6 women who made India proud in 2021

Published on:28 December 2021, 12:36pm IST

Before 2021 wraps up, let’s raise a toast for these Indian women who made the country proud on a global stage in their respective fields.

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Chandigarh girl Harnaaz Sandhu made India proud earlier this month when she won the Miss Universe crown after 21 years. The 21-year-old model is the third Indian woman to bring home the crown after Lara Dutta and Sushmita Sen, who won in 2000 and 1994. She was crowned at the grand finale held in Eilat, Israel recently, and believes that “If you have a vision in your life, everything is possible”. Image courtesy: Harnaaz Sandhu | Instagram

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Table Tennis player Bhavina Patel, who was diagnosed with polio when she was all of 12 months old, went on to win a silver medal at the Tokyo Paralympics. It was her maiden Paralympic games, and she played against world number one Chinese paddler Ying Zhou in the women’s singles class 4 finals. Missing the gold came with its disappointments, but she is determined to prove herself. “This time I missed the gold medal, and fell a little short of giving my 100 percent, but I have made history which I believe will motivate a lot of (para) players,” she told HealthShots. Image courtesy: Bhavina Patel | Instagram

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PV Sindhu became the first Indian woman to claim two Olympic medals after she won a badminton bronze medal in Tokyo, adding to her silver from Rio Olympics 2016. The star shuttler’s journey from ‘Silver Sindhu’ to ‘double Olympic medallist’ is definitely epochal for sportswomen in India. Image courtesy: PV Sindhu | Instagram

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Saikhom Mirabai Chanu made the entire nation incredibly proud when she lifted a total of 202 kg in the women's 49 kg category and won the first silver medal in the Tokyo Olympics.She lifted the spirits of the nation when winning the show as India found itself on the Olympics medals score on the very first day of the Olympics. Image courtesy: Mirabai Chanu | Instagram

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Gita Gopinath, the daughter of a farmer-entrepreneur, belongs to Kerala. She became the first Indian woman to be appointed as the Chief Economist at the International Monetary Fund(IMF). Gopinath, a US national and overseas citizen of India will start in her new position as FDMD on January 21, 2022, according to the IMF. Gopinath not only made the international relations for India stronger but also inspired every small town girl of the country. Image courtesy: Gita Gopinath | Twitter

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Falguni Nayar is an Indian businesswoman and billionaire who is the founder and CEO of the beauty and lifestyle retail company Nykaa. Nayar is now the wealthiest female Indian billionaire with her estimated wealth to the tune of $6.5 billion, after recent listings, and in the top 20 richest people of India. Image courtesy: Falguni Nayar | LinkedIn