the 2020 Top Seed Open, where she defeated Victoria Azarenka in the first round, then took on sister Serena for the 31st time in the second round, losing to her in a tight three-set match. Williams then fell to Dayana Yastremska in the first round of the Western & Southern Open. Following the tournament, Williams dropped to no. 67 in the WTA 31 August 2020 rankings.

At the 2020 US Open, Williams lost in straight sets against WTA no. 26 Karolina Muchova in the first round.

Williams travelled to 2020 Italian Open (tennis) in Rome the week after the US Open to join the rescheduled clay court swing. In the first round, she drew Azarenka for the second time in five weeks; on this occasion, Williams lost in straight sets, taking their career head-to-head record to 6–2 in Williams's favor. At the 2020 French Open, Williams crashed out in straight-sets to Anna Karolína Schmiedlová. She finished the year with one match win and a 1–8 tour record. Williams's ranking fell to 78 in the world by the end of the season.

2021: Out of the top 100, lowest ranking in 10 years, 90th Grand Slam appearance

Williams started the 2021 season at the Yarra Valley Classic, where she defeated Arantxa Rus in straight sets before losing in straight sets to number four seed Petra Kvitova. She also reached the second round of the 2021 Australian Open. Since then Williams was on a 5-match losing streak and dropped out of the top 100 in May, before the 2021 French Open, to her lowest ranking since 2011. At the French Open, she lost in the first round to 32nd seed Ekaterina Alexandrova. She received a wildcard for the main draw of the 2021 Wimbledon Championships but she was later upgraded to the main draw as direct entry due to Naomi Osaka's withdrawal. She won her first round match against Mihaela Buzarnescu. This was Venus Williams's record breaking 90th Grand Slam appearance and also her 90th match win at Wimbledon.

Rivalries

Venus vs. Serena Williams

Williams has played younger sister Serena in 31 professional matches since 1998. Overall, Venus has won 12 of those matches and Serena Williams has won 19. They have met in 15 Grand Slam tournaments, with Venus Williams winning five matches to her sister Serena's ten. They have met in nine Grand Slam tournament finals, with Venus winning twice. Of the six occasions where they met in an earlier round, the victor has gone on to win the championship four times (Venus once, in the 2000 Wimbledon Championships).

Beginning with the 2002 French Open, they played each other in four consecutive Grand Slam singles finals, which was the first time in the open era that the same two players had contested four consecutive major finals.

Williams vs. Hingis

Williams and Hingis met 21 times during their careers. The overall head-to-head series is 11–10, in Hingis' favor. Their rivalry is one of the best in women's sports and has been called a "rivalry for the ages". The pair met in the 1997 US Open final during Williams's debut, Hingis won the match in straight sets.

Williams vs. Davenport

Davenport leads the rivalry 14–13 in their 27 professional matches. Williams leads 3–0 in Grand Slam Finals. The most noteworthy match they played was the 2005 Wimbledon championships which broke the record for the longest Wimbledon women's final. Williams won the match and also saved a match point, which makes her only the second woman in the Open Era to save a match point and go on to win a Major final.

Fight for equal prize money

Despite years of protesting by tennis pioneer Billie Jean King and others, in 2005 the French Open and Wimbledon still refused to pay women's and men's players equally through all rounds. In 2005, Williams met with officials from both tournaments, arguing that female tennis players should be paid as much as male tennis players. Although WTA tour President Larry Scott commented that she left "a very meaningful impression", Williams's demands were rejected.

The turning point was an essay published in The Times on the eve of Wimbledon in 2006. In it, Williams accused Wimbledon of being on the "wrong side of history". In response, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and members of Parliament publicly endorsed Williams's arguments. Later that year, the Women's Tennis Association and UNESCO teamed for a campaign to promote gender equality in sports, asking Williams to lead the campaign. Under enormous pressure, Wimbledon announced in February 2007 that it would award equal prize money to all competitors in all rounds, and the French Open followed suit a day later. In the aftermath, the Chicago Sun-Times cited Williams as "the single factor" that "changed the minds of the boys" and a leader whose "willingness to take a public stand separates her not only from most of her female peers, but also from our most celebrated male athletes". Williams herself commented, "Somewhere in the world a little girl is dreaming of holding a giant trophy in her hands and being viewed as an equal to boys who have similar dreams."

Williams herself became the first woman to benefit from the equalization of prize money at Wimbledon, as she won the 2007 tournament and was awarded the same amount as the male winner Roger Federer. Williams's fight for equality was documented in Nine for IX, Venus Vs. It premiered on July 2, 2013.

Other on court activities

1998: Karsten Braasch vs. the Williams sisters

Williams competed in a "Battle of the Sexes", along with her sister Serena Williams, against Karsten Braasch at the 1998 Australian Open, who at the time was ranked 203rd. A decade and a half younger than Braasch, who was described by one journalist as "a man whose training regime centered around a pack of cigarettes and more than a couple bottles of ice cold lager." He nonetheless defeated both sisters, playing a single set against each, beating Serena Williams 6–1 and Venus Williams 6–2. Braasch said afterwards, "500 and above, no chance." He added that he had played like someone ranked 600th in order to keep the game "fun".

Personal life

Williams for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's "National Wear Red Day"

In 2003, at age 31, Yetunde Price, Venus and Serena Williams's older sister, was shot dead in Compton, California, near the courts on which the sisters once practiced. Price was the Williams sisters' personal assistant. The Williams family issued this statement shortly after the death: "We are extremely shocked, saddened and devastated by the shooting death of our beloved Yetunde. She was our nucleus and our rock. She was a personal assistant, confidante, and adviser to her sisters, and her death leaves a void that can never be filled. Our grief is overwhelming, and this is the saddest day of our lives."

On December 13, 2007, Williams received her associate degree in fashion design from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale.

In 2011, Williams was forced to withdraw from the US Open before her second-round match, following a Sjögren's syndrome diagnosis. After the diagnosis, she adopted a vegan diet, as well as reducing her intake of calories and sugars, which helped get her back to match winning fitness.

In 2015, Williams received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Indiana University East. Starting in 2011, she completed the degree through a reciprocal agreement between the university and the Women's Tennis Association which allows athletes to play tennis professionally while studying online. Her ultimate goal is to get an MBA in the near future.

Williams is a Jehovah's Witness.

Relationships

Williams dated golfer Hank Kuehne, and was a visible presence from the time of Wimbledon 2007 until 2010. In 2012, Williams met Cuban model Elio Pis when he was hired as an underwear model for her clothing line and started dating until 2015. Williams dated publishing heir Nicholas Hammond for two years until 2019.

2017 car accident

On June 9, 2017, Williams was driving in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, when another car collided with her SUV before she cleared the intersection, an accident that killed a 78-year-old man and injured another person in the second vehicle. Police originally said she was "at fault" for the accident, but after reviewing surveillance video, they determined on July 7 that she had not caused it.

On December 21, 2017, authorities determined that the accident occurred after Williams's vehicle was unlawfully cut off by an unidentified driver of a third vehicle, making a left turn in front of Williams. A nearby surveillance camera had recorded Williams lawfully entering the intersection. Authorities determined the accident was caused by the unidentified third driver, not Williams.

Business ventures

Williams is the chief executive officer of her interior design firm V Starr Interiors located in Jupiter, Florida. Her company designed the set of the Tavis Smiley Show on the Public Broadcasting Service, the Olympic athletes' apartments as part of New York City's failed bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, and residences and businesses in the Palm Beach, Florida, area.

In 2001, Williams was named one of the 30 most powerful women in America by the Ladies Home Journal.

In 2007, Williams teamed with retailer Steve & Barry's to launch her own fashion line, EleVen. "I love fashion and the idea that I am using my design education to actually create clothing and footwear that I will wear on and off the tennis court is a dream come true for me. The vision has been to create a collection that will allow women to enjoy an active lifestyle while remaining fashionable at the same time. I'm thrilled with everything we've created to launch EleVen." Williams's line, EleVen, made its debut at the 2012 New York fashion week. It was modeled by athletes as opposed to models, a choice made by Williams herself to feature the sort of people the line was designed for. She flaunts her vibrant outfits each time she steps on the court.

In June 2009, Williams was named 77th in the Top 100 Most Powerful Celebrities compiled by Forbes magazine.

In August 2009, Venus Williams and her sister Serena Williams became part-owners of the Miami Dolphins. The announcement was made during a press conference overlooking the practice field. This made the sisters the first African-American women to obtain ownership in an NFL franchise. Stephen M. Ross, the majority owner of the Dolphins, said "We are thrilled to have Venus and Serena Williams join the Dolphins as limited partners. They are among the most admired athletes in the world and have become global ambassadors for the game of tennis. Their addition to our ownership group further reflects our commitment to connect with aggressively and embrace the great diversity that makes South Florida a multicultural gem."

In late June 2010, Williams released her first book, Come to Win; on How Sports Can Help You Top Your Profession, which she co-wrote with Kelly E. Carter. In promotion of the book she embarked on a tour around America in support of the release, whilst also appearing on several talk shows, including The Early Show and Good Morning America. This gave her a place in the Top 5 of The New York Times Best Seller List.

Recognition

In 2005, Tennis Magazine ranked her as the 25th-best player in 40 years.

In June 2011, she was named one of the "30 Legends of Women's Tennis: Past, Present and Future" by Time.

In March 2012, Tennis Channel aired a television series "100 greatest tennis players of all time", where she was ranked as 22nd. During the programme Williams was complimented by rival Lindsay Davenport, with Davenport saying 'Venus had more power than any other player on tour'.

In 2018, Tennis Magazine ranked her as the 8th-best female tennis player of the Open Era.

In May 2020, the Tennis Channel ranked Williams as the 8th greatest female tennis player of all time.

In September 2020, Newsday, ranked Venus as the 8th greatest female tennis player of all time.

