Dhanraj Pillay is a retired Indian field hockey player and former captain of the India national team. He also looks after the Air India Sports Promotion Board as a Joint Secretary based in Mumbai. For the last 5 years, Dhanraj is overseeing the SAG Hockey Academy in Gujarat funded by the Gujarat Government. He is widely regarded as one of the best Indian players of hockey.
Jyoti Sunita Kullu is an Indian former field hockey player, who represented the India women's national field hockey team. She made her international debut for India in 1996 in Delhi at the Indira Gandhi Gold Cup. In 2002, she became the topscorer of the Champions Challenge tournament in Johannesburg, South Africa, with five goals in six matches. In the same year Kullu won the golden medal with India at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England.
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.
Charanjit Singh was an Indian field hockey player who was the captain of the team that won the gold medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. He was also a member of the team that won the silver medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome and the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta.
Dilip Tirkey, is a former captain of the Indian field hockey team, politician and sports administrator. He was awarded Padma Shree in 2004. Currently he is the president of Hockey India.
Mamta Kharab is an Indian former field hockey player, who represented the India women's national field hockey team. She has also captained the national team. During the 2002 Commonwealth Games, she scored the winning goal which gave India the gold. She also served as the model for the character of Komal Chautala in the 2007 Bollywood hit, Chak De India. Now she is working with Haryana police as a Deputy Superintendent of Police. She is a recipient of the Arjuna Award.
Prashanti Singh is a shooting guard for the Indian national women's basketball team. She is first basketball player in India conferred with National Civilian Award Padma Shri in 2019. She has been honoured with the Arjuna Award by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India in 2017. She has also been conferred with the prestigious Rani Laxmi Bai Bravery Award 2016–17 in the field of sports by Government of Uttar Pradesh.
Sardara Singh, sometimes referred as Sardar Singh, is an Indian field hockey coach and former field hockey player. He also served as the captain of the Indian national team. He usually plays the center half position. Sardara became the youngest player to captain the Indian team when he led the side at the 2008 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. He was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India, in 2015. On 13 July 2016, the responsibilities of the captain were handed over from him to P. R. Sreejesh, the goalkeeper of Indian Team. On 12 September 2018, Sardara announced his retirement from international hockey. He played 314 matches during 12 years in his career.
Sardar Anjum was an Indian poet (Shayar and philosopher. He is the author of 25 books, and many audio cassettes/records of his poems. He had served Panjab University as Head of Urdu Department and has been Chancellor's nominee at Punjabi University Patiala. His feature film, Karzdar is a venture to bring the two countries, India and Pakistan closer in bonds. He died on 10 July 2015 at Panchkula, Haryana.
Parattu Raveendran Sreejesh is an Indian former field hockey player. He was the captain of the national team and played as a goalkeeper. Since 2024, he is the head coach of the India men's national U-21 team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goal keepers in the history of field hockey. Sreejesh played a vital role in the Indian national team's bronze medal wins at the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics.
Sudha Singh is an Indian Olympic athlete in the 3000 metres steeplechase event. A national record holder in the event, she has represented India at international events since 2005. Singh is an Asian Champion in the discipline and has won two gold and four silver medals at varying editions of the Asian Games and the continental championships.
Rani Rampal is an Indian coach and former field hockey player. At the age of 15, she was the youngest in the national squad of the 2010 World Cup. She played as a forward. In her career, Rampal played 212 international matches and scored 134 goals. She also acted as a striker and doubled up as mid-fielder. In 2020, the Government of India honoured her with the Padma Shri.
Purnima Mahato is an Indian archer and archery coach from Jamshedpur, India. She has won the Indian national archery championships. She was a coach for the Indian national team at the 2008 Summer Olympics and was selected to coach the team at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She was awarded Dronacharya award from President of India for 2013 on 29 August 2013. She was conferred with the Padma Shri 2024, India's fourth highest civilian award, for her work in the field of Sports.
Selma Juliet Christina D'Silva is a former player for the Indian Women's Hockey Team. She represented India at the 1980 Summer Olympics and the 1982 Asian Games along with many other international tournaments. She has also been the captain for Indian Women's Hockey Team during the 1983 Woman’s World Cup Kuala Lumpur.
Vandana Katariya is an Indian field hockey player. She plays as a forward in the Indian national team. Vandana rose to prominence in 2013, being India's top goal-scorer in the 2013 Women's Hockey Junior World Cup, where India won a bronze medal; she scored five goals in the tournament, the third by any player.
Shamshad Begum is an Indian social worker, known for her efforts towards the education of backward communities of Chhattisgarh such as the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and other backward communities. She was honoured by the Government of India, in 2012, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri.
Anitha Pauldurai is an Indian basketball player who has been the captain of the India women's national basketball team. She has been conferred with National Civilian Award Padma Shri in 2021. She has been also conferred with Chief Minister State award in the field of sports by Government of Tamilnadu in 2013.
Eliza Nelson, née Eliza Mendonca, is an Indian field hockey player and a former captain of the women's national field hockey team of India. She received the Arjuna Award in 1981 and the Government of India awarded her the fourth highest Indian civilian honour of Padma Shri in 1983.
Punaram Nishad, born in Ringni, Dist Durg Chhattisgarh,(16 November 1939 - 11 November 2017) was an Indian folk musician, known for his prowess in the Pandavani, a folk music tradition of Chhattisgarh and the neighbouring states in India. Born in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, to a Bhajan singer, he started learning the art from the age of 10 under Jhadu Ram Dewangan, considered by many as the father of Pandvani, and aligned with the Vedamati tradition of Pandavani, which follows a rigid text, and does not permit improvisations.
K. Y. Venkatesh is an Indian para-athlete and shot putter from Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. He won his first gold for India in the shot put in 1999 in Australia. In 1994, he represented India at the 1st International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletics World Championships in Berlin, Germany. He was awarded India's fourth highest civilian award the Padma Shri in 2021.
