Independent India is 75 years old. Old enough to have accomplished a lot, and young enough to be energized by new possibilities every day. We capture different aspects of the old and the new in listicles of 75 fun, inspiring, surprising and meaningful facts in this special Independence Day Series.
For newly independent India, sport was not a priority; neither did the country have the infrastructure to support sportspeople. It has taken decades of slow progress, liberalization, not-for-profit organisations and individual trail blazers for Indian athletes to become genuine podium-contenders across disciplines. Besides cricket, India has winners and potential winners across badminton, wrestling, boxing, track and field—and even lawn bowls. It has taken years to build—successes were few and far between in the early years, gathering pace only in the last two decades. Here are 75 of India’s best sporting moments in 75 years of independence.