Equipment

Williams sisters with Oracene Price

Coach: Richard Williams, Oracene Price

Racket: Wilson Blade 104

Clothing: EleVen

Shoes: Nike

In 1995, when Williams was 14 years old, she signed an endorsement deal with Reebok and wore the company's apparel and shoes. She used a Wilson Hammer 6.2 Stretch racket.

Career statistics

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline[

KeyW F SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH

(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held. SR=strike rate (events won/competed)

To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

World TeamTennis

Williams has played 14 seasons of World TeamTennis, making her debut in 2000 with the St. Louis Aces, playing a season with the Delaware Smash in 2005, three seasons with the Philadelphia Freedoms from 2006 to 2008, and eight seasons with the Washington Kastles in 2010–2015, 2017–2019. She has five King Trophies, claiming her first with the Freedoms in 2006 and four trophies with the Kastles in 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2015. She was also named the 2012 WTT Final MVP for her efforts. It was announced she will be joining the Washington Kastles during the 2020 WTT season set to begin July 12 at The Greenbrier.

Records and achievements

These records were attained in Open Era of tennis.

Records in bold indicate peer-less achievements.

Records in italics are currently active streaks.

Championship Years Record accomplished Player tied

1997 French Open – 2021 Wimbledon 1997–2021 Most appearances (90) in Grand Slam singles draw Stands alone

1999 French Open – 2016 Wimbledon 1999–2016 First 14 Grand Slam doubles finals won (with Serena Williams) Serena Williams

2002 French Open – 2003 Australian Open 2002–2003 Four consecutive runner-up finishes Stands alone

2002 French Open – 2003 Australian Open 2002–2003 Four consecutive runner-up finishes to the same player (Serena Williams) Stands alone

2003 Australian Open – 2017 Australian Open 2003–2017 14 years between first and last final Chris Evert

Serena Williams

2000 Wimbledon – 2017 Wimbledon 2000–2017 17 years between first and last final Serena Williams

Wimbledon 2005 Longest women's singles final Lindsay Davenport

Wimbledon 2007 Lowest-ranked champion (31st) Stands alone

Wimbledon 2007 Lowest-seeded champion (23rd) Stands alone

Wimbledon 2008 Fastest serve by a woman (129 mph) Stands alone

US Open 2007 Fastest serve by a woman (129 mph) Stands alone

Summer Olympics 2000–2012 4 Olympic gold medals Serena Williams

Summer Olympics 2000–2016 5 Olympic finals Stands alone

Summer Olympics 2000–2012 3 doubles Olympic gold medals (with Serena Williams) Serena Williams

Summer Olympics 2000–2016 Most Olympic medals won by a male or female player (5) Kathleen McKane Godfree

Summer Olympics 2000–2016 Has won an Olympic medal in all three events (singles, doubles & mixed) Kathleen McKane Godfree

Summer Olympics 2000–2016 Has won an Olympic medal at four Olympic Games Stands alone

Miami Open 1998–2002 22 consecutive singles matches won at this tournament Steffi Graf

Dubai Tennis Championships 2009–2015 16 consecutive singles matches won at this tournament Stands alone

Dubai Tennis Championships 2010–2014 2 consecutive singles titles without dropping a set Justine Henin

Dubai Tennis Championships 2014 Only unseeded player to have won in singles and as a wildcard Stands alone

Connecticut Open 1999–2002 4 consecutive singles titles Caroline Wozniacki

Connecticut Open 1999–2000 2 consecutive singles titles without dropping a set Stands alone

U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships 1998–2007 Most singles titles won at this tournament (3) Stands alone

Southern California Open 1999–2002 4 consecutive singles finals Tracy Austin

Mexican Open 2009–2010 2 consecutive singles titles Sara Errani

Lesia Tsurenko

Year-end championships 1998-2008–2015 Won all three title Grand Slam Cup, WTA Finals and WTA Elite Trophy in singles

Awards

See also: WTA Awards

1995

Sports Image Foundation Award for conducting tennis clinics in low-income areas1997

WTA Newcomer of the Year

September's Olympic Committee Female Athlete1998

Tennis Magazine's Most Improved Player2000

WTA Player of the Year

WTA Doubles Team of the Year (with Serena Williams)

Sports Illustrated for Women's Sportswoman of the Year

Teen Choice Awards – Extraordinary Achievement Award

Forbes The Celebrity 100 (No. 62)

Women's Sports Foundation Sportswoman of the Year for team sports (with Serena Williams)2001

Best Female Tennis Player ESPY Award

EMMA Best Sport Personality Award

Forbes The Celebrity 100 (No. 57)2002

Best Female Athlete ESPY Award

Best Female Tennis Player ESPY Award

Forbes The Celebrity 100 (No. 60)2003

The President's Award of the 34th NAACP Image Awards

Forbes The Celebrity 100 (No. 65)2004

Harris Poll Top 10 Favorite Female Sports Star (No. 1)

Forbes The Celebrity 100 (No. 77)2005

Glamour Magazine's Women of the Year Award

Forbes The Celebrity 100 (No. 81)

Harris Poll Top 10 Favorite Female Sports Star (No. 3)2006

Best Female Tennis Player ESPY Award

BET's Best Female Athlete of the Year

Harris Poll Top 10 Favorite Female Sports Star (No. 1)

Forbes The Celebrity 100 (No. 90)2007

Gitanjali Diamond Award

Harris Poll Top 10 Favorite Female Sports Star (No. 3)

Vogue Magazine Top 10 Best Dressed List for 20072008

Whirlpool 6th Sense Player of the Year Award

Harris Poll Top 10 Favorite Female Sports Star (No. 3)

Anti-Defamation League Americanism Award

Whirlpool 6th Sense Player of the Year Award

ITF Women's Doubles World Champion (with Serena Williams)

WTA Doubles Team of the Year (with Serena Williams)

WTA Fan Favorite Doubles Team of the Year (with Serena Williams)

Doha 21st Century Leaders Awards – Outstanding Leadership

Forbes The Celebrity 100 (No. 77)

Harris Poll Top 10 Favorite Female Sports Star (No. 2)

2009

WTA doubles team of the year (with Serena Williams)

WTA Fan Favorite Doubles Team of the Year (with Serena Williams)2010

Caesars Tennis Classic Achievement Award

Forbes The Celebrity 100 (No. 83)

YWCA GLA Phenomenal Woman of the Year Award

WTA Fan Favorite Doubles Team of the Year (with Serena Williams)

Forbes 30 Utterly Inspiring Role Models

Forbes 100 Most Powerful Women in the World (No. 60)

Harris Poll Top 10 Favorite Female Sports Star (No. 2)

Jefferson Award for Outstanding Public Service in Professional Sports2011

Forbes The Celebrity 100 (No. 86)

TIME Magazine 30 Legends of Women's Tennis

Forbes Most Powerful Black Women In The U.S. (No. 10)

Harris Poll Top 10 Favorite Female Sports Star (No. 2)2012

World TeamTennis Finals Most Valuable Player

WTA Player Service Award

WTA Fan Favorite Doubles Team of the Year (with Serena Williams)2013

BET Black Girls Rock! Star Power Award

Harris Poll Top 10 Favorite Female Sports Star (No. 3)

WTA Player Service Award2014

Harris Poll Top 10 Favorite Female Sports Star (No. 3)

WTA Fan Favorite Dress (2014 Wimbledon)

Tennis Magazine Top 10 Matches of 2014 No. 3 (2014 Wimbledon 3rd Round)

ESPN Tennis Top 10 Women's Matches of 2014 No. 3 (2014 Wimbledon 3rd Round)2015

US Open Sportsmanship Award

WTA February Best Dressed Player

WTA Roland Garros Best Dressed Player

WTA October Best Dressed Player

Harris Poll Top 10 Favorite Female Sports Star (No. 3)

Harris Poll Top 10 Greatest Tennis Player (No. 5)

WTA Comeback Player of the Year

WTA Social Fan Favorite – #TBT of the Year2016

Sports Illustrated Fashionable 50 Athletes

Nielsen Most Marketable Athletes in the U.S. (No. 6)2017

ESPN WTA Player of the Year

Nielsen Most Marketable Athletes in the U.S. (No. 2)2019

Sports Illustrated Fashionable 50 Athletes

Filmography

Television

YearTitleRoleNetworkNotes2020 Game On! Self CBS Also executive producer

Vandana Katariya

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vandana KatariyaPersonal information

Born 15 April 1992

Roshnabad, Uttar Pradesh

(now Uttarakhand, India)

Height 1.59 m (5 ft 3 in)

Weight 50 kg (110 lb)

Playing position Forward

Club information

Current club Railways

National team

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2010– India 218 (58)

Women's field hockey

Representing India

2018 Jakarta Team

2014 Incheon Team

2017 Gifu Team

2013 Mönchengladbach Team

Vandana Katariya (born 15 April 1992) is an Indian field hockey player. She plays as a forward in the Indian national team. Vandana rose to prominence in 2013, being India's top goal-scorer in the 2013 Women's Hockey Junior World Cup, where India won a bronze medal; she scored five goals in the tournament, the third by any player.

Kataria has played for the senior national team in more than 200 international matches. She was a part of the Indian team that won a bronze medal at the 2014 Asian Games and represented India at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She has cited Argentine Luciana Aymar as her favorite player.

Early life

Katariya was born on 15 April 1992, in Roshnabad - Haridwar, Uttar Pradesh (now in Uttarakhand). Her father Nahar Singh works as a master technician in BHEL, Haridwar. Hailing from Roshnabad in Haridwar district, Vandana is one of the most improved players upfront for India in the last couple of years. The youngster first made her junior international debut in 2006 before going on to make her senior international debut four years later.

