Olympics is the biggest international sporting event. Top athletes from all over the world participate in various sports. Participation in the Olympics is a matter of great pride.
Below is the list Of Bengalis who have qualified and representing India for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Atanu Das – Archery
Atanu Das represents India in the Recurve Men’s Individual and Team events.
Atanu started archery at the age of 14. He has trained under Tata Archery Academy and made his international debut in 2008. His current world ranking is 9.
1992 born Atanu did his schooling from his hometown at Baranagar Narendranath Vidyamandir, Baranagar. Currently, he is working in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, Kolkata.
He married current world no. 1 archer Deepika Kumari on 30 June 2020 in Ranchi. The archery couple has won the bronze medal in the 2013 world cup mixed team event.
The talented couple has qualified for the Olympics. It will be Das’s second successive appearance at the Olympics.
Achievements – Bronze medal in the 2013 World Cup Mixed Team event in Colombia
Pranati Nayak – Artistic Gymnast
26-years old Pranati Nayak is the sole gymnastics representative for the Indian delegation.
Pranati was born in the village Pingla, Paschim Medinipur district in West Bengal on 6 April 1995. 4 ft 9 in Pranati did her schooling from Midnapore.
Her coaching started at the age of eight. Initial days, she won the sport-related activities in school. From there, she participated in the block, district, and then state-level competitions.
Pranati moved to Kolkata in her pre-teens. She trained at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) center in Kolkata.
Her father used to work as a state transport bus driver in West Bengal. Her parents could not have afforded her a sports career. So, her coach, Minara Begum, took care of her living and educational expenses out of her salary and helped the young gymnast.
The Indian gymnastics coach, Minara Begum, has given her training for 17 years. Currently, She works for Chittaranjan Locomotive Works under Indian Railways.
Achievements– Won Bronze medal at the 2019 Asian championships.
Also Read: Eminent Bengali Personalities Who Made The Nation Proud
Anirban Lahiri – Golf
The 33-year old Indian professional golfer currently plays on the PGA Tour and Asian Tour. Lahiri, a resident of Bangalore, is of Bengali descent. Presently, he lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, in the USA.
Lahiri started playing golf at the age of 8. He was introduced to the game by his father, who was a physician in the armed forces and a recreational golfer.
Lahiri has represented India at the Asian Games.
Achievements – Silver medal in the 2006 Asian Games at Doha in the men’s team event.
Sutirtha Mukherjee – Table Tennis
25-years old, Sutirtha Mukherjee is an Indian table tennis player.
Mukherjee’s initial steps into the sport were taken at the age of six. She used to play table tennis at a club near her house in her hometown Naihati. Her mother encouraged her to pick up the game and always stood beside her.
Naihati, a small town in Bengal, has only limited resources. So, the mother and daughter left Naihati and came to Kolkata. Here, she joined the academy run by current national coach Soumyadeep Roy and Poulomi Ghatak.
The mother-daughter duo has since been living together in a rented house in Kolkata opposite the academy. She has won the national Table Tennis Championship. In 2018, she made it to the national team for the Commonwealth Games and claimed a historic team gold medal.
Achievements – Part of Gold medal-winning Indian women’s team at 2018 Commonwealth Games.
