Master of the game

Who is India's greatest sportsperson? Is it someone who's lifted more trophies, lasted longer, fought harder or opened up a new field to dominate? Tough call, tougher debate as three experts pick India's ultimate GOAT

- Christalle Fernandes

The 2024 Paris Olympics are around the corner. All eyes are on the Indian contingent - close to 120 players, competing individually or as a team. But across Indian sport, there are new records, new wins, new fields to dominate.

India has been producing sporting heroes in fields as diverse as javelin, track-and-field, table tennis, shooting and wrestling. They don't get as much money and attention as cricket, tennis and football. Away from the spotlight, many athletes train harder, do more with less, shine in fields we barely understand.

Who, then, is India's greatest, across all sports? We asked Nandan Kamath, sports lawyer and author of the book Boundary Lab; Malay Desai, director, content, at Sportz Interactive; and Anjum Moudgil, sports shooter, to pick the best of the best.

Of course it's subjective and, of course it doesn't really matter. But let the games begin!

Brunch. Let's jump right in. What makes a great player in the first place?

Anjum Moudgil. Any athlete who's had a downfall but makes a comeback stands out to me. Someone like Sumit Antil, the Indian paralympic javelin thrower. Despite his accident, within five years, he won a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and broke his own records.

Nandan Kamath. The beauty of this question is that it's a very difficult one to answer. Maybe 10 to 15 years ago, it might have been easier. But if I had to choose two, I'd pick two javelin champions: Olympian Neeraj Chopra, and Paralympian Sumit Antil.