Career

Katariya was picked in the Indian junior team in 2006 and she made it to the senior national team in 2010. She was a part of the team that won bronze at the 2013 Junior World Cup in Mönchengladbach, Germany. She was India's top scorer in the tournament, having scored 5 goals in 4 games. In an interview she called the bronze medal her favorite moment, "It has to be when we won the bronze medal at the World Cup in Germany. My father was called by the media and he had tears in his eyes. So, making my father proud is the best moment of my hockey career." She won her 100th cap while playing against Canada in 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. "We clearly missed Vandana during the Hawke's Bay Cup. Her being back in the team strengthens our attack as she is good with speed and skill, to break the defence chain, which at times leaves the opponents on the back foot," said Kataria's 21-year-old teammate Poonam Rani. Katariya was honored with Hockey India's Player of the Year Award in 2014. At the Round 2 of the 2014–15 FIH Hockey World League, she finished with 11 goals top-scorer, with India winning the tournament. "In my book, Vandana is one of the top forwards in world hockey. She is quick, can score goals, can defend and is improving all the time," Indian women’s hockey team’s stop-gap coach Roelant Oltmans said after her performance in Round 2 League. In November 2016, Katariya was retained as the skipper of the Indian women's hockey team for the Test Series against Australia and led the team in Melbourne from 23 to 30 November

After qualifying for 2016 Summer Olympics Katariya said :

Our morale is high. Our performance in Antwerp gave us a lot of confidence. We beat a lot of teams that we'll be facing in Rio.

The Indian team won a silver at the Asian Champion Trophy, 2018, losing to Korea. Vandana Katariya won the player of the tournament award. Katariya played her 200th match in the third of the five-match series in India's tour of Spain in June 2018 ahead of the World Cup. She was named in the 16-member squad for the World Cup.

In the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Vandana became first Indian woman to score an Olympic hat-trick in hockey. Her family was subjected to casteist slurs after India lost to Argentina in the semifinals. Certain upper-caste men hurled abuses at Katariya's family saying that the team lost the Olympic semifinal as it had too many Dalit players.

Wayne Gretzky

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wayne Gretzky

Hockey Hall of Fame, 1999

Gretzky in 2006

Born January 26, 1961

Brantford, Ontario, Canada

Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)

Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)

Position Centre

Shot Left

Played for Indianapolis Racers

National team Canada

NHL Draft Undrafted

Playing career 1978–1999

Website Official website

Wayne Douglas Gretzky CC (/ˈɡrɛtski/; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One", he has been called the greatest hockey player ever by many sportswriters, players, the NHL itself, and by The Hockey News, based on extensive surveys of hockey writers, ex-players, general managers and coaches. Gretzky is the leading goal scorer, assist producer and point scorer in NHL history, and has more assists in his career than any other player scored total points. He is the only NHL player to total over 200 points in one season, a feat he accomplished four times. In addition, Gretzky tallied over 100 points in 16 professional seasons, 14 of them consecutive. At the time of his retirement in 1999, he held 61 NHL records: 40 regular season records, 15 playoff records, and 6 All-Star records.

Born and raised in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, Gretzky honed his skills at a backyard rink and regularly played minor hockey at a level far above his peers. Despite his unimpressive size and strength, Gretzky's intelligence, stamina, and reading of the game were unrivaled. He was adept at dodging checks from opposing players, and consistently anticipated where the puck was going to be and executed the right move at the right time. Gretzky became known for setting up behind his opponent's net, an area that was nicknamed "Gretzky's office".

Gretzky was the top scorer in the 1978 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. In June 1978, he signed with the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association (WHA), where he briefly played before being traded to the Edmonton Oilers. When the WHA folded, the Oilers joined the NHL, where he established many scoring records and led his team to four Stanley Cup championships. Gretzky's trade to the Los Angeles Kings on August 9, 1988, had an immediate impact on the team's performance, ultimately leading them to the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals, and he is credited with popularizing hockey in California. Gretzky played briefly for the St. Louis Blues before finishing his career with the New York Rangers. Gretzky captured nine Hart Trophies as the most valuable player, 10 Art Ross Trophies for most points in a season, two Conn Smythe Trophies as playoff MVP and five Lester B. Pearson Awards (now called the Ted Lindsay Award) for most outstanding player as judged by his peers. He led the league in goal-scoring five times and assists 16 times. He also won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for sportsmanship and performance five times, and often spoke out against fighting in hockey.

After his retirement in 1999, Gretzky was immediately inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, making him the most recent player to have the waiting period waived. The NHL retired his jersey number 99 league-wide, making him the only player to receive such an honour. Gretzky was one of six players voted to the International Ice Hockey Federation's (IIHF) Centennial All-Star Team. Gretzky became executive director for the Canadian national men's hockey team during the 2002 Winter Olympics, in which the team won a gold medal. In 2000, he became part-owner of the Phoenix Coyotes, and following the 2004–05 NHL lock-out, he became the team's head coach. In 2004, Gretzky was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. In September 2009, following the Phoenix Coyotes' bankruptcy, Gretzky resigned as head coach and relinquished his ownership share. In October 2016, he became partner and vice-chairman of Oilers Entertainment Group.

Early years

Wayne Douglas Gretzky was born on January 26, 1961 in Brantford, Ontario, the son of Phyllis Leone (Hockin) and Walter Gretzky. The couple married in 1960, and lived in an apartment in Brantford, where Walter worked for Bell Telephone Canada. The family moved into a house on Varadi Avenue in Brantford seven months after Wayne was born, chosen partly because its yard was flat enough to make an ice rink in winter. Wayne was joined by a sister, Kim (born 1963), and brothers Keith, Glen and Brent. The family would regularly visit the farm of Wayne's grandparents, Tony and Mary, and watch Hockey Night in Canada together. By age two, Wayne was trying to score goals against Mary using a souvenir stick. The farm was where Wayne skated on ice for the first time, aged two years, 10 months.

Gretzky's first pair of skates at the Hockey Hall of Fame, worn when he was three years old

Walter taught Wayne, Keith, Brent, Glen and their friends hockey on a rink he made in the back yard of the family home, nicknamed the "Wally Coliseum". Drills included skating around Javex bleach bottles and tin cans, and flipping pucks over scattered hockey sticks to be able to pick up the puck again in full flight. Additionally, Walter gave the advice to "skate where the puck's going, not where it's been". Wayne was a classic prodigy whose extraordinary skills made him the target of jealous parents.

The team Gretzky played on at age six was otherwise composed of 10-year-olds. His first coach, Dick Martin, remarked that he handled the puck better than the 10-year-olds. According to Martin, "Wayne was so good that you could have a boy of your own who was a tremendous hockey player, and he'd get overlooked because of what the Gretzky kid was doing." The sweaters for 10-year-olds were far too large for Gretzky, who coped by tucking the sweater into his pants on the right side. Gretzky continued doing this throughout his NHL career.

By age 10, Gretzky had scored an astonishing 378 goals and 139 assists in just one season with the Brantford Nadrofsky Steelers. His play attracted media attention beyond his hometown of Brantford, including a profile by John Iaboni in the Toronto Telegram in October 1971. In the 1974 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament, Gretzky scored 26 points playing for Brantford. By age 13, he had scored over 1,000 goals. His play attracted considerable negative attention from other players' parents, including those of his teammates, and he was often booed. According to Walter, the "capper" was being booed on "Brantford Day" at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens in February 1975.

When Gretzky was 14, his family arranged for him to move to and play hockey in Toronto, partly to further his career, and partly to remove him from the uncomfortable pressure he faced in his hometown. The Gretzkys had to legally challenge the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association to win Wayne the right to play in a different area, which was disallowed at the time.The Gretzkys won, and Wayne played Junior B hockey with the Toronto Nationals, in a league that included 20-year-olds. He earned Rookie of the Year honours in the Metro Junior B Hockey League in 1975–76, with 60 points in 28 games. The following year, as a 15–16-year-old, he had 72 points in 32 games with the same team, renamed the Seneca Nationals.

Despite his offensive statistics – scoring 132 points in 60 games in Junior B – two teams bypassed him in the 1977 Ontario Major Junior Hockey League draft of 16-year-olds. The Oshawa Generals picked Tom McCarthy first, and the Niagara Falls Flyers picked Steve Peters second overall. With the third pick, the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds selected Gretzky, even though Walter Gretzky had told the team Wayne would not move to Sault Ste. Marie, a northern Ontario city that inflicts a heavy travelling schedule on its junior team. The Gretzkys made an arrangement with a local family they knew and Wayne played for the Greyhounds, at age 16. It was with the Greyhounds that Gretzky first wore the number 99 on his jersey. He originally wanted to wear number 9—for his hockey hero Gordie Howe—but it was already being worn by teammate Brian Gualazzi. At coach Muzz MacPherson's suggestion, Gretzky settled on 99.

World Hockey Association

In 1978, the World Hockey Association (WHA) league was in competition with the established NHL. The NHL did not allow the signing of players under age 20, but the WHA had no rules regarding such signings. Several WHA teams courted Gretzky, notably the Indianapolis Racers and the Birmingham Bulls. Birmingham Bulls owner John F. Bassett wanted to confront the NHL by signing as many young and promising superstars as possible and saw Gretzky as the most promising young prospect. However, it was Racers owner Nelson Skalbania who, on June 12, 1978, signed 17-year-old Gretzky to a seven-year personal services contract worth US$1.75 million. Gretzky scored his first professional goal against Dave Dryden of the Edmonton Oilers in his fifth game, and his second goal four seconds later. Skalbania opted to have Gretzky sign a personal-services contract rather than a standard player contract in part because he knew a deal to take some WHA teams into the NHL was in the works. He also knew that the Racers could not hope to be included among those teams, and hoped to keep the Racers alive long enough to collect compensation from the surviving teams when the WHA dissolved, as well as any funds earned from selling the young star.

