The first Indian women player to win a silver at the Olympic Games PV Sindhu, achieved yet another major feat as she became the top searched sportsperson of 2016 in India, according to a review published by Yahoo. 2016 has been a terrific year for the shuttler as she also became the first female player from India to reach the final of a singles event in any major tournament. The 21-year old overtook the likes of veteran cricketers such as Sachin Tendulkar and M.S Dhoni to emerge at the top.
Gymnast Dipa Karmakar ranked just below Sindhu as the second most searched sportsperson on social media. The gymnast from Agartala, put India on the world map in gymnastics, finishing fourth at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She pulled off the much deadly Prudonova vault.
Standing third in the list is Indian limited overs captain MS Dhoni while Test captain Virat Kohli is placed as the most sought after sportsperson in the country.
After the release of “Mahi’s” biopic - MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, the searches has escalated rapidly. Dhoni has dominated this list earlier and has been the top searched sportsperson in India in the past years.
Kohli features on the list at number four. Whether it is off or on the pitch, the Indian Test captain has always managed to tantalise the media. With a record-breaking season in the IPL scoring a havoc 973 runs, he has also performed brilliantly in International cricket with two double centuries in Test cricket in 2016. He was also dating Bollywood diva Anushka Sharma until they split last year. Virat sure knows how to make news spicy!
Sakshi Malik on the list as well
Coming next on the list is Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik. The Haryana girl became the first female wrestler from India to win a medal and only the fourth from the country ever. Sakshi, who is yet to return to the mat after the Olympics is supposed to get married to Satyawart Kadian, one of India’s top wrestler in the 97kg category.
It was not much of a surprise as the only foreigner to feature in the list is Argentina and Barcelona football maestro Lionel Messi. Making a surprise entry into the list was wrestler Narsingh Yadav who took the seventh spot. The 74kg category wrestler was supposed to represent India at the Rio Olympics but lost his place after he failed a dope test.
Standing at eight is Indian cricket legend Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. The maestro is also the only cricketer to score 100 international centuries and also the first cricketer in the world to score a double century in ODIs.
The last two spots were occupied by India’s golden girls Sania Mirza at ninth and Saina Nehwal finishing tenth. Sania Mirza finished fourth in Rio pairing up with Rohan Bopanna, while Saina bowed out after a shocking defeat in the second round owing to her injuries.
