Year Ender 2020: Women athletes who made India proud

Year Ender 2020: Several Indian women athletes have grabbed the headlines in 2020 - a year of uncertainty

Sania Mirza

Sania Mirza, won the doubles title at the WTA Hobart International in January 2020. Mirza and her partner Nadiia Kichenok lifted the women's doubles title after edging out No.2 seeded Shaui Peng and Shuai Zhang in the summit clash (6-4, 6-4).

Bala Devi

Bala Devi became the first Indian woman football player to bag a contract with a foreign club. She joined Scottish giants Rangers F.C. in January. She dons jersey 10 at the club. Bala Devi serves for the Manipur Police Department.

Vinesh Phogat

Premier Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat made an inch-perfect start to the Olympic year as she displayed dominance to overpower Ecuador's Luisa Elizabeth Valverde 4-0 to bag the gold medal in the 53kg category at the Rome Ranking Series in January.

Vinesh had a fine run in the build up to her final bout as she beat two Chinese rivals on the way. Later in September 2020, she became the first Indian wrestler to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, with an 8-2 win over world number one Sarah Ann Hildebrandt in the repackage round of the World Wrestling Championships in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.

Manisha Moun

Upcoming Indian pugilist Manisha Moun continued to rise up the ranks as she became one of the three Indians to bag a gold medal from the recently-concluded Cologne Boxing World Cup. Moun bagged the top podium spot in the featherweight category (57kg) after trumping two-time AIBA Women's Youth World Champion and compatriot Sakshi Choudhary, favourite to win the final bout, 3-2 in a closely fought contest.

Manasi Joshi

Manasi Joshi caught everyone's attention last year by winning the World Championships in Basel. She was featured in The TIME magazine as the 'Next Generation Leader', a first for a para-athlete. She is also featured in Forbes India Self Made Women 2020 list.