Gretzky played only eight games for Indianapolis. The Racers were losing $40,000 per game. Skalbania told Gretzky he would be moved, offering him a choice between the Edmonton Oilers and the Winnipeg Jets. On the advice of his agent, Gretzky picked the Oilers, but the move was not that simple. On November 2, Gretzky, goaltender Eddie Mio and forward Peter Driscoll were put on a private plane, not knowing where they would land and what team they would be joining. While in the air, Skalbania worked on the deal. Skalbania offered to play a game of backgammon with Winnipeg owner Michael Gobuty, the stakes being if Gobuty won, he would get Gretzky and if he lost, he had to give Skalbania a share of the Jets. Gobuty turned down the proposal and the players landed in Edmonton. Mio paid the $4,000 bill for the flight with his credit card. Skalbania sold Gretzky, Mio and Driscoll to his former partner, and then-owner of the Edmonton Oilers, Peter Pocklington. Although the announced price was $850,000, Pocklington actually paid $700,000. The money was not enough to keep the Racers alive; they folded that December.

One of the highlights of Gretzky's season was his appearance in the 1979 WHA All-Star Game. The format was a three-game series between the WHA All-Stars and Dynamo Moscow played at Edmonton's Northlands Coliseum. The WHA All-Stars were coached by Jacques Demers, who put Gretzky on a line with his boyhood idol Gordie Howe and Howe's son, Mark. In game one, the line scored seven points, and the WHA All-Stars won by a score of 4–2. In game two, Gretzky and Mark Howe each scored a goal and Gordie Howe picked up an assist as the WHA won 4–2.The line did not score in the final game, but the WHA won by a score of 4–3

On Gretzky's 18th birthday, January 26, 1979, Pocklington signed him to a 10-year personal services contract (the longest in hockey history at the time) worth C$3 million, with options for 10 more years. Gretzky finished third in the league in scoring at 110 points, behind Robbie Ftorek and Réal Cloutier. Gretzky captured the Lou Kaplan Trophy as rookie of the year and helped the Oilers to first place in the league. The Oilers reached the Avco World Trophy finals, where they lost to the Winnipeg Jets in six games. It was Gretzky's only year in the WHA, as the league folded following the season.

NHL career

Edmonton Oilers (1979–1988)

After the World Hockey Association folded in 1979, the Edmonton Oilers and three other teams joined the NHL. Under the merger agreement the Oilers, like the other surviving WHA teams, were to be allowed to protect two goaltenders and two skaters from being reclaimed by the established NHL teams in the 1979 NHL Expansion Draft. The Oilers kept Gretzky on their roster, making him a "priority selection".

Gretzky's success in the WHA carried over into the NHL, despite some critics suggesting he would struggle in what was considered the bigger, tougher and more talented league.

A statue, located outside Rogers Place in Edmonton, of Gretzky hoisting the Stanley Cup, which the Oilers won four times with him. Sculpted by John Weaver.

In his first NHL season, 1979–80, Gretzky was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's Most Valuable Player (the first of eight in a row) and tied for the scoring lead with Marcel Dionne with 137 points. Although Gretzky played 79 games to Dionne's 80, Dionne was awarded the Art Ross Trophy because he had scored more goals (53 to 51). The season still stands as the highest point total by a first-year player in NHL history. Gretzky became the youngest player to score 50 goals, but was not eligible for the Calder Memorial Trophy, given to the top NHL rookie, because of his previous year of WHA experience. The Calder was instead awarded to Boston Bruins defenceman Ray Bourque.

In his second season, Gretzky won the Art Ross (the first of seven consecutive) with a then-record 164 points, breaking both Bobby Orr's record for assists in a season (102) and Phil Esposito's record for points in a season (152). He won his second straight Hart Trophy. In the first game of the 1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, against the Montreal Canadiens, Gretzky had five assists, a single game playoff record.

During the 1981–82 season, Gretzky surpassed a record that had stood for 35 years: 50 goals in 50 games, first set by Maurice "Rocket" Richard during the 1944–45 NHL season and tied by Mike Bossy during the 1980–81 NHL season. Gretzky accomplished the feat in only 39 games. His 50th goal of the season came on December 30, 1981, in the final seconds of a 7–5 win against the Philadelphia Flyers and was his fifth of the game. Later that season, Gretzky broke Esposito's record for most goals in a season (76) on February 24, 1982, scoring three to help defeat the Buffalo Sabres 6–3. He ended the 1981–82 season with records of 92 goals, 120 assists, and 212 points in 80 games, becoming the only player in NHL history to break the two hundred-point mark. That year, Gretzky became the first hockey player and first Canadian to be named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year. He was also named 1982 "Sportsman of the Year" by Sports Illustrated. The Canadian Press also named Gretzky Newsmaker of the Year in 1982.

The following seasons saw Gretzky break his own assists record three more times (125 in 1982–83, 135 in 1984–85 and 163 in 1985–86); he also bettered that mark (120 assists) in 1986–87 with 121 and 1990–91 with 122, and his point record one more time (215, in 1985–86). By the time he finished playing in Edmonton, he held or shared 49 NHL records.

The Edmonton Oilers finished first overall in their last WHA regular season. The same success was not immediate when they joined the NHL, but within four seasons, the Oilers were competing for the Stanley Cup. The Oilers were a young, strong team featuring, in addition to Gretzky, future Hall of Famers including forwards Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson and Jari Kurri; defenceman Paul Coffey; and goaltender Grant Fuhr. Gretzky was its captain from 1983 to 1988. In 1983, they made it to the Stanley Cup Finals, only to be swept by the three-time defending champion New York Islanders. The following season, the Oilers met the Islanders in the Finals again, this time winning the Stanley Cup, their first of five in seven years.

Gretzky was named an officer of the Order of Canada on June 25, 1984, for outstanding contribution to the sport of hockey. Since the Order ceremonies are always held during the hockey season, it took 13 years and 7 months—and two Governors General—before he could accept the honour. He was promoted to Companion of the Order of Canada in 2009 "for his continued contributions to the world of hockey, notably as one of the best players of all time, as well as for his social engagement as a philanthropist, volunteer and role model for countless young people". Five times between 1981–82 and 1986–87, Gretzky led the NHL in goals scored. The Oilers also won the Stanley Cup with Gretzky in 1985, 1987 and 1988.

When the Oilers joined the NHL, Gretzky continued to play under his personal services contract with Oilers owner Peter Pocklington. This arrangement came under increased scrutiny by the mid-1980s, especially following reports that Pocklington had used the contract as collateral to help secure a $31 million loan with the Alberta government-owned Alberta Treasury Branches.Amid growing concern around the NHL that a financial institution might be able to lay claim to Gretzky's rights in the event the heavily leveraged Pocklington were to declare bankruptcy, as well as growing dissatisfaction on the part of Gretzky and his advisers, in 1987, Gretzky and Pocklington agreed to replace the personal services contract with a standard NHL contract.

The Gretzky rule

In June 1985, as part of a package of five rule changes to be implemented for the 1985–86 season, the NHL Board of Governors decided to introduce offsetting penalties, where neither team lost a man when coincidental penalties were called. The effect of calling offsetting penalties was felt immediately in the NHL, because during the early 1980s, when the Gretzky-era Oilers entered a four-on-four or three-on-three situation with an opponent, they frequently used the space on the ice to score one or more goals. Gretzky held a press conference one day after being awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy, criticizing the NHL for punishing teams and players who previously benefited. The rule change became known as "the Gretzky rule." The rule was reversed for the 1992–93 season.

Strategy and effect on NHL play

Gretzky had a major influence on the style of play of the Edmonton Oilers and in the NHL as a whole, helping to inspire a more team-based strategy. Using this approach, the Oilers, led by Gretzky, became the highest-scoring team in NHL history.

"He was, I think, the first Canadian forward to play a true team game", said hockey writer and former NHL goaltender Ken Dryden. The focus of the game prior to Gretzky's arrival, he said, especially among the Canadian teams, was on the player with the puck—in getting the puck to a star player who would make the big play. "Gretzky reversed that. He knew he wasn't big enough, strong enough, or even fast enough to do what he wanted to do if others focused on him. Like a magician, he had to direct attention elsewhere, to his four teammates on the ice with him, to create the momentary distraction in order to move unnoticed into the open ice where size and strength didn't matter. . . . Gretzky made his opponents compete with five players, not one, and he made his teammates full partners to the game. He made them skate to his level and pass and finish up to his level or they would be embarrassed."

Between 1982 and 1985, the Edmonton Oilers averaged 423 goals a season, when no previous team had scored 400, and Gretzky on his own had averaged 207 points, when no player before had scored more than 152 in one year. Dryden wrote in his book The Game, "In the past, defenders and teams had learned to devise strategies to stop opponents with the puck. To stop them without it, that was interference. But now, if players without the puck skated just as hard as those with it, but faster, and dodged and darted to open ice just as determinedly, but more effectively, how did you shut them down?"

In this, Gretzky added his considerable influence as the preeminent NHL star of his day to that of the Soviets, who had also developed a more team-style of play, and had successfully used it against the best NHL teams, beginning in the 1972 Summit Series. "The Soviets and Gretzky changed the NHL game", says Dryden. "Gretzky, the kid from Brantford with the Belarusian name, was the acceptable face of Soviet hockey. No Canadian kid wanted to play like Makarov or Larionov. They all wanted to play like Gretzky."

At the same time, Gretzky recognized the contributions of their coach in the success of the Oilers: "Under the guidance of Glen Sather, our Oiler teams became adept at generating speed, developing finesse, and learning a transition game with strong European influences."

