On August 11, 2008, Abhinav Bindra shot a near-perfect 10.8 on his final attempt at the Beijing Olympics and became the first Indian in history to win an individual Olympic gold medal. That single shot unlocked something. It told a generation of Indian athletes that the absolute summit of their sport was not off-limits. The decades that followed produced champions across cricket, chess, badminton, boxing, and athletics. This is a look at the greatest Indian athletes of the 21st century — the people who changed what Indian sport believes is possible.
This golden era is not confined to one sport. India’s chess players, led by Viswanathan Anand and now Gukesh Dommaraju, have been a central part of the story. Fans of that side of Indian sport will find the full account in how Indian chess became a global powerhouse.
Sachin Tendulkar: Numbers That Have No Peer
Any list of this kind starts here. Sachin Tendulkar played international cricket for 24 years, from 1989 to 2013, and left behind records that may stand for the rest of cricket’s existence. He scored 34,357 runs across all international formats — the most by any batter in history. His 100 international centuries (51 in Tests, 49 in ODIs) are 27 more than the next player on that list. No one else has even passed 80.
In Tests, Tendulkar played 200 matches — itself a world record — and averaged 53.78 over those appearances. In 2011, he was part of the Indian team that won the ODI World Cup, completing a career achievement that had eluded him through six previous campaigns.
He debuted at 16 against Pakistan and was dropped for a single series in his entire career. The consistency over that span, across five decades of cricket and in every country he played, is what separates him from almost everyone else in any team sport.
Abhinav Bindra: The Shot That Changed Indian Sport
If Tendulkar was India’s sporting constant, Bindra was its watershed moment. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he won gold in the men’s 10m air rifle event and became the first Indian to claim an individual Olympic gold. India had won team hockey golds in the early 20th century, but no single Indian athlete had ever stood on the top step of an Olympic podium alone.
The ripple from that result ran across Indian sport for the next two decades. Government investment in Olympic sport increased. Athletes began believing that individual gold was not a fantasy. Neeraj Chopra, Mirabai Chanu, and others who followed all operated in a sporting landscape that Bindra’s win had partly shaped.
Bindra’s post-athletics career reinforced his influence. He has been deeply involved in the reform of Indian sports governance, athlete welfare programs, and the culture of professional preparation — areas where Indian sport often needed improvement more urgently than it needed talent.
PV Sindhu: Back-to-Back Olympic Medals
PV Sindhu announced herself in Rio 2016 with a silver medal in women’s badminton singles. That made her the first Indian woman to win an individual Olympic silver. At Tokyo 2020, she took bronze. Combined, those two medals made her the first Indian woman ever to win individual medals at two consecutive Olympics.
Sindhu’s strength has always been physical endurance and court coverage. At over six feet tall, her ability to retrieve at the back of the court while attacking at the net gave her a style that few opponents could read consistently. She won the 2019 BWF World Championship in Basel, becoming the first Indian woman to win a world badminton title in singles.
Her consistency over a ten-year international career, across multiple court surfaces and against opponents from China, Japan, and Spain, is a rare thing. While Saina Nehwal opened the door for Indian women’s badminton — reaching world No. 1 and winning the 2012 Olympic bronze — Sindhu walked through that door and stayed at the top longer.
Mary Kom: Six World Titles
Mary Kom from Manipur became a six-time World Amateur Boxing Champion across different weight categories, the most by any female boxer in the history of the World Championships. She won the Olympic bronze at London 2012 and the Commonwealth Games gold at Gold Coast 2018.
Her story carries a dimension beyond medals. Mary Kom grew up with limited sporting infrastructure, raised a family during her competitive career, and continued competing into her late 30s. She became the first Indian woman boxer to represent the country at the Olympics, and she did it against opponents who were often half her age.
Beyond the sport, she is a Rajya Sabha member and has consistently advocated for more resources for boxers from Northeast India. Her six world titles are the headline stat, but her impact on how Indian boxing approaches women’s development is the lasting one.
