10 most promising youngsters in Indian sports.

Anjali
Avyay Gujral

Avyay Gujral

1. Avyay Gujral ( Football)

Avyay Gujral, this young lad has made all Indians proud, as he is one of those talented players who have been selected by Tata Tea Arsenal talent hunt, Coca Cola talent hunt and Belgian club Anderlecht to be a part of their football club. He has displayed his extraordinary feats, in Brazil as a part of the Coca Cola India U17 team. He even qualified for the Nike Talent Hunt, but as he is too young he could not earn a seat in the academy. Adding a feather to his cap he has also been a trainee at the Toronto FC. A student of Shri Ram School of New Delhi, he stands 6’2, depicting, an idol for younger generation and motivating them to get into the sport of football.

Budhia Singh

Budhia Singh

2. Budhia Singh ( Marathon Runner)

Born in 2002, Budhia is World’s youngest Marathon runner. Budhia has finished races, upto 60 kilometers in roughly 6 hours 30 minutes. His running ability has led him, celebrity status and has made him endorse a number of commercials. These commercials and Budhia’s fame have allegedly lead to significant financial gains. There have been a number of controversies regarding these gains and has led to accusations of exploitation against his coach due to which an official inquiry by Indian child welfare officials was launched on 4 January, 2006. The same year in May, Budhia completed 65 kilometers (40 miles) run from Chapandie temple to Bhubaneshwar in seven hours, two minutes. This feat was registered in Limca Book of Records.

Shiva Thapa

Shiva Thapa

3. Shiva Thapa (boxing)

The 18-year old pugilist from Assam and a great fan of Mike Tyson, Shiva’s ring performance clearly sets a picture which describes him more than his age. Shiva has won ten boxing gold and three bronze medals from 14 National and International tournaments in which he had participated. He made a memorable entry into the World Boxing scenario in 2008 at the HyderAliyeve Cup at Azarbaizan in Russia when he won the gold. He has recently won a silver medal at the World Youth Boxing championship.

Sai Praneeth

Sai Praneeth

4. Sai praneet (Badminton).

Praneeth himself is a quiet performer but when on court his racquet does say for him. This 17- year ace has a tally of medals to his kitty. He has won Doubles bronze medal at the Youth Commonwealth Games at Pune in 2008, Team bronze medal at the Junior World Championship. He even reached the Semi-finals of Junior Dutch Open. No doubt he has great achievements and is an extraordinary player in Indian sports.

PV Sindhu

PV Sindhu

5. PV Sindhu (Badminton).

PV Sindhu is just 15 but has already created ripples in badminton circles. Daughter of former International volleyball player and 1986 Asian Games bronze medalist PV Ramana, Sindhu won a bronze medal in the Junior Asian Championship held at Colombo. She followed it with a runner up finish at the Iran Fajr International Tournament where she defeated much higher ranked players. She also reached the quarterfinals of the Junior World Championship which was held in Malaysia. She is the youngest member of the squad to reach the quarterfinals of the Uber Cup in 2010.

Rakesh Manpat

Rakesh Manpat

6. Rakesh Manpat (Shooting)

Rakesh Manpat is a young Indian rifle shooter with plenty of potential. He came first in the 10m Air Rifle at the selection trials, Pune, May 2009. He came 2nd at the 10m Air Rifle (Junior) at the 52nd National Shooting championship, Kerala 2009. He has been excelling in junior events and has been selected as a part of the core group of Indian shooters for the Commonwealth Games, 2010. Finished 5th in the 50th ISSF World Championships, Munich in 3 Position Junior Mens Event with 1160/1200 and established a New Jr.National Record on 5th August 2010. Qualified For Final round on 7th position With 592/600 points and in the Final round Finsihed 2nd(Silver Medal) with a Final round of all bully’s eye totaling 104.2 on 12th May 2010.

Manpat was attracted to the sport when he would watch his brother, also a professional shooter, practice in the Bangalore Shooting Range.

Lalrindika Ralte

Lalrindika Ralte

7. Lalrindika Ralte (Football)

Born on 7th September, 1992, Ralte’s presence, in the AFC U-19 Championship, formerly known as AFC Youth Championship, which is an annual football competition organized by the sport’s Asian governing body, Asian Football Confederation (AFC) states that the team heads to progress as Ralte is one of the top Midfielders of the team. A player of Churchill Brothers Ralte’s goals have lead India, win several matches at Junior level.

8. Rishika Sunkara (Tennis)

Coached by Aditya Sachdeva, Rishika has been able to get her foundation strong due to her immense dedication towards the game. She entered the semifinals in the girls singles, of Asian Junior Tennis Championship after defeating the top seed Eri Hozumi of Japan. The 16-year old, drew everyone’s attention by reaching the quarterfinals of the $10,000 ITF women’s Tennis Tournament in Delhi, as a qualifier. The giant-killer, Rishika, moves smoothly on court and has the confidence to swing into her strokes gracefully. She is one of the few players, who is able to transfer her body weight, however light, into her smooth strokes.

Mohit Mayur Jayprakash

Mohit Mayur Jayprakash

9. Mohit Mayur Jayaprakash (Tennis)

Mohit Mayur Jayaprakash, is an uncanny tennis ace of Indian sports. Mohit reached the finals of Junior Tennis Tournament in the doubles category pairing with Rishabdev Raman. He even reached the finals of the same event in singles category. He competed in Wimbledon Junior Qualifiers this year. He is one of the most promising Junior Tennis players for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Satnam Singh

Satnam Singh

10. Satnam Singh (Basketball)

Satnam Singh, is one of the eight sub Junior players who have been selected by the coaches from the IMG Basketball Academy to join the academy in Bradenton in Florida, USA as full time scholars. Among 50 most talented sub-junior players Satnam got selected due to his enormous talent the right attitude and his hunger to succeed. This seven foot giant from Punjab was amongst the three Indian youngsters who attended the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders, which was a programme to motivate young Asian players, held at Singapore.

Edited by Staff Editor