Gretzky explains his style of play further:

People think that to be a good player you have to pick the puck up, deke around ninety-three guys and take this ungodly slap shot. No. Let the puck do all the moving and you get yourself in the right place. I don't care if you're Carl Lewis, you can't outskate that little black thing. Just move the puck: give it up, get it back, give it up. It's like Larry Bird. The hardest work he does is getting open. The jumpshot is cake. That's all hockey is: open ice. That's my whole strategy: Find Open Ice. Chicago coach Mike Keenan said it best: "There's a spot on the ice that's no-man's land, and all the good goal scorers find it." It's a piece of frozen real estate that's just in between the defense and the forward

"The Trade"

Two hours after the Oilers won the Stanley Cup in 1988, Gretzky learned from his father that the Oilers were planning to deal him to another team. Walter Gretzky had known for months after having been tipped off by Skalbania, but kept the news from Wayne so as not to upset him. According to Walter, Wayne was being "shopped" to Los Angeles, Detroit, and Vancouver, and Pocklington needed money as his other business ventures were not doing well. At first, Gretzky did not want to leave Edmonton, but he later received a call while on his honeymoon from Los Angeles Kings owner Bruce McNall, who asked permission to meet and discuss the deal. Gretzky informed McNall that his prerequisites for a deal to take place were that Marty McSorley and Mike Krushelnyski join him as teammates in Los Angeles. Both McNall and Pocklington quickly agreed. After the details of the trade were finalized by the two owners, one final condition had to be met: Gretzky had to call Pocklington and request a trade. When Pocklington told Oilers general manager and head coach Sather about his plans to trade Gretzky to Los Angeles, Sather tried to stop the deal, but when he found out that Gretzky had been involved in the negotiations, he changed his attitude and requested Luc Robitaille in exchange. The Kings refused, instead offering Jimmy Carson.

On August 9, 1988, in a move that heralded significant change in the NHL, the Oilers traded Gretzky (along with McSorley and Krushelnyski) to the Kings for Carson, Martin Gélinas, $15 million in cash, and the Kings' first-round draft picks in 1989 (later traded to the New Jersey Devils, who used it to select Jason Miller), 1991, (used to select Martin Ručínský), and 1993, (used to select Nick Stajduhar). "The Trade", as it came to be known, upset Canadians to the extent that New Democratic Party House Leader Nelson Riis demanded the government block it, and Pocklington was burned in effigy outside Northlands Coliseum. Gretzky himself was considered a "traitor" by some Canadians for turning his back on his adopted hometown and his home country. His motivation was widely rumoured to be the furtherance of his wife's acting career.

In Gretzky's first appearance in Edmonton after the trade, a game nationally televised in Canada, he received a four-minute standing ovation. The arena was sold out, and the attendance of 17,503 was the Oilers' biggest crowd ever to that date. Large cheers erupted for his first shift, his first touch of the puck, his two assists, and Mark Messier's body check of Gretzky into the boards. After the game, Gretzky took the opportunity to confirm his patriotism: "I'm still proud to be a Canadian. I didn't desert my country. I moved because I was traded and that's where my job is. But I'm Canadian to the core. I hope Canadians understand that." After the 1988–89 season, a life-sized bronze statue of Gretzky was erected outside Northlands Coliseum, holding the Stanley Cup over his head.

Los Angeles Kings (1988–1996)

Statue of Gretzky outside the Staples Center, home of the Los Angeles Kings. Gretzky played with the Kings from 1988 to 1996.

The Kings named Gretzky their alternate captain. He made an immediate impact on the ice, scoring on his first shot on goal in the first regular season game. The Kings got off to their best start ever, winning four straight en route to qualifying for the playoffs. For only the second time in his NHL career, Gretzky finished second in scoring, but narrowly edged the Pittsburgh Penguins' Mario Lemieux (who scored 199 points) for the Hart Trophy as MVP.

Despite being underdogs against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Edmonton Oilers in the Smythe Division semifinals, Gretzky led the Kings to a shocking upset of his old squad, spearheading the Kings' return from a 3–1 series deficit to win the series 4–3. He was nervous Edmonton would greet him with boos, but they were eagerly waiting for him. However, the Kings were then swept by the Calgary Flames who would go on to win their first Stanley Cup.

In 1990, the Associated Press named Gretzky Male Athlete of the Decade. For the second year in a row, the Kings eliminated the defending champions in the first round when they defeated the Flames in six games, but also for the second year in a row their season ended in a second round sweep, this time at the hands of Gretzky's former team. The Oilers would go on to win their fifth Cup (and first without Gretzky). In his post-championship interview, Messier (who had replaced Gretzky as Edmonton's captain following the trade) paid tribute to his former teammate by dedicating the Oilers' Cup win to him.

Gretzky's first season in Los Angeles saw a marked increase in attendance and fan interest in a city not previously known for following hockey. The Kings now boasted of numerous sellouts. Many credit Gretzky's arrival with putting non-traditional American hockey markets on "the NHL map"; not only did California receive two more NHL franchises (the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and San Jose Sharks) during Gretzky's tenure in Los Angeles, but his popularity in Southern California proved to be an impetus in the league establishing teams in other parts of the U.S. Sun Belt.[

Gretzky was sidelined for much of the 1992–93 regular season with a back injury, and his 65-point output ended a record 13-year streak in which he recorded at least 100 points each season. However, he performed well in the playoffs, notably when he scored a hat trick in game seven of the Campbell Conference Finals against the Toronto Maple Leafs. This victory propelled the Kings into the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history, where they faced the Montreal Canadiens. After winning the first game of the series by a score of 4–1, the team lost the next three games in overtime, and then fell 4–1 in the deciding fifth game where Gretzky failed to get a shot on net.

The next season, Gretzky broke Gordie Howe's career goal-scoring record of 801, and won the scoring title, but the team began a long slide, and despite numerous player and coaching moves, they failed to qualify for the playoffs again until 1998. After the financially troubled McNall was forced to sell the Kings in 1994, Gretzky's relationship with the Kings' new owners grew strained. Under both McNall and the new ownership group, the team was fiscally unstable, to the point that paychecks to players bounced. Finally, in early 1996, Gretzky requested a trade. During the 1994–95 NHL lock-out, Gretzky and some friends (including Mark Messier, Marty McSorley, Brett Hull and Steve Yzerman) formed the Ninety Nine All Stars Tour and played eight exhibition games in various countries.

St. Louis Blues (1996)

On February 27, 1996, Gretzky joined the St. Louis Blues in a trade for Patrice Tardif, Roman Vopat, Craig Johnson and two draft picks (Peter Hogan and Matt Zultek). He partially orchestrated the trade after reports surfaced that he was unhappy in Los Angeles. At the time of the trade, the Blues and New York Rangers emerged as front-runners, but the Blues met his salary demands. Gretzky was immediately named the team's captain. He scored 37 points in 31 games for the team in the regular season and the playoffs, and the Blues came within one game of the Conference Finals.

However, the chemistry everyone expected with winger Brett Hull never developed. Gretzky was also forced to endure public criticism from his head coach for the first time in his career. Long prior to either him or Gretzky joining the Blues, Mike Keenan (nicknamed "Iron Mike" due to his reputation as one of the harshest disciplinarians of his era) had refused to moderate his coaching style even while coaching Gretzky while with Team Canada during international tournaments. Gretzky's professional relationship with Keenan was thus never particularly warm, and the coach's public rebukes effectively ended any realistic prospect of Gretzky remaining in St. Louis once he became a free agent. Gretzky rejected a three-year deal worth $15 million with the Blues, and on July 21, signed with the New York Rangers as a free agent, rejoining longtime Oilers teammate Mark Messier for a two-year, $8 million (plus incentives) contract.

New York Rangers (1996–1999)

Gretzky with the New York Rangers in 1997

Gretzky ended his professional playing career with the New York Rangers, where he played his final three seasons and helped the team reach the Eastern Conference Finals in 1997. The Rangers were defeated in the Conference Finals in five games by the Philadelphia Flyers, despite Gretzky leading the Rangers in the playoffs with 10 goals and 10 assists. For the first time in his NHL career, Gretzky was not named captain, although he briefly wore the captain's "C" in 1998 when captain Brian Leetch was injured and out of the line-up. After the 1996–97 season, Mark Messier signed a free agent contract with the Vancouver Canucks, ending the brief reunion of Messier and Gretzky after just one season. The 1997 playoff run would be Gretzky's last as a player, and Rangers did not return to the playoffs until 2006, well after Gretzky retired. Along with Jaromir Jagr, he topped the NHL in 1997–98 with 67 assists. It was the 16th time in 19 seasons that Gretzky earned at least a share of the league lead in the statistic.

In 1997, prior to his retirement, The Hockey News named a committee of 50 hockey experts (former NHL players, past and present writers, broadcasters, coaches and hockey executives) to select and rank the 50 greatest players in NHL history. The experts voted Gretzky number one. Gretzky said he would have voted Bobby Orr or Gordie Howe as the best of all time.

The 1998–99 season was his last as a professional player. He reached one milestone in this last season, breaking the professional total (regular season and playoffs) goal-scoring record of 1,071, which had been held by Gordie Howe. Gretzky was having difficulty scoring this season and finished with only nine goals, contributing to this being the only season in which he failed to average at least a point per game, but his last goal brought his scoring total for his combined NHL/WHA career to 1,072, one more than Howe. As the season wound down, there was media speculation that Gretzky would retire, but he refused to announce his retirement. His last NHL game in Canada was on April 15, 1999, a 2–2 tie with the Ottawa Senators and the Rangers' second-to-last game of the season. Following the contest, in a departure from the usual three stars announcement, Gretzky was awarded all three stars. Upon returning to New York, Gretzky announced he would retire after the Rangers' last game of the season.

