Sports Personalities

Sports Personalities

Saina Nehwal

India’s No.1 badminton player Saina Nehwal became the first Indian woman to win a Super Series tournament. She scripted history in  the final of Indonesia Open after defeating higher ranked Chinese player Lin Wang 12-21, 21-8, 21-9. Saina was seeded sixth in the tournament. Her win was one of the best ever performances by Indian shutlers and at par with All England Championship titles won by  Prakash Padukene and Pullela Gopichand. Saina came into limelight after her superb performance during Beijing Olympics 2008. She  as also won several other prestigious titles like World Junior Championship, Commonwealth Games Bronze and Philippines Open.

Sania Mirza

Country’s most famous tennis player Sania Mirza was conferred an honorary doctorate (Doctorate of Letters) by the Dr. M.G.R. University, Chennai. She was honoured for her achievements in the field of sports. Sania was the first Indian woman to be seeded in a Grand Slam tennis tournament.

Anil Kumble

Former India skipper Anil Kumble was included in the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) standing committee for monitoring and coordinating the global fight against doping in sport. His term started on January 1.

Matthew Hayden

Australian opening batsman Matthew Hayden took retirement from international cricket on January 13. He is recognised as statistically the best opener ever produced by the country. He holds the record for the highest scores made by an Australian batsman in both the Test (380) and One Day International (181 not out) arenas. Hayden, however decided to continue playing in the Indian Premier League

Hetul Shah

At the age of nine, Hetul Shah became the youngest person to beat a grandmaster in chess at a standard time control. Hetul defeated Nurlan Ibrayev of Kazakhstan on 11 January at the seventh Parsvnath International Open chess tournament in round one. He had his Elo rating 1817, almost 600 points below Ibrayev’s 2407.

Yuki Bhambri

Young tennis player Yuki Bhambri wrote history by winning the Australian Open junior title. He became the fourth Indian to be junior champion in a grand slam tournament.

Steve Bucknor

Cotroversial cricket umpire Steve Bucknor took retirement from umpiring in international matches in March. He stood in his last Test between South Africa and Australia in Cape Town from 19 to 23 March while his last ODI was on 29 March between West Indies and England. He was widely criticised for a series of incorrect decisions during India’s tour of Australia in 2003-04 and 2007-08.

Rahul Dravid

India’s Rahul Dravid became the highest catch taker in Test matches. He surpassed Australian Mark Waugh’s tally of 181 on April 6. Dravid took his catch number 182 in his 134th match.

Muttiah Muralitharan

Sri Lanka’s Muttiah  Muralitharan became the highest wicket-taker in one-day internationals on 5 Frebruary. Murali took his 503rd wicket  against India to break the record set by Pakistna’sWasim Akram’s. He is now the highest wicket-taker in both Test cricket and ODIs. 

Andrew Flintoff

English all-rounder Andrew Flintoff retired from Test cricket after failing to overcome a series of injuries which plagued his career. He announced to be retired during the Ashes series in July. However he decided to play in ODIs and Twenty20. Since his debut in 1998, Flintoff is an integral player for England, and has both captained and vice-captained the team.

Somdev Devvarman

Indian tennis found a new hope in Somdev Devvarman in 2009. The Tripura lad played amazing in Chennai Open after his entry as a wild card holder. He beat Carlos Moya and Ivo Karlovic to reach the final. He also took the country to the elite World Group in Davis  Cup by winning two singles in the play-off against South Africa.

Michael Phelps

American swimmer Michael Phelps was banned from competing for three months by the swimming federation of USA. The USA  Swimming placed the ban on Phelps after a picture of him smoking marijuana at a party was leaked to the press in Frebruary. Phelps, who won eight medals at the Beijing Olympic was punished for the irresponsible behaviour despite of his heroic image.

Sunil Gavaskar

Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar was conferred with an honorary doctorate by the Dr. D.Y. Patil University, Mumbai. This was Gavaskar’s fourth honoris causa after the ones from Andhra, Annamalai and Indore universities.

Virender Sehwag

Virender Sehwag smashed the fastest ODI hundred by an Indian on March 11 in Hamilton, New Zealand. He scored the century off 60 balls beating Mohammad Azharuddin's 62-ball effort against New Zealand at Baroda 21 years ago. Sehwag concluded his innings with 125 not out from 74 balls. He also hit the fastest 250 ever against Sri Lanka in Mumbai Test on December 3. Sehwag achieved the milestone off 207 balls and smashed his sixth double century to become the first Indian to do so.

Claire Taylor

England cricket player Claire Taylor became the first woman to be listed among the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year. She ended 120 years of male domination in the cricketers’ bible by finding a place in this elite list. Taylor was named the World Cup player of the tournament this year. She scored 324 runs at an average of 64 to help England win the title.

