Karnataka has produced many eminent sports persons over the years. Cricket dominates the list though but we do have some shining stars from other sports.
- Chess
- DV Prasad
- MS Thej Kumar – first Grand Master norm holder from Karnataka
- Girish Koushik
- Badminton
- Prakash Padukone – Needs no introduction. Not just for the game but for his ‘down to earth’ attitude and humbleness.
- Vimal Kumar
- Carrom
- RM Shankara – World Carrom Champion (2000 in New Delhi, 2004 in Sri Lanka). National champion twice. Has US Open and a Malayasian championship to his credit.He played in a club called Kiran Carrom Club near Kalasipalyam. Shankara is hoping to get the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.The state govt (during HDK regime) rejected his request for a site (land) to build a house. Tamil Nadu Government gve him a job with Indian Airlines and helped him pursue his passion. We continue to do a great job in snubbing non-cricketers.
- Cricket
- Mamatha Maben – captain of Women’s cricket team
- Anil Kumble
- Brijesh Patel
- B S Chandrasekhar
- E.A.S. Prasanna
- G.R. Vishwanath
- Javagal Srinath
- Rahul Dravid
- Robin Uthappa
- Roger Binny
- Shantha Rangaswamy – Captain Women’s Cricket Team
- Sunil Joshi
- Syed Kirmani
- Venkatesh Prasad
- Gundappa Vishwanath (GR Vishwanath)
- Ashwini Nachappa – Athlete
- Reeth Abraham – Athlete
- Hockey
- Arjun Halappa
- M.P. Ganesh – former India hockey team captain and former Director of Sport Authority of India. He was a member of the Indian team that won the World Cup in 1975.
- Mahesh Bhupathi – Tennis pro
- Rohan Bopanna – Tenis player
- Nisha Millet – Swimmer
- Pankaj Advani – won World Snooker Championship on Oct 25, 2003 at a young age of 19.
- Jagat And Anita Nanjappa – Racers
- Usha Rani – Kabaddi player
Also See: