Personal information | |
---|---|
Birth name | Anju Markose |
Born | Changanassery, Kottayam, Kerala, India | 19 April 1977
Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) |
Weight | 66 kg (146 lb) |
Sport | |
Country | India |
Sport | Athletics |
Event(s) | |
Achievements and titles | |
Personal best(s) | Long jump: 6.83 m NR (Athens 2004) Triple jump: 13.67 (Hyderabad 2002) |
Medal record | |
Updated on 30 July 2013. |
Anju Bobby George (born 19 April 1977) is a retired Indian athlete. Anju Bobby George made history when she won the bronze medal in long jump at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics in Paris. With this achievement, she became the first Indian athlete ever to win a medal in a World Championships in Athletics jumping 6.70 metres (22.0 ft). [1] She went on to win the gold medal at the IAAF World Athletics Final (a competition between best eight athletes in the world based on the world ranking) in 2005, a performance she considers her best. Anju was upgraded to the gold status from silver in the 2005 World Athletics Final in Monte Carlo following the disqualification of Tatyana Kotova of Russia by the International Association of Athletics Federations, following the recent re-testing of the latter's sample collected at the 2005 World Championship in Helsinki. [2] She was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2002, Khel Ratna in 2003 and Padma Shri in 2004. [3] She had got 5th position with personal best of 6.83 metres (22.4 ft) at the 2004 Athens Olympics. In March 2021, Anju won the BBC lifetime achievement award for best athlete in India. [4] She is also the current vice-president of the Athletics Federation of India. [5]
Anju was born in Kochuparambil family in Cheeranchira village of Changanassery taluk, Kottayam, Kerala, in a Syria Orthodox Christian family, to K. T. Markose. [6]
Anju made history when she won the bronze medal clearing 6.70 m in Long Jump at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics in Paris, becoming the first Indian athlete ever to win a medal in a World Championships in Athletics. She also won a gold medal at the 2003 Afro-Asian Games. She achieved her personal best of 6.83 m at the 2004 Olympic Games at Athens which brought her the fifth position. This is the current Indian national record. [3] [7]
She received the Arjuna award in 2002–2003 for eminent sportspersons from the government of India and the country's highest sporting honour, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 2003–2004 after her success in the World Athletic meet. She was conferred Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award in 2004. [8]
Anju Bobby George pulled out of the 52nd national inter-state athletics in Hyderabad, due to an upper respiratory tract infection. [9]
Anju is married to Robert Bobby George, who is a former national champion in triple jump and her coach too. She is employed with the Customs department in Bangalore. The couple have a son Aaron and a daughter Andrea. [10]
Anju was appointed as president of the Kerala State Sports Council (KSSC). [11] She resigned from the post on 22 June 2016. [12]
Karnam Malleswari is a retired Indian weightlifter. She is the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Olympics in 2000. In 1994, she received the Arjuna Award and in 1999, she received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, India's highest sporting honour, and the civilian Padma Shri award.
Pullela Gopichand is a former Indian badminton player. Currently, he is the Chief National Coach for the India national badminton team. He won the All England Open Badminton Championships in 2001, becoming the second Indian to achieve this feat after Prakash Padukone. He runs the Gopichand Badminton Academy. He received the Arjuna Award in 1999, the Dronacharya Award in 2009 and the Padma Bhushan – India's third highest civilian award – in 2014.
Kalayathumkuzhi Mathews Beenamol, popularly known as K. M. Beenamol, from Kombidinjal, Idukki district, Kerala is an international athlete from India.
Tatyana Vladimirovna Kotova is a track and field athlete who competed for Russia in the long jump. Her personal best jump of 7.42 m at Annecy in 2002, is the best distance achieved by a female long jumper in the 21st century.
Pilavullakandi Thekkeparambil Usha is a retired Indian track and field athlete. She was born in Koothali near Perambra in Kozhikode district,Kerala.She grew up in Payyoli. She has been associated with Indian athletics since 1979. She has won 4 Asian gold medals and 7 Silver medals. She is often associated as the "Queen of Indian track and field". On 6 July 2022, she was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by former President Ram Nath Kovind. In December 2022, Usha has been elected president of the Indian Olympic Association unopposed. In Dec 2022, PT Usha has been appointed to the panel of Rajyasabha vice chairman to control the proceedings of the upper house during the absence of both Chairman and Deputy Chairman.She is the first nominated MP in history to become the Vice Chairperson of Rajyasabha
Shiny Kurisingal Wilson is a retired Indian athlete. She has been a National Champion in 800 metres for 14 years. Shiny Abraham Wilson represented India more than 75 times in international competition. She holds the added distinction of representing Asia in four World Cups. She is also perhaps the only athlete to have taken part in six Asian Track & Field Meets in a row beginning 1985 in Jakarta. During this period she won seven gold, five silver and two bronze medals in the Asian competitions. She collected a total of 18 gold and two silver medals from the seven South Asian Federation (SAF) Meets she has competed.
