#6 Deepak Punia
Deepak Punia this year carved out a new record in Indian sports after becoming the first-ever Indian junior world champion in a span of 18 years. He has won the Cadet World Championship in 2016 but narrowly missed out on the bronze medal in the junior worlds in the following year. Last year, he added a silver medal to his kitty in Slovakia. In what’s his latest achievement, he had to settle for a silver medal at the World Wrestling Championships this year in the freestyle 86kg weight category after sustaining serious injuries. Deepak, in the process, managed to book a berth for the 2020 Summer Games.
#5 Srihari Nataraj
With several national records in the 50m, 100m, and 200m last year, swimmer Srihari Nataraj has given us glimpses of his extraordinary talent in a sport in which India has tasted only limited success so far. Srihari’s journey with the sport began in 2011 when he was crowned the sub-junior national champion. Srihari competed in his first-ever national championships in 2010 before even turning 10, where he finished fifth in the 50m backstroke as the youngest swimmer.
He became the first Indian swimmer to reach the finals and finished sixth in the 100m backstroke at the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires in October last year. He has achieved the 100m backstroke Olympic ‘B’ qualification mark, after clocking a national record 54.69 seconds in the semi-finals at the World Junior Swimming Championships in Hungary. The 18-year-old Srihari then went on to finish seventh in the finals after clocking a timing of 54.85 seconds.
#4 Divyansh Singh Panwar
Competing in only his second senior competition, the 17-year-old shooter Divyansh Singh Panwar on April 26 this year secured India’s fourth quota for Tokyo Olympics next year after winning a silver medal at the ISSF World Cup. He also partnered with Anjum Moudgil to give India the gold medal in the 10m Air Rifle Mixed team event at the tournament. Having won gold, silver and then the Olympic berth, Divyansh has come a long way from being a medal contender to being a winner. The youngster made his debut earlier this year in the Delhi edition of the World Cup where he finished 12th with an overall score of 627.2. At the recently concluded ISSF World Cup finals, Divyansh clinched a gold medal for the country in the men’s 10m Air Rifle event.