The final game of Gretzky's career was a 2–1 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on April 18, 1999, in Madison Square Garden. Although the game involved two American teams, both national anthems were played, with the lyrics slightly adjusted to accommodate Gretzky's departure. In place of the lyrics "O Canada, we stand on guard for thee", Bryan Adams ad-libbed, "We're going to miss you, Wayne Gretzky". "The Star-Spangled Banner", as sung by John Amirante, was altered to include the words "in the land of Wayne Gretzky". Gretzky ended his career with a final point, assisting on the lone New York goal scored by Brian Leetch. At the time of his retirement, Gretzky was the second-to-last WHA player still active in professional hockey. Mark Messier, who attended the game along with other representatives of the Edmonton Oilers' dynasty, was the last.

Gretzky told journalist Scott Morrison that the final game of his career was his greatest day. He recounted:

My last game in New York was my greatest day in hockey...Everything you enjoy about the sport of hockey as a kid, driving to practice with mom [Phyllis] and dad [Walter], driving to the game with mom and dad, looking in the stands and seeing your mom and dad and your friends, that all came together in that last game in New York.

International play

Medal record

Representing Canada

World Cup

1996 Canada

Canada Cup

1991 Canada

1987 Canada

1984 Canada

1981 Canada

1982 Finland

1978 Canada

Gretzky made his first international appearance as a member of the Canadian national junior team at the 1978 World Junior Championships in Montreal, Quebec. The Canadian coach, Punch McLean, was originally sceptical of Gretzky's ability as he was the youngest player to compete in the tournament at the age of 16. He went on to lead the tournament in scoring with 17 points to earn All-Star Team and Best Forward honours. His 17 points remain the most scored by a 16-year-old in the World Junior Championships. Canada finished with the bronze medal.

Gretzky debuted with the Team Canada's men's team at the 1981 Canada Cup. He led the tournament in scoring with 12 points en route to a second-place finish to the Soviet Union losing 8–1 in the final. Seven months later, Gretzky joined Team Canada for the 1982 World Championships in Finland. He notched 14 points in 10 games, including a two-goal, two-assist effort in Canada's final game against Sweden to earn the bronze. Gretzky did not win his first international competition until the 1984 Canada Cup, when Canada defeated Sweden in a best-of-three finals. He led the tournament in scoring for the second consecutive time and was named to the All-Star Team.

Gretzky's international career highlight arguably came three years later at the 1987 Canada Cup. Gretzky has called the tournament the best hockey he had played in his life.Playing on a line with Pittsburgh Penguins' superstar Mario Lemieux, he recorded a tournament-best 21 points in nine games. After losing the first game of a best-of-three final series against the Soviets, Gretzky propelled Canada with a five-assist performance in the second game, including the game-winning pass to Lemieux in overtime, to extend the tournament. In the deciding game three, Gretzky and Lemieux once again combined for the game-winner. With the score tied 5–5 and 1:26 minutes to go in regulation, Lemieux one-timed a pass from Gretzky on a 3-on-1 with defenceman Larry Murphy. Lemieux scored to win the tournament for Canada; the play is widely regarded as one of the most memorable plays in Canadian international competition.

The 1991 Canada Cup marked the last time the tournament was played under the "Canada Cup" moniker. Gretzky led the tournament for the fourth and final time with 12 points in seven games. He did not, however, compete in the final against the United States due to a back injury. Canada nevertheless won in two games by scores of 4–1 and 4–2. Five years later, the tournament was revived and renamed the World Cup in 1996. It marked the first time Gretzky did not finish as the tournament's leading scorer with seven points in eight games for fourth overall.

Team Canada sweater worn by Gretzky during the 1998 Winter Olympics

Leading up to the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, it was announced that NHL players would be eligible to play for the first time. Gretzky was named to the club on November 29, 1997. However, Gretzky was passed over for the captaincy, along with several other Canadian veterans including Steve Yzerman and Ray Bourque in favour of the younger Eric Lindros. Expectations were high for the Canadian team, but the team lost to the Czech Republic in the semi-finals. The game went to a shootout with a 1–1 tie after overtime, but Gretzky was controversially not selected by coach Marc Crawford as one of the five shooters, all of whom failed to score Team Canada then lost the bronze medal game 3–2 to Finland to finish without a medal. The Olympics marked Gretzky's eighth and final international appearance, finishing with four assists in six games. He retired from international play holding the records for most goals (20), most assists (28), and most overall points (48) in best-on-best hockey.

Skills and influences

Style of play

Gretzky in 1997

Gretzky's size and strength were unimpressive—in fact, far below average for the NHL—but he is widely considered the smartest player in the history of the game. His reading of the game and his ability to improvise on the fly were unrivaled, and he could consistently anticipate where the puck was going to be and execute the right move at the right time. His coach at the Edmonton Oilers, Glen Sather, said, "He was so much more intelligent. While they were using all this energy trying to rattle his teeth, he was just skating away, circling, analyzing things."

He was also considered one of the most creative players in hockey. "You never knew what he was going to do", said hockey Hall of Famer Igor Larionov. "He was improvising all the time. Every time he took the ice, there was some spontaneous decision he would make. That's what made him such a phenomenal player." Gretzky's ability to improvise came into the spotlight at the 1998 Olympics in Japan. Then an older player in the sunset of his career, he had been passed over for the captaincy of the team. But as the series continued, his unique skills made him a team leader.

The Canadians had trouble with the big ice. They had trouble with the European patterns and the lateral play and the endless, inventive cycling. … Slowly, as game after game went by and the concern continued to rise, Wayne Gretzky began climbing through the line-up. He, almost alone among the Canadians, seemed to take to the larger ice surface as if it offered more opportunity instead of obligation…. His playing time soared, as he was being sent on not just for power plays but double shifts and even penalty kills. By the final round … it was Wayne Gretzky who assumed the leadership both on and off the ice.

He passed and shot with prodigious skill. Hall of Fame defenceman Bobby Orr said of Gretzky, "He passes better than anybody I've ever seen." In his first two seasons in the NHL, his deft passing skills helped earn him a reputation as an ace playmaker, and so opposing defencemen focused their efforts on foiling his attempts to pass the puck to other scorers. In response, Gretzky started shooting on goal himself—and with exceptional effectiveness He had a fast and accurate shot. "Wayne Gretzky was one of the most accurate scorers in NHL history", said one biography. Statistics support the contention: whereas Phil Esposito, who had set the previous goal-scoring record, needed 550 shots to score 76 goals, Gretzky netted his 76th after only 287 shots—about half as many. He scored his all-time record of 92 goals with just 369 shots. Because he was so light compared to other players, goalies were often surprised by how hard Gretzky's shot was. Goalies called his shots "sneaky fast." He also had a way of never shooting the puck with the same rhythm twice, making his shots harder to time and block.

Size and strength

When he entered the league in 1979, critics opined that Gretzky was "too small, too wiry, and too slow to be a force in the [NHL]." His weight was 160 pounds (73 kg), compared to the NHL average of 189 pounds (86 kg) at that time. But that year, Gretzky tied for first place in scoring, and won the Hart Trophy for the league's most valuable player. In his second year in the league, weighing just 165 pounds, he broke the previous single-season scoring record, racking up 164 points. The next year (1981–82), at 170 pounds—still "a wisp compared to the average NHL player"—he set the all-time goal-scoring record, putting 92 pucks in the net. He weighed "about 170 pounds" for the better part of his career. He consistently scored last in strength tests among the Edmonton Oilers, bench pressing only 140 pounds (64 kg).

Stamina and athleticism

Despite his lack of strength, Gretzky had remarkable physical stamina. Like his hero, Gordie Howe, Gretzky possessed "an exceptional capacity to renew his energy resources quickly." In 1980, when an exercise physiologist tested the recuperative abilities of all of the Edmonton Oilers, Gretzky scored so high that the tester said he "thought the machine had broken." His stamina is also indicated by the fact that Gretzky often scored late in the game. In the year he scored his record 92 goals, 22 of them went in the net during the first period, 30 in the second—and 40 in the third.

He also had strong general athletic skills. Growing up, he was a competitive runner and also batted .492 for the Junior Intercounty Baseball League's Brantford CKCP Braves in the summer of 1980. As a result, he was offered a contract by the Toronto Blue Jays. History repeated itself in June 2011, when Gretzky's 17-year-old son, Trevor, was drafted by the Chicago Cubs. Trevor signed with the Cubs the next month. Gretzky also excelled at box lacrosse, which he played during the summer. At age ten, after scoring 196 goals in his hockey league, he scored 158 goals in lacrosse.

According to him, lacrosse was where he learned to protect himself from hard checks: "In those days you could be hit from behind in lacrosse, as well as cross-checked, so you had to learn how to roll body checks for self-protection." Gretzky adroitly applied this technique as a professional player, avoiding checks with such skill that a rumour circulated that there was an unwritten rule not to hit him. Defencemen found Gretzky a most elusive target. Fellow Hockey Hall of Famer Denis Potvin compared attempting to hit Gretzky to "wrapping your arms around fog. You saw him but when you reached out to grab him your hands felt nothing, maybe just a chill." The 205-pound (93 kg) Potvin, a three-time winner of the Norris Trophy for best defenceman, added that part of the problem in hitting Gretzky hard was that he was "a tough guy to dislike... what was there to hate about Gretzky? It was like running Gandhi into a corner."

He received a good deal of cover from burly Oiler enforcers Dave Semenko and Marty McSorley. The latter was traded with Gretzky in 1988 to the Los Angeles Kings, where he played the same policeman role for several more years. But Gretzky discouraged unfair hits in another way. "If a guy ran him, Wayne would embarrass that guy", said former Oiler Lee Fogolin. "He'd score six or seven points on him. I saw him do it night after night."

Commentators have noted Gretzky's uncanny ability to judge the position of the other players on the ice—so much so that many suspected he enjoyed some kind of extrasensory perception. Sports commentators said that he played like he had "eyes in the back of his head." Gretzky said he sensed other players more than he actually saw them. "I get a feeling about where a teammate is going to be", he said. "A lot of times, I can turn and pass without even looking."

