India celebrates 78th Independence Day on August 15, 2024 and continues grow into a superpower on the global stage. With developments across various fields, India has grown into a sporting powerhouse where athletes are treated like gods.
These sportspersons are revered for their on-field contributions and leave a massive impact on the society. But several athletes have also fought for the country through the armed forces or during the freedom struggle. Celebrating these incredible sportspersons, let’s look at the sporting greats who fought for India.
Sporting heroes who fought for India
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore finished second in the double trap shooting event and won the first-ever individual silver medal for India in Athens 2004. However, before sporting exploits, Rathore served in the Indian Army and was commissioned as a member of the 9th Grenadiers (Mewar) Regiment in 1990. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1992 before becoming a Major in 2000 and a Colonel in 2009 while participating in the Kargil conflict.
K. D. Jadhav
Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav won the bronze at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki and became the first athlete from independent India to win an individual medal in the Olympics. Born in a village called Goleshwar Tal in Satara district in Maharashtra, KD Jadhav was the youngest of the five sons of a renowned wrestler Dadasaheb Jadhav. He also participated in the Quit India Movement of 1942. Providing shelter and a hiding place to the revolutionaries, circulating letters against the British were some of his contributions to the movement.
Dhyan Chand
One of the India’s greatest athletes, Dhyan Chand pledged his services to the armed forces before taking the world by storm with his magical hockey skill. Born in an army family on August 29, 1905, in present-day Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh), Dhyan Chand joined the defense services like his father and elder brother. After being part of the British Indian Army at the age of 16 in 1922, he started playing hockey under the supervision of Subedar Major Tiwari which kicked off a glorious career. While playing for India between 1926 and 1948, Dhyan Chand scored more than 400 goals and won three successive gold medals at the 1928, 1932 and 1936 Summer Olympics.
Milkha Singh
Known as the “The Flying Sikh”, Milkha Singh is considered one of India’s greatest athletes ever who was introduced to track and field during his time in the Indian army. He is the only athlete to win gold in 400 metres at the Asian Games as well as the Commonwealth Games. He also took home the gold medals in the 1958 and 1962 Asian Games. He represented India in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome and the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. He was awarded the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian honour, in recognition of his sporting achievements. Talking about his time in the armed forces, Singh served the Indian army between 1951–1964.
Vijay Kumar
Honorary Captain Vijay Kumar Sharma, AVSM, SM won the silver medal in individual 25-meter rapid-fire pistol competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Kumar is a native of the Himachal Pradesh village of Barsar and was a former Subedar Major (Warrant Officer Class I) in the Indian army’s Dogra Regiment (16th Battalion). Sharma was later given the rank of Honorary Captain. Since 2003, Vijay Sharma has been assigned to the Indian Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU) Mhow.