Viswanathan Anand: Five World Chess Titles
Anand became India’s first chess grandmaster in 1988 and went on to win the World Chess Championship five times — in 2000, 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2012. At his peak, he was the best chess player on earth, defeating Vladmir Kramnik, Veselin Topalov, and Boris Gelfand in title matches.
What placed Anand apart was his ability to adapt across chess eras. He mastered classical preparation, then adjusted to rapid and blitz formats as chess shifted. His last major title was the World Rapid Championship in 2017, more than 25 years into his career at the top.
As FIDE Interim President and mentor to India’s current chess generation, Anand’s influence on Indian sport extends far beyond his own playing record. He trained Gukesh personally through the WestBridge Anand Chess Academy. When Gukesh won the World Championship in December 2024, the connection between the generations was visible to everyone watching. Fans who want to follow Gukesh’s next title defense can check the live viewing guide for Gukesh vs Sindarov 2026 for how to watch from India.
Neeraj Chopra: Athletics Gold
Neeraj Chopra’s throw of 87.58 meters at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in August 2021 won India its first ever athletics gold medal and only the second individual Olympic gold in the country’s history after Bindra. For a country that had almost never medaled on the track or field at the Olympics, it was a genuinely startling result.
Chopra won the Asian Games javelin gold in 2018 and followed the Tokyo win with a silver at the Paris 2024 Olympics. His consistency at the top of world athletics — across world championships and diamond league events — has established him as one of the finest javelin throwers of his generation, not just within India.
His influence on athletics participation and investment in India has been measurable. After his gold, the number of young Indians training in track and field events increased significantly, and federation funding followed.
Mithali Raj: The Anchor of Women’s Cricket
Mithali Raj scored her first international century at 16, making her the youngest woman to do so in internationals. She led India’s women’s cricket team to two World Cup finals — in 2005 and 2017 — and finished her career with the most runs in women’s international cricket across all formats at the time of her retirement.
Over a 23-year career, Raj was the constant around whom India’s women’s cricket team was built. She brought consistency, technical discipline, and a quiet professionalism that influenced the culture of women’s cricket in India beyond just the numbers she put up.
Key Takeaways
- Sachin Tendulkar: 34,357 international runs, 100 centuries, 200 Tests — records across every major batting category
- Abhinav Bindra: First Indian individual Olympic gold, 10m air rifle, Beijing 2008
- PV Sindhu: First Indian woman with individual medals at two consecutive Olympics (Silver 2016, Bronze 2020)
- Mary Kom: Six-time World Amateur Boxing Champion, 2012 Olympic bronze
- Viswanathan Anand: Five-time World Chess Champion and mentor to India’s current generation
- Neeraj Chopra: First Indian athletics Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020, silver at Paris 2024
FAQs
Who is the greatest Indian athlete of the 21st century?
Sachin Tendulkar holds the strongest claim on pure record terms, but the answer depends on the sport. Bindra, Sindhu, Anand, and Chopra each changed what Indian sport believed was possible in their field.
How many individual Olympic golds has India won?
India has won two individual Olympic gold medals — Abhinav Bindra in shooting at Beijing 2008 and Neeraj Chopra in javelin at Tokyo 2020.
Who was the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal in badminton?
Saina Nehwal won a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics, making her the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal in badminton.
How many World Championship titles did Viswanathan Anand win?
Anand won the World Chess Championship five times, in 2000, 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2012.
What is Sachin Tendulkar’s biggest record?
His 100 international centuries — 51 in Tests and 49 in ODIs — is widely regarded as his most enduring record. No other batter has gone past 73.
Conclusion
The greatest Indian athletes of the 21st century have one thing in common beyond the trophies: each of them expanded the idea of what India could do in sport. Tendulkar showed that a cricketer from India could be the best in the world for two decades. Bindra showed that individual Olympic gold was within reach. Sindhu, Anand, Chopra, and Kom did the same in their sports. And the generation that followed them — Gukesh, Erigaisi, Praggnanandhaa — is now doing it in chess. India’s athletic story in the 21st century is nowhere near finished.