Andy Flower

Popular Zimbabwean wicketkeeper- batsman Andy Flower became England’s national cricket team coach in April. He joined the team as assistant coach in 2007. Following the departure of coach Peter Moores in January this year, he was working as interim team director.

Gagan Narang

Ace shooter Gagan Narang created history by winning two medals in International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) held in South Korea in April. He became  the first Indian to win two medals in the same World Cup. Gagan clinched one gold and one bronze medal in the men’s 50- metre free rifle 3-position and 10- metre air rifle event respectively.

Jose Brasa

Spaniard Jose Brasa was appointed as the new coach of the Indian hockey team. Brasa will hold the post till 2010 Asian Games. After the resignation of Joaquim Carvalho in March 2008, the team was without a permanent coach. Joaquim Carvalho relinquished his job after the Indian hockey team failed to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. After Carvalho departure, Australian Ric Charlesworth took over as the technical adviser of the team for a brief period. Charlesworth also left the job after having differences with Indian sports ministry and hockey officials. Before the appointment of Brasa, Harendra Singh was mentoring the team.

Michael Vaughan

Fomer England captain Vaughan announced his retirement from first-class cricket on 30 June. Known for his shrewd captaincy and man-management skills, Vaughan captained England in 51 Tests between 2003 and 2008, including 2–1 victory  in the 2005 Ashes.

Chaminda Vaas

Sri Lanka’s Chaminda Vaas retired from Test cricket on July 20. He decided to quit the longer version of the game to  concentrate on the 2011 World Cup. Vass is regarded as one of the best fast bowlers Sri Lanka has ever produced. He took 355 wickets in 111 Test matches.

Charles Coventry

Zimbabwe batsman Charles Coventry equalled world record of highest individual one-day international score. Coventry scored an unbeaten 194 against Bangladesh on August 16. The record was set by Pakistan’s Saeed Anwar in 1997. It was Coventry’s maiden century at international level.
Rudi Koertzen

ICC Elite Panel umpire Rudi Koertzen made history when he became the first umpire to officiate in 100 Test and 200 one day international matches. The South African achieved this feat on July 16 by umpiring in the second Ashes Test between England and Australia at Lord’s. It was his 100th Test match as a field umpire. He also became the first umpire to stand in 200 One-Day Internationals on July 11.

Pankaj Advani

Ace billiards player Pankaj Advani won the World Professional Billiards Championship held in England. He defeated nine time  champion Mike Russell 2030-1253 in the final. Advani became the second Indian to win the title in its 139 years of history.
Geet Sethi is another Indian winner. This was Advani's first Professional Billiards world title. He has already won the amateurs world billiards and snooker Championships.

David Shepherd

Renowned international cricket umpire David Shepherd passed away on 27 October at the age of 68. Shepherd, hailed from England,  officiated in 92 Tests and 172 One-day internationals.  He also stood in three World Cup finals before retiring in 2005. He was regarded as one the fairest-minded and most able officials in the game. He was famous for his entertaining habit of lifting one foot off the ground on the score with a multiple of 111, a score considered superstitiously unlucky towards batsman.

Ramesh Kumar

Indian Wrestler Ramesh Kumar created history by winning the bronze medal in the World Wrestling Championship held in Herning, Denmark. Ramesh clinched country’s first medal in the prestigious event after a gap of 32 years. He won the medal in the freestyle 74kg category of the event. Vishambhar Singh was the last Indian wrestler who bhagged a freestyle silver medal in 1967 World  Championship.

Marat Safin

Fomer World NO. 1 tennis player Marat Safin retired from the game on 11 November. The Russian called it a day to a 12- year career that brought him two Grand Slam titles. He won his first Grand Slam title at the 2000 U.S. Open after defeating Pete Sampras, and won the 2005 Australian Open, defeating Australian Lleyton Hewitt. Safin also helped lead Russia to Davis Cup victories in 2002 and 2006. The older brother of WTA player Dinara Safina, he was famous for his emotional outbursts and sometimes fiery temper on court.

Jacob Oram

New Zealand all-rounder Jacob Oram took retirement from Test cricket on 13 October following a series of injuries. However he decided to play in the shorter forms of the game. Oram plays for the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League. 

Amelie Mauresmo

French player Amelie Mauresmo took retirement from professional tennis on December 3. Former World No.1 Mauresmo won two Grand Slam singles titles in 2006, at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon. She also won a silver medal in singles at the Athens Olympics was part of the team that captured the Fedration Cup for France in 2003.

Sarfaraz Khan

A Mumbai kid Sarfaraz Khan broke the 22-year old school cricket record on November 4. The 12-year-old Khan from Springfield Rizvi  School hit 439 runs in the inter-school Harris Shield tournament. Sarfaraz erased the previous mark of 422 by Sanjeev Jadhav of Shardashram Vidyamandir in 1986. The Harris Shield is the same tournament that saw a record 664-run partnership between Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli in 1988.