Veteran Canadian journalist Peter Gzowski says that Gretzky seemed to be able to, in effect, slow down time. "There is an unhurried grace to everything Gretzky does on the ice. Winding up for the slapshot, he will stop for an almost imperceptible moment at the top of his arc, like a golfer with a rhythmic swing." "Gretzky uses this room to insert an extra beat into his actions. In front of the net, eyeball to eyeball with the goaltender … he will … hold the puck one … extra instant, upsetting the anticipated rhythm of the game, extending the moment. … He distorts time, and not only by slowing it down. Sometimes he will release the puck before he appears to be ready, threading the pass through a maze of players precisely to the blade of a teammate's stick, or finding a chink in a goaltender's armour and slipping the puck into it … before the goaltender is ready to react."

Major coaching influences

However, Gretzky denied that he had any exotic innate abilities. He said that many of his advantages were a result of his father's brilliant coaching.

Some say I have a "sixth sense" … Baloney. I've just learned to guess what's going to happen next. It's anticipation. It's not God-given, it's Wally-given. He used to stand on the blue line and say to me, "Watch, this is how everybody else does it." Then he'd shoot a puck along the boards and into the corner and then go chasing after it. Then he'd come back and say, "Now, this is how the smart player does it." He'd shoot it into the corner again, only this time he cut across to the other side and picked it up over there. Who says anticipation can't be taught?

Gretzky learned much about hockey from his father on a backyard rink at his home. Walter Gretzky had been an outstanding Junior B hockey player. He cultivated a love of hockey in his sons and provided them with a backyard rink and drills to enhance their skills. On the backyard rink, nicknamed the "Wally Coliseum", winter was total hockey immersion with Walter as mentor-teacher as well as teammate. Walter's drills were his own invention, and were ahead of their time in Canada. Gretzky would later remark that the Soviet National Team's practice drills, which impressed Canada in 1972, had nothing new to offer him: "I'd been doing these drills since I was three. My Dad was very smart."

In his autobiography, Gretzky describes how at practices his father would drill him on the fundamentals of smart hockey:

Him: "Where's the last place a guy looks before he passes it?"

Me: "The guy he's passing to."

Him: "Which means..."

Me: "Get over there and intercept it."

Him: "Where do you skate?"

Me: "To where the puck is going, not where it's been."

Him: "If you get cut off, what are you gonna do?"

Me: "Peel."

Him: "Which way?"

Me: "Away from the guy, not towards him."

Gretzky also salutes his coach at the Edmonton Oilers, Glen ("Slats") Sather, as an important influence in his development as a hockey player. Gretzky played for 10 years with the Oilers, with Sather as coach. "It's as if my father raised me until age 17, then turned me over to Slats and said, 'You take him from here.'"

Early start

Where Gretzky differed from others in his development was in the extraordinary commitment of time on the ice. "From the age of 3 to the age of 12, I could easily be out there for eight to 10 hours a day", Gretzky has said. In his autobiography, he wrote:

All I wanted to do in the winters was be on the ice. I'd get up in the morning, skate from 7:00 to 8:30, go to school, come home at 3:30, stay on the ice until my mom insisted I come in for dinner, eat in my skates, then go back out until 9:00.

When asked how he managed, at age ten, to score 378 goals in a single season, Gretzky explained,

See, kids usually don't start playing hockey until they're six or seven. Ice isn't grass. It's a whole new surface and everybody starts from ground zero. … By the time I was ten, I had eight years on skates instead of four, and a few seasons' worth of ice time against ten-year-olds. So I had a long head start on everyone else.

Study of game

Much has been written about Gretzky's highly developed hockey instincts, but he once explained that what appeared to be instinct was, in large part, the effect of his relentless study and practice of the game, in co-operation with his coaches. As a result, he developed a deep understanding of its shifting patterns and dynamics. Peter Gzowski says that the best of the best athletes in all sports understand the game so well, and in such detail, that they can instantly recognize and capitalize upon emerging patterns of play. Analyzing Gretzky's hockey skills, he says, "What we take to be creative genius is in fact a reaction to a situation that he has stored in his brain as deeply and firmly as his own phone number." Gzowski presented this theory to Gretzky, and he fully agreed. "Absolutely", Gretzky said. "That's a hundred percent right. It's all practice. I got it from my Dad. Nine out of ten people think it's instinct, and it isn't. Nobody would ever say a doctor had learned his profession by instinct; yet in my own way I've put in almost as much time studying hockey as a medical student puts in studying medicine."

Post-retirement

Gretzky was named honorary chairman of the Open Ice Summit, held in August 1999 to discuss ways to improve Canadian ice hockey. He stressed the need to play and practice hockey for the love of the game, and felt that skill was more important to develop than talent and that Canada had the potential to be world leaders in skill development.

Gretzky was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 22, 1999, becoming the tenth player to bypass the three-year waiting period. The Hall of Fame then announced that he would be the last player to do so. He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2000 In addition, Gretzky's jersey number 99 was retired league-wide at the 2000 NHL All-Star Game, a decision inspired by Major League Baseball's retirement of the number 42 worn by Jackie Robinson. In October 1999, Edmonton honoured Gretzky by renaming one of Edmonton's busiest freeways, Capilano Drive – which passes by Northlands Coliseum – to Wayne Gretzky Drive. Also in Edmonton, the local transit authority assigned a rush-hour bus route numbered No. 99 which also runs on Wayne Gretzky Drive for its commute.

Gretzky's star on Canada's Walk of Fame. He received the honour in 2002.

In 2002, the Kings held a jersey retirement ceremony and erected a life-sized statue of Gretzky outside the Staples Center; the ceremony was delayed until then so that Bruce McNall, who had recently finished a prison sentence, could attend. Also in 2002, Gretzky received a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto. His hometown of Brantford, Ontario, renamed Park Road North to "Wayne Gretzky Parkway" as well as renaming the North Park Recreation Centre to The Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre. Brantford further inducted Gretzky into its "Walk of Fame" in 2004. On May 10, 2010, he was awarded The Ambassador Award of Excellence by the LA Sports & Entertainment Commission. Gretzky was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in 2017.

Phoenix Coyotes

Almost immediately after retirement, several NHL teams approached him about an ownership role. In May 2000, he agreed to buy a 10% stake in the Phoenix Coyotes in a partnership with majority owner Steve Ellman, taking on the roles of alternate governor, managing partner and head of hockey operations. The Coyotes were in the process of being sold and Ellman convinced Gretzky to come on board, averting a potential move to Portland, Oregon.The sale was not completed until the following year, on February 15, 2001, after two missed deadlines while securing financing and partners before Ellman and Gretzky could take over. Trucking magnate and Arizona Diamondbacks part-owner Jerry Moyes was added to the partnership. Gretzky convinced his long-time agent Michael Barnett to join the team as its General Manager.

In 2005, rumours began circulating that Gretzky was about to name himself head coach of the Coyotes, but were denied by Gretzky and the team. Ultimately, Gretzky agreed to become head coach on August 8, 2005. Gretzky made his coaching debut on October 5, and won his first game on October 8 against the Minnesota Wild. He took an indefinite leave of absence on December 17 to be with his ill mother. Phyllis Gretzky died of lung cancer on December 19. Gretzky resumed his head-coaching duties on December 28 The Coyotes' record at the end of the 2005–06 season was 38–39–5, a 16-win improvement over 2003–04; they were 36–36–5 in games Gretzky coached.

In 2006, Moyes became majority owner of the team. There was uncertainty about Gretzky's role until it was announced on May 31, 2006 that he had agreed to a five-year contract to remain head coach. The Coyotes' performance declined in 2006–07, as the team ended the season 15th in their conference. During Gretzky's coaching tenure, the Coyotes did not reach the postseason, and their best finish in the Western Conference standings was 12th.

On May 5, 2009, the Coyotes' holding company, Dewey Ranch Hockey LLC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. An ownership dispute involving Research in Motion's Jim Balsillie (with the intention of relocating the team to Hamilton, Ontario) and the NHL itself arose, which eventually ended up in court. Gretzky did not attend the Coyotes' training camp, leaving associate head coach Ulf Samuelsson in charge, due to an uncertain contractual status with the club, whose bankruptcy hearings were continuing. Bidders for the club had indicated that Gretzky would no longer be associated with the team after it emerged from bankruptcy, and on September 24, 2009, Gretzky stepped down as head coach and head of hockey operations of the Coyotes. Gretzky's final head coaching record was 143–161–24.

Winter Olympics

Gretzky was Executive Director of the Canadian men's hockey team at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. On February 18, he lashed out at the media at a press conference, frustrated with media and fan comments regarding his team's uninspiring 1–1–1 start. His temper boiled over after Canada's 3–3 draw versus the Czech Republic, as he launched a tirade against the perceived negative reputation of Team Canada amongst other national squads, and called rumours of dissent in the dressing room the result of "American propaganda". "They're loving us not doing well", he said, referring to American hockey fans. American fans online began calling Gretzky a "crybaby"; defenders said he was merely borrowing a page from former coach Glen Sather to take the pressure off his players. Gretzky addressed those comments by saying he spoke out to protect the Canadian players, and the tirade was not "staged". The Canadian team won the gold medal, its first in 50 years.

Gretzky again acted as Executive Director of Canada's men's hockey team at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, though not with the success of 2002; the team was eliminated in the quarterfinals and failed to win a medal. He was asked to manage Canada's team at the 2005 Ice Hockey World Championships, but declined due to his mother's poor health.

