This lesson is about sports stars of our country. They have been widely recognised and acknowledged. They have received awards and medals for their excellence in sports. In this section, the teacher reads a diary account of a school boy. This school boy loves Cricket. One day, his teacher tells him about Mithali Dorai Raj, who is the captain of the Indian women’s cricket team in Tests and One Day Internationals [ODIs]. He was surprised to hear from his teacher that Mithali, started to play cricket from the age of 10, and she was selected for the Indian team at the age of 17 years. The boy had never let his sister play cricket.
Though Mithali lived in Hyderabad, her mother tongue was Tamil. She was the highest run scorer and the only woman cricketer to surpass the 6,000 run mark in ODIs. She was also the first player to score seven consecutive 50s. She is nick named as ‘Tendulkar of Indian Women’s Cricket’. But she says that women should not be compared with men in Cricket. She broke the traditional barriers of many people, who think cricket is only for men. She proved that women are equal to men in every field. The government conferred on her the ‘Padma Shri’ Award. Recently, in the second women’s T20 International, Mithali led her side to a comfortable nine-wicket victory with an unbeaten 76 runs.
The boy was so inspired by Mithali and he changes his attitude. He felt happy and allowed his little sister to play cricket.
This is a report on Usha Rani, cop-cum Kabbadi champion. She was from a poor town of Subedarpalaya in Yeshwanthpur near Bengaluru in Karnataka. To fulfill her mother’s dream, she became determined and practised Kabbadi from a young age. Soon she started playing Kabbadi at National level in sub-junior category. She used to sell flowers for her daily living and to support her family. She had to struggle hard all through her life, until she became the youngest cop in the Karnataka State Police Force.
At the age of 29 years, she won a Gold Medal in Kabbadi. She is now working hard and practising every day to win the Gold Medal at the Asian Games in 2018. She has also become the role model to her brothers, sisters and other fellow sports persons.
This section deals with the biography of RV. Sindhu, the Badminton player. Pusarla Venkata Sindhu is one of the two Indian badminton players to ever win a silver medal in 2017 Olympics. She is one of the top five shuttlers in the women’s singles category. She drew inspiration from the success of Pullela Gopichand, the 2001 All England Open Badminton Champion. Sindhu joined Gopicharid’s Academy and practised her training schedules earnestly. She balanced both her passion as well as her academics. Now, she holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce (B.Com).
P.V. Sindhu won several titles, awards and cash grants for her contribution. The Government of India has also conferred three awards on her. They are Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 2016, Padma Shri in 2015 and Arjuna Award in 2013.
