SPORTSPERSON OF INDIA - 2 - ANSWERS

1. B. Sushil Kumar

The two-time Olympic medallist Indian freestyle wrestler Sushil Kumar Solanki (born 26 May 1983) hails from Bansur village near Najafgarh in South West Delhi. His silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics made him the only Indian (since independence) to win two individual Olympic medals. Sushil Kumar has also won the Gold Medal at the 2010 World Wrestling Championships held at Moscow, Russia in the 66 kg weight category and three Gold Medals for India at Commonwealth Games (2010 - Delhi in 66 kg Freestyle, 2014 -Glasgow in 74 kg Freestyle and 2018 - Gold Coast in 74 kg Freestyle).

Sushil Kumar has been conferred with Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 2009 and Padma Shri in 2011.

2. C. Anju Bobby George

Born on 19th April, 1977 in a Syrian Orthodox family in Kottayam, Kerala, Anju Bobby George made history on August 30, 2003 at Paris with her 6.70m leap (Long Jump) which earned her and her Nation the first ever medal (Bronze) at the World Athletics Championships, a feat that is yet to be repeated. Although she started with Heptathlon, she later concentrated on Long Jump and went to win many laurels for the Nation - Gold medal at the IAAF World Athletics Final (a competition between best eight athletes in the world based on the world ranking) in 2005, Bronze at 2002 – Manchester Commonwealth Games, Gold at 2002 – Busan Asian Games, Silver at 2006 – Doha Asian Games, Gold at 2003 Afro-Asian Games at Hyderabad. She achieved her personal best of 6.83 m (current Indian national record) at the 2004 Olympic Games at Athens that brought her the fifth position.

Anju Bobby George who won the Arjuna Award in 2002, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 2003 and Padma Shri 2004, was coached by Robert Bobby George, her husband and also a former National Champion in Triple Jump.

3. C. Humpy Koneru

Humpy Koneru (born 31 March 1987 in Gudivada, Andhra Pradesh) is an Indian chess grandmaster and current World Rapid Chess Champion (won Dec, 2019 in Moscow – the first Indian woman to do so). In October 2007, she became the second female player, after Judit Polgar (Hungary), to exceed the 2600 Elo rating mark.

In 2002, Koneru became the youngest woman ever to achieve the title of Grandmaster (not solely a Woman Grandmaster) at the age of 15 years, 1 month, 27 days, beating Judit Polgar's previous mark by three months; this record was subsequently broken by Hou Yifan (China) in 2008.

4. C. Devendra Jhajharia

Devendra Jhajharia (born 10 June 1981) is an Indian Paralympic Javelin Thrower from the Churu District in Rajasthan. The first Indian Paralympian to win two gold medals at the Paralympics, he won his first gold in the javelin throw at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, becoming only the second gold medallist at the Paralympics for India. At the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, he won a second gold medal in the same event, bettering his previous record. At the age of eight, Devendra Jhajharia had his left arm amputated after he touched a live electric cable while climbing a tree.

Murlikant Petkar is India's first Paralympic gold medallist. He won an individual Gold medal in the 1972 Summer Paralympics, in Heidelberg, Germany. He set a world record in the 50 m freestyle swimming event, at 37.33 seconds.

5. B. Vijay Amritraj

Vijay Amritraj (born 14 December 1953) is a former tennis player, sports commentator and occasional actor. Born in Chennai, Vijay has two brothers, Anand Amritraj and Ashok Amritraj, who were also international tennis players.

Amritraj achieved his first significant success in singles in 1973 when he reached the quarterfinals at two Grand Slam events – Wimbledon and US Open, where he beat Rod Laver. In 1974, he lost the quarterfinals in US Open after beating Björn Borg in the second round. He reached his career-high ranking in singles of world No. 16 in July 1980. In 1981, he reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon before losing in five sets to Jimmy Connors after being up 2-0. Amritraj was part of the India Davis Cup team that reached the finals in 1974 and 1987.

Tennis apart, Amritraj also had a brief acting career and later a successful multimedia business. His most notable appearance is probably as the intelligence operative Vijay in the 1983 James Bond film “Octopussy”. He also appeared briefly in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986).