Krishna Poonia is an international gold-medalist Indian discus thrower, track-and-field athlete, 2 times Olympics participant, Padma Shri and Arjuna Award recipient, politician from the Congress party and the current MLA from Sadulpur constituency in Rajasthan. She participated in 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games. In 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games, she won a gold medal. She was appointed the President Of the Rajasthan State Sports Council in February 2022.
Sunita Rani is an Indian athlete from Punjab who won a gold medal in the 1,500 m race and a bronze in the 5,000 m during the 2002 Asian Games. Her time of 4:06.03 in the 1,500 metres is the current Indian national record. She received the Arjuna award in 1999 and the Padma Shri in 2015 for her achievements. She later raised controversy when she was charged with doping. Her medals were revoked but subsequently reinstated after an investigation.
Mercy Kuttan is a former Indian track and field athlete. She was the first Indian woman long jumper to cross six meters. In 1989, Mercy received Arjuna Award for her contribution to the Indian athletics.
Parattu Raveendran Sreejesh is an Indian field hockey player from Kerala who plays as a goalkeeper and former captain of the Indian national team.He is regarded as the World's best goal keeper of his generation. He plays in the Hockey India League for Uttar Pradesh Wizards. Sreejesh played a vital role in the Indian national team's bronze medal win at the 2020 Summer Olympics men's field hockey tournament. He won FIH Player of the Year Awards (2020–21) for best male goalkeeper. Since winning gold in 2014 Asian Games he won gold medal again in 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou. He won a total of 16 international medals in his career until 2023 from Olympics, FIH Hockey World Championships, Commonwealth Games, Asian tournaments combined.
In India, the sport of athletics was introduced during the period of the British Raj. The sport is governed at national level by the Athletics Federation of India, which was formed in 1946. Despite its large population, few Indian athletes have won a medal in a global or major championship. This began to change in the 21st century, when Indians started taking greater interest in athletics more generally and improved facilities for the sport began to be built at a local level. At a continental level, it has been among the more successful Asian nations, though some distance behind China and Japan.
Deepa Malik is an Indian athlete. She started her career at the age of 30. She is the first Indian woman to win a medal in Paralympic Games and won a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in shot put. She also won gold in the F-53/54 Javelin event at the para athletic Grand Prix held in Dubai in 2018. She is currently the world number one in the F-53 category. She has won accolades for her participation in various adventure sports. She is associated with Himalayan Motorsports Association (H.M.A.) and Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (F.M.S.C.I.). She has undertaken an 8-day, 1,700-km drive in sub-zero temperatures which included a climb to 18,000 feet (5,500 m). It was – Raid De Himalaya. This journey covers many difficult paths including remote Himalayas, Leh, Shimla and Jammu.
Neeraj Chopra is an Indian track and field athlete, who is the reigning Olympic champion and World champion in Men's javelin throw. He is the first Asian athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in javelin and the first Asian to win gold in his event at the World Championship. A Junior Commissioned Officer Subedar (JCO) in the Indian Army, Chopra is the first track and field athlete to win a gold medal for India at the Olympics. He is also the first track and field athlete from India to win at the World Under-20 Championships, where in 2016 he achieved a world U20 record throw of 86.48 m, becoming the first Indian athlete to set a world record.
Mariyappan Thangavelu is an Indian Paralympic high jumper. He represented India in the 2016 Summer Paralympics games held in Rio de Janeiro in the men's high jump T-42 category and the 2020 Summer Paralympic games held in Tokyo in the men's high jump T-63 category, winning the gold medal and silver medal respectively in the finals. He is India's first Paralympian gold medalist since 2004.
Nayana James is an Indian athlete competing in the long jump event.
Swapna Barman is an Indian heptathlete. She won the gold medal at 2018 Asian Games and placed first in the Heptathlon at the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships. In August 2019, she was honoured with the Arjuna Award. In 2022, she took gold medals in the high jump and the heptathlon at the National Games of India.
Shaili Singh is an Indian athlete who competes in long jump events. She is the junior Indian national long jump champion in age group categories and ranks among world's top 20 long jumpers in the Under-18 category. She holds the national record for long jump in the Under-18 category. She is trained by veteran Indian long jumper Anju Bobby George and her husband Robert Bobby George.
Robert Bobby George is an athletics coach from Kerala, India. In 2004, he received Dronacharya Award, India's highest award for sports coaching.