The lighting of an Olympic cauldron inside BC Place Stadium during the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Gretzky served as an ambassador to Vancouver's successful bid for the 2010 Winter Olympics, and was named Special Advisor to Canada's men's hockey team at the Games During the Games' opening ceremony, Gretzky, basketball player Steve Nash, skier Nancy Greene, and speed skater Catriona Le May Doan jointly lit the Olympic cauldron inside the ceremony venue of BC Place.[ Due to BC Place being an indoor stadium, and Olympic protocols stating that the lighting of the cauldron should be visible to the public, Gretzky was then escorted out of the stadium to light a second, outdoor cauldron outside the Vancouver Convention Centre, making him the de facto final torchbearer.

Alumni games

Although Gretzky had previously stated he would not participate in any "old-timers exhibition games", on November 22, 2003, he took to the ice to help celebrate the Edmonton Oilers' 25th anniversary as an NHL team. The Heritage Classic, held at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, was the first regular season NHL game to be played outdoors. It was preceded by the Mega Stars game, which featured Gretzky and many of his Oiler Dynasty teammates against a group of retired Montreal Canadiens players (whose likes included Claude Lemieux, Guy Lafleur and others). Despite frigid temperatures, the crowd numbered 57,167, with an additional several million watching the game on television. The Edmonton alumni won the Megastars game 2–0, while Montreal went on to win the regular season game held later that day, 4–3.

Thirteen years later, on December 31, 2016, Gretzky participated in the Winter Classic Alumni Game, which was held between teams of former Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues players two days before the 2017 Winter Classic. Gretzky represented the Blues in the game, which his team won 8–7.

Edmonton Oilers

In October 2016, Gretzky returned to the Oilers as a partner and vice-chairman of the team's parent company, Oilers Entertainment Group, to work closely with owner Daryl Katz and Oilers Entertainment Group CEO Bob Nicholson on the business side of the Oilers' operation.

On May 25, 2021, Gretzky announced that he would step down from his role with the Oilers, stating that "The Oilers, their fans, and the city of Edmonton have meant the world to me and my family for over four decades — and that will never end. Given the pandemic and other life changes, I realize I will not be able to dedicate the time nor effort needed to support this world-class organization." It was subsequently reported by various outlets that Gretzky had signed with new U.S. NHL rightsholder Turner Sports to become an analyst.

Personal life

Gretzky has made several TV appearances, including as a Dance Fever celebrity judge, and acted in a dramatic role alongside Victor Newman in The Young and the Restless in 1981. In 1984, he travelled to the Soviet Union to film a television program on Russian goaltender Vladislav Tretiak. Gretzky was a guest host of the American late night variety show Saturday Night Live in 1989. A fictional crime-fighting version of him served as one of the main characters in the cartoon ProStars in 1991. In December 2016, Gretzky appeared briefly in a cameo on a Christmas episode of The Simpsons as a winter character.

Family

Janet and Wayne Gretzky in December 2013

While serving as a judge on Dance Fever, Gretzky met actress Janet Jones. According to Gretzky, Jones does not recall his being on the show. They met regularly after that, but did not become a couple until 1987 when they ran into each other at a Los Angeles Lakers game that Gretzky and Alan Thicke were attending. Gretzky proposed in January 1988, and they were married on July 16, 1988, in a lavish ceremony the Canadian press dubbed "The Royal Wedding". Broadcast live throughout Canada from Edmonton's St. Joseph's Basilica, members of the Fire Department acted as ceremonial guards. The event reportedly cost Gretzky over US$1 million.

He and Jones have five children: Paulina, Ty, Trevor, Tristan, and Emma. Paulina and golfer Dustin Johnson announced their engagement on August 18, 2013.Ty played hockey at Shattuck-Saint Mary's, but quit the sport, and attended Arizona State University. Trevor is a former minor league baseball player.

Wayne Gretzky's uncle, Al Gretzky, ran as a Conservative candidate in London West in the 2006 federal election and for the libertarian Freedom Party of Ontario in the 2013 provincial by-election for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. He was unsuccessful both times.

His father, Walter Gretzky, died in 2021 at the age of 82.

Business ventures

Gretzky has owned or partnered in the ownership of two sports teams before becoming a partner in the Phoenix Coyotes. In 1985, Gretzky bought the Hull Olympiques of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for $175,000 CA. During his ownership, the team's colours were changed to silver and black, presaging the change in team jersey colours when he played for the Los Angeles Kings. For the first season that Gretzky played in Los Angeles, the Kings had their training camp at the Olympiques' arena. Gretzky eventually sold the team in 1992 for $550,000 CAD.

Gretzky has operated a restaurant named Wayne Gretzky's in downtown Toronto since 1993.

In 1991, Bruce McNall purchased the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL) with Gretzky and John Candy as minority owners. The club won the Grey Cup championship in the first year of the partnership, but struggled in the two following seasons, and the partnership sold the team before the 1994 season. Only McNall's name was engraved on the Grey Cup as team owner, but in November 2007, the CFL corrected the oversight, adding Gretzky's and Candy's names. In 1992, Gretzky and McNall partnered in an investment to buy a rare Honus Wagner T206 cigarette card for $451,000 US, later selling the card. It most recently sold for $2.8 million US. The pair also owned Thoroughbred race horses; one of them, Saumarez, won France's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in 1990. Gretzky was a board member and executive officer of the Hespeler Hockey Company.

Gretzky's appeal as a product endorser far surpassed that of other hockey players of his era. By 1995, he was among the five highest-paid athlete endorsers in North America, with deals from The Coca-Cola Company, Domino's Pizza, Sharp Corporation, and Upper Deck Company among others. Forbes estimates that Gretzky made US$93.8 million from 1990 to 1998. He has endorsed and launched a wide variety of products, from pillow cases to insurance. Gretzky is a partner in First Team Sports, a maker of sports equipment and Worldwide Roller Hockey, Inc., an operator of roller hockey rinks. The video game brand EA Sports included Gretzky in its 2010 title NHL Slapshot, and he had previously been an endorser for the 989 Sports games Gretzky NHL 2005 and Gretzky NHL Gretzky also made an appearance on the music video for Nickelback's "Rockstar".

In 2017 as part-owner with Andrew Peller Ltd., Gretzky opened a winery and distillery bearing the name of Wayne Gretzky Estates in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, and with products labelled by the trademark, No. 99. From 1993 to 2020, Gretzky and a business partner operated the Wayne Gretzky's restaurant near the Rogers Centre in downtown Toronto. Gretzky has other restaurants opened in 2016 at the Edmonton International Airport and named No. 99 Gretzky's Wine & Whisky, and in 2018 called Studio 99 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta.

Books

Gretzky has written several books, including Gretzky: An Autobiography (1990), with Rick Reilly,and 99: My Life in Pictures (1999), with John Davidson and Dan Diamond. His most recent work, 99: Stories of the Game (2016), with Kirstie McLellan Day, was an in-depth look at the history of hockey. It was the best-selling Canadian book of 2016.

Political activity

Gretzky with President Ronald Reagan in 1982

In 2003, while not criticizing Canada for declining to participate in the invasion of Iraq, Gretzky praised President of the United States George W. Bush and his handling of the conflict, saying: "the President of the United States is a great leader, I happen to think he's a wonderful man and if he believes what he's doing is right, I back him 100 per cent."

During the 2015 Canadian federal election campaign, Gretzky endorsed the Conservative Party and Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and was featured at a campaign rally praising Harper by calling him "wonderful to the country." As a non-resident, Gretzky came under some criticism for this endorsement. In 2014, Gretzky praised Harper at a United for Ukraine Gala event in Toronto calling him "one of the greatest prime ministers ever". Earlier in 2015, Gretzky endorsed Patrick Brown during his successful campaign for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario.

Legacy

An exhibit on Gretzky at the Hockey Hall of Fame

Gretzky's career achievements include many awards and honours. He won a record nine Hart Trophies as the most valuable player in the NHL. Between 1981 and 1994, he won the Art Ross Trophy, presented to the NHL's season points leader, 10 times. Gretzky was named the MVP of the Stanley Cup playoffs in 1985 and 1988, receiving the Conn Smythe Trophy. In addition, he earned the Lester B. Pearson Award (now Ted Lindsay Award) on five occasions; the award is given to the NHL's "most outstanding player", as determined by National Hockey League Players' Association members. The Lady Byng Trophy, awarded for sportsmanship and performance, was presented to Gretzky five times between 1980 and 1999.

A number of awards and trophies have been created under his name. The Wayne Gretzky International Award is presented by the United States Hockey Hall of Fame to honour international individuals who have made major contributions to the growth and advancement of hockey in the United States. The Wayne Gretzky 99 Award is awarded annually to the Most Valuable Player in the Ontario Hockey League playoffs. The Wayne Gretzky Trophy is awarded annually to the playoff champion of the OHL's Western Conference. The Edmonton Minor Hockey Association also has an award named for Gretzky.

In May 2021, one of his 1979 O-Pee-Chee hockey cards sold for $3.75 million dollars in a private sale.

Yumlembam Premi Devi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yumlembam Premi DeviPersonal information

Date of birth 6 December 1993

Position(s) Midfielder

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

Manipur

2015 Eastern Sporting Union 8

National team

2008 India U16 3 (1)

2010 India U19 3 (0)

2011– India 16 (2)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Yumlembam Premi Devi (born 6 December 1993) is an Indian women's international footballer who plays as a midfielder. She has played internationals for the India women's national football team, and at a club level she has played for Manipur and Eastern Sporting Union.

International career

She made her debut in the friendly series against Bahrain in 2011. She was part of the team at the 2014 Asian Games and at the 2015–16 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

Yashaswini Singh Deswal

From Wikipedia

Yashaswini Singh Deswal

Deswal at the 2016 South Asian Games

Personal information

Nationality Indian

Born 30 March 1997

New Delhi, India

Sport

Country India

Sport Shooting

Event(s) 10 metre air pistol

Coached by Tejinder Singh Dhillon

Women's shooting

Representing India