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What's the story?
Shooter Heena Sidhu and Indian women's hockey team goalkeeper Savita Punia have been included in the Forbes India 30 Under 30 list of young achievers.
In case you didn't know...
This is the fifth year that Forbes India have released the 30 Under 30 achievers list and according to the organisation, the process of shortlisting the candidates has become more and more rigorous over the years.
Alumni of this prestigious list include the likes of Cheteshwar Pujaara (2014), PV Sindhu (2015), Kidambi Srikanth (2015) and Aditi Ashok (2017) among others.
The heart of the matter
Three broad criterias on the basis of which the list is prepared are: the extent of impact of their achievements, their ability to disrupt the status quo and their potential to stay a long-term player. Another criteria for making it to the list was not belonging to the category of well-established names, next-generation entrepreneurs and having access to an influential lineage.
Savita Punia has more than 150 international caps at the age of 27. The goalkeeper from Haryana caught everyone's attention during India's bronze medal triumph in the Junior Asia Cup in 2009. She helped the team qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics after 36 years. Recently, her performance helped India win the 2017 Women's Hockey Asia Cup.
Heena Sidhu has a dental degree to her name but she decided to try her hands at shooting and excelled at it. The 28-year-old won silver in the individual event and clinched gold in the team event at the 2010 Asian Games. Last year, she won the yellow metal in the women's 10-meter air pistol event at the Commonwealth Shooting Championships.
Jasprit Bumrah and Harmanpreet Kaur are the two other sportspersons who have been included in the aforementioned list.
What's next?
This recognition will only act as a motivation for the sportspersons going forward.
Author's take
It is a moment of pride for every sports fan in the country that these four sportspersons have been included in the list by Forbes.
